#no but fr i was thinking about this au all day long and then suddenly i had this written

[tea-of-destiny]

"They're trying to find someone I can stay with now. A... family."

"I see," Claire mused sympathetically, her mind filling in the adjective Clive had decidedly left blank in his statement. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Um..."

Clive tugged at a stray thread on his hospital shirt.

"I don't want to keep living here. The bed is hard to sleep in. And the tea is never hot. And I miss having normal clothes. But..."

The thread broke away in his fingers, and he sighed.

Unable to look away from the boy's crestfallen expression, Claire's heart ached. "I'm sorry. I can only begin to imagine what this must be like for you. Do you at least have any say in what happens next?"

Clive gave a small, disaffected shrug. "If someone wants to take me in, they have to meet me in the hospital for a few days, and then I go live in their home for some time before the paperwork is really finalized. If I don't want to stay with them, I can ask to be moved, and they'll bring me back here and try to find someone better. I just... don't know if trying to change what happens will do me any good."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Well, everything about my life is different now, anyways, right? None of the families they bring in here will understand that, or understand me--so why does it matter if I choose which one I get sent away with? What would make me the most happy is... something I can't have anymore. And I didn't get to choose that part. "

The words weren't meant to be accusatory. Clive was only a boy in pain, desperate for someone to actually see how much he was hurting even when he didn't cry.

But the guilt nonetheless threatened to swallow Claire whole. It didn't matter that she wouldn't have chosen this either--she still could have done more to keep it from happening altogether. And now it would always remain on her shoulders to right what she had wronged.

A flood of apologies rose behind her lips, but she bit them back hastily. Clive needed more than "sorry" to mend his wounds and bring sparks back into those charcoal eyes. What else could she say to him right now? She sifted through the feelings of shame pooling within her, anxious to find some answer, any answer--

"What if you stayed with me?" she blurted out, then immediately flinched.

It was an answer, that was true. Admittedly, though, it was an answer that could not have more blatantly come out of the heart-hole left bleeding in the wake of her own losses suffered.

But Claire made no motion to rescind it. She had realized almost as soon as she regretted saying it that she had sincerely meant it, too. She simply had to know how he would respond.

Clive flicked his eyes up at the suggestion, studying her through a hefty poker-faced silence. Then he hummed, apparently dismayed. "I'm really sorry, Miss Layton, but I... I just thought that if there was anyone who could see that I'm--"

"--Not interested in having a new mum," Claire concluded on his behalf. "I know. And I don't have to be one, or want to be one, if that's not what you want me to be to you."

Hearing his concern acknowledged, Clive's gaze quickly softened. Encouraged by the sight, Claire continued thinking through her logic aloud.

"It wouldn't have to be permanent, either. If you realized later on that staying with me wasn't helping you, or if you grew old enough that you felt like you could find your own way in the world, I wouldn't force you to stay. I'd want to respect your wishes."

"What would you get out of this arrangement, then?" Clive asked, still somewhat hesitant to the idea, yet leaning closer in spite of himself to hang onto Claire's words. "If not a... you know."

"Well, you and I have been kind of weathering the aftermath of the accident together, don't you think?" Claire supposed.

Clive gave a halfway-nod. "Besides the staff, you've come to see me the most of anyone the past few weeks."

"And I've been visiting you because I needed to be sure you'd end up okay--that pulling you away from that fire wasn't in vain." Claire placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "I may not really understand what it's like to lose a parent, but I truly care about how much all of this has affected you, Clive, and... I know you've seen that it's affected me a lot, too. So maybe I understand enough for you. If you stayed with me, you wouldn't have to face people who weren't there for the accident, and who won't give you the space you need to heal."

"...If I stayed with you," Clive echoed, speculative as he met her eyes, "maybe we could keep looking for ways to get through this together."

Claire smiled sadly. "Yes. That's all I want here--to help you. No special labels, or authority, or personal gain involved."

Clive peered at her with head slightly tilted for a little longer, as though making a final judgement on the authenticity of her explanation. Then, quite plainly, he replied, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"I only have the one mum, Miss Layton. You'll have to be something else to me."

The professor nodded vehemently. "Oh, without a doubt."

"But... I think I would like to go live with you, after all," Clive finished. "I'll ask the nurse about it when she comes back here."

Claire could swear a new light had appeared in Clive's dark irises at the declaration, alongside the faintest ghost of a smile on his cheeks.

Or perhaps it was simply her own vision blurring, realizing this tragic young boy had suddenly come into her care long-term. It was terrifying and hopeful all at once, to be in charge of another's fate once again. But at least maybe this time, she could make a difference in his life for the better.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Clive," Claire finally mustered the presence of mind to say. "It's still going to be quite the adjustment, staying with me, but I hope you know that you can count on me, no matter what happens now."

--

In 10 years, he would feel his heart almost pounding out of his chest as a wound bled down his face; as temporal chaos rampaged on the smoke-filled horizon; as he watched Claire run to get back in the aircraft (alongside the disconcertingly familiar Theodore) to try and stop this devastation once and for all.

And even despite the pain he was in now, and the danger posed to his city and the people he cared about, and the lingering knowledge that even if they somehow made it out of this mystery alive, there was still an acceptance letter to Princeton University in his bedroom desk waiting to tear him an ocean's width apart... it was this promise he would find replaying itself in his mind.

"You can count on me, no matter what happens now," she had said.

And so he would take a deep breath, even now, and feel those worries begin to slip from his mind.

'I know I can, Professor,' Clive would think to himself in response. 'You know I always do.'

[palajae]

my name. | nishimura riki

PAIRING ▸ nishimura riki! x reader

GENRE ▸ detective! au, fantasy! au, high school! au, s2ls, romance, fluff, angst, humor, SLOW BURN

WC ▸ 15.6k

SUMMARY ▸ you supposedly get transported to a different world, where you encounter niki. apparently, you already existed here. note: past tense. so now you’re stuck in an alternate universe and technically, you’re supposed to be dead. 

AKA after facing the truth, you come to the realization that someone was definitely trying to kill you.

AN/NOTES ▸ mentions of death!!!, a murder mystery/whodunit, profanity, mentions of suicide, depictions of murder, a few curse words, violence, blood, dead bodies, some gorey stuff, kissing, nothing too harsh, excuse any typos/misspellings...

wow... i can't believe it but it is finally out... it's been a long time coming lol. with losing several family members and hospital visits over the past year, i wasn't sure if this was ever going to get released. thank you all for your endless (fr) patience and support. happy reading ❤️

a faceless figure stretches out a hand towards you.

you squint but for some reason, you still can’t make them out. the longer you stare, the more you realize it was a person—a blurry vision of a faceless boy. considering the matching uniform to yours, he must’ve gone to your school …was he your classmate? 

you frown. you’ve never seen anyone like him in class before. you stretch out your arm, fingertips barely grazing his- 

the sound of the school bell ringing causes your eyelids to fly open.  you groan, yawning and getting up from your seat by the window by default. 

it wasn’t a nice nap—just one that left you feeling groggy, unsettled, and strangely incomplete. 

you pack up your stuff quietly and leave the classroom alone, not bothering to look for your friends. as you walk down the stairs, you hear your classmates chattering about the weather.you glance outside. 

it was a dreary, unwelcoming kind of rain—part of the reason why you fell asleep earlier in class—and you suddenly feel the urge to get home. as soon as possible. 

you weren’t sure why, but it wasn’t just raining. it started to pour, especially hard, on this spring day. you want to think that was what made your mood all miserable and forlorn. 

not to forget the fact that you didn’t have an umbrella, leaving you no other choice but to throw your hood on and tighten the strings of your hoodie over your school uniform. not exactly the most stylish look, yet it was comfortable enough for you. 

you couldn’t put a finger on the emotion, but you felt out of place, like for some weird reason… you didn’t belong here. like you belonged out of this circle, away from this life and world. 

that feeling always came up when it started to rain, and you always tried your best to suppress it. but it was particularly strong today. 

you shrugged it off though. those “phases” weren’t uncommon, right? 

though you made it halfway out the school grounds by yourself, hyein and hanni catch up to you as you walk. you give them a half-hearted smile, “hey.”

it doesn’t take much for them to notice your off behavior. hyein eyes you. 

“you okay, y/n?” 

you debate internally, reminding yourself that they’re your friends. you can trust them, rely on them. you’re allowed to do that. even more so, aren’t you supposed to do that? 

but the words that come out of your mouth suggest otherwise. you shrug, “it’s nothing. it’s just been a weird day, you know?”

they share a glance before turning back to you, sympathetic smiles on their faces. hanni pats you on the shoulder, “yeah, we get it. you should get some rest at home, y/n. we’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“be careful on the way back! the rain doesn’t look like it’s stopping soon.” she calls out before they continue, leaving you behind—still as soaked as ever. 

you wave before sighing, gripping the straps of your backpack tighter and making your way towards the train station. the sound of the rain almost makes you fall into a daze as you go about your way. all your school stuff and clothes were definitely getting soaked, which probably meant an oncoming cold, but you could’ve cared less. 

the only thing that mattered was going home and sleeping off this weird feeling, so it could become tomorrow and you didn’t have to be in this situation anymore. 

the train station is strangely busy, you figure the downpour was making everyone go home sooner. you bypass several people, almost getting your soaked and stained shoes stepped on several times. all while muttering quiet “excuse me’s” to practically everyone and anyone who cared to listen. 

after what seemed like ages, you manage to make it to your train.  although, the large crowd surrounding the entrance effectively prevents you from getting anywhere. 

you mutter a curse, trying to navigate through the waves of people. you just barely get on before the doors begin closing. letting out a huff in relief, you lean back against the door and slowing yourself a moment to close your eyes in peace. all the seats were obviously taken at that point, so you had no choice but to stand. that’s fine—you end up drifting off anyway. 

you don’t know how long it’s been since you fell asleep. or why you feel even more exhausted when you wake up. but the robotic voice announcing your arrival makes your eyes automatically flutter open. you feel your body getting pushed and shoved around as everyone tries to get out all at once. 

so you grit your teeth and tug down your hood further until you can finally get out. you don’t pay much attention to your surroundings, too focused on not getting knocked to the ground. when you finally stumble out of the crowd onto the station platform, you try to collect yourself while shaking your head. then you frown, 

wait a second-

something solid knocks into you from the side, a rough oof! escaping out of their--mouth?

you’re knocked onto the ground, bottom first. pain shoots into your palms that tried (and failed) to catch your fall—and obviously, your butt as well. 

you groan, eyes flashing in annoyance at your unknown assailant. looking up, you stop at the sight of the… boy in front of you. 

you really have no idea why, but a question immediately pops into your head—

have you met before?

you don’t voice it, but it lingers in the back of your mind. the boy—as far as you can tell, he looks around your age— simply stares at you. he’s in a strikingly similar uniform. 

a flicker of recognition passes in his eyes before you watch his expression grow flabbergasted. he continues to stare at you for a solid minute, while you only stare back in confusion, still on the floor.

“it’s rude to stare, you know.” you finally state with a furrowed brow as you quickly gathering your bearings. 

his only response is a blink.  

it's like the two of you are frozen in time, everyone else getting drowned out in the moment. 

you frown, narrowing your eyes at him. “hello? did you hear me?” you repeat yourself and this time he snaps out of it. 

“y-you’re not supposed to be here.” he gets out shakily, looking around while his hand runs through his dark locks in distress. you cross your arms, “what do you mean? this is my stop…” 

you falter when you remember what you saw earlier. when you got off the train, you took a quick glance at the signs and posts. yeah, this definitely wasn’t your stop. 

that wouldn’t have been a huge issue- if it wasn’t for the fact that you never missed your station, no matter the circumstances.  

“no!” he exclaims and you flinch at the outburst. the boy glances at you again, and this time you involuntarily shiver at the unreadable look in his eyes. 

“you’re…. you’re supposed to be dead.”

your mouth drops open. 

“what a great first thing to say to someone you just bowled over. not even a sorry..” you mutter off, suddenly finding the strength to get up and wipe your hands. 

the boy takes a step back away from you. curiously, you take one forward, towards him. he gestures a hand at you almost aggressively. 

“you’re dead. you died. i swear-“

you hold out your hands in half desperation and half exasperation, “i dunno if this is some dumb prank or something i missed, but i hate to break it to you. i’m not dead. i’m literally right here in front of you. i think i would know if i died or not. i’m-” 

again, that feeling of being out of place washes over you. this time it steals your breath away. 

the strange boy shakes his head. “there’s no way. i know exactly who you look like.”

his next words make your blood run cold. 

“you’re exactly like y/n y/l/n—who died a week ago.” he looks you up and down again, hands curling into fists. 

“who are you? and why do you look just-?”

“because that’s who i am? my name is y/n! now, if you would excuse me.”  

you hold up a hand, you didn’t have the time or patience to deal with weirdos on the street. it did struck a little odd that he knew your name, but then again he must’ve gone to your school and heard of you somewhere. the only thing that unsettled you was his reaction. 

it just seemed too real, like he couldn’t have been that good at acting. 

he grabs your arm to prevent you from leaving. all he does is shake his head again like he’s just trying to reassure himself. you’re about to protest, so utterly confused at what’s happening-how you missed your stop and why this strange boy is saying that you’re dead. none of it makes sense. 

his face looks pale and grim, and you’re sure yours look exactly the same. “you can’t be y/n. and yet, here you are right in front of me.” 

“i will scream like a little girl for help if you don’t let me go at this-“

“p-please. this isn’t a joke. you can’t be here. we need to get out of here—where everyone can’t see you.” 

before you can even splutter a response, he drags you off. 

you can call me niki, his words echo in your head. 

his name rolls off your tongue unfamiliarly. in his states of panic—to which niki kept slapping himself and you kept denying that you were a hallucination—

you ended up introducing yourselves and deciding to find a better place to discuss. more like, niki decided. you soon began to regret that decision. 

all you wanted to do was go home, but this persistent kid you’ve never seen before wouldn’t let you or your conscience go. maybe it was the weird feeling from earlier, but you have the urge to at least hear him out. but when you walked out of that train station behind him, everything was wrong. 

you don’t know how to describe it. it was right but… at the same time, it wasn’t. 

to begin with, you ended up at the wrong station but it led you to the right street to get home. the streets name were the same, but the stores weren’t. 

and the bus stop—the bus driver that had worked there for fifteen years, the one you had greeted for fifteen years, suddenly became an entirely different person. he never missed a day, no matter what occasion it was. 

things weren’t right and you had no idea what was going on. 

following niki, you get lost in your thoughts. you shake your head, clapping a hand over your forehead. maybe… you’re just in a weird dream. a really realistic one, because none of this made sense. it wasn’t raining anymore either, which would’ve been fine, excluding for one tiny detail: the streets were completely dry. judging by the strength of the rain earlier, it really shouldn’t—no, it couldn’t have dried up that fast. 

It wasn’t physically possible. 

you could easily navigate your way around this area because you lived here all your life. and yet, it felt like you didn’t live here. not when this random stranger (only on a first name basis) keeps insisting that you died. 

niki—or whoever—leads you to a very familiar library, the same one where you spent hours studying for your finals. you head in, feeling a bit better hearing the familiar entrance chime. you walk ahead of him to take your spot by the back corner. the fact that this place was essentially the same gave you some comfort.

niki seems surprised, but he doesn’t say anything, only taking the seat across from you. 

“okay.” you start, glancing at the boy with wary eyes. 

“if whatever bs you’re spewing is true, explain.”

he raises his eyebrows. 

“me? explain?” 

you nod and he scoffs, “i think you’re the one who should be explaining. after all, you’re the one that’s supposed to be dead-“

“i’m not dead.” you grit out, rolling your eyes. 

“okay, okay,” he raises his hands in surrender, “but you still need to talk.”

you sigh, rubbing your temples. 

“what do you want me to say? that i got soaked, took the train home, overslept, and then missed my stop? then, i bumped into a weird boy-”

he shoots you an offended look, which you ignore. 

“-who keeps telling me that i died. oh, and the more and more i stay here with you, the more wrong everything gets?” you barely get the last word out before niki leans in, eyes focused intently on you. 

the closer he gets, you more you begin to malfunction. you unconsciously hold your breath, alarm and confusion evident in your eyes. his hand reaches out, slowly, to your head. your body freezes.

his fingers catch a drop of water at the tip of your hair. “sorry. that was bothering me.” 

you exhale, glaring at him. “are you serious?”

“yeah. are you?” 

“no,” you deadpan, “i’m a ghost and i’m haunting you. of course i’m being serious!” 

he gives you an unconvinced look and you roll your eyes, “i’m y/n y/l/n. we live an hour away from the capital. my house is two blocks away in the neighborhood with the broken fountain, and right now we’re at the library that doesn’t open on thursdays.  

you harshly tug off your suddenly dry hoodie, displaying your school uniform. 

“and by the looks of it, we go to the same school.”

his eyes widen as he leans in closer to study your uniform. you shrug away, caught off guard. then you frown, “but i’ve never seen you before at school. how do i know that you’re not some imposter?  that you somehow stole a uniform to get something from me?”

he rolls his eyes while you gaze at him suspiciously.

“obviously not, because that’s dumb.” 

you scoff. 

“i live here. why would i go through all the trouble to steal a uniform to get something from you? besides, what would i need from some-“ 

he glances at you and you tense,  

“-kid like you? you’re the one who came out of the train looking so suspicious, it’s like you appeared out of nowhere,” he counters. 

you place your palms flat on the table, “okay, it’s obvious we aren’t getting anywhere. we both don’t have answers and we’re not even close to one. all i know is that i’m alive,” you shoot him another look, “and that i somehow ended up here. now, can i go?”

there’s a brief pause before niki speaks up, slowly. “i already told you, you can’t be seen. come with me. and keep the hood on.” 

you roll your eyes. who was he to boss you around? 

he grumbles something along the lines of- “don’t want to be seen walking around with a dead person.” 

the only reason you listened was partly due to fear that you would lose your way in this familiar, yet unfamiliar place.   except, you know exactly where he’s taking you. because it’s the same neighborhood you live in. 

“wait,” you call out, “this is where i live.” you point to your house, and niki grimaces. 

“i know. there were police here for days.” 

you stop, unsure of what to say or do. police? at your house? when? 

you stare at your supposed house, suddenly dark and empty. what in the world happened? 

“come on,” niki calls out and you move to catch up. you’re starting to think niki may be telling the truth. 

soon enough, you make it to an unfamiliar house about a street down from yours. as niki unlocks the door, you take the opportunity to study him, trying to recall if you’ve ever seen him before. but when he turns to you, you clear your throat and look away. 

“this is my house,” he tilts his head while opening the door. 

you like the fact that it’s messy. it felt much more homey because of that. it was also a lot bigger than yours, filled with fancy and intricate things. to which you assume this niki guy has more money than he has yet to admit. he tells you to wait in the living room, and he soon returns with a stack of books. 

you pause, “yearbooks?“

he nods, “yeah, our school’s.” 

strangely enough, most of the covers are different than yours at home. 

but everything else is the same, like the name and logo. he pulls out this year’s yearbook and flips through before stopping at a page. 

“that’s me,” he points to the picture of him and you tilt your head, frowning.

“huh. so we are in the same year. but i’ve never seen you in my yearbook—or at school before. i swear i would’ve seen you at least once before...” 

you rub your temples, this whole situation was making your head hurt. none of it made sense. you study his picture, why in the world did he actually look good in his yearbook photo? your eyes shift toward his name, 

nish—

he turns the page before you can finish reading, only to get distracted by seeing familiar classmates in your yearbook. niki stays silent as he flips through pages and you continue to point out your friends and classmates and stare in wonder at the unfamiliar ones- 

ones that you’ve never seen before in your life but somehow their faces are printed on the page, in the same grade and same school as you. 

just like niki. you were actually speechless. 

eventually, he stops flipping eventually and looks at you. you catch his eye and glance down at the page, immediately catching on. you breath hitches. 

“no way—” 

“—and there’s you.” 

it is you. you can confirm, it’s a photo of someone who looks exactly like you. but… it’s not you. 

almost everything is the same, your face and clothes. your hair was cut shorter, and your smile wider for the picture. you were even wearing makeup, for crying out loud. you can only stare at the photo. 

according to niki, this you is dead? 

you look up at him, stomach churning. what in the world was going on? 

the silence lasts until niki finally speaks up with a hesitant tone. “i might be tripping, but have you ever heard of… alternate realities?” 

you shake your head firmly, “don’t even get me started on that-“

he cuts you off, “i know, i know. but just hear me out.” 

you have no choice but to internally whisper a quiet plea of help. he scoots closer, 

“wouldn’t it make sense? there’s really no other explanation. maybe it’s because i watched that spider-man movie recently, but you being from another world would explain how you’re alive right now—when in this world, you’re dead. plus, all the similarities and differences that you mentioned can be chalked up to different timelines—the butterfly effect and stuff like that.”

you don’t know what to say. 

could it actually be?

what other explanation could there be? 

“please say something,” niki mumbles and you release a breath you didn’t even know you were holding. 

“okay. okay. fine. say the whole multiverse crap is true. then how did i even get here? how did i—” 

you do air quotations, 

“—switch dimensions to another world?” 

niki shrugs, “no idea.”

he scratches his head, “it’s weird to think about but i mean, maybe there’s a reason why you came here.”

his voice suddenly gets lower and you shiver, “you know, the timing’s a bit weird that you showed up right after the other you passed away.”

you clear your throat, “let’s not think about that right now. we should probably focus on the whole me being dead thing, right?” 

“what?” 

you glance at him questioningly, “what?”

niki raises an eyebrow. “what’s there to focus on? you died.”

you don’t have to rub it in my face, you mumble under your breath. 

“shouldn’t we be focusing on how to get you back to your world?”

you roll your eyes, “sure, but still, i kinda want to know how i died? i think i deserve to, you know, so maybe i don’t make the same dumb mistake back home.” 

“-if you ever get home,” he corrects and you huff.

“whatever, just tell me. we don’t even know if your dumb alternate reality theory is right.” 

“okay,” niki rubs his hands nervously and you wait in anticipation. 

“well, it actually happened last thursday.”

you swallow. why was your heart rate picking up? 

“at school. on, uh, the rooftop. no one witnessed it, and the cctv was broken so we don’t have any exact answers. but from what I’ve heard,” he gives you a cautious glance, 

“the police are about ready to call it a suicide.” 

at first, you think you misheard him. but the hesitant gaze and pause proves you otherwise. 

at first it doesn’t hit you. but then suddenly you feel sick to your stomach. your hand grips the table for support as you try to take it all in. 

you? 

a suicide at school? 

what about your family, your friends-

“no,” you whisper, shaking your head.  “i… i would never-“

you slam your hands on the table, “i know myself. i would never do that.”

his face is grim and sympathetic, which you can feel the dislike churn in your stomach at that. “i’m really sorry… that’s the current situation. it kinda blew up at school, but everything’s still so recent that nothing is confirmed yet.“ 

unspoken words linger in the back of his head, that he questions if he should say it or not.  

that niki really didn’t know you that well, that you were just another classmate of his. one that he passed in the halls without a second glance back. that the you in his world-

was just a stranger to him. 

yet seeing you, desperate and alive, right in front of his eyes. he doesn’t know what to do or say. so niki watches you bury your head in your hands. and he waits. 

it’s only a couple of minutes later that you look up. his face morphs into one of surprise when he sees your determined expression. 

“niki,” you state carefully and he nods, waiting patiently.

“are you sure that i-i did it?”

you can’t bring yourself to say the word but niki gets it. he sighs, 

“no. no one’s sure. but from what i’ve heard, the police haven’t found any other motives so… a suicide seemed most likely.” the more and more niki talked, the more unsure he got. 

your face hardens. 

“so there’s no proof? the police aren’t doing their freaking job and investigating?” 

his eyes widen—surprised at your sudden outburst—and you sigh, voice falling to a whisper.

“did i really commit suicide? and why do i care so much?” 

something warm falls over your hand and you jump, glancing up.

even for only a split second, his hand covers yours in a sympathetic attempt, “i’m sorry y/n. i wish i had answers but i really don’t know…”

despite the awkward look on niki’s face and overall awkward situation, his words strangely comfort you. 

you bite your bottom lip. “i-i have to get to my house.”

he stiffens, “what?” 

you stare at him, eyes sharp, “if no one else is going to do something, i at least have to.” 

you need to. for yourself. 

niki scoots closer, “y/n, you can’t just-“

“i know. but i need to know. something just-ugh,” you rub your face in frustration, “something doesn’t add up. i have to check. it’s like i can feel it deep within me.”

he sits there wordlessly. when you don’t get a response, you stand up. niki splutters, “w-where are you going?”

you cross your arms, “without or without you, i’m going to my house.” 

he slaps a hand to his face in frustration. “just how stubborn are you?” he mumbles. you hear it and yet you decide to ignore him. 

“thanks for the help i guess,” you give him a (weak) half-smile before turning towards the door 

“wait! you’re being serious?!” 

his desperate voice calls out and you internally debate if you should listen to him or not. slowly, you turn back around, “yeah. do you need something?”

“no, but you do— a plan. especially since the police closed off your house for investigation. plus, most of the evidence would have been taken already.” he clasps his hands together behind his back.

you shrug. “okay, and? i’ll still find a way. i have nothing to lose. i’m not even supposed to be alive.”

he groans loudly and you raise an eyebrow.

“idiot. i’m trying to say that i’ll help you. i-i want to help you.”

“i didn’t ask,” you raise your hands in mock surrender.  annoyed, niki puts his hands on his hips.

“sure, but i know plenty of things you don’t. this is my world. so, are you gonna accept or not?”

“you wish you did,” you retort, yet you can’t help the small smile that grows on your face, “but… i would appreciate it. just be grateful that i’m accepting your dumb theory from a spider-man movie as of right now.” 

niki gulps at the sight. it was the first time he saw you smile since you met. at least, the first smile he saw from the you of an alternate universe. 

“whatever you say,” he holds out a hand, 

“miss imposter.” 

you take it gladly, harshly.  “don’t call me that-“

“my name is y/n y/l/n.” 

you spin around in niki’s chair, having went up to his room to figure out your so called master plan. niki (respectfully) offered to let you stay in his room for the length of your “visit.” 

to which you almost punched him. 

but he explained that there were no extra guest rooms and you were still technically dead, so hiding in his room was the best bet as to not raise any questions. you could take the makeshift bed in the corner of his room as to not raise suspicion. you were surprised yet grateful. 

“i’ll grab extra blankets and pillows. and i’ll sneak you food and whatever you need.” 

“what about clothes and toiletries?”

he yawns, “easy. i’ll steal some from my sisters.” 

you feel bad, but you realize you have no other choice. you were literally stuck here. 

a part of you still wondered if this was a dream. a horrible one, at the least. but while you were stuck here, might as well make the best of it. niki graciously offered and you had no choice but to accept. you almost scoff at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

“so basically, i’m like a secret pet you’re hiding from your parents?” 

“technically… yes,” niki rubs his hands together, and you can only watch the mischievous expression grow on his face.

“but i like to think that you’re like eleven. you’re different—you’re special, like her.”

you hold back a laugh at the words. 

clearing your throat, you try to play it off. “from stranger things? your world has that show too?” he lets out a scandalous gasp and this time you giggle. 

“of course, dude. what kind of world would i be living in if i didn’t have stranger things?” 

“apparently a horrible one,” you snort. 

after the whole living situation was sorted out, you returned to your investigation. 

“so you’re saying the police taped off my house for further examination?”

“uh, yeah? that’s how it works?” he raises a brow. 

you stuck your tongue out at him, “okay,  smartass. then how do we get in?” 

“clearly, there’s only one way: sneak in.” 

“i don’t think this is a good idea?” niki whisper shouts at you and you shush him. 

the sun was barely setting. if anyone knew you, they knew you really couldn’t be deemed as patient of any sort. 

niki watches you struggle up the tree in your backyard. 

obviously, going through the front door was a no go. luckily this house looked pretty much the same as your house, at least from the outside. you knew your parents weren’t home judging by the darkness.  you wondered if they were staying with other family. 

or were they at work? so soon after your death? 

you grimace, now was not the time to be getting in your feelings.

the best (only) option was jumping the backyard fence and going in through your bedroom window. leading to your predicament now.  

you exhale heavily when you find a place to rest, gripping the tree with all your might in hopes that you don’t fall 

you glance down at niki. 

“can you make it?”

he scoffs,  

“easy.” 

it was easy— easy for you to watch niki struggle to get up to your point. 

you were sort of scared the tree wasn’t going to support both your weights, at the way it was trembling slightly. niki makes it though, by the time the sun is well down. 

you can see him sweating heavily and your nose scrunches in amusement,“easy, huh?”

“yeah, for you just standing there and watching me. we don’t have all day, grandma.”

“don’t call me that,” you mutter while stretching out towards your window.

niki’s eyes widen. 

“be careful, y/n.” 

“i got it,” you stretch out a leg to the ledge and your sweaty hands begin to slide from the bark, most likely from exertion. 

without even thinking about it, niki places his hands around your waist to stabilize you. you don’t notice in your concentration to not fall to your death. you certainly didn’t want another dead you. 

your foot clicks the lock, and with a grunt you’re able to push the window open. 

“you got it?” 

“yeah,” you breathe out, clumsily making your way in. you reach out a hand for niki and he takes it, maneuvering his long body in through the small window. 

finally, you can breathe. 

it’s the first time you have the luxury to desperately wish that you were home right now. your real home. you certainly didn’t mean this home, the empty and cold looking one locked up for the police’s investigation. 

after catching your breath, you get up to examine your surroundings. you weren’t not sure what you were expecting. this was the other you’s room. 

all you can think is, at least this y/n was much cleaner than you. 

a part of you feels like you’re invading someone’s privacy. but then you realize that it’s literally your own privacy that you’re invading, with the addition of niki. you actually can’t believe the absurdity of the situation. 

at first glance the room looks pretty normal, an average teenagers room.  not what you expected for yourself, but there’s not much you can see. you turn to niki,

“there’s no shot we’ll get caught right?”

he gives you another sympathetic look, “we’ll keep a look out for the police, but i heard your parents were busy with your other family and funeral preparations, so it wouldn’t be them catching us.”

“oh.”

the air feels so glum, you clear your throat to move on. “guess we should look around?”

he nods and begins to snoop around.  

“wait,” you call out hesitantly. 

niki cocks his head and you cough awkwardly.

“it’s still my room, so like, be careful with what you look through.” 

he rolls his eyes. “yeah. i got it.” 

you gaze at the photos on your shelf, displaying your happy family and friends. it just made you acknowledge how precious they were. it made you miss your friends and family at home even more.  

you’re appalled at the books you read. you shake your head, seriously? you take out one of the books-

“ten days to love,” you voice aloud with disgust written across your face. 

you weren’t one to judge, but what kind of cheesy romance novels were you reading?  

niki opens your closet and you turn at the sound. your eyes widen- 

wait a second, 

your closet with clothes? possibly including…. more personal things? 

you dash over in desperation, praying that niki hasn’t already seen something that he shouldn’t. 

“don’t!” 

his wide eyes meet your panicked ones, shocked at the sudden change of events. he doesn’t move until you push past him, blocking the door from his view. 

“you didn’t see anything, right?” you stare at niki desperately and he furrows his eyebrows. 

“no? am i not supposed-“

“no reason. just being cautious. we can, uh, open it together.”

you carefully examine your belongings inside before deeming it safe for niki’s eyes. you let out a sigh of relief.

he gives you a weird look and you shoot him an exaggerated smile. 

“you can proceed!” 

he mutters something under his breath as you continue your search on the other side of the room. it didn’t seem like there was anything of importance on the shelves. but, after careful examination, you see a glimpse of something. pushing past some folders, your face morphs into a stunned one. 

you pull out… 

a pink teddy bear with hearts? why would this be in your room? 

and even more so, why was it hidden? 

niki calls out your name and you turn around. your mouth drops open. 

“a box of chocolates?“ 

he scoffs, “yeah. stuffed behind some clothes in your closet for some reason.”

“it’s not even the good brand,” you mutter. 

niki laughs, “maybe you had secret admirers from school?” suddenly, you give him a suspicious glance. 

“what makes you say that? you sure you weren’t one of them?” 

he side eyes you, “trust me, you wouldn’t catch me within five feet of you at school.”

you walk over to shove his arm and he only laughs harder. you huff, suppressing a smile on your face as you turn away. but you keep niki’s comment in the back of your mind. 

after a solid thirty minutes, you can feel your resolve waning. there was no sign indicating that you felt suicidal. at least, none that you found after the police probably scrounged through everything. some stuff was suspicious— 

like the teddy bear and chocolates. and some lavish perfume and makeup in the drawers. that just wasn’t your style. but you supposed this world’s you was just different. 

just because you weren’t particularly into those things didn’t mean another you couldn’t be. 

��did i have a diary? what about my phone?”

niki frowns, “the police would’ve taken it. it’s their evidence now.” 

you suddenly get an idea, and it’s probably wasn’t a good one. 

“hey, niki?” you call out. he hums in response.  

“what day and time is it, currently?” 

“uh…” he checks his watch, “sunday. 8pm. why?”

“when does the police station close?”

dummy, most people would say--why would the police station be closed?

luck seemed to be on your side, because you knew especially well from complaints by locals, that your local police station did actually have a curfew. and you could only hope it was the same here.  

niki scratches his head, “in ten minutes? why are-“

his mouth drops open, “no. no. no.” you shrug and he shakes his head adamantly, “y/n, there’s no way that we’re going to sneak in.”

you dust off your hands, “i’m all ears for any other ideas you have.”

you have him at that and he falls silent. after a couple moments, he speaks up albeit hesitantly. “well… i might have a way.“

you grin. “onwards, then.”

“wait, so how did you manage to get access again?”

he coughs, “my friend jungwon is the son of the police deputy chief… so i may have called in for a favor.”

“he managed to sneak in with his dad’s keys and get the files to my case?” you finish.

he nods. 

“illegally?”

he nods again.

you tap your chin, “would we get arrested if we got caught?” 

he shrugs, “probably.”

“good thing i’m not from this world.”

perhaps secretly hanging outside this jungwon’s house was not the best idea, either. he rolls his eyes before offering the file to you.

“do you want to open it?” to your surprise, his voice comes out quite comforting and soft. 

you gulp, “i guess i should.”

you feel sick for the second time that day. luckily, the photo didn’t show too much. not that it made it any better. it was still you, dead. 

you had to look at yourself and imagine yourself in that situation. you cover your mouth and niki immediately takes the file away from you. he watches worriedly as you shake your head.

“i’m fine. i-is there anything else your friend managed to get?”

“are you sure?”

“yes.” he doesn’t protest anymore at the tone of finality in your voice. 

niki pulls out a bag with your name on it. taking a deep breath in, you open it. you shuffle through some things hurriedly until niki speaks up.

“hold on a sec,” he softly places a hand on your arm to stop your actions.

“we should be careful. someone could notice that we tampered with the evidence so we need to be very careful when putting things back. plus, we have to give it back to him as soon as possible—we don’t want them noticing that your stuff is missing.”

you curse, “that’s right. we can’t risk taking anything.” 

“then what?” 

you pinch your nose bridge, “we snap pictures and hope it’s good enough. unless we want to take another field trip here.” 

you manage to snap a few pictures and go through a few things. you catch a glimpse of your diary and flip to the most recent page. it was about a week and a half ago, and-

it wasn’t finished. you skim through it, reading boring stuff about how your day was and how you met-

you squint.

the rest of the words were scratched out, harshly, with a black marker. seeing how it was getting late and dark, you can’t make out who’s name it was even with your phone flashlight. you wonder, could it be-

your thoughts are interrupted by niki. 

“y/n, i think we need to hurry and head home soon. the longer we stay out, the greater risk we’re at for getting caught. oh, and i found your phone.”

he holds it up and the extremely glittery case makes your eyes hurt. you eye it. heaving a deep breath, you prepare yourself to open your phone. 

but when you click the power button and nothing happens, you groan. you try again, and again, holding it down for seconds but the screen remains black.

“the phone’s dead.” you sigh again and niki bites his lip.

“maybe we should give up. we can ask jungwon another time,” he suggests

you nod wearily and he closes the box. as he gathers everything, opening his phone to text his friend to come back out, you glance at the time. it was quite late for a school day. 

“that’s right, you have school tomorrow?”

he groans, “yeah. i guess you’ll just have to stay home in my room. no one will go in while i’m at school, so you don’t have to worry.”

you nod, “okay.”

it felt weird knowing you were supposed to be at home, in bed and preparing to go to school yourself the next day. instead, you were stuck in another world—in a stranger’s room, forced to hide since you were supposed to be dead. 

were you considered missed at home? did anyone notice? call the cops? 

more like, if anyone cared? 

while you get ready for bed in niki’s bathroom, you stare at yourself in the mirror. 

yes, you affirm, you’re alive. 

you’re staring back at yourself, dressed in one of niki’s oversized shirts and basketball shorts. 

but the image of your dead face flashes in your mind and you immediately squeeze your eyes shut. you breathe heavily, hands planted on the sides of the sink. 

everything’s fine. you will get back home. things will figure themselves out. you’re okay. you’re breathing and-

a knock on the door makes you jump.

“y/n? everything okay?” niki’s voice sounds out hesitantly, “it seemed like you were taking a while so-“

the door swings open.

you stand there, face emotionless. he doesn’t say anything, and neither do you. niki tries to keep the image of you wearing his clothes out of his head, but it won’t seem to go away.

“goodnight, niki.” 

you slowly walk over to the temporary bed he’s set up on the floor for you. he blinks, 

“night, y/n.” 

it’s surprisingly comfortable, or maybe you’re just so exhausted you don’t seem to care or question anything anymore. 

you hear light footsteps padding to turn off the lights. 

in the darkness, your eyes close. but your mind is awake.

you know his is too, judging by the sounds of quite shuffling every couple minutes or so.

“niki?” you say quietly.

another shuffle. 

“yeah?”

“this may sound weird, but have you noticed anyone that looked particularly sad?”

there’s a pause. 

“about you?”

“yeah, but not like the typical sadness. like, anyone who seems to have changed drastically after hearing about me? let’s say,” you swallow, “any guys or friends of yours who seemed particularly upset or affected?”

niki rolls to the other side of his bed so that he faces you, but in the darkness he can only see the outline of your figure. “y/n, what are you trying to say?”

you tug the covers over yourself a little tighter. 

“nevermind, niki. have a good day at school tomorrow, and don’t worry about waking me up. you won’t be able to.”

“wasn’t planning on it,” he snorts. 

you fall asleep with a faint smile still lingering on your face. 

the next day at school, niki struggles. he struggles when it’s supposed to be another normal day, and all he can think about is you. 

especially about what you said.

niki never paid much attention before to his surroundings, there was no reason to. but now he keeps an eye open.

he eyed anyone who passed by your locker, empty desk in class, anyone who mentioned your name. but the fact that you mentioned guys specifically, made him confused. 

why did it matter if a guy was upset? a lot of people were shocked and sad at the news. niki shook his head. he didn’t get it. 

meanwhile, you stayed at his home.

thinking. 

thinking about yesterday. somehow everything that happened was all just yesterday. you took the train and ended up here. then you found out you were apparently dead. 

you spent what felt like hours scrolling through the photos you took and waiting for niki to come home. all while eating snacks that niki left for you graciously. 

you don’t even know what time it is when you hear the door begin to open. you scramble to your feet before realizing that there was a chance it wasn’t niki. 

you go back to your hiding spot, shrinking underneath the covers. next thing you know, the bedroom door flings open. you tense.

however, a call of your name allows you to let out a sigh of relief. you hop up, “niki!”

he grins, looking rather cute in his ruffled school uniform, backpack slung off one shoulder. you stop yourself, horrified at your thought. at your face falling, he cocks his head. “what’s wrong?”

you laugh awkwardly, “nothing! nothing at all!” 

he gives you an unconvinced look but doesn’t press further. 

“you must’ve been bored without me.” 

that was the niki you’ve come to know (in the span of a day or so).  sarcasm drips from your lips as you laugh dryly, “sure.” 

but you knew he was right and he knew it too. 

“i spent the day looking through the pictures, but i couldn’t find much else,” you frown. 

“same here. today was pretty normal, no one seemed any different than usual…” 

“i mean, the mood has been somber ever since you,” he pauses, “left. but nothing out of the ordinary.” 

you seemingly deflate, but niki perks up. “i talked to jungwon and he said he’s going to try and get your phone next time. we can only hope that someone charges it or that we can charge it ourselves.” 

you nod, “that’s good.” 

“but, don’t you have work to do? what about your family?”

you realized you didn’t see or even hear of them yesterday. 

“oh, they usually stay late at the dance academy��me included. but my grades haven’t been good recently, so they’ve been forcing me to go to home and study…”

you tsk as niki gives you a sheepish look. 

“you know, while we’re waiting, i’m not too bad at studying myself. what do you need help with?” 

niki rolls his eyes, “thanks, but no thanks. i don’t need another person on my back about my grades.” 

instead, he falls back onto his bed with an oof. 

“don’t worry, i’ll manage. let’s just talk about our next step. 

“step? as in, my case?

“yeah,“ his eyes glint, “i have an idea.”

you were starting to believe he was getting more invested in this than you were. 

“okay—shoot.”

what was the worse thing he could suggest?

“we should sneak you into school-“

your eyes practically bulge as you gape at him. “excuse me? weren’t you the one saying i was going too far with sneaking into my own house and you want me to do what?” 

niki gets up, placing his arms on your shoulders to calm you. strangely enough, it did. 

“hear me out first—we sneak into school at night, bust open your locker, and see what you have. that’s better than waiting for jungwon.”

“don’t you think the police would have already looked through my locker? 

“well, he looks around nervously, “as far as i’ve heard, the police were already mostly convinced the case was closed and didn’t care to check. but, what can i say? rumors are just rumors.” 

you purse your lips. what did you have to lose? being in a different world made you much more reckless than you would have ever thought. but that didn’t mean you were going to be stupid about it.

“fine.” 

niki winces at your tone, but you speak up,

“how in this stupid multiverse crap am i going to break into my own locker? and with cameras all around school?

he smirks and you raise an eyebrow.

“i didn’t miss a whole chem lecture for nothing—“ 

confused, you give him a look as if to say, what in the world are you talking about? 

“who said we had to know the combination?” he takes out a pair of keys form his pocket. 

you gasp in awe, clasping a hand over your mouth.

you gaze at him with wide eyes for a second, causing him to look at you questioningly. 

“you’re actually being smart...” 

his confused expression immediately changes to one of irritation. 

you stand up straight again, “how did you even get those keys? and what about the cameras?” 

he winks and you glance at him, trying to remain expressionless. if there was anything you noticed, it was that niki was actually quite attractive. it made you wonder if he was popular at school…

“it’s a secret. don’t worry about it.” 

“you sure have a lot of secrets, niki. like, is niki even your real name?” you squint accusingly. 

niki chokes on his spit, “how in the world did you know?” 

you falter. “huh? it isn’t?” 

he clears his throat, “anyway, i have to get up early for school tomorrow.” 

you eye him but decide to let it go. niki shrugs, “usually i’m up playing games, but you look like you need the sleep with those eye bags. you aren’t surprised.

“tomorrow night,” he says shortly after. “i’ve got a plan—you just have to trust me.”

turns out said plan was dumb, but you really had no other choice. 

niki made some lame excuse to his teachers about staying late to study- and his teachers, being utterly shocked that he offered to study, immediately agreed to let him linger. 

meanwhile, niki would sneak you in, wearing one of his old uniforms that was too small for him so that just in case, no one would question anything. along with one of his totally inconspicuous baseball caps to hide your face and hair. 

you sigh, you couldn't believe you were sneaking into school through the boys bathroom. you groan while maneuvering through the window. niki shushes you, causing you to stick your tongue out at him. he raises his hands playfully and you resist the urge to smack him. 

on your way to jump down from the window, your left foot gets caught on the ledge. you stumble forward, expecting to be met with the revolting bathroom floor face first. instead, perhaps now was the time to thank the universe (in this case, his universe?) for niki’s quick reflexes.

he inhales, catching you by catching and pulling you towards him instead of the ground, essentially into his arms. 

instead of faceplanting into the ground rather foolishly, you fall into his strangely soft and warm chest. you let out a barely discernible squeak, unable to respond due to the pounding of your heart. 

after a couple of seconds—that felt like forever— niki lets you go with a shake of his head. 

“my god y/n, i had no clue you were this clumsy. please don’t ever do that again.” 

please don’t ever make me sneak into a nasty teenage bathroom again, you wish you could retort. 

you shake your head quickly, lips pressed thinly together. don’t get distracted, you remind yourself.  “yeah-thanks. let’s uh, just hurry.“

you don’t have time to wonder what would the consequences be if you got caught by cameras or anyone else while niki leads you down the familiar hallways. 

“how do you know which one’s my locker? i thought you said we didn’t really know each other?“ you eye him suspiciously.

he scoffs, “don’t get too excited. mine’s just a couple lockers down so i was bound to see you at your locker by some point.” 

he hands you the keys and you gratefully accept—your hands slightly trembling. you didn’t know what to expect. 

niki watches from behind, and you can feel his warm breath on you occasionally, causing you to shiver.

with a slight click and creak of the rusty locker door, the locker opens. you hold your breath at first glance. it’s…. normal? 

normal as in any average high schoolers locker one would expect. what catches your eye first are a couple of photos of you and your friends. 

on deeper inspection of yourself (it was still weird to imagine and even weirder to see) you see a twinkling, intricate chain around your neck. maybe you were tripping (again, but mentally this time) or that necklace you had on seems really expensive? 

“there’s no way,” you suddenly gasp and turn to niki with wide eyes. 

“what?” niki starts to panic, “what is it?” 

“am i actually loaded in this world?” 

niki pinches the bridge of his nose as he shakes his head. “jesus, you scared me. i mean, you didn’t seem like it.. who knows where you got that super expensive, luxury brand necklace? it looks familiar…“ 

you try your hardest not to roll your eyes. of course, niki would know. 

“how much are you talking?” 

he taps his foot on the floor, “well, my mom and sister likes that brand. that specific necklace is specially made since it’s a seasonal limited edition, so it’s somewhere in the thousands-“

you truly forgot how rich niki’s family was, you think with a half joking tch and a shake of your head. niki glances at you, impressed. 

“-whoever gave that to you must’ve really cared.” 

you frown, “sure… or maybe i just really worked hard to get it for myself?” 

he’s shoots you an amused look, “you wanted to get yourself the valentine day’s collection necklace? 

“what?” 

you feel your heart rate begin to pick up, “are you implying what i think you are? 

“yes?” he responds with a raised eyebrow, “someone must’ve been really in love with you to gift you that. maybe your parents or friends?” 

then niki pokes your side playfully, “-or a secret admirer?” 

you don’t answer his question, regardless of if he was being serious or not. you peer into the locker again, “but where is it? it’s so valuable i’m certain we would’ve seen it in the police’s evidence…” 

suddenly, niki grabs your wrist. that’s when you hear the footsteps. you turn to him with wide eyes as he mouths for you to hide.  panicking, you look around in desperation before he pushes you—

straight into the locker. 

your own locker. 

you know you should be freaking out over getting caught, but you could only wonder—could this be considered a crime? 

in the dark, stuffy locker, you see a glimpse of niki’s silhouette run past through the tiny openings of the door. just barely a second later, you hear more footsteps. squinting, you able to discern a familiar, yet weirdly unfamiliar guy. your eyebrows raise. 

no way. park sunghoon was in this world too? 

you hold your breath when you hear him call out, “is someone there?” 

really, curse niki for shoving you in your own locker. yet it was also a smart move as no one could see into your locker, but you were able to see out. 

“sorry. that was me, pres.” 

it was niki’s voice. 

you can barely see his relaxed demeanor appearing to face sunghoon. 

“i was staying back to study and catch up on work—you know already,” he adds hastily. 

sunghoon nods coolly, “i was just checking. making sure everything’s good before leaving.” 

niki was a little too good at acting, you questioned how often he had done this to those around him. he fake salutes, “i promise to clean up after i’m done. no need to worry, class president.” 

“alright, see you later.” 

you have a sigh of relief as sunghoon turns to leave. 

but you swear, for a split second, his expression changes as his eyes fall on your locker. 

your heart rate picks up. did he notice you? 

however, sunghoon leaves without a second look back. 

you frown—what was that? 

after waiting a minute to be safe, niki quickly lets you out. only to be greeted by your displeased face and crossed arms. 

“that was the only thing i could think of in the moment!” he immediately defends himself. 

“seriously? i could’ve-like-“ you trail off and niki smirks.

“see? nothing bad would’ve happened.”

“doesn’t change the fact you stuffed me in my locker. it’s not even mine, for crying out loud.” 

“whatever. just be glad you didn’t get caught by park sunghoon, our school’s super rich, smart, and handsome-“

“i know him from my world. he’s irrelevant, let’s continue on.” you wave him off. 

you can’t help but compare him to niki. niki was way more genuine and… boyish in a way? he felt real. you preferred that. not to mention he had a much more tolerable presence, you supposed. 

everything else in the locker was useless. random crappy notes, perfumes and hand lotions, along with the pictures you already inspected were the only things that decorated your locker. no sign of that ridiculously expensive necklace. 

you rub a hand over your face in exasperation. “that’s it…”

one thought still lingered in the back of your mind. where was the necklace? 

“hey, y/n, i think we should get going soon. the lights are going to turn off soon-they’re automatic and we didn’t bring any flashlights.” 

you sigh. next time. 

it feels like you’ve hit a dead end. by the end of the week, niki has caught up on his studies. you were surprised to find that he was quite dedicated to school, even if it didn’t seem like it. 

the days that niki came home with a pile of schoolwork and other duties, you went out to think—with one of niki’s hoodies and a mask on. but the times you spent with niki since you couldn’t go out much, mainly at night, were nice. 

tutoring him at subjects he was struggling in, learning new dances together (and learning how talented he really was), simply being around him was enough to distract you from your impending crisis. 

niki always came to keep you company and bring you food. you really were his eleven. 

niki was gaming while you sat off to the side, watching him play. you admired his side profile, the shine from the bright computer screen enhancing his features, the furrow of his eyebrow as he focused. 

he yells as his character dies and you can’t hold back your laughter, “you kinda suck-“

all of a sudden, you hear a knock on the door. 

“bro, you good? i swear i heard another voice-“

the door handle begins to turn.

you and niki share a look of panic. 

your first instinct is to dive and roll, underneath niki’s bed. you ignore the fact that it’s as dusty as you’d expect for a teenage boy’s room and hold your breath. 

“mom said dinner is ready. also, what’s with all the noise? it sounded like someone else was in the room with you.” a girls voice—niki’s older sister, you presume. 

“nope. just me.” 

you cringe at the fact that niki’s voice is octaves higher. it wouldn’t be that much of a problem if his voice wasn’t as deep as it normally was. 

“it was just probably the video i was playing.” 

“…sure,” you hear his sister’s footsteps as she leaves and shuts the door behind her. 

you let out an exhale of relief. 

“y/n?” you hear soon after. 

“under here.” 

you turn to see niki’s head peeking down underneath the bed. 

you meet his curious eyes. cute. 

“jeez.” he holds a hand out and you gladly accept it, letting him pull you up with ease. huffing, you dust yourself off. 

“jeez, indeed. who knows what horrors you’ve been hiding under there.”

“hey,” niki defends himself, “i’ll have you know i am a very clean person and don’t-“

“oh really? then what’s this?” you hold up the sacred item, jerking your hand back as he reaches out to snatch it. 

“hey! haven’t you ever heard of privacy?” 

he lunges again as you laugh, just keeping it out of his grasp. however, you feel the bed frame hit your legs, and you gasp. 

you fall back, niki over you on his bed. he must’ve underestimated his arm-span and overestimated yours. 

niki lands over you with a soft grunt, eyes wide. you peer up at him wordlessly. his arms catch him, but it’s still so close you can feel his hair tickle your forehead. 

is this what the movies mean when your heart… skips a beat? 

niki snaps out of his trance, “s-sorry,” he hastily gets up. you cough, trying to dispel the stuffy atmosphere. 

“so, uh, i had an idea.”

“yeah? what’s up?”

“i was thinking we look at the evidence again. i just want to double check something.”

“come on,” you take niki’s hand. it was habitual by this point. 

“you got the charger, right?”

niki nods, taking it out of his pocket. 

it was risky asking niki’s friend to retrieve the evidence for you again, but you needed to confirm your suspicions. or, hit a dead end. 

when niki returns, carefully holding a plastic bag (and dinner, your grumbling stomach reminds you), your eyes zero in on one thing. 

“thanks. i know it must be hard for your friend to sneak behind his dad’s back like that.” 

“it’s fine,” niki shrugs, “i promised to buy him lunch for the next week.” 

you snort as you take out “your” phone and plug it into the charger. 

“okay. now we wait.” 

niki looks at you expectantly, and you only stare at him back. subconsciously, a hand raises to your face. “is there something wrong?”

he shakes his head while looking away sheepishly, “nothing, nothing.”

you open your mouth to question him further, but the phone screen flashes. you scramble to open it. thankfully you were able to use your own face id. 

as soon as you scroll through your messages, your stomach sinks. you raise a hand to cover your mouth. 

“what?” niki jumps up, “what did you find?”

you open the photos app, which only confirms everything. you drop the phone, and that’s when niki sees it. 

“oh my god.” 

“don’t even-“

“i was secretly dating park sunghoon?!”

you cup a hand over your mouth. “i think i’m gonna be sick.” 

niki scoffs, taken aback. “b-but how? you- and him-?”

you rub a hand over your face. “don’t ask me. but the valentines gifts and necklace were so suspicious, i started wondering… i just didn’t expect it to be him.” 

niki notices the sour expression on your face. 

“oh. you don’t like him?”

you shake your head vehemently, “bro, not even if he and i were the last two people on earth.”

you think about your world’s sunghoon and almost shudder. he was selfish, arrogant, could but would never keep a girl for more than two weeks. yet the whole class still loved him and you never understood it, never understood the appeal of him. 

besides getting bro-zoned, niki relished your words. 

“good to know.” 

“i wish i didn’t,” you sigh.

but that was besides the point. you still didn’t know how it all added up. did sunghoon—unfortunately, your boyfriend in this world—have anything to do with your death? did he really get you that expensive necklace? 

and as much as you wanted to deny it, you couldn’t rule it out. thinking as rationally and fairly as possible, suicide was likely-as much as you didn’t believe it. you couldn’t rule it out simply based on a feeling. plus, his expression when he passed by your locker lingered in your mind. 

“so, now what?” niki watches you carefully. 

“you’ve heard of the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, right?”

“yeah,” he cocks an eyebrow, “why?”

“well, i’ve got a task for you.” 

niki has never spoken a word to your friend group in his entire life. the most he’s ever done was send a cold look their way and pretend not to know them out in public. 

he had nothing against them—nothing against your choice of friends—but he preferred not to associate with your group. he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he just didn’t vibe with them. 

and yet here he was, talking to your “friends” because you asked him to. he sighed, the things he did for you. 

danielle looks him up and down with her arms crossed. “why are you asking about y/n? since when did you care about them?”

“please,” he sighs in exasperation, “i just need to know if anyone disliked y/n or was acting suspicious around them.”

haerin steps up, an annoyed frown on her face. “there’s no one. can’t you tell this is a touchy subject for us? now, leave us alone.” 

she grabs danielle and walks off, angrily whispering into a distressed looking danielle’s ears. 

niki wants to punch someone. besides the fact that surrounding people were catching onto his conversation and whispering about the interaction, he essentially got nothing out of it. 

you were also at a dead end. after scrolling through hundreds of disgusting texts and photos of you and sunghoon, there was nothing remotely suspicious. plus, you had to give your phone back to jungwon soon before anyone noticed it was missing. 

everything seemed normal. everything was normal. normal until this world’s you suddenly died. 

the only lead you had was the missing necklace. and yet where were you supposed to find it? it could be anywhere—in the police’s hands, with sunghoon, most likely gone. 

you couldn’t even go out on your own, you felt like a hopeless rapunzel trapped in her tower, desperately wishing for answers and freedom. it was starting to get to you. the stress, homesickness, and most of all, loneliness. 

you throw your phone to the side and bury your face in your hands, trying your best to focus on your breathing. you almost don’t realize how long it’s been until you hear a faint call of your name. 

“y/n? y/n, what’s wrong?” niki drops his backpack and rushes to your side. 

his eyes carefully examine your body, checking for who knows what. you slowly lower your hands, revealing your bloodshot eyes and tear stained face. 

what scared niki the most was the lost look in your eyes, a deep and dark pool void of any emotion. 

“niki… i don’t think i can do this anymore,” your words float out carefully, like a whisper of the wind. 

“i’m trying my hardest, but it’s so frustrating. i miss my home, i miss my life. i miss myself.” as soon as the words leave your mouth, you feel yourself break down. and right as you do so, niki reaches forward to wrap you in an embrace. 

“i want to go home,” you whisper in an small voice. 

his heart almost breaks at the sight. you sounded like a little kid—you looked like you were a little kid again, as small and curled up you were when he found you. in his eyes, he saw a lost child looking for their parents, their guidance and their own light in the world. 

he resolves to never be the cause of your pain again. 

niki holds you for the entire night as you cry and drift off to sleep. 

you wake up with a headache and a dry throat. you feel hungover, although you’ve basically never drank alcohol before. 

somehow, you’re not sure exactly when, you ended up in niki’s bed. as soon as you’re able to sit up, your eyes fall on the clock on the bedside table. 

11 am. niki must be at school still, you note. 

you wonder what he’s up to, if he was being a good student while you were stuck all alone at his home, skipping your own school. you wonder what life is like back at home. did time even pass? 

niki heads home as soon as the bell rings. he wanted to see you, to comfort you and reassure you. he wanted you to be okay. 

when he knocks on his own bedroom door and there’s no response, he frowns. all there’s left is a pink sticky note on his desk. 

went out for fresh air. don’t worry and don’t look for me. 

niki immediately drops his stuff and runs out. he goes to the train station, the bookstore. he even goes back to school, for crying out loud. 

he’s breathless and exhausted by the time he’s arrived back home. niki knows his family won’t be back. it was competition season, which meant the busiest time of the year for the other dancers. you were the sole reason he attended school at this time of the year, studying hard instead of skipping and dancing 18 hours each day. 

he’s scared. 

niki hasn’t felt this feeling in a long time—he can only recall the time where he was six and went to disney world. his older sister was pressuring him into riding one of the larger roller coasters, and he felt that sickening nausea fill him as he looked up at the towering structure. 

he almost gives up. he basically has, until he notices something strange. his balcony door is unlocked, and he always kept it locked for safety purposes.

tense, niki reaches out and slowly turns the handle. what greets him is certainly not what he expected. 

you sit on the balcony railing, hanging over the edge quite precariously with your feet swinging. one slight mistake and you would fall. 

you stare down at the passing cars, cloudy and dreary skies showing you it was soon to rain.

niki stares at you, and you turn around at the sound of the door to stare back, not a single word exchanged. 

then you finally break the eye contact, glancing down at your stilled feet. “i wasn’t going to do it.” 

he silently moves closer, hopping next to you on the railing as well. “okay.” 

you don’t see the tender way his eyes travel over you. your voice is quiet as you speak up, “you don’t have to say anything.”

“okay,” niki repeats. 

it’s not said in a sarcastic way. it’s not sad, either. it’s just..... soft. soft and understanding enough to make a blanket of comfort fall around you, to make it known that niki’s presence is here by your side.

suddenly, the rains starts and niki asks if you want to go down. you slowly nod and he helps you safely off the railing before opening the door for you guys go out in the rain. 

the rain doesn’t stop. 

and niki doesn’t stop either. he grabs your hand, dragging you along with him haphazardly. 

“where are we going?” you ask breathlessly. 

“out. like most people our age. we’re still kids.” 

“wow, i had no idea,” you mutter sarcastically. 

he holds back a smile of relief. good to know you were still your usual self. 

“you need a break. you’ve been so caught up in this case, you need to rest.”

“but-“

“come on,” he leads you on, “relax. it’ll give you a clear mind, so we can come back with a fresh start.” 

you’re hesitant until he pulls up at an arcade. “what if someone sees me? what if they-“

niki places a finger over your lips, silencing you. “we’re here to have fun like everyone else and not give a crap about anything else. now, are you gonna play or are you gonna get your butt kicked by me?”

a challenge was a challenge. 

you laugh at niki’s rambunctious side, yelling as he tries to cheat during competitive games and fight over the better toy gun. 

“just so you know, i technically won.” 

you playfully shove him, “in your dreams. you’re just saying that because you don’t want to-“

you get cut off by the loudest (and most embarrassing) grumble of your stomach. you both look down at your stomach. you look back up, petrified. 

niki almost cackles, “i guess that’s a sign.”

“it’s not my fault i fell asleep before eating yesterday,” you pout. 

“what do you want to eat?”

“anything. i’m serious.” 

niki watches with a fond smile as you quite literally inhale your food. 

“eat any faster, and you’ll make a new record.”

you flip him off as he laughs, putting more food onto your plate from his. you can only watch wordlessly, feeling your heart warm. after you finish eating, niki takes your hand again. you glance at him questioningly. 

“there’s one last thing i wanted to do,” he mumbles while avoiding your gaze. 

“how’s this one?”

you scrunch your nose in distaste at the sight, reaching to place red devil horns on niki’s head.

“i think this one fits you more.”

as he grumbles, you laugh. 

“fine, but i get to choose yours.” 

he ends up picking a frog headband for you—which you complain to no avail. his reasoning was, “you remind me of a frog. like the princess and the frog.”

you splutter, “but that means-“

“yes. i’m the princess.”

“obviously,” he adds. 

in the photo booth, you sit awkwardly. niki cocks an eyebrow. 

“i’ve never done this before, so…"

instead of teasing you like you originally assumed, niki only brings you closer. he wraps an arm around you while posing for the camera. you’re frozen, even as the countdown starts. you can barely manage a smile as the camera flashes. 

“what now?”

niki glances at the screen, “we still have three more pictures. what poses do you want to do?”

you’re at a loss for words. 

niki leans closer again. he makes a half heart with his hand as he looks at you expectantly. “how about a heart pose?”

“o-okay.”

you never felt so suffocated in that photo booth. and yet, you’ve never laughed harder. you’ve never been so happy in your life with someone else.  

“hey, this photo came out good!”

“but what happened to the first one?”

you both lean in to get a closer look at the photos that printed, and you end up feeling niki’s breath on your cheek. 

it was warm. it was nice to have someone so close to you and still feel comfortable. it was nice to know you were close enough to someone to feel that way. 

it was something you had never felt before. 

“..-y/n?”

“huh?” you snap out of your trance.

“i said, you can keep this copy.” 

you look at the pictures and then at niki. “what? no, it’s fine-“

“i said keep it,” he forcefully shoves the photo into your hand as he quickly heads over to the cashier to pay. 

you stand there for a minute, looking at the photos. you guys looked happy. you guys looked good…together. like you were a real couple, or something. you internally chide yourself while taking off your headband. what a silly thought, you brush off. 

on the walk back home, you feel utterly satisfied, humming as you match your pace with niki’s.

“when we arrive, i’ll let you in through the back, just to be safe.”

“whatever you say, mr. responsible.” 

he ruffles your hair and you swat his hand away in annoyance.

that night was the first night you’ve felt content. almost like you could stay here—like you belonged. you stare up at the dark ceiling, reflecting on the days events. 

“niki?”

you hear his bed shift. “yeah?”

“i just wanted to say thanks. for everything. you’ve been providing everything for me, all while helping me on my case. i’m grateful for everything. i don’t know how, but i promise to pay you back one day.”

“what’s with the sudden sappiness?” his tone is teasing, but light. he clears his throat to add, “but yeah, of course.”

“i dunno, i guess i’m just not used to this type of treatment back home.”

“what? what do you mean?” 

even in the dark, you can feel inquisitive stare on you. 

“i mean, i’m usually left on my own since my parents are working. and my friends, well, they’re nice and all…”

“but you don’t feel a true connection?” he finishes, and you roll over.

“yeah. i don’t really know what my friends are like in this world. who even are my friends? do i even have any?”

niki grimaces. 

“uh, yeah. i don’t know if they exist in your world, but have you heard of danielle? and haerin?”

“nope. what are they like?” 

he shifts again, and the bed creaks. “you see, i don’t really talk to your friend group. it’s nothing personal, i just don’t want to associate with them.”

“dang, maybe it really is just a me problem, in every life too.” 

you hadn’t thought about hanni and hyein since you got here. but danielle and haerin were two new leads. a new start, perhaps. 

now that you had more information from niki, you started your research again. specifically, insta-stalking. 

your specialty. 

niki hands you his phone with a suspicious look when you casually ask for it. you pray he doesn’t hear the sound of blood rushing in your ears or the pounding of your heart. 

as he goes to do his night time routine, you quickly tap on the instagram app and search up danielle’s name. it doesn’t take long for you to find her account since niki followed her. checking to make sure he didn’t come out of the bathroom, you scroll through her feed. 

and your heart stops when you see it. in the corner of a photo—a picture of her and haerin posing at school in front of their lockers. 

that’s your ridiculously expensive bracelet on danielle’s arm. you’re sure of it. 

you felt yourself grow nauseous as you quickly turn off niki’s phone as soon as you hear the door turn. 

“hey, are you okay? you look like you just saw a ghost..”

you blink and smile, peeking at him innocently, although the dread grows in the pit of your stomach. “huh? no. what are you talking about?”

“what were you doing on my phone?”

you look away sheepishly, “trying to see if i could call my mom?” maybe niki’s acting skills were rubbing off on you. 

“oh, and?” 

you shake your head, a fake grim expression plastered on your face. 

that night, you lay awake staring into the darkness. when you hear niki’s soft snores, you sneak over to his bedside table to retrieve the key. you know you shouldn’t, but you felt this was something you needed to do alone. 

you feel like you’re on the edge of the cliff, about to jump into the water. the adrenaline filled you, you were right there-

it was so close.

the next day, you have to pretend everything is okay. you smile when niki greets you good morning, even peck him on the cheek when he tells you he has to stop by the dance studio for the night. 

he visibly blushes, stuttering on his words, “w-uh, w-what was that.. for..?”

you shrug, “i’m just proud of you for getting your grades up. it’s your first time back dancing in a while so have fun, okay?” 

he nods, beaming as he squeezes your hand goodbye. as he leaves, your smile fades. it felt too normal. it felt too right to imagine having a life with niki, like this everyday.

and knowing what you knew now, it was wrong. it was wrong from the start, and yet you couldn't help yourself fall even deeper. you had to get back into the right mental state. you couldn't keep deluding yourself.

it was time to confront the truth.

you can’t believe you’re sneaking into through the school boy’s bathroom again. the locker key safely stored in your pocket, you find danielle’s locker. the same one from the photo she posted. 

this had to be the one. you can only hold your breath and hope as you unlock it. 

you quickly scramble through all the stuff, looking for the shiny bracelet. you don’t find it, but when you go to close the locker door in defeat, a crumpled up piece of paper falls onto the floor. 

you huff, taking it and opening it up. it’s a picture of sunghoon, you, and danielle, all smiling as you three posed for the camera. but it wasn’t just an ordinary picture—there was a big, red “X” scribbled over your face, with the words “finally done” written next to it. 

and hearts next to sunghoon’s face. 

horrified, you clap a hand over your mouth. 

during a break at the dance studio, niki doesn’t expect to open his instagram app and see danielle’s instagram show up on his recently searched. frowning, he taps on the account. he never cared to pay attention to danielle, so why was her account the last thing searched up? 

just out of curiosity, he scrolls through her recent posts. 

and then he sees it. something that is so hard to miss. it’s so strikingly familiar. 

he rushes home. when niki bursts through the front door, he doesn’t expect to find you missing. and when niki notices his old school uniform and cap gone, his heart drops. 

you sit on the floor next to the lockers  with your head buried on top of your knees. you’re sure you could get caught, but you don’t care. 

the crumpled picture feels heavy in your pocket. 

you stay there, staring at the walls until you see the moon shining brightly outside one of the windows. you haven’t eaten or drank anything the whole day. you’re not sure how long it’s been. 

“y/n!” 

great, now you were hearing things as well? 

furious footsteps stomp towards you.

“why did you leave without telling me? you could’ve gotten caught-it could’ve been dangerous?!”

“n-niki?” your eyes widen. 

before saying anything else, he pulls you up to your feet. 

“why would you come to school without me?”

for some reason, his words sting. you cross your arms, “what? like i can’t take care of myself?” 

he groans, “that’s besides the point! if someone saw you—“

“i don’t care! so why do you care so—“

a sound from down the hall cuts you both off. you turn to niki in panic and he curses. “the custodian comes on weekends to clean.”

you hold back a yelp as niki grabs your wrist and pulls you along in the opposite direction. 

he pushes through a door and turns to the left. you don’t stop until you’re inside the.. natatorium? 

“why are we-“

“there are no cameras here, unlike in the school building. i thought you would’ve known that.”

after he speaks, there’s an awkward silence. 

niki sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “well, are you gonna tell me?”

you feel the frustration flow through your veins, “and what about you? you tell me why i have to let you know my every location? why i feel like i can’t take care of myself, l-like a sick, old dog who can’t go anywhere or do anything? i’m sick of it all!” 

“you don’t understand,” his voice raises,  and you interrupt him, getting closer and closer to him. 

“you’re right, i don’t. i don’t understand why you helped me in the first place. you say that you barely knew who i was, yet here you are acting like you care! like you cared about the dead me!”

at this point, his face is so close to yours, you can feel your breaths mix as neither of you back down. 

“i do care! of course i care! about you, standing right in front of me!” he clenches his fists. your eyes linger on a single vein on his neck that sticks out due to the intensity. the fire burning in his eyes, your trembling voices, it all makes you falter. 

you don’t know what you asked. you know the truth. niki always cared—more than cared. he always went out of his way to search for you, like the day on the balcony and today. he wanted to find you, he wanted to have you in his life, 

you realize it now. to put simply, he wanted you. 

and this was the first time you felt wanted. 

you don’t know what else to do, so you lean in and close the gap to kiss him. and if anything, niki immediately pulls you closer to him. 

when you break apart for air, his dark eyes still staring deep into yours, you think he’s gonna lean back in again. but you hear a faint voice sound, growing louder. your eyes both widen. the janitor.

without a second thought, niki pushes you. 

he does it lightly, although it’s still enough to make you lose your balance, and for a second you stare back at him, betrayal evident before you fall backwards—

straight into the pool. 

your eyes just barely peek open in the water, and then there’s a splash accompanying yours a few seconds later. 

he easily swims to you, cupping your cheeks and bringing your lips to his once more. it was a much different experience from just a few seconds ago. 

you stay entwined like that together, eyes squeezed shut, until you actually can’t breathe anymore and you have to smack niki’s arm. you both rise to the top, heaving water and air. 

after a few seconds of coughing and gathering your bearings, niki’s raspy voice fills the air. 

“at least he’s gone. i’ve always wanted to do that.”

you roll your eyes, splashing water back at him in revenge for pushing you earlier. “seriously? after we got almost got caught? we could’ve drowned!”  

you splash him again, “also, you could’ve given me a heads up!”

he grins, wiping the running water free from his face. “and where’s the fun in that?”

you shake your head in amazement, “you’re actually an idiot. i can’t believe you, niki.” 

“an idiot who saved us from getting caught.”

after returning home together, you sit and enjoy the peaceful silence as niki dries your hair. your mind can’t help but replay the last few moments, from finding the picture at school to kissing niki, and then finally get pushed into the pool. specifically, the kissing part. 

growing sleepy at the soft and warm feeling of niki’s hands running through your hair, you almost don’t hear him when he says, “all done.”

you thank him and he looks around awkwardly. 

“what is it?” you squint at him. 

“well, i wanted to apologize. i didn’t mean to make to feel that way. i was just really worried about you, and i felt hurt you didn’t tell me why you snuck into school again today. did you not trust me? did i do something wrong?”

you soften, eyes falling to the floor. 

“i’m so sorry, niki. i didn’t mean to lash out on you. of course i trust you, i just wanted to do something for myself for once. without needing your or anyone else’s help.” 

you exhale, “the reason i left today was for this—“ you take the damp, crumpled picture and unfold it as best as you can. 

niki’s hands fall to his side. “oh god.”

“it was danielle. she took my bracelet and i-i think she wanted my boyfriend. i know it has to be her.”

“w-what? but how?”

you shake your head. he goes to hug you. 

you feel tears brimming at the corner of your eyes, but you won’t waste any tears on her. you pull back to look at niki, with a determined expression on your face. 

“you have to catch her and make sure they get what they deserve.” 

niki stares at you deeply, “are you sure? because if you are, i won’t stop.”

he wonders why you say you and not we.

at that, you falter. 

“no. i never be sure because she is—was my best friend and i will always hold that guilt in me. but you have to do something about it.” 

niki’s hold around you tightens, “and what about you?”

you smile, albeit sadly. “you know i can’t stay here, hiding away forever. i don’t belong here. i already existed in your world, and at some point, i have to leave soon. i can feel it.” 

it was the same feeling as when you first came here. that day you felt off. the feeling that you don’t belong anywhere, but this time, you feel fulfilled. complete. like you were ready to go back home. 

“it’s not something i can explain, but i know it,” you look at him with determined eyes. 

and he looks back at you with pained ones. 

niki is able to convince jungwon to get his dad to reinvestigate the case again. the picture is given up as evidence, and danielle and haerin are taken in. 

the day they confessed out of guilt, you and niki celebrate by sneaking onto your school’s rooftop. the same place where it all started.

it’s a cold and windy night, but you could care less about getting sick. because it was your last day anyway. 

you didn’t tell niki, but you had a good feeling—like the world was patting you on the back and saying, “you worked hard.” 

the two of you watch the stars, snuggled up and reflecting on how your lives came to be like this. wondering how far away apart your worlds were. 

you kiss niki’s cheek, wishing to remember the feeling of being in his arms forever. his scent, his touch, his warmth, you wish you could keep all of it. you smile at him, willing back the tears. 

“there was a reason i bumped into you that day, of all people. there was a reason you came into my life, and i came into yours, niki.” 

he bites his lip, “y/n... you changed my life. every day with you was better than the last.” 

if this was a dream, you wouldn’t want to wake up. you trace his face, so it will remain ingrained in your mind forever, even when you go back to your world. 

“what will happen when i leave?” you whisper. 

“how will you even get back home?”

you shrug, “i don’t know how, but i know that i will.”

niki laughs, “that’s the y/n i know.”

as he kisses you once more, a star falls across the sky. 

the next day, you find a ticket in your bag. a train ticket. 

you don’t recall having bought one, and you don’t question niki. you only ask him to take you to the train station.

while walking hand and hand, you reminisce on the past month or so. “will we still remember this once you go back to your world?”

your body trembles, “i don’t know.”

“then… will i ever see you again?”

you don’t want to meet his eyes, because you know you’ll cry. 

yes, you want to say. instead, you say, “ i don’t know.”

niki wipes a stray tear on your face. you don’t even know how you reached your stop already. 

“this is it,” he says. 

but neither of you move. 

“don’t worry, even if i don’t remember you, you’ll always be in my heart. we’ll meet in your world,” he reminds you while the tears start falling down both of your faces. 

“don’t forget that there’s another me out there to annoy you. you just need to search hard.” 

you sniffle, playfully pushing him away as you furiously blink away the tears that blur your vision. you needed to soak up the sight of him as much of him as you could.

“i promise i’ll find you again.” 

he holds onto you until the very end, until you slip out of his grasp once more.

crossing the platform into the train while giving him one last, slow wave was painful. the last thing you can think of is the fact that you never knew. you never asked for niki’s full name. his real one. 

you never knew niki’s name.

and then everything fades into nothing. 

that’s the last time niki ever sees you. the train passes by in a flash, blowing his bangs across his face while he tries his best to keep that fake smile on his face for you—all for you before you go. 

then, you’re gone. 

in those seconds as the train passes, niki knows exactly why he did it. why he helped you through all of it, through everything together. 

all because you were there in class. you never looked at him, but he looked at you. he saw all of you, everyday—even if you didn’t know it. all your quirks and habits that he couldn’t help but find cute. you made his days interesting. 

but he was the coward for never approaching you. that was his fault because one day, you weren’t there anymore. 

and he had to pretend like nothing happened. on the outside, that’s how it was. even if he felt the slightest connection, tiniest pull towards you, you were still strangers. 

you were strangers until you knocked into him on the train platform. 

niki had to be selfish. he thinks it could have been fate that he saw you again, but now he’s just left with the lingering regret and feelings. those memories flash past like the train does. they come and go in the blink of an eye- a split second. 

when the train is gone, niki frowns and wonders why he’s standing there. 

he also wonders why it feels like there’s a piece of his heart missing. 

after that, he attends your funeral in his world. it was an open funeral to everyone who wanted to come- classmates, friends, and him. niki didn’t even know you that well, but he get this unexpalaniable urge that he should go- he needs to go. he brings flowers and gets to see you one last time. 

when niki sees the picture of your serene face, he can’t help but get this sense of peace, like everything’s resolved. 

and then he’s free.

epilogue...

you sigh, trudging along the walkway on the way to work. looking at your surroundings, you were getting major deja vu. but at this point, you were used to having episodes like that. 

there were many, many times where some things simply felt so familiar. but it was like your memory was wiped and you couldn’t remember why. some times you had flashes of an adventure, a feeling of mystery, a boy. 

ever since some day in high school, it just happened. and from then on, you’ve always felt like something was missing. or wrong. you can’t tell. it became a part of you, to the point where you almost forgot about it. that feeling of misbelonging, being just out of reach. it’s strange, like a weird occurrence that makes you want to open your third eye or whatever to find out more.

even after graduating, it never left you. 

you being so lost in your thoughts, fail to notice when you bump into someone coming off the train you were about to get onto. 

“i’m sorry,” you quickly apologize, but you soon falter when you meet eyes with sparkling brown ones. weirdly enough, they draw you in. 

they were familiar, you’ve certainly seen them somewhere. the moment lasts for a while, with the two of you standing still in the middle of the passway, staring at each other.  

you slowly smile, extending a hand. “i apologize if i’m mistaken, but have we met before?”

he stares at you too, confused yet enthralled. 

“i-i think you may be mistaken,” he starts hesitantly and you begin to apologize. 

“are you sure?“ you quickly introduce yourself, “and you?”

you swore you were not such a desperate person, but you couldn’t help it, not this time and definitely not in front of this particularly alluring guy.  

“me?”

he takes a quick glance at you before taking your hand with a small smile. 

“my name is nishimura riki.”

first i wanted to say thank you for reading! this was a rough time coming, and i wanted to apologize for the long wait. this has actually been a wip of mine for years and i finally was able to finish it with riki after months and months of writing. this past year has been the worst one so far, but i'm just grateful to still be here. just feeling super appreciative for those who stuck with me and waited patiently. thank you. can't wait to see you guys again soon with the next oneshot (hint hint)!

MAIN TAGLIST ▸ @precioussoulofmine @kynrki @heesterical @jungwonize @nvertheless @duolingofanaccount @hoeshii @love-4-keum @luvhyun3 @dimplewonie @yjjungwon @who-tf-soddhi @microwvdstrawb3rri3s @asteria-wood @noajakah236482 @enhacatalog @june-pop @ohsjy @ashtxrie

ONESHOT TAGLIST ▸ @geraldsmochi @tya0 @woncine @wonkivrse @zhounauts @ilovejaketoomuch @minjiversee @annoyingbitch83 @haerinsii @hohohobo @luvbinnies @boyfhee @kyutiepeachy

@tomomorin @kienhawon

@kflixnet

send in a message to be added to the taglist!

[haniette]

(in)visible.

pairing | yoon jeonghan x fem!reader

genre | fluff, angst, college au, hidden relationship au, non-idol au, comfort

word count | 7k

warnings | use of pet names (angel, baby, sweetheart), kissing, slight harrasment, mention of abusive behavior, alcohol consumption, jealousy, swearing, soft but also sometimes possesive jeonghan 😩 big angst bro-, THE SAINT LAURENT JEONGHAN???? (on my knees fr)

summary: he decided to give you time, to let you feel comfortable with him and everything else. but you don’t want and need it anymore. you want to be visible. you want the two of you to be visible to the others. that you’re his and he’s yours.

a/n: oh my god.. my writer's block really hit me hard like a truck 😭 i’m so sorry for not posting anything for past few months.. </3 however ! here’s the small gift for you guys <3 hope u enjoy !

(i have already planned new jeonghan fanfiction and i’m SO proud of myself, watch me get the writer’s block again and post it after months again LMAOO)

i got you, you got me,

when it's us, babe,

you make me feel complete.

you're all i need.

Does Yoon Jeonghan have a girlfriend?

That was the question which was asked probably the most past days on your campus.

You could hear it everywhere. People were gossiping about in the hallways, in the bathroom, in the cafteria and even during the lectures, trying to get to the truth.

Is he single or not?

This whole situation began when someone from the campus took a photo of him, hanging out with a girl and holding her hand with a big smile on his lips. The face of the mysterious girl wasn’t shown in the picture, which is why they were wondering who it might be and if she’s his girlfriend.

Jeonghan was a 3rd year student and as far as everyone had known, he was staying single for a long time already. But now, nothing was sure.

People had mixed opinions on it. Some were happy for him that he found somebody to love, some were just really confused while not wanting to believe it's true, and the last group was really negative about it (thinking they even had a chance with Jeonghan, pfft).

However, it was obvious that everyone wanted to know the truth.

Does Yoon Jeonghan have a girlfriend?

However, only two people knew the answer to it.

Yoon Jeonghan himself, and you.

Jeonghan came out from the lecture class with his black messenger bag overhanged across his chest while being deeply immersed in his phone, when Seungkwan, campus’ sweet boy, joined him by his side.

“Hello Jeonghan!” he started enthusiastically, “How’s your day? Are you okay?” the boy blinked a few times and sent him a cute smile, while taking a sip of his beloved iced americano.

Jeonghan frowned, looking at him quite suspiciously.

“Hi,” he mumbled, letting out a sheepish chuckle, “Yea, I’m fine. Just finished my schedule, and I’m a bit tired. And you?” Jeonghan asked, continuing the conversation as the two of them slowly walked towards the entrance of the campus.

“Uhh.. I still have one lecture left, so I need to stay.” Seungkwan pouted, making the other boy smile, “Are you meeting someone? Or going home by yourself?” the sunshine boy asked, making Jeonghan stop mid-step, crossing his arms over his chest.

He looked at the younger boy with an amused expression as he snickered, “Seungkwanie, come on. Don’t tell me you’re also into this whole gossip trend on our campus.”

“Oh, hyung! But is that true? Are you seriously in a relationship?” Seungkwan questioned, tilting his head to the side, while wishing to get the answer everyone wanted to know. “Please! I won’t tell anyone.” he pouted.

Jeonghan let out a quiet snort, while looking to the side as he was kind of getting tired after hearing another person ask him that question.

Why was everyone suddenly so curious about it?

“I’m sorry Kwannie, but I won't tell you. Nice try though.” Jeonghan muttered, fixing his bag on his side, “See you tomorrow.”

Then, he turned around and walked out, leaving the younger boy and all of the gossip behind him in that building.

December's cold, evening breeze hit Jeonghan’s face, finally letting him breathe out in relief. The boy placed the hood over his head, tugging his hands into the pockets of his big hoodie.

He did it. He survived another day without getting caught.

Gosh.. it was so hard for him not to react every time he passed next to you in the hallways. To not stare at your beautiful face for too long, to not send you a soft smile, to not yield his food to you at the cafeteria or just hold your hand. He wanted to do it so badly, and many times he caught himself almost doing it.

But at the same time, Jeonghan was aware that even the smallest thing that could have been taken as ‘more than close friends’, might have caused suspicions from your or his friends. Which you two wanted to avoid at all cost. At least for now.

Your relationship had to stay invisible to people around you.

Even though the boy didn’t like that idea at first, after some time you two agreed that for now you won’t show your relationship in public, especially in college.

Jeonghan decided to give you time to get comfortable as it was your first relationship after being in a really harmful and traumatic one in the senior class at highschool. Your ex was a very cute and nice guy at the beggining who later turned into being really abusive towards you, especially verbally. And when you revealed at the beggining, that you two are dating, a lot of people abandoned you, leaving you behind with the problem that after a while you were forced to deal with all alone.

That’s mostly why you weren’t sure if you wanted to reveal your new relationship. And it’s not that you didn’t trust Jeonghan, because you did. You trusted him as no one else. But because of your past, you were not certain if you could go through that all over again.

Jeonghan couldn’t wait to finally see you, after this long and tiring day. He really wanted to hug you close and tell you how good you looked today. Because he missed you. Your voice, your smile, your smell, your warmth and your touch. He missed every single thing about you, and he hasn't interacted with you for only around 6 hours (not counting all of the texts that the two of you shared today).

Rushing towards your apartment with a bag of takeout food that he bought on the way, Jeonghan was already thinking what you two could do tonight. But the truth was that even if you two laid in your bed, cuddling, he was okay with it. Because what mattered to him was spending his time with you. Not the activity you did.

Right after only one ring to the door, you opened it with a tired smile visible on your face. You were already dressed in your kuromi pyjamas (to which Jeonghan had a matching, ‘my melody’ one), wearing fluffy socks.

Your boyfriend giggled, excited about seeing you and finally having you for himself only.

“Hi.” he said gently, with a bright smile shining on his face.

“Hi.” you replied softly, while connecting your hand with his, taking him into your apartment, and closing your door right behind him.

“I brought food!~" the boy cheered, taking his shoes off by his heels. You couldn’t help but melt, and a bright smile appeared on your lips.

The boy swung the bag in the air with a big smile, and you approached him, slowly kissing his cheek while thanking him sincerely. Then, he quickly placed the bag on the floor and wrapped his hands around your waist, hugging you tightly to his body.

Jeonghan laid his forehead on your shoulder, “I’m tired.” he murmured, closing his eyes while sighing, “I need to recharge.”

A smile creeped onto your lips as you slowly started to play with Jeonghan’s hair, him still being close to you.

“Don’t worry, baby. We have time.” you smiled, caressing his head. You let him ‘recharge’ as the boy didn’t move away from you for even a second.

“You’re doing a great job, Hannie.” finally, you broke the silence, feeling how he snuggled closer into the crook of your neck. The scent of your body has always had a calming effect on Jeonghan, and it wasn’t different now.

“I can’t believe that acting like a stranger with my girlfriend might be that tiring.” he murmured into your skin, immediately catching you off guard.

Your face saddened in the split of the second, with the feeling of guilt starting to take over you.

“Hannie-”

“No, it’s okay.” the boy looked up at you, with his shining, full of understanding eyes, “We both agreed on it after all. And I want you to feel comfortable when you’re with me. So I won’t pressure you into doing things you’re not okay with.” he added, and gently cupped your face with his hands, admiring your features.

“I’m sorry..” you mumbled, feeling the lump in your throat, “I’m sorry that because of me you have to pretend something you don’t want to, but.. please, believe me that I’m really.. really trying to somehow overcome this-”

Jeonghan quickly placed his lips on top of yours, connecting you in a gentle kiss, while stopping you from speaking more. At first your whole body stiffened, not expecting this. But the feeling of Jeonghan’s soft lips on top of yours started to overwhelm you, making you crave for more of him.

However, before you could even react and reciprocate his sweet action, Jeonghan already moved away from you, sending you a reassuring smile.

“Let’s eat, darling. I’m sure you’re hungry.” the boy suggested, and took the bag from the floor, making his way to your kitchen.

“And then I need to put my baby to sleep.” Jeonghan giggled, to which you quickly responded with a scoff, “I’m not a baby anymore.” you muttered, but the smirk was still present on your lips.

You quickly followed right after him, sitting by the kitchen island as you silently watched him take out the containers with food.

But the slight feeling of guilt hasn’t left you at all, making you stay up at night, tossing around in the bed, overthinking everything, while being tightly hugged from the back by Jeonghan.

Should you finally become visible to people?

Or should you let things stay as they’re now?

“So..” Millie — your best friend, started and you looked at her suspiciously.

The two of you were coming back from the nearest coffee shop after buying a coffee to go for yourselves. This small break was good for you as you still had this one lecture to survive.

“So?”

“I met a guy.” she said while covering her face as she already knew how you’re going to react.

You let out a sigh, closing your eyes whilw tilting your head to the side. “Millie, I swear to god..”

“But listen!” she interrupted, “He’s actually really nice and he cares for the others a lot! He’s the greatest gentleman I know! And you won’t believe me, but he’s actually close friends with Yoon Jeonghan.” after hearing that name, your eyes immediately widened.

You choked on your drink, immediately starting to cough, “Ooh..” you started trying to stabilize your voice, “What’s his name?” you asked, quickly realizing that you sounded too interested about that.

Even though you remembered a few of Jeonghan’s friends as he was sometimes going out or just talking about them with you, you were really curious which one stole Millie’s heart.

She grabbed your hand and squeezed it tightly, “Hong Joshua! Can you believe he’s also half american half korean? Just like me!” the girl exclaimed while grinning.

“Yeah, I’m happy for you-” you mumbled while trying to get off her hand, that was slowly starting to make your palm feel numb.

“I think we can even go and meet him now! Joshie said he’ll wait for me by the entrance.” Millie giggled just at the thought of the boy, and already started walking faster, leaving you behind.

You looked at her with some pity written on your face as you shook your head and followed her steps.

A few minutes later, the two of you were already standing by the entrance, waiting for Joshua to join you. On the way, Millie already told you that you’ll have this lecture together.

“He texted me he’ll be here any second!” Millie cheered, showing you the text that he sent her a few seconds ago. And as Joshua said, several seconds later, you two noticed him going towards you. However, he wasn’t alone.

Yoon Jeonghan, who was smiling brightly while listening to Joshua, accompanied him. It made your breath immediately hitch in your lungs.

Oh shit. You haven’t thought about the fact that he might actually come right now with Joshua.

“Hi Joshie!” Millie shouted enthusiastically, waving to the boy to get his attention. As soon as Joshua noticed Millie, his face brightened up as his eyes turned into two small crescents and a cute smile adorned his lips.

But you had your eyes stuck on him. And so did he, with a slight smirk that creeped onto his lips.

“Hi y/n! Millie talked a lot about you, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Joshua greeted you, sending you one of his charming smiles to which you smiled back.

“This is my friend, Jeonghan.” he added, making you move your gaze at the mentioned boy, only to find him already staring at you.

There was a short silence before you decided to make the move.

“Hi.” you finally uttered, smiling gently.

“Hi.” Jeonghan replied, the same way as he had always greeted you.

It was your small tradition that only you two understood. Each of the smallest ‘hi’ you said, also meant ‘i missed you’ or ‘i love you’ at the same time.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you!” Millie said suddenly, making you twitch.

“Today, together with some other people from campus, we’re going to a barbeque restaurant! If you want to, you can join us. I think it’s going to be more fun and less uncomfortable if you’ll be there.” the girl remarked, and sent you a pleading look.

You looked at Jeonghan, searching for an answer on his face and he silently nodded, “Yeah, I can join you guys. And y/n too.” the boy answered, and shifted his eyes back to you.

“Perfect!” the girl cheered while hugging Joshua’s arm, “Then we see each other tonight at 6PM! I’ll send you the localisation later. But now let’s get going, the lecture is about to start!” she added, and then Millie pulled Joshua to the lecture hall, leaving you two behind.

“Are you okay?” Jeonghan asked, worried by the absent look in your eyes.

You smiled briefly, “Yeah.. I’m just a bit tired. I just need to survive this one last hour. But now let’s go, we don’t want them to get suspicious, do we?” sending a small wink to Jeonghan, you quickly followed your best friend’s steps to the hall, with Jeonghan going right behind you, not being able to hide the smirk on his lips.

When you sat down in the hall room, several students were already there. Millie sat next to Joshua, and Jeonghan decided that you'll sit in the row behind them.

As soon as the lecture started, you placed your arms on the desk and laid down. The feeling of tiredness after not getting enough sleep tonight was taking over you, making it really hard for you to survive this day.

However, it didn’t go unnoticed by Jeonghan that you looked exhausted. Gently, he removed your hair that got in the way, and stroked your back.

He leaned closer and whispered, “How about you rest a bit, hm? I’ll take the needed notes for us, so you don’t have to worry.”

You smiled gently, melting inside from the softness and care that the boy treated you with. Nodding softly, you whispered a small ‘thank you’ to Jeonghan.

Opening your eyes one last time, you saw Jeonghan’s focused face. He was playing with the pen in his hand as he always had to have something in his hand.

As you shifted your gaze to Millie, you immediately noticed that compared to your boyfriend, the girl wasn’t paying attention to the lecture at all. She probably wasn’t even planning on doing it, because Millie was busy studying the boy next to her. Smiling weakly at the mere sight, you closed your eyes, finally drifting off to sleep.

Little did you know, Jeonghan also decided to follow Millie’s steps after some time.

“Hi angel, are you ready?”

Jeonghan peeked into your room as you were finishing getting ready for the night out. You looked up at him in the mirror, and the boy smoothly came closer to you with a smirk playing on his lips. He bent down to be on your eye level, and looked at you from the back by the mirror. The scent of his freshly applied perfume and shower gel hit your nose, showing that he just finished getting ready.

You two came back from the college around two hours ago. At the end of the lecture, the boy patted your arm gently, whispering your name to wake you up. He caught himself smiling at the sight of your sleeping figure, but quickly scolded himself for it, remembering that he has to take notes and act completely unaffected by you.

Not going to lie, it quickly became a big challenge for him.

The boy was wearing a black silk shirt with a deep neckline, paired with black loose pants. His hair was freshly styled, with his bangs resting right over his eyes. He looked incredibly attractive at that moment, making you rethink about how it is even possible that a man and an angel like him is actually your boyfriend.

You, on the other hand, did natural make-up, and wore a black dress that hugged your body perfectly, reaching around your calves area, with a deep cut that reached right above your knee. Your hair was left loose, and with a delicate gold necklace that Jeonghan gifted you on your birthday, your whole look was finished.

It was indeed intentional to choose an outfit that would match Jeonghan’s, and vice versa (but not too obvious). However, the more you thought about it, the more you were starting to doubt if you should go with that dress. Of course you wanted to look elegant and step out of your comfort zone a bit, but you quickly started to think if it was really worth it.

And just as if your boyfriend heard your thoughts, he whispered into your ear, “You look beautiful, sweetheart.” Jeonghan left a sweet peck on your cheek, “You don’t have to feel unsafe or uncomfortable. I promise I’ll be there to protect you everytime, at any cost.” he added, solving all of the problems that you could have been thinking at that moment.

The boy moved away a bit, finally allowing you to let out the breath that you didn’t even realize you’ve been holding the whole time. The scent of him was always really strong and just being by his side, you thought that you might go insane by any second.

Soon later, the two of you finally left your apartment, and sat comfortably in Jeonghan’s car that he parked in front of your house. Your way to the restaurant went actually really comfortably, and even when you didn’t say much, Jeonghan tightly held his hand intertwined with yours, whispering from time to time compliments to you.

When you entered the restaurant, Millie, Joshua and some other people that you didn’t really know were already sitting by the table. As soon as your best friend noticed you, she yelled your name and waved to you. The two of you joined the group, and you sat down next to Millie and a guy that you didn’t know. Jeonghan sat on the other side of the table, next to Joshua, and a girl who was really known in your college, Siyeon.

“I’m glad you guys actually made it!” Joshua cheered, and you smiled at him.

“Why did you two come together?” Siyeon asked, “Are you two dating or something?” she added, gaining everyone’s attention as everyone heard about the gossip.

She always knew how to get people to look at her. Siyeon was not only called the goddess of the campus, but also she made it with her attitude. And even now, she successfully gained everyone’s gaze by looking at her and at you two, while smirking lazily.

Her question made you immediately start to panic inside, but you were trying to not show it that much on the outside. Not knowing how to respond, you looked at Jeonghan, frightened. The boy immediately read from your facial expression what’s happening, and he decided to take action.

The boy laughed out loud, “Oh come on, guys! Does really everything have to be about dating? I just gave y/n a ride because it’s dark already, and she lives near me.”

Smooth.

Jeonghan looked at you, and sent you an apologetic look, “We’re just friends. We’re not in a relationship, guys.” he added, making the others start joking and laughing because of this situation.

Oh.

Even though you knew that the boy did it to protect you, and your relationship, you still felt that stinging pain in your heart.

But actually, what did you expect? Jeonghan did what he had to do to keep your relationship a secret. Something that you two agreed to do, especially because of you.

So why did you feel that way? Maybe.. just maybe, you deeply hoped that he would admit it, and say that you’re his girlfriend.

“Hey, you okay?” you heard Millie’s whisper by your ear, bringing you back from your thoughts.

You nodded, chuckling from embarrassment, “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” she stroked your arm gently while sending you a reassuring smile, and you sent her a small smile, reaching for your glass of water to take a sip.

When all of you ordered, and the food together with alcohol was finally brought, your group started to eat, while telling stories, joking around, and slowly getting more drunk.

You weren’t really a fan of drinking as you had a light head, so you were always the responsible one for Millie as she always wanted to drink. But even now, when she had Joshua by her side, you still decided not to drink.

Jeonghan always reminded and assured you, that you shouldn’t worry about not drinking anymore. He insisted, that if you’d want to have some fun with friends then you shouldn’t stop yourself, because he’ll be there to protect you and take you home afterwards. But even when you knew he truly meant it, you still decided to stick by your glass of water.

Millie was already clinging to Joshua, already getting tipsy from the drinks she drank. People were laughing loudly at something and you were sitting silently, listening while finishing your portion of tteokbokki that you decided to have. A few minutes later, Jeonghan excused himself by the need to go to the toilet.

As soon as he disappeared by the corner, the boy next to you named Changmin, who also drank a few bottles of soju after the challenges the boys from your college made, turned around and suddenly shouted, “Oh y/n!” what made you immediately look at him, not knowing what was happening.

Then, the boy leaned closer to you, making you widen your eyes and he clumsily sweeped some of the sauce with his thumb, that was in the corner of your lips.

Unfortunately, while being already tipsy from the alcohol, he made even a bigger mess on your face as he not only smeared the sauce to your chin but also some of your lipstick.

“Oops!” he laughed goofily, and some of the boys that were there started to laugh with him.

You just hoped that someone would somehow help you. But Millie was already passed out on the chair, with Joshua being concerned about her. Other girls, including Siyeon, were busy gossiping and drinking more soju. So you were left alone with this situation.

Quickly, you reached for the napkin that was near your bowl, and turned slightly to the side, gently removing the sauce and leftovers from your lipstick. You felt embarrassed because of what happened, just as if that boy fully meant to do it.

But it wasn’t funny to you at all.

Changmin looked at you one more time before smacking your thigh with his palm and squeezing it slightly. You widened your eyes as you were flabbergasted what just happened. And in the split of the second, you pushed his hand away.

“What the fuck are you doing?” you asked angrily, as you immediately felt uncomfortable but also pissed by the boy’s sudden action.

“Aww, poor baby is not in the mood,” he chuckled and reached for his chopsticks to take another piece of the tteokbokki from your plate and put it in front of your mouth.

“We need to feed the baby, say aaaaah~”

You hit his hand away once again, and the boys around started to laugh even more, making you feel ashamed. The tears from helpless frustration started to sting your eyes, but you strongly resisted to open your mouth and eat the tteokbokki that Changmin put in front of you once again.

“Come on, y/n! Say a-”

“I’m sure y/n is not hungry anymore.”

You heard a voice from behind you, and the person quickly pushed Changmin’s arm away. You looked up, seeing Jeonghan’s serious face behind you. He took a quick glance at you, immediately noticing the tears that swelled in your eyes.

Your boyfriend grabbed your wrist and pulled you up, the chair squeaking by the sudden drag.

“Oh come one, dude!” one of the boys shouted, but he was totally ignored by Jeonghan.

He quickly hid your fragile body behind his silhouette, looking into your eyes which glistened with tears.

Jeonghan cupped your cheeks with his hands, “Talk to me, angel. Did he hurt you?” he whispered gently, looking at you intensively.

You didn’t respond to him, tears glistening in your eyes.

The boy cursed under his breath, quickly focusing on you once again, “I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry angel that I left you here alone..” he whispered, gently kissing your forehead, “I’ll take you home now.”

“Jeonghan, dude! Your friend is so damn pretty,” Changmin yelled, lazily getting up from the chair, stumbling over his own legs, “Can I have her number? You know that I like girls like her, especially in bed.”

You could see how Jeonghan’s face immediately darkened, and he let out a loud scoff after hearing the boy’s question. He took a deep breath and grasped your hand.

“Okay, then I’ll text you later!” Changmin shouted.

Not even glancing back anymore you two left the restaurant, immediately getting into Jeonghan’s car.

This time, the silence was really uncomfortable, compared to the time you drove here. The atmosphere between you not knowing why thickened.

During the whole way home, Jeonghan was silent. He focused on the road, still holding your hand, and only taking small glances at you from time to time. There were a few times when you wanted to say something, but as your mouth opened, nothing came out. You thought as if you’re going to explode from the nervousness you felt at that moment.

When you finally reached your apartment, you walked into it silently, taking off your coats and shoes.

You knew that the boy was trying to give you some time and space, but as you’ve already known Jeonghan well, you knew that something was bothering him as well.

The boy muttered something about getting a glass of water for himself, and you, feeling guilty about everything that had happened, decided to follow him to the kitchen like a puppy.

He took a glass for himself and also for you, and poured some water for you to drink before drinking from his glass. But you had other plans than drinking that stupid water.

You knew it was finally the time to destroy the wall between the two of you.

“Jeonghan-” you said, but in the blink of an eye his glass hit the hard surface of your kitchen island and he scooped you up, placing you on the countertop.

Jeonghan’s arms rested by the two of your sides, securing you, as he stood between your legs. He was silent, with his head lowered.

Your heart was beating like crazy and your breathing sped up. You had no idea what you should do in this situation.

“It’s so.. fucking frustrating.” the boy hissed, still not looking at you. You decided to give him time and you waited for him patiently.

Finally, after a while the boy raised his head, looking straight into your eyes. As he was slightly bent down, his eyes were on the same level as your, dangerously close to your face.

“It’s so fucking frustrating, that people can’t see that we are together. That you can’t call me yours, and I can’t call you mine. That I have to tell everyone that we’re just friends. That we can’t have any, even the smallest interactions..” he stopped for a second, being completely drowned in your eyes.

“Please.. y/n.” Jeonghan sighed painfully, “Can’t you see how hard I’m trying? Just give.. us a chance. I will show you that we can be together in the public, and that we can survive by being by each other’s side. Because I love you, y/n.”

And for the first time in your life, you saw Jeonghan's eyes fill with tears, making it really hard for you to also not tear up.

“A-and..” he stuttered, as his voice slowly started to break.

“Recently I’m not even sure anymore if you still love me the same way as I do.”

Ouch.

Just one sentence. Small like a needle, but painful like a knife.

You immediately cupped Jeonghan’s face, wiping his tears away with your thumb. The boy had stuck his eyes still to yours, desperately looking for an answer.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so so.. sorry, that I made you feel that way..” you uttered, “I was blind, mainly following my feelings and needs, while not focusing enough on yours, which you also had.” you stopped for a second, taking a big breath to not let your voice break.

“You’ve always been so patient with me, always honest and so soft with the way you treated me.. You protected me, and was with me when I needed you the most. And I..” your voice broke, and you let out a shaky sigh.

“I gave you nothing back but rules. I feel so stupid because of that..” your eyes shone with the tears that you couldn’t hold in anymore. Jeonghan was listening to you silently, with his eyes still watery, but now you could find hope in it.

“I’m so sorry, Hannie..” you whispered as you brought the boy closer, crossing your hands over his shoulders. He snuggled into the crook of your neck, while holding your waist tightly, and inhaling your scent.

You stayed in this position for a few good minutes, before you finally pulled away, resting your foreheads over yourselves. You had your eyes stuck on Jeonghan’s shining ones, and he had on yours. And at that point, when you were staring at your boyfriend, you'd made up your mind.

You were ready.

“Hannie..” you uttered.

The boy sent you a soft smile, “Yes, angel?” he murmured.

“I want us to be visible. I don’t want us to hide anymore.” you decided, immediately noticing how much you caught Jeonghan off guard by your sudden statement.

On the spur of the moment and Jeonghan’s confusion, you leaned down and placed your lips on top of his, connecting you in a soft kiss.

At first, Jeonghan didn’t react to your action. But then he melted into the kiss, turning it into a passionate and hungry kiss. He quickly cupped your cheeks with one of his hands, holding your face gently while not allowing you to pull away with his other hand that rested on your waist.

You ran your hands through his soft, dark hair. The boy lifted your body from the kitchen island, and you wrapped your legs around his waist, not breaking the kiss as the boy made his way to your bedroom.

Yeah.

You were sure that you wanted to make you two visible.

The sound of the messages blowing up your phone has been ringing for the past 15 minutes, echoing in your room. Irritated by another incoming call, you finally woke up, and it turned out that it was Millie, the same as all of the messages.

You answered the call and put it on the speaker, placing your phone next to your pillow as you layed back on the bed.

“Millie.. I swear to god, if it’s something unimportant and you woke me up on the day when the lectures start later-”

“Wait y/n! Have you checked my messages?” Millie’s loud voice made you squeeze your eyes from the loudness, as you were still half asleep.

A sigh left your mouth, “Girl be for real. You just woke me up, how could I check your messages?” you muttered while rubbing your eyes.

“Then check it! I think you need to see it!” Millie shouted, and lazily, you took your phone, unlocking it and going straight to messages.

Millie sent you a screenshot with an Instagram post, uploaded by Siyeon. She took a selfie with Jeonghan, who sat next to her (probably not even knowing she was taking photos).

You immediately noticed that this photo was taken at the meeting that you attended a few days ago. Siyeon was wearing the same, short burgundy dress she wore that day, and Jeonghan had the same black shirt on.

But the most disturbing thing was the description she wrote under the post.

Liked by shushu_a and 16 134 others

SolLaSiyeon: finally breaking the radio silence 😘

“Can you believe that Lim Siyeon is in a relationship with Yoon Jeonghan?!” Millie squealed on the other side, and she started talking about something, but her voice began to gradually mute. You didn’t respond, being completely stunned by what you just saw.

“Wait. How do you know they’re together?” you asked, wanting to deny Millie’s assumption, “She didn’t say anything about it.”

“Oh y/n.. the title holds the whole meaning!” your best friend was quick to answer you, “She breaks the radio silence while posting a photo with Yoon Jeonghan. And in the description she writes ‘breaking the radio silence’ which refers to the gossip about Jeonghan’s girlfriend!”

Now it actually made sense, what made you feel even more terrified.

That one scene kept playing in your mind.

“Why did you two come together? Are you two dating or something?”

The girl was planning it from the beginning, making sure that her plan would work out.

Your best friend was still talking about something, but you didn’t really have the time to listen about how Joshua did this and that, so unfortunately you had to cut her off, “Sorry, Millie, but I really have to go. I’ll see you at the lectures later.” and you hung up, quickly getting up from the bed to get ready.

You couldn’t just leave it like that, you had to do something.

But what exactly..?

Your heart was racing and you felt like throwing up. You were waiting by one of the lecture halls, pacing back and forth while trying to calm yourself down. From what you’ve heard from some people on the campus, Siyeon was supposed to finish her lecture now, making it easier for you to catch her and talk with her.

And just as you were coming by the door again, it opened widely and people started to flood out of the room. You waited, standing on the side by the wall, while nervously biting your lower lip. You kept observing when the girl would come out from the lecture hall.

Finally, after some seconds you noticed the familiar face, immediately feeling how your insides start to roll from the stress. Siyeon was talking with one of her friends, not even sparing one glance at you, being deeply immersed in her conversation.

You took one deep breath before following them, and finally calling Siyeon’s name. The girl stopped her movements and turned around to face you, immediately putting the fake ‘shit i have to look friendly’ smile on her face.

“Hi y/n, what’s up?” she asked, trying to sound as enthusiastic as she could. You gulped, feeling how hot your whole body started to feel.

“Hi,” you mumbled, “Could I ask you a favor?” the girl looked at you questioningly.

“Could you delete the post with Jeonghan that you recently posted?”

Siyeon’s eyes grew bigger as her smile turned into a grimace. “Huh why? Is something wrong with that, sweetie?”

“I don’t want you to create confusion and another round of gossip about my boyfriend.”

There you go. You finally said that.

However, the girl pressed her lips tightly, and looked at her friend, bursting out laughing. The wave of coldness ran through your body. That wasn’t something you expected.

“Okay, o-okay,” Siyeon stuttered, trying to calm down from laughing, “You got us. That was a nice one, y/n. Now if you excuse us-”

“I’m not finished.”

Suddenly, your hand gripped onto her wrist, stopping her mid-step from walking away. Siyeon glanced at your hand that was tightened around her forearm. She rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff as she turned around to face you.

Then you finally noticed how people started to circle you, observing what’s happening, some even recording. Your mouth immediately felt dry but you knew you couldn’t give up now.

“I don’t want you to post any more photos that include my boyfriend, while trying to make an impression as if he is your boyfriend. Yes! We might have been secret about our relationship, but it’s not as if we didn’t have the right to. It’s actually none of anyone’s business who Jeonghan is dating, because it shouldn’t be anyone’s main concern. But, when you post a photo with a description that says ‘breaking the radio silence’ as if you’re proposing to everyone, that you two are dating, then nothing else is left for me than to finally reveal the main secret, that everyone has been dying to find out the truth.” you smirked, while letting out a quiet snark.

“Yoon Jeonghan is dating me. I am his girlfriend, and Jeonghan is mine.”

Everyone and everything around you fell silent. The only thing you could hear at that moment was your rapidly beating heart, and your own breathing.

After some seconds, you finally looked at Siyeon, only to find she wasn’t looking at you. The girl had her eyes set on something behind your figure. You frowned, and slowly turned around.

At that moment, you felt as if your heart dropped. Your whole body froze, the feeling of embarrassment and shame striking you right at that specific moment.

Because no one else than Yoon Jeonghan himself was standing a few meters from you, in front of the whole crowd. He had his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans, head tilted a little to the side while a proud smirk was stuck to his lips.

When Siyeon finally came out of her daze, she hit your stiff figure with her shoulder as she ran up to Jeonghan, pouting. “Jeonghanie! Did you hear what that crazy chick was saying? Isn’t she stupid? How could she even say such insane things! You’re not her boyfrie-”

“Oh, but I am.” he cut her off, with that lazy smirk he always loved to wear.

If your speech made an impact on people who stood around you, Jeonghan’s approval surely caught the whole crowd off guard. Everyone started to whisper, gossip and murmur about something.

“W-what?” Siyeon’s lips started to tremble, “But oppa..” she whined, trying to argue with him, but Jeonghan simply ignored her.

He slowly approached your shaking figure, sending you a warm grin. Gently, he took your hand and connected it with his, intertwining your fingers. The boy left a butterfly kiss on your knuckles, immediately getting sounds of adorations and approval from around.

Your eyes met his, and the boy whispered, “Trust me.”

Jeonghan slowly walked out of the crowd, pulling you out from that corridor. The two of you left the building silently, and finally when you were in the campus’ park, you had to break the silence.

“Hannie..” you removed your hand from his, gaining a questioning look from your boyfriend, “Listen, I’m sorry.. I know I should have stopped myself from doing it, from getting jealous, from confronting Siyeon, and from letting out the secret, but believe me I didn’t do it on purpose.. I-I.. ah..” you stuttered, being lost in your words, “I couldn’t just leave it like that when everyone started to gossip about you being in a relationship with her and-”

“y/n, stop.” Jeonghan’s firm voice ran through your whole body, shutting you up right away.

The boy chuckled, gently cupping your cheeks with his palms, and looking deeply into your eyes with his shining ones.

“Did you really think I would get mad at you for any of these? Angel.. why would I even do that..? You can’t imagine how happy I felt when you finally gave us a green light. But still, I wanted you specifically to tell us about us and our relationship.” he caressed your cheeks with his knuckles, smiling at your pouting face.

“And that moment when you claimed that you’re my girlfriend and I’m only yours? Damn, sweetheart, that was so hot-”

“Yoon Jeonghan!” he immediately got rewarded with a slap on his shoulder as the boy bursted out laughing at your shyness.

“Okay, I’m sorry!” he giggled, and you finally broke the grimace, sending him a soft smile.

“But seriously, you can’t even believe how happy you just have made me right there.” Jeonghan added, and left a sweet kiss on your forehead before conecting your hands once again.

“Hot chocolate?” he asked charmingly.

“Hot chocolate.” you nodded.

Walking down the main sidewalk of your campus, many people looked at you, and specifically at your intertwined hands. With your cheeks burning red, you took your phone out of your pocket, only to find lots of calls and messages from people from the campus. And one of them was Millie.

Millie:

YOU.

bitch

how dare you not tell me anything!!!! >:(

you have LOTS to tell me

and i won’t let you go

oh nononononooooo

so better prepare yourself

cuz i need to know

every.

single.

detail.

EVERYTHINGGGGGG

As you think of it now, while laying peacefully in your bed and having Jeonghan snuggled into the crook of your neck, even if you liked the way you two functioned while being ‘invisible’, you had to agree.

Being visible with Jeonghan was much better.

© shuawonie | 2023, all rights reserved.

reuploads and likes are highly appriciated ♡

[itsgrimeytime]

drunk on you (epilogue) || Rick Grimes (TWD) × gn!reader (no apocalypse!AU)

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker

series taglist: @ryoujoking @zomb-1-egutzz

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Summary: You'd known Rick forever, as far back as freshman year. He was a guy you (if you were honest) had a crush on; there was just something in his stance and the low drawl of his voice. You'd say that feeling only got worse from there. Before you could blink, he was married and had a kid; and suddenly, despite your best efforts, you felt very out of place. You faded out of his life, and he yours. So when Rick shows up at your door (drunk out of his mind) about 5 years after the last time you spoke to him, you have a lot of questions.

TWs: vague allusion to sex.

[[A/N: I cannot stop watching this gif fr. So pretty. So sad to be ending it but it is perfectly wrapped up. Thank you to all who loved it. Enjoy :))]]

You woke up that morning warm, comforter neatly wrapped around you -all white and plush. The mattress was perfectly holding you in place just like it always did. But somehow, you still felt cold.

You reached your hand out, patting the mattress on his side of the bed, empty. You furrowed your eyebrows, peeking your eyes open; they flickered across the bedsheets. The comforter was pulled back, and he was decidedly not there.

"Rick?" You mumbled out, pulling yourself to the end of the bed, grabbing your ring, and slipping it onto your finger.

You stood then, adjusting your pajamas (an old pair of his), and padded your way through your bedroom. Hardwood cool under your feet, you slowly made your way out into the hallway.

Fingers drifting along the walls, you blearily blinked the sleepy fuzz out of your eyes. Attention catching elsewhere, you heard two things: the sizzling of breakfast, and the low murmur of voices like they didn't want to wake you.

"Rick?" You asked, again -although, at this point, you definitely knew where he was.

Lining the walls, your eyes caught onto a slew of photos. There was some of everybody, your eyes dipped particularly to Carl's graduation. Cap and gown, Rick on one side and you on the other, all three of you were smiling. Something in your chest warmed.

You turned the corner into the dining room, eyes smoothing across the empty table before you guided yourself into the kitchen -following the smell and the voices. The white cabinets shined in the morning light, and as you expected, Rick, still in his pajamas stood at the stove. And just beside him-

"Carl, baby, oh my god-" you rushed forward, gathering up the tall, now, man into a hug, "-how are you? How's school?"

"Good, good. Everything's good," Carl laughed, eagerly accepting your hug -he was so tall now. Your eyes darted along his face, taking him in. All the changes, you still remember him when he was just a little baby, all wrapped up in your arms.

"I like the hair too, by the way," you smiled, gently fixing it on his head -instinctively.

He was growing it out, dressed as casually as could be in some of Rick's old stuff. You would recognize it anywhere, you just didn't know if it was from his high school or young adult days. Wordlessly, you straightened the flannel over his shirt.

"Alright, Y/N," he laughed again, playfully, "-I think I'm all fixed up."

"Sorry," you apologized, "-It's a force of habit. You know your Dad."

Rick spun to you then -long hair mussed, but curled at the ends with a salt and pepper stubble climbing up his cheeks. Your very own Rick.

"'Ey," he spoke, defensively, "-I'm right 'ere."

To prove your point, you ran a hair through his hair -fixing the mess from where he must've woken up, and pulled slightly at his shirt -straightening the collar. It was almost out of instinct, and he seemed to expect it -standing perfectly still.

Rick grinned at you the same way he always did, you still felt your heart skip a beat even now. You doubted it would ever go away. Before you could turn back to Carl, instead Rick got your attention.

Gently placing the spatula down, he turned to you ever-so-slightly and opened up his arms.

You laughed, a little -the routine.

And with unhesitating steps, patted on over to him -wrapping your arms around his chest and placing your head on his shoulder. Still woodsy, still Rick. You could feel him chuckle, reverberating through his chest -bright and twinkly.

With a breath, he pressed a kiss on top of your head, "Mornin', baby."

"You guys are still gross, good to know."

"'S love," Rick corrected, slipping his hands over your shoulders, "-if 'at's gross ya got a bleak future, Carl."

"Hey," you swatted at his chest, almost in warning -Carl had a very bright future.

Rick laughed, pressing another kiss to the top of your head, "He knows I don't mean it, don't ya?"

"Yeah, yeah," Carl laughed, dismissively waving his hand, before retorting, "-I can't be 'ere for long, Dad. Breakfast almost done?"

You let go of Rick, mindlessly pressing a kiss to his cheek. He grinned, even though it happened everyday.

"Why are you here?"

Carl smiled, bringing you into another hug, "For a special occasion, Y/N, plus, Dad asked me to be here."

"Think it as a gift," he mumbled out, before siphoning off eggs -scrambled.

You almost said for what exactly, but then it suddenly struck you.

"Shit, really?" You asked, scurrying up to the calendar hung up on the wall. And there it was, circled with little doodled hearts.

"Happy 10 years, baby," Rick smiled big and bright, gathering you up in his arms -gently swaying in place.

You started laughing with movement, "That long? Jesus. How long have we had the house?"

"'Bout year 3," Rick answered, quickly pressing his lips to yours -just a surface level kiss.

You remembered the day he'd showed you.

He wouldn't let you come on the land, ever, wouldn't let you help, nothing.

"I'm buildin' it for ya, you'll see it at the end."

And then, one day, years ago, he'd dragged you out of the apartment with a blindfold, put you in the car and drove you all the way to the house. You remember the grass scratching your legs and the creak of the trees. And then, just seeing it.

All white walls, and big porch, and windows, and just... everything.

"Shit," you repeated -coming back to the moment.

"What?" He teased, "-Had enough of me, 'ave ya?"

"No, just-" you went a little quiet, just looking at him, "-I can still remember you showing up at my door, wasted, after five years."

"You're always gonna be holdin' on to the drunk thin', ain't ya?"

"Yes," you patted his cheek, "-and I will forever."

Rick grinned at that -something twinkling in his eyes. Even now, he couldn't wait for forever with you. You couldn't either.

"Breakfast?" Carl repeated -acting a little annoyed, but you could tell he wasn't. Not really.

"Yeah, yeah," Rick rolled his eyes, letting you go and grabbing the plates -guiding all of you into the dining room.

Carl left soon after that, promising to come back after the semester just for a visit. He'd had an apartment in the city, just like yours. Ready to go and pursue his dreams, just like you did. The two of you followed him to the car, wishing him well, and your own very cautious, be safe. He rolled his eyes but still promised you.

You and Rick stood outside, watching the car disappear down the driveway. He held you tight to his side, cool wind brushing over your skin but not exactly cold. You didn't mind being by his side though, never would.

With a sigh, you turned back to the house -his arm still wrapped around you. You felt the thrum of his body heat against your side -he always was like a furnace.

Your eyes settled along it, taking it in.

"I still can't believe you built me a house."

Rick laughed, looking at you -blue eyes twinkly, "You were the one who suggested it!"

"Was I?" You paused, trying to think back.

"Oh yeah," he turned you toward him -gently holding your shoulders, "-I was talkin' about me imaginin' a future wit' ya, a big white house-"

You smiled at him.

"-and you said we could build one."

You remembered then, his big smooth smile and those eyes. He'd just looked at you like you were everything he wanted, and he'd give you anything to keep you. That was a big day.

"Okay, yes," you finally responded,"-but I was joking, Grimes."

"Were ya?" He hummed, that sort of mischievous grin he'd always given you, "-'Couldn't tell."

"Liar," you shot back.

"Okay, fine," he conceded, "-You said it an' I realized how much I wanted to. For you. For us, I guess."

You pursed your lips, before patting him on the cheek, gently, "Sap."

"Just the way ya like it," he quipped, grin bright.

"You know," you started, as he pulled you into his side again -the two of you making your way inside again, "-sometimes I think about what we would've been like together in high school."

"Do ya?"

"Yeah," you replied -thoughtfully, "-because if you're sappy now. Imagine you in puppy love."

"Hmm," he hummed, "-ya probably wouldn't 'ave doodled in all those notebooks if we 'ad, huh?"

"First of all, I would've doodled twice as much, and secondly-" he laughed at you, "-what is with you and those notebooks?"

"'S nice," he responded, softly, "-you loved me then, and I didn't even kno'. I keep one of 'em in my wallet, actually, reminds me how lucky I am to be 'ere. Because I was such a dumbass back then."

You laughed a little, before pausing -realizing, "Wait. You keep one in your wallet?"

"Yea', I never told ya?"

"There's no way you're telling the truth right now," you laughed -a bit astonished, "-a doodle? Really? From high school-"

He stopped walking just under the porch, moving his arm to pull out his wallet (he always brought it everywhere, even in his pajamas), and flipped it open.

With a breath, he dug behind his license in the clear little pocket, "'Keep it behind my license, so it don't get tore up. Or smeared."

"Rick."

"Look," he pulled a tiny little piece of lined paper out -extending it to you, "-I ain't a liar."

"Rick," you nearly cooed.

You flipped it in between your fingers, you even knew the pen you'd drawn it in. It was one of your favorites, and it didn't smear, so you don't know why he was worried about that. A part of you couldn't believe it. But right there, over the blue lines was a big heart, and on the inside two words.

Y/N Grimes

"You really keep this in your wallet?" You asked in awe, gently pinching the paper between your fingers.

"I just pulled it out infront of ya, baby-"

"Well, yeah, but-" you laughed in defense, "-you could be looking for extra brownie points on our anniversary."

Rick paused, holding your eyes, "Ya think I'd do 'at?"

"For the right motivator," you defended, "-yes."

He quirked a brow, a smirk smoothing across his lips -you knew the look, "What kinda motivator, darlin'?"

"Stop you," you swatted his shoulder, "-you were just being sweet."

He laughed at you a moment, before countering, "'Could still be sweet."

"Rick," you warned.

"Just sayin'."

"Rick."

"Okay, okay," he hummed -taking his hands to cup your face, "-gimme a break, I'm bein' sweet."

"Yes, you are," you smiled, handing it back to him, "-Now, I have to know, do you keep them stashed anywhere else?"

"Whaddya mean, baby?"

"Don't play dumb," you accused, his eyes slinking over you in a certain kind of way.

"Ya know what," he tapped his chin, thoughtfully, playfully really, "-I think... I think I might 'ave some stashed in the bedroom."

"Rick," you laughed, "-are you really doing this right now?"

"Doin' what?" He questioned, innocently.

"Rick."

"I'm just answerin' your question," he smiled, bringing your face closer to his, "-I do think I 'ave some stashed in the bedroom."

"Let me guess," you quipped, "-on the bed?"

He grinned at you, teasingly, and dropped his hands down to your waist, "How'd ya know?"

"Grimes," you sighed out, fingers coming up to twirl into his hair, "-you are just so very predictable."

"Am I?"

"Very much so," you hummed.

"Can ya predict what's gonna happen next," he was a breath away from your face, "-Grimes?"

"I can think of a few things."

And then, with a laugh and a few spare kisses, he picked you up like he always did and brought you inside the house. Laughter bubbling out your chest and kissing the man you loved, you realized it then.

Five years was just a speck in your life. Those five years were nothing, not compared to this. To Rick, to your life now. And a part of you wished you'd gotten it back, gotten it all sooner.

Well, you smiled big and wide -arms wrapped around his neck, this is kinda perfect now, isn't it?

Rick smiled at you then, kicking the door shut without even looking away. Only looking at you, a little like you were everything. His everything. And for a second, you thought maybe you were.

Yeah, you decided, you wouldn't want it any other way.

[kevinsdsy]

THE TROJANS SOCIAL MEDIA AU HEADCANONS pt. 1

laila dermott

laila dermott is muslim!! i've had this headcanon since i read the king's men for the first time in 2019 hehe and now is my time to push it.

nabil & laila are besties. they're both muslim and both in same-sex relationships which leads to them having an understanding of each other like no one else on the team could have with them.

ntm laila fr was his standing pillar when he was figuring out his sexuality

nabil mahmoud

nabil is gay!! which is something he really had to deal with and accept due to him being muslim too (bc what am i without the religious trauma due to sexuality lore)

nabil and tony are dating each other in the socmed au!! even without the au i would like to believe and headcanon there's something happening there :))

i've written a bit more about them in another headcanon post tho.

antonio "tony" jones

tony is what like a year or two older than the rest? he's an assistant and i'm not sure how old they're supposed to be in the book tbh so i would like to think it's possible or he's an intern (i love him being an intern either way tho so i'm very much leaning into that one)

jeremy knox

JEREMY KNOX USED TO PLAY FOOTBALL (soccer), but due to him playing so aggressively and due to him always being guilty of too many fouls he switched to exy :))

cody winter

cody doesn't know what sleep is and they don't care to find out. they're living on like 2 to 4 hours a sleep a night and surprisingly enough it works for them too.

cody is also SUPER competitive which is why they have managed to be part of the captain gc. their competiteviness has led to them pushing the backliners as much as cody can and the backliners actually listen to them too.

shawn anderson

oh shawn. shawn shawn shawn.

you were supposed to be no one. a random guy on the team.

you exist to me now. i feel like i could make a whole post about just him atp.

shawn was supposed to be comedic relief for the posts i felt were too out of character for the rest of the team LMAOO, but now he actually has a personality (to me)

shawn works a part time shop at a café. even though he's surrounded by coffee at all times and drinks so much of it he's the sleepiest guy to ever exist.

like that man gets about 8 hours a sleep every day and still takes nap, but still ends up with bags under his eyes.

he's always tired for some reason and everyone is so used to it atp. like he will ALWAYS sleep on the bus/airplane, no matter how long the drive/flight is.

but when he's finally awake he's so hyper. he says the silliest things. repeats the same phrases over and over again and has about zero filter.

most of the time the zero filter has to do with the fact he speaks before he thinks. it even catches himself off guard sometimes.

i feel like this is too long and we haven't even gotten into jean and shawn dynamic so i'm just gonna cut it off here and they’ll get another part i think

derrick allen

bro we don't even know who derrick is, but apparently he's someone to me now too.

this man has crazy attachment issues, but is also the biggest simp for shawn too.

he likes going around kissing shawn and making out with shawn, but whenever shawn mentions something serious derrick acts like it's just a joke. which i guess is easy to do, because shawn is always treating everything as a joke anyways. except he's really not trying to when it comes to derrick.

jean falls victim to shawn ranting and crying about derrick. so jean respectfully ignores derrick til he gets his shit together.

and i just realised i have SO MUCH to say about derrick and shawn too so let me cut myself off.

derek thompson

same as shawn and derrick. derek is supposed to be a no one, but here i am and suddenly derek is being perceived by me too

SOOO derek was supposed to be like the third party with derrick and shawn. it was supposed to be the three of them flirting and making out and being little shits but then y'all were asking about derrick & shawn and i decided yk what let's do it. then later the short oneshot was written by oomf and derek got mentioned as the one shawn is in love with and i was like oh... i fucked up the dynamic. but in another universe it would've been the three of them ig

ANYWAYYSS derek takes medication. i haven't really decided on what kind of medications, but while thinking about him i always imagined either depression or adhd or both idk

and i have so many more headcanons for the au, but this is too long so i´ll post part 2 another time :))

[mdverse]

md's fun silly little top 10(ish) arts of 2024!*

*pretend once again that there's a fun cute doodled banner here (i forgor about it again)

been dealing with major creative burnout for like. half of this year lmao so i have not been drawing anywhere near as much as i wish i had but! perhaps that is all the more reason to look back at the hits i managed so it's time for a top 10 15 best (.... or faves.... this is subjective and i may be biased....) drawings of the year!

15: self-portrait if we're being really honest and vulnerable tonight i actually. don't really like how this drawing looks anymore. it's here purely for sentimental reasons

14: heatstroke!britt... uhhh. yknow. she just. yeah

13: tbosas!sebklaine? i don't actually love the final result tbh but. it's fine i think? bella likes it so that's the most important thing

12: primary colours furtana <3 i'm so biased towards them that i almost ranked this wayyyy higher ngl (it's at like. #8 to me personally)

11: collette jones the loml <3333 non-glee art on this blog??? isn't that wild lol (she momentarily broke me out of art block and also i am deeply in love with her so. that's why she's here)

10: elphie!santana :) i am actively chomping at the bit to make more glozverse art u have no idea it'll be so fun if that actually happens

9: good game <33 i'm actually such a slut for a vibe piece did u guys know that? putting one song on loop and then going wild with the lighting >>>>>

8: mermay brittana! arguably this should be much higher bc those wide water shots came out surprisingly good considering i haven't really drawn water in a hot minute but. i'm bad at ranking my own art lol

7: uht in suits!!! i mean. i think this is self-explanatory. u guys get it (i've seen all ur tags)

6: mistletoe kiss <3 the agony of leaving this out of the top 5... maybe it's just recency bias but i think it's sooo pretty i've missed drawing them

5: furtana my trio of all time <3 this one gets a top 5 placement for being a banger despite also being a big style experiment. i would die for those kids

4: after a long day... so. this one inexplicably became a hit post. and like i kinda get bc it's cute and whatever but also?? how did that happen lmao of all the posts to blow up i was Not expecting it to be a vb au thing (i am v grateful that it did tho. they deserve it <3) (at least one more vb au comic will appear eventually)

3: go for it, santana!! thank god i redid it bc the original wip really wasn't giving lol but. it ended up looking so good. put my whole mdussy into that

2: vb au brittana (wedding edition) ougfjghjf i'm actually still insane over this one.... vb au wedding save me fr... alexa blast lovelight by abba on loop pls and thanku

1: vb au brittana (but the pride month edition) <333 can we just. can we take a moment. not to suddenly gas myself up bc obviously this isn't a flawless drawing but like.... the background and all the little details and the poses?? all the lil easter eggs i snuck in there for fun? this is like. objectively my best drawing of the year. i love them so so much

[beautifulchris]

a simple favor

wc: 0,9k

pairing: demigod!minho x gn demigod!reader

summary: you happen to ask a favor to the guy that has a crush on you

genres: fluff, demigod!au, camp half-blood!au, crush!au, son of hermes!minho, child of demeter!reader

tw: flirting, magic

notes: minho is a simp in this one and i'm not apologizing for it. i'm reposting the works i posted while shadowbanned, please don't mind me

networks: @kflixnet @k-labels @whipped-kpop-creators

permanent tag list: @badwithten​ send ask/dm/comment to be added!

Minho was a chill kid from cabin 11. He wasn’t about all that “thievery and trickery” lifestyle. Of course, as a Hermes kid, he was skilled for both, but it didn’t mean he’d use them if he could help it.

You were a sweet and beautiful child of Demeter, like herself in many ways. Need a hand? You were there to help. Tending to the Strawberry fields and chatting with the nature spirits about gardening and agriculture in general were your favorite hobbies.

Back in your dad’s neighborhood, you had a best friend. You two shared everything— quite literally, since she could see through the Mist.

She passed her driver’s license test the day you went to camp, so she promised she’d let you know the results.

But only if you could find a way to contact her, because everybody knew phones were monster magnets.

A cabin mate had once said he saw Minho from the Hermes cabin successfully deliver messages in dreams for a friend of his from cabin 5.

It could be a long shot but you wanted to know how your best friend did.

Now, I know what you might ask—

“Why me and not any Hypnos kid? They’re specialized in sleep and dreams.”

Minho was arms crossed against his cabin’s wall, examining you with his cat-like eyes.

“I’ve been told you’re good at it and you’re way more focused than any of them. I don’t want to spend hours explaining something that could take minutes.”

He smirked. “You could’ve just told me you wanted to spend time with me, gorgeous.”

Cheeks burning, your eyes opened widely. “That’s not—”

“It’s okay. So, what do I get in exchange?”

Ah. You didn’t think this far.

“... A flower crown? Cookies?” You were genuinely searching for a fair trade when he bursted out laughing.

“You’re cute.”

“If you’re just gonna make fun of me, I’ll just go to Jeno, sorry—”

He straightened, suddenly serious. “No," he said loudly. He coughed, "I mean no, I’m sorry for laughing. I’ll do it. I’ll take the flower crown and the cookies, though.”

You smiled so sweetly, his heart hammered in his chest.

“Thank you.”

“Sure,” he coughed again, probably to hide his red ears this time.

You walked away a few steps then turned around. “When do you want to do it?”

“Tonight, if it’s okay for you.”

“Okay, see you soon!” You waved him goodbye and, as you jogged away, Minho couldn’t keep his eyes off you.

Deep down, he was thrilled to have you asking him for help. He had developed a tiny crush on you after seeing you using your magic in the fields on sunny days, your skin glowing with beauty. Or whenever you gracefully walked past him on your way to the dining pavilion or the combat arena.

He wanted to know more about you. That was the only reason he accepted your request, because he wouldn’t do it for anyone.

“I really thought you’d only do it for friends,” Changbin fake pouted, “or am I nothing to you?”

“Shut up, I did it because you begged, and you are my friend.”

“Oh… so that means that Demeter kid is someone to you. Got it,” he grinned before running away, avoiding his friend’s murderous hands by a centimeter.

“You better not tell a soul!” Minho yelled, before getting ready for his archery lesson.

After dinner, Minho followed you to the Demeter cabin.

“Everyone is at the bonfire, I thought it would be better if we were alone,” you said, sitting on your bed.

The gifts were placed on your bedside table and Minho was standing in front of you, a little uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

“Of course. Let’s do this.”

He made you lay down on your bed, walked to the front of it and placed his hands around your temples without touching you.

“Relax, think about your friend. I’m going to touch your head, you can tell me to stop at any time.”

“Alright, you can proceed.” After giving him a smile of encouragement, you closed your eyes and focused.

Minho quickly shook away his feelings and concentrated on the task at hand.

It lasted a few minutes, and you could see your best friend vividly like you were actually there with her.

Thanks to him, you got to talk to her, cheer for her when she said she aced the test and give her a hug.

When you finally opened your eyes, Minho was standing next to your bed, contemplating the flower crown you made for him. It was placed on the bedside table along with a batch of cookies.

“Everything went well?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you Minho,” you beamed. “Take it, it’s yours.”

He hesitated, so you got up, took it and put it delicately on his head, all the while his eyes were locked on yours.

“I thought you’d be more interested in the cookies. You look handsome with it,” you complimented, taking a step back to take in his appearance.

Doing his best to ignore the sensation in his chest at your words, he bit into a freshly baked cookie. “Honestly, you didn’t have to give me anything, I would’ve helped you either way. Hm, it’s good.”

“You literally asked for those,” you reminded him.

“You proposed, I accepted,” he countered, shrugging. “But if you insist, you can remind me of our earlier conversation while we walk on the beach together.”

“Are you asking me on a date, Lee Minho?” you smiled, biting on a cookie too.

He mirrored your expression. “Depends, will you say yes?”

“It’s indeed good. Yes, I’d love to talk some more.”

thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, here's the masterlist <3

[cielles-random-vault]

something inspired by hummingbird by metro and heartbeat by childhish gambino :D

synopsis: you and hobie are long time friends. everything goes well until that party where everything changed.

content: everyday au, reader and hobie are teens (15-17) implied relationships (not (yet) together) not proofread, really a drabble. also millie is hobies gf and jordan is readers partner. brief use of "y/n" and r/n stands for reader's name. also there is a whole lot of dialogue because 🧍🏻‍♀️ im v tired atm but i need to post anyway. also big ass drunk confession and brief description of drunkness.

author's note: today i got to see atsv in the original version with an online friend i met for the first time and. ive been blessed. the soundtrack really gives off eargasm fr

authors note 2: please please PLEASE reblog this if you liked it helps a lot with reach please and thank you :>

word count: 737 🕺🏻

"say, sunshine, yo coming to the party kevin's throwing tonight?" asked your best friend.

"i don't know" you reply, playing with your best friend's hair. "are you?"

"i'll probably go with millie. but why aren't you coming?" he said with a pout

"yknow im not that much of a social person. plus there's no point coming if no one i know will be there." you say, daydreaming.

"pleaaseee" he starts to beg. "millie will be there! you like her don't you?"

"are you? no no don't do those eyes at me" you say as you notice he was doing his begging eyes, the thing he always did whenever he wanted you to do something. "fine i'll go but only if you come too."

"thanks you so much sunshine!" hobie exclaims, starting to pack his stuff. he kisses your cheek before adding " make sure to invite your asshole of a boyfriend too!"

"stop calling me sunshine we are not in a relation-"

but he already left.

fast forward to the middle of the party, like 2/3 hours into

you were not that much of a lightweight, but tonight it seemed like you drank way too much. starting to feel overstimulated, you gave up on looking for your best friend and decided to go upstairs.

you opened a bunch of doors of rooms that were full of teens making out.

you accidentally stepped on a couple kissing in the stairs.

you did not like what you saw.

"jordan?" you say in disbelief. "what the fuck."

"babe i can explain its not what you think it is i- (he hastily drew off the girl he was kissing and followed you into an empty room so that you could talk without being disrupted by the loud music downstairs.

"explain yourself." you say, feeling dizzy because of all the alcohol you drank. "you know what? you don't have to explain everything. it's over. oh and go fuck yourself."

"r/n i-"

you didn't let him finish, leaving him with his brand new girlfriend.

you headed outside with another cup of alcohol in your hand, the fresh breeze greeting your face as tears started to run down your cheeks.

"i think that's enough alcohol for you, m'love." said hobie taking your drink away from you and putting his jacket over your shoulders. "what're you doing this late outside?"

"kiss me." you say, not paying attention to what your best friend was saying.

"what? no what about your boyf-"

"i don't have any anymore. motherfucker's cheated on me. cant really take a hint right? ive been in love with you the whole time. it's silly isn't it?"

hobie suddenly rose up to his feet and said:

"let's head out, you're clearly drunk."

he took you on his shoulders despite you showing your disagreement- though it did not last long.

he then brung you to his house and put you on his couch for you to fall asleep on.

making sure you were asleep, he played some soft music for him to clean a bit his house.

"i wish you were sober when you said you wanted to kiss me" hobie sighed as the first notes of hummingbird started filling the room.

the next day, you got woken up by the sweet smell of a cup of tea and an awful headache. not recognizing where you were, you instantly looked for your best friend.

"relax, sunshine, i'm right there", hobie said, putting your hair out of your face. "how're y'a feeling?"

"meh, i feel like a truck has run over my head. i wish all that alcohol made me forget jordan cheated on me.. speaking of which did you enjoy the party?"

"i've known better. but you're safe here, that's all that matters to me" he says, with a soft smile. "say, i have a question. were you sincere when you said you were in love with me yesterday?"

"eh." you say, wishing you confessed in a better way. "y'know the saying; drunk words are sober thoughts. but yes, i was sincere. i wish i did tell you in a better way though.

he smiled without saying anything.

"for how long have you been in love with me?" he asks with a smile

"wayy too many time."

"so, am i allowed to kiss you now that you confessed properly?"

"what? does that mean that-"

"take the hint, idiot" he says before soflty kissing you.

it's 2am now please let me sleep 😟

no but i actually enjoyed writing this sm i hope you liked reading it :D ik i alr said it in the beginning but please reblog!! it helps a lot small accounts like mine

[earlgreygirlfriend]

sunnflower content BIG POST 🌻

first of all, ao3 !! i really just wanted some good, nontoxic sunflower fanfiction because both sunny & basil deserve to be happy after the shit they've gone through! also, i wanted to feel better because BASIL IS CLEARLY HEAD OVER HEELS FOR SUNNY AND HE DOESNT KNOW IT (video by nerdy arty) hdjvhdjvhdn he JUST LIKE ME FR!!

ive categorized them by AU / canoncompliant with additional tags! completed fics are marked with 🌻, long fics (5k+ words) are marked with 💡

canon compliant:

Culinary Conversations by ShardOfHope💡

A Mug of Sundrops in a Wave of Sadness by karma_kalanchoe💡

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by smiles2m

Suddenly, Sunny by diagnosed_shitposter

Bloom Later by witheredahlia💡

Catch a Glimmer of Your Star by UdonPuddle 🌻💡

au / mari lives:

Secondhand Sequitir by Soppypup💡🌻

He's Impossible by HowardR💡

to bask in your warmth by im_clo💡🌻

Flower Language by mirror_to_the_past💡

hmestwbf by ME (yes yours truly)

next up is yt animatics because uhhh idk i really like watching homo idiots!! i have 🕹️ that indicates the video depicts some omori plot involving spoilers for the game (the accident, angst, etc) or covers the entire game happening.

OMORI MV - Eine Kleine by Bear🕹️

Try Again by eggsoupery🕹️

OMORI MV - Love Me by white_tulips_

Nonsense Speaker by Nerdy Arty🕹️

in defense of sunflower: (major omori spoilers here cw!!)

why are people antagonizing them this badly? seriously i don't get it. they were children when the accident happened and gameplay shows that both of them got shittons of trauma

"what the hell were you guys thinking when you decided to ship two mentally unstable teenagers that participated in the same manslaughter??"

it was an accident. looking at the incident, i firmly believe it was very seriously fucked up, and they weren't in the right state of mind when it happened. consider the situation, the person you love most in the world is gone forever. in this situation, sunny completely closes in on himself and creates headspace. basil on the other hand sees sunny (his childhood best friend and the one he describes as 'perfect' and puts on a pedestal) completely having a mental breakdown. basil panics, not knowing what to do, because both of the people he idolize are gone - mari is dead, a part of sunny died with her. obviously he has a mental breakdown figuring out what to do, too?

obviously we should also consider basil's mental state at this point - pure speculation here, but basil, due to his feminine gender expression, would have been a victim of bullying, and the gang would have been his first friends. and basil photographs things he cherishes. that would mean he sees himself losing his friends when mari dies because sunny is most likely gonna be legally convicted of manslaughter right? in his disoriented, panicked mind, he wanted to protect sunny, the friend he most likely did have feelings for but was unable to admit them due to already being bullied, (that's just my hc dw) and did something that is super fucked up — he did more harm than good, but i believe he was just trying to fix everything back the way it was. we're absolutely going to talk about why Basil knows how to tie a noose, which adds to my point — basil might already have been mentally unwell (no doubt taking more shit from life than one is supposed to) BEFORE he met his friends, and he was desperately trying to salvage what little happiness he had left.

i cannot deny that sunnflower has full potential of being a very unhealthy and toxic relationship, but i might add that the true + secret ending has both Somethings disappear, implying that both of them are capable of healing. thats why i ship them manyyearsafter-canon or AU, bc therapy can fix shit ive seen it myself

ill end this little rant by a comment from j0kerclash on reddit:

Pairing them together is the implication that they are able to completely heal from their trauma, the actual dynamics of their relationship isn't toxic, it was the circumstances of their interactions combined with the context of the event itself. Sunny and Basil aren't permanently fucked up, I'd say it's quite harmful to imply that people are forever broken and can never truly recover. Considering the choices in the game are about confronting, accepting, and moving on from guilt and trauma, the best scenario for both Sunny and Basil, is if they were truly able to let go and not become triggers for each other, which is illustrated by them being unaffected by the potential toxicity of their past.

sorry for the rant! here are some links also defending the ship

if you enjoyed, i also have another sunflower headcannon post

from diagnosed_shitposter

idfk how to link the original text im sorry

this

[florallylly]

stobin lady whistledown au:

well-bred and highly attractive (as a marriage prospect but also like. whatever, you know) steve harrington. nosy wallflower debutante robin buckley.

OKAY NOTE: personally, i feel like lady whistledown has a distinct voice that could only be mirrored by a former or current debutante. so i feel that steve and robin could get both sides of the story, with steve chatting with the suitors and robin listening in on debutante gossip. HOWEVER, another option is (sigh i say despite it being my guilty pleasure) omegaverse... omega debutantes stobin fr....

in my head, i'm picturing everyone THINKING they have a polin relationship, but in reality they're lavender married and thriving with their shared society papers.

steve harrington, former rake suddenly uninterested in fooling around and disillusioned when it comes to the inane chatter of the ton. news gets out of his newfound restraint, and they collectively come to the conclusion that he's ready to marry. which means every ball/gala/gathering sees steve swarmed with debutantes dropping their fans in front of him and batting their eyelashes.

truly though, he's always been somewhat put off by marriage despite being a hardcore romantic. he loves being in love, but he's never been ready to commit to anything. maybe seeing his parents, locked into a loveless marriage, shattered his hopes of marriage. he's sort of resigned to marrying whoever they choose for him, but he's been stalling for as long as he can. this season however, they're determined to match him with a suitable debutante now that it seems like he's ready to shed his playboy image.

the buckleys and the harringtons have been neighbors and friends since childhood, and whenever steve wants to escape the attention, he always finds himself in a dark corner trading barbs with robin.

maybe lady whistledown is initially a robin-only venture, but steve catches her writing her vicious little thoughts down one day. he peeks over her shoulder and is like ? oh did xyz say hargrove was in love with her? funny she should say that considering he was just griping about how all the women of the ton are vapid cows. i doubt he's going to propose, especially since he's leaving to travel at the end of the season. or some shit like that. I CAN NOT THINK OF ANYTHING JUICY RN i just woke up spare me

steve is the one who connects them with a publisher and distributor, and their empire is established. in my heart, steve plays the role of a lovesick suitor and convinces his parents to let him marry robin because it's literally true love.

i think once they get married, they continue on publishing lady whistledown until all of their friends are off the marriage mart for two reasons: they do NOT care about anyone else, and lady whistledown has become a tool for protection when it comes to the marriage mart. alternatively, they stop once they get married bc now they have access to each other 24/7 and they're distracted with their happy little life together.

[sugolara]

Determined to survive, stay alive

ft. Katsuki Bakugo x Shoto Todoroki x Izuku Midoriya x fem! reader

Synopsis: After a deadly virus leaks all over the world, every country is forced to close down it's borders and airports to prevent anyone from coming in and out. Though, it's to late for some people. The dead has rose and is looking for revenge. Cw: gore, quirkless! au, apocalypse! au, zombie! au, weapons, death, angst, lots and lots of blood, cannibalism, suicidal thoughts, slow burn

previous || series m.list || next

They used the yard gates as their main entrance when it came to unloading supplies. For a girl like F/n, she sure was strong to be carrying two packs of water. In the past, Izuku used to work out too. Hell, he even gained muscles and a nice pair of abs, but it almost made him jealous—and a little flustered—to see her carrying the weight like it was nothing. Not to mention the sweat gliding down her neck.

He suddenly was flicked in the forehead. Startled, he turned his attention to Katsuki who glared at him. He nervously asked, "What was that for?"

"The fuck are you staring at?" He asked as he pulled himself on the trunk while grabbing a package of mixed nuts behind him. He placed some in his mouth as he inspected the nuts, "You ain't getting shit done if you plan on staring all day. You going crazy now?"

"One, I wasn't staring and two, I'm not going crazy." He looked away when Katsuki gave him a look, "Y'know you're supposed to be sleeping, right? You passed out the second you hit the couch."

"Yeah, I got my shitty ass sleep." Katsuki nibbled on the rest of the nuts, glaring down at it as the salty aftertaste filled his mouth. His eyes then glanced around realizing someone was missing, "Where's that extra you're with? Ain't she supposed to be helping out or did you suddenly befriend lazy ass people."

"Oh, F/n...she went–Oh! There she is!" Izuku waved at her with a smile. The girl raised a brow when she saw Katsuki. It had Izuku hoping she or more specifically, Katsuki, wouldn't start a fight. He knows how much Katsuki loves to instigate, but he so desperately needs a day where he can just be at peace.

When she was close to them, Izuku silently took in a deep breath, preparing for the worst, "F/n, this is my fr–"

"Right, Kacchan. I heard back at the store." She interrupted him and held her hand out, ignoring the way Izuku's face drained of life while the blonde narrowed his eyes. She wasn't too fond of presentation, "I'm F/n L/n."

"Wait! That's not his na–" Hearing Katsuki suck in his teeth had Izuku menatly crying. The blonde, despite being a few inches shorter than her, stood up and licked his fingertips that contained the nut spice. He then clasped her hand, shaking it with a tight grip, "Katsuki Bakugo."

"Right..." Her fingers twitched around his hand as she eyed him. She didn't realize the subtle way he began to feel self-conscious about his sweaty palms as she could see Izuku in the background anxiously biting his nails as if he was waiting for a fight to break, "Katsuki."

She moved away from him and headed for Izuku grabbing the last pack of water behind him, "Don't forget we still need wood. Once we're finish I'll head over there."

"Oh, before we go do that I was thinking about expanding the yard." He looked at her, ignoring her stare, "Since you grew up in a farm, you might know a few things about knocking down a fence and rebuilding."

"I do." She nodded as she muttered, "But it's not that simple. Its gonna be a pain."

"Why the hell should we make the yard bigger?" Katsuki asked, giving the freckle male a meaningful glare, "It's a terrible idea to stay in one place for to long, not to mention were in the open. Someone outta come by and spot us if we don't get the hell out."

The blonde gave a glimpse at F/n, "Don't care where you go."

"Kacchan!" He scoldingly looked at the male, "Whether you like it or not, she's with us."

The other male rolled his eyes, grabbing another pack of trail mix. As for F/n, she turned back to the water pack, "Anwyas, I'll get to it."

Seeing her get back to work, Izuku grabbed a few items from the truck, "You know I don't mind doing the heavy work. You can do something you're...good at...?"

"What are you tying to say?" She gazed her eyes towards him, the both unaware Katsuki shaking his head at his friends comment, "I am good at this. You trying to think lesser of me or what?"

He turned red as he waved his hands around frantically, "No! I dont think lesser of you! I-I-I-I was just–y'kn–"

"Shut up." Katsuki had enough as he wiped his hands on his clothes and began grabbing the heavier items of the truck, "If we're going to get wood then we better hurry. It's to damn fucking hot out here and I can't take it."

"Then change." She gave his outfit a look. His clothing covered his entire body. Only his hands and face were left unclothed, "Theres spare clothes from the previous owners. Might be a little to small for you, though."

"Are you trying to say I'm fat!?" He glared, ready to jump on her if she insulted him once more.

"No, of course not, I would never say that." She waved her hands trying to not make him feel insecure, "I don't think you're a large person. In fact, the way your clothes stick to you makes you have an outline that I am quiet certain woman would be jealous of, including me."

A slap was heard behind her and Izuku wished nothing more than to turn into a puddle as he had to look the other way. This time, he'd let F/n deal with the consequences as he wasn't too sure how to help her get out of this one and just like he suspected he heard Katsuki let out a yell and a thud was soon followed.

After they had placed all of the grocery items in the basement. They locked up the cellar and the home before heading to the streets. The truck that F/n had used only had little gas. If they drove it and it suddenly stopped with items in the back, they would have to leave the supplies stranded while they look for another vehicle.

Instead of going with the ladder, they stood in the streets looking for a vehicle. Like always, things never went their way as most of the vehicle's keys had gone missing. The owners must have run off with them in hopes they'd return to escape or someone had started a key collection. Either way, the three were not having it.

Izuku, who sat in the driver's seat feeling discouraged, glanced at the rear mirror. He adjusted it to where he could see F/n sitting inside a truck and behind her was Katsuki, laying in the trunk with his legs swinging.

He removed himself from the vehicle and headed towards her, noticing that her hands fiddled while she had her attention on the steering wheel. He leaned on the door and his brows furrowed in confusion when he saw her knife fiddling underneath the wheel, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to start it." She replied. Hearing a click, she removed the plastic cover and set it aside. With the middle roil electrical wires she pulled it towards her and began to chip off the ends with her knife until the copper wire revealed itself.

"Oh, but what is it that you're doing?" Izuku puzzingly asked, "..Are you trying to hot wire it?"

She nodded. Amazed, he watched as she delicately picked the wires, "I've never met anyone who could do that! DId you learn by yourself or were you taught?"

Hearing the commotion, Katsuki made his way towards them. He shoved the freckle male towards the door, ignoring his small glare as he paid attention to F/n, "Were you some kind of criminal or what."

She shrugged as she twirled the copper wires, intertwining them all together, "When you grow up on a farm, you learn a few things."

The engine then turned on. Along with that, so did the windshield wipers. It made a squeak sound as it rubbed against the dusty window. The girl signaled them to move so she could close the door, "I drive."

"I call shotgun!" Katsuki quickly said, once again shoving Izuku who had begun to make his way towards the passenger seat. The other male grumbled as he made his way to the backseat, "You don't have to shove me, Kacchan."

Before she could begin to drive, the radio static and faint male voice could be heard. Bewildered, Izuku reached from the backseat to turn the volume higher. "Do not intend to engage. Do not intend to fight. A sanctuary is being held in Rhote. Those who arrive, survive."

"A sanctuary?" Izuku tried thinking back to when he had a radio, but he never heard his utter a sanctuary, "I don't remember there ever being one."

"Me neither." F/n said, her eyes fixated on the radio, "If there was a sanctuary people would have known since the beginning."

"You think there is actually one?" Izuku asked, glancing at her, "I mean, it's been at least a couple months and not even the news said anything about one."

"I doubt it." Katsuki said as he rolled down the windows. He then looked at him with his arms crossed, "If a sanctuary is still running, you'd think someone from the military would have started to look for people. I'm not saying that militaries control sanctuary, but for it to be broadcasted across all radios has me thinking there is one. I don't know about you, but I haven't seen a single one since this whole thing started"."

"He's right." F/n turned the radio off and began to carefully drive off, avoiding any other vehicles in the way, "I haven't seen one either and Rhote is just a couple cities away from Musutafu. They'd come to nearby cities before going across the country."

"Well, don't you think someone should turn it off?" Izuku sat back, staring outside, "It's giving people false hope."

Katsuki scoffed, getting comfortable in his seat, "S'not our problem. We got better shit to do, let someone else do it."

A sigh was emitted from the green-haired lips. He stared out into the streets, watching as home passed by and a few rotters that were trapped underneath the car wave at him. Who knew how many people had heard the broadcast and made their way towards the city only to have their hopes up. Some had most likely died reaching there as the city was filled with large skyscrapers.

It's sad to imagine their faces when they come across an empty building, possibly filled with rotters. To distract himself from the thought, he put a smile on and glanced at his childhood friend, who is still overjoyed to see him, "Kacchan, did you know that F/n also went to school with us!"

"Like I give a fuck." He muttered, though he spared a glance at her.

The boy in the backseat continued, "She knew Hitoshi. Remember him? He looked kind of like Mr. Aizawa."

"Unlike you I don't care to learn about other people." The blonde annoyingly said as he opened the glove compartment, hoping to find a CD to drown out Izuku's voice.

"What class did you say you were in again?" Izuku ignored Katsuki as he averted his attention to F/n. The girl, with her eyes on the road, responded, "F."

"She was with Mei." Izuku looked at Katsuki, "I know you remember her."

"Again." The blonde rolled his eyes as he adjusted the radio, desperately hoping for music, "I don't care."

"So rude." Izuku quietly muttered. Unknown to the both, F/n was rather amused.

Finally they reached a hardware store. They pulled around the back where plenty of wood, fences, sheds, plants, and outdoor equipment rested. Thankfully the gate was left open, allowing F/n to back up the truck so they wouldn't have to walk with holding heavy items. She placed her hand on the back headrest of Katsuki, her body turned so she could see the back watching carefully to not hit the shed that was slightly in the way. The rear mirror was unfortunately cracked.

"Dammit." Katsuki grumbled when he looked through his bag. He had forgotten to mention he didn't have any weapons, "Deku, you got a knife on you or something?"

"Yeah," Izuku grabbed his bag and searched through it. He gave his friend the extra army knife that F/n had kindly given him, "Here. Be careful, it's really sharp."

"That's the whole point of a knife, dumbass." The blonde avoided the girl's arm as he reached to grab it, though he did not miss the way her arm slightly flexed when his breath hit it.

With the car successfully inside the back of the store, she left the engine running as turning it back on would be a hassle. They then removed themself from the car with Katsuki closing the gate as a rotter began to approach them. He waited for the rotter to get close before he plunged his knife into its head. A squelch was heard, giving him a disgusted shiver. Never would he get used to the sounds.

"How many do you think we need?" Izuku asked, his hand perched on his chin as he looked at the wooden fences that would reach around their midsection, "I want these to separate our yard and the neighbors yard, but leave a spot to where we can enter and exit."

"Well, are you planning on, like, having a garden in our yard and a pen in the neighbor's yard?" She scratched her nape, "Because finding animals will be tricky."

"No, no." Izuku shook his head, "I want the other yard to hold the extra supplies so our yard doesn't look cluttered, otherwise it'll most definitely draw attention. Our yard is small and I'd really like to have our own space. Besides, I'm sure Kacchan would like to have a home for himself."

"I understand. Grab as many as the truck holds. We'll use the rest for fire." F/n looked back at Katsuki who made their way towards them, "You get him to help you while I'll look for the tools."

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" Katsuki grumbled, though he began to hold up a fence, "How 'bout you do this while I look for the tools."

"Do you even know what tools we need?" She asked, but when he didn't respond she began to make her way to the building, "Exactly."

The blonde cursed underneath his breath while Izuku gave a glance at F/n, "Be safe!"

Pulling her knife out of her pocket, she opened the door and made her way inside. She glanced around, hardly any clutter was around, but she did notice the floor had footprints of dried up dirt. She ventured deeper, keeping her knife out in case a rotter spots her.

She glanced up at the end of every aisle, looking for its number to figure out where they hold the items she needs. She passed by indoor, vehicles, painting, and lighting tools until she found the one for fences. She placed her bag on the shelf, just underneath some pliers. She grabbed whatever she needed and placed her bag back on her shoulders.

Hearing shuffling, she glanced around to find the culprit. The ceiling windows allowed for some light to brighten the room. Seeing no dead, she continued her way back to the males. Quietly, she moved from aisle to aisle, trying not to draw attention to herself. Her boots tapping against the floor did cause some ruckus and she internally cursed at herself.

When she moved to another aisle, she spotted a rotter. It had looked her way and moved towards her causing an eye roll. With quick movement, before it could let out a moan, she stabbed its head and carefully placed it on the floor as the thud would attract rotters to go after her.

She let out a quiet sigh, but when she turned around a rotter had snuck up on her. The rotter had her push herself back to the shelf to avoid being eaten. Some items on the shelf had fallen to their feet along with her knife that she unfortunately lost grip of. She grunted as she tried shoving the dead back, but the clutter had allerted a couple nearby rotters. It was going to be a hassle to get rid of them, that's for sure.

[spacemanxpaninis]

☕ - If you and your F/O went to a cafe, what would your drink orders be?

🍓 - After your drinks, would you order desserts? What would you order?

AHHHHH DGCSDCVX I WAS HOPING SOMEONE WOULD DO IT 🥺 and yesterday I went to a local French café so this was perfectttttt ahem anyhoo!!!

☕️- Starting with me, I pretty much always get a london fog or a matcha latte 🖤 ya girl is not a coffee person 😆 but as far as The Squad™ goes:

❤️‍🔥: At first she’s just like a fuckin uhhhh coffee???? Then she learns she can get ✨flavors✨ and ✨SPRINKLES✨ and oh my god. One frappuccino for my frappu-queeno. Karlach dies when I say that and demands I say it to the barista too. She’s lucky I simp for her love her.

⚜️: My boy Louis is FRENCH so it’s going to depend on the time of day. Morning? Probably café au lait. Afternoon? Probably un noisette. I’m just sitting there with my tea of shame like woohoo babe you’re so authentic!!! like we’re not LITERALLY IN FRANCE AND I’M JUST THE AMERICAN WHO MARRIED INTO TS

👽: Insists it’s cringe to get anything other than a rEGuLAr cOFfeE but then sees me with my matcha and is like it’s green??? And I’m like yessir we love chlorophyll in this house isn’t it pretty 🥰 and suddenly both of us are always there in the café with our violently green cups because you cannot convince me this man isn’t a sucker for brightly colored shit look at him. Howard and I both love it when they draw stuff in the foam. Since we’re regulars the baristas have started surprising us with nerd shit on our nerd drinks!

📒: When starbucks released that lavender cold foam? Yeah that was for Annie actually. She loves it. Her absolute favorite is an iced latte with lavender cold foam and I often get a lavender matcha to match 🥰

💅🏼: Max is like Howard, he lowkey thinks it’s unmanly to get, like, not a black coffee. Thus it becomes a running joke that he gets a black coffee when he’s dressed what he deems ‘regular’ or even boring, and a fancy lil cinnamon chaiccino when he’s crossdressing. Thinks my matcha is sus AF becauss it’s green and teasingly gives me shit for it, but does give my London Fog a try.

⚔️: I also don’t think Eowyn would actually be a big coffee person. She prefers tea, something calming or floral usually. I can see her getting a good jasmine tea and really loving it 🥰 she also enjoys my London Fog, too, so sometimes we share our drinks!

🍓- I LOVE A BEAR CLAW 😤 anything almond like that? HELL YEAH. Or a chocolate croissant? HELL! YEAH! My dumbass just loves pastries though fr

❤️‍🔥: All the desserts! Ok, maybe not all, but we always get two or three to split. She also likes bear claws and thinks the name is badass, so we usually get one of those and something wonderfully impractical that we have no business consuming in the morning, like a long thin bar of dulce de leche cake or a cupcake that was so cute she needed it immediately.

⚜️: Oh Louis is with me on the croissants. Except those are not chocolate croissants, apparently it’s pain au chocolat and the Americans just don’t know what tf we’re talking about. I’d be offended if he wasn’t A. right B. cute C. buying me said pain au chocolat and also exposing me to chausson aux pommes another time 😌

👽: Bro you ever had? Fuckin BABKA? Very fire. Miss Howard with those tiny little starbucks scones, his mom knows a lady. Secondary location baby. Our asses are hitting up a legit bakery. Café day with Howard and I goes hard 😤 and if anything else looks good? He gets it he’s my lil princess 😌

📒: Little fruit tarts! Or if it’s early a strawberry and peach danish. We cut them in half and split them 🥰

💅🏼: It’s a fifty-fifty what dessert we get with our drinks, typically either a traditional dessert or just, like, wonderfully shitty donuts from the closest shop in Toledo. Lebanese sweets are so boss dude. Namoura or baklava is always a good choice! As far as the donuts we’d get, I love a maple donut or an old-fashioned (which given it’s the 1950s, maybe that’s just a donut 😂) and Max usually gets a chocolate one!

⚔️: Eowyn seems like an apple strudel or bear claw girlie too! She and I are also splitters and sharers, so the one of each cut in half works perfectly.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK 🥰

[loopsy-d]

Umbrella Academy

Sum TUA fits cuz it’s been DRY lately fr

(warning: I only read Klaus/Dave, and these all have it, sorry TT)

1. La Mesa by Arowen12 - 44,757 words, 10 Chapters / Completed

Klaus doesn't start a cult, he lands in that alleyway alone, he picks himself up and only bemoans his chance in life a little bit. Klaus doesn't travel the world, doesn't quote songs that aren't written yet, he finds a little street and a little restaurant and for once in his life, he stays; some supernatural things also happen too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

2. tell me you love me (come back and haunt me) by Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated - 10,041 words, Oneshot. Sober Klaus

Klaus has learned. He’s grown. He’s evolved. And after Dave? He breaks.

The day after Ben’s funeral, Klaus moved out of the academy, got clean, and started training- learned how to help his powers grow and grow and grow. But the apocalypse is still on, God is a brat, time makes everyone its bitch, and the only thing more dangerous than little Number Seven is heartbroken Number Four, a natural disaster wrapped in flowy skirts and black eyeliner (and they’re all about to learn just how dangerous someone can be when they don’t have anything left to lose). ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3. The Lights Make Bodies Blurry by heyshalina - 26,867 words, Oneshot, immortal Klaus, great family dynamics. TW: canon typical events

“You know, I think the Séance was a bad name for me, in retrospect.” Klaus bends his head to the side, and his neck lets out a loud crack in release. “They should have called me the Cockroach.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4. Wicked Game by LiviJoyann - 59,497 words, 14/18 chapters /  incomplete, ANGST!!! TW: physical and mental torture yikes.

When Klaus runs into Dave in an unexpected way, he is distraught to find that it isn't the reunion he had hoped for. Klaus's resilience and love for Dave is pushed to its limits as he tries to hold onto the hope of getting HIS Dave back.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5. i was lost (until I found me in you) by Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated - 16,350 words, 2 chapters / completed, modern meeting AU

Klaus loves Dave.Dave loves Klaus.Things should be a little bit easier than they are, but then Five returns, long hidden secrets come to light, and things suddenly get a whole lot more complicated. 

OR 

Dave used to be part of the commission, and conveniently forgot to tell Klaus about it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(Note: Dave/Klaus is more background for first three, but focused on in the 4th and 5th)

[cloudcountry]

Beethoven is a boyboss fr fr ✊ /lh

SJDBFS HELP I’m loving your love for Zero,, And thanks for the birthday wishes, too! >w< 

As promised, here are those TWST thoughts/ideas I had- Keep in mind they’re all really random, so they may be a bit unhinged-

(Also, sorry I didn’t send this in sooner! My birthday was yesterday and things were pretty busy!)

TWST Thoughts (General)

-Rook would be such a fan of Shakespeare

-Yuu/Reader riding on Kraken!Azul’s shoulder,, I saw this as a fanart piece once, where both of them are peeking out of the seawater looking at an island far away, and I can’t stop thinking about it

-Savanaclaw students but it’s just this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KSVUZsiEAQ

-Okay but seriously, we don’t consider the talking paintings of NRC much. I remember seeing a fan comic where a siren in a painting lured a Yuu!MC to them and was about to hurt/most likely kill them (the comic was in Japanese, so I couldn’t get the full context), but Jade managed to snap them out of their trance (and then slashed the painting soon after Yuu!MC was gone). This comic has etched itself into my mind and now I’m wondering what other types of paintings in NRC there are,, There’s gotta be some pretty wacky ones, right?? Do they know all the juicy gossip going around school??

-The iconic Howl and Sophie moment where they walk through the air together but with Yuu/Reader and Malleus/Lilia

-TWST as a musical. I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again 😩

-TWST Zombie Apocalypse AU,,

-Speaking of AUs, I’ve had the random thought of the TWST cast being freedom fighters/part of a revolution,, I’ve been rewatching Les Misérables songs, that’s why 💀 (Though, then again, some of them literally helped save the world in Idia’s chapter, so I guess it’s not that farfetched-)

-TWST AU where literally everything is the same except Idia is a dog person (It’s a cursed thought, I know)

-TWST Corpse Bride AU (I have a lot of AU thoughts-)

-Now that I think about it, Jamil would have a heart attack once he hears about Kalim’s escapade in Playful Land 💀

-I can’t imagine Riddle handling spice,, You could put ketchup on something and he’d think it’d be spicy /j

-Okay, this is kind of a long one, but this is based off a Genshin Impact theory I saw; I’m kinda paraphrasing the theory, but one of the characters, Bennett, has astronomically bad luck. Like, can’t even have a normal day without something happening, kind of bad luck. The theory was that Bennett’s bad luck stemmed from the thought that the world itself didn’t like him and had forsaken him. As such, bad things happen to him all the time. I kinda shifted this theory onto Yuu in Twisted Wonderland, but I changed it just a little bit. Yuu themselves aren’t from Twisted Wonderland, they’re from another world entirely. They don’t belong there, and so the world itself is trying to get rid of them, and Yuu is now experiencing the same experiences of bad luck Bennett has. Sometimes it’s little things, like a rock falling on their head, or they trip a little on some uneven ground. Sometimes it’s not-so-little things, like almost getting struck by lightning, a tree falling on them, or the ground suddenly giving way under them when they’re on a mountain hike with Jade and now they’re falling into a river— I’m sure you get the point. Yuu is, quite literally, hated by the world itself and it wants them gone. (Which, now that I think about it, is a little creepy if you think about the implications; the world itself is alive, has a conscience, and it’s entirely against you.)

-The TWST cast but they all work as weather anchors at the same station. 

(This is purely because of these two videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Goz0PnhEg8 + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXuc7SAyk2s

-Okay, so you know how in Hunchback in Notre Dame Quasimodo swings around the church on ropes and stuff? I love the image of Yuu doing the same thing around Noble Bell College,, Maybe they get into the final fight with Rollo and get pushed off the edge, but they manage to grab onto a loose rope and swing back around or something,,

-I just love the image of Yuu and the Adeuce duo shaking with laughter and leaning on each other for emotional support,,

-The TWST cast, but they’re all in a school band-

-Are there guns in Twisted Wonderland??

-You know how Ace and Deuce went to Scarabia because of Yuu’s emergency message? I NEED there to be a fic of them travelling together and freaking out along the way there. I want these two to be in a taxi. I want these two on a boat. /lh

I do have a few more thoughts (mainly on TWST Reader concepts- *cough*), but I don’t haven’t had the time to type them all out,, I hope you like these ones, though! :D

Jackdaw Anon 🐦

JAHSGDJAHS THANK YOu!!!! zero is sososoososo sweet im foaming at the mouth whenever is ee him. i finished hsi route a few days agao and now i MISS HIM :((( UGH ZERO COME BACK JONAH IS SO WEIRD

PLS DONT WORRY ABOUT IT it takes me FOREVER to get to long asks because my brain lags when i see them SO YORUE FINE

i agree w you on rook because shakespeare >>>>>>

PELAS EPELASE PLEASE JUST A WEIRD PERSON AND THEIR BEST FRIEND KRAKEN I NEED IT I NEED ITTTTTTTTT

OOOOOOOOO honestly talking paintings is such a concept sometimes i forget abt that thing w cater.,.,.,.,.

AWWW :(( please give that idea to lilia it just fits so much bette rin my head theyre so cute

idia pspspspspsing jack....................

JAMILW OUDL FUCKINGD IE IF HE HEARD ABOUT THAT HOLYS HIT OMGGG/!??!?!?!

riddle cant handle spice but thats because of his MOTHER WHO SUCKED AT PARENTING >:T

awww,..,., wait that theory is so creepy and so SAD . gahhh AZUL MAKE A CONTRACT WITH THE WORLD SO IT DOESNT HURT YUU ANYMORE PELASE!!!! A S A P!!!!!!!

THEY SWING BACK AROUND AND KICK HIM IN THE BACK AND KNOCK HIM OUT HELL YEAH

there are probably guns in twst.,,.., i dont see why nnot!!!!

JSAHDGJHAS I KNWO RIGHT??? THEIR TRAVELLING PROCESS WAS PROBABLY SO MESSY KNOWING THEM HELP ME ^&$!%^@!$@!

TEHSE WERE ALL SO SILLY THANK YOUUUUU

[featherdusterbelphie]

Picnics and Barbed Wires

C/W: fluff w angst. character death. spoilers to TEW game

A/n: happy birthday to the crow dad! the money gremlin! had this in my drafts for so long and was so tempted to make a mini comic based on it but aaaaa im too lazyyy (and im hella busy w college rn). the au's kinda dead atm but i might as well post it

Word count: 1.06k words total.

Mammon. That's his name.

Mammon. The Avatar of Greed.

Mammon. One of the Seven Lords of the Devildom.

Mammon-

He opens his eyes, looking up at the blue sky. Clouds roll by slowly, and his ears pick up on the distant sound of birds chirping. He can feel the familiar prickling of grass digging into his back, and the soft breeze that tussles his hair. He blinks, and suddenly you are all he sees. You look down at him with a concerned expression, shading his form from the sunlight. "Mammon, are you okay?"

Huh? Was all he could answer you as he sat up. There was a throbbing at the back of his head, and he tried to rub it off with a hand but was unsuccessful. Why was his head hurting so much? "I saw you landed on your head when you fell, are you okay?"

He fell? That explains it. 

"Yeah, I'm okay MC, don't worry." He gave you a smirk to dissuade your worries. "A simple fall like that is nothing to The Great Mammon."

You snort, "Okay, okay, I was just worried. But why were you climbing that tree anyway?"

Why was he? He shrugs because he can't remember. You don't bother saying anything more. He takes that silence between you two to finally look at his surroundings. Around him is lush grass that expands over a good chunk of land, with a copse of trees surrounding the edges. In the distance, he can see a humble wooden house, smoke pouring out the chimney on top.

"Ah, and by the way. While you were unconscious, Belphie, Luci and Luke decided that they'd be in charge of baking the pies for the picnic. Luci insisted that we should relax for a bit and let them handle it themselves."

Right, yes. The picnic. Somehow he can't wrap his head around it. He can't remember anything before he woke up, let alone the idea that he's here in this warm, peaceful place with you but his heart is content and he can't seem to find it in him to care. But at the mention of the others, something stirs within him.

Terrified eyes. Shaking hands. Smoke poured out the mouth of a pistol. Violet and pink eyes glared with so much hatred. Screaming and running and blood - there is so much blood - and he feels like there's something he's not seeing right. Feels like he's losing control of himself. What is happening?

He was just hanging out with you, his human, enjoying this beautiful day with you. Why is there dread pooling in his stomach? Why is his head pounding so much that he can barely think straight? Why is it that when he turns his head to look at you, you're staring at him with the most terrified look in your eyes? Why are you pointing that gun at him, MC?

Did he do something wrong? He doesn't remember what he did wrong. So why are you running away from him? Why are you screaming at him? He's sorry, MC. Very, very sorry. He never meant to hurt you, he truly didn't. So please, wipe those tears away and come back in his arms, he promises he won't hurt you, not now, not ever. So come on, throw away the gun and come closer to him, MC.

MC? Why aren't you listening to him?

MC, just throw away the gun and come closer to him. He won't hurt you, please, just get over here and let him hold you. Let him feel you in his arms. Mammon won't hurt you--this axe he's holding? Yeah, that's nothing. He won't use this against you, MC. You know that. He won't ever hurt you, you know that. So please MC, just get back in his arms. He promises to never do this ever again, just step closer. Please, he just wants to hold you. Please just listen to him. Please please please-

Mammon startles and he opens his eyes to the sky again. Peaceful. Calm. Bright. What was that about? He doesn't know. There's a nauseating headache pounding from behind his eyes. A rhythmic throbbing reverberated inside his skull. But it all melts away when he feels your fingers brushing through his hair and he closes his eyes and leans into your touch, letting his head rest on your lap as he listens to the birds chirping in the distance. He was probably just dreaming. Yeah, that makes sense.

He would never hurt you, MC. And neither would you hurt him. It was very odd that he would dream of such a thing, but then again, most dreams had no meaning. They are just dreams, like the nightmares that he used to have of losing you again. He loves you, more than anything. More than Goldie, more than his brothers. He opens his eyes and reaches for your face. A soft smile on his lips as he holds the side of your face with his hand, his thumb gently caressing your tears cheek.

"I love you MC."

You smile down at him. "I love you too, Mammon. Don't say that, don't you dare close your eyes!"

And so he continued to bask in this wonderful afternoon with you, laying on the lap of his favourite human, while you caressed and cradled his head in affection. There were no tears in your eyes as you sob his name in anguish over and over again-- no, what came out of your mouth was soft, soothing humming. A lullaby that almost brings him to sleep. He closed his eyes again.

Mammon has always wished that these small moments with you would last forever, to indulge in his sin and be engulfed in your warmth, but he knows that's selfish, knows the others would fight him constantly for this. But right now? Now, where nothing matters but you and him in this moment? Basking in each other's warmth and comfort? Maybe he will indulge in his sin for a bit, it's in his nature. You'll forgive him, won't you, MC?

A/n: its been months since i last edited this lmao so it makes zero sense except if you live inside my head ahahaha

(AO3 version :)

[cheemken]

Man, you got any headcanons about your Silkwing AU? Maybe about how Iris went to Unova and met the Unova kids, or about Silver meeting Gold and Kris? Even just family bonding moments

I need fluff rn cause I just read the most soul crushing, heart stopping, punched me in the face, slapped my dog then pushed him down the stairs, robbed me of my happiness, deceiving piece of literature, sobbing worth, angst oneshot

I didn’t even want angst. I just didn’t read the tags right

REAL SHIT THO FELT THAT FR🤣

But hey, don't worry man I gotchu hahah

I have been thinking abt Iris going to Unova tho, bc I wanna say she did learn abt Lance once training at Hammerlocke in Galar when he was younger so he could understand Dragons more and be a stronger trainer, and she wanted that kinda experience too. So she told Lance that there was a Dragon Master in Unova too, his name was Drayden, and Iris wanted to train under him the same way Lance trained at Hammerlocke. She wanted to be at Unova bc she knows Hydreigon was a pkmn native to the region, so maybe she can learn more abt her own partner too. Lance was reluctant for a bit, ofc, that's his daughter and it's not like Silver would join her, so he and Dia are worried at what would happen to her.

But yknow, Iris was at least fifteen now, and half of her team are fully evolved pseudo legendary dragons w her, she can defend herself well. So hey, Lance and Diantha finally agreed, letting her stay w Alder while she's there, and Alder promised to update her parents every day abt her progress.

And hey, everything went well yknow, Drayden was dope, he's cool, he's nice, even helped her train her own self too, making her do push ups and all that hahah so she's at least physically strong too. And like, yeah the events of BW, she was visiting Castelia, it was her break so she decided to buy some Casteliacones, then Team Plasma happened, and then Alder and Iris both told Dia and Lance and man Dia almost wanted Iris to come back home in fear of her daughter getting hurt. But yknow, Lance tells her that Iris should stay at Unova, Dia almost got mad then Lance stopped her, going on how Silver managed to stop Rocket along w him and his own friends, they should have faith in Iris too. And Iris reassured her that she wasn't alone in dealing w Plasma, as the entire Unova League was trying to stop them too, along w these trainers from a town called Nuvema. Diantha was honestly still terrified, but she decided to trust Iris, ofc Lance was right, their kids are capable, they're not weak

And yeah, they stopped Team Plasma, Iris still stayed for a few months, and in those months she became closer to the Nuvema kids, till Hilda said she's gonna search for N, and the others didn't want her to go, but she was determined to find him yknow, to bring him back home too. So they wished her luck, and then they parted ways, w Iris going back to Johto, and Diantha and Lance were there hugging her tight, happy that she was alright.

It would be funny tho if N was in Johto. Like yeah two year timeskip, the Unova kids kept in touch w each other, they suddenly get a message from Hilda, "idk where the fuck this loser is I searched the entirety of Unova and even Alola i think he's dead fr"

And Iris is there at Azalea, sees this guy w long green hair apparently talking to the Slowpoke, then messages their group chat "*sends a pic of N w the Slowpoke* this ur guy?"

"HOW DID HE GET TO JOHTO BRING HIS ASS BACK HERE"

"on it boss o7"

So yeah, Iris and N had a talk, and he really was the same N of Plasma, he changed tho, Iris knew, and she said that Hilda was looking for him. And like,, idk, a lil moment between them, w N saying how he felt guilty, he didn't want to face them just yet, but he knows he has to, even Reshiram wanted to go back to Unova, and he has to admit, Unova was home to him. But idk, maybe before they left, Iris let N stay w her for a bit in her home, and he got to know her fam, and they were nice to him, he honestly thought Diantha could talk to pkmn too, but she said she could only ever really read their minds. And yeah after that maybe, they decided to head to Unova again

But hey yeah, the events of BW2 w some changes hahah and how it's N and Hilda and Iris who helped Nate stop Ghetsis, and Nate, despite the one who captured Kyurem, decided to leave it in Iris' hands, as she has more experience w dragons and the fact that he really didn't want to be w Kyurem. But yeah, they went to Opelucid, and it was nice seeing Drayden again yknow, it was a teary reunion, but Drayden was happy to see Iris again. Nate told Drayden of Kyurem, and he wanted to just trust Iris in handling the Splicers, as he really didn't want to, and ofc Drayden went w that too, if Nate doesn't want to, then it should be someone who knows the true powers of the dragons but still strong enough to not get the power to their head, and who's a better candidate for that than Iris? So yeah, they entrusted Iris w Kyurem and the Splicers, and she promised she'd take care of them the best she can.

Anyways imagine Iris showing off her legendary pkmn to her fam tho, Lance and Dia were impressed ofc, but Silver was jealous af going "I'm gonna find a legendary Pokémon too! And it'll be stronger than yours!"

"bet ouo"

But also yknow it would be cool if the Unova kids visit Johto for once, it's always Iris who visits Unova anyways, plus it would be great to visit other regions every once in a while. But like imagine them getting there via their dragons tho bcmdnd hahaha imagine Hilda and Bianca on Zekrom and the boys on Reshiram, they land on Blackthorn City, and they see Iris, Hilbert was waving at her and yeah they reunite hahah

Imagine tho Silver seeing the other dragons and became more adamant he'd find a legendary too, and Lance is so fucking amazed by the other two legendary dragons of Unova right at his doorstep, and Diantha's there still processing how these kids got Unova's legendary dragons under their command like they're just normal pkmn hahaha