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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 2 years

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Love in a Ghost Town: Part 5--Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Eddie Munson’s become content with working his day job. After the crazy stretching of events from 1983-1986, Eddie’s grateful for a little bit of normal in his life.

That is until one day, Valeria Browns shows up in town looking for a quick car fix. And she’s more than he might’ve bargained for on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Valeria is just trying to enjoy her Valentine’s Day weekend after many years of being perpetually single. She has her fun, but it’s never serious. Maybe Eddie can change some of that.

Older!Mechanic!Eddie Munson. 2003 alternative universe. BlackFem! OC.

The Upside Down doesn’t exist in this fic. But strange things do happen to the town of Hawkins, Indianna. Major Character Death that is not canon as a result of the non-Upside Down AU.

Feel free to view my masterlist here

CW: Implied Self-Harm & Depression within the chapter. If you are sensitive to these topics, please proceed with caution.

Edited Picture of Eddie is from @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

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“When did you do all this?” Eddie flops down into the chair at the dining room table.

Valera has plates set out already alongside placemats, forks, knives, spoons, cups. It’s stuff she’d found in the cabinet and drawers. A habit of hers when she’s hosting others, ensuring that the table was always set to perfection. A habit garnered from her grandmother’s raising. Valeria would rather be caught dead ass out than have her grandmother find out she’d cooked for someone and didn’t properly set the table. She hadn’t thought it was too much but now she worries it’s a little over the top. She can’t do anything about it now. It’s done. The table’s set.

“There’s a lot of hours between two and seven,” Valeria shrugs.

“So what’s on the menu tonight, chef?”

“Baked chicken, yellow rice, roasted asparagus to avoid too much of a slimy texture. The chicken still needs like ten more minutes. I put it in right before getting you.”

Eddie whistles, a wiggle to his brows. “I thought we’d said thank you already.”

“There’s no strings on this, Eddie. It’s just--I wanted to do something nice.”

The words halt Eddie. He’d been peeling himself out of the coveralls, one arm free and then he stopped. Now he’s stuck between pulling his other arm free and letting it reside inside of the sleeve. “No strings? There’s always strings,” Eddie whispers.

Valeria shakes her head. The words burn on her tongue: You deserve nice things just because. Not because you can give something. But Valeria swallows it down. She’d pushed that button once before and it hadn’t gone well. “I’m not-I’m sorry if I overstepped. Food will be done soon.”

It’s all Valeria can say. It’s all she should say; anything more and she’d be picking a fight. So Valeria turns back to the stove. The rice and asparagus were covered before Valeria left. They’re still warm as far as she can tell. From the hallway, Valeria can hear the shower start up. There’s nothing to do but wait. So Valeria sits, nails clicking as she works through what should happen next. Should she further apologize? She hadn’t meant to imply anything. It wasn’t in her mind that more might be implied.

“I’m sorry.”

Valeria lifts her gaze and Eddie stands, hair wet on his shoulders, arms folded across his chest. Valeria exhales her words, “I should’ve asked first. If it was okay.”

He shakes his head. “It is. It is okay. I just--I shouldn’t have assumed.”

The chicken shaped timer shrills between them. Valeria goes to stand up but Eddie stops her with a raise of his head. He shuffles over, turns the oven off and pulls out the baking sheet. There’s another stretch of silence between them, just the click of the metal pan against the top of the stove.

“You were right,” Eddie states. “I do dismiss myself. Because it’s easier. I have a lot of people who do care about me. But I never know what to do with it. I guess I’m so used to people wanting something from me. It’s easier if they want something you know. I can give that.”

“But if no one wants something?” Valeria asks.

Eddie pushes away from the stove. “I don’t know how to do that. People who just want me. Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, the kids--they all sort of force themselves into my life. It’s easier if people force it. To choose it? No, not going to happen. I want it. But I can’t. I can’t choose that.”

“Can’t choose it?” Valeria probes. His eyes are misty again. Now she sees it. It’s fear. Eddie is terrified of what it means to let himself choose to let someone in.

“When people force their way in, they already care. They don’t care if you don’t believe it.”

“So you’re scared? You’re scared to let someone in.”

“People leave. Either they die or they choose to leave. If I choose someone and they leave me--what would have been the point?”

“To have loved and to have been loved.”

Eddie’s face shows how much he doesn’t believe Valeria’s words. And it makes sense. Why would Eddie ever believe her? She’s just a stranger. Sometimes Valeria doesn't halfway believe the words herself. “Sounds like you might’ve found my stash,” Eddie huffs. It sounds like it’s meant to be a laugh but it’s humorless in all reality as it falls from his throat.

Valeria holds her hands up in defense. “I just have one question, Eddie. I swear I don’t really want to argue with you. But I’m curious about one thing.”

Eddie gestures for her to continue. “What’s that one thing?”

“Do you actually want someone to change your mind? Do you want someone to convince you to give love a shot? Or are you just looking for someone to pity you? To give you what you want--a fuck when you want it, but never forcing you to confront your fears?”

It’s a heated stare. Valeria pushes up from the table. She’d pushed the envelope. It would probably blow up in her face. But Valeria’s prepared for the fire. Will this be the actual death sentence? Wouldn’t it just be fitting not to die by being a new face in a small town but by being an asshole who doesn’t know when to give up?

“You don’t fight fair,” Eddie quips. “You really don’t fight fucking fair. One more question my ass. Don’t want to argue--fuck off with that.”

It’s true anger. But Valeria doesn’t think it’s going to get her into a physical altercation. Valeria doesn’t even think Eddie would raise a fist, or his voice. He might curse her out but he’s remained in front of the stove the entire time. Valeria crosses the kitchen, nudging Eddie out of the way with her hip. He goes, willingly, sliding down so he’s in front of the sink. “Is it not a fair question?”

Eddie exhales hard. “What do you want to drink?”

“Just going to take water, from the tap,” Valeria returns, plating the chicken breasts for them.

“It’s a fair question,” Eddie admits, staring down at his plate of food. They’d set the rest of the table in utter silence. Eddie seethed. Valeria held her smug grin. And now, sitting down, it’s like the food is the mirror Eddie can actually face. Maybe looking Valeria in the face, having her voice the question was a double whammy. Someone who had wanted the fun time, but also to be nice--the two weren’t mutually exclusive for her, but they were for Eddie.

“I don’t like that you asked it,” Eddie admits, stabbing at the piece of chicken on his plate with his fork. “But it is a fair question.”

“So besides me, how was the rest of your day?” Valeria asks.

“You were the highlight and also the pain in my ass. The donuts were much appreciated today; thanks.”

“We call that the two-for-one special.”

Eddie snorts, working down his bite before he speaks. “You make it up to the mall?”

Valeria nods. She’s gotten direction from Robin after dropping off the candy. A mall is a mall--when one’s visited one of them, they’ve seen them all. It doesn’t help that Valeria works most of her days in one. “Can I say any mall has lost its charm?”

“Your store is in a mall?” Eddie asks.

“Sure is.”

“So would I be right in assuming you most definitely did not step foot into The Gap here then?”

“Oh, dear Eddie, you would be so correct in that assumption.”

“I’ll put a word in with the mall’s board of directors to get something else in there for you,” Eddie teases.

“It’s appreciated.”

The conversation slows from there. Eddie compliments the food, but there’s a clear focus on actually consuming the food in front of them. Valeria’s shocked by how hungry she is considering how little she did in the day. But perhaps, it’s coupled in with the fact that she’d normally have eaten by now, or at least had more in the way of snacks. Valeria had gotten a little side tracked in the mall, rifling through some CD’s. It was worth the time suck as she’d scored a few albums that she needed to replace. Her copies were scratched and skipping terribly, but still the scouring cost time.

Valeria finishes her food first, but remains seated to wait for Eddie. When his fork and knife clink against the plate, Valeria stands. Eddie pushes up immediately after her. “I’ll wash the dishes,” he states. “I think it’s the least I can do after all this.”

Valeria considers the envelope fully pushed, but not burst. She won’t risk it. Instead she nods, and starts to assemble the dishes, wiping them clean, scraping off the remnants of food, packaging up what’s left. The water of the sink is the loudest noise around them until Valeria goes to shower.

________________________

The TV casts a blue glow over the living room. The couch sinks just a little with the weight of Valeria and Eddie, but it’s comfy. Valeria forfeited her guest privileges on picking the channel. She knew her obsessions with reality TV may not be well received and she really didn’t care what was on. Eddie settled on Cold Case. A shocking happy medium between the two of them. When Eddie glanced over, Valeria nodded, making a comment on how she always tried her best to keep up. It leaves them here, both post showers as Valeria digs into the bowl of popcorn they’re sharing. Both of them have eyes trained onto the TV as long as the show is on.

“You seeing anyone?” Eddie questions during a commercial break.

“Blunt,” Valeria snorts. But she’s sort of glad for the question. At least Eddie doesn’t seemingly hate her.

“I’m doing research,” Eddie returns, grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

“No,” Valeria answers with a shake of her head. “Not anymore.”

“Which explains the single’s trip near Valentine’s Day. Want to talk about it?”

Valeria looks over to Eddie now, turning away from the TV screen. He’s already looking at her, up through his lashes. “Classic story--one that starts with drinks at a bar, ends with cheating.”

“Sorry he was dick.”

“There were a lot of signs prior that I shouldn’t let her go. Just didn’t listen. Went on a little parade of enjoying people, whomever came my way.”

Eddie snorts, “Pun intended?”

Valera takes a sip at her glass--a Coke that Eddie insisted on putting in the wine glass just for her after she declined the alcohol. “You tell me.”

“I’m going to say yes.” Eddie moves the bowl to the table, taking a hand to his hair. He then pulls it all back and takes the hair elastic from his wrist to pile the hair into a bun and secure it. “Are you looking for anything now? Relationship? Just sex?”

“I’m not getting younger,” Valeria admits.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Valeria swats at Eddie’s arm. He doesn’t dodge the hit, just takes it and when his hair is secure, brings the bowl of popcorn back into his lap. She shakes her head no at the invitation of the extended out bowl and then continues on, “I used to think I could just wait it out, you know? I’d find someone for me when I was supposed to. Most of my friends are married or have children. Not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if the right person hasn’t come along just yet.”

“You’re a catch! Albeit pushy, but still a good person! I’m sure everyone’s drooling over you.”

“Everyone includes you and Robin, hmm?” Valeria teases.

Eddie groans, his cheeks turn a little pink. “That is so fucking embarrassing. But it is what it really is. I just mean anyone would be lucky to date you. From the limited exposure I have of course.”

“Everyone’s sweeter in smaller doses,” Valeria quips. “Part of me is worried. I did think I’d be married by now. With at least one kid.”

Eddie whistles at the confession. “How many do you want?”

“Just two,” Valeria answers. “What about you?”

“Thought I’d be dead at 30, so I guess I’m more shocked I’ve still got years left on this planet than anything.”

“Thought you’d be dead at 30? Or?” Valeria doesn’t want to say it. The scars on his forearms could’ve been from anything. But a few trailed closer to his wrist. Valeria’s not intimately familiar, but she does know.

“Or,” Eddie answers, turning to face Valeria again. “Or in my case.”

He doesn’t offer more and Valeria doesn’t ask for it. Instead there’s just their shared gaze, a silence that seems to know everything that they don’t say. Someone found him. Something in the universe kept him alive. The TV’s clearly switched back to the show. But they don’t break eye contact.

“I think,” Eddie starts, head tilting to the side just a little. “I think I’d start with one kid and I managed not to fuck that one up, I’d go for a second one. Having a sibling seems like it’s not such a terrible experience.”

“My uncles told me they’re sad I’m the only kid. They have many stories about literally beating the shit out of each other and then if someone else got into the mix immediately shifting gears and throwing blows at the new person. I guess you could say the only person-when you have siblings-that can pick on you is your sibling. Nothing quite like it.”

Eddie snorts. “If looking after Red and Dustin and their friends proves anything like parenthood for teens at least, maybe I’m good without it.”

“Looking after?”

“She lives out in the trailer park too. Dad left when she was younger. Mom’s in and out of her life now that’s older. Steve used to babysit. Can you believe that? He used to babysit Dustin when Ms. Claudia absolutely needed it. Steve, I think, is fond of the whole group but him and Dustin have something I don’t think I’ve seen with anyone else. Dustin’s dad passed away right after he was born. Steve and Dustin are the closest things to siblings without being blood related. As Dustin made friends, he’d rope Steve into their antics when Dustin knew he couldn’t ask his mother. So Steve becomes a big brother to Dustin in a way and then by extension like a mother hen. Robin and Steve meet Scoops.”

“Ice cream shop?” Valeria questions.

“Yeah. In the old mall before it burned down. Robin and I knew each other from middle school and were sort of close. But she landed in the band geeks and I landed as cult leader, supposedly. But we sort of ran in different circles. She and I would catch up occasionally. We’d talked shit about Steve and how he used to be back in high school.”

“Jock, untouchable,” Valeria tacks on.

“Exactly. But then Robin would tell me about how Steve was with the kids. I needed to see that shit for myself. So Robin knew Steve’s taking the kids to the state fair and I decided that’s my chance to see Mother Hen Steve in action. I ‘accidentally’ run into them. There’s like eight thousand kids hanging from Steve.”

Valeria snorts. “If I do my math right, I’m only counting four.”

“Will had passed by then. So there’s Lucas, Mike, Dustin, Red, and Erica. Erica is Lucas’ younger sister.”

“So five, not eight thousand.”

“Details, details, Valeria.” Eddie swats his hand in front of his face as if to clear the cloud of details out of the way. “You’re asking an ancient being to do some hard math here. Anyway, that’s how I meet the kids. Dustin finds out I DM Dungeons and Dragons and wants to know everything about the current campaign. This little snot is like eight, nine max. But he wants to know so I cave. I brought him very occasionally after school to some sessions to drop in as a playable character. When he wasn’t there, I had to pick him up so we could chat about what happened. Again, none of this shit really matters. But it’s during this state fair that I realize Red lives a few trailers off so I drop her off.

“Ever since then I’ve sort of just kept my eye out on her. Give her rides to school if her Mom was gone or just not in any state to drive. Sometimes I’d pick her up. Learned to do a mean fishtail braid for her. I mean, I’m good--pigtails, french braids, fishtails, I got it.”

“We’ll know if you got it if you can do a cornrow.”

Eddie takes a glance in the direction of her nails, pointing the braids tight to her scalp. He grins. “I’m a fast learner, that’s for sure. But yeah, between her and Wayne, I was sort of just in caretaker mode. Have been for a while.”

“Sounds like at 30 you were really just looking for someone to take care of you after what you started doing for her and Wayne.”

It’s at that--another observation that Valeria sees so plainly and feels ballsy enough to utter that makes Eddie crack. He looks down to the space between them. The shared blanket holds the shape and bend of Valeria’s knee, the flat of the couch cushion, and the beginning of Eddie’s thigh. There’s just inches between them.

“Did it again, didn’t I?” Valeria asks.

“I’m starting to think you’re my Robin,” Eddie laughs. It’s a little bit more wet with humor. Most likely, it’s the tears that are filling his lower lash lines that Valeria spots that make his voice thicker.

“I’m lost in the sauce,” Valeria whispers. “Is this a good thing?”

“Robin and Steve--they’re like bookends. They just get each other. Not a lot of effort. Like you sort of get me. And the more you get me, the more I get you.”

“Maybe I am your Robin. But I’d hate to know what you think about me. I know it’s not all pretty.”

“I think you like helping others so you don’t actually have to confront whatever it is that’s going on with you. It’s easier to help others than help yourself.”

Valeria huffs. “You’re not wrong.”

“If it wasn’t just the deaths of your parents, I’m sure it’s definitely something else alongside it. There is an extensive history with cops though. Enough so that you don’t like them and the place you lived after your parent’s death, was it the dealer? That you mentioned earlier?”

“If we’re playing BINGO, you’ve got a ‘B’ and an ‘I’. Looking for the whole word?”

Eddie places a hand on Valeria’s knee over the blanket, giving in a squeeze. “I’m sure I’d get some of it wrong. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not about him,” Valeria confesses. Definitely not about him. Valeria’s sure he’s the spot in her life that everything sort of unraveled for her. She wanted him. He wanted her. But she knew it was bad. Didn’t mean it stopped her. She’d still snuck out when she could at night. She still danced in the fire. She still got burned, staring down barrels she shouldn’t have been looking down. Still got covered in blood she shouldn’t have been covered in. Blood that maybe would’ve still been spilled--she had no hands in who owed who what kind of money. But still, Valeria was supposed to go to a sleepover and she hadn’t. She instead became a witness.

“Hey, no, it’s okay. You don’t have to,” Eddie reassures.

His palms are warm. Valeria follows that warmth and slowly blinks back to the living room. The TV. The show. The popcorn. Eddie.

“Welcome back,” Eddie laughs.

“Hi,” Valeria whispers.

“You good?”

She can only manage another nod, for a moment. Her voice is soft. “You’re close. Not him, but my ex used to say I don’t let others help too easily. She said it made her feel like I didn’t trust her. And I did trust her. Up until a point.”

“When you suspected cheating?”

Valeria nods. “Intuition can be a bitch sometimes.”

“But it can save us too. Too damn good at it at times.”

“Dustin?” Valeria questions. “Did he save you both times?”

Eddie nods. It’s slow to come--the nodded confession. Eddie’s jaw falls open, but nothing comes out. He closes it once, exhales deeply. His second attempt to get the words out is just as silent as the first. Just as Valeria can work up the nerve to tell Eddie doesn’t have to go there, he’s speaking again. Third time really is the charm. His palms are still cupping her cheeks. “What can I say? Kid’s got killer instincts. If you’re looking for the full word, I think you got bingo ages ago.”

Valeria shakes her head. “I only think I’m up to the ‘G’. Occasionally, I can fight fair.”

“Only occasionally, I bet. Right?”

“When it’s fair to do so.”

Eddie snorts. “It’s fair all the time to do it.”

Valeria only shrugs. “It’s like you said, I didn’t grow up in a nice part of town. Only fight fair when it’s the fair thing to do. And most of the time, it’s not. Someone else always has the advantage.”

Eddie’s hands disappear under the blanket. Valeria’s watching, but her gaze is out of focus. Not much has come to her in the form of advantage. When fingers find the bend of her knee and tug, she gives in, sliding herself across the cushion. Now her chest pressed into Eddie’s arm. He’s quick to sling the arm pressed into her around her shoulders. “No disadvantages here.”

It sounds like a promise. No disadvantages here.

Valeria wants the words to taste like it too, but Eddie’s attention has turned back to the TV. He’s warm, his hand soothing up and down her back. Valeria drops her forehead to Eddie’s ribs. His heart beats against her forehead. No disadvantages here. The thump, thumpity, thump of Eddie’s heart still echoes through her bones. I told you, I’m just charging for parts. Thump, thumpity, thump. The more you get me, the more I get you.

The question burns on her tongue. How can Eddie never be receptive to nice things, to tenderness when it’s directed to him but give it so freely? How could Valeria do it? How had they survived this long with bleeds still running? Would they ever stop? Valeria’s crying before she realizes. The tears are slipping down her cheeks and falling down her chin. Some hit the couch cushions, some of it falls into the hip of Eddie’s pants.

Valeria presses her hand into his hip, bringing her head up. With the back of her hands, she’s able to swipe the tears from her cheeks. “Hey, Eddie,” Valeria starts. She doesn’t need to. He’s already turning to her, hand coming up to her cheek.

“Yeah? You okay?”

“I need you to promise me something.”

Eddie’s already sighing, like somehow he might’ve known this was coming from her. “I’m not great with promises.”

“Just this one from me,” Valeria returns. Maybe if she gets him to promise it, then it means it’ll have to come true. Wouldn’t that be a true miracle at the end of their story if she gets him to promise?

“Let me hear what it is first,” Eddie laughs, using his thumbs to wipe her cheeks.

“I need you to promise first.” It falls apart if he doesn’t promise first. “If I tell you first, and you don’t promise it’s worthwhile. Do you trust me?”

Eddie sighs, forehead resting against hers. “If I didn’t trust you, you absolutely would not be in my house. But I know you’re going to make me promise something I can’t fulfill. You believe in me too much.”

Maybe it’s worthless anyhow. They’d always be who they are and change doesn’t happen just in one weekend or just because of one person. Change would take time. Change would take their own desire for forward momentum. It feels childish really. But still Valeria thinks the world would give people like her and Eddie comfort. It would give in some way to allow them peace.

“You don’t believe in yourself enough,” Valeria laughs. It’s not because it’s funny. It’s because there was the damn mirror again between them. A mirror based in brown irises and black pupils for each of them.

There’s a long silence. Eddie’s forehead is still pressed to hers. His hands are cupping her face. Valeria’s holding onto his elbows. But there’s nothing until Eddie speaks, “I promise.”

“You promise to accept kindness without question. You promise that before you know it love gets easier to accept because you tell yourself you deserve it.” It’s a lot to ask. Some might say too much and Valeria knows that. It’s still worth a shot though.

Eddie nods. “I promise.” It falls out choked, but still audible.

“Does it feel like a nail in the coffin?”

“More than you realize, Valeria.”

The thing Valeria is sure that neither of them really realize when she wakes in Eddie’s bed, sheets covering her bare skin, is that there are many more nails that can go into the coffin. And the right person can pry them loose if allowed. Valeria’s not sure if Eddie promising is his consent for her to pry one nail loose for the one she nailed in. But she likes to think so.

“No cold pancakes today,” Eddie teases when Valeria joins him in the kitchen. His torso is bare. The red lines from yesterday morning are fading. But there are a few marks from last night still lingering on his shoulders. As he turns with a steaming mug in hand, the hickies Valeria sucked into his skin are fading. A couple are hard to see in the distance thanks to the ink.

“Need help?” Valeria asks, shuffling forward.

“Almost done. Sleep okay?”

Valeria nods around her sip and once it’s down replies verbally, “Like a baby. You?”

“Like a baby,” he echoes.

Their breakfast goes by with laughter. Valeria regails some stories of her time playing softball. Eddie recounts the shows he used to play at The Hideout. It’s easy. There’s no indication on what makes this morning easier. Valeria knows that in reality by tomorrow she’ll be gone. Headed back to her life almost as if nothing had ever happened. Perhaps this is what makes it easier. They don’t have to do more than ride out the rest of the day. They don’t have to do anything more than just exist as they always have.

Valeria swipes Eddie’s keys from the dining room table. His boots make a heavy thud as he walks up the hallway. “Anywhere else I should explore?” Valeria asks as Eddie collects the lunch pail--Wayne’s--and the thermos that she set out.

“It’s Hawkins. Not Indy,” Eddie laughs.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Did you find the lake?”

“There’s a lake?” Valeria asks. She doesn’t recall seeing many signs about a lake. Though Valeria knows she gets a little direction blind. When she has somewhere to go she focuses on just getting there safely.

Eddie nods. “Lovers Lake.”

Valeria cringes at the name. “I have a feeling I’m going to run across horny teenagers and as much as I think people are free to do what they want within reason, I am not looking to stumble across bare asses of children.”

Eddie slings his arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, there is that risk. Then, I’m afraid you’ve seen it all.”

Valeria’s content with that. A small town is a small town at the end of the day. But if she had more to do other than what’s already there then she’d definitely make it a priority. “Any particular requests for dinner?”

“Yeah, actually, I do,” Eddie starts, opening the driver side door for Valeria. The February chill is softer today than previously. It’s still cold, but not terribly so, not like the second day Valeria was here. She’s sure her perception of her first day is entirely warped. Valeria climbs in, with a bit of a grunt because it does take more for her to get up into the truck than her car. “That it be my treat,” Eddie concludes. He leans up against the door molding of the truck, watching Valeria get herself buckled in. “How does pizza sound? It is Friday.”

“Are pizza Fridays a ritual for you?”

“Something like that. And look,” Eddie holds up the lunch pail, “I’ll have had a balanced lunch.”

Valeria snorts. “Pizza sounds like a lovely way to end the day.”

“Sweet.” Eddie’s grin goes from ear to ear. “Because I most definitely was getting pizza either way.”

Valeria laughs. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have expected much else.” Navigating out of the trailer park and onto the main roads is easy--something Valeria’s ingrained into her mind already given the amount of times she’s gotten in and out of it. “So where do you normally go to get pizza around here?”

“No, absolutely not. If I tell you, you’ll go and get it before getting me. I’m not giving you that information.” The radio station changes. Valeria doesn’t argue with the switch given it is Eddie’s truck. More guitars shred through the speakers. “I know you.”

“Because you would do it?”

“Absolutely I would.”

“Fine. I’ll go find Lucas or Max or Dustin. Don’t make me go to Steve,” Valeria threatens. She assumes that Steve would know Eddie’s routines. She’d rather Eddie just tell her. So she hopes the threats make Eddie cave. They pull into a spot outside the shop. Eddie digs out his wallet from his pocket and peels out a twenty from the bifold. He holds it out between his fingers.

“Pepperoni, extra cheese. 2-liter Mountain Dew. If Ma is there, she will throw in mozzarella sticks. Take them.”

“How do I know if Ma is there?” Valeria cautiously takes the bill.

“Oh, you’ll know.”

“And the name of the place?” Valeria questions.

Eddie grins, sliding across the seats. “Ask Dustin, or Lucas, or Steve. See you at 7.” Valeria’s not sure why she expected much else from Eddie. Perhaps Eddie might be right that they are something to each other, even if they are a pain in each other’s asses. Just like yesterday, she waits until Eddie’s safe inside the building, flicking on lights. Gareth pulls in two spots down from her. She gives a wave this time and then pulls out of the spot.

It’s really stupid. As much as she hates this place, what it’s supposed to represent, what’s happened to her in buildings like this, Valeria knows the only person who would give her a straight up answer would be here in this building. There’s a tan truck, one Valeria is pretty sure means Steve is here. The doors aren’t heavy as she swings them open. Stale coffee and the smell of cigarettes hits her nose.

“How can I help you dear?” An older woman is at the front desk--a smile paints her face in a way that Valeria knows only comes from age.

“Uh, this is sort of ridiculous. But is Steve Harrington around?”

“Oh, yeah, the Chief’s in. What did you need him for hon?”

It’s so stupid. “I had-I had a question for him.”

The woman nods, reaching down for the phone. “Chief. Young lady here needs to speak with you.” Valeria and the older woman share a smile. She presses a hand over the receiver. “What’s your name dear?”

“Valeria.”

She nods. “Thank you.” As she uncovers her hand, the woman repeats Valeria’s name to Steve. They’re only on the phone for a few seconds longer and then the older woman directs her attention fully to Valeria. “He’ll be out in just a second. Can I get you anything in the meantime?”

Valeria shakes her head. “I’m okay. Thank you.” It’s okay. You’re just here about pizza. Somehow the truth doesn’t settle Valeria’s heart. She paces, clicking nails together. It’s just one question. She’d been in and out of the building in five minutes, less if that.

“You okay, Valeria?”

Steve’s hair flops down into his face as he peers down at her. Valeria takes a slight step back, but nods. “It’s sort of a stupid question,” she begins. Steve slips his hands from his waist and then they fall behind his back.

“Can’t be all that stupid for you to come this way. You’re okay though, right? No trouble from anyone?”

Valeria nods. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Though Steve probably means it sincerely, Valeria doesn’t really need the confirmation about the type of folks in this town. She’d already stopped looking so much over her shoulder

“Good. I’m glad. What’s this question?”

It’s just about pizza. In and out. But all the words are stuck in Valeria’s throat for a moment. She inhales deeply to steady her nerves. “It’s stupid really. It’s probably easier ways but Eddie’s not cracking.”

Steve nods, leaning now against the wall. His face lifts in a tiny smile. “So it’s about Eddie.”

Valeria nods. “Yeah. Do-do you know where he gets his pizza from? I offered to cook dinner again and he refused that idea.”

A small crease forms between Steve’s brows. “And he told you he wanted pizza but didn’t tell you where?”

“It’s stupid. I’m sure there’s only so many places to get pizza in town.” It’s stupid to come here too. It’s stupid for Eddie to challenge her but alas they’re all here now. “I’m sorry,” Valeria starts. “There’s plenty more things you need to be doing. Sorry.”

Valeria starts for the door. She can’t even explain to herself why she’d come here. There was Robin. Maybe the kids would’ve known. But Valeria had decided to come to Steve and know she’s kicking herself for the decision.

“Benny’s. Pepperoni. Extra cheese. It’s more towards the outskirts of town. Let me get you the directions,” Steve answers.

It’s enough to pause Valeria part way out the door. “I think I can find it,” she returns. “Thank you. For the name.”

Steve points over his shoulder. “I’m serious about the directions. It’s not easy to get to if you don’t know where you’re going.”

“I’ll be okay, Steve.”

“Is it the uniform?” Steve questions. “Or has Eddie tried to brainwash you into thinking I cheat during Monopoly?”

“You-you don’t want to go down this road,” Valeria returns. Her voice is firm. It’s not that she doesn’t want to get to know Steve or give him the benefit of the doubt. But there’s too much bad history with establishments like this. It’s not individually Steve. It’s collective. It’s the fact that he may not ever see it like she does. Not because he can’t. But because he’d only ever get a portion of it. Steve would never fully understand. No fault of his own of course. “Eddie speaks highly of you. I’m sure if I were to talk to Dustin, or Robin, or Lucas, or Max, they’d have something similar to say too. I’m sure Hopper, who you took over for, would sing you literal praises. It’s not you. But you don’t want to go down this road.”

“I know city cops. I know what they do. I wish I could change that for you.”

“You don’t,” Valeria returns. It leaves her lips with nearly a hiss following it. “You don’t know anything about me or what it’s been like for me.”

Steve nods. “You’re right,” he adds softly. “That was a poor attempt at words. I’m sorry. I see it though. I see what they are capable of.”

Valeria’s hold tightens on the bar to the door. “Thank you for the name, Steve. I don’t think there’s anything I’m capable of hearing right now.”

“Fair--that’s fair. Thank you for being honest. Also if Ma is working at Benny’s tonight and you order, she’ll throw in--”

“Mozzarella sticks. Eddie warned me about her.” Valeria looks over her shoulder. “Eddie’s the one who cheats in monopoly?”

“All the time,” Steve huffs, a tiny grin appearing on his face. “All the fucking time.”

“Don’t let him be the banker.”

“He throws a fit if I try to be the banker.”

Valeris shrugs. “Maybe you just need to let him through a fit.”

____________________________

Steve’s directions are what Valeria could’ve only imagined to get--like his mind is linked to Expedia. Right on Main. Follow it for 2 miles. Left turn on Cherry Road. Follow it for half a mile. And so on down to the exact mile. At the bottom it’s scribbled down how long it’ll take for the pizza to cook too. It’s worth it to leave Eddie’s place and ensure the pizza doesn’t go cold. Benny’s is packed. Not that Valeria could’ve gauged how many people in town would be here. But she clutches to the note scribbled down in Steve’s handwriting, praying that even in the madness he’s right.

“Looking for a table?”

Valeria turns to find an older woman, salt and pepper hair dyed a light blue at the ends. It’s clear she’s older given by the wrinkles on her neck. But she carries herself like a woman closer to Valeria’s age. Her smile is bright. “To-go order, if that’s okay?”

“Course it is, darlin’. What can I do you for?”

“Large pizza. Pepperoni. Extra cheese.”

“What else?” she grins.

Valeria takes in the smack of gum between her teeth and then carries down the white t-shirt to the nametag, Ma. “That’s all.”

“You sure? We got the best damn mozzarella sticks in town. I bet.”

Valeria nods. “I’m sure. Thank you.”

“Oh alright. Follow me and I’ll get this in to the kitchen.” Ma leads Valeria through the tables and up to the counter. A few bodies line the counter plates filled with burgers and sandwiches. “Won’t be long. Want a drink while you wait?”

Valeria declines the offer. Around her there’s a crackle followed by the soft whine of guitars. She can’t tell if it’s the radio or jukebox in a corner, but the soft melody only comes to the surface of the noise in waves. The laughter and chatter swallow the music most of the time that Valeria waits. It’s warm at the counter. The kitchen’s probably boiling, but Valeria can see the line cooks laughing as their spatulas cut and flip. They’re conversation is inaudible. There’s only the curve of their lips. It doesn’t even seem to matter what they’re discussing, the orders scribbled down on Ma’s pad keep lining the window.

“Large pep. Extra cheese. Order of Mozzarella sticks,” Ma states, sliding the box and bag over the counter.

“How much for the sticks?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, hon.” Ma winks at Valeria taking the twenty stretched out. As the change is counted, Valeria slips a five from her own wallet into the tip jar. It’s the least she can do.

Pushing into the door with her back, Valeria is careful as she exits. The moment the door closes all the sound is swallowed up. It’s just the night. A chill runs down Valeria’s spine. This is not what she expected, a strange sense of loss. It is alive in the diner, and so cold and still outside. Valeria ponders if the town was growing on her, if it was somehow crawling up from the level of a weird town with a haunting past into a town that she could find it possible to have a fondness for.

Eddie’s truck rumbles beneath Valeria, the tires taking the gravel of the parking lot with ease. It’s clear the diner’s been here long before the new roads and rather than pave it, the owners have let the place keep its old school charm. Valeria follows the opposite turns until she’s back on the main roads. From there it’s only a few minutes to Eddie’s shop. She pulls up and into a slot just as the clock ticks over to 7 on the radio.

Eddie’s securing the front doors, Gareth and a couple of other guys are just slipping into their cars too. It’s dark, but with the cut of headlights, Valeria can see Eddie’s smile. “Did you figure it out?” he asks.

“Hop in and find out,” Valeria laughs.

Eddie, thankfully, does not need to be told twice. He jogs over to the passenger side and there on the floor is the box and bag with Benny’s logo staring back at him. “Oh, who told you?” he asks climbing into the truck.

“Thank the Chief,” Valeria answers, waiting for the click of Eddie’s seatbelt before she gets the truck into gear to reverse.

“You willingly went to Steve?”

“You gave me no choice,” she laughs, pulling into a stop right at the mouth of the parking lot. When she’s sure it’s clear she pulls onto the road.

“I didn’t think you’d choose Steve. Thought you might wait for me,” Eddie returns.

“I’m a bear with small brains. Can’t really read between the lines.”

His laughter is sharp. “Don’t believe that for a second. You’re just stubborn.”

“Aren’t those the same thing?”

“For us, they might be.”

Valeria grins, pulling to a stop at the light. For them, stubbornness is always the name of the game. Life is never fun without a little bit of a challenge. Valeria wonders just how stubborn the two of them can be. “I have a question and you can say no,” she starts. “Can totally say no. I feel like I already know the answer, but I am curious.”

“I’m listening.”

It’s all Eddie gives, but it’s enough. Valeria knows if she presses too hard, Eddie will let her know. “Did you press charges? Back when you got mobbed basically—did you do anything about it?”

“No. Like I said, I was dealing. If I pressed charges it was eventually going to come back why Chrissy was with me in the first place.”

“And it was putting food on the table,” Valeria concludes. Survival was probably more important than justice at the moment. Long term survival meant Eddie needs to keep making money.

“She broke up with Jason a few months later. Jason is Liv’s dad.”

Small town gossip--a juicy being but Valeria knows more than just something to gape at, these were real people. There were real stakes with this information. “Does Liv know? Like who her dad is? I assume it might be hard to hide in a town this small.”

“Oh she knows. He helps out a little financially from what Chrissy tells me but she got cut off from her parents after getting pregnant and refusing to marry Jason. She hasn’t had much money to spare to get out of Hawkins. Jason left for college. Almost went pro and then got injured before he could. So he came back. Apparently he was married to somebody from college. Didn’t last once his chance at pro ball went south.”

“Karma huh?” Valeria takes the turn into the trailer park with practiced ease now.

“I feel bad for him now. He was a prick for sure but I think Jason got so caught up in status that it swallowed him. Like without status, Jason thinks he’s nothing but he’s not. I don’t know. Getting older’s made me realize how fragile life really is. I don’t know if he’ll ever get himself out of the hole.”

Valeria parks right outside the trailer. Both of them are still as if the seatbelts have fully restrained them. “I guess you could say that the older you get the wiser you get. Maybe. For some.”

“Something like that.”

The sentence releases them. Eddie unbuckles himself and Valeria follows suit. At the very least this is normal to them. This is known. “The part for your car came today.” Eddie takes the keys from Valeria and she takes the food in the exchange. “About an hour before we closed up shop and I didn’t want anyone rushing that. So it’s on the agenda first thing tomorrow.”

Valeria knows the news should bring her delight. And it does. She’s so fucking relieved to know that she won’t be stranded for too much longer. But her first thought is that leaving means she’ll actually be gone. She won’t be waking up to Eddie’s breakfast. She won’t feel so awkward which is a relief but she is saddened to have a close on her time with him so soon. “No one to force you to eat vegetables at least once a day.”

“I have Steve for that,” Eddie laughs. “And Red, and Sinclair, and Henderson. Buckley gives less of a shit but if Steve starts it, she’ll join in.”

“Now you can see it.”

“I made a promise,” Eddie huffs. “Because a certain someone insisted.”

Valeria grins. “Damn right I did.”

“Go nuts,” Eddie states gesturing to the food on the table, “I’m going to clean the grime off me first.” Valeria doesn’t really need the heads up. She’d learned his pattern already. Eddie would always shower before dinner. Valeria always showered after. Perhaps, it wasn’t Eddie’s normal routine. Or maybe it was. Either way, she was already comfortable in knowing he’d excuse himself. Valeria nods, toeing out of her shoes and heading into the guest room to shed the layers of the day.

Her phone chimes as she’s in the middle of pulling her sweatshirt up over her head. It chimes again. When Valeria’s free from the cotton, she opens the two texts: Hope you’re safe.

Let me know if you need anything.

Both messages are from Chelsea. Valeria hadn’t called her or Tatianna. Valeria had connected with Tammie briefly for the daily check in. It felt nice to have someone who made it a part of their day to check in with her given the circumstances. The calls were growing shorter. It seemed the more Valeria regaled about her time here, the less Tammie worried. It didn’t make it all go away, but some portion of it lessened. It may have helped that Valeria always had time to answer.

Thanks for checking in. I’m OK. It’s all Valeria feels she can say. Perhaps, in person it might be easier to see how much Chelsea means it. A text is something, but something in her gut makes it feel like it’s Tammie’s doing. Like maybe the only reason she picked up the phone is just to satisfy someone else, but not Valeria and not for herself either.

Her phone shakes again. Okay to call?

Yes. It’s automatic. Or that’s what Valeria tells herself. They’d been friends since college. They’d been through heartbreaks together. It’s automatic to say yes.

“Hey, Val.”

“Hey, Chels.”

Then silence--an awkward pause where Valeria’s not sure if she should ask Chelsea what had sparked the call. This is the space where words should be, and yet they are not.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call before.”

There’s nothing else. No excuse, which would’ve been easy. Chelsea had a job, one kid, her fiance. Any of those could’ve been excuses and yet, Chelsea does not offer a single one of them as some sort of scapegoat.

“I could’ve texted more,” Valeria offers. She could’ve. It’s the truth.

“I don’t blame you. I’ve been not great at communicating.”

“Is everything okay?” Valeria questions. It’s soft. Like she’s not sure if Chelsea is offering this because she needs something or if she’s really sorry.

“Between us, probably not. In other regards of my life, yeah.”

Valeria exhales, “Oh.” It’s a lame response. But it’s all she can say around the shock. Chelsea isn’t not the type to own up to her mistakes. But she was never really blunt. Valeria was.

“I think-I think I should start over. Val, I called today because I wanted to apologize. Tammie told us you were stranded in Hawkins the same day it happened. I think after you called her from the shop. And I worried, I did. I swear I did. But I didn’t take two minutes to send you a quick message or to call. I assumed, hoped, prayed maybe you’d be back on the road that same day. And you weren’t. But then Tammie said you were okay and you’ve always been smart and kept your wits about you. I figured if anyone of us were stranded in a small town and were to survive it, it would be you. But just hearing Tammie should’ve have sufficed like it did. We don’t have to talk every single day. We’ve got a lot of things going on in our lives. But two minutes. I couldn’t take two minutes when you needed it the most. I’m disgusted with myself. And I’m not calling you right now to throw a pity party and get you to forgive me. I just wanted you to know. I do care about you. I do love you. I’m sorry I fumbled it this time.”

The tears have choked Valeria. She settles onto the edge of the bed, swiping the back of her hand under her nose. With a blink more tears slip down her cheek. “I appreciate it, Chels. I do.”

“Thanks for hearing me out. I anticipated you ending the call about halfway through it.”

Valeria laughs and shakes her head though Chelsea can’t see it. “No, no I wouldn’t do that. I’d think about it though.”

“Do you have an ETA on car parts?”

“They-the parts just came in today. Should be fixed tomorrow.”

“You-you don’t have to answer this, but what’s the damage to your pockets?”

“I-I can handle it. Thanks, Chels.”

Chelsea hums, it vibrates through the receiver. “Yeah, no worries. You’re safe though, right?”

Valeria gives a nod, still clearing her cheeks of tears. “Yeah, I’m safe.”

“Good. Let me know when you’re up on the road, if-if it’s not too much.”

“I can do that.” Two minutes--that’s all it would take. It seems like an easy enough promise to keep. Their goodbyes come quietly. There’s no ‘love you’ punctuated like Valeria and Tamara do. But it’s still love. The clack of the phone echoes. Valeria still sat on the edge of the bed. She’s still in Eddie’s trailer. She’s still in Hawkins.

A knock comes from the door and Valeria inhales before turning to the sound. “I swear if it’s not me crying, it’s you,” Eddie teases.

“I’m okay,” Valeria states. The bed dips and she knows it’s Eddie settling down next to her.

“You can be okay and cry. You can cry and not be okay,” Eddie returns.

“You’re pizza’s going to get cold.”

“Are you really worried about the pizza or do you just need a moment?”

His fingers are warm. Valeria curls her digits around his. “Just need a minute.”

“Take all the minutes you need.” Eddie presses a kiss to the back of her hand before he leaves. It’s just Valeria again. There’s still anger. Of course it takes Valeria being stranded to open the light for Chelsea. Valeria’s not sure if she’s glad to finally have cracked the surface with Chelsea. Maybe time would tell.

Valeria pushes off the bed and shuffles back into the front of the house. Eddie’s at the dining room table, box of pizza still closed, bag of mozzarella sticks still tied shut. There’s two paper plates set out. “I see you waited.”

“I see you only needed a minute.” Valeria sees in his gaze the question: What happened? “Chelsea called me.”

Eddie’s untying the bag and Valeria’s popping the top to the pizza box. “Who’s that?”

“Friend of mine. She and I--we’ve been sort of on a thin rope. But she-she heard from Tammie about me being here and checked on me.”

“That rope a little thicker now?”

“Maybe,” Valeria returns, dropping two slices onto her plate. “Maybe. Only time will tell.”

Tagging: @munsonology @2clones-1kamino @avidreader73

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raplinesmoon · 3 years

Text

The Test Kitchen (KSJ x Reader!)

❅ Holiday in Handcuffs ❅ hosted by @bangtanbathhouse

⤖ Spaces: [8I,3I,3J, 10G, 10H]

Pairing: Husband!Kim Seokjin x YouTuber!Reader

Genres: floof

AUs: established relationship, holidays AU

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: oc breaks glass, some kissing, otherwise super cute fluff

Ratings: G

Summary: Tiktok made you do it… again. Luckily Jin is there to help you have some fun in the kitchen.

A/N: It's basically December, so I can post this... right? I had this cute idea for husband Jin lovingly helping his YouTuber spouse with their cooking channel, and it was so cute I think I nearly died writing it. This is based on my favorite Youtube channel, Rachhloveslife, who does tons of vids testing out hacks with her absolutely adorable husband! Srsly, they’re goals and you all should watch them for a smile. Thank you to the wonderful Moon (@lavienjin) for looking this over for me <3 I hope you enjoy! 🥺 Lots of love, Isi 💜 Banner made by me.

Taglist: @jinpanman @sunshinerainbowsbts @joheunsaram @kithtaehyung @jjksblackgf @minyfic

“Helloooo my lovely people, it’s December and you all know what that means! It’s basically the most wonderful time of the year!” you accentuate your intro with jazz hands as you slide on the red Santa hat you’d dug out of the basement especially for this video.

“And everyone, look-, look, I decorated!! Just to get in the holiday spirit!” you excitedly gesture to the string lights and tinsel you’d hung up for the video, paling when you realize half your string had gone out and was now dangling limply from the cabinets.

“Or, at least I tried. You know, because holiday cheer is all about spirit anyway! A for effort.”

Nice save.

“Now, today, I’m very excited because we’re going to be diving into the vast world that is holiday Tik Tok. A world that, until recently, I didn’t know existed, until my husband showed me all these cute little DIYs and recipes and decorating hacks. You guys, I AM OBSESSED. So I thought it’d be fun to try out a bunch of different recipes for you guys, and of course, we’ll have Jin come in and try them too!”

Speaking of Jin, you had a long day of filming ahead, and he was supposed to be arriving any second with your daily cup of Dalgona coffee. As a native, he’d initially been all grumpy and grumbly when the trend had hit the interwebs, mumbling under his breath that it wasn’t even “authentic” to traditional Korean dalgona.

A few trials later, and the two of you had become hooked on the sweet, foamy beverage. You made Jin eat his words as he got up every morning to prepare the two of you a cup before heading off to his office to work from home in a crisp white dress shirt and fleece pyjama bottoms.

Hearing him pad into the kitchen with two cups, you smile as he slides you your cup out of the camera’s eagle-eyed view.

“Madam, your coffee,” he smirks with a whisper.

“Okay, now that I have been deemed caffeinated, it’s time to spread some Christmas cheer! And I feel like now, more than any other holiday season, we really need a bit of cheer. So come on and cosy up, grab some fuzzy socks or a blanket, maybe grab a mug of tea, or maybe even hot chocolate, ooooh that sounds so good right now. Also this hat, this hat is getting very hot, and I’m wearing fleece pyjamas and the heat is on and let’s just not talk about the poor planning here and jump right into it!”

Jin shoots you a warm smile before taking a seat at your kitchen table behind the camera. As a raging introvert, sometimes having a bubbly YouTuber for a wife was a lot to handle. But his favorite days of the week were the times he got to sit down and help you test and film and edit. His heart always fluttered at seeing you so passionate and invested in doing what you loved, and bringing joy to your hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

“So for recipe #1, we’re gonna be making these shortbread cookies, but they’re not just shortbread cookies. Look everyone, they’re also little lids!! Like these cute little lids that you could just put on a mug of hot chocolate to keep it warm! How genius is that?”

Jin had a couple of questions about the shortbread cookies. He was doubtful that 1) they’d be as cute and adorable as Tik Tok made them seem (the app had a bad habit of overselling anything and everything), and 2) whether they’d actually keep anything warm without turning into a soggy mess. For now though, he’d just sit back and enjoy the way your eyes widened and lit up over the recipe in question.

“Now, to begin, we’re gonna roll out some dough,” you grunt, as your ball of shortbread dough smacks onto the counter with a satisfying thunk!

“Does this rolling pin in my hand make me look menacing?” you ask the camera, but really you were asking Jin.

Jin shakes his head vehemently. You were too cute, you couldn’t even be scary if you tried.

Your shoulders drop and you pout slightly at his response, but decide to keep chugging along.

“So the funny thing about shortbread actually, is that baking it during the holidays is kind of a tradition in my family. My dad had this really good shortbread recipe that he used to make when I was a kid with lemon zest, rosemary, and orange zest. I remember I got so upset one year because when Jin and I had just started dating, his parents taught us both how to make songpyeon for Chuseok, and the same year, my dad taught Jin the holiday shortbread recipe but not me! I threw such a fit, and my dad was like, “you’ll just have to keep Jin around so he can teach you one day.”

Jin remembers your first holidays together like it was yesterday. Although it had been a whirlwind, flying to Korea for Chuseok and staying there for a few weeks, and then flying back to spend the holidays with your family, he wouldn’t have traded your sleepy, puffy cheeks and jet-lagged cuteness for anything. That was the first time he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you.

“And now, I couldn’t find a cookie cutter that fit my mugs perfectly, so I’m just gonna use this glass bowl to stamp out the shapes,” you hold it both hands, palms flared outwards, showcasing the glass bowl as though it were the most precious artifact.

Jin’s eyes widen as your hands slip, and the bowl wobbles, tumbling into the air. Poised and ready, he darts into the frame, pushing you out of the way of the falling glass as it falls to the ground and shatters into hundreds of tiny crystalline pieces.

He looks up to see your despondent face as you take in the disastrous sight, reaching over his broad frame to cut the camera.

“We can always edit that out,” he says gently, noticing how tears glisten and cling to your lashes.

“I’m always so clumsy,” you sob, wrapping your arms around him and burying your head into his chest. “I can’t even hold a bowl straight, I ruin everything!”

Jin learned the hard way that filming recipes for YouTube meant more than your fair share of kitchen disasters, often resulting in the air smelling like burnt dough, or the stand mixer going haywire, causing batter to hit the walls. No matter how many times you edited it out with the “oh no no no” sound from Tik Tok, he knew you took each little failure to heart, lamenting at how you couldn’t be like those aesthetic influencers you saw scrolling on your phone every day.

“People love you because you’re real, baby, not because you’re perfect,” he presses a kiss to your hair. “Accidents happen. What matters is that no one got hurt.”

He smooths your hair and gives you another kiss, running to your supplies closet to grab a broom. Sweeping up the evidence of your transgression, he gives you a wide smile and reaches to take your hand in his, wiping the smudged mascara from under your eyes.

“Now, let’s roll the camera. We have some cookies to bake, don’t we?”

“Okay guys, we are back! And recovered from our little mishap,” you chuckle. “Just to recap, while we were away, Jin helped me finish up the cookies and put them in the oven! And now, we are gonna get started on the next recipe, which are these adorable peppermint spoons to go with our cookie lids!”

“So this recipe is from Tiktok," you recall, “but my mom actually does this at home using chocolate during Christmastime with our little nieces and nephews!! So, you know, maybe if this hack turns out to be a success, Jin and I can incorporate it with our little ones someday!”

Sputtering as he takes a sip of water right when the words come out of your mouth, the tips of Jin’s ears turn red. Yet another holiday season where the whole family would ask about when you were planning on having kids. It wasn’t that he didn’t want kids, of course. Jin’s heart swelled at the thought of you, him, and a little baby, making pancakes on a Sunday morning, the small squeals and giggles along with the clapping of tiny hands. But there was no pressure in his mind. You were both still young, and enjoying each other’s company. Children could come later.

“So I got these crushed up spoon moulds from Amazon,” you continue on, “but that’s not the cool thing. Look what I found!”

You hold up the bag of crushed up candy canes. You’d jumped up in delight when the two of you had gone shopping together for this video, not even excited about the hack, but more excited to tell the world about the amazing new revelation that was crushed up peppermint.

Now, all you had to do was sprinkle them into the mould and pop them into the oven, and then your viewers would love these cute spoons that took no effort at all.

“I was just thinking,” you ponder, “these are so easy, you could totally make them, and package them up with a cute little mug, and maybe some hot cocoa mix and give it to friends. We should totally do that! Right, Jin?”

Looking beyond the camera, you see Jin nod and give you a thumbs up. You’re unsure whether he’s agreeing with your suggestion or merely telling you that you’re doing great, but you don’t mind his encouragement either way.

“Jin is too shy to talk right now, but he agrees with everyone. So don’t steal this gift idea from me!” you joke.

Finishing up the candy spoons, you pop them into the oven and cut the camera once more, happy that this hack seems to be working out so far.

“Nice recovery,” Jin says from behind you. “I told you everything would be okay, didn’t I?”

“I know,” you sigh, “but I always make you say it every time. I somehow can’t believe my own brain, but totally melt from the encouragement from my awkward, dorky husband.

“Omg, melt?!” you nudge his arm. “Do you get it?”

“Babyyy,” he tugs on your arm, grinning as he pulls you away from the counter. “You’ve been working so hard since you got up. Let’s take a break and eat. I made some kimbap yesterday, and we can play some Mario to unwind before we start filming again.”

Jin has barely finished persuading you to come along when you lean over and press a kiss to his pink lips, his face flushing at your bold actions.

“Lead the way, handsome.”

“AAAND NOWWW, for the grand finale! It’s a Christmas miracle!” you yell, gesturing to the side as if you’re presenting a magic act. “Everyone, after months of persuading, I have finally convinced, the one, the only, my darling husband, Kim Seokjin to join us for our taste test!”

“Everybody give him a big round of applause,” you jump up and down, making crowd noises with your mouth as Jin awkwardly stumbles into the frame, greeting the camera with a small wave.

You usher Jin over, proudly presenting your hot chocolate themed creations to him. He takes in the scene, his chest swelling in pride as he takes in your cute cookie lids, peppermint spoons, and the ever famous Tik Tok hot chocolate bombs that he’d helped you frantically finish after the two of you spent too much time lazing around, playing Mario Kart.

With a glint in his eyes, he nods his head, his eyes glancing over at the pile of dishes that rest in the sink. You let out a tiny gasp, catching onto his mischief, and slowly press a finger to your lips and let out a small “shhh!”. Not even one minute into his camera debut, and his chaotic side was already making an appearance.

“I had a crazy thought,” Jin blurts out. “What if we put the hot milk on these chocolate bombs, and it just turns into a big gloopy mess? That seems pretty likely.”

“Jiiinnnn,” you whine. “Everybody, tell my husband to stop being a pessimist just because he’s the better cook.”

You grab the measuring cup full of hot milk, and drop a hot chocolate bomb into two mugs, one for you, and one for Jin. Pouring the milk into each cup, you feel your breath hitch, Jin’s heavy breathing behind you, as both of you wait for the long awaited surprise.

“I-, wait, oh, I see it-, oh,” your voice drops, taking in the melted chocolate that looks more like sludge at the bottom of the cup.

“I guess it kinda worked,” Jin scrutinizes. “But let’s be real, drinking this would clog our arteries. So it looks like all our efforts were in vein!! Get it?”

He guffaws, nudging your shoulder as giggles escape you too, the both of you doubled over in laughter from his dad jokes.

Still, determined to save this, you reach over and grab one of the peppermint spoons, stirring the hot liquid with it. You let out a tiny “oops” as half of the spoon completely melts away, dropping into the sweet liquid, and turning it an even more unappetizing color.

“Well folks,” you say, looking up at the camera with a smirk, “we struck out on 2 out of 3 of these recipes. Now, for the grand finale, will these cookie lids work?”

They look cute enough, you think, as you grab one of them from the baking tray, plopping it on top of the cup.

“Aaaand salvaged!” Jin announces, hand meeting yours in a high five. “They had us in the first half, not gonna lie, but my amazing wife manages to make everything work.”

“And there you have it folks,” you declare, wrapping up the video. “Tik Tok baking hacks that kind of, semi-worked? That was more anticlimactic than I thought it’d be, but we had so much fun! See you all in the next video!”

You reach over to turn to press the button to stop recording, but not before Jin’s “Aish, kids these days” sneaks into the A-roll.

“Ugh," you groan, rubbing your temples. “I was so excited for some of those, I thought they’d work! There’s like hundreds of videos on Tik Tok about them!”

“It’s not you baby,” Jin wraps his arm around your waist. “They’re just bad recipes that somehow happened to go viral. Maybe next time we should bake some of the recipes from your family cookbook? And I can ask my mom for some of hers. I’m sure the viewers would love that.”

“You know,” you sigh, a sleepy yawn interrupting your train of thought. “That’s not a bad idea. My dear Jinnie, you always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he says softly, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Now, I think someone is a little tired, don’t you think? Let’s go to bed.” He supports his weight, the two of you lumbering up the stairs sleepily to your cosy bedroom, changing into your matching flannel pyjamas.

As he listens to your quiet snores, Jin looks out the window, silently watching the snow fall outside, painting a magical scene in your front yard amongst the twinkling lights. Soon enough, there’d be another day waiting for the two of you in the test kitchen. In his heart, he knew this holiday season would be your best yet.

A/N pt 2: Thanks so much for reading! As always, any comments or feedback are much appreciated, but I appreciate you all anyway <3

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floralseokjin · 4 years

Text

�� made-up love song iii.

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher, never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago, and you’re unable to remember the last time you dated. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire.

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, eventual smut, eventual angst, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, lots of lasagne talk, flirting, kissing, fluff 🥰 words; 9,340

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

After you had time to calm down, of course you ended up telling Soojung about what happened on the date. You kept some things to yourself, mainly about how giddy you had felt throughout the whole thing, but you were sure she could see that for herself – she kept looking at you knowingly, and for once she kept the teasing down to a minimum. You ended up staying awake quite late, Soojung opening a bottle of wine. You were still excited from the date and the thought of what was to come next, but somewhere along the line, you and your best friend started getting into your feelings. (Was it really a Saturday night until you and Soojung ended it with slightly drunk sappy heart to hearts and hugs? Obviously not…)

For the first time in a while you felt comfortable enough to open up about your love life (or lack of one) and felt it easy to talk about the past and to even bring up Donghae. He was a forbidden topic for the most part, no matter how much you were over him, but tonight had changed something. You didn’t know how to explain it, and no, it wasn’t because Seokjin was somehow the man of your dreams who had magically made things better with just one date. That was dumb and only happened in cliché Hallmark movies.

No, it was because tonight had shown you that life goes on. No matter what rock bottom you hit, or how long it took you to get over it, no hurt was forever. You’d been single for a long time, and happy at that – after you’d gotten over the heartbreak of Donghae cheating on you – but tonight you’d had fun. You’d enjoyed yourself, enjoyed Seokjin’s company. You didn’t know what would come of your second date, or if there would be a third, but you were okay with that. You were just living in the moment, and right now you really liked that infuriating-not-so-infuriating bastard.

You were taking a chance, just like he was, and it was actually pretty exciting…

You woke up late the next morning, something you didn’t reprimand yourself for because it was summer break after all, but also, you had a raging wine headache that had needed all the shut eye it could get. Your head was still throbbing slightly as you reached for your phone on the bedside table but seeing a text from Seokjin waiting for you made it miraculously disappear.

Seokjin (10:28am) Hi Y/N, Thank you for such a great time last night. I can’t wait until Saturday. Would it be alright with you if I kept in touch throughout the week? Seokjin

You giggled to yourself at his insane formalities. Why was that so adorable? But most importantly how could he be both cute and sexy at the same time? He was hellbent on making you lose your mind. You thought about teasing him, asking him when he’d grown comfortable enough to drop the Regards from yesterday, but despite how well last night had gone, and despite how much you loved joking around with him in person, over the phone seemed different. You were still a little nervous – giddy nervous, but nervous, nevertheless. Your conversation from last night with Soojung came back to you, reminding you that this was all too real. You were potentially catching feelings for this man, and it was new, and exciting, but equal parts terrifying now that you’d woken up with a hangover.

Everything you typed out in reply seemed way too stiff, so growing frustrated, you settled on an emoji to cut through the formalities.

You (10:49am) I had such a lovely time too, Seokjin. Of course it’s fine to keep in touch. I’m looking forward to Saturday night! 😊

What did he mean exactly about keeping in touch?, you wondered as you got out of bed, padding your way down the stairs and into the kitchen for a much needed glass of ice cold water. A good morning text? A how are you? You knew he was busy with work all week, so you weren’t expecting too much, but just knowing he wanted to stay in contact until next Saturday made you smile to yourself as you waited for his response.

You didn’t have to wait long.

Seokjin (10:55am) Great! I’m so excited to try your World famous Italian lasagne 😁

Cute. He’d followed your lead, ditching the last of the formalities and even signing off with an emoji instead. You instantly felt more at ease, but –

Oh no.

Why did he have to bring that up and remind you of your humiliating blunder? You knew what would be taking up all of your time for the few days – you needed to perfect this goddamn dish.

Soojung on the other hand was unbothered by your predicament. Mind in the gutter as always. “Do you think that’s a euphemism for something else?” She asked straight away once you’d shown her your messages a few hours later.

“Soojung!” You exclaimed, feeling yourself get a little hot in the face. You wish she’d stop bringing up sex, it was stressing you out. You told her as much.

“You’re the one who’s invited him to your house for a second date.”

You stared at her, greatly unimpressed. “You know why I invited him here.”

You’d told her last night. You’d been hit with a surge of confidence when you’d suggested it was your turn to decide on something. In truth though, you didn’t know the first thing about restaurants, you hardly ever ate out, and when you did it was either fast food or at the food court in the department store Soojung worked at. You knew he wouldn’t have minded any choice you’d made, but that didn’t stop the slight apprehension you felt.

It was normal, given your difference in lifestyles, and whilst that seemed to be no issue thankfully, that difference was still there. However really, that’s why you’d chosen to cook for him. Seokjin had shown you something close to him last night – the restaurant he owned with his brother, and now you were to show him something close to your heart. Something that was you. You loved cooking and baking in your spare time and you wanted to share that with him however small. Granted it was things you were confident with, but lasagne couldn’t be that hard, right? A true perfectionist, you’d master it quickly enough…

Soojung rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you could suggest McDonald’s and Dilf would be insanely happy.” She nudged you, squealing like a kid. “He’s just so into you!”

You wouldn’t bite. She was making you nervous again. “Stop calling him Dilf, he has a name.”

“Geez, sorry.” She held up her hands in apology. “Didn’t mean to offend your man.”

You pushed her shoulder, silently telling her to quit it.

For the next few days it became your life’s goal to master the art of lasagne. Sunday night was spent googling recipes, trying to find the most authentic one. There seemed to be a lot of fuss on the right type of pasta. Flat edged would be fine, but the wavy edge was best. You made note of that. Next was the sauce. Two types. The tomato based one and then the white one – which you learned was called Bechamel. That seemed pretty easy to cook up, but the former seemed a little daunting. Every time you’d had pasta sauce in the past it had been premade, starting from scratch was giving you anxiety. Seokjin thought this was your expertise so you had to make it believable. What if you made it too salty? Too bland?

…Possibly you were thinking way too hard about this. Soojung thought the same.

“Just buy it in a jar, Y/N, for Christ’s sake. You’re taking this way too seriously. You don’t need to learn fluent Italian to make your little white lie believable. It’s a goddamn lasagne.”

She had a point.

“He’d be happy with a sandwich. He’s coming over for you, not the shitty lasagne.”

“Don’t call my non-existent lasagne shitty, you’re setting me up for failure.” You grumbled, looking at the ten tabs you had up on your laptop screen, all claiming to be the best most authentic recipe around.

On Monday you went shopping for ingredients. You knew a small world foods store that was just outside of town, you’d been there a couple of times when you’d been baking with the children for class. With help from signposted aisles, you found what you were looking for in no time at all, so that night, you and Soojung both tucked into your first (sort of) homemade lasagne. Only the Bechamel sauces was harder to master than you’d first thought.

“I think you added too much flour.” Soojung’s nose wrinkled as she spoke. “It’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but the white stuff… I don’t know, maybe it’s supposed to taste like that?”

Nope, she was definitely correct, too much flour, which was odd because you were pretty positive you’d followed the right measurements…

Tuesday you had a day off from the sight, and even the word lasagne. You met for coffee with your mom but kept the date with Seokjin a secret. Not that she pressed about your love life anymore, she’d long given up on that topic. It was nice to catch up and you made plans for a trip soon. It was hard to find time to visit her when you were in work so you were always thankful for the summer and Christmas breaks. You were her only child, so it made your time together even more precious. She’d only remarried ten years ago, and while Jonathon had kids from his first marriage, they lived abroad. They were older than you and had families of their own. You weren’t particularly close for no other reason than the distance. You’d only met them a few times but they were lovely people. Your father had remarried while you were still in high school, having two more children (a son and daughter) with his wife. You were very close to them despite the age gap and saw them as regularly as you could. Your extended family had long been the norm and you wouldn’t change it for the world.

Wednesday you were back on the lasagne. You purchased more pasta sauce and decided on the pre-made Bechamel sauce too, just to be safe. This time around everything went smoothly, Soojung had no complaints and neither did you, but you still invited Taehyung around on Thursday for a third go. He was way more enthusiastic than your best friend, singing your praises all night.

“Y/N, that was amazing!” He exclaimed, leaning back in his chair to pat his belly. “Dilf dick – Uh, I mean, Seokjin, is going to love it.”

“Guys, is that what you really call him when you’re alone together?” You whined.

“Blame Soo,” Taehyung shrugged. “She’s rubbed off on me. But, I’m right,” he smirked. “He’s going to want to give you his DD once he tastes this, if you know what I mean.”

Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, you looked on unimpressed. Maybe if you gave them no reaction they’d stop?

“Oooo. I wonder what his dick even looks like. I bet it’s as handsome as his face.” Soojung squealed, sat beside her boyfriend.

“SOOJUNG!” He cried, mouth open in disbelief.

“Can we just stop talking about his… y’know…” You sighed, unable to say the word aloud. “Imagine if it was the other way around and he was wondering about what I looked like naked.” Soojung wouldn’t be impressed, that was for sure.

“Fine, you’re right,” your best friend sighed. “I’m just way too excited because you finally like someone!!” She was getting loud now, she always did when she was excited. “And I want it to work out because you deserve it!”

You chuckled. “Soo, calm down.” But you had to admit her words were sweet. You reached for her hand across the tiny table, giving it a gentle squeeze of thanks.

“What about Barman dick?” Taehyung asked randomly, totally oblivious that you and she were having a moment. “Huh? Soo? You want my Barman dick tonight?” He wiggled his eyebrows again, a playfulness to his voice as he nudged her.

She giggled but wasn’t having any of it. “It doesn’t really have the same ring to it, babe.”

Highly offended he pulled away, pursing his lips. “Whatever.”

“Okay guys, let’s not have a domestic at the dining table.” You laughed. Which was a mistake because now Taehyung’s attention was back on you.

“So, Y/N, when are you going to invite Mr. Dilf to my bar?”

You sniggered. “How about never?”

“Hey, you ladies are being very mean tonight. I complimented your lasagne.” Hm. That was true, you guessed. “What’s wrong with my bar? I think he’d love it. What does he drink? I see him as a dark rum type of guy.”

You shrugged. “He was drinking red wine on our date last week.” It still made you feel funny to say the word date. You’d gone on a date. You were dating. A flurry of excitement found its way to your stomach, your excitement for Saturday growing.

“Interesting,” Taehyung mused.

Soojung stood up, starting to collect your plates. “Okay, I’m washing, who’s drying?”

“Not me,” you sang. “I’ve cooked nearly every night this week.”

Soojung eyes were wide when you met them, as if she was silently begging you. For what? “Just please promise me there won’t be any lasagne waiting for me after work tomorrow night? I’m going to turn into one at this rate.”

Saturday arrived soon enough. You woke up the same time your phone went Bing and you knew exactly who it was. Seokjin had been texting you Good morning every day since Monday. He was no longer signing them off with his name, which was progress, and he was even adding more emojis, so you guessed you had rubbed off on him.

Sometimes he’d drop a meme with the greeting. They were mostly to do with early mornings and workloads to which you’d tease him about because it was your summer vacation after all, you didn’t need to worry about work. But you always sent a Hope today runs smoothly his way too. You didn’t want to rub it in too much.

Yesterday’s meme had been about dating, something about the guy trying to flirt but being garbage at it and asking if she liked cheese. You didn’t agree that was like Seokjin though – you were gradually learning that he was incredibly modest – but it had made you laugh. Only Seokjin could send you lame memes and you’d find it adorable… You were possibly whipped.

Seokjin (8:01am) Good morning. [Image sent]

Today the meme was about lasagne, which made you question whether he was googling these every morning because no way had a lasagne meme popped up on his social media – if he used any at all. The realisation that he was searching for memes every day was even more endearing and your heart got a little gooey. You read the text on top of the image of lasagne. Dude, is that your new white shirt? Lemme just hop off this fork for a closer look. You genuinely laughed at that one, still wrapped up in your bed sheets. So incredibly lame, but equal levels funny.

Seokjin (8:01am) I will not be wearing white… I can’t wait to see you later. Just a reminder that I hope you omitted the garlic for tonight’s meal. I don’t want to embarrass myself by itching all night 😅😂

Immediately the smile dropped from your face and you shot forward, horror washing over you. Oh no. He was allergic to garlic. With the stress of perfecting the world’s best lasagne you’d totally forgotten. What were you going to do? Find a plain tomato sauce? Where the hell were you going to find one? Was that even a thing? You needed to leave now. Jumping out of bed you almost forgot to message Seokjin back. Looking at your phone again the image of the lasagne mocked you…

Two hours later you were back at home, in need of a sit down after you’d rushed around town looking for a pasta sauce that didn’t contain garlic (very hard, by the way.) The stress had aged you about ten years. Soojung of course found it highly hilarious.

“You’d have been in ER before 9pm,” she chortled, still in her pyjamas on the couch. She’d been still asleep when you’d dashed off, a woman on a lasagne mission.

You ignored her. It wouldn’t have been that bad, right? He said himself he’d only be itching… Clawing off his own skin was probably better than his throat closing up… maybe…

“How did you manage to forget?” She was still laughing. “AND you said you’d make a lasagne. Italian food always uses garlic. He must think you’re trying to kill him.” At this point you could hardly understand her, words blurring into one as she lost her shit.

“We went over this. I wasn’t in my right mind when I said I’d cook lasagne.”

She stopped her laugher immediately. “No way, you’re not blaming me again.”

“Ugh.” You sighed, suddenly remembering something. “I was going to make my homemade garlic bread.” Now that was a speciality of yours. This night was going to be a disaster.

“Skip the garlic,” Soojung suggested.

“So, just bread then.”

She tried her best not to laugh again, not wanting to make it worse. “Yum.”

It didn’t help.

What did help though, was making her clean the entirety of the downstairs of the house. As the day went on you started to get more and more nervous, which was silly, but you couldn’t help it. You realised that your place was a shoe box in comparison to his, what the hell were you thinking when you’d invited him here?! It needed to be spotless, to distract him from the fact you would be eating dinner in the same place you would be cooking it…

You knew there was no need to worry, it was just like last week when you’d grown self-conscious only to be fine once you’d set eyes on Seokjin. No doubt tonight would be just the same, he didn’t give a crap about stuff like that, so why would you even think he would? He’d probably be hurt if he knew… You just couldn’t help those little bubbles of insecurities from floating around inside your brain. You were a law unto yourself, and the garlic-less lasagne wasn’t helping. You’d had no time to prep for it. What if it tasted like cardboard?

“Lasagne is lasagne,” Soojung reassured you, in the kitchen as you got all the ingredients together. “It’s not going to taste gross just because there’s no garlic in it. Put it this way, at least you can kiss without needing to pop a mint.”

You whined, shaking your head, you couldn’t even dare thinking about kissing him right now. You’d spontaneously combust from anxiety.

“Should we clean your room too?” She asked, picking up the jar of pasta sauce absentmindedly. You’d already read the label approximately fifteen times, double checking it was indeed garlic-less.

“What? No,” you told her, voice all high-pitched. There would be no going upstairs besides from bathroom usage. “But hey,” you exclaimed, rounding on her with the spoon you were holding in your hand. “My room is always clean, bitch.”

She was the messy one.

Soojung left for Taehyung’s place at half 6, ready for Seokjin’s arrival at 7pm, a hug for good luck before you waved her off. You’d calmed greatly now, nothing like some table laying to ease some nerves. The lasagne was prepped and ready to oven cook, you had a fresh key lime pie in the fridge and you were dressed and presentable with ten minutes to spare. Wonderful.

The doorbell rung not long after you’d made your way downstairs and you were quickly finding out that Seokjin was a very punctual man. Opening the door to reveal him stood at the porch your heart instantly warmed, skipping a beat when he gave you a dazzling smile and a soft Hey. You felt a little weak at the knees. Nope, you were not ready for tonight.

In your tiny entryway he offered you a silver gift bag. “I didn’t know what to bring, so.” He said with a shrug as you pulled out a bottle of red wine.

“Oh, thank you, Seokjin.” You hadn’t been expecting him to bring anything at all. It was a lovely surprise.

“You probably have some waiting already. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” you reassured him. “We’ll use this one.” You were going to use a bottle of white wine you had laying around, nothing special at all. Red wine seemed better, fancier, maybe it would go better with the lasagne?

“Are you sure?” He asked. “I was gonna get you flowers but I didn’t want to freak you out or anything.”

You laughed. What was he going on about? “Why would that freak me out?”

His smile was crooked as he chuckled quietly. “I don’t know. I’m new to this, I thought they would’ve been too forward.”

You gave a small shrug, voice barely there when you replied. “I like flowers.”

He gazed at you, warm eyes softening as he stepped forward. “Next time.” He smiled. “Next time I’ll get you flowers.”

You swallowed fairly loudly, averting your gaze as you outstretched your arms. “Let me take you coat.” Was it hot in here? You felt a little stuffy.

He shrugged off the beige wool blend, revealing the tight fitting black shirt he had on underneath. It stretched over his shoulders, accentuating how broad they were, how hard his chest was and how much his waist curved inwards. The pants he was wearing didn’t help matters too. He looked effortlessly gorgeous, hair parted to the side, a piece curled above his left eye, softening the blow of his exposed forehead. You moved to hook his coat on the rack, realising you could’ve been gawping. Not that you could help it, the man was trying to kill you.

As you turned to face him again, he smiled. “You look really nice.” His voice was soft which just made it even more dangerous. “I think this may be the first time I’ve seen you in pants.”

“Really?” You wondered. You were partial to a dress in the summer, so he was probably right. You’d chosen a pair of black skinny jeans and a patterned chiffon blouse. Nothing too fancy, but he looked at you with awe-filled eyes. Unless you were imagining it. You cleared your throat. “You look good too.”

He stepped back, arms outstretched as he looked down at himself. “Thanks. No white.” He chuckled.

You forced yourself to laugh too, nerves creeping back just because of your stupid damn lasagne. “No white.”

Moving forward again he took your hand. It was warm and soft, just as you remembered from last week. Who cared about the lasagne when you were this close to him? When he was looking down at you with those brown, twinkly eyes? Not you anymore.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week, Y/N.”

Oh.

You invited him inside the living room first, pouring him a small (and his only because he the car) glass of wine as you chit chatted for a few minutes. Sat next to him was RJ, who you’d taken from your bedroom to join you both for the night. He wanted to say Hi, had been your opening line and Seokjin had found it hilarious, cracking up instantly. Although his “I missed you buddy, how have you been?” went rudely ignored. Maybe the alpaca was nervous…

Ever the gentleman, he complimented you on the house, noting the décor with a fond eye. That surprised you, maybe he had played a part with the interior of his home. Well, you’d only seen the cosy family room – but it suited him very well. You knew there had been no need to be nervous when it came to inviting him into your home. There wasn’t a judging bone in Seokjin’s body.

You talked about your weeks, yours had been fine, but of course you left out all the stress over the lasagne. Seokjin’s week on the other hand had been quite demanding, but that was nothing new he told you with an accepting shake of his hand. He was used to it by now, but he had to admit tonight’s date had made it easier this time around. He was full of the charm, not that you were complaining…

Misook was babysitting Arin tonight, he told you when you asked how she was. It was his weekend this week, he and Nana took it in turns – when she didn’t cancel, he added as an afterthought – but he seemed a lot more relaxed talking about his ex-wife this time around seeing as last weekend she hadn’t broken any promises. He was happy if his daughter was happy, and that made you smile. You remembered Arin’s sorrowful face that day her mom had cancelled on her, so you were glad they’d found time to spend time together. You also remembered how irritated Seokjin had sounded when he was opening up to you on the bench at the school fate… You wondered just how often Nana cancelled plans, and couldn’t imagine how frustrating that was for both Arin and Seokjin… You hoped this marked the start of things being easier for them now.

Soon after that, you served him your starter (“garlic – wait, no I mean, no-garlic bread.”), and you chatted some more over that and while the lasagne baked. It was surprising how little you’d touched the sides on your first date, so tonight you covered even more bases. Family mainly. You told him about your half and step siblings, your parents’ remarriages of course coming up too. He seemed interested in that, wondering about your views on it and if it had affected you as you grew up. As a divorcee you understood the relevance to him and because he was so easy to talk to you found yourself opening up freely.

His parents were still married and Seokjin was the youngest out of their two sons, so it was quite unheard of for the second born to take over a family company. In fact, it was the first of its kind for his, which made it even harder for him. His older brother had been the rightful heir to LG Electronics but his passion had always been in culinary arts. His parents had been kind enough to let him follow his dreams, and thankfully, for Seokjin, that meant he could follow in his father’s footsteps. He’d been eager to prove himself but it had been hard in the beginning. His status as the youngest son meant that a lot of people set him up for failure, but with his family’s love and belief he’d managed to succeed and confirm himself as the rightful CEO. You didn’t doubt it. It seemed he’d worked hard to get where he was now. That was admirable.

The influx of information was so interesting to you and it didn’t feel real. While you could imagine Seokjin taking charge, visualising him in that tailored houndstooth suit he’d worn when you’d first met him, it was strange to think the smiley and soft-spoken man sat in front of you was from a long line of power and wealth. He should be untouchable, yet here you were able to reach for his hand across the table. Able to feel his forefinger stroking delicate patterns into your palm as you opened up and got to know one another more and more…

“So, if your family’s a big deal, what about things like arranged marriages? Are they still a thing?” You asked, maybe confusing fiction for fact.

Seokjin laughed at your wording. “They used to be, not so much anymore. I met my ex-wife through a friend. They concentrate less on things like that these days.” He shrugged, adding as an afterthought, “As a divorced CEO I think I’m a great example of that.”

That was true, you thought to yourself, wondering how the breakdown of his marriage had also played a part in the stress of his early years as CEO.

“I know it all sounds pretty crazy, but I like to think my family is just like anyone else’s.” He continued, smiling bashfully when you met his gaze. “That I’m just like anyone else.”

You wondered how many people had immediately judged him because of his status… You’d been one of them, right? Even if you hadn’t known any of the details, you’d written him off as some obnoxious, rich guy who flaunted his wealth… You felt guilty thinking back. He was the complete opposite.

You nodded in agreement before grinning. “I’d have liked to see what college Seokjin was like.”

“A complete nerd, to tell you the truth.”

He answered so seriously, you didn’t know how to react, and then he was laughing loudly, cracking up at himself. You couldn’t help but join in. That’s when your stove alarm went off, shrill and incessant, signalling the arrival of the dreaded lasagne…

It turned out he loved it though.

“This is amazing,” Seokjin praised, mouth still half full as he chewed. You did have to admit it was good. It tasted just like the original, despite the lack of garlic. Seokjin quirked an eyebrow, smirking your way. “So, how lucky am I to be able to try this World famous Italian lasagne?”

“Very lucky.” You kept your answer short. Hoping he’d just drop it.

He didn’t.

“How lucky?” He tried to pry from you. “How many people have tried it?”

You gave him a small smile, hovering your fork over the plate. Technically he was the third, but you couldn’t tell him that, could you? “I can’t disclose that.”

He emitted a short laugh. “What about the recipe? Care to share?”

You brushed him off with a soft chuckle. “A chef never tells her secrets.”

“Not even me?” His bottom lip jutted out as he looked across at you.

Your heart did a little dance. He was being unfair. “Don’t pout like that, it’s making me feel guilty.”

Thankfully the lasagne topic fizzled out after a couple more minutes, your cold sweat having time to dissipate while you chatted and ate together comfortably. However a few minutes later you noticed Seokjin fidgeting slightly in his seat. You politely ignored it to begin with, unsure if you were just imagining it, but then he started itching the back of his neck. You put your fork down, a sick feeling washing over you. “Is anything wrong?” You asked, now watching him itch up his forearm. “Seokjin?”

He looked at you in mild confusion, eyebrows creasing together as he opened his mouth. “Are you sure there wasn’t any garlic in this?”

You swallowed away the panic racing up your throat. “I’m sure.” You’d read the back of that jar and then read it some more. “I’m positive.”

… Weren’t you? You watched him scoot his chair back, leaning down to start scratching the back of his calves. He made noises of discomfort as he did so.

“Oh, no…” You were up before you could stop yourself, racing around him to start hunting in the recycling for the glass jar.

“Wait, where are you going?”

You could hear Seokjin’s voice behind you, sounding alarmed, but you were too panicked to really take it in. You needed to be sure. This was just your second date, you couldn’t ruin things already. Turning him into one giant itchy red blob had not been your intention.

“I was only teasing you.” Still, his words didn’t sink in. That was until you felt a hand on your elbow, tugging gently for your attention.

You spun around, worried eyes wide – even wider when you found him so close. He was on his feet too, bent a little to level with you, pretty much within kissing distance. His voice was soft when he spoke, you found yourself distracted by his mouth. “Y/N, I was just messing around.”

You blinked, not truly understanding with all those annoying distractions zooming around your mind, but slowly you pieced his words together. Oh. Despite the relief you felt, now you just felt silly. Plus, he was still so close to you…

You took a step back, the small of your back pressing up against the counter. You needed a clear head. “Don’t freak me out like that.” You told him, but you still sighed in relief, hand against your chest. “I thought I’d poisoned you.”

He looked a little concerned, but you could tell by his eyes he found your reaction amusing. “I’m sorry,” he apologised. “I just wanted to make you laugh.”

“Make me laugh? You nearly gave me heart failure.” However, you gave him what he wanted, a laugh that sounded weak and shaky, but it was something – you did see the funny side.

He joined you, shoulders relaxing now that he knew you were okay. He looked behind you, eyes on the trashcan, a bemused smile on his face. “What were you looking for anyway?”

“The jar.” You answered, as if it wasn’t obvious. You turned, deciding to fish it out anyway. Holding it up to him, you were adamant. “See, no garlic. Check.”

He chuckled. “I already said I was joking.” He took one look at your desperate expression and gave in, taking the jar from your hand. “But if it makes you feel better…” You watched him as he read the label, silently soaking in his handsome features. He looked softer tonight, the curve of his jaw rounding as he smiled. It took you a moment to realise he was done. He handed the jar back to you, and you prayed to God he hadn’t caught you staring at him all gooey-eyed. “It’s fine.” He confirmed. “I’ll be itch free tonight.”

You smiled and plopped the glass back inside the can. “I looked around town for hour trying to find lasagne sauce sans garlic.”

He looked guilty. “I’m sorry for being awkward.” Then he paused, eyes narrowing, the hint of a smirk itching at the corners of his mouth. “But… Y/N, are you a fraud?” Huh? What did he mean? You didn’t need to wait long for an explanation. “I thought a certified chef would cook up a batch of her own tomato sauce.”

Oh. You’d gone and put your foot in it, hadn’t you? It was probably time to explain yourself… “I have a confession,” you began, sounding wary. Seokjin looked interested albeit it mildly confused. “I… may have told a little white lie.”

He shook his head, a puff of laughter leaving him. “You’ve lost me.”

You took a deep breath, knowing you were going to have to spell it out for him. “I’ve never made lasagne before. Ever. In my entire life.”

He looked confused as silence spread out between you. He sounded it too when he spoke again. “Then why did you say it was your speciality?”

You groaned, dropping your face into your hands for one dramatic moment. “I panicked.” Peeking at him, you babbled on. “I know it sounds stupid but Soojung was curtain twitching and it was stressing me out and then you were asking me what I cooked and lasagne just popped into my head!”

Seokjin blinked, his mouth twitched and then he was laughing – loudly.

“You find it funny?” You asked, relaxing a tad.

“Very.” He laughed harder but seeing the look of bafflement on your face he tried is best to still it.

“I’ve been practicing it like crazy,” you whined, happy you could finally tell him all about your lasagne struggles. “This is my fourth time eating it this week. Soojung nearly killed me.” You snorted at the memory. This started up Seokjin again. “And then I forgot you were allergic to garlic. Your text reminded me this morning and I had to rush out to the grocery store.”

He was weak at the knees at that, and you were laughing just because he was. It was contagious. “Stop,” you wailed, attempting to get a hold of yourself. This week had actually been quite traumatic. “I’m glad you find it funny, I’ve been in constant stress ever since you drove off last week.”

“I can’t help it.” He chuckled, although he did sound apologetic. “You’re just so adorable.” The air that settled around his effortless admission made your skin prickle. When he carried on, his tone was gentle. “You know I wouldn’t have minded if you changed the menu to something else, right?”

You pouted ever so slightly. “But you were looking forward to it.”

He gave a small shrug. “True, but… that was more so code for ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you again.’ The food was just a bonus. I’d be happy with a Big Mac.”

You felt your cheeks burn and you tried to shake yourself out of it. “So embarrassing,” you murmured. You didn’t know what for… The lasagne mess or the fact he could have this much of an effect of you? You were inclined to go with the latter.

“What about the no-garlic bread?” Seokjin asked, changing the subject a little. Maybe he’d sensed your embarrassment and didn’t want to make it worse. He was sweet. “Did you make that?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Well, I didn’t bake the bread. I just toasted it.” It was still a speciality of yours though. “It would’ve been much tastier with the garlic.”

He gave you an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. This body wants to turn me into a miserable old man.”

Pfft. Old? Miserable? He was anything but.

“Sit,” he prompted you, smiling as he motioned with his head to the table. “Finish your World famous Italian lasagne before it grows cold.”

As you moved he delicately cupped his hand around the curve your waist, giving it a soft squeeze before he got to his chair first. Your stomach flipped, head dizzy as you sat and tucked your chair in. Last Saturday popped into your head, the way you’d loosely held hands outside and how you were sure he’d been leaning in to kiss you – properly.

You knew one thing. You really wanted to kiss him tonight.

Trying to get a hold of yourself, you glanced at him, catching his eyes. He was already tucking in again, and he grinned bashfully, as if embarrassed. “This really is great. All that practice paid off.” A pause. “You should show me how you cooked it sometime.”

Your face lit up in surprise. “You cook?” In the back of your mind you were aware that he’d probably been hinting for a third date, but you were so shocked by the possibly of Seokjin cooking you couldn’t stop yourself from asking.

He chuckled quietly. “I mean, when I have time and can be bothered. I like cooking but it’s just easier to go to a restaurant or get it delivered.” He looked sheepish before adding, “Or Misook does it for me.”

There was no shame when it came to that. Seokjin probably worked all hours of the day, no one could expect him to tie on an apron when he got home and start pulling out pots and pans.

“Do you cook a lot?” He asked.

You nodded. “Soojung and I take it in turns.”

“So what is your speciality?” He smiled.

This time around you were in your right mind and able to answer properly. “Veggie tacos.”

He raised his eyebrows, impressed. Then he tried again. “Can you make them for me sometime?”

He was persistent, you’d give him that. You shrugged, trying your best to sound impassive but the little smirk gave it away. “Maybe if you say please…”

He laughed, leaning forward, a hand clasping yours as he tilted his head. The piece of curled hair falling into his left eye. “Please?”

Your heart did another little dance inside your chest.

After dessert you both made your way back to the living room, settling on your couch with two pomegranate mocktails Taehyung had prepared for you yesterday. All you had to do was add the pomegranate juice and lemonade to the ice cubes and crushed lime segments and mint before serving, easy-peasy. Seokjin was highly impressed, but of course you couldn’t take the credit. It was all down to your best friend’s very helpful barman boyfriend.

You were glad Seokjin wanted to stay as you didn’t want the night to be over yet. It had flown by so fast and you’d had so much fun. You already felt like you knew him better, even after only two dates. It was strange to you, how you could feel so relaxed in a stranger’s company, but then again, you guessed he wasn’t a stranger anymore… Plus, he was so easy to talk to, so interesting to get to know…. Everything between you two came easy.

Like opening up to him, being a bit more vulnerable…

“I’ve been slightly nervous all week,” you admitted, clutching your drink to you before chuckling softly. “– and not just about the lasagne faux pas…”

“There was no need to be nervous. I thought we left all that behind on the first date,” Seokjin reassured, smiling warmly your way.

You were sat together, turned to face one another. It was intimate and cosy. He had one leg lifted, the ankle resting on the knee of the other leg, and where his pants had ridden up, you could see an inch or so of his calf before it met the black cotton of his sock. For some reason, you found that very, very sexy. Maybe you had been single for far too long.

“We did,” you agreed, hesitating slightly. “It’s just… I haven’t done anything like this in so long.”

You didn’t even think you’d ever invited someone around for dinner before. You were still quite young when you found yourself in a relationship with Donghae so your dates before him had been very basic. Your dates with him hadn’t really classed as such just because you became official fairly quickly, and your dates after him, well, it was already known that they had been few and far between.

“You already know we’re in the same boat,” he smiled before chuckling bashfully. “No, but really, when I asked you for dinner that day at the fate I was expecting you to turn me down.”

“How come?”

He looked down at his drink, lifting a shoulder. “I thought you’d think that I was crossing a line… or maybe the spark I was feeling was all in my head and in reality you just found me really annoying.”

That was cute. He’d been doubting himself. Human after all. Not that you’d ever thought he wasn’t. You still didn’t miss the opportunity to joke around though. “I mean, both can exist simultaneously.” He taking a sip of his mocktail when you replied so he ended up snorting into his glass, amused by your wit.

A moment or so passed and Seokjin gazed at you, smiling softly. If he kept this up, you’d be a puddle on your parquet flooring. “So, tell me,” he hummed. “How did I luck out so good?” You raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant. “How come an amazing person like you isn’t married or in a relationship?”

He must’ve seen the slight shock on your face and panicked instantly. “Is that a weird thing to ask? I feel like it is. I apologise.”

“No,” you insisted, sitting up a little straighter. He followed. “No, it’s not.” You wanted to open up to him. You really did. You just didn’t know where to start. Although, it was pretty simple. “I’ve been single for a while.”

“How long?” Seokjin was instantly focused, attentive, noticing the change in your body language.

“Three years. My last relationship didn’t end very well.” You paused, wondering if you should continue. But then… It had been a massive part of your life. No matter how much time had passed and no matter how okay you were now, it had still happened. And Seokjin, he had trusted you enough to open up about his divorce – even before you’d gone on your first date. You wanted to talk about it. You really did.

“I found out my fiancé was cheating on me.”

Seokjin’s eyes widened, unable to cloak his surprise. He hadn’t been expecting that. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said sincerely.

“It’s fine,” you smiled. “It was rough getting over it. Took me a while, but it is what it is. It’s in the past now.”

“Did it put you off dating?”

You were pleasantly surprised to find it was actually easy to talk to Seokjin about this. Your mouth was opening before you had to think about it. “I mean, at first. I was still very much in love with him, even after he broke my heart. But I got over him and I started dating again – briefly – It just didn’t feel right.” You stopped to smile. “It’s been over a year and I can’t say I missed it… but you…” Nerves growing, you pushed them away. “You’ve changed that. I’m having fun.”

Seokjin’s face lit up and he chuckled. “I did hit second date status after all.”

“You did…”

“So,” he leaned closer, a small smirk on his face. “You could say, hitting your car that day wasn’t actually my fault because it was supposed to happen.”

You snorted as you laughed, head falling against the back of the couch. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

He made a sound. “But we wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

“We would!” You exclaimed. “The parent-teacher meeting.”

He blinked, feeling dumb. “Oh, yeah.”

It wouldn’t have had the same effect, granted, but you would have become acquainted with one another regardless. “Would you have still liked me?” You asked without thinking, surprising yourself.

“Yes,” he replied immediately. “I was instantly attracted to you after all, it’s just…” Instantly attracted? Definitely a charmer... “There would’ve been no way for me to get to know you like I did.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You’re really adamant that you had to reverse into my car to make this work, huh.”

He shrugged casually. “It was the only way.”

You laughed quietly, finishing the last of your drink. Time was getting on, it was pretty late, Seokjin had already finished his, you watched him sit up to lean forward and place the glass on your coffee table. His shirt tightened across his shoulder blades and you could see his back muscles as he stretched. Oh.

Settling back into the same position, he looked over at you and grinned. His teeth were perfect. Did this man have zero flaws? Why were you so whipped? It was embarrassing.

“I had fun tonight,” you told him, trying to keep a lid on whatever was going on with you right now.

He seemed pleased with that, nodding his head. “I’m happy to hear that you think I’m a fun person.”

You scoffed, body falling closer to his. Your shoulders brushed together. Seokjin didn’t take his eyes off you. “Hm. I don’t think I said that.”

“Hey, don’t be so mean.” He murmured, one side of his mouth quirking up.

Like you couldn’t stop yourself, your hand reached for the collar of shirt. He had the top two buttons loose and your pinkie finger brushed against his collarbone. Sparks flew, but you tried to ignore them. “I thought you liked it when I was mean.” You teased, voice low.

Seokjin hummed, his eyes still twinkled like they always did but there was something else to them, a depth that made you feel funny. He sunk closer to you. So close you could study the thick curve of his eyelashes, notice that both his eyelids were different. He really did have beautiful eyes. You could stare at them forever.

Preoccupied, you slowly realised that he was watching you too, studying your features in the golden glow of the floor lamp that hovered over the couch. His lips parted, you heard them rather than saw it, but then your attention was on them again. Just like it had been earlier on in the night. He was staring at yours too as he spoke. “I wanted to kiss you last week.”

You heartbeat quickened but you tried to keep cool. “You did kiss me.” You laughed.

He sighed. “On the cheek.”

You lightly tugged his collar, fingertips now brushing the skin of his chest. “Isn’t that what you said you wanted to do?”

You could feel his own heartbeat against your forearm that was pressed into him. It was definitely running a little faster than it was supposed to – stronger. “Yes, but…” He glanced up to your eyes. “I was just being polite. I wanted to kiss your lips.”

It felt like you were holding your breath. Maybe you were, you just couldn’t think straight. Time seemed to stretch out, but you knew what you wanted. So you went after it. Giving him a small smile, you replied. “Maybe I wanted that too.”

He swallowed, voice so low now it was barely a murmur. “Is that an invitation?” His eyes bounced to your lips again, then back to your eyes as he asked permission. “Can I kiss you?”

You ever so slightly dragged your bottom lip beneath your teeth as you nodded, breath catching in your throat as Seokjin leaned forward and closed the distance between you. The hand in between your bodies moved to delicately hold the wrist of your arm against his chest, holding you there as his other hand reached for your jaw, angling your face to press a kiss to your mouth. His eyes were already closed so you followed.

He hummed at the contact, his lips soft and warm and you let yourself sink. His actions were light at first, faint as he kept constant pressure, as if he was familiarising himself with the sensation. You couldn’t even let yourself think about how this was the first kiss you’d shared with someone for a very long time. All that was going through your mind was how good it felt to be touched like this by him.

He readjusted the hand on your face, tucking some hair behind your ear to cup your cheek. You liked that. You liked it when he touched you, and he eased from your mouth completely before coming back with a firmer pressure. It was your turn to make a sound; a tiny gasp as your lips began to move together ever so slowly. He liked that, a hum of satisfaction vibrating against the soft skin of your lips. You clutched at his shirt, gathering the crisp cotton in your fist, that would surely turn it creased, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was too preoccupied with reaching for the glass you’d forgotten was hugged to your body by your free hand.

He unclasped it from your fingers and had no choice but to break away from your mouth to put it next to his on the coffee table. You whined, attempting to tug him back to you, and he chuckled, taking a hold of one of your hands. “I’ll be back,” he whispered, leaning forward to place the cocktail glass down.

And he was.

This time he used both of his hands to grasp your face and dive back in. He was more confident this time, moving in such a way his lips pried yours open. You reached for his shoulders, grasping them to hold him closer and this time you both made noises – sweet, quiet ones that worked beautiful together as your lips moulded with gradual urgency.

When your hands found the nape of his neck, fingers through his hair, he had to drag the tip of his tongue across your bottom lip, seeking entry. You met it with yours, tasting hints of pomegranate and lime with each wash of tongue. A hand of his slipped down to your side, stroking up and down the curve as if he couldn’t help but to touch you. He settled at your hip after a moment, the other splayed against the side of your neck, his thumb rolling small circles under your cheekbone.

This was getting addictive. You could tell by the way you moaned softly against each warm, wet curl of his tongue. This was everything you’d imagined and more – because you had imagined it. Late and secretly at night when you were trying to drift off to sleep and thoughts of lasagne were banished… You were glad your first kiss was here, inside, on your couch, because this wasn’t something for the open, your knees wouldn’t have been able to hold you up.

You could have kissed him forever, you mean, you definitely didn’t want it to stop but you pretty much had to. Breathing was a necessity, right? If you couldn’t breathe you wouldn’t be able to ever kiss Seokjin again and that would be absolutely awful…

You did it the right way though – gradually. Seokjin slowed it right down, only hints of his tongue left as he hummed indulgently, like he was savouring your taste before he had to inevitably pull away. It made your insides jump around like crazy, hearing him enjoying himself, and you tried your best to come to when he started easing the pressure of his lips, pressing small, chaste kisses to them instead as you ultimately (but slowly) broke apart.

You opened your eyes, blinking up at him, hands falling from his hair, aware you had become one with your cushions. You struggled to free yourself as he sat back and you watched him smile fondly at you. His breath was shaky – so was yours, and you were sure his hands trembled slightly as one reached up to scratch the back of his neck. His neck that was blotched with red, flushed, travelling to his cheeks. They were rosier than you’d ever seen them before. Your gut stirred.

“I’ve been dreaming of that,” he told you, before making a face at himself. “Too cringey?”

You giggled – it sounded foreign. “Just a bit.” But didn’t deter the fact you loved it.

You warmed when you felt him squeeze your hip, realising his hand was still there and you reached for it, tangling your fingers with his. He pulled them to his mouth, kissing your knuckles softly. His expression was thoughtful when he lowered your hands. “In all seriousness, thank you for giving me a chance, after well, you know, everything.”

You smiled, touched by his earnestness, but it was hard to keep a sane mind when his lips were as kiss bitten as they were – deep pink and glistening. You wanted to kiss his face off.

“It’s no problem,” you quipped, as if you were doing him a favour.

He chuckled tenderly, and luckily for you he was unable to stop himself from kissing you again. He reached forward, hooking a finger under your chin to press his mouth to yours softly. “I’d really love if we could keep on doing… this.” He murmured.

“The dating or the kissing,” you grinned, stealing another kiss in the process.

“Hm,” he contemplated. “Both preferably.”

And then you were on one another again, eager once more.

Although, you did manage to pull away briefly to tell him something, his mouth moving to the side of your face to kiss there instead as your hands dragged down his back. You were somehow able to get the words out – ones that made him laugh against your wet jaw.

“I’m so glad you hit my car.”

Written 2020 - 2021. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2021

#seokjn fanfic #bts fanfic #jin fanfic #floralseokjin:writings #fic:mls

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heroofpenamstan · 3 years

Text

—OC PROFILES: JOANNE & MICHAEL

tagged by the lovelies: @shallow-gravy, @shellibisshe, @belorage, @honeysides, @strafethesesinners, @faithchel, @blissfulalchemist! thank you, dears! x since i’m tragically late to the party as per usual, not going to be tagging anyone since i assume most of my mutuals have done it, but if you want to go right ahead and tag me too so i can see! :”)) also, fair warning: 80% of the questions i answered at ungodly hours overmedicated on paracetamol and it shows because re-reading this in the morning was a Yikes

GENERAL

name: joanne burton alias(es): jo, annie ( mike exclusive ), burton, dep, jr. deputy, rook, traitor, sinner, wrath/pain in the ass ( john exclusive ), rabbit ( jacob exclusive ), heinous fucking bitch—( also john exclusive ), black widow ( new dawn au ) gender: cis. female age: 29 birth: 30th october, 1988 place of birth: meridian, idaho spoken languages: english; may or may not recite some hebrew lines over the holidays sexual preference: bisexual occupation(s): junior deputy of hope county, montana/menace to all cultists everywhere ( in a certain radius of said hope county, montana, anyway )

APPEARANCE

eye colour: brown hair colour: black height: 157cm ( 5′2 ), or approximately 7′11 when balancing on michael’s shoulders to peer inside john’s windows scars: split right eyebrow ( thanks, jake ), minor cuts and incorrectly healed bruises and gashes, scarred bullet wound on left hip ( you’re welcome, jake )

FAVOURITE

colour: orange or yellow or cyan, or whatever is more stupidly eye-catching and not at all fit for her current environment song: i’ve been thinking by handsome boy modeling school food: various stir-fries, fruits and protein ( or anything that she claims to be “healthy” when, truly, bitch is one step away from living off of instant noodles and canned pineapple and cigarette buds from dutch’s stash ) drink: beerherbal teas and infusions

HAVE THEY

passed university: no, but passing the police academy was already a pleasant enough surprise for her had sex: today? no. two weeks ago? probably had sex in public: probably said two weeks ago gotten pregnant/ someone else pregnant: yes, but we don’t talk about it kissed a boy: yes ( derogatory ) kissed a girl: yes ( affectionate ) gotten tattoos: yes, loads: most were practice scribbles for her ex-girlfriend, and the only true meaningful one she possesses is lydia, scrawled into her pinky in remembrance. otherwise, john seed do not even engage with that rusty ass tattoo gun— gotten piercings: yes, loads multiplied; if there’s a place for a piercing in her ears, she has them. also, an old septum piercing she hasn’t worn in a hot second been in love: yes, loads squared ( girl rents out her heart on the weekdays and cries about the scratches she notices on saturday, but still repeats it all over again come monday; falling in love for her is easy, but actually loving someone and getting over her self-loathing to do so is a whole different ball game ) stayed up for more than 24 hours: she’s probably on hour 31 as we speak ( someone knock her out pls )

ARE THEY

a virgin: whitehorse has heard enough horror stories in the break room between her and joey to last him a lifetime a cuddler: closeted cuddler, yes a kisser: most definitely; woman has to play up her natural assets scared easily: her response time is too lagged for that jealous easily: depends; she’s more jealous of what she should have/could have/would have had in a general sense than being jealous of a particular person or a thing trustworthy: in her own way, yes dominant: disgustingly so submissive: not in this lifetime in love: very much so single: very much so part 2

RANDOM QUESTIONS (tw for self harm/suicide mention)

have they harmed themselves: yes, but it’s more by means of unintentional yet severe substance abuse thought of suicide: not as often as one would assume; joanne has a very strong sense of self-preservation, but tends to run from her bleak reality by means of one harmful way or the other attempted suicide: once or twice during her lowest points in life wanted to kill someone: on the daily have/had a job: girl had juggled three part-time jobs; there is nothing she fears anymore have any fears: ( see above ) to fall back into old bad habits, loss of control, death, failure, a bad future, poverty, being abandoned and forgotten, long stays at a hospital, the judges, the bliss, the power of john’s hair gel

FAMILY

sibling(s): micah burton ( older brother ) parent(s): abigail burton née belman ( mother ); jim burton ( father ) children: asher seed ( daughter in new dawn au ) significant other: jacob seed ( circumstantial lover/”could do without” mentor/#prisonwife #prisonhusband #imkidding #kinda ) pets: boomer for the cuddles, cheesecake for the throttles ( bitch naturally attracts the judges but will forget her dog 101 and run away like what does she think will happen then?? )

GENERAL

name: michael scott-hughes alias(es): mike, mikey, mickey ( mary may exlusive ), mike the bike/fall’s end’s bicycle, resistance’s poster boy, manwhore, cassanova, the archangel ( joseph exclusive ), the antichrist ( also joseph exclusive ), war dog, hughes boy ( fairgrave exclusive ) gender: cis. male age: 30 birth: 6th july, 1988 place of birth: fall’s end, montana spoken languages: english, russian, basic chinese mandarin and turkish sexual preference: pansexual occupation(s): residential shady, shady man ( international arm’s dealer, most recently demoted to local resistance leader and occasional general goods store co-owner )

APPEARANCE

eye colour: green hair colour: brown height: 181cm ( 5′11 ), and 6ft on tinder jkjk man’s confident enough to not grasp for that extra inch, unlike someone ( john ) scars: heavily burnt left hand ( from trying to fish out his ex girlfriend’s boiling corpse r.i.p. to that steaming puss— ), gash on his right temple, nicely healed gun wound on left shoulder, not so nicely healed amputated right hand ( man’s not having the best time in my canon, is he ), various incorrectly healed cuts and bruises

FAVOURITE

colour: green and rustics song: wild world by yusuf/cat stevens food: unlike the faker above, michael actually likes to cook and eat healthy meals, so anything from salads to veggies to oatmeal to soups will do ( and meat; man’s been a vegetarian for a grand total of 4 days in his entire life ( or 14, if you count the time he got abducted to john’s bunker womp )) drink: sugary drinkswhiskey, fresh juices, “water can be so, so sexy, annie—”

HAVE THEY

passed university: no, though michael really busted his ass to self-educate on subjects that will be beneficial to his line of work had sex: we stopped keeping tabs and numbers nearly ten years ago had sex in public: we stopped blinking at these types of shenanigans nearly ten years ago too gotten pregnant/ someone else pregnant: yes? no? maybe? ( mike’s too afraid to even think about it, but hopes he hasn’t fathered any babies any time soon ) kissed a boy: yes ( affectionate ) kissed a girl: yes ( affectionate² ) gotten tattoos: yes: the sword of damocles on his left inner forearm, intertwined snakes running across his right ribs, a tiny smiley face on his ass lord save him gotten piercings: yes, and everyone hated his attempt to revive the 90s with his lil earring like c’mon you already have a reputation of being a sleaze— been in love: yes, but surprisingly not as many times as one may think ( truthfully, three times: mary may, lana, joanne mary may again ) stayed up for more than 24 hours: sometimes it just cannot be helped

ARE THEY

a virgin: maybe in a past life as an amoeba a cuddler: yes ( try to escape his hold during a summer night i’ll give you 5 bucks if you can break the deadlock ) a kisser: he just exists to smooch at this point scared easily: truthfully, he’s quite desensitized as is, so it’s really hard to truly rock him jealous easily: no; though he might get a bit petty and bitter if someone mentions merle and mary may becuase, like, c’mon, mary—merle briggs? trustworthy: one of his better traits, but past events have shown that boy tends to lose some of his morals for love dominant: yes submissive: yes part 2 man will accommodate and switch it up in love: often single: loosely, often

RANDOM QUESTIONS (tw for self harm/suicide mention)

have they harmed themselves: michael has bad mental health trips stemming from having a lot of insecurities as a child; these may evolve into bad habits and pure recklessness on his part to prove his worth thought of suicide: these thoughts don’t come often, but when they do, it’s harder for him than most to shake them off and recover attempted suicide: once, during the boiling pit incident wanted to kill someone: yes, but it comes more from need than want usually have/had a job: yes, though no retail until he was 30 and stuck providing hope county with slugs and bullets have any fears: loneliness, rejection, abandonment, repercussions and consequences, not being good enough, powerlessness, loss, the angel pit, the process of dying

FAMILY

sibling(s): none, but: jackson hughes ( uncle ) parent(s): jessica hughes née scott ( mother ), david hughes ( father ) girl i have his whole family tree drawn up like you wouldn’t believe children: andrew hughes ( son in new dawn au and maybe canon ) significant other: mary may fairgrave ( childhood sweetheart/awkward ex/once in a rare cosmic event fuck buddy/volatile lovers ) pets: peaches loves him she doesn’t; she just wants to chew on his hair

#tag game #deputy joanne burton #michael s. hughes #oc: get to know jo #oc: build a bicycle #my stuff #far cry 5 oc

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lemon-trap · 4 years

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Nicky Valentino’s Ultimate Master List!

Due to it being very fricking hard to find Nicky fanfic, I have decided that it would be easier if all of his fanfics were put into one master list!

Please enjoy what many people have worked on and please like, reblog, and maybe comment on your favorite fics!

(Also check in on my pinned post to make sure you have the most updated list)

🦝 @lemon-trap 🦝 (aka: me!)

Saved by a Kiss (gender not explicit for reader)

This is a short fluffy fanfic that has no other reason for existing except making your heart go soft.

Plot Twist Nicky Valentino is a Bottom (female MC) SMUT

The title says it all. If you want just straight porn with Nicky as a subby bottom then this is the fanfic for you!

☀︎ @bursvalentino ☀︎ (the oh so lovely)

Two Against the World | Nicky Valentino x Sabrina Belladonna (ongoing, female pronouns) - (writer is currently rewriting this series)

Charming Nicky Valentino and the alluring Sabrina Belladonna are two sides of the same coin with one thing in common: escapism. But, our stars seem to be entangled in their game of cat and mouse. Will they ever possibly make it out alive after their truth unfolds?

☾ @lunaspera ☾ (the ultimate queen to go to for spicy Nicky things *chef kiss*)

Surrealtà | Nicky Valentino x Heaven (Assassin!OC, ongoing, female pronouns) - prologue ,

All she wanted was to make the world a better place. Is it any good if you tear a piece of yourself every time you want to help someone out ? The more she gave, the more she lost. The more she ran, the more she got lost. She was willing to die for others and now someone else is willing to die for her. Afterall “No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for”.

Cheers to the mess (female MC) - part one ,

Nicky’s actions speak louder than his words and you are consistent about finding out what is causing him to do so. Does it have anything to do with the handsome stranger who is desperately flirting with you?

Strip Poker (female MC) - part one , part one SMUT

Nicky is a tease, but so are you. What will be the outcome of this game? Poker is usually played to win. Tonight winning doesn’t seem like a good idea, not if you want to become hot mess. The one who loses wins.

Bella Mia SMUT (female MC)

Nicky is a “gentleman” but does he have enough willpower to hold himself away while you are purring his name?

Sweet Nothings fluff

Your sleepy mood accompanied by hot cocoa, the sound of the rain, a pair of warm hands, tender kisses, and sweet nothings. So tell me now, my dear, what is love to you?

Hey kiddo! Nicky Valentino x Reader x Uncle!Ralph Della Rosa

Ralph seems to enjoy your company but a mini you? Brace yourself, uncle Ralphie is coming!

Hands on Fire SMUT

The saccharine melody of sleep sweeping him off of his feet. Slow dancing to the soft tune of a sonata, hand in hand, skin to skin. Could it get any more sweet ? Won’t you come a little closer and let Nicky have a taste of your love ?

You sadness

NSFW Alphabet

Dirty secret, Jack off, No

NSFW Alphabet

Yearning, Motivation, Cum, Aftercare

💖 @valentino-red 💖

Sinnerman | Nicky Valentino x Soledad Diaz (ongoing, female pronouns) - prologue , chapter one , chapter two ,

Nicky Valentino has seen a lot of women waltz into his speakeasy, but when a certain Soledad Diaz comes in from the future trying to escape her past, hearts are exchanged and the mafia boss starts to reevaluate what really matters to him.

🌻 @raggedy-dxctor 🌻 (there’s a lot here)

Gumusservi

Wonderland Upon a Hill

The World Was So Dull Without You

Alone

Hug

I’ll always choose you

Nicky Valentino With a Short S/o

Nicky and Miguel With An Easily Flustered S/o

Nicky Valentino with an s/o that has a tattoo

Ice Skating with Nicky Valentino Headcannons

Nicky Valentino with an S/o that has a amazing singing voice

Nicky Valentino + Fluff Alphabet

Nicky’s s/o comforting him after a nightmare

Nicky meeting is s/o’s supportive parents

Nicky’s s/o teaching how to use a phone

Nicky with a High School Crush

Detention with a troublemaker (high school au + modern day au)

Flowerboy (flower shop au + roles reversed)

Real Smooth Mr Valentino (fem reader) fluff

I’m A Goner ANGST

Bonus:

Scenarios/prompts for Nicky Valentino

Some ideas for you to use in your fics if you’re ever in need of a plot.

💗 @missusvalentino 💗 (their stuff needs more attention)

I just can’t get a enough of you (no specific gender)

Just a short fic that involves the MC adoring and appreciating Nicky. Lots of fluff.

I’m sorry. (female pronouns) Nicky’s POV

Nicky and MC have an arguement when she tells him she wants to be part of the Valentino family.

I’m not in the mood

Nicky is in the mood to do the do, but MC is being a tease.

“You still love me right?” Angst/fluff

Nicky and Y/n have a disagreement and Nicky decides to get back at the reader by flirting with another woman.

“Why on Earth would I ever think that?” (Chubby/overweight fem MC) Fluff/angst

Nicky and reader start to get a bit more intimate until reader starts pulling back because she feels like Nicky deserves better.

You’re All Over Me Today

💛 @velvetl1ght 💛

Nicky + OWNING a dog headcannons

Nicky headcannos because I’m in Love

Good Intentions | Nicky x Josie (ongoing, female pronouns) - chapter one ,

🦦 @millennial-pinks 🦦 (my personal favorite)

Cooking time! (male MC)

After a night out, Nicky and Shiloh enjoy some time in the kitchen.

Crisis of Confidence (male MC)

Shiloh feels a little bummed out. He’s just some guy and Nicky’s... Nicky.

I got it bad but it’s all good (male MC)

Shiloh and Nicky share a dance and some tender words.

Alone together SMUT (male MC)

Shiloh and Nicky have their first physical encounter.

Like Someone in Love SMUT (male MC)

A bath leads to a very sexual night.

Post chapter 14 (male MC)

☆ @themissingstar ☆

Nicky helps MC feel better after a depressive episode

Taking care of Nicky after he gets banged up

Soulmate AU were you wake up in your soulmate’s bed

Modern AU Nicky before he makes his money

🌼 @tutanwritesanddraws 🌼

Nicky Valentino with a short S/O

Nicky Valentino with a GenZ S/O

💐 @jadeee 💐

Winter Wonderland fluff

After confessing that you’ve never seen snow before, Nicky takes you out for a proper snow day: snowball fights, snow angels, the works!

Good Morning, Beautiful fluff

Nicky really is beautiful when he’s sleepi- oh wait, he’s awake.

Ti Amo Tanto fluff

Nicholas Valentino proclaims his love for you through Italian poetry.

I Do fluff

You are officially a part of the Valentino family and Nicky couldn’t be more happy.

Finding Home angst

Living in the 1920s with Nicky has been a dream but you can’t help but think about your old life.

Hot & Bothered lime

After teasing Nicky during a meeting, he puts you in your place and it leaves you hot and bothered.

———

I really doubt that this is all so if you have made fanfiction of Nicky Valentino then please privately message me.

Please reblog this so more people can find and use it!

Last updated: April 6, 2021

#nicky valentino #fictif #fictif two against the world #two against the world nicky #two against the world #fictif nicky valentino #nicky valentino x reader #nicky valentino fanfic #fictif nicky #Nicky Valentino Ultimate Master List #Nicky Valentino master list

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whatapunk · 4 years

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Holy butts I wrote a second chapter!! I am soooo thankful for everyone who liked or reblogged the first chapter because truly, truly, truly you gave me more motivation than you could possibly realize!

A couple things:

I’ve included dialogue from the s02e01 scene where Kanan and Hera have a very Han/Leia hallway argument and I definitely don’t want to take credit for such things (I only wanted to add it to help me with my flow a bit)

Right now I’m firmly trying so very hard to fit it perfectly into canon (it’s just something I like doing, idk) but eventually it might go a lil more AU, I just haven’t decided yet

This shit had me on wookieepedia searching the most random stuff, but rest assured, there is garlic in the Star Wars universe

Enjoy!

Title: Endings

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Relationship: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla; Kanan Jarrus/female OC

Rating: t for now, m in future chapters (I'm guessing) for language and some non-explicit intimacy

Word Count: 2446

Previous Chapters: Ch. 1

Chapter 2

Kanan sat on the step ladder leading up to the Liberator’s control panels. His presence was a silent mark of informality in the middle of the crew’s debriefing meeting with Commander Sato. The rest of the crew, plus Ahsoka, stood around the holo-console in the middle of the floor. Sato was saying something about the Ghost crew- his crew- but Kanan was barely half listening. For one, every other word that came out of Sato’s mouth was some military formality and, thus, not something that interested him in the slightest. But the main reason he wasn’t listening was that Rhia Denley’s image was still burned into his thoughts.

Seven years. When you hadn’t seen someone in this galaxy for seven years, you started to assume you never would again. At least, that’s how Kanan had felt.

However, suddenly she was here again- she existed again, something Kanan had tried hard to convince himself wasn’t even true. It was easier to convince himself she was something he’d imagined than for him to remember her and the way she’d crushed his young heart years ago. Besides, thinking about that heartache had always made him feel guilty once Hera was in his life. Now, however, he was feeling so many things he didn’t even have room for guilt.

What he did have room for was a hefty amount of bitterness, and for more than one reason. First of all, he was already bitter before Rhia showed up; he’d hardly hidden his feelings and had become almost spiteful about how they had been sucked into a military operation. But even that wasn’t totally separate from his thoughts about Rhia.

Rhia and Kanan had become a “thing” on Gorse, very soon after Kanan had set up what passed as a life there. Their meeting was by chance, but they had run into each other briefly when he was even younger and worked with a smuggler named Janus Kasmir. It was actually Rhia who told him about low-profile jobs on Gorse then, so he wasn’t altogether surprised that she ended up there eventually too. While he wasn’t much more than a kid when they first met, when they reconnected on Gorse, he was older and far more interesting to Rhia. They quickly became infatuated with one another for the better part of four months, which was practically a lifelong commitment to Kanan. Before Hera, Rhia was the longest relationship he’d ever been in.

Rhia, however, had bigger goals than being a bartender’s girlfriend and working as a miner on Cynda. Rhia, much like Hera, was interested in the Rebellion. She’d made this clear early on, but she didn’t try to preach to Kanan, and he’d liked that about her. However, once she’d found a connection to a group of Rebels on the Holonet, she had tried- more than once- to get him to come with her. That’s what made running into her here, of all places, all the more exasperating and awkward. He’d ended up here anyway, despite his countless protestations- and he didn’t even want to be.

Seeing Rhia again reminded him, among other things, of all of the reasons he told her he didn’t want to join the Rebellion. And that reminded him that they were all still true.

Kanan heard Sato say something about the Spectres being “invaluable,” and then suddenly Chopper burst into the meeting, much to Commander Sato and Hera’s dismay. He was going on about an emergency incoming transmission, and, frankly, Kanan welcomed the change. His bitterness with this situation, this Rebellion- this meeting had reached its peak.

***

Less than ten minutes later, Kanan’s bitterness had already gotten him into trouble, and with Hera, no less.

After telling Chopper to play his transmission during a “secret debriefing,” Hera had scowled at him for the rest of the meeting. He’d tried to rush out and get out of her line of fire once they were dismissed, but she’d caught him in the hallway and firmly let him know he wasn’t authorized to do that.

“Authorization! Procedure! That’s what’s bothering me!” he’d raised his voice, uncaring of the people that were attempting to walk past them as they argued.

Hera put her hands up gently, sighing at having finally gotten him to drop the passive aggressive quips about their work lately. It wasn’t hard to guess what had been bothering him, but he was a grown adult who should be able to talk to her, of all people.

“All right. Talk to me,” she said, lowering her voice. Kanan sighed and did the same.

“After this mission, I want us to go back on our own,” he said firmly. “Fighting alongside soldiers isn’t what I signed up for.” At that, Hera frowned at him and shoved him into an open doorway, pointing a gloved finger in his face.

“You seem to be forgetting these soldiers helped save your life,” she said, looking at him with those big eyes that could be both demanding and softening at the same time. After that remark, he couldn’t meet them.

“And I’m grateful,” he started, “but that doesn’t mean I want to join their little army. When you and I started together, it was ‘Rob from the Empire, give to the needy,’ a noble cause. Now we’re getting drawn into some kind of military thing! I don’t like it.”

Somehow Hera’s voice became more serious and more earnest.

“We are fighting a bigger fight, but it’s still the right fight,” she said, all but pleading with him to understand that they’d been fighting in the name of the Rebellion all along. Kanan wasn’t having it.

“I survived one war. I’m not ready for another one,” he said, turning away from her. She grabbed his arm. “I saw what it did.”

“To the Jedi?” she asked, almost whispering. He looked back at her.

“To everyone.” He left the doorway and continued walking down the hall, hearing Hera’s exasperated sigh behind him.

Kanan loved virtually everything about Hera, even her flaws. She was incredibly stubborn, but since he was so go-with-the-flow, it never really got in their way. In fact, it practically complimented his own personality. She would get adamant and obsessed over something, and he would follow her anywhere and do anything she asked of him. At least, that’s how things had gone for them for the past seven years, right up until the formal Rebellion had rescued him from the Grand Inquisitor. Now it was suddenly a reality of Kanan’s world that he was part of a military operation and that could only lead to one thing: war.

Hera had been familiar with war her whole life, but not in the same way Kanan had. He’d fought in battles as a young teen alongside his master, Depa Billaba and seen the realities of it all over the galaxy. Hera’s own world was war-torn, for sure, but her role in that war was far different than Kanan’s. For the first time since he’d met her, he felt like she was incapable of understanding him.

Kanan headed to the only place he really wanted to be right now: his quarters on Ghost. He felt like meditating, if only for the quiet. He lost himself in his thoughts there for maybe an hour, and eventually his sour attitude had at least subsided. He remembered his harsh tone with Hera and his obvious instigation of Chopper in the meeting. He still didn’t care about what Sato thought, but he felt bad for making Hera look bad. Now, it felt like such a childish thing to have done.

He left his quarters and, once seeing the Ghost was still empty, he went back out into the bay. It was less busy now, as most of the cargo that littered the area earlier had been taken elsewhere by now. His eyes scanned for Hera; he knew he should apologize to her. When he didn’t see her, or any of the Spectres, he set off down one of the hallways that he believed led to the commissary. He hadn’t taken the time to get to know his way around this ship (by design) so he honestly had no clue where to start looking for her. He’d gone pretty far without seeing anything resembling a commissary and was about to turn around when an amazing aroma hit him and made his stomach growl: garlic.

Something told him to follow the smell, which led him down a corridor that opened up to a large galley. Standing in front of a pan sizzling on the stove, as Kanan had expected, was Rhia. She looked up at him, surprised, but then smiled.

“I should have known this would attract you,” she said with a smirk, then turned her attention back to the sizzling pan, stirring the contents with a wooden spoon.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to get me here,” Kanan added, grabbing a seat at an empty table near the stove. “You know how I feel about your cooking.” She looked up and grinned at him.

“The same way everyone does,” she said, confidently. She left the pan and attended to a cutting board with what looked like an onion and some kind of pepper on it.

Kanan’s stomach growled again. Rhia was an amazing cook and loved every piece of food he’d ever seen her hold. She only ever ate ration bars or drank nutritive milk when she absolutely had to. Otherwise, she kept her own stock of spices and quality ingredients and went well out of her way (and budget) to get fresh produce. Kanan’s mind drifted back to memories of watching Rhia cooking in her kitchen on Gorse. He remembered breakfast with eggs and some sort of mushroom, watching her move her hands skillfully around knives and pans and the ingredients, often wearing nothing but-

“So,” Rhia started, pulling Kanan out of his memory. “You finally joined the Rebellion.” Kanan’s brow wrinkled.

“What do you mean by finally?” he asked, already feeling himself becoming defensive. Rhia rolled her eyes.

“Nothing,” she said, slicing into her pepper, grinning.

“And no, I did not join anything,” Kanan said, putting extra emphasis on “I” and jabbing his thumb to his chest. She looked back up at him as she scraped ingredients from her cutting board to the pan.

“That was Hera Syndulla, wasn’t it? Captain of the Ghost? You’re part of Ghost crew, right?” she pressed, confused. Kanan was more than a little surprised.

“You’ve heard of us?” Kanan asked, his vanity getting the better of him and nearly allowing a smile to creep onto his face. Rhia rolled her eyes again and laughed.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Kanan. I’ve heard of Captain Syndulla, not her first mate,” she joked, laughing more at the fall of Kanan’s expression. Then realization struck her. “Wait, are you the one we just blew up a star destroyer for?” Kanan grimaced.

“Yes, but that wasn’t my fault. I didn’t tell them to- and it was Chopper who-” Rhia held her hand up, seeing him getting defensive.

“Kanan, I don’t really know anything about what happened. I wasn’t here for it, I just heard about it. I was on a freighter headed to a rendezvous. I don’t even know who Chopper is,” she said, going back to her pan.

“He’s our droid,” Kanan said flatly. “Anyway, my crew performed the rescue. I was aboard Tarkin’s destroyer.” Rhia looked up at him again, this time a little more serious.

“What was that like?” she asked.

“Not fun.”

Rhia didn’t push the topic further. She grabbed a pan of noodles that had been sitting over to her right and mixed them into the skillet with some oil. Kanan was suddenly fascinated by the chipped edge of the table in front of him.

Satisfied with the meal in front of her, Rhia reached into a cabinet behind her and pulled out two plates and then matched them with two forks. She set them out on the table Kanan was sitting at and then divided the noodles in half. Before she sat down, however, she went back to the cabinet and grabbed two glasses. When she set them down the table Kanan looked up at her, arching his eyebrow. She went to a backpack that sat on the floor behind the counter and pulled out a glass bottle with no markings and a familiar light brown liquid sloshing inside. She poured herself a drink, placed the mouth of the bottle over his glass and paused, looking at him, silently offering the drink.

“I can’t think of what goes better with your dinners,” he said, and she poured.

As soon as Kanan took a bite, his memories were triggered all over again. He was pretty sure he’d never even eaten this specific dish before, given her access to such a wide variety of ingredients. But it didn’t matter. Rhia’s meals were memorable for some sort of shared quality that bound them all together, even when they were drastically different. Not only that, but he realized how long it had been since he’d eaten, and how much longer it had been since he’d eaten something of this quality. For a few minutes they ate in silence, Kanan unavailable for any and all conversation. Eventually, Rhia spoke.

“So explain to me how you haven’t joined the Rebellion?” Kanan sighed, but the food had made him quite amenable to discussing just about anything. He did, however, take a drink before he replied.

“I didn’t know we were a cell. I didn’t know there were cells. Hera was the only one who spoke to Fulcrum and knew of the larger operation. I found out when I was… rescued,” Kanan ended quietly. Rhia could tell that being rescued and needing so much from so many, made him uncomfortable.

“That had to be quite a shock,” she said, sensing the need for a new subject. “So you and Hera, when did you two meet?” she asked. Kanan looked at her, surprised. He could tell by the way she asked, she knew that they were together. Rhia gave him a “give me a break” look.

“Kanan, really- my ‘pilot’? Shit, I’ve seen explosions that were more subtle.” She chuckled and took another drink, emptying the glass. Kanan did the same. Rhia offered up the bottle again.

“Another?”

Kanan looked at it, hesitating. He hardly drank at all anymore, let alone like he did when they were living on Gorse. However, depending on where this conversation was going to go, Kanan felt like he would need something more than blood in his veins.

“One more.”

#they bout to get wreckddd #not really #but maybe #star wars #star wars rebels #rebels #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #kanera #endings

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thrillingdetectivetales · 4 years

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2020 Creator Wrap

2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

Okay, okay, I know I’m late with this but the incredibly sweet @irolltwenties and the utterly delightful @anthrobrat were both kind enough to me in this bad boy and it seems really fun, so here we are!

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

According to my AO3 statistics page, I wrote just over 100K of fiction this year, across 17 different fandoms, a few of which won’t actually go live until after the New Year because they’re part of a gifting collection that hasn’t been revealed yet... Anyway, I picked my faves for a variety of reasons, listed briefly after each link. If you have any questions about works I’ve shared (or just in general) feel free to ask!

1. Front Row at the Gongshow

The Pacific, 16K, Rated G Andrew ‘Ack Ack’ Haldane/Edward ‘Hillbilly’ Jones

Aside from being the longest completed work I produced this year, this is also the first fic I’ve ever written using the “found document” format. While there are parts of it I feel really conflicted about, I’m still incredibly proud of it and think it’s one of the better fic I’ve written...possibly ever. Which is doubly funny because I don’t usually do modern AUs of period fiction, but the hockey angle was enough to tempt and lo, here we are, lol.

[Excerpt from Deadspin]

"You all remember Eddie Jones, right? The corn-fed captain of the New Orleans Rougarou so wholesome he belongs on a box of Malt-O-Meal? The gentleman bruiser who spends his free time playing country tunes for kids with cancer?

Our favorite dapper D-man led his team to 97 points last night in a shut-out victory against the Los Angeles Kings, clinching a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. Oh! And he also got caught on camera at the after-party, sucking face. WITH A DUDE."

2. Entremets

Hannibal, 8K, Rated E Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter

I have...so many Hannibal fic that I’ve started writing and haven’t finished because all my ideas lead to long plotty epics and also big name fandoms scare me. I did this one up for Eat, Drink, & Make Merry, and I’m really, really pleased with the way it turned out, considering it was my first foray into establishing new character voices and also a successful exercise in writing explicit content, which can be a bit of an Ordeal for me, so overall I’m incredibly happy with it. Plus! My deep and abiding love of writing characters cooking/eating/otherwise dealing with food finally paid off!

“The pâté was supposed to be more of a gesture,” Will explains, spreading a golden sliver of honeycomb out across a slice of sopressata with the blade of his pocket knife. “You don’t actually have to eat it. I’m not even sure if it’s any good.” He smears a healthy dollop of chȇvre across his meat-and-honey concoction and pops the whole thing into his mouth without ceremony.

“What better method exists by which to convey one’s appreciation of a gesture than to indulge it?”

3. An Ode to Matty Big-Time

The Good Place, 2K, Rated T Jason Mendoza/Original Male Characters, Pillboi

This one was actually a request made by my very dear @thesummoningdark, who wanted to see some bisexual Jason per that one fantastic Tumblr post about how everyone in TGP should be bi, and I’m really, really proud of the way it turned out. I love writing comedy and I very rarely get to lean into it as hard as I’d like, so delving into the whole wild craziness of Jacksonville, as explained in the show was really fun. I also love writing original characters, and this was a great excuse to indulge.

“We probably shouldn’t do any butt stuff,” Jason warns, with as much gravitas as he can muster. “I had two of Stupid Nick’s Disaster Buckets when I got here.”

“Yeah, your face is still kinda orange,” Mateo agrees fondly, bringing his other hand up to brush his thumb over Jason’s lower lip. It stirs a little frisson of heat in his belly that Jason is 68% sure isn’t just indigestion. “No chemical burns, though, so I think you came out on top.”

4. This and Who I Used to Be

The Tick (2017), 3K, Rated G Arthur Everest/Superian

Another new fandom I haven’t written in before, this was a fill for the Rare Male Slash Exchange that turned me on to a pairing I’d never even thought of before I wrote it and am now low-key obsessed with. It is also, to date, the ONLY Arthur/Superian fic on AO3 at all, which is a cool weird honor and fairly indicative of my life’s goal to eventually write my way into smaller and smaller fandoms until I come out the other side with original works. It was really fun to explore these characters, and to figure out some world-building for Superian’s backstory that fit within the tone and established canon of the extant Amazon!Tick universe. Also featuring an original character that nobody asked for but I’ve come to love unconditionally.

Arthur glances down to where Superian has one cheek pressed against his shoulder, humming something off-key and unintelligible with his eyes closed. Arthur sighs. “Let’s get you inside.”

He hauls Superian in until he can prop him against the wall while he shuts and locks the door behind him. When he looks back over, Superian is smiling at him, soft and lazy. He swings a finger in Arthur’s direction, a broad, sloppy motion, and announces, “I knew you’d say yes.”

“Technically I said fine,” Arthur rebuts. He gestures down the hallway toward the kitchen—which leads on to the bedroom, as Superian well knows—and sighs, “Come on. I don’t know what those handcuffs did to you, but you should probably lie down and have a glass of water or something.”

5. Rain in Its Season

Band of Brothers, 12K, Rated G Edward ‘Babe’ Heffron/John Julian

Oh boy. What to say about this one. It’s maybe not as polished as I might have preferred, but I feel that way about mostly everything I write and at the end of the day I do really love what I managed to do with this piece. Written for the Heavy Artillery Rare Pair Exchange, I managed to lean heavily into both my love for needlessly granular period research and original characters, which are abundant herein. Frankly, based on the very little we see of him in the show, Julian himself is practically an OC, but I digress. This was another of the longer pieces I’ve ever finished and I’m proud of it even if I’d’ve liked to write another 15K or so, time constraints notwithstanding.

“Tell me. Please. Why’re you here?”

Babe flinched, gaze dropping to the floor. His heart was a raw, swollen welt in his chest. He swallowed and licked his lips, slow and pained.

“Come on, Julian,” he rasped, low and quiet. “You know why.” He laughed, soft and hoarse, and shook his head, once. When he looked back up, Julian had taken a careful step into the center of the room. His eyes were very dark, his mouth very red, hope and fear warring in his every feature. Babe fisted his fingers in the cotton sheet underneath him, halfway to pleading as he insisted, “You gotta know.”

Julian sighed and came over to hover at the edge of the bed. Babe spread his legs to accommodate the intrusion.

“That was - ” Julian started. His voice failed midway through the protest, and he swallowed, took a breath, and regrouped at a lower volume. “You said that was just buddies, what we did over there. That it didn’t count. That you didn’t want it to.”

The TL;DR of this all being that while I didn’t write as much I wanted to this year in terms of volume, I feel like my quality has been improving consistently and hope it continues to do so into 2021 while I try to finish out some of my years-long WIPs and get into longer completed pieces.

I’m not sure who all to tag, so I’ll say @thesummoningdark, @blahblahblahclintnickiscanon, @thisbadge, @incognito-insomniac, and anyone else who’d like to join in and hasn’t been tagged yet! (If you’re the latter, feel free to @ me so I can see what you’ve written!)

Happy New Year everyone May the fanworks you create this year be prolific and soul-affirming!

#creator wrap #2020 creator wrap

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augmented-beauty · 4 years

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That didn’t stop you before

Did I just miracolously got a piece for Fictober done? Did my hiatus finally end? Let’s hope so ‘cause I’m sick of it.

Summary: AU where things go a bit differently and Adam and Alex end up being together back in Detroit already. Happens before the events of Human Revolution, but Adam is already working for Sarif. Alex comes back home after her usual shift at DPD in a bad mood, and Adam is right here to help.

Prompt numer 4

Fandom: Deus Ex

Relationships: Adam Jensen/OC (Alexandra Montgomery)

Rating: normal/general

Warning: none, just some light swearing

Word count: 1436

Adam and Alexandra being cute as hell and domestic fluff under the cut

You can also find this on AO3.

I didn't think people could surprise me anymore in their ignorance, but I was clearly wrong. I'm so grateful my shift is over for today because I can't bear with some colleagues' bullshit anymore. I get ready to head back home as fast as I can, storming out of the locker room and heading towards the parking lot where I left my motorbike this morning. I put my belongings in the trunk and then the helmet on my head, get on the saddle and start the engine. Luckily, it's not a long ride, I only need to go and buy some fresh ingredients for dinner before heading back to the flat I share with Adam. I do my groceries shopping as fast as I can, and something like half an hour later after leaving the locker room, I'm finally home.

"I'm back, cariño!" I call out for Adam, even though he probably heard me already.

"Hi, sweetheart!" he greets back from the bedroom.

As always, I barely have time to close the door before Kubrik rushes towards me to say hello, wagging his tail at the speed of light. This good boy always manages to make me smile, at least a little bit, no matter how pissed I am. Tonight is no exception, but I'm pretty sure my bad mood is still evident. I make a left to leave the shopping bag on the kitchen counter before venturing further into the flat. The classy, glass table Adam picked for the entrance always comes to my aid, and I leave my purse and helmet there. I properly greet Kubrik while climbing down the stairs, and I can already feel a bit of tension melting away from my body. Hearing Adam's footsteps as he comes out of the bedroom and walks towards me only makes it better. I look at him and meet him halfway, snaking my arms around his neck as he bends down a bit to give me our usual 'welcome back home' kiss, while his hands go to my waist. It might be a habit, but we cherish it deeply, and never get tired of it.

"Been home long?" I ask him, still not letting go, face still quite close to his.

"Some minutes. Just had the time for a shower and to get cosier."

I hum in approval, taking in his features. "Love that sweater on you." I reach for another kiss, savouring it in its briefness.

"How was work?"

My only direct answer is a groan "You first."

"Not bad, pretty tranquil, actually."

"Glad to hear that at least your day was better. Some people can only seem to be so fucking annoying, ugh."

"How about I get everything you need to cook today ready for the use while you get cosier too?"

Sounds wonderful" I give him a peck on those perfect lips of his before letting him go "Thanks, babe."

Heading into the bedroom, I change into a pair of leggings and one of Adam's baseball hoodies and then go take my make up off. Those small gestures are already helping a lot, and borrowing his hoodie once again was definitely a good idea. It smells like him, so, like home, somehow. Heading back to the living room and making my way to the kitchen, I notice how he also put on some lofi music, knowing damn well how much I like when I need to relax. Seeing me in his hoodie makes him give me a little smile and kiss my temple most sweetly.

"Want me to help you with that?"

"No, don't worry. I don't mind the cooking, and you've done enough already. Thank you for asking, though."

"You're welcome, beautiful." I give him a kiss on the cheek before getting started with the chopping of the veggies. While I do so, Adam wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder gently. "Ready for your vent if you feel like it."

I sigh in frustration, ready to spill everything in hope to finally feel better for good, at least for now. "It's just...I might not be heavily augmented, but I still get so pissed when I hear bullshit about us. I just wanted to have a small break at the cafeteria in peace, you know, the time for a coffee. I get there to do that, and I can only hear some other cops I don't know that good saying nonsense. I tried saying something, but I got too pissed and just left with my cup in hand. I don't even know what had them starting, maybe there's an augmented rookie or something. The only thing I know is that they were saying how our life is much easier as our implants give us advantages in the workplace and shit like that. I couldn't help but feel called out, you know. How can they be so blind and don't realise that most of the time we don't even ask for our augs? It's not like we choose to be born with a genetical disease or to lose a limb or an organ! The post-surgical period is painful most of the times, and the eventual rehab is everything but easy. Don't even get me started on the life-long need for nu-poz. Sure, I'm lucky, I don't need heavy prescriptions, but many others are not that blessed, and the side effects for higher doses are terrible."

"Not to mention all the slur directed at you and the exploitation that occurs at times. And forced augmentation."

"Yeah, but go tell them that! Do they really think it's funny and easy to be augmented? We get discriminated, sometimes treated like we weren't human at all, and for what? For a fucking prosthesis? Sure, they're more sophisticated than in the past, but have been existing for decades now!" I fall silent for a brief moment, putting words and ideas together. "It's not the eye augmentation that makes me good at shooting, it's my skill, and all the training I went through! Just because someone has an augmented limb or whatever doesn't mean that they're automatically good at their job, it's more complex than that!"

"Everyone can be good at what they do, doesn't matter if they're augmented or not. Sure, for example, augmented people might be able to do manual labour more swiftly than someone who's not, but it's not like they don't need extra tools or don't make mistakes. Augs are not the problem, greed and ignorance are and augmented people are not to blame for this. In the end, we're all victims somehow."

"Exactly! And I've tried to tell them in fewer words, but anti-augs are so fucking stubborn."

"That didn't stop you before." I can hear the proud smile on his face by how he sounds, but I'm still a bit puzzled. "People might be stubborn, but you always find a way to successfully be heard. Sometimes you manage to educate people, and if they're too ignorant to learn something, at least you roast them as they deserve. So yeah, maybe you didn't shut them up today, but I'm sure next time they'll be talking shit, they might end up learning something. And if they're hopeless, they'll get what they deserve."

I stop in my tracks, putting the knife down and turning my head a little so that I can look at him. My fingers intertwine with his, and his thumb gently caresses my skin as I get lost in his eyes, noses lightly touching. "The world would be a better place if there were more people like you."

"Could say the same about you."

I can only smile at his sweetness and sincere admiration, feeling way better. I lean closer to him a bit for yet another sweet kiss of his, so full of love and care. "Gracias, mi amor. Me haces tan feliz."

Adam doesn't let go of me as I keep on cooking, and the only thing that changes is the subject. We keep on talking while I cook, and he makes me laugh, still with his chin gently resting on my shoulder, only moving to occasionally plant a delicate kiss on my skin. Even after dining, that's how the night rolls. It's all about gentle touches, heartfelt laughs and the mutual enjoyment of each other's presence, with Kubrik laying down near us in the living room. Doesn't matter how harsh the world is towards me sometimes, once I open the door to our home, that's all my life it's about. If someone asked me to picture Heaven, that's what I'd describe them.

#fictober20 #fictober 2020 #deus ex #deus ex human revolution #deus ex oc #adam jensen #alexandra montgomery #alexandra maribel montgomery #adam jensen x alexandra montgomery #adam x alex #my writing

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sooghostwriter · 5 years

Text

Chef Soo. Three meals a day

Pairings: Do Kyung Soo x OC (Nameless, but I refuse to use Y/N)

Genre: Romance, canon AU (?), fluff, fast burn, smut.

Lunch: Miso

The idol and the chef

When she met Kyung Soo she was a little bit tipsy.

That involved a very loose mouth and some difficulty accessing to her memories. She normally had a friend who would take care of her. But said friend left her hanging for her newest boyfriend. So, it was only her, her two empty bottles and a full one. The restaurant was almost empty. Only a young couple seated in the corner and another girl with a friend, or girlfriend, who was she to judge? She was going to drink her last bottle of soju and then call a taxi. She was already looking forward to going home and sleep the drunkenness away. She was about to open the bottle when the sound of the bell at the door distracted her. Another customer. There was something on his form that was so familiar to her. Even to her tipsy brain. Not only his body shape, with his lean form, nice thighs, legs not really long but a nice height overall. His back was wide compared with his waist and what really caught her, the shape of his head under that oh so familiar cap. There was something written on it in white letters. He was walking in her direction, and thanks to her 20/20 sight she could read it "The all England techno club" She read in her head, with a perfect accent. Why was it so familiar? She had read that somewhere. Where was it?

She stopped herself from keep thinking about it because her head started hurting. She dropped the bottle opener and call it the night. What was she thinking before? Before she noticed the headache something, was bothering her, what was it? That was the other thing she got from the tipsiness, mild amnesia. She grabbed the unopened bottle, her bag, and her coat and walked to the counter to pay her bill and bid goodbye to the chef who was also an old friend and ex-teacher. He was standing behind the counter chatting with a guy dressed in all black and a cap. Oh right! She thought, The all England whatever cap, why was it so familiar? She stood next to the all-black guy and Mister Kang stopped talking to him so he could attend her "Ready to leave? " "Yeah, here, I didn't touch this one" "Your head hurts" She only nodded and took out her wallet. She gave her his card and waited for him to collect his money. She was still curious about that cap "Dear, this machine is acting up, give me a second " "Don't worry, I have time, I will call a taxi" She searched for her phone on her bag "What happened to your friend?" Mister Kang asked "She planted me, she got new dick " Ugh damn mouth, the alcohol was showing up. She immediately bit her tongue. Mister Kang laughed, already used to her running mouth but she saw the guy next to her jolt "I'm so sorry" She apologized to both men “Don't worry about it, a girl with a dirty mouth is a trustful girl, right Kyung Soo?" He commented and asked the man next to her. To which he answered affirmatively, followed by a chuckle. She finally found her phone, embarrassed by her comment and her cliché act of I'm a woman and I can't find my phone in my woman bag. She lit up the screen and felt her brain explode. There it was. The cap. The same cap. And under it, Kyung Soo. What a coincidence, the guy next to her had the same hat and his name was also Kyung Soo. Her brain began shouting at her. It’s him. The guy seated next to her was the same guy on her phone screen, smiling to the camera with his bandmates. The familiar figure she saw coming in was Do Kyung Soo. Fuck this. Fuck this night, fuck those bottles of soju, fuck this restaurant, fuck this day, month and year. Her idol was there. And she was tipsy, talking about dick, without make-up, having a moment with her handbag and completely out of words. If she was 16, she would know what to say to him. Shriek a little bit and then profess her love for him. But she was an adult now, she couldn’t go around shrieking on idol’s face. She kept it cool, thank goodness. She didn’t stare at him, no part of her body was shaking. When Mister Kang spoke to her again, her voice was calm, low, a bit sexy maybe? “This machine is not working, you have any cash on you?” “No, nothing, what can I do?” “Stay here, have another drink, my daughter will arrive in half an hour, she knows how to fix this” That was a good idea “Ok, I will go back to my table” “No, stay here, actually you arrived at the right time, let me introduce you to my friend” Fuck this chef too. “This is Do Kyung Soo, he is coming for some personal lessons, Wanna stay too? Kyung Soo, she used to be my student, she could help us too” A lot was happening in a short time and her slow brain couldn’t process it, so it shut down. Because it is always better to give up than try right? “It's a pleasure to meet you, I’m Kyung Soo” He offered his hand, and yes, her brain wasn’t working, but you didn’t need a brain to be polite. She shook his hand and introduced herself. He answered with a warm smile, and oh shit, it was really him. Mister Kang lead the conversation. He would say something good about her, or comment on something on her curriculum and Kyung Soo would gasp in surprise and she would act shy and humble. Fake shy and humble of course, she had a hell of a curriculum “She spent a year in Spain learning about their cuisine, she brought some really good recipes, Hey! You could teach us some right now, Kyung Soo is taking the test for the cooking certification and …” You didn’t need a brain to shout ‘Really?!’ and jump on your seat excitedly “Yes…is an old dream of mine” She felt like pinching his cheeks “Kyung Soo was just telling me that he is a bit scared because is a hard test” “It is…but is very intuitive, if you practice enough and you know your ingredients you know that some recipes can be cooked in one way only or that they need some ingredients to be what they are” “Yes, like salt, everything needs salt” Mister Kang was joking, and it was a bad joke, but she was still tipsy, and Kyung Soo was too polite not to laugh. A new customer arrived and Mister Kang went to take their order. Now that they were alone and that her brain and body felt a bit sober, she was brave enough to speak up. When the three of them were talking, she couldn’t stop thinking about telling him how much she admired him. This was a once in a lifetime kind of thing, and she knew that Kyung Soo was the kind of guy who would appreciate a word of support. So as soon as they were left alone, she took a deep breath, clenched her fist and went for it “Kyung Soo?” He immediately looked up from his plate and gave her all his attention. What should she say now? I’m your fan sounded superficial. I love you was way too much. It has to be something in between. Something that expressed the support of a fan and the devotion of a friend. “Kyung Soo, I just wanted to tell you that your work has helped me through some hard times, has kept me rooted and as filled me with nothing but precious feelings and a sense of love and proudness, so thank you, I’m very grateful for your existence and I hope you know that you will always have my unconditional support” The surprise and shock on his eyes was comical. She caught him unprepared. She would have been scared by his silence, but she knew him well, he was looking for the right words “I wouldn’t have thought you were a fan” “Why?” “Our fans tend to be younger” Of course she wasn’t offended by it, she always felt a bit older than the fans around her at concerts. But Kyung Soo’s regret was excessive. He apologized immediately “Don’t worry, I know what you mean, I’m always called the big sister, I’m a couple of months older than you though” Kyung Soo looked down, smiling, his legs fidgeting “What you said, applies to our group…or I’m your …favorite?” How could he look so shy asking something like that? He should be used to this “Did I make you uncomfortable?” He moved his hands in front of her face “No, not at all, it’s just…you never really get used to this, people giving you their attention and care without really knowing you” “Well, we know each other now” She heard herself and could punch her face. She sounded so horribly flirty when she said that. She knew that voice. It was her hunting voice. She used it whenever she encountered a cute boy. Maybe she was still tipsy. But that wasn’t the worst thing. The worst thing was that Kyung Soo reacted to her flirty hunting voice. He stopped fidgeting, he squared his shoulders and grinned at her “Yes, now we know each other” Before Mister Kang arrived, they clinked their glasses holding each other’s stares for a couple of seconds.

The three of them stayed talking about cooking for about an hour. At one point Kyung Soo grabbed a notepad from his backpack and began taking notes. He giggled none stop when she and Mister Kang got into a heated argument about which was the best way to cook fish. It was almost midnight, time for Mister Kang to close the restaurant, but he invited them both to his kitchen so she could teach them how to cook duck. They were ready to start, apron on, hands clean and all the ingredients ready to use. She was teaching them how to marinate it when Mister Kang’s wife called him “Go on without me, please teach Kyung Soo, we can’t lose this beautiful duck” He left in a hurry and they stayed there staring at the place where he used to be “Could you go on? I have never cook duck and I really want to learn, I’m a bit intimidated by it” She looked at him and was reminded again that this was a once in a lifetime thing, so she grabbed the knife and began to quarter the bird. She taught him step by step, giving him time to take notes and answering all his questions. It was clear he wasn’t just an amateur, he knew a lot and he had a really good technique. The last step, putting the duck in the oven left them with nothing to do for an hour. It was already the next day. She should be tired after a day of teaching and cooking, but she wasn’t. She never felt tired when cooking “You are very good giving instructions” He complimented her. She was too flustered by his quirky compliment. As they waited for the duck to be cooked and golden, she opened a can of beer she found on the fridge and shared it with him. They cleaned the kitchen table together and as they did so, they began exchanging stories. She told him how she got into Spanish cuisine, the struggles, the distance, etc. He also shared a lot. Some things she already knew, but others were new. How cooking with his mom caught his interest. How happy it made him when people liked his food, and her favorite “I’m so bad at expressing how I feel with words, cooking became the way I tell my members that I love them” There wasn’t a right way to answer to that. Anything she could say wasn’t enough. So she only smiled fondly at him and he answered with a shy smile. It was so weird because she knew all his gestures, the shy shake of his head, the grin when something was slightly amusing and the heart smile and crunched eyes when something was hilarious. The way he scratched the back of his head when embarrassed or pouted when he was thinking about something. She knew all of them. But he was now there, in flesh, and everything seemed new. Or maybe not new, but brighter than on a screen or a picture. She always thought that when she attended their concerts. They are so much more beautiful in person. But know, having him so close, brushing shoulders as they moved around the kitchen, she realized that he really didn’t need a sequined jacket to shine “Why did you decide to become a chef?” He brought her back from her silent devotion and answered him, feeling weirdly comfortable talking to him. She knew that he was listening, paying attention to everything she was saying, and that was very encouraging. Kyung Soo was telling her about the first time he burned his meal when he was 12 years old, almost causing a fire, when the bell of the oven rang. The duck was ready. When she took it out of the oven, Kyung Soo looked at her as if she was caring a bag of diamonds and walked behind her, almost resting his chin on her shoulder, so close she felt him against her back “Calm down Kyung Soo” She joked, but he ignored her “I’m so excited, let’s try it” “Of course we are eating it, do me a favor, in that cabinet over there, Mister Kang keeps his wines, bring a bottle” “Can we do that?” He asked innocently “Of course, I gave him most of them, don’t worry” Kyung Soo followed her instructions with a bit of uncertainty, but did it anyway. She felt a complicity between them that felt invigorating. As they ate, they kept talking about food. She couldn’t remember talking so much about food with someone, not even her colleagues. Kyung Soo professed his great admiration. He knew a lot, but she was sharing with him little tricks and secrets you could only learn with practice “You know what issue I have with food, especially Korean food or Japanese food? It never tastes as good as in restaurants or…is just never good enough” She got that question from her students quite often “Oh, that’s easy, you are using store-bought soy sauce and miso right?” “Yes…of course” “No, to get the best flavor you have to ferment your beans my boy” Damn it her mouth. He didn’t react, thank god “At home?” She nodded, sipping from her glass “You know how?” His interest had him almost crawling on top of the table “Of course, I have been mastering the art of fermenting for years, I have a beautiful pot of miso that has been fermenting for a year now” “Really?!” This was the louder she had ever heard him speak. Ever. His excitement made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world “Wanna come and see?” She bit her tongue, this was her tipsiness speaking. She was slightly drunk again. She was going to take it back, but Kyung Soo was faster “Yes, I would love to see it” He answered looking very solemn “Oh…ok, ok let’s go then” They both got up, holding into their chairs “Are you drunk?” She asked him, sounding quite drunk “You too!” They giggled together “Ok, are you driving?” “Not anymore, I live three streets away from here, we are walking, the fresh air will help us with our tipsiness” As Kyung Soo took the plates to the sink she went to communicate Mister Kang their plans for the night, he and his wife exchanged an accomplice look and moved their eyebrows suggestively “OK, I’m not friends with you two anymore” She walked away slightly angry, and very flustered “Everything ok?” He asked her when she appeared in the kitchen, looking weird, for sure “Nothing, he said to leave everything there, he would clean it tomorrow” She lied, just to mess with Mister Kang.

The streets were empty, and the night felt delicious. Fine dust-free, fresh and calm. They took a deep breath at the same time, and laughed with complicity. He looked at her smiling softly, a smile that always set so well on her heart "Thank you so much, I have learned a lot with you" It sounded like parting words, but he was walking with her to her house, they still had some time ahead, she was sure "Least I could do Kyung Soo " "What do you mean?" She was surprised by his question, what else could she mean? "As my idol, you have done a lot for me, this is my way to pay you" He laughed a bit surprised "Right, I completely forgot about that" He kept laughing, so adorably that she felt like slapping herself to come out of the stupor “It wasn't weird for you when I confessed that I was your fan?” She asked focusing on her feet walking, kind of scared of his answer “No at all, weren't you uncomfortable with meeting me?” “You must know that people feel very comfortable around you” He smiled, hiding his expression, focusing on his walking feet too “I'm glad, I'm glad you weren't intimidated” “Dumbfounded maybe, intimidated never” He smiled even shyly than before and she decided to cut it there, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable "Are you afraid of the test?” He moved his head undecidedly, not a yes or a no “You are a great student, I'm sure you are going to do great at the exam" His eyes shined with excitement "I can't wait actually, How was it? When you took the exam" That was 6 years ago, but it felt even longer "I was terrified, and I had to cook the meal that I didn't like and I wasn't very good at, but I remembered something Mister Kang told me, He said, remember that you are not a chef because you are super smart, or good at math or super good at memorizing stuff, you are becoming a chef because you are good at feeding people and there are no mistakes on that, your food is going to be good always... I know it was a bunch of crap, he does that a lot, but it made sense to me, I'm a great cooker, everybody said so since I'm ten, so how could I screw it? I got in with that mentality, and I did great, just be careful with the technique, cut things as you should, with the right knife and the right angle, be careful with no contaminating your flavors and with the nutritional rules, careful with your salt and oil, the rest is up to your practice and talent, and you have those" "Thank you" “You got this…and we are here” She stopped on her tracks as they reached her building. She began feeling incredibly nervous. She felt her nape tingling and her stomach heavy “Lead the way then” And she did, although her limbs felt stiff. A part of her was feeling weird bringing a stranger to her house. In her short life, she had done that twice, and the guys weren’t complete strangers. Although thinking it better, Kyung Soo wasn’t a stranger either. He felt more like a long-time friend. They climbed the set of stairs and walked down the hallway to the last door. She began looking for her keys in her handbag and soon as her hands touch the cold object she remembered something. The several posters hanging in her walls. Specifically the one of Kyung Soo. That could screw things up and turn everything horribly awkward “Ok, Before you get in, you have to give me 10 minutes” He looked at the door and then at her a bit lost “Oh, Ok, you have to clean or something?” “Yes... Clean” She got in quickly, trying to open the door the least possible. She turned on the lights and she was immediately faced with the framed posters. Two group ones, one of Kyung Soo and another of Sehun. She was one of those. She liked all of them. She grabbed the four frames, one by one, and hid them in the small guest room. She didn’t bother with hiding her Eribong and the records. He already knew she liked Exo, but maybe see himself adorning her walls could be a bit too much. As soon as she was done, she let him in before he regained his senses and run away “Everything is settled, just don't go into that room” She pointed at the closed door where she hid the frames “Did you hide your husband in there?” “Yeah, something like that” The irony of all. He looked a bit shocked “Kyung Soo I was joking, there is no husband there” “Ok, just making sure, where is the Miso?” He sounded very excited, looking around the house, so she guided him into her small but proud kitchen. He followed her inside like a happy puppy and didn’t leave her side as she opened her fermentation station, and took out the crock with the bean gold. She made him wash his hands before allowing him to open the croc, smell it and taste it. He gave her a look. A look she didn’t know. If she had to describe it, she would say it was ambition “Tell me how you did it and I will get you front row tickets for our next concert” She reached for his hand and shook it energetically “You got yourself a deal my boy” She commented, not feeling embarrassed about her weird drunk persona anymore “You call people my boy when you are tipsy?” “I think so” She explained to him the entire process, giving him time to write down her indications. What beans to use, temperatures, times, how much salt, where to keep it, sealing process and all the details to master an ancient custom “It looks like a lot of work” He commented, closing his small notebook and scratching the back of his head “It is, and time too, but it’s worth it, and you will see” “I will?” “Yeah, you can’t go without trying it, I’m going to prepare you some miso soup” His face lighted up as when they called his name in awards shows, maybe more “Also, as you may know, from the fermentation of the miso we can obtain Tamari sauce, I’m going to grill you some fish with it, I have a small bottle so I only use it for special occasions, and this is one” She saw him beam, and he didn’t need to say anything to show how joyful he felt. As she moved around the kitchen, he asked her a question she was glad to answer “When did you start liking us?” “You guys debuted the same day I took the exam, When I arrived home you were performing and I felt a connection, like we were all starting something that day…then my life kept moving on and you guys were there, I did so many things, work in a super busy restaurant, live in Japan, Taiwan, then Spain then I came back to Korea and Exo was there always, it was the only constant thing, you guys gave me a feeling of…family, home maybe, that’s why I Iove Exo and I support and love all of you” “Ah, you are one of those who supports every member” She nodded smiling, as she took the pot out of the stove “I’m one of those, I even support the ones that left” He thanked her, sounding too solemn for the situation. As she was serving the grilled fish, she asked for Kyung Soo to bring a bottle of Soju from her fridge. If he saw the number of magnets stuck on her fridge with his face on it, he didn’t make a comment, she did hear him chuckle softly. She took the food to the small dining table in front of her window and sat in front of him. Their knees touched under the table, the cold denim of his pants brushing her naked knees. It was so weird and a bit scary how comfortable and familiar his company was. He served them both a glass of Soju and then lifted his small glass “Let’s make a toast for the lack of oxygen” She felt a sweet tingle in her chest “Aw, that’s a fermentation toast! for the lack of oxygen!” They toasted for the second time that night, and she didn’t let go of his stare. He didn’t seem bothered “But for real Kyung Soo, oxygen is our worst enemy when it comes to this” “Noted” He answered as he drank the entirety of his glass. They shared that simple meal surrounded by a bubble of familiarity and trust. Kyung Soo ate with enthusiasm, something that was always priceless for a chef. His glossy cheeks got rounder and rounder, his happiness growing with each bite of food. He thanked her for the experience several times. One time he even reached over the table and grabbed her hand giving it a single squeeze and then released her as if burned by the touch, realizing what he had done. She was calm. Of course, her heart was beating fast since he got inside her house. But besides that, she was calm. Because she has known him for a while. He felt like a friend. Obviously, for him, it wasn't the same. He had just met her. But he didn't look bothered by it, or her. Quite the opposite. She dared to say that he was enjoying her company. A lot. He was seeking her company too. He accepted her invitation to her place, and it was now almost two in the morning and he was still there, sharing moments of his life, making her laugh, asking her about her past. All his focus on her. She felt her ego bloom inside of her. Maybe this could… She stood up, trying to run away from her thoughts, startling Kyung Soo “Hey, what about some ramen, I can add some water to the broth, some more homemade miso and we got ourselves some good ramen” She was running away from her thoughts, but now she was using or implying the most cliché thing in modern culture. Inviting him ramen. But Kyung Soo was innocent enough to not know what it meant. “You are inviting me ramen?” He asked, lifting his eyebrows, clearly making fun of her. She clearly didn’t know him well enough “Don’t make fun of me or I’m not cooking you anything and forget about the miso I was about to pack for you” He apologized, laughing, not sorry at all. She cooked and packed in silence, which made Kyung Soo asked her if she was mad about three times. She packed him Miso for about two or three meals and brought two bowls of ramen to the table. He looked at it with bulged eyes “All this for just a bunch of songs?” The way he said it, his surprised tone and the despective manner he used to refer to that ‘bunch of songs’ and just how suitable that comment felt to the entire situation threw her into a fit of laughter that brought tears to her eyes. He laughed with her and kept bumping his knees with hers under the table, telling her to calm down, that it wasn’t that funny. But it was. The entire situation, since he got into the restaurant until now looked like a very well-tailored joke. They finished their ramen, cheeks red, tummies filled and lips still tasting the familiar flavor of simple dishes “Are you dating someone? You have a boyfriend or girlfriend?” She jumped on her seat. The question caught her off guard “No I don’t have one of those, why?” He moved his plate to the side and straightened his back “If we want to move on with the night, I need to know that” She noticed that Kyung Soo’s attack…or maybe signature way of conveying something was to look straight into your eyes. And the eyes that looked at you were powerful, dark and deep. It was impossible to look away “You are drunk” She said, hiding her nervous smile behind her glass of soju “I’m not, are you?” And as some kind of power move, he drank the last bit of soju from his glass “I mean, it’s there, but we ate a lot and I can hold it, I'm not drunk” And if she went over what they had done during the night, she could tell she wasn’t drunk. She hasn’t lost her train of thought not a single time, on the contrary, all her attention was directed to him. Also, her mouth wasn’t that loose. Yes, she called him ‘My boy’ a couple of times, but she didn’t tell him ‘You look hot and juicy like a chicken thigh, and I want to take a bite out of you” Which was a real thing she said once and got her a wonderful one-year-long relationship. For the three bottles of soju and half a bottle of wine she drank, she was feeling fresh as a lettuce, cucumber, and celery. And Kyung Soo said he felt the same. He trapped her legs with his under the table and made her look at him again “What do you mean with move on with the night?” She asked him, looking at his chest, not his eyes. She knew better “I’m thinking what you are thinking” She shook her head “I’m not thinking anything, I’m not allowing myself to do so” He moved his head into her line of sight and grinned at her, moving a hand across the table, reaching for hers, drawing circles with his thumb on the back of her hand “I want to be something more than your idol today”. Her heart and brain stopped working for a solid minute. In the future, she would imagine all the smarts comebacks she could have used. But that was the future, because now, she was shaken to the bone. Her body was smart enough to avoid questioning what he meant with that and instead busied itself with another shore. She stood up quickly and began picking up the plates from the table. Maybe Kyung Soo would see that as a signal to leave. She didn’t want him to leave. But she needed to do the best for her. The water began filling the sink when he asked her from across the room “What is there for dessert?” He wasn’t planning on leaving, that was sure. She could sense a playfulness in his voice, and her brain and heart began working again. Kind off. Her brain was about to betray her for the last time that night “For dessert... Me!” She followed with a loud curse, bumping her head with the rack on top of the sink “Sorry, I take back what I said, I'm drunk, only drunk me speaks like that” She didn’t look at him. But she still could tell what he was doing. He could hear him stand up and walk to the kitchen “It's ok, is not like I was going to refuse that dessert” His voice sounded so close she could feel his heat near her “I asked you before who was your favorite, you said all of us, I don't believe it” “It's true!” She did her best to sound undisturbed “I do understand that you support all of us, thank you for that, but there must be one of us that's different” The first thing she felt was his hand caressing her back. Just a light brush with his knuckles across one of her scapulae “Well...” His touch worked like a spell apparently, she was actually considering answering “Yeah?” The touch of his knuckles disappeared and now she could feel his hand resting on her waist, very lightly, but the feeling was there, dominant “Junmyeon is very handsome” He must have heard her indecisiveness because he didn't take her answer as definitive “Jongin is a God” Her answers weren’t still good enough for him because he kept trying to squeeze words out of her “And we all worship him and?...” He completed. Why was he so sure that she wasn't being honest? “And you” Her voice lost volume, but not sincerity “You are different” “How different?” “You are cute” She didn’t notice the water was about to overflow the sink, so Kyung Soo reached for the faucet and turned it off. His body pressed her against the edge of the sink and now she could feel his chest against her back. Her legs wobble for a second “I know that, but no, I know that I'm an out layer, but how am I different to you?” He put clear emphasis on the last word and made no attempt on moving away from her, if anything he was closer, his chin almost resting on her shoulder. She couldn’t understand why her body wasn’t pushing him away, it was basic self-defense “Why are you asking all this?” “I need to know, and I need you to know” No, they didn’t need to know anything. She spent a big part of the night trying to ignore whatever she was feeling. Everything. But she was weak “I dream with you a lot, well not a lot, but I often dream about you, and not with the other guys” Clearly her mouth had become an independent entity, completely emancipated from her brain. Kyung Soo sighed softly next to her hear, took a step back and turned her around, grabbing her by the waist “What kind of dreams?” He asked with a grin. She smacked his arm, giggling and making him smile “Not that kind of dream dummy” She gasped, embarrassed for calling him that “It’s ok, call me names if you want, your boy, dummy, I don't care” She liked that. For someone who complained about not being good with words, he was nailing it with the sweet talk “Kyung Soo, let me finish what I was saying before, you are cute, but to me you look the most mature and cold headed, I like how you just do what you are comfortable with, image-wise, work-wise, that’s so manly... And also you are just so cute I could... I could kiss you” He looked at her slightly alarmed “Ok, I heard that before! What's this thing with people wanting to kiss other people because they are cute?” His mood changed for a moment to honest curiosity “You know when kids are so cute you just want to pinch their cheeks?” “Yeah” “Ok, it's like that but for adults” He began nodding slowly, his mouth a perfect O, eyes serious and eyebrows furrowed. She really wanted to kiss him there “Oh, that's what they mean... So... I'm being cute now? Do you want to kiss me?” She had to recognize that in order to deliver all that sweet talk he had to have equal parts of confidence and vulnerability. It was only fair to do the same “You have been cute the whole night” She couldn’t meet his eyes, she wasn’t as daring as him “Then kiss me” He grabbed one of her hands and placed it on his face. His round cheek felt soft and warm resting on her hand. She caressed him out of reflex and Kyung Soo closed his eyes, smiling. Since he had his eyes closed, she felt a bit bold. She leaned in, but the rush of braveness had a short life. Fear made her stop “You are being so unfair Kyung Soo” He opened his eyes wide “Why?” She took a deep breath, twice “Let's say that I like you and we sleep together, What about you? I could see this as me sleeping with a man I like, but you see this as sleeping with someone, one more” “But it's not like that” She couldn't know that for sure. He could be just a smooth mother fucker who really knew what to say to get into someone's pants. There was no way she could come out of this unharmed. She was going to say no. This wasn't something she could or should do. And not with this guy. It was too risky. But as she made that decision, a thought came to her mind. A premonition. She saw herself in the future. Five or ten years of marriage, with one baby on one arm and one on the way. Husband out with his friends and she in front of the TV watching the last episode of the most popular drama of the season and there, on the TV, Kyung Soo. Older but sexier, perfect and talented as always. And she saw herself thinking ‘I could have hit that, yes, now my life is a dumb cliché, but I could have had that memory’ So she dropped her previous decision through the window. Maybe she didn't deserve this, but her version of the future deserved it. She still could end up like that, two kids and a husband, but she would have the memory of that time she slept with her idol. So she went and did what her heart, brain, and body told her. She cupped his face with both hands, pulling him down to her. He didn’t resist, he followed her guidance.

She didn’t close her eyes until their lips met. Watching him so close, seeing his pretty eyelashes flutter and his eyes react to her touch. She felt him smile but was quick to answer her kiss. She held him softly and kissed him the same way. She knew he wasn’t going to reject her, so she didn’t have to be this careful. But since he gave her the control of this situation she wanted to do it her own way. Slow, so she could enjoy it. So she could enjoy the softness and fullness of his lips. The remains of the saltiness of the miso ramen were still there, making the kiss comforting and familiar. Something soothing for the end of a charged day. Kyung Soo followed her when she pulled back and brought their lips together again. This time under his rules. Heatedly, nudging at her lip with his tongue. One of his hands rested on her back and the other one at her nape, his fingers sinking in her hair. His kiss was demanding, his lips reaching to hers over and over again. She was breathless when he pulled back, but finding that he was too, gave her some assurance. Said assurance made her go and grab him again. He chuckled. A chuckle that sounded like triumph. His kiss was still intense, and hers too. Her hands went from his face to his chest, encircling his body pulling him closer to her. He was so warm. And he smelled so good. And his body felt right. He just felt right and perfect between her arms. But his kisses were better than all that. When their lips parted, he opened his eyes, gently watching hers and caressed her cheeks with his hand. He passed his arm around her shoulders and pressed her against his chest hiding his face in her neck. She called his name so that he would look at her, but he ignored her. She patted his back calling his name again and she only got a grunt telling her that he was listening. And she preferred in this way. Talking would be way easier for her if he wasn’t looking at her with those beautiful eyes. She was feeling so nervous because one-night stands weren't a thing she practiced on the regular, or ever. The times weren’t optimal to practice such activities with so many weirdos walking around and also she wasn’t interested. And in her modest opinion, Kyung Soo should be as careful as she was. In his case, as an idol, he was prone to encounter weirdos too. And she let him know. He moved his face from her neck. Only his face because his arms remain holding her tightly “You trust me?” He asked “I do... What about you Kyung Soo, do you trust me?” He nodded, smiling gently “I'm worried though, you shouldn't go around sleeping with fans” She wasn’t joking, and he didn’t take it as a joke either. His lips formed a straight line and his eyes went from sultry to solemn “I don't, this is the first” She believed him “And you decided to let yourself go with me?” “I trust you” That was all she needed to know. They both were on the same ground now. In terms of trust, experience, and want. She moved her hands up his chest and began feeling him, a hint of playfulness in her touch and her voice “What else?” He smiled shyly and rested his forehead against hers "You are funny too, talking to you has been an experience, you are also very attractive” It was nice of him to notice it. His lips were only inches away from hers, she could feel his warm breath, his eyes almost closed and waiting for her to kiss him again. She placed her palm behind his neck to bring him closer and placed her lips over his. The sensation she felt was stronger than before and she felt overwhelmed with the promise of the night or what was left of it. He let go of her lips with a smack but held her face close “You must know though that you are not sleeping with D.O…right?” “No, this is Do Kyung Soo” He pecked her lips smiling “You made very clear that you wanted to be more than my idol tonight” “I can’t believe I said that” She laughed with him, kissing him before answering “It was great, don’t regret it” “I don’t” Along the night she came to learn that Kyung Soo was touchy. And not just now, but throughout the night he has always being…close. He sat really close to her at the restaurant, when they were cooking at Mister Kang’s kitchen he was always behind her posing his hand on her lower back so she wouldn’t clash with him. When they later arrived at her house the closeness just increased, as the light caresses. And now that they kissed he just let himself go. His hands knew no boundaries. His palms were around her neck and his fingers between his hair in one moment, and then they moved to her back, her sides, gently playing with her shirt from time to time feeling her hot skin under his fingers. It was then that he finally broke the kiss and placed soft kisses on her neck. She breathed hard as she felt his tongue on her neck playing with her skin “Take me to your bedroom” He whispered feverishly in her ear, rubbing his growing, and promising erection against her thigh. Thank god he was holding her by the hips or she would have landed face first in the ground. What kind of wet dream was this? And if this was a dream she needed to show more dignity. She grabbed his hand, kissing him one last time just in case, and walked him the short distance from her kitchen to her bedroom. He walked behind her, close to her as always and when she let him inside her room he gasped in surprise “What?!” She asked looking around her room searching for what had shocked him but couldn’t see anything “You have a plushy of me, I knew I was your favorite” She looked at the spot he was looking at and found, on top of her bookshelf, her Duduya. The typical plushy of him with the cute ears and the heart-shaped lips, that was a gift from her friend “No…it’s just the cutest one” “Liar” Kyung Soo’s voice sounded deeper, even when smiling. His hands kept leaving warm paths over her body. She didn’t think he was conscious about it. He was just touching her. Because apparently, he liked doing so. And she was enjoying it too. She always enjoyed being touched. Caressed, hugged, pressed against someone’s body, spooned. A caress could unleash an outburst of dopamine. She was on an overdose of dopamine now. His hands traveled to her chin, cheeks, ears and down her neck to plant small kisses all over her collarbone. And she could do the same to him. She could touch him however she wanted to, so her hands were to roam around his shoulders, back and brush his hair. An old dream of hers. He was allowing her to do it. He felt relaxed and exposed. She was glad she could give him that trust. Apparently he felt like that with her from the beginning. And she didn’t do it on purpose. Things just developed in this way. Hopefully Kyung Soo didn’t think the opposite “Kyung Soo I swear to god I didn’t invite you here to do this” She pushed him away from her and he was shocked, his lips pursed comically “I swear I only wanted to feed you” His pursed lips turned into a merry laugh, throwing his head back. She felt like loving him. She could actually love him if he promised to laugh like that “You just wanted to feed me?” “Yeah, I could see how passionate you are about food, and I love talking about food, and I wanted to share it with you” “Ok, you didn’t invite me here to have sex, but at least you invited me to be friends with me right?” She nodded, really liking what he said “I think I did, I like that” He bent down and placed a few kisses over her cheeks making her release a relax chuckle. He kissed her once on her lips and before deepening the kiss, as she wanted, he asked her “Just to be clear, we are still doing it right?” “Yes, of course, we are still doing it” He kissed her lips greedily again and she left out a quiet groan into his lips as she felt his warm palm sliding under her t-shirt leaving a trail. Her heart was beating like there was no tomorrow, feeling only pleasant sensations with his fingers on her skin and his mouth on her neck making wonders. Until now she held his shoulders but now her hands daringly moved down his back exploring him. They were itching to do so. She felt the muscles of his back, his waist, and her hands, possessed by the devil for sure, went lower and held to his…bottom. He jolted and a chuckle merged with a moan, but he didn’t complain. He only moved closer to her, pushing her to the edge of her bed. His hands got rid of her t-shirt quickly and as her shoulders were visible now, he found a new patch of skin he could kiss and taste. She liked that, a whole lot, but she wanted to enjoy the same privileges. She took off his black t-shirt quickly, but in the way knocked off his glasses “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” She grabbed them carefully from the floor and handed them to him “Thank you, I need those to see you” She felt weirdly flustered by his words. He put them on and arranged them on the bridge of his nose. She always liked when he did that. Her body was now freed from his grip, and she had finally a moment to take a step back, metaphorically, and look at him.

She felt herself flushing by the sight of his well-formed body. She knew she was now in a position of privilege and felt greedy about it. She lifted a shaking hand to the side of his neck and descended slowly to his collarbone, she brushed his clavicle with her fingertips and then slid her palm down to his chest. She rested her hand there, watching his chest move up and down fast and hard. She knew he was looking at her, and she hoped her eyes weren’t really showing how delighted she was feeling, how much she wanted him. It could look weird, maybe scary “I want to…I want to do the same” He whispered. She looked up and if she wasn’t showing her desire, Kyung Soo was. She felt his eyes burning her skin. She wanted to feel those eyes all over her skin. She moved her hands to her back, unclasping her bra, and before the garment even hit the floor, Kyung Soo was already sucking the skin of her right breast. She moaned loudly, arched her back and grabbed a hand full of his hair. His hand gripped her harshly but his lips were soft and moved slowly over her breast. He brushed her hair aside and sank his face in her neck, but didn’t feel his lips on her. He had stopped “Can I?” He asked, his lips brushing her earlobe. She had absolutely no idea what he was asking permission for. It was clear they were going to have sex, she had already agreed on that, quite easily. They were already half-naked also. So she asked him what he wanted “Let me leave a mark” His voice vibrated from her neck down the length of her body. She wanted to shout at him, do whatever you want to me! but she refrained to whisper a yes. After that, Kyung Soo’s lips stopped being soft, and they sucked every patch of skin he found and his teeth bit down here and there, not hard to hurt but enough to burn. His kisses were different too. His tongue was very much involved now, and it was wonderful. The kisses were deep, possessive, filthy. She began moaning and his hands showed her he really enjoyed that. He grabbed her by the hips and pushed her to the bed. He crawled on top of her, kissing her the entire time, and didn’t stop until she was finally laying in bed. His lips kept devouring her skin. From her lips to her waist, up and down. Her favorite was when he would stop at one of her breasts and his lips would capture the tip as his hand caressed the other breast. She showed her pleasure in different ways, moaning, caressing and scratching his back and neck or rubbing her leg against his erection. Her breath was deep and fast and she allowed herself to be loud since her neighbor was away on vacation. The heat inside her started to grow and she needed more now. Kyung Soo sat up straddling her legs and grabbed the girdle of her jeans, touching her skin playfully. She wiggled her hips, hurrying him up. He smirked at her and with quick fingers undo her jeans. He pulled them down with such force that she could have fell butt first on the floor. They laughed as she rearranged herself on top of the bed and he threw her pants across the room. She panicked a little bit when he removed his pants and saw his hard member through his boxers. He joined her on the bed, grinning and kissing her just as his crutch rubbed against her. She showed her appreciation vocally. He began rolling his body against hers and she cradled him between her legs to intensify the sensations. Their moans blended into their kiss. Every time he tugged her lower lip between his teeth, she would lift her hips rubbing his hard-on. So he would repeat his action to get her reaction. They remained playing like that for a while until she ran out of patience. Her fingers traveled from his shoulders down to his back until she reached the edge of his boxers. Her touch made him groan and helpfully he took care of his underwear and hers.

She really wanted to touch him. Get him ready for what was about to happen, but he had a better idea. Kyung Soo knelled next to her bed, grabbed her by the hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He dropped some open mouth kisses on her thighs and tummy locking eyes with her. There was some shine between his eyebrows, his cheeks were pink and his lips looked somehow bigger. He was a sight to be seen. She knew what he wanted to do, but he was drawing out the situation way too much “Are you waiting for my permission or something? you know you don’t need it” He giggled adorably and dropped another kiss on her inner thigh “I’m just appreciating the view, I can tell you eat well” “What do you mean?” She knew what he meant. How dare he say that “You are so soft” He said, nuzzling her hip “Oh, you meant that, you like it?” “I do, you are beautiful” He must have seen the surprise in her eyes, he grinned and tugged her body closer placing a kiss on her mount “So I don’t need permission?” “No, you can do whatever you want with me” She made sure to burn in her memory his eyes at that exact second, and how they made her feel “Bad idea” He whispered, as he gave the first lick and closed his eyes in pleasure. She knew she was insanely wet and was glad that he knew how to appreciate that. His lips attached to her immediately, sucking vigorously making her lose control of her body. Her hands were touching herself, then him, then grabbing her bedspread and then repeat. Her thighs were clenching his head, she worried, in the beginning, not hurt him, but it didn’t last long. Her mind wasn’t strong enough to think about more than him giving her oral. She gasped loudly as he slipped his finger inside of her, moving them slowly in and out of her. First, it was invasive, she tensed immediately, but after he gave her a perfect lick, she completely relaxed, and she was sure he noticed. She moaned and groaned with every movement. In general, she had a short wick, but now it was too much. She called his name a couple of times, alerting him, but he didn’t stop. She grabbed his head repeating his warning, and only then he stopped “I heard you, why you want me to stop? You said I can do whatever I want, I want you to come in my mouth” He didn’t even look away to say that. Apparently shyness wasn’t part of his language “Already?” He nodded and resumed his favors. After some seconds, she felt the familiar sensation of her orgasm taking over her body. His name was interrupted by a long moan as her body jerked. She placed her palm around his neck and pulled him up to kiss his lips. They were both smiling in the kiss. She was soothed and he was probably quite glad of his accomplishment. They exchanged some stares, some questions, making sure how they were both doing. And after he could corroborate she was ready for more, he graved her calves and bend her legs over her chest, attacking her bum. It was ticklish and electrifying, he bit and sucked the back of her thighs, sucked her clit and then moved to her other thigh. He turned her around and rested his body on top of her, biting her earlobe, kissing her neck and down her back until he reached her butt. He positioned her on her knees and grabbed her butt cheeks kissing them again. She felt his fingers on her clit again, and it felt like a small torture, he was planning on making her work for it or something? Then he attached his mouth to her again, giving her a slow lick, working on her entrance for a little while. She had to call him on that. Her little heart was going to explode “What do you want me to do?” He moved up and whispered against her hear “Fuck me” It couldn’t be simpler than that “If you want me to fuck you, you have to give me a condom” She turned her neck as much as he could so she could look at him “You are not carrying one?” She was honestly shocked and worried “What? I wasn’t planning on having sex tonight, I only came to visit an old friend” “And I appeared” “Yes” “What If I don’t have a condom” She asked cheekily “I doubt it, but we will have to settle with me only using my fingers…we could work it out” “Oh my god” She hid her face on the bedcover. He was exasperating. He had an answer for everything once he was pumped with confidence. Again she felt like she could love him. “There’s a box in the bathroom, on the cabinet, bring a couple” “A couple?” “Yeah, I have big hopes for you” He dropped a kiss on her lower back and got up laughing. He had no trouble finding them, which was weird for a guy, and came back straight to his duty. He turned her around again and got in on the bed on top of her “I brought two as you said” “Great, but before you put it on, I want to do something” He looked around nervously, stuttering a bit “Are you…you want to…” “Give you a blowjob? yeah” She could be shameless too “Oh…well, you see, If you do that I’m going to come immediately, let’s save it for later” She was a tiny bit disappointed, but the promise of later gave her a good feeling. He was planning on staying for a while, maybe the entire night, or what was left of it. He smiled at her and without a word spread her legs, positioned himself between them. After all the foreplay, Kyung Soo didn’t take any shortcuts, supporting his body with his hands on the bed and with the guidance of her hands, she felt the head of his member slowly entering her. She bit down her lip to control the sight of relief she released. When he was fully inside of her he waited a little for her to get accustomed to him and then slowly started to move. It burned, a good burn and she could risk saying that his soft grunts were better than his singing voice. She trapped him between her legs, she knew he liked that. He was in his element, and she was part of it. And she wanted to add to it. She arranged her hips so he could go deeper. But he stopped his movements, cursing loudly and sitting upright “What?! What happened?” He looked in pain and kept grabbing the right side of his waist “My hip, I got a cramp” He kept rubbing his right side profusely, a grimace of pain in his face. She kneeled in front of him caressing his thigh, not sure how to help him. His frown relaxed and he sighed when the pain was gone. They looked at each other in silence for a couple of seconds. She giggled first and he followed. The giggles turned into laughter, the kind of laughs that hurt your cheeks “Is the moment gone?” She asked cleaning her tears “No, of course not, look at me, still ready, let's change positions though” She did what he said looking between his legs, and yes, he was still ready “My pleasure” She sat on her knees and held on his shoulder, her other hand wrapped around his cock. Fucking finally. She rubbed him leisurely and he closed his eyes, tilting his head back. His neck was exposed, and she really wanted to bite him, but that couldn’t be right. Someone could see it, so she settled for a lick and a kiss. He moaned, caressing her thighs, encouraging her “You are on charge, what do you want me to do?” She whispered against his ear, biting his earlobe “Ride me” Ah yes, her favorite. He rested a hand on her back supporting her as she rearranged herself on top of him and allowed her to accommodate herself before lifting his hips. She could still feel his hand on her back, enjoying how reassuring it felt. His other hand went to her nape, bringing her face closer so he could rest his forehead against hers. His whispered words were supportive and inflated her ego. His eyes were warm, gentle and irresistible. His desire was shining from his eyes and she knew he could see the same on hers “Keep moving like that” He told her, caressing her neck and kissing her slowly, leading her pace with his tongue. She groaned, if she had to choose something from this night it would be his deep, full kisses. She wiggled her hips, trying to feel him even deeper and her arms circled around his neck. She pulled him closer to her chest, wanting one thing. He looked at her, sliding his hands up her sides, under her armpits and back to her shoulder blades, and with a strong grip he brought her chest to his mouth. His lips circled one of her nipples perfectly, sucking on it, his soft tongue brushing over it slowly and tortuously. She was hypnotized not only by the feeling but also by the image. His lips, eyes, cheeks. His rushed breathing and the grip of his arms. These were all things she wanted to remember, so her from the future had something to remember whenever she felt unhappy. He let go of her with a soft pop and met her eyes. She smiled at him and he pouted, grunting softly as he stretched his neck moving closer to her. He wanted a kiss. But how could he be so cute when asking for one? It felt unfair. She gave him want he wanted, and his hands kept busy as his thumbs started to play with the tip of her breasts making her moan and whine into his mouth “Perfect” He said, letting go of her lips to look at her. He caressed her lips with his thumb, and then moved down his hand over her neck, between her breast, caressing her belly from one side to the other and then stopped between her legs drawing circles on her clit “Perfect” He repeated looking at her liking his lips his mouth slightly open. She was already feeling her orgasm close, and she wanted to feel it. And she wanted to feel it with him, at the same time, although it was a bit greedy. She began to make good use of her muscles, softly contracting them around him, as her hips began to move with skill. He reacted immediately, biting her lower lip and grabbing her thighs. He asked for more, faster. And she obeyed. Their breathings were more and more irregular. Her hands held his head, fingers brushing through his soft hair. She called his name a few times in between loud moans, and whenever she did it, Kyung Soo would lift his hips as much as he could, increasing her bliss. There was a moment of desperation where she didn’t know what to do with herself, hug him? kiss him? crush him between her arms? grab his face, neck, shoulders? She wanted to do all that. She liked this so much, she was feeling this so much. It was maddening. Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar heat spreading over her body. An overwhelming feeling of joy and loss of gravity. His arms encircled her waist with a wild force and she hugged him by the shoulders with the little strength she had left. He came with a grunt, and their bodies tensed at the same time. This orgasm was stronger than the one before. So much stronger and violent. Her spine tingled and a massive euphoric feeling took over her body. The wave moved up and down her body for a sprint of seconds. But it took her some minutes to calm down. They were still connected in a tight, tight embrace, panting, riding it out. She kissed him on his neck making him shiver and he nibbled anywhere his lips wanted. They let go of each other slowly. She was unable to meet his eyes, feeling vulnerable and a bit scared of god knows what, but he insisted, pulling her chin up. He was smiling at her, his eyes glowing “Can I stay?” Her voice was nowhere to be found so she only nodded and he cradled her on his arms moving her from his lap to his side. She was glad because her ability to move had left with her voice. He went out of bed, to get rid of the condom she suspected and came back quickly, laying down next to her. She closed her eyes, squeezing the last bits of satisfaction her orgasm gave her. Stretching her limbs, fondling her chest, whimpering softly, closing and opening her legs, rubbing them together “That’s a nice view” He commented, resting his head on her shoulder and passing a leg over hers. She wasn’t surprised to realize that he wanted cuddles after sex. His breathing hadn’t normalized yet, and he felt hot and damp against her. An overall great feeling “How are you feeling?” She could hear some hesitation in his voice, a bit of shyness too. She breathed in and out a couple of times, organizing her thoughts and finding her voice again “I’m feeling very good, you?” “Amazing” She turned around, facing him. He looked as he felt then, she thought. It was so hard to look away, to fight the need to touch him and hold him. It was so hard to fight the burning need of going for a second round. But why did she had to fight it? He wanted to stay. He wanted her as she wanted him. He trusted her enough to let his guard down and sleep with her, share a bed with her. So why fight it, when maybe he was feeling the same? He was looking at her the same way she was looking at him and he was seeking her touch too. The intentions were clear. She stopped fighting. She reached for his cheek, caressing his flushed skin, then his lips stopping there for a second. Her hand went down his neck, his round shoulder. His chest and stomach contracted to her touch and when her fingers reached his dick, he closed his eyes, releasing a long, shivering sigh. She felt so powerful “Oh fuck here we go again” He cleared his throat, fighting a smile “Now is your turn, do whatever you want”. A fuzzy feeling washed over her body. “Bad idea” She quoted him.

---

The ring of a phone woke her up. She was sure it wasn’t hers. It had to be Kyung Soo’s. As his name sounded on her head she felt a strange feeling, like a warning. She pretended she was still asleep. She felt his left arm clenching her waist as his other arm reached for his phone. He picked up, and the sound of his voice made her long for him again “No, I’m at a friend’s house” He answered, pulling her closer to his body “Ok, ok I’m on my way, ok, I will send you my location, I will wait for the taxi at the corner, ok, bye” He hung up and grunted in frustration against her nape “I don’t want to leave” He whispered bitterly “Are you awake?” She remained quiet, still, careful to control her breathing “I guess no” He whispered again, hugging her. She wanted to shout, to turn around, face him and not let him go. She wished he was a bit more daring, so he would wake her up with his kisses prompting her to beg him to stay. But she knew they wouldn’t do any of that. Kyung Soo got up from bed, went to the bathroom and then got dresses. She could only hear him, scared to open her eyes. He sat next to her and called her name, but she didn’t answer. He squeezed her hand and then got up. She was focusing on every sound he made so she could tell when he left, but he was staling at her living room, doing something. Some minutes passed until she could hear her front door close. She waited a couple of minutes before getting up. She walked to the living room with some difficulty, curious to see what he was doing. The container with miso she prepared for him was gone and on its place was his black cap. She grabbed it bringing it to her chest and under it, there was a note. -Thank you- And under those two words, his phone number.

---

Her meeting at the food magazine, where she did freelance work, had just finished when she got a call from a colleague asking her to cover him in one of his classes “It's an advanced class, you only have to answer questions, we are going over some dishes that are included in the exam” “Sure, don’t worry, I’ll be there” He thanked her profusely and sent the details of the class. The institute was known to her. She worked there for a year until she realized freelancing was more enjoyable for her. She arrived an hour earlier to great everybody and prepare herself for the class. She arranged everything they were going to use, put on her apron and got ready to receive her student. She checked the list of six students so she could be familiarized with their names. Her body went cold when she reached the third name. Do Kyung Soo. She cursed loudly, and her brain began preparing different ways to get out of the situation when someone opened the door of the room. Her first student. At it was him. Of course. He called her name softly, as taken aback as she was. His face was in complete shock and he didn’t move from the door until another student arrived “Kyung Soo, get in, what happened? Oh! Our new teacher, we were informed that for today we were going to have a replacement, good afternoon” She was able to relax when this other student came to greet her. The rest of the class arrived immediately after them and they all went to their stations. Kyung Soo’s was on the front, and as she introduced herself to the class he kept looking at her. He wasn’t happy. It was a two-hour class, but it felt like an eternity. She answered all their questions, enjoyed their company too. It was a very good group. But her back and neck were tensed the entire time. Kyung Soo didn’t ask a thing. He only spoke to her went he offered a slice of the roasted pork he prepared. He asked her what she thought. It was perfect. She didn’t have anything else to say. He thanked her and went back to his station. Everybody left after cleaning their station. Except for him. She was writing down the register of the class when he called her name “You have another class after this?” “No” Then there was silence as they kept looking at each other “I'm sorry” They said at the same time. The scene made laugh the both of them, breaking the tension. Some of it “I didn't know you took classes here If I knew I…I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable” “When our teacher sent us your name I was hoping it was you and not just a coincidence” She couldn’t answer. He chuckled bitterly and grabbed his bag, walking to her station. He looked so serious, but his eyes had a hint of sadness. She knew she was the one to blame for it “Why did you say sorry?” She asked him “I was very cold to you just know” She chuckled too, he was acting like that on purpose. She couldn’t blame him though “Why... Why did you pretend that you were asleep that morning?” She didn’t answer, didn’t know how to. Her shame made her look down at her hands “I could tell you were awake” He followed, taking a step closer. She took a deep breath scratching the back of her neck out of nervousness “Remember what I told you about you being unfair?” “About you having feelings and me just having a one-night stand?” She nodded “Well, I pretended I was still asleep because I was taking care of myself” She looked up, feeling slightly braver now she was opening up. He wasn’t serious anymore. His face looked calmer now, no more coldness. Still sadness though “I can understand that... In fact, I thought that was the reason, but what about my number? I left my number and my hat and you didn't call” “No, I didn't” “I left my cap so you could have an excuse to call me, I left my number so you could now I was interested in... Keep in touch” She smiled at him, slightly amused. He had really thought about, planned the entire thing. And also he was speaking so much and looking so vulnerable “I'm sorry... I think I'm not that brave” “It’s just that? Braveness?” “I couldn't, I... I didn't even know what to say” He took one more step and now was standing in front of her, arms reach “I thought you weren't interested” There it was again, the sad undertone. Again, she felt the necessity to be as honest as he was. It was what he deserved “I am, Are you?” “Very” “Oh, after one night?” He nodded briefly “Did you...did you enjoyed our time together?” “So much Kyung Soo, I enjoyed so much, it was so comfortable and exciting and so much fun!” She finished with a nervous laugh, and he laughed with her “It was so much fun!...I really enjoyed our night” She loved how he called it. Our night “But for me is simple, I don’t risk anything, but you Kyung Soo” He reached for her hand, squeezing it like that morning before he left “I can make it work, I want to make it work…that night was, I just…It is so hard for me to…you know” “I know” “And with you it was immediate, you clinked your glass with mine, looking at me in the eye, and I was gone” She couldn’t avoid feel so incredibly full of herself “Several times I wanted to go to your house, but I thought it would be disrespectful, I left my number at your place because it was your decision, I know what being with me could do to you” She cleared her throat, anxious by the meaning of his words “So you want to keep developing that feeling of frien…” He interrupted her sounding a bit exasperated “I want to date you” She gasped covering her mouth, honestly surprised. It never went through her head that he had that intention in mind. She thought he wanted a friend, a friend with benefits maybe. Not a girlfriend “I…are you sure?” He nodded quickly, almost drooping his glasses. He arranged them, pushing them up with his left hand, such a familiar and adorable move. And that move sealed the deal for her “I will like that…all you said Kyung Soo, I felt it too, and I thought it was because I felt like I knew you…but I've been thinking that’s more than familiarity” “It’s more than that, for sure” She looked at their linked hands and squeezed back. She felt him relax “You know if there are cameras in here?” She was confused by his question and looked around them searching for context “No, there aren't, I think it goes against the law” She felt his other hand on her lower back, bringing her closer to him “I’m going to kiss you then” He dropped a soft kiss on her lips, and moved back, looking at her reaction. How else was she going to react if not moving forward catching his lips, kissing him as she knew he liked it. Lustily, meaningfully. And the kiss he gave her was just the same. Whenever they moved apart with the intention of being mature and take this to a private and safer place, they would resume the kiss. It was clear for her that the week she spent wondering if she should call him, missing him, thinking about him was as hard for her as it was for him. She decided to be the responsible adult and gave him one last kiss taking some distance. Her hands couldn’t leave him though “Oh God, this is gonna bring us so much trouble” She said hugging him. He giggled sweetly, hugging her back, nestling his head on her neck. They stayed like that for a long minute until she felt him go stiff, his shoulders filled with tension “Before we move forward I have to tell you something” She grabbed his arms pulling herself away from him, defensive “What is it?” “I'm starting my service on July” She gasped almost theatrically, taking a big amount of air so she could curse him as he deserved it. “Son of a...” He stopped her with another kiss, holding her averting arms. She gave up slowly. For now. She would show him later.

THE END

Notes: Thanks to Brad Leoni from BA for all the fermentation talk.

This story is a little pleasure that I gave to myself. Hope you all enjoyed it as I enjoyed writing it.

Feedback is love.

#exosnet #Kyungsoo #do kyung soo #d.o smut #kyungsoo smut #d.o #dokyungsoo #exo fanfiction #kyungsoo fanfic #exo smut

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be-ready-when-i-say-go · 2 years

Text

Love in a Ghost Town: Part 4--Parry, Game, Match

Eddie Munson’s become content with working his day job. After the crazy stretching of events from 1983-1986, Eddie’s grateful for a little bit of normal in his life.

Older!Mechanic!Eddie Munson. 2003 alternative universe. BlackFem! OC.

The Upside Down doesn’t exist in this fic. But strange things do happen to th town of Hawkins, Indianna. Major Character Death that is not canon as a result of the non-Upside Down AU.

Edited photo of Eddie by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Feel free to view my masterlist here

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It’s not hard navigating the town. Valeria manages to follow the main road down, much like Eddie did yesterday, until she hits what looks like a grocery store. It’s an early move, considering she had another four hours or so before it would be pressing, but Valeria doubts there’s much shopping on a downtown scene this early. Getting groceries now would open up her later morning. It’d be a lot of double back. In all honesty, all Valeria has is time to kill. That and gas to put into Eddie’s truck. Perhaps, she can also grab some snacks for herself. There are a few cars in the parking lot, but given the time of day, Valeria’s sure most of the town is working instead or on their way to work and the few cars she is seeing are the folks who work here at the store.

Valeria needs something fast to fix for Eddie’s lunch and maybe something extra to take care of dinner too, as a thank you for all his help. The truck door slams shut and Valeria surveys the parking lot. She keeps thinking about that headline-- her potential headline. Things were okay so far, but still the inclination to always be alert never truly leaves. She can settle it into the back of her brain when someone else is with her. But when Valeria is alone, the last thing she needs is to be slacking on her job of survival. Not a great look to get taken out because I didn’t take a few extra seconds to look around, she notes to herself before carrying herself across the parking lot. In the corner, near the front parking, she notes the brown truck Hawkins Police marked across the sides of it.

The front doors slide open as she gets closer to them and she spies a collection of handheld baskets right near the entrance. Valeria isn’t a chef. She did enough to survive and when she could cut corners with the occasional front with frozen means, she did. But Valeria could cook as necessary. She could make a casserole for dinner. Valeria has the recipes passed down from her grandmother memorized down to the “pinches” and “lil’ bit of”. It was a hard science to follow but after a lot of errors, Valeria got comfortable enough with it.

She wouldn’t have the time for that up against lunch and she’s sure if she spent all her time cooking Edde would be displeased to hear about it. Something quick would be her best alternative. Pasta wouldn’t hurt; it helps that it’s quick too. Her sneakers are fairly quiet over the tile floors. The speakers are soft as they play music overhead. It’s so subtle that it’s just barely noticeable. Her phone chimes from her pocket.

Still alive? the text from Tammie reads.

Valeria laughs and dials her friend’s number instead. It rings once in her ear and then is immediately picked up. “I’m still alive, Tammie,” Valeria laughs.

“Good! I would sure hope so. If you didn’t answer I was about to call the shop and the cops next!”

“Tammie, it’s just 8 in the morning.”

“And I’m going to make sure my best friend is alive. I let Chelsea and Tatianna know about your whereabouts too. They want updates.”

Valeria snorts. “Funny, because I haven’t gotten a call from either one of them.” Chelsea and Tatianna cared--Valeria knows that. But sometimes they get too caught up in their own lives that even if they have every intention to reach out, they rarely do. More than one fight had been had due to it.

“No, none of that Valeria. You can’t call them out. When’s the last time you called either one of them?”

“Tammie, I love you. But I will take Eddie’s truck and drive the two plus hours back to kick your ass lovingly.” It isn’t about the last time Valeria called either one of them. It’s about the fact that it’s always Valeria or Tammie doing the outreach.

“I know it’s not been easy since we graduated. I know they don’t connect like we do. But they’re our friends.”

Forever a peace keeper. Valeria’s not sure if she blames it on the fact that someone had too because she knows for sure it wouldn’t ever be here to keep the peace or if Tammie was always like that. The years have gotten murky in her memory. Valeria shuts her eyes for a moment, head tilted up and away from the boxes of pasta noodles. “I’m alive,” Valeria sighs. The words make her flash back to the thoughts of earlier in the morning, the kisses she and Eddie shared. Valeria snaps her eyes open and grabs the box of penne pasta noodles. “I’m probably more than alive.”

“Oh, oh, juicy details I presume,” Tammie laughs. “Give them. All of them.”

“I’m sort of in public, so not the full details. But,” Valeria turns the corner of the aisle, facing now the backwalls of the refrigerated items-milk, butter, eggs, creams, and cheeses. “He’s got a lot going for him. Even if at times he’s painfully awkward.”

“No, oh no,” Tammie wails over the line. “Do you not tell me you’ve fallen for another goofy white boy?”

“He’s sweet,” Valeria laughs. Her cheeks burn with her own embarrassment as she grabs whipping creams from the display. She’s careful with her collections of eggs and bacon to replace what they’d eaten just that morning.

“Sweet or not, you cannot sleep with every goofy white guy you meet!”

“He’s only the second.”

“Third--Tommy and Lenny.”

“Leonard, god, I forgot about him,” Valeria cackles as she grabs a packet of chicken breast.

“Yeah, at this point, you’ve got a type.”

Valeria notices Steve at the end of the aisle. He’s got a cart he’s pushing, dressed for work but it shocks her to see him now in the light of the store. His nose slopes into a point, high cheekbones keeping his face young. But still a cop. He catches sight of her and gives, which she returns, but she ducks her head fast and starts away from him--towards what looks like is the cereal aisle. “He’s got a type too,” Valeria returns.

“Who? Eddie? How do you know if he has a type?”

“It’s a small town, Tammie,” Valeria whispers. “Things just sort of come up.” Upon reassessing her basket, she realizes she’s running out of space. Miscalculation but do a half portion of chicken for Eddie’s lunch and then the rest she could set aside for a marinade.

“Hello? Earth to Val?” Tammie huffs through the receiver.

“Sorry, sorry, in the grocery store right now and trying to do mental math,” Valeria returns. “What were you saying?”

“What kind of things can come up that in the span of 24 hours, you’re sleeping with him and figuring out his type of women.”

“And men,” Valeria tacks on.

Tammie is silent for a moment. When she finally speaks again, after a 30 second rush of wind crackling through the receiver, her voice echoes, “What?! A threesome?”

Valeria can’t stop her laughter. “No, no, we talked a lot last night. This morning was more scandalous between the two of us.”

“I. Demand. Details,” Tammie hisses.

“Tell me, Tammie, are you currently in a stall in your job’s bathroom?” Valeria asks upon hearing the echo continue around Tammie’s voice.

“Maybe I am,” Tammie hums. “Maybe I’m not.”

“Just know it was a good time,” Valeria sings.

“You bitch!”

Valeria pulls the phone away from her ear at the shriek, laughing as she does. Tammie’s voice floats faintly from the speaker. She shouts words that Valeria can’t fully decipher and at the tail end laughs too. Valeria starts down the aisle like she’s going to be heading toward the checkout. She needs the cajun season, barbecue sauce, paprika, rice, and a vegetable--frozen would do.

“I need you to call me tonight and give me the details. I get off at 5 and we have dinner ready by 6:30. Call me before we eat,” Tammie orders.

“I will. Promise. Love you, Tammie.”

“Love you too, Val.” Punctuation. Valeria flips her phone closed and noticing Steve lingering at the checkout counter. The boy he stands next too is shorter than Steve, curly brown hair falling around his head. It's a shorter crop—the boys hair— but Valeria knows on first glance that his mother must’ve had a time taking care of the hair when he was younger.

Valeria keeps her head down, focusing instead of finding the right aisle for her needs. “Looking a little lost there, can I help?” There’s a lisp to the words but when Valeria looks up the boy with curly hair smiles at her.

Dustin, reads the nametag. “Oh, uh, browsing if I’m honest. Letting the aisle tell me what I need,” Valeria returns.

Dustin laughs. “Fair enough strategy. Wouldn’t listen too long—they might whisper about things that you definitely don’t need like the rewards program we’ve got.”

“A real salesman,” Valeria laughs. “Can you point me in the direction of the spices then?”

“Absolutely,” he scurries around the register. Something Valeria knows for a fact that only in a town like this would it happen. “Aisle 7. One up from grains, two down from canned goods.”

Aisle 6 has the rice then. Valeria wonders if that’s the same aisle that she got the pasta without realizing it. “Steve tells me you’re in town briefly,” Dustin comments, walking beside her now.

“Yeah, just a few days. Is-are you close to Steve?”

Dustin’s giggle is infectious. “What kind of spices are you looking for?”

“Paprika,” Valeria answers automatically.

“Steve--he used to babysit me. Long story.”

“Do you know Eddie?”

Dustin nods, handing over the tiny bottle to Valeria. “Adore that dude!”

“So you-you found him?” It’s a stupid question. Eddie had confessed that already. She’s just really putting the pieces together—names with faces, trying to understand truly how tight knit the group is. It’s a sick game really. Perhaps Valeria’s own way not to get too close because if she did, she’d be intruding. If she can see how well they all do as they are, she can watch but not dance in the fire. Not that Valeria thought she was getting too close anyhow. It would never really work. But it’s easy around Eddie. Maybe it’s really Valeria seeing if anything like a friendship could or should grow. But when Dustin’s face falters, she realizes the limit she pushed it with her own selfishness. “Sorry, sorry. No need to answer that.”

“I did,” Dustin answers. “I’m glad I did. I’m shocked Eddie talked about that.”

Valeria tightens her hold on the bottle. “A lot comes up sometimes.”

Dustin nods. “It was the whole party—me, Steve, Max, Lucas, Mike, Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan.”

“Jonathan who drives the bus. And Max who works at the candy store. You work here. Steve the Sheriff. Robin, the nurse who I haven’t actually properly met yet.”

Dustin nods. “Sounds like you’ve met a lot of us. Lucas and his family opened up a little bakery in town. Lucas is lined up to take over once he finishes classes at community college. It’s two doors down from the candy shop. Mike’s going away for college, following in his sister’s footsteps on that front.”

“Sister?”

“Nancy.”

It takes Valeria a moment but the petite woman with medium length wavy hair in heeled boots and a long winter coat comes back into her vision from yesterday. “Oh, I met her briefly yesterday. She went away for college?”

“Oh, yeah, Emerson. She’s a whiz. Don’t let her tiny stature and dainty clothes fool you. Studied journalism, worked at a magazine up there for a while. Moved back because of her mother. Runs the local paper here now. Real badass in her own way. Haggled the cops down while we got Eddie into the hospital. We broke a lot of traffic laws that day.”

“Seems like Hawkins really couldn’t get rid of y’all,” Valeria chuckles.

“Party sticks together.”

“Dungeons and Dragons?”

Dustin’s eyes lights up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You play?”

“I-I listen to a friend tell me about their campaigns. I don't really have the attention span to play. Nor the time.”

“But at least you get it. That’s half the battle. Do you need anything else by the way? I should get back to the registers or my boss will kill me.”

“Grains are one up from here, right?” Valeria asks.

Dustin nods with a thumbs up. “You got it! Shout if you need anything else.”

Valeria can only nod, watching Dustin bounce back to his station. Was it really that the party sticks together or was it that all of their situations had dragged them back to this place? One little town and yet it seemingly had a vice grip. Those that wanted to leave it only got sucked back into it for one reason or another. Valeria grabs the yellow rice she wants, and the rest of her necessities before traveling back up to the registers.

Steve’s long gone but Dustin is happy to chat as he rings Valeria up. He thankfully doesn’t ask what brought her into town--perhaps Steve had already warned him about it, perhaps because the whole town was figuring out the stranger town wasn’t there out of volition but out of necessity. “That shop--the bakery--you said it’s two doors up from the candy shop?” Valeria asks.

Dustin nods. “Best donuts in town.”

She can’t recall if Eddie pointed it out last night or not. He might’ve, but the night is a mixture of her embarrassment and her own arousal, so Valeria’s not sure she wants to try to trust her memory too much anyway. She gathers the bags with a tiny salute to Dustin. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy Hawkins!” he calls out.

There’s plenty other things I’d rather enjoy, Valeria thinks to herself. But there’s no need for Dustin to know that. Valeria’s quick to get back to Eddie’s trailer. He’d pressed the spare keys to the truck and to his trailer into her palm that morning with just a passing wink. Valeria wasn’t sure if it’s a private joke, or if it was just Eddie being Eddie but it’d put a flutter in her stomach and she pocketed the keys without a word.

The fridge rattles just a little as Valeria closes it. She immediately reaches a hand out to steady it, afraid that something is going to fall. But nothing does. “Can we not add anything else to this bill?” Valeria huffs. That would certainly make the detour in her vacation even more hilarious, but not what she wanted on her tab of things to pay for. Now, she had several hours to kill still.

“Welcome, what can I get you?” A tall lanky boy leans into the glass displays. It’s a fresh line up, that much Valeria knows. She can spot a fresh lineup anywhere. Her heart melts. Her shoulders drop. People like her. And sure, it was only this boy and his family from Dustin’s early comments that Valeria knew about. But at least there was somebody. There would be just a little bit of relief.

“I heard this shop has the best donuts in town.”

He grins, bright and wide. “That we do. Glazed, filled, Boston cream, bear claws, we got it all.”

“Dozen glazed donuts, if you got ‘em,” Valeria questions, pausing at the glass display. She eyes a few other treats--it looks like potentially apple crumble, but she’s not sure as her eyes take in all the treats available.

“Anything else?”

Valeria looks up and shakes her head. “I think I should be careful with treats,” she laughs. Lucas. She reads the nametag and then looks back to his face. He’s still grinning, but nods and turns to get gloves on.

“Can’t go wrong with a treat every now and then. So are we positive just about a dozen?”

Valeria laughs. “Sweetheart, I’m sure. Dustin recommended this place.”

“You’ve met Dustin?” His voice kicks up, the shock clearly painting his voice. “And he recommended this place?”

Valeria nods, but she understands the raising of Lucas’ brows. Did Dustin recommend the shop for the donuts or something else? his brow asks. Valeria shrugs in response before adding, “I think he might have a sweet tooth though, so I’ll be able to see here shortly if it’s worth the hype.”

Lucas laughs, shock melting away. He nods, Dustin wouldn’t get it. But maybe there were other powers at be. Valeria walks alongside the glass displays as Lucas carries the box over to the register. He pauses to grab a single box, plastic and see through. Valeria watches as he returns back to the big display, grabs another desert and then comes back. It looks like the apple crumble donut she was eyeing earlier. “11.43 for the dozen.”

“And the other one?”

Lucas shrugs, looking directly at Valeria. “I don’t see anything other than the dozen.”

Valeria brings out the few pills--a ten and a five. Lucas starts to count out the change and when he hands it over, she drops the bills into the tip jar. “Pay in advance because if these are good, I’ll be back before I leave.”

“Hope to see you again.”

In Eddie’s truck, Valeria is quick to tap out over the keys, the buttons clicking with the press and the tap of her nails. Found some kinfolk. Just one family so far, but it’s something.

We’ll take it, Tammie replies.

The shop today is livelier than anticipated. For a sleepy town like Hawkins, it shocks Valeria that she winds up parking off on the side lot. The front is full--the garage doors are up. Valeria grabs the metal lunch pail--she hadn’t missed the name Wayne etched into the front of it. Eddie didn’t have much else to use in the way of carrying the pasta, chips, and oranges. He had a bag that looked just barely touched but still fresh so Valeria tossed two in there. But Eddie’s selection of lunch carrying items were limited--not even spare plastic bag filled with other plastic bags tucked into a cabinet as a last resort effort. So Valeria took what was available, packed up the tupperware, canister with water, and took herself back down. Of course, she stopped at the gas station and grabbed a soda too, remembering the Mountain Dew Eddie sucked down during their first meeting, alongside the box of donuts.

“Need a hand?”

Valeria turns the voice, noticing the man from earlier wiping his hand on a rag. “I think,” Valeria starts and then notices the between the pail hooked around her fingers and the balancing she’s doing with the donuts and Eddie’s soda, she may not have enough hands. “I think maybe.”

He’s timid as he approaches. “I’m Gareth,” he introduces, taking the box of donuts from her hold.

“Valeria.”

“Nice to meet you properly.” He nods his head over his shoulder into the garage and Valeria gets the doors locked before follow.

“Thank you for the help, Gareth. The donuts are for y’all--everyone in the shop, folks you want donuts really I guess.”

“Of course,” he smiles. He leads them into the front, sliding the box onto the desk. “And thanks, for thinking of us. I’ll be sure to keep the guys from going into the box grubby hands first.”

“Much appreciated,” Valeria laughs. Sitting are a couple other people, flipping through magazines, but clearly being serviced. Eddie sits at the desk, phone pressed to his ear, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. She’s careful as she places a hand on his shoulder to alert him of her presence. It still makes Eddie jerk up, but he smiles when he sees it’s Valeria. She slips the metal box and soda onto the desk gently.

Eddie presses the phone to his shoulder. “Thanks for this.”

“Of course. Make sure you actually get a donut too. I think I spotted some of the guys plotting the poor treats demise.”

He snorts. “Count me a part of the list. Looks like you visited the Sinclairs for them.”

Valeria nods, noticing now she’s kept a steady slip of her hand over his shoulders. “Ran into Dustin at the grocery store who recommended I give them a visit.”

“Before you know it, you’ll be a Hawkins townie.”

“No, do not put that juju on me. Absolutely not.” Their shared laughter only carries for another moment and then Valeria nods back towards the door. “I should probably get going. Don’t mean to make that other person wait.”

“Oh, no, I’m the one on hold and have been for the last ten minutes. I’m starting to think I’m being suckered.”

“What’s going on?”

“Vendor I get parts from recommended a new place to get our cleaning stuff because I was complaining about the prices rising. But this order was supposed to be in last week. I’ve checked with the post office, I have the track number, and it’s still saying the post office hasn’t received the package. At this point, I’m better off just going into the city and getting it than having them bullshit me about sending out a replacement. I’m now on hold so they can speak with their supervisor to see what can be done.”

Valeria doesn’t get much of a chance to respond before Eddie excuses himself, mouthing sorry, He speaks directly into the receiver, a tilt in his town giving away his slight annoyance, “Hey, yeah, I’m still here.” It says everything he doesn’t: Yes, I’m still on hold. Yes, I won’t be going anywhere until it’s resolved.

Valeria’s been on both sides of the coin herself--has known the hassle of someone else making the mistake but Valeria being the face or voice that bears the consequence as well as just wanting to get a resolution that doesn’t make her feel like she’s going insane.

“If this replacement package doesn’t come, can I cancel this order then and just get the money back?”

There’s a pause. Eddie reclines into the chair, face turned up to the ceiling. “Yeah, just cancel it now then.” A longer pause. “Uh huh, yeah, thank you.” Pause. “7-10 business days depending on the bank, yeah, I got it.”

Valeria scoots the metal lunch pail closer to Eddie. “It’s not much, but maybe it’s better than that call.”

Eddie snorts. “I think anything would be better, that’s for certain.”

She watches the lingering touch, the slow stroke of Eddie’s thumb over Wayne’s name. “I couldn’t find anything else,” she whispers.

Eddie shakes his head. “I tossed mine years ago. It’s probably why I’ve relied on gas station lunches so much.” His words are tight in his throat, soft at the fall from his lips. But his movements continue.

The tension is palpable and Valeria wonders if she’s pushing a wound too far. Her words catch, holding on the sides of her throat like they don’t want her to speak. Like the words somehow know better than her that she can’t speak or something will be ruined. The latch clicks, metal tapping against metal. It only takes a quick push with his thumbs and then the lid falls open, tapping against the back of half of the box.

Eddie’s inhale is deep. “Pasta?” he questions. “Would’ve killed for a PB&J.”

“Is that what Wayne used to eat?”

Eddie nods. “Every single day at lunch. Never wanted anything else.”

“I’ll remember that for tomorrow,” Valeria offers.

“Two oranges?” Eddie questions, holding them both up. “Are you telling me something?”

Valeria snickers. “A balanced diet. Protein. Carbs. Fruit.”

“How do the chips fit into a balanced diet?”

“Fats. Need a little bit of it,” she returns, pinching at Eddie’s side over his coveralls.

Eddie laughs, trapping her hand into his body with his elbow. Valeria’s laughing and tugging gently to free her hand. Eddie’s persistent though, turning now from the chair and moving her hand from his side into his. “That’s what the donuts were supposed to be for.”

Valeria shakes her head. “That’s just me being sweet on you.” It’s not an entire lie, but it’s not entirely the truth either. It’s a nice gesture for sure. But Valeria had wanted to explore more of the town, see how much the town was a sleepy little town not able to keep up with the times and how much of it still held something of a not so distant past.

So far, all Valeria had down was a town that was trapped in a perpetual cycle. Raising a lot of children who wanted nothing more than to break away and then never being able to full get away because of something--parents, personal fears. Hawkins had claws and they ran deep. Quite possibly it wasn’t worth making such assumptions only based on a handful of stories--all second hand to her, and sometimes third hand.

“Have you eaten?”

Valeria nods at Eddie’s question, giving his hand a squeeze. “Yeah, I did.”

“Edmund Munson Junior!” A brassy voice bellows into the air of the otherwise relatively quiet shop.

“You’re a junior?” Valeria asks, brow raising in the question.

“Technically,” Eddie returns and then pushes out of the seat and walks around Valeria. Not without a soft smile and another squeeze of her hand. “Yes, Buckley?”

Valeria takes in the woman--about Eddie’s height if she had to gauge--with chin length wavy brown hair. Her smile is bright, voice raspy like someone who used to smoke or used to scream much too much as a kid. The woman levels a finger in Eddie’s direction. “I’m here on account of a candy pick up.”

“Buckley, I told you I was out of the game.”

She laughs, closing the gap between them, thumping his nose gently. “I’m one of your most loyal customers. When was I supposed to get this news?”

Their hug is tight, but brief. Valeria ducks her head watching them for the moment and tries to place where she’s heard the name before. “I actually got sidetracked this morning. Your candy is at home. You know I would never leave you high and dry.”

“Dingus. What got you so distracted this morning that you forgot the most important day of the week? Hmm?”

The woman--Buckley-- finally seems to take full sight of Valeria. She smiles again, though there is something hesitating in the gaze. Valeria can’t tell the gaze is assessing out of fear or of its an assessment out of curiosity. Eddie groans and it’s enough noise to make Valeria bring her gaze to him. “Not again, Robs,” he laughs. “Please not again!”

Robs? Robin! It clicks, Valeria smiles back at Robin. It makes sense the blue scrubs she’s dawned in. But Robin’s eyes are widening, body physically recoiling from Eddie with the action. “You didn’t! No! Can I have nothing ?”

Valeria can only watch as they laugh.

“You’re-why must we be so alike?” Eddie huffs, shoving her shoulder lightly.

Robin scrubs her palms over her eyes. “I’m bleaching my eyes officially. I’m going to retire from nursing and go somewhere tropical and I swear to god, I’m going to forget about you Eddie. Why are you in my head?”

“You’re supposed to be Steve’s soulmate, not mine!”

“Steve’s like a lost cat and I’m like a lost puppy and we just sort of adopted each other you know. Street rats scraping it by in the town that’s trying to eat us alive. We,” Robin starts, motioning between her and Eddie, “are like sharing--literally sharing--radio frequencies and that get crossed and somehow we’re a soul split into two bodies. We’re supposed to be oil and water mortal enemies given my allegiance to dear ol’ Steven, but somehow when I’m supposed to be holding a blade to your neck I’m just offering you a beer. You disgust me sometimes, Eddie, with how inside my cranium you are.”

Robin’s rant sends her pacing, the squeak of her sneakers denoting when she’s taken the sharp turn away from Eddie or towards him. Valeria finds herself laughing, enraptured in Robin’s frustration. She has a suspicion what might be going on, but she’s much more amused with Robin’s clear distress than anything else. Valeria pops open the box, noticing two donuts have gone missing so far. She takes a sheet from the roll of paper towel that’s been deposited next to the box in all her distraction with Eddie and plucks up a glazed donut using the paper towel to keep things as sanitary as possible.

“Like some sugar to go with your panic attack?” Valeria offers, holding out the donut to Robin. Valeria smiles--genuine, but she can’t help a little drip of seduction behind it too. Robin seems easily flustered and it’s a delight to watch her cheeks go rosy.

Robin’s sentence chokes to a close as she stares Valeria down. She nods--it’s shy and almost imperceptible. Her eyes are caught wide in surprise, lips still parted with syllables that were almost uttered. There’s never been a more perfect definition for the word dumbfounded than Robin’s face at the sound of Valeria’s voice. Valeria grins, passing it over to her. “T-thanks,” she returns.

“No problem. I could, if it’s okay, drop the candy off to you. I’m sort of borrowing Eddie’s truck while my car gets fixed.”

“I-I work at the hospital,” Robin returns.

Valeria nods. Definitely a lot more fun to ruffle Robin’s feathers. But also if the candy is meant for her, Valeria’s not going to let Eddie’s oversight impede Robin. “When does your shift start?”

“At 2. Which-” Valeria sees it, the gears starting to turn again for Robin. She’s returning to herself little by little. “It’s in like 25 minutes. And it’s only 5 minutes to the hospital from here. But would be longer to go to Eddie’s and then get back. So, if-if it’s okay with you, yeah, yeah you can drop it off to me. At the hospital. Where-where I work.”

“I can do that. What candy is yours?”

Robin starts to form words, but her mouth just gapes for a moment. Eddie pushes the donut up in her hand gently to her mouth. “Everything but the peach rings. They should be still on the coffee table.”

Valeria nods, watching Robin finally take a bit of the donut. “Everything but the peach rings, got it. Would I need a visitor’s pass? Should I tell security to page for you, Robin?”

She nods, then realizes the question that’s actually been asked. “Page--sorry, sorry. You should have security page to the 3rd floor front desk for me, Robin,” she laughs. When her eyes slowly drift away from Valeria over to Eddie, they narrow. “Dickhead,” she mutters.

Eddie’s laughter is loud--sputtering like a car that’s not willing to start. Robin’s verbal assault of Asshole, who enjoys too much the suffering of others doesn’t slow his amusement. “Buckley, you know I love you right?” Eddie returns, wiping the corners of his eyes.

“I know you like to see me suffer,” Robin returns. She’s downed half the donut.

“Same thing,” Eddie returns.

“Steve’s going to hear about this. I am so ratting you out for enjoying my suffering.”

Eddie looks over to Valeria. “I mean, Valeria should also be getting some blame. She was playing unfair.”

Valeria huffs, pushing up from the counter. “I was trying to help Robin after you forgot her candy.”

“And who’s fault is it that I forgot?”

“Yours,” Valeria huffs.

Eddie’s brow raises and Valeria can feel the heat blazing under her skin. “Maybe some of it is mine. But..”

“Ew, ew, ew, ew,” Robin huffs, “I don’t need that mental image. Not a second time. Thank you, Valeria. I really appreciate you helping me and my little kiddos out by bringing the candy to me. And for the donut too. It was amazing. I am going to leave now before I embarrass myself any further. Nice to meet you, Valeria. I’m sorry for…being all that.”

“Never apologize, Robin,” Valeria returns. “Nice meeting you too.”

Robin’s sneakers squeak as she turns to head back to the front door. She’s muttering to herself, but the distinct words aren’t clear enough to catch. Eddie plucks a donut from the box, a smile on his lips. “You really don’t play fair. Robin’s never been that flustered in her life since high school.”

“I take it that you and Robin share more than just an adoration for each other.”

“Maybe once Robin and I got a little too drunk and confessed crushes we had--turns out we have a lot more in common than we originally guessed. It also probably didn’t help that her crush had been someone I sort of hooked up with once.”

“Sort of hooked up with?”

“We never got past touching under clothes.”

“Well, now you’ve got a home run so I wonder how that’s going for Robin?”

“Robs, I love her. Her and Nancy keep flitting around each other. Robin’s scared Nancy will leave again.”

“So they dated before?” Valeria questions.

“No. But Robin’s had a crush on Nancy scene ‘85.”

Valeria whistles. “Long time to have a crush. I promise I won’t go breaking her heart. I have a feeling there’s no shovel talk.”

“Yeah, yeah for her, probably.”

Valeria holds her first three fingers. “Scouts honor then,” she states. “No broken hearts.” Valeria means no broken hearts for Robin. That she’ll just drop off the candy and slip away without anything extra. But there’s something in Eddie’s eyes--it’s brief. It’s not quite sadness, but whatever it is turns down his eyes. It dampness the usual sparkle and then the darkness is gone. The shine sparkes again like it always has.

He smiles, repeating her stance. “Thanks for lunch by the way. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Eddie.”

________________________________

2:09PM--that’s the time that Eddie’s radio reads when Valeria pulls into the parking lot to the hospital. The candy was there on the table right there Eddie said they’d be making the departure from the shop back to his trailer and then subsequently back into the town quick and painless. Valeria will give Hawkins that--it’s relatively easy and painless to get anywhere inside the town. There may not be a lot inside of the town, but at least it’s easy to navigate.

The candy rustles in the bag at her side, but Valeria keeps her stride long and even. The doors slide open and upon entrance, a woman greets her at a side table. “What brings you in today?”

“I actually need to see Robin Buckley. I have something for her.”

The woman nods, passing Valeria a pink sticker, VISITOR is written across the top of it. “Head over to security. He can have her paged down here.”

Valeria nods, slapping the sticker onto her chest. The guard is an older man, hat pushed up so far on his head it’s barely on. But he smiles at Valeria approaches. “How can I help you today, ma’am?”

“One of the nurses--Robin Buckley--I’m here to pass along something to her.”

The man nods. “Name, please.”

“Valeria Browns.”

He reaches for the phone, then pauses. “Oh, let me make sure it’s no contraband.” Valeria happily tips the bag forward, showing all the individual bags of candy into his line of sight. His grin is bright. “Oh, the kids are going to love this.” He punches at the keys. “Hi, Linda. Can you spare Buckley for a moment? A Valeria Browns is here to see her.”

A few moments pause. Valeria takes in the bustle of people around them. For a small town hospital, Valeria doesn’t anticipate so many people walking about. Most are staff--denoted by their badges and scrubs. But there’s clearly townspeople here. Some are waiting on the first floor. It looks like there might be some outpatient area. Just beyond Valeria’s not sure. Maybe it’s the emergency department. Though Valeria was sure not to use that entrance.

“First floor, just off from radiology actually.”

Radiology. Valeria smiles when her eyes catch the security guard’s eyes. “Buckley will be right down.”

Valeria nods, stepping off to the side, bag of candy still tapping at her calves. There’s never been a lot of love for hospitals. She’d been at one with her grandmother to identify her parents bodies’. Once Valeria broke her wrist and spent several hours waiting to get a cast. They’re always a little bit too cold and somehow too stuffy at the same time. A necessity Valeria understood, but not a place she could spend hours on end at.

“Uh, hi.” Robin gives a tiny wave.

“Hi,” Valeria returns, extending out the plastic bag. “As promised.”

Robin takes the bag gently. “Thanks. And um-I’m sorry about earlier. That was totally weird. What happened at Eddie’s shop. He and I--it’s complicated and weird. We’re like…siblings after everything that happened. And we just, it’s weird and I want to apologize.”

Valeria nods. “Like I said, Robin, never apologize.”

“But I have to. It was totally, totally, totally weird what happened. Eddie and I are almost too much alike sometimes. I didn’t mean to make you feel weird or anything.”

The urge takes over before Valeria can really stop it. She takes Robin’s forearm gently into her hold. “I’m flattered.”

“But you and Eddie--and I’m--but.” Valeria only smiles, and then Robin’s face lights up. “ Oh .”

“Oh,” Valeria laughs.

“Oh. My. God.” Robin grins, a small giggle leaving her. “Of course, of course. So of course.”

Valeria loves the light in Robin’s face. The way her own giggles make her appear so much younger. “So again, never apologize, Robin.”

“Thank you, Valeria. Seriously. I mean it. Thank you.” Her voice is softer. Robin slips in a little closer to Valeria. “I really do mean it. I appreciate the candy, your understanding. How long are you going to be in town for? You don’t look like someone who’d just pick Hawkins as a place to land?”

“I’m-I’m not really. Just here until my car gets fixed. Check engine light came on and Hawkins was the closest town.”

Robin nods. “That’ll do it. Hasn’t been so bad has it? In Hawkins?”

Valeria shakes her head. “Hasn’t been all bad. Definitely been interesting.”

“Oh, c’mon. Hawkins isn’t that bad. Now.” Now-- present. Then--past. Evolution, but it’s always tethered. One cannot evolve without a starting part.

“Eddie said the same thing,” Valeria returns. “1983-1986?” Valeria tacks on in question.

Robin nods. “Oh, that’s the stretch. You are correct. Absolutely bonkers of a time. I met Steve in ‘84 working in an ice cream shop. The rest is sort of history now. It’s not necessarily jumbled but it’s a lot there.”

Robin’s gaze is unsettled. Like the years are playing in front of her eyes. Valeria’s firms her grip to Robin’s forearm. It seems to bring her back and she shakes her head. Valeria wonders what memories are replaying. How did ice cream turn into a witch hunt for Eddie? But perhaps, there will always be holes for Valeria. She won’t be here forever.

“Madness,” Robin echoes. “Sorry, sorry. Anyways. Thanks so much for dropping off the candy. My kiddos and I are forever indebted to you.”

Valeria only laughs, patting Robin’s hand. She placed it at some point on Valeria’s hands. How Valeria didn’t notice it before, but Robin’s hands are warm. Like she might keep warmers in her pockets so she’s never startling the children she works with. “Tell them it is an honor to drop off candy for their recovery.”

Robin salutes Valeria. “Aye, captain.”

Tagging @munsonology @avidreader73 @2clones-1kamino

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