#oh well I guess I just get to enjoy accidentally stumbling upon music I really like :)

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Me, an ignoramus: Wow, I really like this genre of music! :) I wonder what it's called?

Wikipedia: *lists 15 genres under one artist, 7 under another one, 12 under a third, none of them are the same*

Me: Well that's helpful

[radama-zard]

Dungeons & Drabbles 2023

Day 6 - Sanctuary

(Fell a lil' behind there, oops!!!)

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

FCG/Imogen - ModernHuman AU

It was strange how great a difference two doors, a janky box of a lift and a little fresh air could make. Away from the hustle and bustle of the nightclub below, Imogen felt free to just be. And she wasn't the only one who seemed to feel that way, judging by the sigh of relief dropped by her sweetheart beside her.

“Glad to be free of the storm too, darlin’?” Imogen playfully asked, dropping down into one of the waterproof beanbags that the owner of Spire By Fire so graciously provided for their less than… wild patrons.

And by wild she meant the kind of people that enjoyed getting shit faced, surrounded by like, one hundred other drunk idiots, with music blaring so loud she could feel it in her teeth, as one stumbled around, blinded by the colorful, flashing lights.

If Fearne and Ashton hadn't insisted upon a ‘double date’, then neither of them would even be here. Clubs had never really been their thing.

“I’m still not sure I really get the appeal of it,” Fresh Cut Grass retorted, wheeling over to join Imogen with a soft little chuckle. Wordlessly he extended a hand, which she took in a heartbeat, steadily helping them to their feet before helping her date-mate to settle down on the beanbag beside her. “It's a whole lotta noise and strangers gettin’ too close without sayin’ so much as hi! And I’m sayin’ this as a people person.”

“I think it takes a particular kind of people person, or just person in particular to enjoy this kinda scene. You know, the kind that enjoys… grindin’ on strangers who smell like cheap whiskey. And not havin’ workin’ eardrums the next morning.”

Fresh Cut Grass hummed, shuffling just a tad before Imogen felt the familiar weight of his head resting upon her shoulder, drawing a tender smile to tug at her otherwise tired lips.

“You know, I think I’d like comin’ back here!” Fresh Cut Grass chirped, feeling Imogen's surprised scoff as she slipped an arm around his waist, fingertips tracing languid swirls as her hand came to rest upon their hip.

“You gotta be shittin’ me, Letters. You looked about ready to snap down there! Not that I’m blamin’ ya, I was damn well ready to start throwing fists after the third guy ’accidentally’ bumped into me.”

“Oh. No. Not down there! That’s a sensory and navigation nightmare!” They quickly assured her, hands waving nervously for just a moment. “I mean… up here. It's real nice. The moon’s out, we can barely hear a peep outta all the noise downstairs, and… it’s just the two of us. It's kinda like we got our own private sanctuary!”

The fairy lights that decorated the railings and trimmings all about this rooftop hideaway twinkled sweetly around them, reminding Imogen of the stars of her hometown. The big city was awful for stargazing, something she had whined about countless times to Laudna.

Right now though, light polluted sky hardly phased her, drowned out potted shrubbery and little trees, by the rainbow of blossoms and blooms that surrounded them, all only made that much prettier by the way they reflected in Fresh Cut Grass’ bespectacled baby blues.

The world had always looked so much prettier, shimmering back at her through his ever sparkling eyes.

“A sanctuary, just for you and me,” Imogen whispered, low and sweet. “I like the sound of that. Our own lil’ slice of heaven.”

A tender hand cradled Fresh Cut Grass’ cheek, and Imogen’s heart went absolutely aflutter as she felt them lean into it… and then began to race as he shyly turned to lay a press a fleeting kiss upon her palm.

“Bein’ with you always kinda feels like this…” Came his own whispered reply, an admission just dripping an adoration that left Imogen’s face hotter than the fenced off little firepit that flickered just a few feet before them.

“I guess… bein’ with you is kinda like a sanctuary all of its own!” Fresh Cut Grass finished with a warm, easy laugh, before dipping in and dropping a kiss right to the tip of their girlfriend’s burning nose.

A kiss that she swiftly stole, her lips upon theirs in an adoring mess of a sudden kiss.

Not that Fresh Cut Grass minded.

No, they didn't mind this at all.

[not-from-the-absence-of-violence]

All of you a verb in perfect view.

"When you move

I'm put to mind of all that I wanna be

When you move

I could never define all that you are to me"

~Movement, Hozier.

Gable, Travis and Margaret dance and very literal magic occurs.

Margaret was pointedly not counseling them. After the whole Dref ordeal she had punctuated in no uncertain terms she was not working. 

It was just so that them and Travis were in the same room, and that Margaret was there, with her chair half in front of the door having a distinct “I won’t let you leave until you talk” air about her. 

This had become somewhat common, she was just there as an impartial mediator for when they crossed lines. She seemed to enjoy it. She was looking between them with obvious amusement as they both did not look at eachother.

Travis particularly was staring at a fixed point on the wall and shuffling his cards. The effect of him ignoring them was lessened by his legs propped up on their lap.

Gable was pretending to read a book, their hand laid lightly upon Travis’ ankle, occasionally catching Margarets gaze and going back to their book.

“This isn’t a competition you know,” Margaret said, “you aren’t winning or anything.”

“Speak for yourself, I think I’m winning spectacularly.” Travis said, randomly pulling out a card of his deck, pulling the union and quickly shuffling the cards again.

Margaret rolled her eyes.

“I am not here to force you to talk,” she said plainly, “you are welcome to ignore each other how long you want. I am just here so you don’t start a fight again, since that seems to be the only way you resolve tension.”

She had a point. They had recently told her what exactly had happened in Nordia and she was still incredulous at their incapability of conflict resolution.

Gable could hear Travis’ small petulant “we kissed too, you know.” but even he knew that wasn’t that great of an argument. 

Gable sighed. They wanted to talk, but they weren’t sure how to anymore. Nordia had very much felt like the climax of something and they had no clue how to continue.

They reimagined their fight. The rain pouring down on them; Travis’ hurt look on his face; the actual fighting. It had been like a dance.

“I have an idea,” they said, standing up suddenly and almost making Travis fall over.

“That doesn’t happen often.” Travis muttered, ever so helpful.

Margaret just had a single raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Gable?” she asked.

“It’s about learning to be comfortable with each other right?”, Gable said. Margaret at least was interested where this was going.

“You could put it that way.” she said.

“What if we danced?” 

Gable made direct eye contact with Travis, who had a brief moment of several emotions passing his face before he went back to his disinterested smirk.

Gable had their own things around dancing, the way they always fell into the familiar steps of battle. The rigidity of the dances they still remembered they had done before body or time meant anything.

But that’s exactly why this might help.

“I don’t think they even know how to dance.” Travis said to Margaret, but he was standing up nevertheless.

They stood in front of each other somewhat awkwardly, because as much as they hated to admit it, Travis had a point. Aside from an austere angelic version of a waltz and drunk moving around to music in a bar, Gable had no clue how this worked.

But they noticed in Travis’ hesitation to put his arms around them. Neither did Travis.

Margaret was laughing at them a little. They must look like unsure teenagers in their first ever dance.

She came in between them, her arms crossed but she couldn’t fight the smile on her face.

“You two have never danced together before.” she stated and shook her head a bit.

“Well I mean-”

“There was one time in that bar-”

“You were rather drunk-”

“Oh, you should have seen yourself-”

“There was that ball, then.”

“The heist?”

“I would hardly call it a heist, Gable, you killed everyone if I recall correctly.”

“They were red feathers though.”

“I am not saying you were wrong to kill them, I am just saying we didn’t dance.”

“Alright, that's enough,” Margaret said and took them both by the hand. “I’ll teach you a dance from my hometown, easy to do with three.”

She did, it started with spinning together in a circle, holding hands, some careful back and forth steps and then what should’ve been really easy spins and claps. The sort of dance you would dance in a festival, switching dance partners around and clapping along to music.

Gable picked it up surprisingly quickly, Travis not so much, but even then they all fell into a relaxed rhythm as they attempted to master it. All of them only laughing a little bit when Travis tripped over his own feet.

Margaret was a very kind teacher and soon they were all looking at each other with delight as they swayed. 

The size difference was a little bit comical, but it also meant Gable was able to spin them very easily.

They spinned Margaret first, gently and easily, she giggled, and Gable felt the magic filling the room.

Travis was looking at them almost a little breathless, this was going to be fun.

“Feeling left out Matagot?” Margaret said coyly.

He huffed, but didn’t complain when Gable twirled him and by the time he stopped spinning he was fighting a genuine smile.

“I guess you aren’t too bad at this, Gable.” he said, taking their and Margaret's hands again and spinning them in a circle again. 

It felt like flying, their heart racing and power in the room giving them a pleasant buzz. The soft candle light and the stars visible outside made the scene almost idyllic. There was  softness in the moment and all of them felt more relaxed than they had in a good while.

They went on for a bit, reveling in the intimacy, half-stumbling over each other's feet. Occasionally slowing down to lean against each other and catch their breath. They all felt the magic flowing through them like electricity. Although it would take them a while to see the coil of magic forming around them.

Occasionally one of them would attempt to duck under the arms of the other two, laughing as Gable failed to do so, unbeknownst to them tangling the strings of magic around them further.

It was only when Gable tried to twirl Travis again and he tripped over what seemed like tripwire and Gable was only just able to catch him, ending up practically dipping him, that the dance came to a stop and they all noticed the spell they had weaved together.

Gable couldn’t quite see the string, but they felt it tangled around them, they felt the emotion pulsating through it. It was a little like the strings that tied them up in Nordia, if less pressing this time. But it still left all three of them interlaced in the middle of the room.

“Oh dear,” Margaret said, she was looking at the strings around them “You two make quite powerful magic, it seems I may have let it run a little loose as it were.”

Gable had by now helped Travis up properly but was unable still to move away from him. 

“You are saying we accidentally wove a spell.” Travis said, properly exasperated.

Gable felt the wave of fondness that didn’t quite make it into his voice. Travis Matagot was an interesting man to be emotionally tethered to. 

Margaret shrugged.

“I don’t know if i would call it a spell perse, but yes essentially.”

“Can you stop it?” Gable asked, as the idea of fully feeling everything Travis was feeling -and vice versa- was a scary thought.

“Yes, but I have to be careful we shouldn’t-”

She didn’t get further than that Travis plucked one of the strings in an attempt to wrestle out of their embrace.

A wave of more than 200 years of concentrated emotion fell over Gable like ice cold water after a warm bath. 

it was something like the feeling of needing someone so badly it aches, accompanied by brief flashes of something like memory.

“I need your help,” said in a thousand different ways.

The smell of summer rain.

Gable holding Travis’ hand running from someone, both of them almost bursting into giggles.

A hushed whisper Gable didn’t quite catch in the middle of the night.

 It wasn’t too bad, but it was incredibly overwhelming, Gable gasped for air.

Underneath there was the calming presence of Margaret, her composed emotions in the spell, her gentle hand in their hand. 

Like the beacon of a lighthouse Gable thought distantly.

Travis pupils were wide and he was shaking ever so slightly.

“As I was saying,” Margaret said now a little softer, “we shouldn’t just yank at the strings.”

“Got it.” Travis said a little like he had been punched in the gut.

“We are going to try and retrace our steps so as to not disturb them too much, and if needed I’ll help you untangle some of these,” she made direct eye contact with Travis, “Gently.”

“Yes, yes fine I get it .”

They set to work, it was like the string games Jonnit had tried to teach Gable. 

Step over this string, now twirl Margaret counter clockwise, now carefully under a bridge made by their hands.

Occasionally one of them would brush against a string, unlocking a series of weirdly specific hard to pinpoint emotions and memories each time.

A party neither of them wanted to go to that they both begrudgingly enjoyed.

A long forgotten inside joke.

The feeling of drowning. Together. 

Margaret guided them through the steps, occasionally stopping, reminding them to breathe. Gently grounding both of them, like an anchor to reality. 

Guilt and grief so intertwined up in each other neither of them knew which bits were their own.

The shaky exhale of fond annoyance.

Let me take care of you (implied but never said).

So many broken and unbroken promises.

None of them spoke, Gable could feel Travis’ hand gripping theirs fiercely. Margaret gave them an encouraging smile. 

“Halfway there.” she said, squeezing their hand softly.

The surprise when the other asks if they can come with, because shouldn’t it be obvious by now?

“You won’t get rid of me that easily”

Waking up to an empty room.

The coppery taste of blood.

Kisses- desperate, sweet, while crying, while laughing, on the forehead, in the inside of the palm, on the cheek- 

Travis had teared up by now, and Gable felt their knees buckling a bit, Margaret’s energy was somehow still serene. 

“Let's take a bit of a break.” she said.

“Are you alright?” Travis asked her, in a smaller, shakier voice than Gable had ever heard from him.

“Don’t worry Travis,” she said, “this is my job and I am really rather good at it.”

They can all feel her but I am proud of you for asking echoing through the remaining threads of magic.

Gable took a big breath and nodded, adjusting their grip on Travis' hand, and Margaret got to work on the next knott.

Going back to a town decades later and realising the square where you danced hasn’t changed at all.

The anger of loving someone that is so recklessly self destructive.

The helplessness of not being able to comfort each other.

A drink that people haven’t made in over a century.

The oppressive smell of a forest.

They are getting the hang of this, Travis’ confident smirk is returning to his face and Gable gets the urge to roll their eyes at him.

Like it has always been.

fire, destruction, justice.

“I hope we both die” and meaning it.

The feeling of tears into the crook of your neck.

A shared look no one else will get.

The sound of rain pattering outside a quiet room.

“How long do you think this will take us Margaret,” Travis said, “This won't be as easy if I am a snake you know.”

Gable lightly poked him, gave him a familiar look that very clearly meant: behave.

“We should be done before daybreak Travis,” she said, the emotions were clearly starting to wear a little on her, she still had a challenging smile however, “as long as you don’t whine that is.”

Travis rolled his eyes, the bastard.

A chord with indescribable melanchancholy tied to it.

Lashing out. Feeling guilty. Feeling attacked, too vulnerable. repeat.

Laughing so hard your ribs hurt.

So many hugs, while saying goodbye, while fearing death, while celebrating victories, to annoy the other.

They had arrived at the last bit of string. Gable was glad it was over but didn’t regret it; this tedious work was probably still easier than explaining any of these things out loud.

Margaret plucked the last knotted thread.

“This one’s strong,” she warned “then it’s over.”

She pulled it loose.

Love, love so big it felt like religion, not quite want not quite need not quite anything.

Quiet mornings with almost too vulnerable looks that you can’t bring yourself to acknowledge. 

Raw emotion, I care about you, I don’t want to live in a world you are not in, I am better with you, what would I be without you?

Please don’t leave me, please don’t stay.

A constant melody you no longer know how to live without.

Hands stretched out, just about to grab each other but not quite, not yet.

It aches to see you happy, it hurts to see you suffering. 

I have you and that’s the only thing that’s never changed, that I have never lost.

They all collapse into the nearest fainting couch. Gable kindly doesn’t comment on Travis flopping on top of them, exhausted. Processing more emotions than he allowed himself to feel in years.

Margaret looks at them from some distance. She also looks tired and Gable makes an inviting gesture.

Margaret sits next to them but leans practically into their lap. She mumbles something about how now she really isn’t going to work and she will add this to their bill into their chest, Travis mumbles something that might be a quip back.

They just lie there for a while, a half-asleep Travis in their lap and Margaret idly playing with their hands next to them. It’s a pleasant tiredness, like they achieved something at least.

They bashfully kiss the top of Travis head. He stirs a bit raising his head with a sleepy smile 

“Gee Gable,” he says, probably more earnestly than he intends “didn’t know you cared.”

He gets cut off by his own yawn, lying his head onto their chest again, trying to get some sleep in before dawn.

Margaret huffs a quiet laugh, wrapping Gable’s arm around herself tucking herself into their side.

“He is incorrigible.” She says and Gable isn’t sure if she really sounds that fond or if it's the remnants of magic in the air.

Gable shakes their head, looking unashamedly adoring at both of them.

“You should also try to get some sleep, Margaret.”

She murmurs what might be a quiet thank you before dozing off as well.

They’ll all have to talk about all of it tomorrow, what it means, what they are, the emotions and memories. Travis will transform, there will be problems to solve, things to do.

For now they can be intertwined, and Gable can hold them as they sleep. 

They don’t really need to sleep a lot, so they can enjoy the warmth, the calmness of their rhythmic breathing and the familiar sounds of the Uhuru.

They close their eyes and hold on to this moment and finally, they too, drop off

[5hining-aus]

SHINee Proposing

proud-cat-mommy said to 5hining-aus: hi!!! i dont know how your requests work, but i would really like to read a shinee scenario with the proposal, and maybe one with the wedding planning! love your scenarios so muuuuch ♡

Hi there! I could’ve sworn that I had already done this, but I guess I haven’t! Anyway, I definitely had some ideas. Enjoy!

Onew

I know I’ve used this before, but I really like the idea of Jinki accidentally making you think he was breaking up with you when he was, in fact, doing the exact opposite

Just imagine it: you two are at a fancy restaurant, just finishing up dessert, when Jinki takes your hand in his, looks you right in the eye, and says “Y/N, I think we should stop dating”

The couple sitting at the next table is scandalized and you’re just sitting there processing your boyfriend’s (ex-boyfriend’s?) words

Like, he couldn’t have sprung this on you before the main course? And he was so nonchalant about it too

The weirdest thing was that he was still holding your hand and looking at you with nothing but love in his eyes

While you’re still trying to piece his words and actions together, Onew, oblivious to the mental gymnastics you’re performing, reaches into his suit jacket pocket and pulls out a small velvet box

Inside is a ring with the BIGGEST diamond you have ever seen. Seriously, this thing is a sparkler

You’re confused, the couple at the next table is confused, your waiter (who was hiding around the corner because he had come out just as Jinki said “We should stop dating”) is confused. Everybody is confused except for Jinki, who is waiting for your reply

Obviously, once you figure out what the heck is going on, your answer is an enthusiastic yes (though you do give Onew a light smack on the chest for making you think he was leaving you)

Jonghyun

It’s Jonghyun, we all know it’s going to be the sappiest, most sentimental proposal there ever was

He’d probably bring you somewhere that’s special to the both of you, like the place you two met or where you had your first date

To be honest, you kind of knew the proposal was coming

Your boyfriend is wonderful, but he isn’t exactly the stealthiest. He isn’t the best at hiding engagement rings either, considering the fact that you just stumbled upon it while looking for a sweater

You only saw the box, and you didn’t peek, but it was very obviously a ring box

You were still going to act surprised though

He has a whole speech prepared about how much he loves you and how happy you make him

Literal strangers who just happen to be nearby are getting teary-eyed because of how sweet his words are

He doesn’t even manage to finish his speech before you launch yourself at him, pulling him into a kiss and accepting his proposal

Key

This is another one where you know the proposal is coming before it happens. Only difference is that in this one, you know because you and Key had discussed marriage plans beforehand

You knew that there would be a proposal, but you didn’t know when or how it would happen

Basically, the proposal is a surprise, but the engagement isn’t

Anyway, that being said, Kibum’s proposal is this giant thing that probably has the media talking about it for like a week

It happens at one of his concerts. He had told you earlier to be ready and that he was going to do something. You figured that he meant something along the lines of him shouting “Y/N, I LOVE YOU!” at some point during the show. You were wrong

Instead, he pulls you up on stage and proposes to you right there, during his final part in Married To The Music

The other members are 100% in on it and they’re almost more excited to hear your response than Key is

All the Shawols in the audience are losing their minds (in a good way) and so are all the Shawols who are streaming. If you’re also a celebrity, then all your fans are freaking out as well (once again, in a good way)

You and Kibum both knew that the answer was going to be a yes (he wouldn’t have asked so publicly if he wasn’t 1000% sure of your answer) but you decided to tease him a bit and reply with something along the lines of “ hmm, maybe, I’ll think about it.” You make him wait until the end of the show to get his “yes”

Minho

Oh boy, you know that Minho has something big planned for when he pops the question

Two words: scavenger hunt

I am just now realizing that I must really like the idea of Minho planning scavenger hunts for his S/O, since this is the second time I’ve included that in a scenario

Anyways, he gets all of your mutual friends in on it and stations them at random places throughout the city, each one with a clue that’ll lead you to the next person

Well, the places aren’t totally random. They’re places that are important to the two of you, like the place where you and Minho had your first kiss (Jjong’s stationed there), or the café that sells your guys’ favourite muffins (where Jinki is stationed)

Ming put a lot of planning into this. He even made sure that you’d visit all the spots where important milestones for your relationship occurred in chronological order

And he even made all the clues into little riddles (with some help from the others)

When you finally find him (after pretty much running around the whole city), he’s all dressed up and waiting for you in a place that he had obviously been busy decorating for hours

You start putting everything together in your head and, before you can even say “oh my gosh,” Minho’s dropped to one knee and is pulling the ring out

Taemin

So, Taemin had a plan for his proposal. Keyword being “had”

His proposal plan was actually really sweet and, in his imagination, included you swooning and him sweeping you off your feet, whisking you away oh-so romantically

Yeah, it didn’t go as planned. Like, at all

He had gotten a call from the jeweller earlier, telling him that the ring was ready. He had to go to practice the next day, so he was going to pick it up on his way home from that

Well, that morning you asked him what he was doing for the day

I think we all see where this may be going

“Well, first I need to run some errands, then I’m going to go buy some groceries, go to practice, pick up your engagement ring…”

He realizes what he said pretty much immediately, but it’s too late. You had heard what he had said loud and clear

You both agree that you’re going to act surprised when he pulls the ring out later though

[lycorogue]

Love Square Fluff Week: Part 1 - Concert

I’m a couple of days late, but here is my Day 1 entry for @lovesquarefluffweek 2020.

As well as below the cut, you can find this story over on AO3, on FFN, and on DA.

I somehow stumbled my way into my first ever Ladrien story. I just find it so hard to get those two together without Damselling Adrien, so I hope this accidental hurt/comfort story (there’s fluff at the end, I promise) works well.

Also, I stole a page from @edendaphne‘s book Discordant Sonata. So if you click the linked sentences in the story they will bring you to mood music.

Music to Heal

Summary: Ladybug ends up stumbling upon an intimate scene as she stalks by Adrien's home.

Word Count: 1965 Rating: General Audience Spoilers: None Love Square Side: Ladrien Romance Level: Madly Crushing 

Marinette knew she shouldn't, but it was hard to resist. She had just finished up with a private interview she – as Ladybug – had promised Alya, and it was just easier to swing home still as Ladybug.

And Adrien's home was right there.

She just needed a quick peek, that was all. Just a small fix, and then she'd be on her way. As she landed on the Agreste fence she quickly scanned Adrien's room to see if he was even home.

He was, and he was at his piano. A soft melody leaked through the floor-to-ceiling windows; a sorrowful song. His eyes were closed, truly feeling the music as his fingers skated across the keys. His head swayed softly in time. He had enchanted his Ladybug in a way he didn't know.

Adrien always seemed so cheerful. It was easy for Marinette to forget how hard his life was. His father rarely had time for him, and his mother had been missing for a year. He struggled to find time to hang with his friends, and was routinely overbooked with activities and work. As Adrien played, it was like he was spilling his own hurt and loneliness onto the keys, and Marinette longed to break in and just hold him; remind him that he wasn't actually alone.

She couldn't though. She was Ladybug, and superheroes didn't do that sort of thing, and clearly Adrien didn't want Marinette to know this side of him. Not that the two of them ever really had a proper chance to talk.

Unsure what to do, but knowing leaving Adrien alone at that moment wasn't an option anymore, Marinette sat on the fence, her yo-yo's camera zoomed in on Adrien so she could better watch him play.

I'm simply making sure Hawkmoth doesn't send an akuma to Adrien while he's so sad, she told herself. I'm doing my duty as a superhero; a protector of Paris. Nothing creepy about this at all.

A couple of minutes later, Adrien's shoulders shook in a quiet sob, and a finger slipped, hitting a sour note. He sniffled as he wiped his eyes dry, and Marinette shut her yo-yo.

This was private. This was a quiet moment for him to grieve, and she was invading. She shouldn't have been watching. She needed to leave.

But he was crying. How could she leave him?

Lassoing a spot on his roof, Marinette swung over to Adrien's window, and gently knocked.

Adrien jumped, and quickly moved to open his window. "Ladybug? Is everything okay? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry to interrupt, and, uh, sorry if I'm intruding. I was swinging by, and I heard you playing your piano, and- Are you alright?"

Adrien blinked wildly at her. "Yeah. I- why?"

"It was just- it was such a lovely song, but it sounded so sad, and I thought I saw you wipe away tears-" She had no clue what she was doing anymore. She was literally hanging by a thread outside her crush's bedroom window, telling him she saw him cry. She almost yearned for an akuma so she could have an excuse to leave.

"You- you saw that?"

She nodded. "If you need time alone, I understand. I just- I wanted to make sure you're okay. Everything's fine?"

He laughed. It was a sad little chuckle. "Yeah. Sorry to have worried you. I guess I just really missed my mom all of a sudden, and, well, the piano was there."

"Oh. Did she used to play?"

He shook his head. "No, she-" His eyes widened as if he finally truly saw Ladybug. "What am I doing? Do you want to come in? I'm sure you don't want to hold a conversation while just dangling there."

"Come- come in? You want me to come in?"

"Yes. Please."

She swung herself through his window, and he held his hand up to help lower her to the floor.

"Thank you, Adrien," she softly muttered, a blush starting to bleed onto her cheeks.

"Yeah," his blush was starting to match Ladybug's. "Thank you as well, for, ya know, checking up on me."

"So, um, you were telling me about your mom? Not- not that you have to. Only if you want to. If it will make you feel better, I mean."

He motioned for her to take a seat on his sofa, and then sat beside her. "My mom didn't play the piano, but my father does, and I remember her sitting beside him on the piano bench as he played. And when I started learning, she'd sit beside me as I practiced. If I missed a note, she'd run her fingers through my hair, and tell me that I would get it; try again. So I would, and I'd remember that note, and she would just smile this huge grin as she told me she always knew I'd be able to do it." Adrien ran his fingers through his own hair, as if simulating his mom, and thumbed a stray tear away. "When she was sitting with Father, it was the happiest I would ever see him. She'd rest her head on his shoulder, and he would chuckle that he couldn't reach the lower notes with her restraining his arm like that. She'd giggle and tell him that the higher notes were prettier anyway, so he'd only play songs in the upper octaves for her."

"Like you were doing tonight?"

Adrien nodded, and pulled out his phone. Opening the photo gallery, he thumbed over to his album of him and his mom. He showed them to Ladybug. "Thank you for checking in on me. I know you probably weren't expecting to have a sit-down like this to make sure I didn't get akumatized."

She rested a hand on his knee, and gently squeezed it. "Adrien, I- I would- This is no problem at all. I'm happy to be here for you."

"Thank you. This means more to me than you probably know."

Marinette didn't think. She just threw out her arms and pulled him into a hug. She held him just like she did with Chat Noir whenever her kitty needed comforting; whenever he was hurting. It stunned Adrien at first, but he soon melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms around her too.

They sat there, silently, for a few minutes; for as long as Adrien needed. Eventually, he pulled away, and again wiped his eyes dry.

"Thank you again, Ladybug. I feel better now."

"I'm glad, Adrien. I'd never want you to feel like you're alone."

"No." Adrien smiled. "I know I'm not."

"Good." Marinette stood up, and rested a hand on Adrien's shoulder as she passed. She neared the window, then glanced back at the piano. Would Adrien only think of his mother, and that moment of loss every time he saw his instrument? She needed to leave him with a happier memory than that. "Hey, Adrien?"

"Hmm?"

"Would it be rude of me to ask you a favor right now?"

"No." He jumped up and rushed to her side. "No, I'd love to help you any way I can, especially after what you did for me tonight."

"In that case, would it be okay if you played just one more song for me while I'm here? I really enjoyed your playing, and I don't know how often I'd get to hear it."

Adrien's smile slowly grew, and he stood a bit taller as he nodded and practically bounced over to his piano. He gestured to his sofa, then sat at the bench.

Marinette settled in against the arm of the sofa, curled against the back of the seat as Adrien began playing. His right hand rotated through the same three notes hypnotically as his left danced across the rest of the keyboard, mostly staying in the higher octaves, but occasionally jumping down to the lower before skating their way back up the scale. It was still a melancholy song, but it was more upbeat than the one Adrien was originally playing. His eyes closed as he let muscle memory take hold. He swayed to the beat, leaning hard to his left whenever he reached for the lower notes, and bobbing his head to the right as his fingers monotonously rotated between the accenting upper three notes.

It was like he was dancing as he played; lost in the music. Watching him was intoxicating, but Marinette couldn't get a good enough view where she was, so she inched her way off the sofa, trying to not interrupt Adrien's playing. She then crept towards him before leaning on his piano, her head resting in her crossed arms as she dreamily watched him.

While playing his final notes, Adrien slowly opened his eyes, as if waking from a dream. When he spotted Ladybug leaning against his piano, he gave her a grateful little smile.

"Would you like one more?"

She rose her head in surprise. "Do you want to play one more?"

He slid over on the bench, and patted for her to sit beside him. "If you're willing to stick around for a few more minutes."

She scooted onto the bench, fully aware of how close the two of them were sitting.

Adrien began with yet another sad song, but one still more upbeat and hopeful than the previous two. His hands started in the center of the keyboard. Close together. A few simple notes. Solitary chords with no additional melody. Then his left hand shifted slightly, closer to Ladybug, as it continued to play a few chords. His right hand inched further away in the opposite direction, climbing up the keyboard as his fingers flew across the ivories. Then the chorus kicked in, and both hands skipped up and down the keys, each finger hitting a new note in beautiful harmony. Adrien began rocking in time with his arms; once more feeling the music.

Marinette could have cried, herself. All she wanted was to freeze that moment. She wanted it to be her life; her always: just her, and Adrien, and the beauty of that music.

As the song hit its climax and started slowing back down, Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder, nuzzling close to him without thinking about how weird it would be for him. He shifted slightly, looking down at her, before resting his head on hers and finishing the song. The final note lingered in the air as they each memorized the contact they had in that moment.

"I get why this was when Father was happiest."

"Hmm?"

Adrien jumped; breaking the spell between them. "No, nothing. Nevermind."

Marinette studied him. "I hope you're truly feeling better now."

"I am. I really am. Thank you for that, Ladybug."

Reluctantly, Marinette slid off the piano bench, and tapped the baby grand. "Good. I'd hate for you to have sad memories of this and your playing. It truly is a gift, and should bring you joy."

"Trust me, Ladybug, I think I'll only have fond memories from now on."

Another lingering look before Marinette cleared her throat and backed towards the window. "I, uh, I should probably get going though. Thank you for the private concert."

"Anytime," Adrien responded dreamily, or maybe it was just Marinette hoping to hear him speak to her like that.

Bumping into the glass wall, Marinette let out a small "oof" before quickly pivoting and lassoing part of the Agrestes' fence. With a quick salute of a wave, she was out of his window. Out of his room. But their shared moment wouldn't be out of either of their minds for days.

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

[mininky]

Sweep me off my feet!

Summary: You had managed for almost your entire life to build up your walls and remain in the comfort of your own little world until one man stumbled into your life and changed everything. You never would have guessed that one of your clients would change your entire world, but the world works in mysterious ways. This is the story of how you fell in love with Kim Namjoon, the eclectic tattoo artist who frequented your book store.

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x Reader

Warnings/Genre: Fluff, smut. Contains explicit sex scenes including oral sex (female receiving) and safe sex. Non smut warnings for mentions of divorce/broken homes, cheating. Also a non smut warning for tooth rotting fluff and Jin being the sassy sidekick we all need.

Word Count: 14.6K

A/N: To the lovely anon who asked me ages ago for a story about Namjoon and the reader finding love after heartbreak here it is! I know this isn’t a college AU but I hope you’ll love it all the same.

There's something about the smell of books that's rather intoxicating. It's almost an aphrodisiac if you will. At least for you, it is. But perhaps that's because it invokes this sense of nostalgia and comfort to you, mixed with a dash of intrigue and mystery. New books are nice, but it's the old ones that really get you. The smell of worn pages, broken down oils and breaking glue. If you could bottle it in a perfume you would. Or hell, turn it into a candle. Perhaps that's why you enjoy coming in to work so much. The scent hits you every time you step inside just as vanilla wafts through a bakery in your old used bookstore.

   It was once owned by your Grandfather, and a few years ago he left the store to you after he passed away. The store in itself is a sacred place for you. It isn't just about the legacy left by him or the fact that you technically own it now and it's your only source of income. The store, that goes by the very uninspired name of 'Used Books and Restoration', is also home to some of your favorite memories. It's a place of salvation, a place that called your name openly even in your darkest of times.

   While some might assume that your main bread and butter for the business is the actual selling of books where you make almost all of your profit is off of restoration and collectible books. Restoration isn't an easy process by any means. It takes considerable effort and precise work, along with plenty of patience. But it's absolutely worth it to see those old books come back to life yet again. Luckily you've gained a reputation just as good as your Grandfather in the collectible book community. It also doesn't hurt that book repair is a rather niche market and therefore there's very limited competition in the area. It's gained you a core clientele, and while you appreciate all of your customers there's one, in particular, that you like best.

   Kim Namjoon. An eclectic collector with a voracious appetite for books of every and any genre. While you've never actually seen it you're sure that his home boasts an impressive private library considering the catalog that he's brought in for restoration as well as purchased from you. He moved into town a few years ago after starting the tattoo shop right by you and he's been a customer ever since. You've given up on trying to figure out his favorite genre. He reads everything. And you do mean everything. He even once purchased an Amish romance book from you along with Egghead by Bo Burnham, a book about the mythology of sex, a guide to soapmaking, a calligraphy book, and a book on education in the era of segregation. In the same purchase. It might go down as one of your oddest assortments you've ever rung up together. And not one of those was a gift.

   He's also brought in plenty of books for you to restore, never even blinking at the hefty price tag. While most of your restoration work is usually for much older books (usually collectibles) that require very delicate work, it's not unusual for him to bring in ordinary but very roughed up books that he's somehow accidentally destroyed. Broken spines. Pages falling out or ripped apart. At first, you thought that he was just careless with his books, but after having him in your store enough times you know that the honest truth is the man might possibly a god of destruction. Or at the very least he's been cursed with terrible luck. He once knocked over a small table and when trying to set everything up right he managed to knock down an entire bookcase. In the middle of helping you pick everything back up his glasses fell off and he then stepped on them. You were convinced that Ashton Kutcher was about to pop out and that the show Punked had risen from the ashes. But no, Namjoon is just genuinely that clumsy. It's equal parts adorable and terrifying.

   Today is luckily one of those days where you're blessed with an interaction sans destruction with Kim Namjoon. Like clockwork, he always pops in on Tuesdays and Fridays in the late afternoon, but for once he's slightly off schedule as he strolls in on a rainy Thursday morning. His normally sunny demeanor and friendly dimples are replaced with a pensive atmosphere, eyes trained on his phone as he tries to close his umbrella single-handedly before he begins wrestling with the contraption.

   "You're in early. Are you looking for something in particular today?" You pour yourself a cup of coffee when the machine beeps, stirring in some crappy powdered creamer as you glance in his direction.

   "Nah, I'm actually just trying to escape the rain. I left my keys back at home so Yoongi, the other owner, is going to lend me his keys once he gets here. I hope you don't mind me waiting it out in here." He gives a shy smile, pushing his glasses up his nose as he avoids eye contact.

   "Not at all, it's raining cats and dogs out there. Why are you going in so early though? I thought you guys didn't open up until noon?" You try not to wince too noticeably as you feel a taste bud singe off from the coffee.

   "...An...old friend of mine is coming down to get a tattoo touched up so I'm coming in early just for that." You don't miss the pause he takes, but you don't want to pry. Instead, you pull out another mug from under the counter and start pouring him a cup.

   "Well, in that case, I would highly recommend a nice warm cup of coffee before you begin for the day. Do you like cream or sugar?"

   "Both please, unless it's flavored creamer then I'll do just that." He seems to relax a bit, walking a bit closer to where you're making him a cup as he finally stops wringing his hands.

   "Nope, it's the cheap stuff. I'm too lazy to go all the way in the back for creamer every time I make a cup if I'm honest." You pour in a bit of creamer and sugar before handing it over to him. Upon closer inspection, he looks exhausted. Bags under his eyes, hair a little messier than usual, skin lacking it's usually glowing complexion. Before you can even begin to ask about it, however, another client comes in.

   "(Y/N)! I found an old leather-bound edition of Sherlock Holmes at a garage sale, but it's in terrible shape. I was wondering if you could work your magic-oh hey Namjoon!" You glance between the two customers. You're kind of surprised they know each other, but then again she does work just down the street at the publishing house.

   "Oh, hey. How have you been?" Namjoon smiles down at her, but it's rather hollow. All of his normal fun seems to have been sucked right out of him.

   "Oh you know, just trying to pack still. I know Yoongi had the bigger place so it made more sense, but man does being the only one to pack suck." She fumbled around in her bag for a second before pulling out the book she mentioned earlier and handing it over to you carefully. "I know, it's terrible. But I figured if anyone could fix it, you could. What do you think?"

   "Hmm...well it's not going to be easy. The spine is broken, multiple pages are coming out, I'm sure some are torn. But I'm sure that I can get it done. Give me about a week, I should have it ready by then. I'm guessing it'll be at least $250, it might be more. You good with that?" You try to look over the book as gingerly as possible. The poor thing has certainly seen better days.

   "Yeah, that sounds great! Oh, shoot! I'm going to be late. I'll see you guys later, thanks again (y/n)!" You wave to her as she peels back into the rain. The lack of her presence leaves the two of you in silence, save the occasional sounds of slurping coffee and the quiet jazz music you have playing in the background.

   "I've been meaning to ask you, but what's with the elevator music?"

   "It's a bookstore, all bookstores play coffee house music."

   He snorts at your response, and you try not to dwell on the automatic smile it brings to your lips. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

   "Sure, when I do I'll put on classical. I like when it's just background music, it makes it easier to focus. Besides, that's how my Grandpa always had it. For the longest time, he refused to put in a sound system. Instead, he'd have his old record player here at the front. I still feel kind of bad about convincing him to replace that, but it's so much easier this way."

   "Your Grandpa owned this place?"

   "Oh yeah, for as long as I can remember."

   "And he left it to you, not to your parents?" Namjoon's head is tilted, eyes showing open curiosity before he sees the way you shut down. Your body grows rigid, eyes staring straight into your cup. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

   "It's okay. Family isn't always easy, you know?" You glance up to see the solemn nod he gives before he pulls his phone out of his back pocket.

   "On that note, I've gotta run. Thank you for the cup of coffee, and for letting me chill in here for a bit." You give a quiet goodbye as he leaves the store. While you don't actually know him that well, you hope that whatever it is that's weighing him down is resolved quickly and easily for him. It's a little worrying to see someone who's usually so chipper being so glum.

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

   You hate that you've grown so concerned over a customer. This isn't exactly a job where you can count on people coming in like clockwork, but Namjoon was one of the few exceptions. And perhaps that's why after two weeks of not seeing him you've started to worry over him. It takes that two-week mark for you to finally muster up your courage and march into his tattoo shop. While you've of course walked by many times, you've never actually gone in. It smells like lavender essential oils and a citrus cleaner, the atmosphere is also far more relaxed than you anticipated. "Oh hey, you're the book store lady. I can't believe you actually managed to fix that Sherlock Holmes book." Your head whips around to the front counter to see a man you vaguely remember, Yoongi you think is his name. He must be the one dating your editor client.

   "Oh it wasn't that hard. I've seen far worse. Um..." You can feel your fingers instinctively curl up and pull your sweater lower until they cover your hands before you take a deep breath. "Is Namjoon here by any chance?"

   "Namjoon?" There's a twinkle in Yoongi's eyes as he leans into the counter. "Nope, sorry doll. It's his day off. Why? You interested in getting a piece done by him?"

   "Oh, uh no. Not that I don't like tattoos, I just don't have anything I'm currently interested enough in to commit to. It's just that...well he hasn't stopped by in the shop for a couple of days and I'm just a little concerned. Is he doing ok?"

   "He's going through a bit of a rough patch, but he'll make it through." You can tell that he's clearly analyzing you, the way his eyes narrow and his head tilts. It feels like a very silent interrogation is going on in his head right now, and you aren't a fan of it at all. "I'll tell you what though doll, I'll let him know you stopped by."

   "Oh, no need. I just figured I'd pop in since you guys are so close to my shop. Well...have a nice night."

   "You too, don't be a stranger! Pop in anytime!" You give a fleeting smile before turning around and try to not run straight out of the shop. You suppose that things could have gone worse. But now your curiosity is in overdrive. What rough patch exactly is he going through? Then again, it's none of your business.

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

   You'd like to lie and say that after another month passes by Namjoon has vanished from your thoughts, but that's not true. You can't help but wonder from time to time, especially when you're putting away new inventory, what he's been up to. It's just unsettling having someone come in so often and then almost drop off the face of the earth. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you no longer get a chance to check out his very cute butt a few times a week. Nope.

   When Namjoon does finally wander back into the shop you're startled into complete non-action. What do you say? 'Hey, I hope you've been okay and I know that we don't actually know each other but I'm concerned?' Might come off as creepy, best to just leave it be. So after a moment of staring at him with wide eyes, you manage to croak out a horribly high pitched, "Hello!"

   You'd like to say that he walked in with this glowing aura as if the room lit up around him like some terrible rom-com. But honestly, he looks like he was hit repeatedly with bad news. His eyes are dark and puffy, his skin is a bit of a mess, his hair looks somehow both dry and greasy. The poor man just looks god awful. "Hey. Sorry I uh...haven't been in." He won't look at you, his eyes cast stubbornly on the floor as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

   "No worries. Anything in particular you're looking for today?" You would really like to ask him what the heck is going on to make the usually well put together Namjoon look so haggard, but you don't want to cross any boundaries.

       "Nah. Just...browsing..." His words trail off as he shuffles over to the nearest aisle, and you try not to stare as he starts thumbing through a few books. You also try not to dwell on the surge of warmth that spreads through you at seeing him again.

   You busy yourself with placing price tags on your new inventory as he continues his quiet search. You try to arm yourself with safe small talk you might be able to make before he finally comes back up to the counter with an arsenal of books under his arm that clatter down with soft thuds as they slip out right before he could safely place them. "Ah, sorry about that." He rearranges the books, eyes cast downwards as you shoot him a soft smile.

   "Don't worry about it. So...how have you been?" This time it's your turn to keep your eyes glued on the books instead of on him. God, you normally weren't this nervous but somehow seeing him again after so long is making you a smidge antsy.

   "Busy I guess. Sometimes I wish the world would just stop spinning for a moment so I can collect my thoughts, you know? It's like you think you have it together and bam suddenly you don't."

   "Yeah, I get that feeling. Adulthood is lame, why did we think it was a good idea as kids?" Namjoon snorts and this time you do look up. God he really does look haggard, the poor thing. "But you know what people don't say enough? It's okay to feel lost, it's okay to feel like things are moving while you're stuck. As long as you acknowledge it you can start moving forward. One step at a time. Don't think you have to move to the world's pace. Just move as you can and you'll do great."

   "I could have sworn this was a book store and now I'm starting to feel I should pay you like a therapy fee or something." This time he cracks a smile, his face lighting up as his dimples shine and his smile reaches all the way up to his eyes. It's a good look on him, and you wish that whatever it is that's got him down will be solved soon enough so he can get back to his normal smiles more often.

   "It's a free service for my regulars. But I suppose that means that you'll have to pop in regularly again if you don't want the charge."

   "Scouts honor, I promise I'll be back." He clears his throat after running his card, hands toying with his bag before he speaks again. "I...uh...Yoongi told me that you popped in. Sorry, for....um...being MIA. And I appreciate that you...uh...noticed I guess. God, fuck. I really can't talk today. What I'm trying to say is...I mean I know I'm just a customer or whatever but I really appreciate it. I'll...see you soon." Before you can respond he's rushing out the store, leaving you with rosy cheeks and lower lip stuck nervously between your teeth.

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

   Namjoon stays true to his word. While he isn't as frequent as he once was you've noticed that his visits are usually longer now. In all honesty, you suspect that at this point he visits more for the chats than the books. Or perhaps that's just what you're hoping for, because honestly whenever you do get a chance to speak with him it becomes the highlight of your week. He's witty, kind, and there's something about the way how he can go back and forth between being articulate and eloquent with his words to bumbling around that's utterly charming.

   Your conversations usually revolve around life itself. It never gets too personal, details are never mentioned. It's more about the intricacies of how things work, of how life moves. Sometimes you come close to asking him for more details, asking him more closely what's going on but something always holds you back. Perhaps it's because you're so deeply private, you understand what it feels like to want to hide your wounds from others and you certainly don't want to make him feel as though he's been forced into telling you anything. Besides, it's comfortable this way. It's natural for the two of you to fall into these deep conversations without worrying about prying into each other. It's as if the two of you have been friends for ages without having to delve into all the subtle meanings that might lay behind some of the world-weary cynicism in your conversations.

   Every once in a while you want more. If nothing than to help ease the burden that seems to be superglued onto his shoulders. There might also be some...more carnal...reasons behind that, but you'd rather not dwell on that. You're not even sure if he thinks of you as a friend yet, let alone as a possible romantic suitor. Jesus, maybe you should stop reading all those historical romance novels if you're saying things like "romantic suitor." Who are you kidding, they're too good to stop reading. But try as you might every time your brain thinks about going further or entertaining the notion of asking him out suddenly everything shuts down and all your senses get crossed until you're mute or stumbling over your words. But you're safe in this acquaintanceship, and crossing the line is scary and means for rejection. So for now, you'll remain in the comfort of safety.

------------------3 months later-----------

   "Did your boyfriend come and visit you again today?" Jin has a shit-eating grin on his face before he blows his straw wrapper at you. You're already regretting agreeing to being dragged out of your sanctum and into his competitor's restaurant for this. You love Jin, you do. He has luckily calmed down as he's gotten older, but let's just say that you've bailed him out of jail more than once in college from some crazy nights. He is a man of impulse, and usually spending time outside with him leads to you turning into full blast mom mode.

   "How many times must I tell you that he is not my boyfriend." You ball up the wrapper and throw it at his face before promptly resuming your perusal of the menu.

   "Please, whatever. You want to kiss his face, admit it, love. Wow. How are they my competitors? Do you see this shit? This is pretentious for the sake of being pretentious. I'm sure it'll taste like shit."

   "It better not for the price. My god, $35 for lobster ravioli? I saw it come out earlier, they only had five on a plate! You can't even justify that by saying 'portion control.'" You're praying that by fueling his need to shit talk the restaurant will keep him off track of your desolate love life. Unfortunately, as you're speaking the waiter comes over. Well isn't that just your luck.

   "I can assure you ma'am while it might seem expensive for the size we only use the freshest ingredients. All of them are locally sourced."

   "And which vendors exactly do you go through?" Jin squints at the server with a fire in his eyes that the server clearly wasn't prepared for. Oh, this poor, poor soul. He has no clue just how deep of shit he's landed himself in and you can tell he's floundering for a moment as his eyes go wide and shoulders grow rigid.

   "You know sir, I don't know all of the vendors' names off the top of my head. But I'd be more than happy to ask the chef for you if you'd like?"

   "That would be wonderful. Thank you, what a peach you are in such an...interesting...place." Jin gives a wide smile, one that channels his inner Cheshire cat plotting nefarious outcomes as you sink further into your seat. You love Jin, he is your best friend after all, but you know that look all too well. Competitive is putting it lightly. Sinister is a slightly more apt description and you want nothing more than to dive under the table before he begins to wage war. You had, for whatever naive reason, believed that he would have remained in perfect behavior so as not to blow his cover. Clearly, he had no cover and most likely wanted the head chef to know he was here. Goodbye, peaceful night.

   You watch the server turn on his heels and quickly stride back towards the kitchen. "Now things are getting interesting."

   "Jin no."

   "Jin, yes."

   "Jin..." You try pleading, eyes turned up into maximum puppy capacity but he's long since been impervious to your charms and instead, he just winks at you. You fight the groan bubbling up in your chest as your shoulders sag in defeat.

   "I promise love, this'll be quick and painless. I wouldn't drag you in here without a master plan and so far it's going just swimmingly. Although I would just adore it if the boy making eyes at you from the bar would come over because he is one tall slab of fine and it's a damn shame that he isn't looking at this world-wide handsome face over here because oh honey the things that I would do to him." Your face involuntarily jerks in the direction of the bar only to see Namjoon perched on a stool with a glass of wine looking right back at you. You can feel heat rising up on your cheeks when Jin picks up your hand and forces you to give a wave. And much to your surprise, you see him smile. A genuine smile. The kind that flashes his pearly whites and dimples and has your heart melting and brain overheating.  

   You aren't sure if it's to your relief or disappointment that the server comes back at this time, now with the head chef in tow. "Good evening, I heard you have some questions for-Seokjin." The chef's eyes narrow on Jin's, a crackle of indignant energy fills the area.

   "Why hello Kihyun. According to your lovely server, everything here is locally sourced."

   "You already know that. We use the same vendors."

       "Why yes, yes we do. And yet you still charge your poor customers an arm and a leg for subpar slop."

   "Please Seokjin, it's just not agreeable to hear someone talk down about their own food that way." Jin cackles loudly at this, the sound of windshield wipers roaming in the distance as you glance back to see Namjoon watching the battle with open curiosity.

   "Oh please little man, my food is good and you know it. I just came here to check how the competition is doing seeing as you did the same just last week." You watch the chef sigh wearily as he rubs at his temples while Jin rails on. "What, did you think I wouldn't know? I think it's only fair to return the favor."

   "Fine, I'll make you a deal so long as you keep quiet."

   "Mum's the word, tiny chef."

   "And stop making short jokes." His eyes narrow on Jin as he carelessly throws up his hands as if to admit defeat. "I'll be bringing out our specials momentarily. Only our best for our 'esteemed' guest." You can almost feel the animosity rolling off him in waves as he finger quotes 'esteemed' before stomping off.

   "Well, now that worked out just swimmingly. While we wait for our food how about you go mingle with mister tall dark and handsome?"

   "That's Namjoon, my customer." You dodge a shot of water from Jin's mouth before scrambling when he gets ready to stand up. "No Jin, no no no no no. I beg you, please for the love of all that is holy don't. I can see you scheming and I've been through enough shenanigans thanks to you tonight."

   Ever so slowly he sits back down, but not without giving you a face that lays somewhere between a scowl and a pout. "Fine, ms. party pooper, I won't go. Under one condition and one condition alone. You are in serious need of taking out that stick that's been shoved up your ass for the last 20 something years. So I will only agree to be the polite good boy you so desperately wish I was in public if you go over there and ask him out."

   "What? I can't do that! He's my customer, that...that crosses the line. And besides, he most certainly doesn't see me that way. I don't think he even sees me as a friend. An acquaintance at best. And another thing! I most certainly do not have a stick shoved up my ass, you just put caution to the wind far too often for your own good!" You're trying your best to calm your frenzied nerves by taking in slow steady gulps of air.

   "Do people look at mere acquaintances like they're a slab of steak after not eating for a day? And yes, yes you do have a stick shoved up your ass! I love you kid, but you are pedantically logical to a fault. You overthink, over analyze, and you rarely try to force yourself outside of your comfort zone even if it means sacrificing possible happiness all for the sake of not possibly facing rejection. As your best friend of over a decade, I refuse to continue sitting idly while you continue to ruin possible chances of intrigue. Besides, sitting with you at this rate is going to give me indigestion." Jin takes a swig of his water before narrowing his eyes on you as if to say 'try me bitch, I dare you.' He's right. You really wish he wasn't, but damnit he does actually have a point. Not that you'll ever admit that.

   Fuck, you really wish that you could knock back a stiff drink before this. Okay, just calm down. What's the worst that could happen? You could be rejected, laughed at, and have your heart ripped from your chest and stomped on. But according to Jin, that's not that bad. Not that he's giving you much choice. So here goes nothing. You take a deep breath and march over before Jin can pick you up and hurl you into the direction of the bar.

   "Hi, mind if I join you for a drink?" Act normal, act cool. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. You've got this.

       "Oh, not at all. Please." Namjoon gives you another smile, and you take a moment to glance at his profile. He looks better today. Gradually he's been getting his old color back. You can hardly make out the bags under his eyes in the dim mood lighting of the restaurant. "What do you drink?"

   "Hm, oh well..." Your eyes dance over the spirits lining the back. Jesus, they don't even have jack. They have plenty of brandy though. "I guess I'll have whatever you're having. Mix things up a bit, you know?"

   He perks a brow up at you before waving over the bartender who's clearly been waiting patiently on the side. "I'll get two more." It's only a moment before a short glass of brandy is placed in front of you. You eye it for a moment before knocking it back, ignoring the burn that tears through your throat.

   "Jesus, rough day?" Namjoon's brow is quirked as he motions at the now empty glass.

   "More like a rough night."

   "Boyfriend problems?" Namjoon jerks his head back to Jin and you can't help but let out a loud laugh. The kind that sounds more like a cackle, a deep snort from the back of the throat and all.

   "Jin? No, god no. He's a friend. Also, he plays for the other team."

   "Oh, oooh!" He seems to relax at this revelation, sinking into his seat a bit more before sipping at his drink. "Well I'm sorry that you've had a rough night, maybe the liquor will make it better."

   "How about you Joon? Things going okay for you lately?" You try not to stare openly, instead gauging his reactions with a side-eye. He gives a simple shrug, running his hands through his hair before knocking back the rest of the drink.

   "Who knows. But I'm taking it one day at a time as a wise birdy once suggested."

   There's a lull in the conversation for a moment as you try to mull over what to say next, head swimming through all your possible small talk cards but none seeming right for the situation. "So-"

   "Um!" The two of you stop, Namjoon giving a small chuckle. "Sorry, go ahead."

   "Oh! Uh...I was just going to ask if you wanted to talk about...you know...whatever has been going on. It might help to open up."

   Namjoon pauses, shifting a bit in his seat as he slowly nods. "Ex drama? I guess? That makes it sound so high school." He gives a deep sigh, his hands gripping around his empty glass before slowly continuing. "I was engaged last year. We'd been together a long time, we'd even lived together for a couple of years. But after we moved out here or I don't know maybe even before that she decided that she needed to get a feel for other things. And by other things I mean other dicks. I learned that lovely fact when I walked in on her and some random dude who turned out to be her longtime side-piece or whatever. She came back into the shop a few months ago begging me to start over with her. And I don't know why but I thought maybe this time we could make it work, maybe this time things would be right. Her old habits didn't die though. So we ended things about a month back officially, this time for good."

   After a decent pause you finally pipe up, your earlier hesitance now masked with the alcohol that's slowly working through your brain. "She's an idiot. And a bitch. I say fuck her! Wait no, not like 'go fuck her' but as in I wish to acquaint her ass with a rusty sword." The full belly laughter he gives is worth your blunder with words. He lights up, and the sound has blood rushing to your cheeks.

   He wipes away a stray tear as he swivels around to face you. "Thanks, I appreciate that. And please, remind me to stay away from rusty swords if I ever accidentally piss you off. I've gotten a lot of advice from people recently, a lot of 'it'll get better' or 'she was wrong' but I think my favorite is the depiction of a rusty sword so thank you for the laugh."

   "No problemo, I'm here to help even if that means with impromptu comedic relief." Again silence returns, but this time it's comfortable. It almost always is around him, as if Namjoon brings peace and comfort to you every time you see him. It's safe around him. Safe to be you, safe to just relax. You aren't used to that, most men make you feel on edge. As if you have to be two steps ahead. Perhaps it's due to your mutual problems with the opposite gender. Or maybe it's just his personality.

   "Hey..." His quiet voice pulls you out of his thoughts and you jerk up to see his eyes cast stubbornly on the floor. "Feel free to say no or something but um, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get out of here with me? Maybe just walk around the city for a bit or something?"

   "There's a park a couple of blocks down from here actually, it's usually pretty quiet and there's even a little koi pond. Oh! But we'll need to pop into the grocery store to pick up lettuce first."

   "Can...can koi fish eat lettuce?"

   "Oh yeah! They love greens! I used to feed them bread but I found out it's hard for them to digest. They also really like garlic and shrimp."

   "I...I don't know what to do with this information."

   "Use it for the powers of good, and to keep Koi fish happy. So what do you say? Wanna go feed some Koi fish lettuce?"

   "Yeah! Yeah, oh but shouldn't you tell your friend?"

   You glance back at Jin to see him in the middle of what appears to be an amicable discussion (at least from the outside) with the head chef. You choose to send off a quick text while Namjoon slaps down a few bills, "done. Let's go!"

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

   It's not long before the two of you are tossing off bits of lettuce to hungry Koi fish. It was most likely an odd site for others to take in. The two of you were silently standing in front of the pond, taking turns tearing off strips from a head of lettuce and sipping from a dangerously cheap bottle of sangria. It didn't help that this area of the park had dim, ominously flickering lighting making the whole thing look stranger. Yet neither of you seemed to mind.

   It was oddly relaxing being here. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was actually heart warming. There's always been something about Namjoon's presence that's left you feeling fuzzy and floating. As if cocooned in safety under a pillow fort with plenty of blankets while a blizzard rages outside. Your eyes are trained on the Koi fish that jump up, gulping up the pieces of lettuce greedily and illuminated in the fluorescent yellow lighting cutting in and out every few seconds.

   "These guys really know how to eat." You glance up at the sound to see Namjoon smiling as he throws in another strip of the leafy greens. "I should have guessed that of all people you would be the one to take me to the middle of nowhere in a city just to feed fish at nearly midnight."

   "I'll take that as a compliment."

   "It is indeed. Do you know why I love going to your bookstore so much? I never know what I'm going to find. You always have an odd assortment of treasures but you also seem to know all of them. I've been inside plenty of bookstores and while they all have their own special ambiance that books tend to carry your's is otherworldly. It's like I step through a portal when I come into your shop. Like all is well with the world. But I'm starting to think it's not about the place. It's you." He glances over to give you a shy smile before quickly returning his sights on the pond.

   "Oh, I don't know I think it's probably the store. Maybe it's just rubbed off on me. When I was a kid I would try to spend all my time there with my grandpa. It was a safe haven, this little chunk of the world where I knew I could always get lost and find freedom even if the world was falling apart outside."

   "That sounds really deep for a kid. I guess it's my turn to ask, do you want to talk about it?"

   You take a moment to pause, sipping on the acidic sangria before nodding slowly. You suppose it's only fair to share just as he did. "My parents should have gotten a divorce way sooner than they did. The vast majority of my childhood is a blur of trying to run away from their fights. It never got physical, but the verbal abuse the two of them flung at each other was astronomical. I can remember distinctly thinking once as I read a book that had these lovely happy parents that that was the most fictional part of the whole thing. Harry Potter was more likely to be realistic than that bullshit. I think when I was thirteen and I got asked out for the first time I told the poor boy that love was a scam and I wasn't about to fall for it. I've tried dating a few times but I always think back on my parents and before things can ever progress I try to leave. I guess you could say I have commitment issues to everything in life but work. Jin, the guy at the restaurant, he's always trying to get me to loosen up. Have fun. But I just feel like it's all pointless. Why bother when it's all going to fall apart anyway?"        

   You let out a heavy, world-weary sigh out before chucking the last bit of lettuce into the pond. Namjoon gives you a moment of silence, either to be polite or to gather his thoughts. Or perhaps you've scared him off. You're not really sure of the reasoning behind his muteness but you're too lost in your own thoughts to dwell on it.

   Finally, Namjoon takes a deep breath and says, "I'm sorry that you went through that. I know it might sound absurd coming from me, but what's so bad about believing in romance? In the fairy tale ever after? In believing that sometimes things can go right? Maybe I'm a buffoon for still being a hopeless romantic after everything I've been through but I think the saddest part in all of that was that you gave up before you even tried. There's a lot to explore in life beyond your comfort zones. It might not always be good, but I think that's the beauty of it. Sometimes the bad makes us appreciate the good all that much more."

   You're torn between wanting to stare in awe at him for managing to actually feel this way after everything he's been through and wanting to smack him upside his face and tell him to wake up. But that's the cynic in you speaking. The cynic that awoke in you far too early in life has still after all these years refused to die. If reincarnation is real then perhaps you were fucked over in love previously as well and that's why your feelings are so intense. It's probably just your shitty childhood that you try to avoid remembering at all costs. After a moment of tense silence, you finally speak up. "How...how can you still feel that way?"

   "Because the world is a sad lonely place and I want to believe that there's something better out there. I don't mean like soulmates bullshit or anything, just that you shouldn't give up when you find a really good person. Love takes two to tango, and for whatever reason, your parents lost sight of that. But the real fucked up thing is that you still carry that with you as an adult as if it's your burden to carry. But it's not. Imagine if I said that it's my fault I was cheated on, how would you feel?"

   "But it wasn't your fault. She was a blind idiot who made terrible life choices."

   "Exactly, and it's not your fault that your parents were bumbling idiots who didn't understand how to effectively communicate with one another." He takes a swig of the sangria before hooking one of his arms over your shoulder and you take a moment to admire the inky artwork under the night sky as he lowers his voice. "So you know what I say? It's time both of us stop ruminating in pain. I say we let it all go, right now."

   "And how, pray tell, do we go about this?"

   "I say we just scream everything out into the night. Just let it all go."

   "I'm sorry what?" You squint up at him, your brain freezing as you try to make sense of his therapy method.

   "You know, everything we've bottled up just fucking let it out. Let it go. Here, I'll go first." He takes another swig of the sangria before tilting his face up at the moon. "Fuck you, Jessica! Fuck you and your fucking boy toy. I was good enough! I tried so hard to make it work and you still couldn't be bothered to put in any effort! It wasn't fair! And another thing, fuck your stupid fucking mom for always shitting on my tattoos and thinking her bitchy daughter was perfect!" You're quick to plug your ears as he shouts at full volume, eyes scanning the park praying that no one is nearby to call the cops on the two of you. After a theatrical sigh, he turns around, plants both hands on your shoulders as he leans down and says, "Okay kid, it's your turn."

   There's frenetic energy hanging in the air and while you want to laugh and tell him this is ridiculous there's something that stops you from holding back for once. So you follow suit and tilt your head up as you begin to scream, "Fuck you dad for placing unrealistic expectations on how women should behave! Fuck you mom for thinking the only thing men were worth was money! Fuck both of you for caring more about fighting than nurturing your only fucking kid! Fuck you for leaving me to fend for myself all the time! I just wanted love from you! I want to fall in love, I want to believe that you two were wrong! I want someone to look at me like I look at the last slice of cheese pizza! I want someone to care about me the way I deserve to be cared for!" By the time you get halfway through your monologue, you can feel a weight shifting off your shoulders. Rather literally as Namjoon plugs his ears, but also emotionally. Spiritually. It's as if something is born in you. As if under all that hate you've held onto for so long there's still that glimmer of hope.

   When you've finally stopped screaming, your lungs are on fire and hot tears are trickling down your cheeks. Slowly you begin to hear the sound of Namjoon golf clapping in front of you. "Bravo young grasshopper, bravo. You finally said how you really felt. So tell me, how do you feel now?"

   "I...feel different. Lighter. How...how about you Namjoon?"

   "Pretty fantastic, but that might be the shitty sangria talking." He gives a wide grin at the giggles that bubble out of you before handing over the sangria.

   The rest of the night flies by in a tipsy blur, the two of you talking about life and your own choices and how you've come to your own points in life. Normally you'd have run away by now, but you realized something tonight by screaming out into the void with him. You've always run away, you've refused to face life head-on. It's still a scary thought, but the alcohol numbs it easily and then there's the fact that nothing seems as intimidating when Namjoon's nearby.

---------4 months later-------

   It's almost impossible for you to now think of a time when Namjoon was simply a customer and not a good friend. The two of you, much to Jin's delight, are rather inseparable. You have lunch together most days of the week. Sometimes the two of you will hang out and watch movies together, or go back to the park to feed the always hungry koi fish. On a few occasions, Namjoon has even tagged along with you to go bug Jin to feed the two of you. This time though you find yourself without your new partner in crime as you stuff your face with homemade pasta by Jin.

   "Please try to breathe in between bites. I don't know CPR." Jin pokes one of your cheeks as you try to quickly chew.

   "Sorry I was just really hungry. Also, I have something I wanted to tell you!"

   "You finally professed your undying love for Joony boy?"

   He quickly dodges the napkin you throw at him before blowing you a raspberry. "No, I told you we aren't like that. But it is about Joon! His parents have a beach house that he wants to go to so he invited us to come over next weekend."

   "Oh drat, unfortunately, I have plans."

   "That is such bullshit. You were literally just bitching about how you don't have anything to do next weekend because that new boy toy, Jimin or whatever, is going on a trip for work."

   "I decided just now that I'm going to go visit Jimin to see his performance. You know, be supportive." He sighs at the glare you send him. "Okay, so I didn't decide that. I'd rather stick my head in my far too expensive convection oven than drive five hours just to get blue balls from watching him dance. But I also refuse to step in the way of what I really hope is time for you to finally get laid."

   "I told you Jin, he's just a friend."

   This time it's Jin's turn to scoff. "Oh, sure princess. Whatever you say. The two of you basically eye fuck each other every time you come over to steal my food."

   "WE DO NOT."

   "Do fucking too! What I just don't understand is why you can't admit it. He's a great catch, why are you holding back? You even told me yourself that it was time for you to start moving on with life. You know, get past all of your cynical doom and gloom mentality that everything will inevitably fall apart. So the real question is, why are you holding back from happiness still? Even after all that 'ra ra I'm going to get my shit together' you've been spouting for months now?"

   Your anger dissipates quickly, all air leaving your lungs for a moment as you stare at the floor unable to look at Jin's oddly serious gaze. The silence drags on until finally you quietly speak up. "Namjoon just got out of a really serious relationship. Jessica really hurt him you know, it wasn't one of those 'oh we just grew apart' type of situations. And even though he was so broken the first time he tried again and I think that time might have been worse. The first time it seems like he was just angry, the second time was when he felt anguish. I...I don't just like Namjoon. I love him. Every time I'm around him I feel so happy like the world lights up and all the color comes back. It's so easy being around him, I know I can just be myself and I'm safe. But I don't want to throw these feelings at him when he's probably still healing. I don't want to be a rebound. I watched my parents get divorced with each other and jump into relationship after relationship with other people just to fill that void. I want to be more than that. I want this to be something that works for a long time. I'm tired of running from commitment so I've decided I'll wait. I'll wait until he makes a move first."

   "Did you never stop to ask yourself if maybe he's waiting for the same thing? I mean honey, it's painfully obvious he feels the same way. He knows that you've never really tried to be in a relationship, he might be waiting for you too. So then what? The two of you just go in circles until someone grows tired of it and leaves? I think it's noble of you to be patient and wait, but I also think that's an easy way out for you. Making the first move is scary, and I think that by saying you're waiting for him to be all healed up you're actually just pushing off the notion of rejection. If you don't say anything then you'll be safe. If you say something you might hear something you don't want to hear. So while I do believe you actually feel that you want to make sure this isn't a rebound, I think that a much larger portion of this is still you just running away."

   Jin sighs softly at the crestfallen look that takes over your place, gingerly wrapping you up in his arms before he continues. "Of all the people I've known in life I can't say any of them have been as brilliant, strong, sweet, and funny as you. You're the type of person that when you love you love with all your heart. I just want to see you be happy, I want you to realize that you are worth all the loves and hugs and kisses that you've told yourself are empty and meaningless. It's okay to go slow if you need to, but as your best friend, I'm rooting for you. And as a person who has seen the way that Joony looks at you I feel it's safe to say that you should try moving forward. But I don't want to push you if you're too nervous you know? Just one step at a time kiddo."

   Words fail you, as much as you'd like to argue or try to tell him he's wrong he isn't. Jin has always been quick to catch on to these things, and you had a sinking suspicion that he would say something about it all soon enough anyway. You nestle your face further into the crook of his neck and inhale the comforting scent of his fabric softener. After taking a moment to have your two brain cells muster up something to say you simply shuffle away and give him a quiet thank you. The warm smile you receive back in turn is all that either of you need.

-------The next weekend------

   You've been through a rollercoaster of emotions in the last week, although the anxiety you've felt has always loomed somewhere on the ride. Sometimes in the front seat, sometimes somewhere in the back just waiting for the drop to happen. Now that the day is finally here the nerves are present more than ever. Somehow everyone else who was invited fell through and it's now just the two of you. The rational, logical side of your brain says that this was extremely last minute and therefore difficult for others to rearrange their schedules to come with. Your gut argued that all the others had decided to give the two of you space. Perhaps to encourage the feelings you've been secretly fostering, and not very well according to Jin.

   Namjoon had made the trip out to the beach house before you, thank goodness. The two-hour drive had given you ample time to try to rationalize everything and see all the various possibilities this weekend held in store in the sanctum of privacy. Of course, you've also been doing this all week prior, but on the drive, it went into overtime. The most likely options you foresee from this weekend are:

   A. You get up the courage to ask him out and he turns you down flat.

   B. You get up the courage to ask him out and he says yes. The two of you ride off into the sunset on the beach where a dolphin will flip over a rainbow and all is well in the world.

   C. You fumble awkwardly through the weekend and end up saying nothing.

   Strangely enough, while you see option C as being the most plausible, you also want that one to happen the least. At least with rejection, you can move on, in that sense Jin is right. But if you end up missing your chance to shoot your shot you don't know how the game could have ended. By the time you pull into the driveway of the house you've made up your mind. On Monday, right before the two of you leave, you'll say something. You aren't sure how yet, but for once you're just going to put caution to the wind and try not to overthink it. At least that's what you were trying to convey to your measly remaining brain cells.

   You take a deep breath and grab your backpack in the seat next to you. It's now or never. Showtime baby. You can do this. You can do this. You can-before you even get a chance to ring the doorbell Namjoon is ripping open the door. His hair looks freshly dried and fluffy. His eyes seem to light up and his pearly whites flash at you as he gives you an excited smile. Fuck. You don't think you'll make it through this weekend sane, not if it's just going to be the two of you. "Hey! Come on in! Make yourself at home!" He reaches down to grab your backpack before his warm hand slips into yours and he's dragging you into the refreshing AC. "Your room is just right over here. The bathroom is next door. I just ordered us some pizza it should be here any minute. I got just cheese for you, I wasn't sure what toppings you like."

   His words fly out a mile a minute but your brain trudges through everything slowly, your thoughts are instead focusing on the way his hand feels on yours. They're slightly calloused, much larger than you realized, and painfully perfect. My god, is there anything about this man you don't like? At the realization that you've already entered your room and Namjoon's head is tilted as if waiting for some sort of response you finally manage to spit out, "that's great. Cheese pizza is super great." Get it together brain cells! "Um, this place looks amazing."

   "You haven't even seen the best parts yet. It's a shame that none of the other guys could make it, but I'm glad you could come. Going to the beach by yourself just screams midlife crisis and honestly, I don't think I'm ready to be there just yet. I want to get a few more years under my belt before facing an age inspired existential crisis, you know? Uh, so anyway..." His eyes roam around the room before he shoots you another smile, "Do you...do you want me to show you around a bit first or would you rather unpack?"

   "Um, I think I'll unpack and then you can show me everything."

   "Cool, sounds great. I uh, I'll just go then. But if you need anything just holler!" In a blink of an eye, he's out the door. Leaving you alone with just your sluggish thoughts and backpack.

   You weren't really sure why you had told him you needed to unpack. It's not like you were going to be here for more than a few days, so there wasn't much need. And yet here you are, taking your sweet ass time unpacking toiletries and all of the extra underwear you brought with because uteruses can't be trusted. You stare down at the bathroom counter after unpacking the last bits of makeup and skincare products before leaving the room.

   You follow the wafting scent of pizza, it looks like somehow you had missed the sound of its arrival. In the fit of nerves earlier in the morning you had opted to not eat, and if the whale mating calls your stomach is making that decision is clearly catching up with you. You find the two pizza boxes right next to Namjoon out on the porch and you waste no time grabbing the largest slice before flopping down next to him.

   "It's beautiful out here today. Thanks again for joining me."

   "Are you kidding me? I'm getting basically a free vacation to chill at the beach. And I get to spend it with the second biggest book nerd I know. How could I possibly turn down the offer? Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate Joony." You don't miss the way the tips of his ears burn a bright red as he stuffs his face with another slice of pizza. You also don't miss that its fucking pineapple. "Are you really eating what I think you're eating? Please say that this is a mirage."

   "What? Pineapple tastes great, especially on pizza."

   "My god. I've heard of monsters like you, but I had never believed the myths. I thought...I thought the world just made up your kind to scare children into eating even the crappiest slices of cafeteria pizza at lunch."

   "You take that back! Don't you dare call this tastebud explosion of love monstrous! You know what, I bet that you're the type of person who eats mint chocolate chip ice cream. Those are the real monsters."

   "HOW DARE YOU! Mint chocolate chip is delicious!" How can someone so handsome, so witty, so great all around have the worst fucking taste in food?

   "It tastes like someone fucking smothered good chocolate icecream in toothpaste. And yet you dare desecrate the majesty that is pineapple pizza? Salty, sweet, perfection?" Before you can even respond he's forcing a bite of the vile concoction into your mouth. You have no choice but to chew. Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. "See it's not that-oh my god are you going to throw up?" The heaving noises you make has him quickly rushing next to you, abandoning his evil ways for but a moment as he pats your back soothingly before bursting into a fit of giggles when you finally breathe again.

   "'S not funny Joon! Don't you laugh at me!"

   "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not laughing at you. It's just...that was such an over the top reaction." He wipes away a stray tear before smooshing your cheeks when you pout at him. "Okay, I promise that I'll never make you eat it again. But you know what I also think? I think we should set our opinions aside and agree that the true evil food is anchovies on pizza."

   You glare at him, words coming out wobbly with your lips smushed between his hands. "Thisth isth unfortunately true. Fine, I promisthe I won't bring up your poor tashte in food again under the agreeancthe that anchoviesth on pizza isth the fucking worsht." He stays there for a moment longer before finally dropping his hands from your face.

   "Alright well now that's been resolved, what do you say we do after eating? Movie? Beach? Plotting how to take down anchovy pizza lovers?"

   "Well, we did come all the way out here. It would be rather ridiculous to not spend time by the beach. Besides, that water looks awfully inviting. Say, what do your parents even do to afford digs like this?"

   "Ah, my father is a doctor and my mother is a lawyer."

    "Cripes, how did they feel about you pursuing a creative job like tattooing?"

   He gives a noncommittal shrug at this. "Not much, they just wanted me to be happy. At first, they thought I should stay in school, but considering I went in for philosophy they quickly decided that this was at least a fruitful endeavor. Besides, I make more than they did at my age and I didn't have to bury myself in debt to do it."

   "I can totally see you as a philosophy major. I can't believe I didn't see that sooner. It's cool that your parents didn't shit all over your work though. They sound like good people."

   He lights up at this, his eyes twinkling as he regales you with childhood stories and about how he got into the business to begin with. By the time the two of you are full, you feel as if you've learned all about Namjoon's family. His parents were college sweethearts, he's a complete mama's boy, and he has a younger sister he adores who's currently studying abroad as a journalism major. The sun is already beginning to go down, the tide rising up before the two of you trudge back inside to change.

   Once you've changed and headed back outside the sky is brilliant shades of creamy oranges and neon pinks that contrast beautifully with the brilliant blue of the ocean. You don't even want to think about how much his parents paid for this view. You also can't even fathom how someone can make enough to afford this as just a summer home. You throw down your towel before quickly stepping into the ocean, relishing the feeling of the chilly water in the sweltering heat before turning around at the sound of Namjoon calling out your name. Good lord, this weekend might be the end of you. You had somehow forgotten that beaches meant shirtless Namjoon. You've seen his sleeves, of course, the left one an intricate Japanese style piece with his right arm covered in various neo-traditional pieces. But what's grabbing your attention now is three things. One: he has very impressive pecs, something you didn't see coming. You had assumed for whatever reason that he didn't have the time to work out. Apparently, you were wrong. Two: He has multiple script pieces tattooed on the sides of his torso. Three: He has a happy trail and your eyes are refusing to budge and you're now openly ogling.

   "Say cheese!" Before you can blink he's snapping a picture with a Polaroid. Not one of the newer ones that have come out, no this looks like it was imported straight out of the '70s. He jogs closer to you before wrapping his arm gently around your waist, pulling you in as he angles the camera and snaps another one. You can feel your cheeks heat up at the proximity, your skin tingling under his gentle touch even after he pulls away to run back to the patio and set the old camera safely away from the sand and water. Fuck what are you going to do? Are you really going to be able to make it through this whole weekend without pouncing on him? Is it just you that feels like there's a slight buzz of sexual tension, has it been so long since you've last gotten laid that now you're imagining things?

   Your thoughts are spinning around when he returns to your side, your hearing only picking up on the tail end of what he was saying, "-it's going to look great in my scrapbook!"

   "What?"

   "The pictures. I was saying the pictures came out awesome with the sunset in the background. Are you okay?"

   "Yeah, just kind of spacey. Carb coma I think. You have a scrapbook?"

   "Yup! Ever since my dad gave me his old Polaroid when I was in high school I've kept scrapbooks." This just isn't fair. No grown man should be this cute. If you just take out his terrible taste in food and ability to destroy things just by breathing in its direction he really is perfect. Man, you are so fucked. He really isn't making it easy for you to give up.

   "I'd like to see them sometime. The scrapbooks, that is." He lights up at this, nodding animatedly as he wades further into the water.

   "Yeah! I mean, they aren't the best done but I like being able to look back on all the fun memories sometimes you know?" This is a good sign right, he's already seeing this as a fun memory. That means he thinks of you positively. Right? This means that your odds may be higher in favor than you anticipated. Maybe.

   For the next few minutes, the two of you simply bask in the beauty of the sunset. Jitters seem to fade, your ever-present anxiety even catching the hint and letting you just enjoy the night for a moment. "It's beautiful out here. Thank you again for inviting me, Joon."

   "Anytime. I used to come out here all the time. You would think that when I moved closer I would spend more time over here, it's not like I had to drive six hours. But work and life got in the way. And then at a certain point, it just seemed meaningless if I'm just going alone. Of all the people I invited I really just wanted you to come. I felt like you would appreciate the ordinary beauty of it, the simplicity of just wading in the ocean as the moon starts to come out and the stars light up the sky."

   "And how exactly did you decide that I, of all people, would appreciate the scenery? You aren't wrong, but now I'm curious." You sink deeper into the water until the waves crash around your waste and you can finally feel relief from the sweltering heat lingering even into the evening.

   "Because that's just who you are. You see the extraordinary in the ordinary. It's just the way you operate, I knew that about you the first time you ever fixed up my childhood worn and torn Harry Potter books. Even though they weren't these amazing collector pieces you treated them with such care and brought them back to a state better than brand new. From that moment on I knew that you were the type of person who could appreciate the subtle complexities that make life all that much better. And the more I've gotten to know you the further you've deepened this conviction. I mean who else would take me out to feed koi fish lettuce in a city in the middle of the night? Who else would drive me over an hour to the outskirts just for the best matcha latte they've ever had only to spend more than an hour discussing the process of making it with the owner? Or take me to an art gallery just to tell me about how the janitor deserves more recognition for his street murals? I mean sure, you might have terrible tastebuds and be unable to see the glory in pineapple on pizza, but I'm willing to overlook that character flaw because it's you. Because honestly you could do just about anything and I'd-"

   You cut him off abruptly, your lips melding onto his with slightly too much force and knocking you both slightly off balance when the wave hits, the two of you tumbling into the shallow waters. It still doesn't exactly dawn on you what's going on, your brain is still narrowly focused on how soft his lips felt under yours for that nanosecond before you're drawn out by Namjoon's barking laughter.

   "I never would have expected you to actually sweep me off my feet. I assumed it was supposed to be hyperbole, not a physical action. I guess I should learn to expect the unexpected with you." Before you can respond, he's hoisting you out of the water and his hands are placed gently on the small of your back as he leans down and places a featherlight kiss on you. It's almost uncertain, a kiss that's testing the waters asking for approval. It's magical, the way he feels against you. It's as if music will start playing and the little mermaid is about to burst forth and congratulate the two of you. The second kiss is firmer, one that you initiate as you tug at his hair and lean up on your tiptoes just to get all that much closer. When you break away for a moment he's quick to pull you back in, and this time you can feel your toes want to curl, your knees go weak and your brain grows dizzy as he nips at your lower lip and his tongue slips into your mouth. You might have to rethink this pineapple business after all.

   You've dreamt of this moment a thousand times, wondering from perhaps the moment he first stumbled into your small little shop what he would be like. And yet in all of your various daydreams (and wet dreams if you're very honest) you still never pictured it being so perfect. It's that mix of gentle timidity at the beginning that melds into an all-consuming passion that's just so Namjoon and just so right. It's addictive, a new kind of high you want to chase forever. "I don't think you know just how long I've wanted to do that."

   "I really wish you would have sooner, but I'm glad you did now because if I'm perfectly honest I was way too nervous to do it first." He presses his forehead gently on yours as he speaks, his hands moving rhythmically along the small of your back as he holds you tighter. God bless Jin and the others for refusing to come so you could finally have this moment. "So that being said, can I kiss you again?"

   "Please do." You're barely louder than a whisper, your eyes focused on the way his lips quirk up and dimples show before he's kissing you again. It's slower this time, longer. There's something more sensual looming underneath it this time. The way his hands pull you in closer, hands gripping your hips tightly. The way your tongues dance together. The feeling of desire coils up in your belly as a soft moan falls out of your lips when his hand roams tentatively lower until he's kneading at the soft flesh of your ass. If there's an award for best kisser then you have no doubt that Namjoon deserves it.

       The only thing that breaks the two of you out of your trance is the sounds of a group of people encroaching closer into witnessing what should be private bliss. The two of you glance over to see people setting up a bonfire not too terribly far away before looking back at each other. His hands remain in place for just a moment longer before he reluctantly pulls back and nods his head in the direction of his parent's summer home. "I suppose we should go inside now." His hand laces together with yours when you nod softly, leading you back without an ounce of worry or rushing. It's as if he's silently telling you that the two of you will have all the time in the world. So you reciprocate this possible hidden sentiment with an equally silent agreeance by squeezing his hand a few times.

   It doesn't take long for the two of you to hang up your towels and be right back inside. For a moment the silence just hangs in the air, the only noises heard are the distant partiers outside and the hum of the chilly AC when it kicks to life. "So...do you want to watch a movie?" Namjoon's words come out slightly rough and hoarse as if he hasn't spoken in hours.

   "Sure, we can do that. Whatever you pick I'm fine with. I'll just go take a shower and change real quick first." What you really want to do is jump his bones and drag him to the nearest soft landing spot. It's been a long time since you've felt lust consume you in such a carnal way. But you aren't sure if he's asking if you want to watch movies for his sake or yours. Perhaps he wants to take things slow. Either way, you figure that if perchance the two of you do decide to do something it might be best to wash off the salty ocean water currently drying out your skin.

       It isn't long before you've returned to the living room, this time clad in comfy warm sweat pants and a t-shirt. You find that Namjoon seems to have done the same and is currently lounging on the sofa as he browses through the international movie section of Netflix. If you're honest you're not much of a movie buff, but there's something about how excited he gets about watching obscure indie films from around the world that lights you up inside. "Hey, I'm kind of thinking of watching this one. It's about purgatory but it's not a horror movie, it says it's a coming of age movie."

   "A coming of age movie about purgatory, is that even possible?" You slide into the spot next to him on the couch, casting a quirked eyebrow at him before looking back at the screen. "Now I'm curious to see how they work that out. I say we watch it." There's a hum of content that leaves him as he starts up the movie before tossing a blanket over the two of you and bringing you closer to him. He smells like sandalwood and cinnamon, an earthy spicy blend that you inhale deeply as you nestle into his shoulder. You suppose there's a lot that the two of you still need to work out, still need to figure out or actually say. But right now everything feels so right, so cozy. As if the world has finally stopped spinning long enough for the two of you to just enjoy the moment.

   One of his arms is wrapped around your shoulders while you lace your hand with the free one. You never noticed before but he has much larger hands than yours. It's comforting in a sense, the feeling of just being in his arms cloaks you with safety and squashes any anxiety. But the desire is still looming in the distance as you take in the sight of him. The domestic side of him you haven't seen often. Freshly showered, in pajamas, his skin glowing with a soft tan and hair drying in floppy waves. It shouldn't excite you this much, but you can still feel the lingering sensation of his hands gripping your ass as his teeth nibble on your lower lip and now you want more. You want so much more. You want to feel him, you want to explore everything he has to offer.

   He casts a glance to the side to see you staring at him, a shy smile coming over his face. "Aren't you going to watch the movie?"

   "I kind of really want to kiss you again. I think that sounds far more interesting, no offense to the movie or anything." You watch Namjoon's eyes grow wide, his ears burning a bright cherry red as your hand snakes up his neck and you move in closer. "May I? Kiss you that is?" You watch him nod slowly before you inch in closer, your lips slowly melding with his. But you want more, and this peck is just the beginning. When he finally starts to reciprocate you twist and shuffle until you're straddling his lap. There is no uncertainty now, just a needy passion that consumes each movement. His hands begin to finally roam, slowly gliding up the back of your thighs to your ass until the creep forward yet again and he's moving to the hem of your shirt. He breaks away slowly, a thin trail of saliva breaking off as his gaze moves between your lips and your eyes.

   "Can I...take off your shirt?" You might have nodded a smidge too enthusiastically if the light chuckle you get in response is anything to go by. But at this point, you're too far gone to care if you look a little needy. Even just the brush of his knuckles against your bare skin as he tugs your shirt up and over feels scorching hot. The way his molten brown eyes take everything in, searching greedily, has your desire spinning further out of control. You can't remember the last time a partner of yours has looked at you this way, as if you're the finest delicacy they've ever seen and they want nothing more than to just dive in. Your lips connect hungrily to his neck as his hands snake up to unlatch your bra.

   "You're so beautiful, you know that?" His words are gruff with desire as you tug off his shirt and admire the firm planes of his stomach. For a moment everything stops, the two of you simply drink in the sights of one another until you're back on each other in a frenzy. You aren't sure when or how it happens but it feels like in just a fraction of a second the two of you are finally bare, and now you've twisted around with his face just inches away from your pussy. "I can't wait to taste you, you don't know how many times I've thought of this. How many times I’ve thought of how you’d feel, (y/n). How you’d sound when you moan my name."

   His eyes flicker up to yours for a moment as his hands stroke softly at the inside of your thighs. There's something softer in his gaze, something that says while he wants you physically he's also wanted this emotionally for some time. "Please taste me already Joon, I want to feel you already." He gives a small grunt in response before his tongue is licking a wide stripe along your dripping cunt. The sensation has your nerves on fire, your neck falling back into the couch as you grab onto his hair. He moves in a slow, tantalizing rhythm. His tongue delves between your folds and always comes up to plant a smattering of wet kisses on your clit. Each brush of his tongue has you moaning, each time his teeth scrape by with just enough pressure you can feel that familiar coil wind tighter. "Fuck, you're really good at this."

   It shouldn't be legal for your heart to melt over the dimples that appear when his face is literally buried in your pussy. But with Namjoon there's always this air of domestic bliss, a safe haven of comfort, the shines through even in the most carnal debauchery. The praise seems to drive him forward, his mouth latching onto your clit as two fingers slowly stretch you out. When his fingers curl up at just the right spot you can feel your climax hurtle closer, but you don't want it just yet. You want to feel him inside you, you want to finally feel full of nothing but him before your release. "Stop, stop Joony I'm going to come if you don't stop. I wanna cum with you-fuck-inside me." That finally gets his attention, his fingers finally snake out and you watch him pop them into his mouth with delight before his hands tug your hips closer to him.

   This time your kisses are sloppy, needy, and rushed. The taste of your tangy arousal on his tongue has small moans of delight bubbling out of you. "Fuck, I really want you. I can't wait to feel you." He pauses for a moment to stare down at the couch and you can tell that his gears are slowly grinding underneath the haze of lust. "I think I have a condom somewhere in my luggage. Give me a moment, I'll be right back." Before you can nod in response he's already taken off, your eyes glued to his ass as he runs away. If you thought he had a cute ass before, it looks all that much better without the clothing.

   After a minute or so of radio silence, you hear a loud crash, some banging, and muffled cursing. "You okay Joon?" You're quick on your feet and when you open the door you see his luggage strewn about on the floor with a large lamp laying next to it. "Oh, I hate when lamps try to run away from me. But really, are you okay?"

   "Physically, just fine. The only thing that's been damaged is my pride. Good news though, I did manage to find that condom!" He presents the gold foil with childlike glee, his smile reaching from ear to ear and you can't help but laugh. "Wait! I should probably mention that I didn't even pack them, Yoongi's fiance did saying that I really needed to get laid so I swear, this wasn't some large diabolical-"

   "Joon, it's fine. I'm glad you have a condom because I would really, really like to fuck you." The atmosphere shifts again, earlier playful twitterings are thrown out the door as you sit down on his bed. "If you still want to, that is."

   "God, you're going to be the death of me." With a groan, he's back up and by your side, his hand fisting over his half hard cock to get it to spring back to life as he peppers kisses over your face and pushes you into his feather-down pillows. "I can't wait to feel you, I can't wait to make you mine."

   "I'm pretty sure that emotionally I've been yours since the moment you went with me to feed the koi fish."

   "Remind me to send them a thank you present in that case." You prop yourself up on your elbows as he rips back the foil and slowly rolls the rubber over his length. You feel enough delight to border on delirium over the fact that you're finally going to feel him. Finally, after all this time of late night frustrations caused by even the smallest of contact with him, you're going to be able to feel him. The sensation of him coating himself in your arousals as he lines up has your nerves dancing with anticipation. He enters at an agonizingly slow pace, the stretch has you gripping onto the sheets and toes curling as his name leaves you in slow whines.

   "Please move, I can't take it. I need to feel you. Deeper." Lust has fogged over your brain and your words come out wobbly, slower, lower than normal. His hips push deeper, faster until his pace is almost brutal. The sounds of skin slapping against skin, loud wet squelches, and groans of satisfaction fill the room. His lips find yours again, his teeth nipping playfully as one hand sneaks down to rub circles on your clit.

   "I wanna make you cum, I want to see you all fucked out on my cock. Does this feel good?" The lower timber of his voice mixed with the clitoral stimulation has you spasming around him.

   "Fuck, yeah. Yeah just-fuck-just like that. Fuck! Don't stop, please don't stop I-I" His hips piston deeper, further into you as he presses kisses onto your neck.

   "Let go, baby, just let go." Your climax hits you quickly, stars spotting your vision as your legs hook around his waist. It feels like you're floating, it's transcendental. As if sex has brought you to a higher realm, a place where everything is perfect and right as you cry out in pleasure. He fucks you through it, new waves of satisfaction rolling in with each movement. You're slightly delirious as you come back to reality, a smile gracing your face as you hear words of praise roll off his tongue.

   "I could watch you cum all day. Fuck, you're so tight now. I'm not going to last much longer. Hold on, turn around." He helps you reposition until your ass is up in the air and your face is pressed snuggly into the pillows. His hands guide your hips in place as he quickly bottoms out, his pace picking up until you're a mewling mess.

   "Joon, fuck, please cum. I wanna feel you cum." The groans of satisfaction in response to your words has you spasming again, toes curling as his hands grip the flesh of your ass. You can feel his movements become sloppier, the rhythm falling out of sync as he pushes himself further to the edge that's teetering just out of reach. You snake your hand down to gently cup his balls and he gives a guttural moan in response. It only takes four more thrusts before he's spilling into the condom, lodged deep inside of your wet heat still as he slumps forward.

   "Holy shit." He catches his breath before he rolls over, carefully tieing off the condom and tossing it into a waste bin before he pulls you into his arms. "That was-"

   "Amazing? Mind-blowing? The best sex of your life?"

   "Yeah."

   "Good. It was for me too. I'll probably owe Jin for life now though for refusing to come. He kept saying that I needed to get laid." Namjoon laughs as he presses a kiss to your temple.

   "You know that's actually the same thing that Yoongi and his fiance said? I'm glad that they were right though. They kept telling me to just tell you that I liked you but for some reason, I was so nervous. You're just so sweet, and funny, and caring and perfect and I was convinced that you would think I had too much baggage to want to try with me."

   "You? Baggage? Please, I'm the one with the mommy and daddy issues, I think I trump you on the baggage claim. Besides, you're this witty, charming, intelligent, and painfully handsome man. How could I not fall for you?"

   That night the two of you fall asleep in between stolen kisses, cuddling, and conversations of love and life and what the future might have in store. As it turns out the future held pretty good things if you do say so yourself. Somehow the two of you helped each other heal, encouraged each other to grow and expand as people. It isn't always easy, but the two of you develop further into love when things get harder. And so somehow you managed not only to find love but after five years the government knows you're in love too. Three years after the wedding bells and you adopt your first child. Another two years later and you welcome in your second child and you finally realize that your biggest dream was coming true. You finally got the family you always wanted. And Jin was sure to remind you often that really it was all thanks to him. You can't say he's entirely wrong though, after all, he did help give you the chance to sweep Namjoon off his feet.

[suolainensilakka]

shade, quirrel, hornet

Shade: did you make many mistakes in your first playthrough? Do you regret any choices you made?

Hooh boy. Yeah

I was flying blind for the most part so I did accidentally fuck up some possible npc dialogue interactions by doing things in a slightly weird order and found out later when scouring through the wiki, namely hornet's bonus dialogue when you defeat herrah after getting the king's brand hsgdjsjd

But. BUT. The thing I regret the MOST about my whole entire playthrough is accidentally locking all future quirrel encounters by talking to him near the teacher's archives. I only had the deepnest hot springs hangout left and I would have gotten them all but I was a dumbass who decided to explore the fog canyon without originally even planning to and I FUCKED UP IM SORRY QUIRRELLLL COME BAAAAAACK

Quirrel: What was your favorite thing to discover for the first time?

Oh!! Oh!! Good Question! I unfortunately did get spoiled for a few things before I started playing the game myself, but one moment is gonna stick out to me for a good long while I think; Joni's Repose.

I was vaguely aware of a location existing in the game by that name where you could find a new charm, but it still came as a complete surprise for me! Honestly the entire howling cliffs area was a very pleasant surprise and I could not stop the constant feeling of "woah where the fuck am I" as I was exploring gdjfksjd

But! Joni's repose yes. Ok so I found a little hidden nook in the cliffs so I decided to go and explore, and THEN: butterflies. Blue lifeblood butterflies, which I recognized immediately - I followed the trail down, down, down, expecting to find a cocoon - and lo and behold, I accidentally stumbled right upon a small glade tucked away in the caverns completely filled with soft glowing blue and ambient music like no other, and I was mesmerized. I'm pretty sure that after getting the charm I just sat in that little hidden cavern for a full 15 minutes not even doing anything, just stopping for a moment and chilling in the atmosphere. I still dont know why that specific location stuck out to me so much, but it still gives me those very specific vibes that always make me just,,,,, stop, and sit back for a while. Like I said, I was mesmerized hshfjshd

Hornet: What is your favorite boss fight? Most difficult boss?

Ooooohhhh boy thats a tough one

I havent fought all bosses yet so I cant provide a definite answer, but there were a lot of fights I enjoyed!! (Enjoyed being a relative term since every single one of them kicked my ass WITHOUT mercy lmao)

But! A few bosses that I think had a really fun pattern and a pleasant challenge were the False Knight, Hornet round 1, the Mantis Lords aaaand the Dung Defender!! DD and the Lords kicked my ass the hardest I think, but the Lords had a very nice vibe with their entire battle. Challenging the three sisters for a honorable battle to gain the respect of the mantis tribe,,,,, MUAH, exquisite

And dung defender's up there purely because despite me loathing every single aspect of the royal waterways as a location I absolutely ADORED his fight, he sounded like he was having so much fun just jumping around and I love how when you stun him he just laughs gshdbnshd

He's having a good time. Yes he killed me twice but I could NOT stay mad at him if I tried, his entire fight just instantly put me into a good mood as well even though he's a pretty darn tough boss

Oh and I just realized I completely forgot to reply to the "hardest boss" part huh.

HORNET SENTINEL. FFUCKING HORNET SENTINEL OH MY GOD I STILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW I MANAGED TO BEAT HER I BARELY EVEN REMEMBER THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE I WAS SO FUCKED UP FROM ADRENALINE AND PURE UNFILTERED PANIC

OH and also Grimm I guess but I cheesed the entire fight by abyss shrieking the dude's ass all the way to hell lmao

[yeaaabudddy]

Hiding

Ship: Jason Todd x Reader (Y/N)

Type: Fluff

Requested: Yes, by anon

Words: 2 622

Notes: A bit of making out if that makes you uncomfy. I hope you it is good enough, if you want me to write something else just let me know!

-

You don’t know how it really occurred, it all happened pretty fast. You and Tim are really good friends, you always come over to his house to make sure that he’s still alive and well. You guys became great friends during school because you ended up accidentally stumbling upon Tim changing into a Robin costume in the school when a bunch of gunned men started infiltrating it.

You were walking in the hallway when you saw a man with a huge gun, turning into the hallway you were in and you panicked, opening the closest door to you so you can hide and stumbled upon Tim changing in an empty classroom.

You were too shocked by the fact that you might die that you totally didn't register the fact that Tim, the guy who always ends up accidentally falling asleep in your classes, is Robin.

That’s how you became friends, you realized how overwhelmed he was and you would always make sure he’s okay because he was helping the city, you thought you could help him just a little if he was doing so much.

Also, you had a frightening talk with Batman, him making sure that you won’t give up the fact that you knew who Robin’s identity was.

You then realized that Batman was Bruce Wayne when Dick Grayson came rushing into the cave without a mask on.

Two Wayne kids were superheroes? That was not a coincidence. Plus you could totally imagine it, the amount of money he had to be able to make a whole expensive cave with expensive weapons and gear.

You then started coming around to the manor more often, you realized that the intimidating mansion wasn’t intimidating. It was just quiet and lonely.

Sometimes everyone was present in the manor and sometimes there were only a few members. You realized that the family needed a bit of fun. They were just too uptight.

After a few months, they all got used to you coming around and making food and just blasting music.

You had met Jason after a week of coming around. He came into the manor to see a bright looking home that felt… warm? He looked around confused at why the lights seemed warm, why the house looked smaller and why he could hear laughing.

He walked into the kitchen to see a girl he’s never seen before, wearing an apron and chatting with Alfred. Tim and Dick were sitting on the dining table with a plate of cookies between them.

His attention turned back to you when he heard you laugh when Alfred made a joke. Your laugh brightening the dark that was lined around the area. At first, Jason was annoyed.

Who are you? Why are you laughing like you’re talking to longtime friends? Why is everyone not questioning this and why is Dick just smiling and enjoying cookies?

Did he drop into an alternate universe? He questioned reality for a second, not understanding what he was seeing.

Did the Flash do something? He shouldn’t be able to know though if something changed in the timeline.

He was only gone a few days…

“Um…” His voice broke the weirdly happy atmosphere in the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him standing in the doorway with a confused expression.

“Jason, You’re back!” Dick acknowledged him, nodding at his brother. Tim just looked at him briefly before going back to whatever case he was working on.

“Jason… is it?” You ask him, smiling and Jason just nods in response. You finally met the whole family. “By process of elimination, I guess you’re Red Hood then.”

Jason’s eyes widened in response, his eyes immediately whipping to his brothers who were sitting on the dining table, munching on cookies and not even phased.

“Is this real?” His hand went to his head, how can so many things change in a few days. He wants everything to go back to how it was.

It was too warm, too bright for him.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jason’s voice was a bit rough this time, wanting an actual answer and not just blank faces of his brother.

“Master Jason, calm down. This is Tim’s friend, Y/N. She’s come over for the past week to help out around the manor.” Jason scoffed at the information.

“Tim’s friend?” He looked at Tim who was just ignoring the whole situation that was unfolding. “Guess you just figured it out yourself then?”

You were not phased by Jason’s reaction, you grabbed a cup and poured in some coffee.

“Yup, want some?” You held up the coffee cup to beside your face, smiling like you were in an advertisement.

“There’s something in there, isn’t there? You’ve taken control over the whole family. Oh my gosh, why me?” Jason’s voice groaned out in frustration.

“Jason, just sit down” Dick groaned at his brother’s dramatic self.

“Shut up, Dick.”

“I swear I’m not a villain.” You put your hands up in surrender.

“How do I know that?” Jason squinted his eyes at you in suspicion.

“Uh… you can test the coffee?” You offered, not really knowing how to prove to him you haven’t done anything wrong but skip class.

Jason just laughed at the offer. “Test the coffee?”

“I don’t know! I literally just figured out Tim was Robin, I don’t know how this stuff works.” You defended yourself.

“Jason, chill. We’re all conscious and aware. Y/N just came around and started helping us out a bit.” Dick explained for you as Tim was clocked out, what a great friend he was.

That day was the start of it all. Jason was still very suspicious of you, he never ate or drank anything you made no matter how much Alfred yelled at him and how much you tried to hide your frown.

You guys eventually became acquainted after Jason realized that you were literally a normal girl. It took some time but eventually, he warmed up.

A few years had passed from that moment, a lot had happened. You realized that you wanted to help them out more as they were putting their all into making sure that everyone in this city was safe.

There were so many scares as many more dangerous villains came around. You started going to university to get a medical degree because the whole team hurt themselves too much and don’t have proper help or a proper doctor.

They have all the expensive hospital supplies but only Alfred really uses it on the others because the boys are too tired to patch themselves and others or are passed out.

You ended helping in the batcave with patching up the members and it scared you because you were depended on to help them. It was you or no one else though so you decided you needed to help as you wouldn't let them die.

Since you were Tim’s friend as you were only a year older than him, you spent most of your time with him. You were close to everyone else but you realized Tim needed the most help with his 24/7 sleep deprived state.

There was one person you never managed to get too close to and that was Jason Todd.

You did try but the atmosphere always felt awkward around you for some reason. Well actually, you know why.

It was no secret that Jason Todd was HOT. The whole family was but Jason was just in his own way so attractive to you. Since you were so close to Dick and Tim, they felt like brothers to you but Jason didn’t come around often, usually in his own team and apartment so you didn’t see him as much anyway.

When he did come over though, it was always a sight for you. Dick noticed the way both of you stared at each other and he couldn’t stand the sexual tension between you guys. Tim obviously didn’t notice even if it was happening right in front of him.

When you both ended up getting together Dick, Bruce, Alfred, and even Damian thanked the heavens. The tension between you guys was getting to them and they instantly knew when you guys got together because the awkwardness was suddenly gone.

You guys didn’t say anything to them but they all ended up seeing you together randomly in random corners of the manor like you were trying to hide but didn’t actually care enough to properly do it.

Tim obviously still hadn’t gotten a hint and no one told him, you were a bit nervous to tell him that you were dating his brother. They didn’t have the best relationship but it wasn’t the worst so you didn’t know how he would take it.

You kept it ‘hidden’ for now, it wasn’t like you really needed to hide it though because Tim had no suspicion especially when it came to stuff he didn't really care about.

“Jason, do you think we should tell Tim? It’s been a month.” You felt guilty even though you weren’t exactly hiding anymore. You guys just weren’t into much PDA around the family so it’s not like you were particularly keeping it from him it but you still thought you should tell Tim yourself.

“Screw him, you can tell him tomorrow. Right now I just want to spend time with you.” Jason pulled you closer to him with his hands that were wrapped around your waist. His grip strong as he put his face closer to yours, your noses brushing together.

You giggled at the sensation, you bring your mouth closer to his. Jason smiled at your laugh, the sound always making his heart beat a bit faster.

“Alright but I’m telling him tomorrow.” You kiss him slowly, his lips feeling so good against yours. You bound your arms around his neck, one hand brushing through his gorgeous hair.

Jason’s arms made their way down your body as he tried to speed up the movement of your lips together. You pull apart from him to catch your breath and he makes his way to your neck.

You crane your neck to give him more space for the lewd kisses Jason was planting on your neck. His hands went down to your ass, massaging it in his big hands making you groan against him.

You brought his face back to your own and kissed him again, rushing this time to feel him again.

Jason’s hands make their way down, bending to accommodate for the height difference. The force of his hands on your thighs always surprised you because of how Jason easily picked you up.

You clench your arms around his neck as he forces you up. You cross your ankles behind his waist, continuing to kiss him.

Jason prodded your mouth with his tongue, asking you silently to open up which you allowed. His tongue makes his way into your warm mouth, exploring it.

You always thought Jason would be pretty rough with his kisses and actions but he was pretty soft unless he had a bad day, of course.

Jason pushed you against the living room wall, his mouth leaving your lips. He kissed along a trail making his way down back to your neck to leave some marks, making you moan at the feeling. His hand made his way to your face and run through your hair and moving it away from your neck.

You were so into Jason at the moment as he softly bit onto your neck and kissed all over it that you barely heard a nudge against the glass table. The noise echoed around the dimly lit room making you both stop.

You and Jason turn to look at the cause of the noise, seeing the culprit standing right next to the glass coffee table.

Tim stood there in his Red Robin suit, mouth agape staring at you both. You noticed the open window, realizing he probably came through from there for a particular reason.

“Um…” Tim didn’t know if he was hallucinating because he had his 20th coffee or this was a weird dream.

“Tim!” You squealed, realizing what position he was seeing you and Jason in. You wanted Tim to find out but not like this, you wanted to tell him yourself.

You tried to get down from your position but Jason had a tough grip on your thighs that were holding you up against him and the wall. You slapped his hand, the stinging sensation catching his attention and he looked back at you.

He loosened his grip when he realized what you wanted and you made your way down to the ground, parting yourself from Jason and fixing up your messed up shirt and hair.

“Uh-” you don’t understand what to say in the moment, how to explain it to him.

“You and… Jason?” His face looked in disgust at the prospect of you and him together. Jason glared at Tim who stood still in his place.

“Hey, watch it.” Jason said to Tim in response to the disgust he held when he said his name.

“Please, she’s like my sister and you’re… you. It’s weird!” Tim said, making a face.

“I wanted to tell you! I was going to tell you tomorrow!” You tried to defend the both of you.

“Oh my gosh, how long?” Tim’s eyes widened at the aspect that you’ve been going out for a while and him not picking it up. He wasn’t always the best with figuring out relationships and he definitely didn’t expect you and Jason to get together.

“Only a month!” You respond, quickly.

“Ugh, I wish I could cleanse my mind. I really wish I didn’t have to see that.” Tim covered his eyes with his gloved hands.

“Speaking of that… why are you here?” Jason asked, his face annoyed at the aspect of being interrupted by none other than Tim.

“Bruce was looking for you, he had called your phone but you weren’t picking up. There was a case he needed your hands on so he sent me.” Tim explained his reasoning as to why he broke into his apartment.

Jason checked his phone that was in his back pocket, seeing the missed calls lined up in his notification bar.

“I would leave but I kind of gotta leave with you to make sure you’re coming. Big Bat’s orders.” He looked between the two of you, implying that you couldn’t continue on whatever you were doing.

Jason groaned, even more annoyed at the fact that he has to leave you. “You guys have the best timing.” Jason fixed up his suit and picked up his helmet and wore it. The guns on the dining table being put into various parts of his suit and he turned to you.

“You’ll probably end up in the cave anyways but…” Jason looked at Tim who was still rooted in his spot and rolled his eyes under his mask. He leaned towards you, close to your ear. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Gross!” Tim fake gagged as he realized what Jason was whispering to you.

“Oh shut up, you interrupted our time!” Jason shot back, making his way to the window.

“I didn’t know!” Tim shouted at him, following behind him. They both left through the window, leaving you alone to clean up a bit and leave the apartment as well and make yourself to the cave.

You knew if most of the crew was out right now, people would most likely come back with injuries. At least Tim knew now, so you don’t feel the guilt of hiding something from him. You hope that this might help with the relationship between Tim and Jason a bit.

-

Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave me a message about this fic or just to talk!

[theobsessor1]

Soulmate au

A soulmate au idea if you will indulge me

Im just ramble on about the idea because I feel like I would suck actually writing the fic or probably won’t ever get around to actually attempting to write it. Warning this is long Do with this what you will. Write your own if ya want, just wanted to share my thoughts. So! Soulmate au, your chest glows when your close to your soulmate. Maybe they glow in different colors, maybe it just white light ((idea from this post (link)))

The possibility of glowing starts from age 12, and so begins your optional search for your soulmate.

Not everyone takes it seriously, it's like the universe is giving you a suggestion. Saying hey your a really good match for each other, most people listen to it, but not all.

In comes our boys under the cut

Roman:

He’s a radio show host, does a range of things on his show. Playing music by queer artists or their allies. Talks to listeners and giving them advice the best he can and just a safe space to talk for the queer community. Cause even tho the universe will say that two men are meant to be, there are those who still are disgusted.

After all no one knows how or why the chest glowing is a thing, it just is. So who’s to say it is good or bad?

Roman is a strong believer in soulmates, after all he does love his fiance more than just about anything. He still can’t help this small feeling that something is missing tho.

Roman loves to go see plays during his free time, sometimes he accidentally rambles on about them on his radio show. Has gotten into a few debates with his listeners and even got his fiance riled up into joining one such debate.

Lives in a nicely sized homemade for two, plus a guest room at the insistence from Logan that they must have one, even tho neither of them really invite friends over opting to head to friends houses instead.

Logan:

Roman’s fiance. They don’t plan to get married any time soon, really just got the rings for people to leave them alone and stop asking if they were dating because their chests glowed.

Logan is the co-owner of the radio show with Roman. He rarely ever goes on air, he works mainly with their equipment and making sure they keep to a relatively to the same schedule every day.

He writes in his spare time, hasn’t really published anything yet. He’s more content to just share it freely online at the moment. 

Insisted that they have the guest room just in case anyone does ever come over, because he will not allow anyone to sleep on the couch like a heathen.

Has a large bookshelf in their living room stuffed with books, most are his.

Patton:

I was thinking baker at first cause why fix whats not broken but then a better idea struck!!

A childcare assistant! He works at a children’s daycare, keeping an eye kiddos while there parents are at work.

He’s the kiddos favorite but ssssh, don’t tell any one. 

He sneaks them extra snacks if they behave, or read them bed time stories during nap time to help them snooze. 

Patton of course bakes and knits in his free time. 

He lives in a relatively nice one bedroom apartment, with his plants. 

Patton stumbles upon Logan, quite literally, in the library when he’s looking for a book to help him with his knitting.  Several flustered apologies later as they dust each other off from the fall Patton realizes their chests are glowing!!!

It’s so exciting!! Patton practically squealed, with a startled Logan trying to wrap his head around what was happening. Let’s just say Logan panics and it takes some time for Patton to calm him down. 

Once calmed down Logan tries to politely excuse himself and takes off. He of course goes crying to Roman, how could it be possible. He’s heard rumors of course of rare cases where people have glowed around more than one person but he never really thought it was possible. 

This causes them both to freak out some. Later on of course Roman will get Logan to warm up to the idea, I mean its twice the amount of love come on. He can shower even more people in affecton! And this stranger sounds down right adorable so why would he complain.

Poor Patton isn’t sure what to do, so what’s he do well. He calls for advice to that wonderful Radio show of course!

Shenanigans ensue!

Virgil: 

Virgil works with a small animation studio, making art and costume clothes in his free time. He made his patched hoodie after all.

Virgil isn’t all that confident in soul mates, just isn’t his thing. 

He lives in a dingy apartment, makes magic work with just noodles and some left over meat. Is kinda broke if ya couldn’t tell. That’s why he has taken to a talent of recycling clothes and making something new out of them. Plus it fits his aesthetic. 

Only ever leaves his house to visit his best friend Remy’s cafe. He’s allergic to the outside he likes to say while hissing at the sun.

Has Roman’s radio show playing as background noise most of the time. Found that one with the poor guy tripping in the library interesting. Poor guy didn’t get such a great first impression.

Virgil is visiting the cafe one day with his bro Thomas, chilling at one of the tables when Patton comes in dragging Roman and Logan in with him happily talking their ears off to try the stuff there. 

Virgil definitely didn't stare for along time observing them, with all their own different attractive assets. He’s just people watching shut up Thomas. 

It isn’t until later when the group sit down at a table that Thomas points out that Virgil may be glowing under his thick hoodie. Causing the emo to panic and off course hide that fact as the group seems to take notice of themselves glowing. 

Let’s just say its one hell of a first meeting. Virgil could hardly talk through his gay panic when the guys finally realize he was the last one. Luckily Thomas is there to help him out, that little shit.

Deceit: 

I like giving him the name Dean. 

Surprisingly he’s soulmate’s with Thomas. Tho he doesn’t really do much about it, they’ve become QPPs.

Dee has known Virgil and Thomas since highschool, he was much more of a delinquent back than. The two, mostly Thomas has help keep him out of trouble for the most part. 

He lives with Thomas, they have their own bedrooms. No one is sure what his job is. 

(He’s a police detective, mainly works in homicide usually, but shoosh don’t tell it’ll ruin his reputation of being a heathen)

Just because he works with the police doesn’t mean he cares for the law, you wanna break a few rules you go right ahead child, here have a lolipop too. 

He has a dark sense of humor, Oh you have a problem with some one just murder them! 

Thomas- No!      Dee- fine, a light stabbing then  Thomas- NO!

He is protective of his cinnamon roll Thomas, and takes great pleasure in rilling him up. 

Was able to convince Thomas to allow him to have two pet snakes, two ball pythons his precious babies. 

Him and Remy can go on flirting with each other for hours those dorks. Its like a contest who can get the other to fall flat first.

Remy:

The man that embodies sass. 

He opened a cafe, encouraging other people’s coffee addictions and satisfying those with a sweet tooth. 

Knows every single one of these poor gay idiots and is watching with a bag of popcorn at their horrible attempts at romancing one another. 

He an Emile are just betting one who does what and enjoy the chaos of the oblivious pinning. 

The one to introduce Dee to Thomas.

Emile:

Of course he still is a therapist, what else would he be.Still obsessed with cartoons.

Is best friends with Virgil and Thomas. Is a bit weary of Dee, but what can ya do.

Absolutely adores Remy, that’s his sass man. They’ve known each other since childhood, practically declaring to mary each other with candy rings.

Remy and him are happily soulmates, living in a nice quite home. 

They have a cute mainecoon named pumpkin spice, pumpkin for short.she sleeps with Emile’s stitch plush on their couch.

Emile is ecstatic to hear that Virgil found his soulmates when he tells him. Or even that he was talking to people in general that weren’t Remy, Dee, Thomas or himself for once.

Hopefully these new guys can get Virgil out of his house more often, he’s a little concerned about his vitamin D intake. Don’t tell me that mister, your not allergic to the sun!

Don’t know if I’ll actually write this at any point in time, feel free to use with credit i guess. Idk just sharing my ramblings.

[metaphoricallyroger]

When I’m Sixty Four [R.T.]

Summary: You and Roger have been married for what seems a lifetime. You share memories through photographs with the main cast of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Words: 3,280

Warning: Swearing.

Note: Title taken from The Beatles song of the same name. Also, I feel like the flow of reading this is a bit off? But I hope you still enjoy!

Request: For @rrrogah-tayluhh . 

--

At the completion of filming Bohemian Rhapsody, Roger and Brian thought it would be a good idea to have the main cast over for a dinner party.

You, having become something akin to a part of the props on set considering you went to watch the filming whenever you could, also think it is a good idea. Perhaps now would be a good time to finally share some of the safe-for-work questions the cast have been asking you for months now that you’ve gotten to know them better.

After dinner, the drinks began to flow, so naturally, the promised stories of the heydays have begun and your numerous photo albums collected over the years have been pulled off the bookshelf in the lounge room.

“The first time I saw him I thought he was a woman.”

“Did you really? Is that how you two met?” Ben looks between you and Roger, trying to figure out if you’re joking or not.

“I thought a girl had dropped her study notes so I chased after her to give them back, and turns out, that lovely ladies name was Roger.”

“I can’t believe you’re telling this story,” Roger groans.

“Shush, you were cute. Look!” You hold up a blurry looking polaroid, “got the photo here to go with the moment and everything.”

~~

“Miss, excuse me, Miss! You’ve dropped your papers!” The person who turned around certainly wasn’t a woman, but a very attractive man with a cigarette stuck to the dryness of his lips.

“Did you just call me miss?”

“I apologise, but we’ve got the same coat on and your hair it’s, well …” You gestured towards the blonde mane on his head and tried to ignore the fact that you both wore the same fur coat.

“It’s what?”

“Sorry, I- Um, it’s very nice, that’s all.” You were slightly intimidated by the man in front of you.

The flash of the camera that hung from your shoulder interrupted whatever the man was going to say next.

“Do I have a personal photographer now?”

“I am so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to take a photo of you, I was just running my finger over the button which I do when I get nervous. Sorry, again. For you know.” He bent down and grabbed the polaroid where it lay discarded on the floor.

“You also talk a lot when you’re nervous?”

“Guess so.” He handed the photo back which had developed during your rant to show only the subjects midsection and thighs, which could have been passed off as your own photograph with the same coat you both wore.

“What’s your name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“So I can find where you live, obviously,” you rolled your eyes, “I’d like to write it under the photo. Memories and all.” You raised your eyebrows.

“It’s Roger Taylor,” he grinned, and seemingly took pleasure at your newfound bravado.

--

“I didn’t see Roger for a couple of years after that. I was friends with John. That’s how I met him for the second time.”

“Did you go to one of their gigs?” Gwilym enquiries.

“I introduced John to the band because I knew Roger’s girlfriend at the time and she told me that he needed a bass player. I had to practically drag him to their rehearsal one day,” you smile fondly at the memory of John, hoping he also looks back on the time as a period of happiness.

~~

“What do you study?” You looked up from your textbook to see the drummer you’d accidentally taken a photograph of however long ago, which you still had, buried in a box underneath your bed. You sometimes took the castaway polaroid out and looked at it, wondering whether the sandy-haired man still had the coat, much like you kept yours.

“I’m becoming a nurse, what about you?”

“Biology, but I studied to become a dentist, for a while.”

You chuckled and Roger squinted at you, eyebrows drawn together.

“Sorry,” you paused, “I just can’t picture you pulling someone’s teeth out.”

“Me neither. Music’s where it’s at for me.”

“I can picture that,” you smiled timidly.

The silence that hung itself over your heads was comfortable, and Roger smiled down at his splayed fingers.

“So,” he broke the silence, “what pictures did you take of me this time, my personal photographer?”

“This one’s my favourite.” You show him the one where he was looking over to Brian, lips pursed, ready to sing into the microphone next to him, his left hand hit the snare whilst his right was poised, ready to hit the smaller tom-tom.

Roger ended up keeping the photo after you reluctantly handed it over. It would come back to you at a later date, hidden amongst Roger’s tchotchke-filled cardboard boxes after you moved in together.

--

“How drunk are you guys in this photo?” Joe, whose sense of humour never fails to make you laugh grins as he holds up a very specific photo of a very specific night you no longer can remember.

“Oh, we might’ve been flying at that point,” Brian chuckles reaching up to rub his chin with a hint of embarrassment.

~~

“We’re going places, Baby!” You grinned at the very drunk Roger in front of you with his wild hair and glassy eyes that almost spilled over with happiness.

Drinks and all other sorts of substances flowed amongst the partygoers after the New Orleans concert of Queen’s Jazz tour, fans, strangers and family all united under the one cause if only for one night. Tomorrow, you’d go your separate ways, only to do it all over again the next tour.

The room had become hazy with copious amounts of cigarette smoke as Roger dragged you, half stumbling, half running to the middle of the room to get you to take a photo of the band.

“You’re not all going to fit!” You called, quite drunk yourself, as the four men tried to squeeze themselves together on the smallest lounge in the room.

“Hold on! I’ve got an idea.”

John took it upon himself and attempted to rearrange the limbs of the other members so that they all ended up piled on top of one another. They had laughed boisterously at their ‘Queen Pretzel’ they’d made, but they eventually fit themselves into the frame.  

“Stay there. John that’s perfect,” you called, and took the photo that was distributed to all four band members after it collectively became their ‘favourite photo ever’.

--

“Darling, do you want more?” Roger nods his head towards the glass of wine you’d been sipping the entire night. You don’t particularly enjoy the drink, much preferring G&T’s if you are going to drink so you decline, choosing to focus on Brian who’s begun talking about the script changes that had been made after the first draft.

“I didn’t know that he called you Darling that young, Y/N.”

“He only started to call me Darling once he got his first grey hair.” You run your fingers through Roger’s now silver locks and he grumbles as he pulls your hand from his hair and intertwines your fingers.

“I don’t recall that.”

“Okay,” you faux agree, “we all believe you.”

~~

The high pitched screech you heard from the bathroom sent you up the stairs, worried your daughter had hurt herself.

“What’s wrong?” You burst inside, only to find Roger, who stared pitifully at himself in the mirror, almost nose-to-nose with his reflection.

“I’m going grey!”

“So?”

“‘So?’ What do you mean ‘so?’ I’m Roger Taylor, I can’t just be going grey Darling!”

“Oh, good Lord.” You dug your fingernails into the bridge of your nose.

You watched as he continued to go through his hair, almost inspecting every strand before you perked up and remembered the camera on the table outside the door.

When you returned, you tried to be discreet about taking the photo, but the mirror, unfortunately, alerted Roger to your presence.

“No, no, absolutely not.”

“Hold still!” You cried, trying to get Roger in the corner to be able to document the moment. Backed into the corner, Roger pouted and allowed you to take the photo.

The photo came out blurry and to Roger’s joy, you could not see a trace of grey hair.

--

“Do you have any funny pictures of you two when you were younger?” Joe’s eyes light up when you pull out the album you saw Brian discreetly trying to hide when the photos began to be passed from person to person.

“Actually-”

“No!” Roger interrupts, “she doesn’t.”

Brian, thinking he’s spared from being the butt of a joke laughs at his friends face as Roger gets a good look at it.

“I thought you got rid of that album?” Roger’s eyebrows furrow as you begin flicking through the album, trying to find one of the better photos.

You smirk and shrug.

“I lied. But don’t worry, you aren’t going to be alone in your humiliation. Should we talk about the time Roger and Brian spilt cake batter all over their pants and Freddie made them walk home in their underwear because he didn’t want them to ruin his clothes?”

“Please do!” Lucy grins.

“So, we all went round to Freddie and Mary’s flat …”

~~

“This is ridiculous. Why couldn’t we have bought a cake from a bakery instead of having to make it here?” Roger had not stopped his complaints since the idea had come to fruition the week prior.

“I think that’s the whole idea behind a baking evening, Roger. You know, to bake.”

“C’mon Rog, you don’t want to be able to cook for your missus here?” You glanced at Brian whose eyes widened when he saw the look you gave him. You didn’t have high hopes for Roger’s baking skills, especially when he couldn’t work out how to help Freddie boil an egg.

“We aren’t married.”

“Not yet anyway,” you heard Roger mumble under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, nothing. Are we going in?” He seemed eager to get inside after Brian brought up marriage and almost tripped over the doorway when Mary opened the door in an effort to get away from the conversation.

~~

“I can’t believe he’s done this. This is so embarrassing! What if someone we know sees us?” Roger stomped, in your opinion, like a spoilt toddler down the street, even to the point where his lower lip stuck out in a petulant pout. It didn’t help that his shirt was covered with the remnants of what was supposed to be a cake, crusted into the fine stitching.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one who seems to be wearing women’s underwear,” Brian goads.

The two men walked ahead of you as you trailed behind, and tried not to let the noise of you opening your camera bag alert them to your motive.

“This is a Kodak moment! Move your little arses so I can take a picture of you both.”

“This isn’t funny, Y/N,” Roger grumbled. But still, the men walked on and attempted to look unaffected by the cool breeze that had begun to permeate the air despite the warmth Spring had provided earlier in the day.

“No, you’re right, it’s freaking hilarious,” you cackle.

--

“Was this a fancy dress?” Rami looks slightly mortified if the wide, blinking of his eyes is anything to go by.

When you look at the photo his index finger rests on, you understand, creased brow relaxing.

“That was our wedding day. God,” you laugh, “it was a disaster.”

“That’s your wedding day?”

“Doesn’t look like it, does it?” The corner of your mouth quirks up at his attempt of trying to hide his shock. If asked in the few years following your wedding to Roger, you would have at least wanted to fix a few things, but these days, the memory doesn’t do anything but make you smile.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you wear or who gets drunk and does what with the celebrant but the person you vow to spend the rest of your life with.

~~

“We aren’t supposed to see each other! It’s a tradition!” Everything that could have possibly gone wrong the day of your wedding happened. Things that you meticulously had plans X, Y, and Z for were thrown out the window and to top it off, the groom kept trying to break into your room.

“Babe, we’ve already got a kid together, I think we’re a bit far past traditional at the moment.”

Roger waited for the sound of the door to unlock before he opened the door to the bedroom.

“Oh, Y/N,” he whispered.

Your lower lip trembled and your eyes stung as you tried to keep your tears at bay. What little makeup you had put on was streaked from tears, your hair and veil askew and Roger thought he’d never seen a bride more beautiful.

“I just wanted everything to be perfect,” you snivelled and pulled the veil from your head, tossing it to the bed. You plonked yourself on the bed, head in your hands.

The bed creaked as Roger sat next to you, resting a comforting hand against your back, which helped release some of the tension in your shoulders.

“You look handsome.” You glanced up at Roger in his suit and almost started crying again when you think about your wedding dress too destroyed to try to fix moments before the ceremony.

“Are we going to get married or what? I’ve been waiting to marry you since you called me a girl, let’s go,” he tugged on your arm gently after a heavy silence fell over the room.

“Married? Like this?”

“Why not?”

“Uh, because I don’t have a dress and look like a right bellend whilst you look handsome and like you actually belong in a wedding party.” You had no other formal-wear with you, only the tracksuit and shirt you wore (which was Roger’s), your suitcase for the honeymoon sat in your own bedroom, hours away from the venue you were going to get married at.

“Do you really think I’m going to let you be the only one to get married in tracksuit bottoms? I want to be comfortable too, Babe, it’s only fair.”

As the pair of you walked into the after party, Roger swept you into his arms, one under your knees, the other behind your back as the photographer stood before you.

The pair of you grinned at the camera, content that you had finally gotten to marry each other, and once the initial panic of having to get married in your veil, tracksuit bottoms and Converse ebbed, you found that nothing could bring your mood down.

--

“I think I’m a bit too old for you, sorry bud,” you smile as your daughter fends off Ben’s innocent flirting. The pair sits shoulder-to-shoulder over the album that features another chapter of your lives when the kids came along.

“Oh, I remember this one, look how cute we were!” Maia uncovers the photo and pulls it out to show you and Roger, and it’s true, brother and sister were very cute, still are, despite them both being grown adults. They are your babies, no matter how old they get.

“‘Were?’ You still are, Pumpkin.”

“Dad, stop,” she laughs, shaking him off, “you’re embarrassing me.”

“Hey, I am nowhere near as embarrassing as I could be. I haven’t brought out the ones of you with your fingers up your nose yet.”

“No! No more baby pictures.”

You stroke your hand down Maia’s hair to calm her down, trying not to chuckle at her flushing cheeks.

“Who says they’re of you when you’re a baby,” Roger says with a raise of an eyebrow.

“Could we just get to talking about this picture please?” She huffs, sounding so much like her father you can’t help but roll your eyes, ever the dramatic.

~~

“Look at Mummy, Finn!”

Roger had both kids balanced on either knee and whilst five-year-old Maia was eager to pose for the camera, one-year-old Finn was more interested in what the drumstick tasted of.

Roger controlled the bass drum pedal and the opening and closing of the hi-hat and grinned whenever Finn or Maia hit one of the drums, even if it hadn’t worked with what he did.

The noise the kids made was less a rhythmic fill but a ruckus of noise as they attempted to emulate what they’d seen their father do.

“Finn, look here!” You clicked your fingers, and the blonde toddler looked up at you with a grin that curved around the tip of the stick.

The click of the camera sounded in the momentarily silent room and the moment was frozen in time and memory. Roger would carry that around with him on tours in years to come, still to the day he carried around a new copy so the original stayed, worn and creased from tender touches of love inside the album.

--

“You’ve got a lot of pictures, do you have a favourite? Of just you two?” Rami wonders as his eyes flit eagerly across the album he’s reopened. He seems drawn to the earlier photos, the ones taken candidly before Queen shot to fame which feature some of the greatest times you’ve all had. Even the bad memories, when things didn’t go right, are looked back upon with fondness.

“Oh, yes, there’s one that Freddie took of us, but it’s starting to fade now so I don’t look at it as much. Here,” you flip to the beginning of the album, “this one.”

“I love that shirt Roger’s wearing!” Lucy adds as she sees mirth glow in your eyes.

“That’s actually my shirt.”

“How cute,” she coos, “when was this one taken?”

“Right when we first got together, if I recall.” Roger’s nose and upper lip crinkle as he remembers your early romance reverently.  

“That’s right,” you nod.

~~

You pressed against each other, Roger sat on the curb, an arm wrapped around the curve of your thigh and his head rested on your hip where you stood next to him. The stifling heat inside the venue meant you sat far apart in the dressing room, but the coolness of the nighttime air meant you were as close to each other as possible.

You didn’t pay attention to anyone but one another, lost under the haze of new romance. It wasn’t like you to believe in romance clichés, but everything truly seemed to slow down whenever you looked into Roger’s ridiculously blue eyes.

The sound of Brian’s complaints that the van was getting too small with the entourage they’d begun to pick up fell on deaf ears, John and Freddie were too busy looking at the pair of you, all loved up.

The flash of the camera didn’t even halt your hushed murmurs to each other, only Freddie’s excited yell elicited any reaction.

“Darlings, come look at this photo I took of you! Isn’t it wonderful?”

You both inspected the photo once Freddie stopped waving it around. It developed to show you from the torso down and Roger, cuddled up to your legs, with a reserved smile that made him look sleepy and content, which was exactly the pace of the night.

“It’s very nice, Fred,” he grabbed the photo and gently rubbed his finger across your torso, also mimicking the motions on the photo.

He passed the photo off to you and you placed it in your blazer pocket and held your hand out to him.

“You ready to go?”

“Ready for anything.”

[fangirlshrewt97]

The Witcher Fic - Give Me One More Chance (Part 5)

Author: Fangirlshrewt97

Fandom: The Witcher (TV Series)

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier|Dandelion, Geralt of Rivia & Yennefer of Vengerburg, Geralt of Rivia & Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Jaskier|Dandelion & Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon

Characters: Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier|Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Yennefer of Vengerburg, Roach

Rating: Teen Audiences and Up (Swearing, Mild Gore)

Warnings: None Apply

Additional Tags: Post Episode S01E06: Rare Species, Emotionally Constipated Geralt of Rivia, Pining, Touch-Starved Geralt of Rivia, Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt & Comfort, First Kiss, Getting Together, Canon-Typical Levels of Violence, Monsters, I really put Geralt through the wringer here, but I am ok with that because poor Jaskier did not deserve it, I do acknowledge though that Geralt is multiple levels of screwed up and maybe thought he was helping them both when he was actually hurting them

Summary: After the dragon hunt, Geralt tries to cope with his actions. And misses Jaskier a lot. But refuses to deal with his feeling even when it almost kills him.

Alternate title: 5 things Geralt misses about Jaskier + 1 he didn’t need to

Link to A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389734

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

                                                             *****

Traveling together with Jaskier made the void Geralt had been feeling since the dragon hunt feel a little smaller but at the same time, just as deep as before. For the first few days, Jaskier barely acknowledged Geralt or Yennefer. He was also quieter than ever, though he maintained a constant stream of conversation with Ciri. He answered every question she threw at him, sometimes with outlandishly impossible answers that had her giggling. At night when they made camp, he took over cooking whatever ingredients Yennefer had bought in the previous town and whatever meat Geralt hunted.

He sang his songs, well, every song that did not have to do with Geralt in any way.

He did not touch Geralt. He did not speak to Geralt. He scarcely looked at Geralt.

Geralt wanted to shake the bard, beg him, plead for an accidental brush of their hands, a question out of habit, a peek from the corner of electric blue eyes.

But Jaskier gave him nothing. Demonstrating a mastery over his bodily reactions Geralt had not known the bard was capable of, Jaskier ignored him completely and intentionally.

Jaskier was even cordial with Yennefer, never outright cutting her with sharp words but not sparing a word that was not needed. Geralt would even venture to say they might be friends from the good-natured teasing he heard when he was out of their earshot.

Ciri saw all this, but surprisingly, or maybe totally unsurprisingly, after all how well did Geralt actually know her, the little princess took Jaskier’s side. Or perhaps not side, but she seemed to find his actions justifiable. A few times when Geralt was returning from a hunt, she heard Jaskier and Ciri rummaging about in camp. He heard her trying to convince Jaskier to give him a second chance. Jaskier stayed quiet.

///

After nearly three weeks of traveling together, of too quiet camps, non-music filled walks through possibly enemy woods, of distances so easy to close yet so insurmountable, Geralt was at his wits end. Yennefer had portaled herself and Ciri away, claiming that she had a friend who could help her with training for Cirilla and that the princess needed to remember what a bed felt like. Geralt had a suspicion based on the pointed glare both girls sent his way that they were actually conspiring to grant him some time alone with Jaskier.

Jaskier was mute as he watched the portal closed, getting back to setting up their camp in the same efficient way he had done when once upon a time it had always been just the two of them. Geralt knew he had to be the one to talk, since Jaskier was obviously not going to.

“Jaskier, we have some spices left, and I hear a deer nearby. What do you say we have a meal with some flavor for once?” Geralt asked, wincing at his own pathetic excuse for conversation.

Jaskier just hummed noncommittally. Geralt resisted the instinct to growl or run a rough hand through his hair. Was this what he had subjected Jaskier to all these years? But he did not have the talent the bard did to draw words out of others. Much less from someone who typically could not be stopped from talking. Needless to say, Geralt was frustrated and reaching the bottom of a very shallow pool of ideas.

Which is what he chose to blame for why he completely missed the sound of a monster approaching. Night had fallen, and both were sitting on opposite sides of the camp. He was brushing Roach while enjoying the absentminded strumming of Jaskier’s lute, the bard obviously composing inside his head. Geralt finished brushing and turned, only to feel his breath catch in his throat. Jaskier was glowing by the campfire, his pale yellow doublet casting golden shadows over his delicate features, the shadows making him look all the more unearthly. He was humming something under his breath, and Geralt had to strain his ears to catch it.

Had the bard always been so… lovely?

He was so enraptured in the blue of the bard’s wide open eyes that he entirely missed the alarm in those eyes. Roach’s neighing and shove with her snout was the only reason the endrega did not behead him.

“Geralt!” Jaskier screamed. Geralt did not even have time to enjoy the sound of his name passing through his bard’s lips in nearly a month before the endrega advanced, pinning him to the ground with on of it’s claws.

Geralt freed his arms enough to quickly sign Aard and throw the monster back against a tree. That dazed the creature long enough for Geralt to dive for his silver sword. Now armed, Geralt threw himself at the monster, swinging his sword and managing to cut of one of it’s claws. The endrega retaliated by smashing into him with its mace-like tail. Geralt’s unprotected skin tore easily under the spikes in the monster’s tail. A pained groan escaped him, but his training ensured he did not drop his sword.

The monster clawed at him again, executing a sharp cut into his right shoulder.

“Hey ugly! Try this on for size!” Jaskier shouted, voice dripping with fear yet underlined with the same steel as Geralt’s sword. When Geralt rolled his eyes in his direction, he saw Jaskier holding said sword, arms shaking with the weight but keeping the sword steady. Geralt vaguely recalled Jaskier saying he was nobility, he would have been taught the sword. Or at least fencing. His stance looked firm even if the sword didn't.

The creature snarled before dropping Geralt against the tree and advancing towards Jaskier. Just as Geralt feared that he was going to watch his bard get eviscerated, Jaskier threw something into the fire between him and the creature, making the fire roar up before transforming into a thick green cloud.

Geralt coughed as the smoke enveloped him thoroughly, grimacing as he pressed his abdominal wound closed. On the other side of the fire he could hear the creature screaming and screeching before steel sang through the cacophony and the noise cut off abruptly.

He was still coughing when a pain of hands grabbed him from below his shoulders. He yelled but the body behind him did not stop until they were clear of the camp and the smoke. Geralt was breathing hard and pale as the moon that shone through the trees when Jaskier deposited him against a tree.

Through the haze he saw a cut on the bard’s upper arm, but Jaskier brushed away his arm and cut open Geralt’s shirt with the small knife he always kept on him. He swore when he saw the extent of the bruising. Pressing firmly, he guessed at least two broken ribs, possibly three based on the volume of Geralt's groans.

“Damn it Geralt. Wait here. I will be right back, I need to find your potions.” Jaskier complained as he rose, only to yelp when Geralt yanked him back towards him, nearly sending the both toppling into the forest floor.

“Ow you bastard, I am only trying to help!”

“You… are…hurt…” Geralt rasped.

“Yes and you pulling me by the arm that was injured is not going to exactly make it better now is it?”

“Monster…”

“Is dead. Or at least it better be, the thing was in two pieces last I saw it. Plus we left poor Roach and my precious lute at the camp. Let me go check on them!” Jaskier said.

Geralt groaned but relented. Jaskier stumbled as he was suddenly released but stood up and tugged his doublet into place. “Thank you. I will be right back. Just… try not to get killed will you?”

Saying so, Jaskier disappeared between the tree lines. Geralt groaned again as he closed his eyes and lets his head thump back against the tree. Tonight had not gone at all as he had wanted.

True to his word though, Jaskier came back to where Geralt was, loud enough to wake the forest.

Cursing as he nearly tripped over a root he didn’t see, Jaskier dropped beside Geralt.

“Ok I have all your potions here. What do you want?” Jaskier asked, holding up Geralt’s potion bag. Geralt winced as he shifted against the tree, pretending to do so to get more comfortable and not because this way, Jaskier was leaning more heavily onto him.

“Dark green one. And clear potion in the square vial.” Geralt grit out.

Jaskier rooted around the bag before crowing victoriously as he held out his prize, quickly uncorking the two potions and helping Geralt swallow them. Geralt hissed as he felt the potions rushing through his veins, but settled as his healing was further boosted by the potions.

“Use my tunic.” Geralt slurred. Jaskier looked up confused from where had settled into Geralt’s side.

“What?”

“You are bleeding. Use my tunic. It is ripped.”

“Oh.” Jaskier said. He looks at his own injury, the wound a graze that has almost stopped bleeding. Deciding not to argue with the Witcher for once, he did as told and ripped up the shirt, wrapping the make-shift bandages around his upper arm. with the left over cloth, he wrapped them around Geralt so as to make sure the open wounds did not get infected.

They stayed like that for another moment until Geralt grunted and tried to shift.

“Come on, let’s get back to camp.”

“Are you sure? Can you walk?”

“Jaskier. It is cold and I don't have a shirt. We will both freeze overnight.” Geralt growled.

“Fine, fine off we go to the camp with the dead monster, why not?” Jaskier said as he placed an arm around Geralt’s waist and let the Witcher lean his weight on him as the two made their way back to camp.

Jaskier had Geralt sit back against the tree that Roach was still tied to while he went and reignited the fire that had almost been put out during the fight.

Geralt tried to push away Roach when the horse started to nibble on his hair, patting her nose to comfort her.

The endrega was lying several feet ahead of him, cleaved clumsily in half, his steel sword embedded haphazardly in it's abdomen. Jaskier was quiet as he set about cleaning the campsite, giving the monster’s corpse a wide berth.

“Should we be worried of more of those things coming after us?”

Geralt grunted. “Endregas are solitary creatures.”

“Oh small comfort I guess. Anything else going to attack us while we sleep?”

“No.”

“You sound confident.”

“If something comes for us, I will stop it.”

“Geralt I know I say…used to say you could defeat monsters in your sleep, but I didn’t actually mean it.”

“I am not going to sleep. You sleep.” Geralt bit back, trying to cover the hurt from Jaskier’s correction.

Geralt could make out a vein in Jaskier’s forehead, which was new, and he knew the timing was awful, but he found it equally amusing and adorable.

Jaskier took a deep breath and exhaled it before sitting in front of Geralt. Geralt felt oddly cornered with no escape. Which actually wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

“What was your plan?”

“Plan?”

“Plan for whatever you wanted to do without the girls around. And don’t insult my intelligence by saying us being left alone was not planned.” Jaskier said.

Geralt swallowed. The bard perpetually surprised him with his perceptiveness. He sighed.

“I told Yennefer to take Ciri it would be nice to have a couple nights for just us so we could have a chance to talk. So I could apologize.”

Jaskier groaned before mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like ‘stupid Witchers with skulls thicker than the mountains they get thrown against’.

Jaskier sat up from his slump and sat closer to Geralt, making his heart beat tick up. So close, Geralt felt like he would burn from the intensity of the gaze that seemed to pierce right to his soul.

“Before you start apologizing, I want to say that you're an idiot.”

“Hmm.”

“And I kind of hate you right now.”

Geralt flinched internally but kept his face blank. “I understand.”

“No you don’t you self-loathing bastard. I regret the 22 years that I spent with you.”

Geralt bit the inside of his cheek. Was this how Jaskier had felt when Geralt had screamed at him on that mountain that accursed day? Like his heart was being ripped to shreds, and his world was becoming darker with each passing breath? How had the bard ever found it in him not to chase Geralt out of his life in that village? But Geralt heard the slight change in Jaskier’s heartbeat and held on to it like a life line.

“That's not tru-”

Jaskier cut him off. “Okay, that's a lie. But you've really hurt me, Geralt.”

Geralt had a feeling that the expression on Jaskier’s face was yet another that would haunt him in his nightmares, in addition to his face on the dragon mountain and that stupid doppler that stole Jaskier’s visage.

Geralt weighed his words carefully before speaking. He was walking on a tightrope and he had this sharp feeling in his gut that if he messed up this conversation, he would never get his bard back. “I... I know. I'm sorry. You... You didn't deserve any of it.”

“Keep going.”

“You've always been good to me... You're the reason people don't hate me anymore... You were by my side when nobody else was.” Geralt verbalized slowly.

“Glad you finally noticed that, but it doesn't really sound like an apology.”

Geralt clenched his fist. Jaskier was making this unnecessarily difficult. But this was a problem that could only be solved with words not steel or silver or grunts and looming appearances.

Closing his eyes so he didn’t have to see Jaskier’s face, Geralt inhaled deeply and laid his heart out for him.

“I'm sorry I didn't appreciate it. I was a fool. Now I get it. You were always kind, thoughtful, loyal. All you wanted in return was to go on adventures and find inspiration for your songs. I should have respected that. But all I did was treat you as a nuisance and a bother. When you might be the only true friend I have had who chose to be my friend out of his own free will and not because you had a duty to put up with me or were tied to my by something.” Geralt finished, gasping. His hands were so tightly clenched he could feel his nails making crescent indentations into the rough skin of his palm.

Jaskier stayed quiet in front of him. When he pried his eyes open, and hesitantly looked up, the bard was sitting in front of him with a stunned expression and a gaping mouth.

“Jaskier?”

No response.

Geralt tentatively released one hand and barely brushed it on Jaskier’s hand before the bard seemed to crash back into reality.

Geralt and Jaskier froze, hardly daring to breathe. The millimeter of skin Geralt had pressed against the bard felt as though it was on fire.

Jaskier finally gasped out a soft “Oh, you idiot.”

Geralt hardly got the words “What did I say-” before the bard was crashing into him. Geralt tensed up for a minute before feeling all his stress melt away in the bard’s arms. He wrapped both arms around Jaskier and pressed the bard in close, burying his nose into soft brown hair that smelled of sweat and faintly, lavender. In his current position, Jaskier was practically straddling Geralt, his body a line of heat that warmed Geralt to his core.

Jaskier sobbed into his ear “You idiot. Geralt... I... Yes, I wanted those things, but it wasn't what mattered. I... All I ever wanted was you.”

Geralt felt a lump in throat, his heart matching the wild thumping of Jaskier’s own. Today had started off as a nightmare where he had been sure he was going to loose the bard, and now Jaskier was telling him, what? That he…cared for Geralt?

Geralt whispered, scared that if he said the words any louder this moment would break, or worse he would find out it had all been an illusion “All these years... Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought that this was... I thought that once you satisfied yourself, got all the songs and stories you needed out of me, I mean-” Geralt grunted tightening his arms around Jaskier’s waist as he mulled on what to say. “I thought you will get bored with me eventually. I didn't think that you'd… that you might have feelings for me. Beyond friendship. Or companionship. And it is fine if that is all you feel for me Jaskier. I just want to travel with you again. I… I have missed you far too much.” He confessed, his secret out now, no longer weighing him or eating at him.

Jaskier stayed quiet once again, and Geralt feared he had once again said the wrong thing. He loosened his arms even as every muscle in his body was screaming at him to hold on and never let go. Jaskier smelled of confusion, and underlying it was his personal scent of honey and sunshine.

Geralt was so focused on his own thoughts he nearly missed Jaskier’s faint voice

“Feelings? For... How long?”

Geralt tried to suppress the hope blooming in his chest at Jaskier’s own hopeful words, no disgust or rejection in them.

Shrugging, Geralt said “Give or take five to six years.”

Jaskier jaw opened and closed a few times as he lip synched Geralt’s admission before unexpectedly punching him in the arm with the injury.

Geralt groaned. “What was that for?

“Shit sorry. But seriously? Five to six YEARS? You unbelievable idiot, Geralt why the hell would you not tell me?”

Geralt shrugged again, barely not wincing as the movement jostled his injured shoulder.

“You- oh, oh you just-” Jaskier sputtered, slapping his own forehead before pinching his nose. “Ok listen to me you thick-skulled buffoon. I am in love with you. 1000% gone on you. Pining after you so bad the whole continent could see it.”

Now it was Geralt’s turn to gape. He let out a strangled “What?”

Jaskier’s shoulders slumped. “Geralt, we are not made for monogamy. I know that. We have had far too many paramours to pretend otherwise. But do you know why Yennefer was always the one that got under my skin?” At Geralt’s silence, Jaskier continued “She was the one who had a chance. God Geralt, look at her. She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life, she is terrifying and powerful, and knows what she wants. She is as immortal as you.” Jaskier’s voice was frail for his next declaration. “How could a mere bard stand up to all that?

Jaskier’s head dropped, and he wrung his hands until Geralt covered them with one of his, the other cupping Jaskier’s jaw and setting his every nerve on fire.

“How long?”

Jaskier whispered “From the moment I met you.” Geralt spied a few tears gathering in Jaskier’s eyes. “Gods. I can't believe it. So much wasted time…”

“Guess we're both idiot.” Geralt offered before pulling Jaskier in closer until they could feel the other’s breath on each other’s faces. “Can I kiss you?”

Jaskier’s breath hitched before he nodded. Unable to wait another second, Geralt closed the gap between them.

It was a simple kiss, just a press of rough lips against dry ones, but both men felt a joy foreign to them flood them and threaten to drown them. They broke to merely gulp a breath before diving into a second kiss that was far more passionate.

As both men fell back against the tree, uncaring of the rough bark, Roach snorted something that had they been paying attention could almost have been interpreted as “Fucking finally.”

[joshuu-wahh]

Freeze! (Lee Taeyong)

Pairing: Lee Taeyong x reader

Genre: Freezing Time Au! fluff-ish?

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: Slight mentions of alcohol? not proof-read, oops

Summary:   Having the ability to freeze time at your own will came in handy every now and then, but if you ever told someone of your ability they would most definitely think you were crazy.You were a simple college student struggling with money, grades, and the adult life in general. When your friends decide to drag you to a party you aren’t in for it at all. Being as stressed as you were, you decided you needed a break. After all no one would know right? Just freeze time for a little. give yourself time to calm down, no big deal. Until, you meet someone after you froze time, and he’s still moving. How can that be?

The air smelled like alcohol and body sweat. The music was loud and it made your ears ring, maybe you wouldn’t mind if it would for the pounding headache you already had, or maybe if the DJ actually had good taste.  

Yet you were still here, not by choice though. Your so-called ‘Friends’ had dragged you here because you had been ‘missing out on the college life experience’. They threw a dress and heels at you and shoved you into your bathroom. Because apparently sweatpants and baggy shirts ‘weren’t proper attire’

However, upon arriving they were quick to leave you by yourself. Off to god knows where. You would leave if it weren’t for the fact that one of the two who drug you here had our apartment keys. Actually, she was probably drunk out of her mind so why not just go and get your keys?

You sighed and silently made your way out of the slightly quieter kitchen. She was probably in the living room flirting with some guy. You rounded the corner just in time to see some drunk girl trip, her drink flying into the air, heading straight for you. A small gasp left your mouth and a surge of coldness went through your body, leaving your fingertips tingling.

Next thing you knew everything had stopped, the girl's drink was only about an inch from yourself, froze in mid-air. The horrible music that had been playing had stopped, now replaced with deafening silence. You hadn’t really meant to cause this but it was just an immediate reaction when you panicked. In fact, during one of your final exams you had accidentally done it, but I mean, it gave you more time to finish it so who cares.

‘Actually, I could use a break, why don’t I just keep it like this for a while?’  You nodded to your own thoughts and slowly weaved your way through the frozen people. The only sound that could be heard was your own footsteps. After a few minutes, you were able to locate your friend and retrieve your keys.

It took you no time at all to decide that you were going to ditch the party, you’d unfreeze everything after you’d had a bit of time to yourself and so you made your way out the front door, subconsciously tugging at your short dress even when you knew no one was looking.

After a while of walking a loud ‘Snap!’ echoed in the empty street. You groaned and bent down to take off your now broken heel along with the intact one. You released a huff of air from your mouth. Even with no one around the world still seemed to have some way of pushing bad luck onto you.

As you walked you enjoyed the quietness, the only noises were the soft padding of your bare feet on the cement and the ringing of silence. It was relaxing to be by yourself like this, not have to worry about anyone or anything, no deadlines for essays, no rushing, and no one to nag you.

You came across a small park and decided to sit down for a bit, after all, what was the rush? It was hard to remember the last time you had actually sat at a park and enjoyed the nature surrounding you. It was dark but the idea was the same. The stars above you shined brightly and this was the calmest you had felt since you had started college.

~

Taeyong sighed as he sat down in the practice room, his fellow members stood around, all in position to rehearse the choreography for what felt like the hundredth time in a row. Everything was dead silent, but this had come to no surprise to him, after all, he had done it. He was exhausted both mentally and physically. He beat himself up when he didn’t get the timing right. He was beyond stressed and when his body went into this type of mode things just seemed to, well, ‘Freeze’.

Taeyong allowed himself to rest there for a while, giving his body some time to un-tense. When he decided that his break was over he stood back up and got into position. He took a deep breath in and released it slowly while closing his eyes. He opened them again, ready to practice again, but it was still all frozen. Taeyongs eyes scanned frantically, but no nothing was moving, the same ringing silence hung in the air.

‘Maybe I didn’t do it right?’ He asked himself. So he tried again. Releasing all tension from his body, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes and letting it out. The ringing was still there, it hadn’t worked. Taeyong’s heart rate speed up, this had never happened before. He had never had trouble with this so why now?

He was very close to panicking now. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He tried for a third time with the same result before he stumbled out of the practice room, desperate to find out what was happening. He searched through the building but everywhere he went the ringing followed him. He couldn’t unfreeze anything.

Taeyong stumbled out of the building, panic had set in. He started running, he didn’t know where to but he had to find a place he could fix this.

~

   After a while of sitting around staring at the stars, you decided to get moving again. There were about 3 more blocks until your apartment and the sooner you get there the sooner you could fix time and just sleep till morning.

You calmly walked down the street the ringing of silence starting to get on your nerves. It was nice to be completely alone for a little bit but after a while, you just start to feel cold, and lonely. The sound of quick footsteps was welcoming until you realized they weren’t your own.

You froze, this had never happened before. He rounded the corner and bumped into you. The impact made both of you topple over. Your back made contact with the cement and you closed your eyes out of habit. You groaned at the dull pain in your back as you sat up.

When you opened your eyes the man sat across from you, just staring wide-eyed.

You stared back for a while debating what to do next. ‘Why isn’t he froze?’ You couldn’t help but think. Before you could do anything he began talking, well, trying to.

“Y-you...You’re…..H-how?...What?”    

   You were utterly confused, was he trying to ask you how you were still moving?

The two of you awkwardly stared at each other. He seemed tall, well his legs were long so you guessed he was. His hair was dark, maybe a brown with highlights. The lighting was bad so you couldn’t exactly tell.

   He coughed awkwardly and tried again to speak, “This is going to sound weird but,” he stopped for a second.

“How am I not frozen?” You finished for him. He nodded, silently shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

   “I was going to ask you the same question.” You answered honestly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Wait you mean…” He stopped again.

“Did I..” This time you stopped, there was no real way to say it without sounding stupid.

“Freeze Time?” You said in unison.

“I, uh, yeah?” It was weird telling someone you had froze time, after all, who would believe you?

   “Oh.” is all he said for a moment before speaking up again, “I, uh, I did too?”

“Oh.” Is all you could reply with. The two of you stood there in silence, both bewildered by the fact that someone else could do such a thing.

    He shuffled to his feet and extended a hand to help you up. You slowly grabbed it as he spoke. “I’m Lee Taeyong.” he introduced himself. He had a slight smile on his face now, his eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement. You smiled lightly “I’m L/n Y/n.”

   He apologized for knocking you over in the first place and explained that he was panicking because he couldn’t unfreeze time like he normally would. You two came to the conclusion that it was because you weren’t ready to unfreeze time yet. He insisted to walk you to your apartment claiming that ‘it was dangerous for you to be out alone’ WHen you reminded him that everyone else was frozen he sighed “just let me be a gentleman, okay?”

   You rolled your eyes playfully and began walking. He caught up to you “Hey what were you doing out here anyway?” His question made you raise an eyebrow and you rose your broken heels to eye level while gesturing to your clothing.

“Ah,” he said “partying?”

You shrugged, “well I got dragged to a party by my friends.”

“Why didn’t you say no?”

“I tried, but they locked me out of my own apartment. I’ve got my keys now though.”

Taeyong nodded and the two of you walked in silence for a little.

“So what do you do?” you asked

“I, uh, well” Taeyong chuckled nervously “Have you heard of NCT?”

You gasped dramatically “Oh! You’re that Taeyong?” You laughed causing him to furrowed his eyebrows.

“What’s so funny?”

You giggled a little more before replying, “It’s just that, my friends would kill to be in my place right now, and they would hate me for not recognizing you right away.”

Taeyong nodded before a slight pout made its way to his face, “So your not a fan?”

You rolled your eyes “It’s not that I’m not a fan I just don’t have time to spend obsessing over music and other people.”

“Oh, what do you do?” Taeyong asked you this time.

You frowned “I’m a college student, it’s my last year, and I work as an intern at a neuro clinic about an hour from here.”

“Neuro as in brian?”

You hummed a yes “I’m getting my masters in neuroscience.”

“Oh, wow, you must be smart.”

You laughed loudly at this and smiled “Thanks, but I’m really not that smart.”

The two of you continued to talk about random things as you purposely walked slow to spend more time with one another. It was nice having someone to talk too while the world was stopped. Taeyong was nice, funny, and extremely charming. For once you didn’t feel so cold when you had frozen time. You felt warm and it was nice.

The two of you slowed to a stop in front of your apartment complex. “This is me.”

Taeyong sighed, refusing to look at you and shoved his hands in his pockets “You know,” he spoke, slowly raising his head to meet your gaze. “I never thought I’d meet someone else who could do this.”

   You smiled, “Me neither honestly”

Taeyong hesitated “Do you think, that maybe, we could meet up sometime without freezing time?”

   You could feel the heat rise to your face as you answered, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

The two of you exchanged phone numbers and smiles. “Bye Y/n.”

“Bye Taeyong.”

~

Taeyong walked back into NCT 127’s practice room and got into position. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he released his breath the ringing stopped and he smiled, moving correctly as the song played.

~

   You awoke the next morning to your phone ringing and you answered it with a groan. “Hello?”

   “Y/n where are you?” Your friend asked.

“Oh uh,” Your mind went blank for a second “I left with someone last night.”

You heard a gasp “You did??”

“Not like that, He’s just a friend.”

   “Sureeee” they replied. “On a different note, I think I lost your keys last night.”

You smiled and you were glad that they couldn’t see you “It’s fine I have a spare pair anyways.” you easily lied. Your phone buzzed signifying you had got a text. “Hey, I’ve got to go okay?”

“Okay byeee”

“Bye” You quickly ended the call and checked the message.

The name displayed on the top read ‘Taeyong’ and you instantly smiled.

‘Coffee?’ it read and you typed a fast reply.

‘Yes please’

When your phone buzzed again you grabbed it quicker than you thought was possible.

‘Meet you where we met?’

‘See you there’ you replied.

~

   You leaned against the brick building as you waited. The light breeze felt nice but it did little to calm your racing heartbeat.

   “Hey, you!” called out a familiar voice.

You turned your head to be greeted to the sight of Taeyong, a smile adorning his mostly covered face.

“Freeze!”

[thebusytypewriter]

Having a Moment

Summary: Holly spends some time with Buc during his watch on their team’s space pirate ship. Banter and accidental admittance of feelings ensue.

Author’s Note: Woo! Here it is! This one’s not in a fandom, just loosely based on me and my friends’ D&D shenanigans. Special thanks to @pinestripes and @pardonthefangirl for editing and giving super sweet feedback! You guys are amazing! Also asdfkgsdklg I tried with the cut, so sorry if it didn’t work!

Warnings: None, aside from some mild language. Fluff ahead! Enjoy!

[[MORE]]

He must be lonely up there… Holly thought to herself, eyes trained on the crow’s nest. Never did like the traditional ‘one person keeps watch’ thing. I bet he’s hungry, too.

She shoved the wrapped sandwich into her jacket pocket and began climbing the ropes. If Buc knew that she was coming, he didn’t say a word about it, only continuing to gaze out into the never-ending cosmos, something almost like melancholy present in his expression.

Upon reaching the top, Holly gave two firm knocks on the bottom of the nest. “Package delivery for the first mate.”

There was no yelp, no other noise of surprise, only an exasperated wood elf opening the trapdoor and gazing down at her. “What the ‘ell are you doing here? You know ‘s my turn to watch, right?”

“I know, but aren’t you hungry? Want company? It’s quiet up here.”

“I like it like that, I’ll ‘ave you know.”

That wasn’t going to do. Holly gave him her best set of sad puppy eyes, which, according to the entire crew, were impossible to resist.

He stared into them for a moment, attempting to hold onto his willpower, but ultimately sighed. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt if you stayed up ‘ere for a short while.”

“Yes!” She hoisted herself through the open trapdoor and kicked it shut. “I’ve got food for you.”

The first mate snorted and pulled her into a standing position. “Did Ginger make it? Thought he wasn’t a night owl.”

Reaching into her pocket, she gave a quick laugh. “I made it, silly. Ginger’s asleep and has been for hours.”

Upon seeing the sandwich come from her jacket, Buc narrowed his eyes at it in mock suspicion. “And ‘ow do I know you haven't poisoned it?”

“You wound me, good sir!” Holly held the food closer to her chest as if to protect it from him. “I would never do such a thing!”

“Right. Fine, then, ‘and it over.”

She complied and waited patiently while he opened the wrapping and took a bite, staring once again into the stars. “So?”

“What?” he replied, mouth still full, though his brow was furrowed in genuine confusion. “Am I supposed ta ask you how your day was or somethin’?”

“No, Buc, gods!” Was it getting hot up there, or was it just her? “The sandwich! How’s the sandwich?”

Buc swallowed, cheeks darkening. “Oh. ‘S good. Thanks, Songbird.”

“No problem.”

The crow’s nest was quiet again.

Holly’s gaze wandered from star to star, planet to planet, thinking about everything that she and her friends could find in the universe. She wondered if they’d ever find her home dimension, whether it be in ruins or not. Perhaps they would stumble across the universe with Repron, stop by to visit with Fayni or Thela. Or maybe they would meet another band of adventurers and give them aid in their quest.

“I see why you like it up here,” she found herself saying. “It’s quiet.”

From beside her, Buc gave an unsure hum, crumpling the sandwich wrapping and shoving it in his trousers pocket. “Quiet’s fine. Company’s good, too. But you know what would make it even better?”

She nonchalantly reached behind herself and pulled her lucky ukulele out from its pouch on her back, a grin forming on her face at the way his expression lit up. “Got any requests?”

“Just somethin’ peaceful.”

As she took a moment to make sure that it was still in tune, Holly noticed Buc turn and take a seat on the wood floor of the crow’s nest, then gesturing for her to do the same. She sat cross-legged there, her knee barely touching the side of his thigh, and began to play an old lullaby. The lyrics were lost in her memory still, but the tune was there as clear as day, so she hummed along with it. Holly definitely didn’t miss the warm content smile spread on her friend’s face at the music, nor did she miss the way his eyes drifted shut after several measures.

It made her happy to know that she could put a smile on his face.

“‘Ey, Holly?”

Twang. A sour note rang out when her hand jerked in shock. Holly stared in confusion and disbelief at Buc, who hadn’t even opened his eyes. Did he just call me by my name? After a moment, she tried to continue playing as if that wasn’t peculiar. “Uh, yeah?”

“Can I ask ya somethin’?”

“Shoot.”

“Are you an orphan?”

TWANG. Her song stopped completely, the last horrible note still hanging in the air. Holly turned to him sharply, eyes wide, suddenly hating the way he seemed so relaxed. “Excuse me? What makes you think you have a right to ask that?”

“Just askin’,” he drawled, raising one hand to scratch his stubble. “I don’t mean any harm by it, I swear. Jus’ had to figure out the reasons.”

“Reasons for what, Buc? Whatever it is, it must be damn good enough to warrant asking someone if their parents are dead!”

He cracked one eye open. “I ask ‘cause I’m an orphan, too, ya see. Felt somethin’ familiar ‘boutcha ever since I met ya. Almost like the gods themselves were tellin’ me somethin’. Crazy, huh?”

Holly blinked at him, irritation gone, and she held her ukulele just the slightest bit closer to her chest. “Yeah...crazy.”

The first mate pushed himself off of the crow’s nest wall, using it to shift his body closer to hers, close enough for him to wrap an arm around her shoulders and give a firm squeeze. “Listen, Holly. I really appreciate you comin’ up ‘ere, givin’ me somethin’ to eat, and playin’ your special music for me. Wouldn’t mind it bein’ a regular thing, actually.”

“Really?” Holly gazed up at him, looking for any sort of joke, only to find sincerity in his warm brown eyes. “You mean it?”

“‘Course I mean it. You’re really something, Holly Bea, and I like ‘aving you around. Even if you’re better than me at everythin’.”

The two of them shared a laugh, leaning on each other, gazes traveling upward to the stars.

Or at least, Holly’s did. After a moment she noticed that Buc’s eyes were still on her. “Can I help you?”

He opened his mouth to answer before his cheeks flushed a little and he looked upward to the surrounding space. “It’s nothin’.”

“No, what is it? You can tell me.”

Buc was silent for a moment, then turned back to her, looking almost embarrassed. “You don’t...happen to ‘ave someone you fancy back at your place, do you? That half-drow guy, maybe?”

“Leofyr?” She let out a sharp laugh. “Gods, no. One, he’s like my dorky older brother. Two, he’s married, star-brain. So your answer is no, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Do ya want one?”

Holly froze, and the rest of the universe seemed to, as well. She once again searched his eyes for any sort of humor or teasing, but found only warmth and—dare she even think it—affection. “I—what?”

“I asked you if you wanted someone t’ fancy!” The longer he ranted, the darker his face grew, and the more his gaze flickered everywhere but her. “I dunno, Songbird, I thought we were ‘aving a moment! I thought we’ve been ‘aving moments for months! Maybe it was jus’ me seein’ things that weren’t there. But I get it; you’re a bard, flirt with everyone, stick with none—”

“Woah, hey!” She reached out and gently grabbed his shoulder, a light flattered pink dusting her own face and mingling with her freckles. “I don’t flirt with people, only when it’s necessary to get information or access to something. As for the ‘stick with none’ bit, well…” As she lowered her gaze to the floor in embarrassment, her hand dropped and joined its pair on her lap, anxiously feeling the wood of her uke. “I just hadn’t found the right person to stick with, that’s all.”

Buc finally watched her expression, his own brow furrowed. “What’s with th’ past tense? Hadn’t?”

Holly’s face practically burst into flames, and she clutched her ukulele, startled that he had picked up on her purposeful slip. “I—I mean that I’ve—that I’ve found someone to stick with!”

“Oh.” She didn’t miss his disappointed tone. “He’s a lucky fella, then. What’s he like then? Musical?”

“Buc.”

“Charmin’? Handsome?”

“Buc.”

“I bet he’s just as good as you at everythin’, if not more—”

“GODS, IT’S YOU, OKAY?”

Both of them froze, bright red. Their eyes finally met again, and when they did, Holly saw something else sparkling in his dark brown gaze. Adoration.

“‘S that so?” he asked, though not with nearly as much cockiness as usual. It was practically a whisper, almost in wonder.

She swallowed, nerves and adrenaline very much awake and active. “Of course. You’re...amazing.”

Buc gave a single breathless laugh. “Well, you’re extraordinary.”

“You’re incredible.”

“Gorgeous.”

“Dashing.”

“An angel.”

“Out of this...” Holly trailed off, face burning once again, though she hardly felt it this time.

As they fired compliments back and forth to each other, Buc and Holly had been subconsciously leaning in, closer and closer, until they were only inches apart. The bard could feel his breath tickle her lips, but she was too busy getting lost in his dark pools of infatuation. She hardly registered his warm hands moving her uke from her lap to the floor beside them.

“Go a’ead,” he murmured, gaze appearing to dart from her own to her lips. “What were you sayin’?”

The butterflies were back, filling her stomach as she struggled to speak. “O-out of this world.”

The only visible betrayal of his amusement at her pun was the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the edges. Nevertheless, he moved just a little closer, then asked, “Can I kiss you, Holly Bea?”

Her heart pounding, hands shaking, Holly answered. “Absolutely.”

And in an instant, Buc had closed the distance between them, his lips gently meshing with her own.

Holly had been told by friends what first kisses were like. Sweet. Magical. Mind-melting. Those didn’t begin to describe what she was feeling as she threw her arms around Buc’s neck and pulled herself closer. It was electrifying, to say the least. Every nerve in her body was tingling and sparking at the sensation, especially when Buc wrapped one arm around her waist and raised the other to run his hand through her hair. His lips were rough and tasted just a bit like ale, she noticed, but paid it no mind. He was gentle with her, though continued to give her the most pleasant experience she had ever had.

Finally out of breath, they parted and gazed at each other, forest green meeting dark brown. Their faces were flushed as they regained their breath, warm smiles growing on their lips.

And without a word, they were on each other again, heartbeats pounding in their ears as the second one lasted nearly twice as long as the first. They enjoyed the warmth that was shared, the emotions, the ever-growing love, known only by the two of them and the cosmos around them.

Holly agreed that she would continue to join Buc when it was his turn to watch.

[enthusiastic-sarcastic]

One Entirely Haphazard Arrangement (Tim Murphy x Reader) [Pt. 1]

A/N: Ok so this is longggg overdue and I apologize for taking so damn long to post this. I think I said I would write this in early July but I just got so caught up in the story and turned it into a whole three part fic...oh yeah, and I sort of moved to college so that took away some of my time �� but it’s finally here! I sort of struggled with this one because I haven’t creatively written anything in so long but it was really fun to write and I'm looking forward to writing more in the future! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this silly little friends-to-lovers Tim fic! Parts 2 and 3 will be up within the next few days. Again, sorry if this is trashhh

Words: Roughly 3.9k

Warnings: cursing, stress/anxious habits, cringeee writing?, I guess a Jersey Boys reference if for some reason you resent the jukebox musical or Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

You have always had this infuriating habit of excessively scratching at the back of your hand like a cat attacking a toy laced with catnip whenever you become particularly anxious about the current state of your life.

And working at your newly appointed job as co-director of the art department at the museum has certainly proven to be more than stressful enough over these last eight months.

Whether it has you tumbling out of bed before the sun rises to make sure that that damned office projector is working in time for a 6 o’ clock meeting that your boss decided to throw together at the last minute or facing certain embarrassment upon being woken up by the night-watch guard because of a silly intention to stay after for only a few more minutes to finish editing one of your interns’ research reports, you had completely sacrificed any regard for your own basic health at this point for the sake of your job and its lingering promise of a future promotion.

A promotion that could potentially be awaiting you at the other end of your boss’ door in just under half an hour.

A promotion that could finally lead to the publication of the passion project that you’ve been steadily working on since your early college days.

A promotion that has you relying on old habits again as you scratch at the back of your hand under your cluttered office desk and stare down the hands of the clock on the wall across from you like your life depends on it.

Tick. Tick. Ticking away among the plethora of familiar noises that make up the busy atmosphere of your department. Drowning out the occasional flutter of footsteps stumbling down the hallway or the quiet laughs of your coworkers walking out of yet another dreadful planning session or even the absurdly shrill screeching sound that the copier down the hall likes to make every single time someone dares to use it.

Swiftly swallowing up all signs of life that surround you as your throat starts to feel like it’s closing in on itself and your breathing turns into something that more closely resembles gasping.

You’re just too good to be true...

Can’t take my eyes off of you...

And then so suddenly, a voice breaks through the numbness that has almost paralyzed you and reality starts to bleed back into place—a beacon of hope.

You’d be like heaven to touch...

I wanna hold you so much...

It takes a while for you to place the source of the voice as the all-to-familiar sound of your Jersey Boys ringtone blaring out from your phone across the room, but once you finally bring yourself back into a state of complete clarity, you rush out of your chair and stumble towards the singing object, desperate for a distraction.

Without bothering to glance at the name flashing across the screen, you answer the call and bring the phone up to your ear, eager to listen to whatever will take your mind off of that ticking clock.

“Hello?”

“Uh—Hey (Y/N), it’s Tim…”

A smile instantly rises across your face as you recognize the voice of your cute neighbor, Tim Murphy.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting something...I know how busy you’ve been with work lately”

“No—no, it’s fine...you’re fine,” You chime in awkwardly, attempting to reassure him as a familiar fuzzy feeling begins to spread across your entire body.

To say that you had practically fallen hopelessly in love with the paleontologist   ever since you accidentally attempted to break into his apartment at 3 a.m. in a half-asleep daze that led you to believe that you weren’t just one door off would be an understatement. That was an embarrassing introduction, to say the least.

“So...what’s up? Is everything alright?” You honestly hadn’t expected Tim to call you at this time of day...or really ever, seeing as how both of your work schedules are so chaotic that you only ever really interact with each other in the dead of the night, so this was a pleasant surprise.

“Yeah, yeah—everything’s great—It’s just...well, I don’t want to startle you or anything but when I got home from work, I found Stevie prancing around outside on my balcony again and—”

Your heart instantly drops into your stomach and you’re suddenly met with the urge to bang your head against a wall from the sudden embarrassment,

“Ah shit! I’m such a clumsy idiot! I probably left my bedroom window open again…”

“No, it’s okay! Don’t worry! Stuff like this happens to everyone. Stevie’s perfectly fine now! I actually just brought her inside my apartment. Poor thing was shivering so I gave her some food and that pretty much cheered her up instantly” Tim chuckles into the phone, causing your cheeks to flush a light shade of pink.

“Oh god, she’s gonna be so mad at me!” You groan as your head begins to feel like it’s spinning from all the guilt and nerves overwhelming you, “I’m so so sorry, Tim. Thanks for rescuing her from my clumsy antics”

“No need to apologize,” Tim laughs again, which doesn’t exactly help with your lightheadedness, “It’s the least I could do. I mean, especially after all those times you’ve looked after my house plants while I was away on a dig”

“You do have a point, Tim Murphy. What would you or your precious house plants ever do without me?” You tease lightly, attempting to calm your nerves, and pulling another angelic laugh from the other end of the phone.

“No, but in all seriousness,” You continue, “I’m going to make it up to you somehow...No ifs, ands, or buts, Murphy!

Tim groans playfully from the other end of the phone and you shake your head with a smirk before a sudden voice cuts through the uneasy silence of your office and the endearing moment abruptly ceases.

“Miss (L/N), Dr. Vaughn has requested that you head down to his office for that meeting now”

You let out another disgruntled sigh before nodding to the kind intern peeking his head through your office doorway,

“Ugh sorry to cut this short, Tim, but I have something kinda important to discuss with my boss right now and I really can’t afford to screw it up...” You trail off with a sigh, not wanting to end the call so soon.

“Oh...alright—yeah...that’s totally fine—I understand...” Tim rambles, sympathy laced within his voice,

“Good luck! I’m sure everything will go smoothly. I believe in you!”

You let out another nervous laugh, your cheeks now entirely red as you take in his words of encouragement, “Thanks for the kind words...and for taking care of Stevie! I’ll stop by to pick her up whenever I get out of this place”

You say your final goodbyes and end the call, shakily placing your phone back down onto your desk before finally making your way towards your boss’ office, scratching at the back of your hand again.

——————————————————————————————————

“I’m sorry...Are you serious?! This has to be some sort of sick joke…right?” You gawk at your boss, your body shaking in aggravation and utter disbelief.

However, he just simply smirks at you and shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly as his eyes switch between you and your...colleague.

“Dr. Vaughn, don’t you think you’re taking this a little too far?!” You groan in exasperation, shifting your eyes to take a look at your fellow co-director: the one coworker that just so happens to also be your ex.

Yes, your ex, Charles.

The one that abandoned you while you were away on a business trip, moving out of your shared apartment overnight all for his new blonde assistant...cliche and all.

The reason that you’ve worked so hard in this job for the past year of your life.

Not to win him back or follow through with some crude form of revenge—you weren’t at all that type of person.

But to gain back the sense of integrity that he had so swiftly stomped on and finally prove him wrong: to prove to yourself that you are, in fact, good enough.

“I don’t see anything inherently wrong with a little healthy competition, Miss (L/N)”

Your boss speaks up, calmly, the smirk across his face only widening as he looks up at you from his enormous office chair.

“I’m just not particularly fond of the idea that one of us ends up completely jobless by the end of this!”

“Oh please, (Y/N), calm down”

Charles finally speaks up from beside you, causing you to roll your eyes and dig your fingernails into your palms from the sheer rage that now seemed to be pulsating throughout your entire being,

“I’m sure whoever gets the short end of the stick in this...arrangement can always turn to the other for a raving recommendation letter after they track down and apply to whatever museum establishment that’s desperate enough to hire them after this”

The shared dark laughter that escapes the both of them at his sad attempt to reassure you only makes your stomach curl in disgust. How can he just be okay with all of this?

“Honestly, all you have to do is write an introductory speech that addresses the latest contemporary art exhibition for the museum’s annual winter gala next Saturday. That gives you both the same amount of time to prepare your material and secure dates for the event, so I think this whole competition sounds pretty fair to me”

“But Dr. Vaughn—“

Your boss abruptly cuts you off, again, “I will allow you both five minutes. Mr. Sterling, you’ll go first before introducing your fellow co-director to the stage, then Miss (L/N) will give her speech before calling me up to the stage. Whoever gives the best speech in reference to the new exhibition will be promoted to head director of this museum’s contemporary art department...and the other will unfortunately be let go from their current position”

You let out an aggravated sigh, which prompts Charles to smirk in your direction,

“And that’s final! Now, get the hell out of my office!”

——————————————————————————————————

The journey home couldn’t have been more painstakingly difficult.

First, you missed your usual train and had to wait a whole 45 minutes for the next one. Then, it began to rain as soon as you started walking down the street towards your apartment and just as your doorman graciously greeted your shaking figure as you scurried into the building, you remembered that the stack of paperwork that you had planned to finish up was locked away...in your desk...back at the museum.

And now, as you trudge down the hallway of your apartment floor, soaked head to toe from the rain, your heart begins to race as you make your way in front of Tim Murphy’s door and muster up the courage to knock.

It only takes a few minutes for the door to open, but once it finally does, you’re met with the sight of an adorable, half-asleep paleontologist that makes you feel like you could melt into the floor at any given moment.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming”

You chuckle halfheartedly at him, a tired smile making its way across your face regardless of the pounding sensation in your head and the ringing sounds in your ears. Tim always seems to have that effect on you.

“Sorry, I had a long day” You mutter, cheekily.

Tim hums amusedly before moving to the side to let you in,

“I was fully prepared to take Stevie in as my own, actually. I have an extra cat bed and everything. I’m sure she’d get along just fine with Lydia”

You enter the apartment and spot your beloved cat sleeping cozily under the breakfast table near the kitchen, curled up right next to Tim’s orange tabby.

You smile at the sight, taking your wet shoes off before plopping down onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter, exhausted.

“Honestly, you make a better parent than I could ever be” You chuckle, glancing towards Tim as he sets down a glass of water in front of you. His disheveled hair and slightly pouting mouth causes a blush to grow across your cheeks again as you’re reminded of something,

“Sorry if my late arrival woke you up”

He shakes his head at you, a sleepy smile spreading across his face,

“It’s okay, I wasn’t exactly...asleep. I had to finish up some last minute research in preparation for an excavation in Arizona next week”

Next week. Fuck.

You chug the water in front of you, abruptly, before placing the cup back down onto the counter and burying your face into your hands. Your mind spiraling with thoughts about the impending winter gala and him.

“So...I’m assuming that that conversation with your boss didn’t go over very well”

You groan in acknowledgement, before glancing back up at the attentive paleontologist,

“You could say that,” You laugh, sarcastically, “Hell, I may not even have a job by the time next week rolls around”

This seems to get Tim’s attention, because he leans closer to you from the other side of the kitchen counter and your breath hitches in your throat when you notice the way his biceps flex from underneath his sweatshirt.

“Well now you have to tell me what happened” He exclaims, with a tone of genuine curiosity.

You almost can’t formulate a response when you realize just how close your hands are from each other, so you muster out a weak cough and casually begin to play with the empty glass in front of you.

It’s just a hand, (Y/N). Just a nice, particularly soft-looking hand that just so happens to belong to your incredibly brilliant and handsome neighbor, Tim Murphy. Calm down.

“Well, my boss has always been one to enjoy watching people suffer before rewarding them” You sigh in frustration as you recall the last few hours of your day,

“I thought I was walking into his office to finally receive the promotion that I’ve been working day and night over for the last eight months,” You continue, running a finger across the rim of the glass repeatedly, as anxiety starts to rise within your chest again,

“And I suppose my suspicions were right” You chuckle, sadly, “but he ended up making the so-called promotion a competition between my ex and I”

You bite your lip in frustration, the wounds inflicted from the previous conversation still fresh on your mind.

“Wait—you’re not talking about…” Tim trails off in disbelief and you nod your head in confirmation.

Tim Murphy was well acquainted with the sheer emotional damage that Charles had put you through. In fact, after the break-up, it was Tim that so graciously convinced you to get the hell out of bed and resume the rest of your life after coming over to your apartment due to another mail mix-up. While you took a well-needed shower, Tim prepared a nice spaghetti dinner and put on some comedy show for the both of you to watch aimlessly as you attempted to catch up on what the rest of the world was doing after it had seemingly crashed all around you. That night definitely didn’t do anything to alleviate your growing feelings for him.

“Wow” His head tilts in slight surprise, “That’s so unfair!”

“Right! That’s exactly what I said to my boss but he wasn’t having any of it” You scoff as you recall the aggravating image of your boss’ smirking face.

“And now I have to work my ass off trying to write a decent introduction speech commemorating our latest exhibition for the winter gala. Oh! And I have to find a date to the stupid thing with only a weeks notice! Where in the world am I going to find a date to this event with only a weeks notice in this city!?”

You were starting to freak out now, pulling on some strands of damp hair that you had somehow managed to wrap entirely around your fingers as you tried to make sense of your unfortunate predicament.

“I could be your date.”

The words fall from Tim’s mouth so abruptly and effortlessly that it takes a few seconds for you to register their meaning.

“What?”

“Well...I think I still have a nice suit lying around here somewhere from my last work event. Plus, I’ve been to my fair share of museum galas, so it won’t be much of a hassle. I could be your date.”

“Tim, you really don’t have to do this! I mean—What about the excavation to Arizona? You can’t miss out on that! I would feel so bad if I made you miss out on that trip all because of this stupid arrangement” You’re blushing now at his offer and suddenly the wall next to his head is very captivating.

“When exactly is this winter gala anyways?”

“Saturday at 6 p.m.”

A smug, satisfied grin stretches across Tim’s face as he leans even closer to you and the redness across your cheeks grows when your eyes meet,

“I get back Friday night. It’ll be fine.”

You sigh in guilt, not wanting to overstep, “Are you absolutely certain about this? I guarantee you’ll be exhausted once you get back and I don’t wanna drag you into another tedious social event right after a week of strenuous excavation work”

“I mean if you want me to memorize some cue cards, I’m all for that...but I think I have enough experience under my belt from high school theatre group to properly wing it”

You chuckle at his lame attempt to humor you, but your resolve remains undeterred,

“And you’re 100% positive that you’re okay with staying by my side all night, in formal dress attire, chatting up a storm with just about any and most likely all of my colleagues over strictly art related stuff? It’s an exhausting experience.”

Tim shrugs his shoulders, the amused, stubborn grin never leaving his face,

“Like I said before, I go to museum galas all the time, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

You let out another exasperated sigh in defeat, standing up from your stool at the counter and walking towards the fridge to fill your glass again. A shiver runs down your spine and you want to blame the wet nature of your clothes but you know from the shakiness of your fingers carrying the glass and the heat radiating off your cheeks that it’s because of the close proximity between Tim’s face and yours just moments ago.

“Fine. You can be my date. But I seriously cannot thank you enough for what you’re doing for me, Tim Murphy. I really have done nothing but complain to you all evening and now you’re swooping in and saving my ass again. What—Do I have to sell you my soul this time to properly repay my debt?”

Tim chuckles, turning around to look at you again.

“Luckily for you, I’m feeling generous enough to let you keep your soul for just a little while longer. But seriously, don’t feel pressured to repay me.”

You open your mouth to protest but the words are silenced by the sound of thunder rumbling from just outside the apartment, shaking the floor beneath your feet.

“Shit! I completely forgot that it’s raining,” Tim gestures towards your clothes, his eyes wide with concern, “You must be freezing!”

You blush again as you glance down towards your damp clothes, “Oh no! It’s fine, I sort of forgot about it too...I’m not—”

You trail off when you realize that Tim is no longer standing right in front of you, only to hear the sound of him rummaging through his laundry machine.

You grin widely as you’re reminded of just how insistently kind and compassionate he can be.

He sort of stumbles back into the kitchen from a clumsy attempt at speed-walking, and before you realize it, he’s wrapping a warm bath towel around your shoulders and rubbing the material up and down your arms to help you dry off.

The grin on your face only widens and you lock your eyes onto the floor, hoping to hide the now stark red state of your blushing cheeks.

“Jeez, Tim, you really didn’t have to go through all that trouble, but thanks” You mumble, trying to keep yourself composed.

Tim only laughs in exasperation at your comment, “What kind of host would I be if I let you freeze to death?”

You glance back up at him, attempting to ignore the way that your breath hitches when you notice the close proximity of your faces again,

“Well...technically I forced you to invite me when I stupidly left my bedroom window open this morning…” You trail off when Tim gives you a pointed look, as if to say: You’re always welcome here, regardless of the circumstances.

Your gaze drops to the floor again as another rumble of thunder shakes the whole apartment, and the grin returns to your face when you make out the smallest detail of a mini brachiosaurus on the bath towel,

“Why am I not surprised that you have your own personalized dino bath towels, Tim Murphy”

He laughs bashfully and you glance up to take in the sight. His eyes meet yours and you smile back at each other for what feels like a lifetime, your heart pounding in your chest as the space between the two of you almost seems to get smaller and smaller until...you’re interrupted by the feeling of something fluffy brushing across your feet and the familiar purring sound of your cat, Stevie.

“I should probably go. You need your rest and I need to get started on the first draft of my speech. I gotta get a head start on that asshole, at the very least.”

Tim chuckles understandably and the towel leaves your shoulders, taking the warmth that had so swiftly flooded your body with it.

“Yeah, you’re probably right, I should go to bed and you should start writing a very important introduction speech at one in the morning”

Your eyes widen and Stevie lets out another loud purring noise, as if amused by your blatant clumsiness,

“What the fuck?! I swear it was just 11:30”

Tim only shrugs again in amusement and you promptly lean down to scoop up your cat from the ground in an attempt to hide the blush that seemed to now be permanently etched across your cheeks, desperate for a chance to leave before you could embarrass yourself any further.

“Thanks again, Tim...for everything! I guess I’ll see you next weekend...” You mumble out the words quickly, flashing Tim an awkward smile as you put your slightly damp shoes back onto your feet. 

“(Y/N)...”

“Oh right, and good luck with your Arizona excavation...I just know you’ll discover something truly spectacular this time!” You’re shuffling towards the front door now, silently praying that the sound of your heart pounding against your chest isn’t loud enough for Tim to hear.  

“Thanks, I’ll see-”

But you don't even let him finish before you promptly shut the door behind you, feeling equally elated as you do terrified about the week ahead of you and the absurdity of this entirely haphazard arrangement. 

[cancerianprincess]

“Wicked Coronation” (vampire! T’Challa)

Warning(s): None

Recommend Listen/Song Inspo: “Stranger Things” ~ Joyner Lucas & Chris Brown

A/N: This was just a little something I decided to crank out before spooky szn was officially over after being inspired by this photo (which ALL credit for goes to @persephone​ ). Happy Halloween, you guys. Enjoy 👻🧛🏾‍♂️🎃😈

______

“Unbelievable.”

Reyna scoffed as she headed back to her car, shaking her head at the vast level of tardiness her date was displaying tonight. She couldn’t believe that after willingly putting herself out there, he had the nerve to be late.

As a result of listening to her best friend, Talia, Reyna had put on her best outfit, a crimson colored velvet bodycon dress that was to die for, a pair of dazzling single dangle earrings and single matching bangles on each wrist, and her best heels which were a pair of sleek black stilettos that would have any man or woman eating out the palm of her hand. The twist out was on point, matte lipstick was popping, and her glitter red acrylics still looked fresh as can be.

So imagine the amount of irritation Reyna felt bubbling inside her upon realizing she had been stood up while looking like a full course meal.

After be more than courteous enough to wait forty five minutes past the agreed meeting time, Reyna was now heading back to her car while tapping away furiously on her phone.

‘It’s been almost an hour and he didn’t show sooo guess who’s leaving 🙃’

Reyna began fishing through her black clutch while awaiting Talia’s reply, knowing she was hovering over her phone in expectation of every last detail.

Wifey 🤗💋(2)

‘Excuse me 👀 you said what now??’

‘Do I need to make a trip that way?’

A light but warm chuckle escaped Reyna’s lips in response to the ride or die aura her girlfriend was exuberating. “And yet she loves to claim that I’m the crazy one,” Reyna thought to herself.

‘Pipe down girl, it’s all good lol. If he can’t act right then he can certainly get left’

“And he if think shit sweet next time I see him, he got another thing coming.” This time Reyna had spoken out loud, but despite the rhetorical nature she still received an unexpected response.

“Oh, entle,” a baritone voice cut through the dark. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”

Well, partially unexpected response, at least.

Reyna folded her arms across her chest after stopping halfway down the alley just a few feet short of her car. “You’re late.”   

She glared intensely at the man posted up against said vehicle who was dressed in a spotless all black suit, and yet still managed to stand out in contrast to the dark of the night. The first few buttons of the matching onyx dress shirt he donned underneath had been left unfastened, leaving the fabric to hang open exposing his defined pecs ever so slightly. There was a red pocket square in the front of his jacket, and as if to accent the accessory, he held in his hand a single red rose, inhaling its scent right before his eyes cut to his other half.

“Forgive me, my love,” her boyfriend apologized. “I’m afraid I let time get away from me while I was...tying up some loose ends.” He pushed off the Lamborghini to approach Reyna, but for the two steps he took to be in arm’s length of her, she took a step back.

“Uh-uh, T’Challa. Using your ‘voodoo magic’ is not going to get you off the hook for this so don’t even try it,” Reyna reprimanded him. “What ‘loose ends’ were so important that you had to keep me waiting for nearly an hour, on tonight of all nights? It’s not like we have all the time in the world!”

Since the night Reyna had accidentally ended up in the wrong Halloween party to say the least, T’Challa turned rescuing her from a group of savage gargoyles into a tradition of treating Reyna to a night out on the supernatural side of town. In the past four years since that fateful encounter, it was fair to say that the two had fallen for each other, regardless of the vampire/mortal dynamic that frequently posed as a challenge for them. But, nevertheless, Reyna adored her other-worldly beau and accepted him wholeheartedly, fangs and all. If anything, the true nature of his origins fascinated her.

Which is why T’Challa had finally decided on what to grant his lover with as a reward for finishing up graduate school. And what better gift was there than making Reyna a part of his world rather than just a frequent visitor?

“Well, usana, not that I need use of my powers to get you to forgive me, which you and I both know,” T’Challa stated. He quickly stepped in closer perimeter of Reyna before she had the chance to retreat any further, placing the lone flower in her hand.

“But I suppose you have waited long enough for your surprise,” he went on, a devious smirk playing at his lips. In the mere seconds that Reyna had become distracted by the gorgeous creature’s charisma, he had circled around his girlfriend like a vulture as she closed her eyes to sniff the rose.

Burying his face in the crook near Reyna’s collarbone, and running his hands along her amber skin until they were wrapped snugly around her waist, T’Challa spoke seductively into her ear, “Time to get a taste of what we’ve been missing out on.”

And with that, before Reyna even had an opportunity to utter a syllable in protest, T’Challa bore his pearly white fangs, and bit directly down into the right side of her neck.

*******

Whatever pain had hit the new grad student from the chomp in her flesh went away as quickly as it came. The second Reyna felt the teeth sink into her vein she could have guessed correctly what was happening, but of course there was no time to fully analyze the possibility. Because the moment her eyes had snapped open just as fast as they’d clamped shut, Reyna found herself standing in the VIP section of the same forbidden nightclub she’d stumbled into over four years ago.

Perched on the overlook she could see the entire dance floor below packed and lively beneath her feet with every fictional creature one could think of when it came to spooky season. Their forms collided together rhythmically in time with the music blaring through the speakers, while the colored strobe lights flashes different hues of red and purple creating endless shadows against the walls.

Moving closer to the railing, Reyna noticed that her body felt different; that it felt...strange. A good kind of strange. Her chocolate color orbs now glowed the same shade of scarlet as her dress, and all her senses seemed to amplified ten times over, including her ability to easily detect a lingering presence hanging over her shoulder.

“Enticing, isn’t it?” T’Challa asked from behind her. “You see, since the minute we met I detected there was something special about you, however I failed in putting my finger on it right away. Still I longed to know more of you anyway, despite it going against my conventional practices.” He drifted to Reyna’s side, continuing with his thoughts while watching over his subjects along with her.

“But with the passage of time, I was able to uncover at last what it was that inevitably drew me to you.” The demon turned to Reyna, cupping her chin in his grasp to direct all her attention to him.

“It was your passion, Reyna,” T’Challa confessed while staring into her newly colored irises. “Your captivation with the unknown, the way you’re enthralled by mystery; it was in your eyes the first night we met. Instead of turning away from me in fear, you allowed your fascination to learn more about my world guide you. I knew then, that I could trust you to be mine.”

The two were now inches apart, giving the demon leeway to close the gap by pressing his lips to hers. Reyna melted into the kiss, finding herself more attracted to her boyfriend as ever due to his observation of her. She moaned lightly into his mouth, only to let out a slight whimper when he broke away.

“Now done with school, you have no more immediate obligations holding you to the mortal world permanently, but if you still choose to walk away, then I possess a potion that will reverse the bite I gave you if consumed before sunrise,” T’Challa muttered, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“But, neglect to take it by then, and your days as a mortal will be over.”

The vampire began backtracking slowly to the center seat that served as his throne until seated back upon it with one foot placed across the opposing knee.

“So, what do you say, my love?” His eyes blinked closed briefly, glowing blood red when they opened again as he made his final offer. “Will you join my world? Lead along with me as my equal in ruling over these heathens?”

Reyna stood and thought for a moment, remembering that she owed her good friend details about how the ‘anniversary dinner’ had went once it was finished. Knowing she would get a kick out of spinning this one, she could barely contain the smile spreading across her face.

“Darling,” Reyna started, running her tongue across her freshly obtained fangs while stalking over to her soulmate seductively. “It would be an absolute honor to call you my king.”

But that conversation would have to wait until later, because right now, Reyna was about to become Queen of the Underworld.

~~~~~

~Tags 🖤~

@iamrheaspeaks @princesskillmonger @eriknutinthispoosy @brianabreeze @wheredidallthedreamersgo @halcyonscry @okoyesbabe @mareethequeen @marvelpotterlove @muse-of-mbaku @chaneajoyyy @another-imaginesblog

[tumblunni]

I JUST REALIZED WHO THIS GUY’S JAPANESE VOICE REMINDS ME OF

Friggin Muchigoro from the sixth One Piece movie! The random half fish half plant probably some human in there somewhere dude who has a pet giant death goldfish and is generally the cutest man on earth

AND THEN THAT MOVIE INCREDIBLY TRAUMATIZED ME

Seriously i still cannot believe this movie even EXISTS, its such a bizarre form of..like..trolling you into accidentally watching a really good movie??? Posters and preproduction material and the art style and the actual name of the thing = “oh its a cute adventure about everyone playing goofy carnival games on carnival island im sure this villain Baron Carnival will absolutely not jumpscare me with something such as for example a sympathetic comic relief goldfish friend remembering that he’s already dead and reliving the process of drowning again while on dry land and you the viewer have to watch every second of it”

SERIOUSLY FUCKIN HELL I STILL MOURN YOU, MUCHIGORO

This film actually turned out to be a FUCKIN AMAZING lovecraftian horror thing where the Fun And Innocent Carnival Games slowly manipulate our heroes into bickering amoungst each other and pick them off one by one with just the excuse of ‘oh he totally abandoned you he wasnt really your friend after all’ (MEANWHILE THE ADORABLE REINDEER MASCOT IS GASPING FOR AIR AS HE’S PINCUSHIONED BY ARROWS IN THE BACKGROUND)

And then fuckin.. super fancy cute mr baron carnival man is actually sacrificing everyone who loses his carnival games to a fuckin terrifying evil spirit of the forest who’s fused to the flesh of his shoulder and whispering dark thoughts into his very bloodstream. And you get to see a fucked up abomination of twisted human flesh fused into a plant stem while our cute happy-go-lucky protagonist cries out that he has no reason to live now his friends are dead and its like WHAT THE ACTUAL JESUS FUCK IS HAPPENING

Oh and at the same time its SURPRISINGLY DEEP and evil carnival dude has a really sympathetic reason behind it all. You see, EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ISLAND IS DEAD! once upon a time he really was just a goofy cute carnival themed pirate dude with a big ol family of funny buddies. And then they all DIED HORRIBLY and this forbidden hellbeast made a pact with him to ressurect them if he murdered other people in return. Yes, everyone having adorable lil flowers and leafs on their head was DARK FORESHADOWING ALL ALONG

So that gets us back around to this super memorable goddamn character! Poor muchigoro!! he’s just a funny doofus who loves his pet fishie and also apparantly his boss. Like he’s really loyal and hero-worshippy to baron festival mc evilplanman, and baron festival mc evilplanman looks so goddamn GENUINELY FORLORN every damn second theyre together. There’s so many foreshadows where this dude is like ‘ha ha isnt every day wonderful when we’re together, im so happy you all enjoy these funny carnival games i made for you to all never be sad ever again’. *looks like he’s fuckin dying inside* jesus christ seriously are we really doing a plot about a suicidal man who lost everyone he ever loved and now he locks himself up with these fake illusions of what they used to be like, struggling with the fact he knows its wrong to kill others to sustain their life but he loves them so much he just cant stop himself AND WHO SAW THIS COMING FROM GODDAMN GOLDFISH HUGS BEANMAN

So yeah GOLDFISH HUGS BEANMAN is your first mega scarring moment hinting at the dark plot. He almost accidentally tells the heroes about whats going on, since he doesnt actually know he’s dead and ends up stumbling into a gap in his memory. And then the Ominous Forest Sentience just fuckin.. revokes his life permissions. Dude drops dead for getting too close to knowing the truth. Incredibly graphically. And then even worse is that he just reappears again later on, back in comic relief mode and apparantly unable to remember anything. He’s all “haha boss thats so weird i fell asleep on the job! I’m totally fine now tho!” and boss dude is like *bittersweet look* “i’m so glad i cant bear to see you without a smile on your face” *casually glances over the fact he just fuckin fed a guy’s soul to the dessicated corpse of his best friend and he just got back up”

And theres loads of equally depressing stuff with all the other equally adorable buddies!! There’s the ring toss attraction with a trio of adorable tiny elderly folks in funny frog costumes, this weird ice hockey/cooking competition combo game with a big scary buff dude who has a soft spot for bunny hair clips, and A LITERAL TEN YEAR OLD CHILD WHO WAS ALSO AMOUNGST THE DEAD

Oh goddd, Gappa is the one that traumatized me second much next to Muchigoro. He’s a cute kid in a goofy DJ costume but also he seems to be the one whose sense of self has most been eroded by becoming a soul-eating hellbeast? He’s introduced adorably trying to steal the hat of one of the protagonists cos he wants to be all cool fashion, and then suddenly out of nowhere his eyes go red and he murders the dude for saying no. And this wasnt even under orders from the boss dude or anything, boss dude just turns up to find the poor kid still staring off into space like he doesnt know what happened. He fuckin ate a dude’s soul and crushed the skull of his friend who tried to avenge him, and was pincushioned by a bunch of swords and just casually pulled them out of his ribcage. So he’s just sitting there disassociating the fuck out! “What did i just do, why did i do that, why did he cut me and i dont bleed?” And boss guy holds him and comforts him and tells him obvious lies about how he’s..just a very strong kid. He’s just such a great fighter that he totally must have dodged all that guy’s attacks. Don’t worry. And its such a brief scene but you get the sense that this must have happened a million times, the kid keeps accidentally ‘breaking’ people and getting close to realizing he’s a walking corpse and because of his father figure trying to shield him from the realization its just fucking up his mental state even more and he’s become the perfect host for the fuckin EVIL NIGHTMARE FOREST GOD THING

Anyway eventually we get to the final confrontation involving every one of our heroes being soul-nommed except one, and he’s barely able to drag his arrow-riddled body across the battlefield to keep on fighting. And the last you see of all the comic relief corpse dudes is them being confused why they feel so sleepy, and dropping to the floor one by one. You get the sense this whole thing is really fuckin desperate, the boss dude must have been running out of people to feed to the horrifying corpse machine and he’s had to deal with his friends slowly dying around him. And there’s this really messed up moment where all the heroes getting soul-nabbed is presented as a HAPPY MOMENT for the cute comic relief guys. You see them all come back to life and be like ‘yay another perfect day at perfect carnival island with all our very non dead friends!’ And then when the hero finally wins and saves everyone, its punctuated by a depressing note of all the funny dudes simultaneously vanishing into dust forever. leaving behind nothing but a bunch of plants growing out of a pile of empty clothes. Like the scariest damn part is how its left ambiguous whether the creepy ass forest god was even really capable of ressurecting the dead or if it was just puppeting a bunch of dolls and imitating what this man remembers of his dead friends. though the fact they were able to act on their own free will and almost mess up the plan sometimes would imply there’s at least some level of the original person still left there. but still theres also the whole freaky scene of Murder Child Does Not Remember Murdering All These People so..yeah. Horrifying ambiguity.

And then it just ends with poor boss carnival dude looking at his bloodstained hands desperately trying to hold together the dead corpse of this god that promised to keep his friends alive. He fuckin HOLDS INTESTINES IN HIS HANDS WHILE SOBBING! And what super extra sucks is that they dont give him any sort of resolution of getting to move on and atone now he’s free of that thing’s control. He just desperately tries to backstab the hero at the last moment cos he’s just so lost in grief for his friends, and thus ends up dying. And the last you see of him is him floating in the void while he hears the sound of the shipwreck that killed his friends so long ago, and fuckin CUTE VOICE OF FUNNYMAN MUCHIGORO welcomes him to the goddamn afterlife. While crying that he wishes his boss was able to move on without him and live a little longer instead.

END

CUE HAPPY CREDITS MUSIC

CUE EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE CRYING FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS

i am sobbing into my keyboard just remembering this, seriously i dont even fuckin LIKE One Piece yet im somehow a giant fan of this one singular filler arc written by some other author. WHERE IS MY ENTIRE DAMN HUNDRED EPISODE ANIME ABOUT THIS PLOTLINE?? it has fuckin NOTHING to do with One Piece either, you coulda replaced the protagonists with the protagonists of any other anime and it woulda worked just as well. Its just like fuckin... Happy Anime Dudes Take A Brief Vacation To An Entirely Different Story About Horror Murder. like i know One Piece does have its own sad and deep stories sometimes but not EXISTENTIAL HORROR OF GOLDFISH FRIENDO

I NEVER EXPECTED TO BE TRAUMATIZED BY THIS ADORABLE BEAN BOY

rip muchigoro

...anyway i suppose i might be subconciously drawn to characters who have anything in common with him cos of the sheer PLEASE UNDO THE HELL YOU INFLICTED UPON THIS FUNNYMANS factor.

also I guess Mr Movien is kinda like his character design upside down. big head mode vs tiny head mode: FIGHT!!!

in conclusion i wish i had not remembered the tears of this