#or they didn’t have bananas every season of the year

[geisterland]

Like it is so immensely easy to see how people in the ussr (and any post-communist country really) lived like that these little things just tend to get on my nerves… They ate normally and they weren't constantly suffering under political repression. They watched movies, ate ice cream, and listened to the music just as anyone else at the time. Sounds like that panel of Tintin “the Soviets burn straw in their factories to make it look like production is up”. Like no, things just worked there like in any other country, actually.

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I think someone put the brain of a mouse or maybe a squirrel inside my head at some point because all winter I was like “I crave nuts and seeds” and now that it’s getting warmer and brighter out my brain keeps going “it’s fruit time”

Like, modern transportation has made it possible to move many fruits all over the world (in theory) all the time! But the primal early plesiadapiform part of my brain is like “you must eat what is available this season”

[miabebe]

Camp Seventeen: Chapter 2

Pairing - Afab!reader x ot13 (Soonyoung x reader x Minghao)

Word count - 13K

Genre - Greek Demigod AU! We’ve got crack, smut, fluff , angst, hurt, comfort, all of it in this series, buckle up!

Previous chapter

Chapter summary - As you delve deeper into the world of the demigods, a party throws you spiraling down a road less taken. While it seems there's one member who may be able to help you with it, there's another you want to lend a hand to. And more.

A/n - I do have a taglist so comment on this post to be added! And if you enjoyed reading, please don't forget to leave feedback in the comments or tags - we've got lots of chapters to go and hearing thoughts really helps <3

Smut warnings - I'm trying this thing where I won't be adding any detailed warnings as of now now, I will be including them after 1 week instead! I'm trying to keep the suspense for those who are interested but I understand there might be some of you who are wary of reading certain things - I will be adding warnings for your sake in a week's time! (There are no trigger warnings for this fic though!)

(edited) - Sexual tension phew, fingering (f.receiving), male masturbation, oral (m.receiving), threesome, sub-ish Soonyoung, dom Minghao, slight mlm? (feeding her cum), couple of spanks, unprotected sex (plis refrain), they're kinda rough - she's struggling to breathe, Minghao is mean and a bit of a sadist, deepthroating, edging, marking, hickies, sloppy seconds, they both finish inside her, I think that's about it?

Today you slept with both the windows and the curtains closed. 

Not just Seungcheol's eagle, even the late morning sun couldn't wake you up, leading to you casually strolling into the dining hall, late in the day. As you walked in, still dressed in your pajamas, twelve heads turned towards you, following your every step. 

Seokmin turned towards Seungcheol who's gaze was fixed on his food, like it was adamant not to meet yours. Hesitating, the former cleared his throat, taking one for the team, questioning you instead.

“You uh….didn't come to train today.”

“Yes, I didn’t.” 

Walking in, you grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and sat as far away from Seungcheol as possible. If anyone noticed the hostility between the two of you, they didn't say anything. Seokmin looked at you like he was expecting to hear more - then he realised that was all you had for an answer. 

“Why didn't you…...” 

“I got wet in the rain last night.” You munched on your fruit. “Felt sick in the morning.” 

A part of you expected at least one of them to have the decency to ask you how you were doing now but all the boys simply exchanged looks. As you frowned at them confused, Joshua finally looked at you. “Demigods don't fall sick Y/n.” 

You blinked. “What?” 

“We're half gods, so uh…. stuff like bacteria and viruses don't really have an effect against us.” 

Suddenly, at that point, the last 25 years of your life made a little more sense - you realised you hadn't ever fallen sick. You also realised that last weekend when you offered to watch a movie with Seungcheol because the two of you were alone in the house, he had declined, stating he had a cold and didn't want to pass it on. 

Of course he lied. All that man did was lie. 

Scoffing, you shook your head. “Of course we don't.”

“Is there a problem?” Minghao narrowed his eyes at you conspicuously. “Any particular reason you couldn't or didn't want to come?” 

Sighing, you shook your head. “It's just been hard getting used to things, I'm trying but-” 

“There's no room for but Y/n.” Seungcheol finally spoke, looking up. “Quest season is approaching and we cannot have a weak link on the team.” 

“Cheol.” Jeonghan cautioned, looking at him just a little sternly. “Enough.” 

Seungcheol stared back at Jeonghan like he wanted to retort but when the latter shook his head at him, he got up, throwing his plate into the sink a lot louder than anyone had expected. 

If Chan hadn’t muttered that the cab was ready to leave, you would have exploded - how dare he? He was the one who hinted at something more last night and he was the one who had left you in the middle of the storm so why was he behaving like this was your fault?? But before you could say anything, Seungcheol and the members going for morning shifts grabbed their things and set out for the day, unusually quietly. As Mingyu began to follow the crowd, you held him by his wrist, 

“Where are you going? You don’t have work today?” 

“Are you keeping tabs on me, newbie?” Mingyu bent down, smirking at you. “Can I consider you interested?” 

“Your schedules are on the white board genius.” You rolled your eyes, letting him go and pointing at it. “We need to talk.” 

Mingyu frowned, both confused and curious. 

“The house Gyu, my house. I have a final plan for it.” 

“Oh! Okay sure let’s go-” 

“Wait.” Joshua stood up shaking his head. “I don't know what's going on with you Y/n, but unlike Cheol, I cannot walk away from what I am responsible for in this camp. You're going to put that fruit down-” He pointed at the plum you just reached for. “-go shower, have a full breakfast and then you can sit with Mingyu and finalise whatever you have to.” 

“But Shua-” 

“No.” He said in a tone that you knew meant that this was not open for any more discussion as he turned towards the man who was stuffing his face with cereal. “And Kwon Soonyoung, why are your sheets still in the dryer?” 

Oh fuck. 

Soonyoung looked at you confused - you had completely forgotten about that.

“I uh couldn't carry them back in the rain last night.” He muttered, drinking the last of his milk straight from the bowl, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I'll take them now.” 

“Why did you need to wash your sheets in the middle of the night?” Hansol frowned at the man beside him sceptical and Soonyoung glanced at you but you were suddenly deeply interested in some random crack on the table surface. 

“I was bored and jerked off.” Soonyoung washed up his bowl, shaking the water off his hands. “It was a good one.”

Hansol groaned disgusted and you looked at Soonyoung scandalised as he shot you a cheeky wink before disappearing out of the hall. A part of you was kind of relieved - you were worried after last night, especially considering what he said as you were leaving. Perhaps you heard it wrong because Soonyoung seemed just as relaxed as ever, like nothing had changed. 

You were thankful for that - now things could go back to like they were before. 

Or could they? Because Jihoon was yet again looking at you like he knew everything

“This is your final plan?” 

“Yes.”

“Isn't this the first plan you had made?”

“Yes.”

“Y/n,” Mingyu groaned. “If you wanted to do this we could have finalised it days ago.” 

“I told you, I was confused about the whole bathroom situation.” You muttered, tracing mindless patterns over the floor plan. “Let's just make the residence alone. I'll adjust with the common showers.”

“We can still arrange to build a bathroom for you.” Joshua glanced at the papers. “Since we have to divert water pipes, it'll just take a little longer-” 

“No.” You gripped the pencil tight. “I don't want anything that takes a little longer. I want this house made as soon as possible so I can shift to my own space.” 

Your adamance was definitely new but neither boys commented on it. Instead Mingyu pulled out his phone and scrolled through clumsily.

“I need to place an order for the brick and cement and sure Chan has got a decently sized cab but it's going to take a couple of trips to bring the whole load.” He sighed, not looking up. “It's going to take a couple of weeks to get the house ready-”

“No, no no.” You shook your head. This couldn't be happening. “I need my own house as soon as possible, Mingyu….” You looked away rambling as both men frowned. “I'm in my final year, I've uh got projects and submissions to work on. The library isn't well lit enough to study all night and Seungcheol's house is too far from the charging station in the Great Hall, I can't keep making such long trips just to charge my laptop? What if it rains like last night again? What if all my stuff gets wet and-”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Mingyu set his phone down and tried to calm you down. “Though if those are your concerns, you can move into my house. I live close to the Great hall and I have a loft - you won’t have any issues there.”

Oh no. No no. You weren't about to fall from the frying pan into the fire. 

“No Mingyu, what I need is my own space, like every other member of the camp.” You sighed. “And I know it's a lot to ask but I hope we can be done with it fast.” 

“I really wish I could help Y/n.” He looked at you pitifully. “You’re an architect, you know the kind of time it takes to build a house. Maybe if you had opted for something simpler, like a wooden cabin-” 

“Can you build that faster?” 

“I mean we do live in the middle of a forest and I do have automations to cut trees-” 

“How long will a wooden cabin take?”

“A few days.” Mingyu rubbed his chin in thought. “Provided it doesn't rain or-” 

“Do it.”

Both men looked surprised. 

“You're sure?” Joshua spoke up this time. “Wooden homes tend to feel colder, it would also be harder to-”

“I'm sure.” You nodded, gathering the sheets. “I'll have to make a few amendments to the layout then you can start. Meanwhile, why don't you go ahead now with the….. wood gathering?”

Mingyu nodded, stuffing his phone into his pocket, resting his face on his interlocked hands. 

“What're you waiting for Mingyu?” 

“Now as in right now??”

“Yes right now.” You looked at him like it was obvious. “Please.” 

Joshua nodded, signalling Mingyu to leave and grumbling, the bigger man left, much to your relief. Just a few more days. You could handle a few more days with Seungcheol, right? 

“You cannot.” Joshua turned to you. “You cannot survive with a group of people if you don't communicate Y/n. Do you want to tell me what's going on?”

You let out a deep breath considering it for a minute but then shook your head. “It's not worth discussing. I'll deal with it on my own.”

“Well you better do it fast because,” Joshua pulled out a sheet from his bag and slid it across the table to you. “Things are about to get a lot more hectic.”

You were too scared to extend your hand and reach for that paper. Good god, what else was in store for you. 

“Seokmin and Minghao are already covering physical training for you but being a demigod is so much more than just combat - you need to learn about this world, about its people, about the laws that govern it.” He looked at you apologetically. “I've drafted a schedule where the members will cover these different areas with you. Of course you will have time for your own obligations but you will also have to strictly adhere to the rest…..” 

Joshua's words trailed off as your eyes landed on the timetable and the names scribbled on them.

You counted 12 names, all the members were scheduled to help you except- 

“Wonwoo.” You breathed out. “His name isn't….here?” 

“Yeah…” Joshua scratched the back of his head. “Wonwoo isn't really available for stuff like this, he's got other things to do….” 

Of course he did. He was a top secret government official, he did guard duty at night, he was working on your case too, you could understand that he was busy. 

But what you didn't understand was why he always ignored you. Even earlier when you popped into the showers forgetting that Wonwoo usually washed himself much after everyone, you had in fact, caught him butt naked. 

Any normal person would've covered himself up or at least responded to your small scream, quick turn and innumerable apologies but Wonwoo? He simply grabbed a towel, wrapped himself and walked straight past you into the locker rooms like you didn't even exist, the trademark scent of his perfume the only thing lingering behind. 

“Y/n where are you lost?” 

You shook your head. “I was just thinking about how the bath house would've been more efficient if the showers were attached to the locker room so we didn't have to walk so far in a towel to change.” 

Joshua looked at you like he didn't understand a word you were saying. Or why you were saying it. 

“It's just…. I'm just being an architect, don't bother.” You shook your head then the paper. “Thank you for this.”

“No worries.” He smiled sweetly, getting up, leaving you to your breakfast. “I see your first lesson is History of the Gods. Unfortunately I think Chan is busy with some delivery in the evening so, it'll be just you and Jihoon. I hope you'll attend the lesson earnestly.”

You nodded, giving him a hard smile. 

How were you supposed to last 2 hours with a man who read you like an open book? 

The darkness behind your closed eyelids was supposed to be comforting. That's why you were lounging in your chair, half asleep while waiting for Jihoon to show up. But somehow, it felt like you were being watched and sure enough when you opened your eyes, the face of your instructor of the day was inches away from you.

“Jesus Christ Jihoon…” You sat up scrambling, pulling yourself away from him. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“You're tired.” He tucked his hands in his pockets walking back. “I was wondering if I should let you rest-” 

“I'm fine.” 

“-but it's strange considering you skipped training and slept all morning, yet you're incredibly sleep deprived.” Leaning back against the table he looked at you amused. “What might have happened last night that exhausted you so?” 

Words refused to leave your mouth considering you didn't know if he was teasing you or actually concerned. Given the last few days you assumed it was the former and ignored him as you began closing all the books you had strewn on the table before you. 

“I see you're doing pre reading.”

“Chan gave these to me before he left for work. He said I should read to understand better.” 

“Did you?” 

Of course you didn't. You were almost snoring away and Jihoon saw that, yet he asked the question like he wanted you to feel embarrassed about the answer. 

“I thought you were supposed to teach me.” You shut the last book and glared at him. “If you just expect me to just read off a book, I don’t see why you’re required here.” 

“Are you suggesting I leave my own class?” He raised his eyebrow amused. “I’m going to have to disappoint you but unlike some, I take what I’m told at camp seriously.” 

You glared at him like you were contemplating throwing the book straight at him and you almost did when he walked around the table, sat down on the chair and cocked his head at you. 

“For someone who is the daughter of Hestia, hospitality isn't really your trait is it?  

“How would I know, aren’t you supposed to be teaching me about this God stuff?” 

“I am.” He nodded, crossing his arms. “But it depends on how much the mortal world has already taught you.” 

“I’ve never really bothered myself with Greek mythology.” You rolled your eyes. “They’re just stories for bored children.” 

“Except they aren’t. They are your reality.” 

“Not by choice.” You mumbled. You did not wish to be an outcast in the only world you knew and thrown here. You did not wish for any of this. 

“Parentage is no one’s choice.” Jihoon sighed. “But to be a demigod is a gift. It’s a shame that you disregard your power.” 

“What power?” You scoffed. “I don’t have any….” Trailing off you gulped. 

That was a lie. 

“I am the Son of Apollo which means I was there at the Court of Delphi when the Oracle assigned you.” Jihoon reminded you of the fateful night.

The night when a couple of masked men had forcibly picked you from your dorm, throwing you into a large room of unknown people and a round crystal in the middle on an altar. No sooner than you took a scared, confused step forward it spoke - Daughter of Hestia, Camp Seventeen. 

“The Oracle only recognises those who have God's blood. So if you’re telling me you don’t have any powers and this is all a mistake, you must think I’m an idiot.” 

“If you’re so smart-” You narrowed your eyes at him. “-why don’t you do that mind reading thing you do and figure out what my powers are?”

“I can’t read minds Y/n,” Jihoon looked at you quizzically. “I’m not Athena’s progeny.” 

“Y-you can’t? But all these days…..” You blinked at him confused. “Oh my god, can Jeonghan??” 

He shook his head. “Neither can Jeonghan. Not all of Athena’s children are mind readers. I’ve only ever come across one in my life and if she wasn’t busy shuffling through everyone’s brain in the quest, perhaps she wouldn’t have been killed.” 

You opened your mouth and then shut it, unsure which of the hundred questions in your mind to ask first. 

“If you really must know, my father is the God of Medicine which makes me a natural healer.” He leaned back with a small smile. “I don’t read people’s minds but their bodies. I can tell when one is sick, or hungry….or even horny.” 

You gulped, feeling your heartbeat raise. Could he tell that too? 

“It goes without saying that a demigod's powers are associated with their parentage. So as the daughter of the Goddess of Hearth and Home, I’m assuming you have some sort of bond with fire.” 

Tightening your fists, you refused to meet his eye. 

It made sense why you never told anyone in the human world about your ability to create fire out of thin air but somehow you couldn’t bring yourself to tell anyone in the demi-world either. 

You had seen the powers the boys had - Seokmin was the son of Posiedon, God of the Sea, but he couldn’t create water, only bend it. And Mingyu? His father was the literal God of Fire and even he was only immune to flames. 

But you, birthing fire from thin air? Something told you that even in the world of demigods, the world where you belonged, you were a freak.

“Or maybe I’m an architect because of you know, the ‘home’ bit.” 

“I don’t think so. Your college preference is pretty much just a personal interest.” 

“Then I guess I don’t have any powers.” You shrugged. “Maybe the Oracle made a mistake.” 

“The Oracle isn’t human. It never makes mistakes.” 

“Then maybe my powers are too insignificant for us to care. I mean think about it - what can the daughter of such a goddess have to offer? I most definitely don’t have anything of value.” 

Jihoon stared at you like he had too many thoughts. 

“Do you know the life cycle of a demigod?” 

You shook your head confused about where he was going with this.

“Not everyone born half breed inherits powers and even if they do, it is dormant until puberty. At the ages of 16 to 18, demigods are at their highest energies which gives them an aura that makes them instantly identifiable - the stronger their abilities, the stronger the aura. After they are picked either by their parents or our scout force, they’re taken to the Oracle who puts them in camp where they will be best suited to train and learn to harness their powers. If a demigod isn’t placed in camp by 18, you best believe that they are dead.” 

“Huh?” You blinked. “Why is that?” 

“Because either the inability to handle their own powers will kill them or in rare cases, monsters.” 

“M-monsters?” 

“There’s always good and bad in the world. Where you have gods, you have monsters too.” Jihoon opened one of the books to a page filled with sketches of the most gruesome creatures you’d ever seen. “Most of our predecessors have already locked up many of these in the Underworld but there are still some out there, lurking around. If they sense an aura and you aren’t trained for combat, you don’t stand a chance.” 

“So you think because I’ve managed to survive the last seven years, on my own and untrained, I am powerful?” You frowned. “Did you consider the fact that perhaps my aura was so weak no one could detect me?” 

“I did. That was my first assumption till the Oracle.” He leaned onto the table. “Even Gods have to touch the orb for a reading but your mere presence lit her up Y/n. Your aura isn’t weak, it’s different and my guess is it has something to do with being Hestia's daughter.” 

You hummed, trying to make sense of things. “Well, did the same thing happen with her other children?” 

Jihoon shook his head. “We don’t know. Unfortunately for us, there are no other known children of Hestia - you are the first ever.” 

You stared at him, letting the weight of his words sink in. 

“I’m her only child?” 

Jihoon nodded slowly. 

If that were true, the whole of last week made no sense. Ever since you had discovered the temple, you had been trying to reach out to your mother every other hour. You assumed she might have been busy or probably had too many places to be to tend to you, but to learn that you were her only progeny and she still didn’t care hurt differently. 

Scoffing sadly you shook your head. “What kind of mother doesn’t care about her only child?” 

“One who is not proud of her momentary lapse of judgement.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Jihoon sighed. “Hestia is one of the three virgin goddesses, along with Artemis and Athena. She’s not supposed to have any offspring, much less one with a human. If anything, you are a walking talking symbol of her weakness.” 

“I am her child-” 

“In theory.” Jihoon emphasised. “But in reality, you’re merely a fragment of her.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Humans and Gods don’t mix Y/n. Hell, even humans and demigods can’t.” 

“I’m aware.” 

Jihoon took a pause before he narrowed his eyes at you playfully. “Why and how are you aware of that?” 

“Irrelevant.” You brushed off. “But if what you’re saying is true, how can demigods even come to be?” 

“Because it’s not unlike even the Gods to succumb to lust. At any time they feel particularly attracted to a human they enchant their partners.” When you frowned like you didn’t understand, he sighed and continued. “Enchantment is what we call the process of gods…to crudely put it, possessing people. Taking over their bodies, controlling them.” 

Your jaw dropped. 

“You mean they possess one person to have sex with another???” 

“Well, sometimes it’s just sex but sometimes it is love. They stay on Earth for years together till the lesser gods aren’t able to handle things and they are forced to go back.” Jihoon got up, pacing around the room. “Demigods are born to two human parents who are completely unaware about what happened with them and what their child actually is.” 

“Wow” You breathed out dumbfounded. “You mean to say I have two parents in the Mortal world and one sitting in Olympus-” Jihoon nodded. “-and neither of them care about me?” 

Jihoon looked at you like you had given him more information than he asked for. 

“I can’t speak for your mortal parents but as far as Gods are concerned, they don’t really care about their half human children…… unless they are powerful.” He locked his arms behind his back. “Demigods train for years to become worthy of their parents' attention.” 

“So being a demigod isn’t really a gift after all.” 

Sighing, Jihoon sat down beside you. “You can’t allow yourself to be governed by emotions Y/n. You are the result of a God’s lack of resistance to impulses - those who sit in Olympus have their own flaws. If you run your whole life seeking their validation, you will keep running. They will keep you running.” 

“What do I do then?” You blinked at him lost. “I think I have more than one question I want to ask the woman because of whom my life is a mess. How do I get her to notice me?” 

“Play it smart. First, learn about our world and the things that shape it. Understand how Olympus works - what the God's weaknesses are, what ticks them off, what will bring them on your side.” He turned to you. “If you play your cards right, trust me, your mother will come looking for you in no time.”

Letting out a deep breath, you whispered hesitantly. “Will you teach me how?” 

Smiling in a way that made your stomach turn a lot differently than it used to for Jihoon before, he nodded. “I'd love to.” 

You didn’t even realise when your supposed two hour session with Jihoon dragged on till after the sun had set. 

By the end of it, you had a book full of notes stuffed in your backpack and a head full of information that your instructor had filled. As you stepped out of the library building, Jihoon offered to walk you back to Seungcheol’s house given it was nightfall and as much as you wanted to continue talking to him, you politely refused. You weren’t ready to face that man just yet but just as you began walking towards the Great Hall to grab a snack or two, your eyes fell on Jeonghan and Seungcheol whispering away near the trees. 

As you skidded to a stop in your path, they turned towards you, both surprised and relieved by your presence. When you noticed Jeonghan nudge Seungcheol making him take a step towards you, you immediately walked back, knocking into someone behind you, earning a shriek. 

“Watch it rookie.” Seungkwan muttered as you apologised under your breath. From the corner of your eye, you noticed a couple of the guys standing fully dressed like they were headed out to a party. 

“Y/n.” Seungcheol took another step, trying to get your attention again. “We need to talk-” 

“I can’t,” You walked over to the boys, placing yourself right in the middle of the group. “I’m going out tonight.” 

“Dressed like that?” Seungcheol raised his eyebrows, looking up to down at a really old t-shirt you had donned over a pair of worn out shorts. 

“Funny that a man who pairs socks with sandals is judging me about my outfit.” 

Behind you the boys snickered, glancing down at Seungcheol’s feet. 

“That’s not my point-” 

“Can you drop my bag in my room?” You looked over the leader’s shoulder at his sidekick. “Since you love roaming around that house anyways.” 

Jeonghan caught the bag you threw to him, sighing as he swung it over his shoulder. 

“Well, that would make a total of eight of us..…” Seokmin looked around, doing a headcount. “Dino’s car can take us all but it will be a bit congested-” 

“I can take my bike.” Mingyu offered, running his hands through his hair. “It’ll be more convenient for you guys and-” 

“Can I ride with you?” You turned to Mingyu, looking at him just a little pleadingly. 

Even though you were on the way to a party, you weren’t in the mood to be stuffed in a small car with a bunch of guys right now - all you wanted was some air and space away from Seungcheol. 

Shooting you a small smirk, Mingyu nodded, just in time for his mechanical bull to jog over, modifying into a slick bike the moment it neared him. As he got on, you followed him, gripping his shoulders as you clambered on. 

“Hold tight.” 

Wrapping your arms around his waist, you glanced at the two boys left behind - Seungcheol’s jaw was tight and Jeonghan looked mildly curious, eyes darting where your body pressed up against Mingyu’s back. You could tell the normally cocky Mingyu did seem slightly tense under your touch, perhaps because you were not wearing a bra and he could feel everything very clearly. 

“Shall we?” He muttered, turning on the engine. 

Sighing, you nodded, a part of you well aware that tonight was most definitely going to be a long night. 

“Let’s go.” 

“I’ve been to funerals better than this.” 

You muttered to Seokmin about fifteen minutes after reaching the house that the boys had brought you to for the night. Your expectation had been that of a frat party, one with pizzas and chips and dip and booze instead you were looking at a living room filled with pink balloons, rose gold streamers and french appetisers. 

“Wait till Soonyoung’s alcohol goes around.” Seokmin half giggled, grabbing a canape from the table. “Things always get so much fun after that.” 

You watched the man in question pulling out some bottles from his pockets, handing them over to some boys at the corner of the room. 

The moment Chan’s car had stopped at the location, all the boys had practically disappeared. Seungkwan headed over to a bunch of people Mingyu said were some of his very close friends. No sooner than he said that, he too disappeared as did Chan, Soonyoung and Mingao. The only ones who remained by your side were Seokmin and Joshua but just as you stepped into the house, a couple of girls pulled Joshua away, leaving you with your current company. 

“Why do I feel like something about Soonyoung’s alcohol is sketchy?” 

“Maybe because it’s an illegal blend?” Seokmin shrugged before realising what he had let slip. “You cannot tell anyone. Everyone in camp will kill him and Soonyoung will resurrect and kill me.” 

Laughing you shook your head, grabbing a cracker and topping it with brie, stomach rumbling due to the lack of dinner. 

“You don’t have to keep me company Seokmin.” You turned to the man who was sweet enough to stay by your side. “I don’t wanna ruin your night.” 

“It’s no big deal.” He muttered, putting himself between you and a drunk guy leaning over you to grab a drink from the table. “I know you don’t know anyone here-” 

“I’m not looking to socialise anyways.” You confessed, piling a bunch of stuff on your plate. “I’m just going to sit outside and grab a bite in, hopefully, some peace and quiet.” 

“Oh.” Seokmin looked a little upset, like he wanted to hang out with you but before you could tell him that you didn’t mind his company, Mingyu popped by out of nowhere, pulling his friend by the elbow and dragging him away excitedly. Chuckling, you got back to piling your plate. 

“You worked up an appetite.” 

You turned to see Soonyoung hovering behind you, hands tucked in his pocket. 

“Yeah….” You shoved a spoonful of cold but nevertheless tasty pasta salad into your mouth. “Apparently spending three hours learning about Greek gods can really drain you.” 

“Jihoon can be a bit intense with teaching.” Soonyoung laughed, nonchalantly wiping the cream at the edge of your lips with his thumb. “The trick is to remind him about his workout. He'll drop everything and run.” 

“Huh.” You laughed uncertainly before struggling to swallow your bite and turning to him. He stared at you stuffing your mouth with an expression you couldn’t quite read. 

“Soonyoung we…. “ You swallowed. “We didn't get to talk about last night.”

“Oh.” Soonyoung blinked. “What about it?”

About what he said. About if you heard it right. About if he meant it. 

“About if whatever happened was…. of any use with Mina?” You diverted like a coward.

“I uh haven't spoken to her yet.” Soonyoung confessed, scratching the back of his head. “Surprisingly I haven't returned any of her calls.”

“Why is that?” 

“I don't know.” He looked at you intently. “I don't feel like doing it.”

“Is there…” You whispered softly, wondering if you should even be asking this. If you were ready for his answer. “....something else you feel like doing?”

Soonyoung nodded, his tongue running across his lower lip, his eyes darting to your mouth. Just as it seemed like he leaned in, out of nowhere, the most beautiful girl you had ever seen, threw her arms around Soonyoung's neck, pulling his mouth to hers instead. 

“Hoshi.” She mumbled against his lips, pressing her body up against him not so subtly. 

You weren't sure why exactly you were continuing to watch the two people before you shoving their tongues into each other's mouth but perhaps that's how shock worked. Though you didn't have the intention of continuing anything at all with Soonyoung, something about being interrupted this way stung differently. 

By the time they had separated, you had chugged an entire can of beer, crushing the metal in your hand.

“And who might this be?” She looked at you, pushing her hair back. 

“She's the new member of camp seventeen Y/n,” He pointed between the two of you, “Y/n, this is Mina, my uh….”

“Girlfriend.” She smiled, with an unbelievably perfect set of teeth. “So the rumours are true. The infamous all-boys-celibate camp finally has a female presence. Tell me,” Her eyes glowed. “Have you gotten your eyes on any of them? Or even better,” She lowered her voice. “Have you gotten your hands on any of them already?”

You looked at Soonyoung, utterly uncomfortable. 

“Mina, you can’t ask such things-”

“Why not? It'll be between just us girls-” 

“Please.” He pulled her back. “Last I saw you, we broke up and now you just waltz back and-” 

“I know, I know. We never should have broken up in the first place. That whole fight was stupid.” She pouted, wrapping her arms around him tighter. “Forget about it Soonyoung-” 

“Forget about it?” His expression was of disbelief. “So you don't have anything to say to me?” 

She looked away, pretending like she was thinking before turning back to him with a smirk. “Yes, I do. I didn't wear any underwear today.” 

Inwardly groaning you stared at the design of the tile hoping the ground would just swallow you instead. You wanted to get the fuck out of here since this conversation was of no interest to you but moving was impossible with both their intertwined figures blocking the way. 

“Come on Soonyoung, it's been so long and I'm in the mood tonight. The bedrooms on the second floor won’t be free for long.” 

Soonyoung’s adam's apple shifted, his words stuck somewhere there as Mina held him by the wrist and began leading him away. As he was dragged off, you expected him to turn and shoot you a grateful look, instead, he looked at you wistfully. 

Your plan was simple - stuff your face with all the incredibly bougie food, catch some air in the patio away from all the noise and then leave with the boys whenever they were ready to go. Instead here you were, your plate somewhere unattended while you were gripping the edge of the sink, leaning over it, chest heaving as you stared into the mirror. 

Now you knew you weren’t supposed to be hogging the washroom for this long but you couldn’t bear to go out. One, you didn’t want to see Soonyoung and his girlfriend again - especially if she was going to be all over him like a leech because something about that sight made your stomach turn violently. And two, you were somehow, for no reason at all, incredibly wet.

Perhaps it was because suddenly, everyone in the party was quite literally all over each other, or because you were thinking about what happened in Soonyoung’s residence this time yesterday, or because you were just plain desperate to have something, anything inside you. 

Last night awakened something in you that you didn’t know existed and now nothing seemed to satiate the beast. Chiding yourself for being out here when you could have been in your own room, having your way with Soonyoung’s toy or your own fingers maybe, you gripped the sink tighter, feeling your heart rate rise unprompted. It was getting harder and harder to stay modest. 

The only thing that stopped you from putting your hand down your pants in a house full of sixty people on the other side of the door, was the knock on it. 

“What part of I am throwing up in here do you not- Oh!” You gasped, walking back as the door flung open and in stepped a slightly inebriated Chan. “What are you doing!?” 

“You won’t open the door….” He slurred. “It’s been so long, Seokmin was worried.” 

“How the hell did you open three locks….” You stared at the door as he slowly shut it behind him. 

“My father is the God of thieves. Are you really surprised that I can open any lock and any door?” 

“I guess not.” You muttered, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. “But you didn’t need to, I was going to come out-” 

“You’ve been in here for over 20 minutes.” Chan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “I thought you passed out or something.” 

“I wish.”

Passing out would be much better than whatever was going on between your legs. 

“You don’t look like you’re enjoying the party.” 

“I’m not. I’m just waiting for us to head back.” 

“Then why ask to tag along?” He raised his eyebrow. “Does it have anything to do with the hostility between you and Seungcheol?” 

“So you noticed.” 

“I think everyone did.” Chan chuckled. “Do you want to tell me why or should I guess?” 

“Shoot your shot.” 

Chan shrugged all knowingly, “He rejected you.” 

You looked up at the boy before you so fast, you nearly fell back thanks to the inertia. 

“W-what makes you think that?”

“Sons of Zeus and Daughters of Aphrodite have a natural tendency to attract the opposite sex.” He stated like it was obvious. “Seungcheol has women swooning over him like they're in some sort of trance. He doesn't really care for them because he knows it's a mere chemical attraction thanks to his dad. Instead he just ignores them or if things get unbearable, he breaks their hearts so they snap out of it.” 

You knew Chan had to be quite tipsy to so bluntly place you in the list of women Seungcheol had rejected. It wasn't like that was it? Yesterday in the rain, he had hinted his feelings for you, he almost kissed you but….. what about what you were feeling? Was this irresistible attraction you felt towards him nothing but chemical? 

Considering how you had been feeling since Mina wrapped herself all over Soonyoung…. You wouldn't have felt that if your heart was set out on Seungcheol right? 

Then again….. it was Seungcheol’s name that left your mouth as you orgasmed yesterday. 

Staring at the floor you shook your head slightly. You could not think about last night again, not with how soaked you already were at the moment. 

“Hey,” Chan inched closer, putting his finger under your chin, lifting your face to meet your eyes. He did not however notice the way you pressed your thighs together at his touch. His eyes skimmed over the features of your face, a slight amused smile forming on his face. “You’re flushed…. Did you have any of Soonyoung’s alcohol?” 

You shook your head but were unable to shake his fingers from your face. “His blend is not my drink of choice.” 

“Oh gods, please don’t tell me you had any beer.” 

“I think I had two cans…… or maybe four?” You frowned. “I can't remember but I'm not drunk! Beer barely makes me-” 

“Y/n,” Sighing, Chan finally let you go. “Party rule number one, you never drink alcohol at an Aphrodite rager.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because Aphrodite’s children are a bunch of troublemakers. Don’t let their gorgeous faces fool you.” He brushed the hair off your face. “You must think people like Joshua are the finest to walk the Earth, but don’t judge a man without knowing his stories.” 

Joshua? You frowned. How could he be anything but a sweetheart? Soonyoung’s girlfriend maybe was an obnoxious toad but not Joshua. He was flawless. 

“You might as well have drank Soonyoung’s disgusting blend.” Chan muttered. “Why do you think his alcohol sells so well at these parties?” 

“Because his annoyingly beautiful girlfriend is a daughter of Aphrodite?” 

“Yes, but also because only the insane drink the booze served at an Aphrodite party. She may be the goddess of Love but she’s also the goddess of Sex and more importantly, her children are addicted to it.” Chan looked at you just a little worried. “Those drinks are their special concoctions of aphrodisiacs.” 

“A-aphrodisiacs???” 

“Aphrodite, aphrodisiacs - not far off huh?” He shrugged. “I’m not sure if it hit you yet - do you feel anything?” 

“No….” You shook your head. 

The correct answer was hell yes. Everything going on with you suddenly made sense but you couldn't tell Chan that, not him. 

“Are you not feeling unnaturally hot?” He looked at you concerned as he sat down beside you, his body unwittingly brushing against yours. “Doesn't the tiniest bit of proximity rile you up?” 

You didn’t answer him. You didn't need him to know just how much even his presence was affecting you thanks to those stupid sex potions.

“I should tell you beforehand, when it hits, it’s going to be intense but the longer you resist it, the stronger it gets.” You turned to him, only just realising how close his face was to yours. “The only chance you have of getting out of it…. is to give in.” 

Gulping you stared at him. The boy who was always bright, laughing around and cracking jokes like he was an old man was looking at you with unusually darkened eyes, his thighs pressed against yours, your hand inches away from him. 

The only chance you have of getting it out is to give in.

“Chan do you think….” You gulped. “...you can guard the door for a while?”

Perhaps if it were anyone but Lee Chan you would have climbed them by now. Because he was right - the more you tried to control yourself, the more you felt yourself slipping. But not with Chan, definitely not with him. He was far too sweet and innocent to be dragged into whatever mess was going on with you. 

“I might uh need a few minutes alone here.” You mumbled. 

Chan blinked like he didn't understand but when you looked away, wiping the sweat trickling down your neck in a pretty cold room, he seemed like he got it. 

“Oh y-yeah sure.” He got up quickly, not looking at you. “I'll be right outside.”

And with that he scurried out, closing the door behind him. 

The moment he disappeared you smacked your head - you didn't particularly enjoy beer anyways, why did you have to drink it tonight? If you were being honest, it was because of Soonyoung and his irritatingly gorgeous girlfriend and their unnecessary antics right in front of you face- 

No. 

No no no. 

You couldn't be spiralling with these thoughts again. Chan said the longer you resisted, it was going to get worse so you were going to do whatever it took to get this feeling out of your system. 

As you unbuttoned your shorts, you got up and leaned against the sink to avoid seeing your face in the mirror, barely able to meet your own eyes given what you were about to do. Pushing your embarrassment aside considering the need of the hour, you slid your hand past the material of your underwear, fingers feeling exactly how drenched you were. 

“Fucking hell.” You muttered. How was it possible that you were this wet absolutely unprompted and for no reason at all? What the hell was in those concoctions?? 

You thought you could just get off with your own fingers but given how easily they were sliding past your hole there was no way you could do this on your own, especially not here. Annoyed, you pulled your hand out and turned, washing it under the running water, sighing at your reflection in the mirror. Chan was right, you were incredibly flushed, your pupils were blown and the sheen of sweat was very evident - oh it was definitely getting worse. 

Maybe you could go find Mingyu and convince him to give you a ride back to camp. If you could get your hands on Soonyoung’s toy again, you could help yourself out of this. That was perhaps the best thing to do right now. 

Adjusting your hair and your clothes, you gave yourself a determined nod and opened the door, expecting to see Chan but finding someone else entirely guarding the door.

“M-Minghao.” You stuttered as he looked over his shoulder, eyes finding you.

“Party rule number two, never trust Lee Chan to do anything in a party with alcohol.” 

You should have known - he might be your age but Chan was like an overexcited child. And did Minghao just say rule number two? Did that mean he was aware….

“You’re still very aroused.” He smirked as you felt your cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I’m guessing whatever you were trying to do in there didn’t work out.” 

You groaned. “I can’t believe Chan told you-” 

“He didn’t.” Minghao shook his head amused. You watched as he ran his eyes from your face down. “He didn’t have to, it’s pretty evident.” 

“I just need to get home and I’ll be fine-” 

“I don’t think so.” He dropped his voice, his wide frame covering anyone from seeing you. “On the contrary, you might quite literally pounce on the first guy you see-” 

“You’re the first guy.” 

Minghao’s eyes darkened as he looked at you wordlessly. Strangely, you felt something shift inside you too - oh god he was right.

“How much longer-”

“There’s bedrooms upstairs you know-” 

”Are you guys done-”  

“No.” Minghao shook his head, silencing the voices behind him as he slid his bracelet off his wrist and hooked it to the door handle, eyes not leaving you even once. “Get in.” 

Surprisingly you obeyed, taking a step back, allowing him to enter as he closed the door behind him much to the disappointment of the many queueing outside. 

“Y/n,” How was his voice so much deeper suddenly? “This is the exact kind of trouble the Aphrodite children are looking for. They want the drama that comes from the inability to control oneself, you’re better than that.” 

“What do you want me to do?” You groaned. “Before you shoved me back in here, I was trying to leave and get back to camp so I can deal with it myself-” 

“The art of war lies in self control.” He slid his arms in his pockets, looking at you just like he did every morning on the training field. “As a demigod, you are at your best when you learn how to control yourself. People misunderstand how this aphrodisiac works - you don't have to give in, it does wear off after a point. Most just don't happen to be able to control themselves till then.”

“Wears off at what point because Minghao, it's been barely 20 minutes since I’ve had those drinks and I’m barely able to get a hold of myself.” 

“Which is precisely why leaving right now is a horrible idea - you don’t have a hold over yourself.” He let out a deep breath. “We can fix it. We can stay here for however long you need and you can let this pass. Consider it a lesson in your training.” 

“We’re training in the middle of a party?” 

“As warriors we’re always training.” He walked past you, sitting on the edge of the bathtub like you had been just a while ago, looking annoyingly relaxed. “Do you think I enjoy these all-pink, snooty french parties? I come here just for the drinks.” 

Your jaw dropped. “Y-you had the beer too?” 

Minghao nodded. 

“On purpose? After knowing what they do?” 

He nodded again.

“Why in the world would you do that?” 

“To practise self control.” He stated like it was obvious.

“By drugging yourself?” 

“A good warrior is one who doesn’t allow himself to be governed by any kind of emotion - lust is usually the hardest to control.” 

“So that concoction has no effect on you?” 

“It's starting to hit.” Minghao looked at you intently as your eyes flickered down to his pants, noticing the bulge. “But I'm not the kind to give in.” 

“Well I think I'm the kind to.” You muttered, throat going dry as you peeled your eyes away. Minghao didn't. “I don't know how to explain it.” You shut your eyes tight, embarrassed of the words leaving you but you knew he might be the only person who understood where you were at. “but I have this feeling like I'm being clawed on the inside, like if I don't have anything in me right this second, I might just lose my mind.”

“I get it.” Your eyes flew open to find him standing right in front of you, his face inches away. “I feel like I'm on the edge of my sanity too but you can fight it.” 

Gulping you looked at the way his lips moved, the vein of his neck stark as was his collarbone peeking from under his shirt. Before this, you hadn’t actually noticed just how handsome Minghao was. 

“l can't.” You whispered, running your eyes over his features. “Can…can you help me?” 

Leaning closer, his gaze hardened. You could see there were thoughts running in that head of his - the warrior was engaged in a battle with himself. 

“Minghao please.”

Grabbing your waist, he spun you around swiftly, trapping you between his hands and the sink, meeting your eyes in the reflection of the mirror. 

“Help you how?” 

You looked at how his mouth was right by your ear and his frame so wide behind you that he was engulfing you merely with his presence. On one hand there were his arms, veins running up them as he gripped the edge of the sink and on the other was the fact that if you just took one step back, you knew you would feel his length pressed against you - both of which were making things exponentially worse. 

“Tell me how you want me to help Y/n.” He muttered, his breath soft against your ear.

“I… you know how-” 

“I was helping. I was telling you what to do-”

“Can't you do something instead?” Knowing exactly what you were doing, you took a small step back, pressing your back against his chest and your ass against his length. “Didn't you say it hit you too?” 

You thought it was a fair enough proposition. Both of you had taken the drink so it was easy to put the blame on it for anything that might potentially happen.

“But I don't need any help.” He shook his head adamantly. “If I help you, what's in it for me?” 

“I'll owe you one.” You sighed. “Whenever, wherever, please Minghao….”

“Remember those words.” He whispered, his hand snaking around your waist to unbutton your shorts, fingers lingering over your skin. 

“W-wait.” You gasped. Though this was exactly what you were expecting when you asked for his help, as it blended into reality, you felt an uncertainty kick in. “W-what if someone opens the door-”

“A door that has the bracelet of Ares on it?” Minghao's reflection raised his eyes amused. “They'd be crazy to.” 

“b-but what if…. I'm too loud or something. Wouldn't we be in trouble?”

“Y/n.” His hand drew back just a little. “Are you sure you want me to….” 

“Yes.” You shut your eyes mortified that just the feeling of him withdrawing his touch was physically painful. “Yes please …” 

Almost instantly Minghao obeyed, his hand snaking past the material of your shorts, just the thin layer of your underwear keeping his fingers away from you. 

“Oh you poor thing, you're drenched.”

You nodded as his hand pushed aside your panties, running his digits along your folds, smearing your arousal everywhere, a fingertip prodding your hole ever so slightly. 

“I'm not sure two fingers are enough for you.” He muttered, groaning. “You really want a dick inside don't you?” 

“So bad.” You whispered back. “I wouldn't even mind two of them in me right now-” 

You felt your words die in your throat as Minghao chuckled, slipping his fingers into your wet hole. “Let's start with two of these first.” 

A soft moan left you as you agreed, hands gripping the edge tighter as his digits simply stayed inside you. 

“Look at you.” He muttered in your ear. “Open your eyes and look at yourself.” 

Hesitating you obeyed, catching sight of the two of you in the mirror as his free hand wrapped around your waist, holding you in place against him. Something about the way your small frame fit against his wider one was….nice. 

You wanted to ask him to move his fingers, to give you something but before you said it, he slowly began pumping his digits in and out, burying his face in the dip of your neck. As his mouth brushed your skin, you felt yourself tense around his fingers. 

“So tight. ” He mumbled. “Oh you'd be such a delight to fuck.” 

“Then fuck me.” You moaned as his fingers picked up speed. 

“Tempting.” His voice left him like a low growl as his teeth grazed your skin. “But I'm a man of principles.” 

“Are you sure?” Reaching for the hand on your waist, you led it up your torso under your shirt, guiding him to your tits.  

“No bra?” He half groaned, squeezing it. “What a doll.”

“Don't you want to fuck me?” Moaning you tried to push your ass further against his rock hard self. “Use me and we can both be free of this-” 

“Don't be greedy Y/n.” Contrary to his words, he let a third finger join his act. “Take what I'm giving you.” 

Feeling a lot more full now, you felt your jaw slacken and no words left as both his hands took turns to harshly pump and squeeze, his mouth along your shoulder and neck, leaving painful, stinging marks of red. 

“Faster.” You panted as his tongue ran along your skin to soothe the burn and fingers obeyed, stretching you out just right. Minghao could tell it wasn't enough and his thumb darted to your clit, having you keen in his arms. The moment he curled his fingers up, met your eyes in the reflection and whispered, “cum for me doll.”, all that was building inside you instantly snapped, your orgasm washing over you in waves. 

Thank god he held you up against him because as you pressed your legs, riding out your climax, they began trembling. When your sight became clear and you came around, Minghao slowly let you go but whatever fire was burning inside you was not satiated. 

Fucking hell. 

“You need more?” Minghao chuckled as he took a step back and you turned to him, eyes still hooded with lust. 

“Perhaps just another…” You ran your hand down his chest, unzipping his hoodie, revealing his black tank top. “Finish off the favour.” 

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “As your campmate I did help. But now as your trainer, I'm going to let you get over the rest on your own.” 

“Minghao….” You groaned. If he was going to leave you halfway, he might as well not have done anything. Now you were, in fact, much more turned that you didn't think his fingers could even do the job anymore…..you needed the whole package. 

But like he said, Minghao was a man of principles, he wouldn't give in…. unless you could tempt him enough? 

Humming you looked around. The four walls of this bathroom did not seem like the right place to try and entice him but thankfully, you remembered Soonyoung’s girlfriend mentioning the bedrooms upstairs. 

“Fine.” You agreed, adjusting your clothes and buttoning up while Minghao washed his hands. Perhaps if the two of you found yourself in the proximity of one of those rooms, you could get him to succumb.

As you pulled your hair into a ponytail, Minghao opened the door, holding it for you to leave first but being the girl you were, you wantonly brushed your hand against his erection, pretending your actions were innocent. He stared at you as you walked away from him, stopping only at the edge of the staircase to glance at him before heading up, hoping he was following. 

Pushing through the crowd of people making out and feeling each other up in a way that was far from decent, you glanced down the corridor, slightly surprised. The house didn’t seem so big from the outside but the corridor before you looked endless with dozens of rooms on either side. You walked past them, avoiding the ones with socks on the knobs, knocking on some to receive screams of ‘go away’ and ‘taken’ and opening some unanswered doors to sights you wished you never saw. Half disturbed and half amused you continued to try and find an empty room when the sound of a particular something made you stop your tracks, eyes widening. 

Your name. 

Your name sounding like a strangled moan, repeated over and over, getting breathless with each word.

Gulping, you slowly pushed the door next to you open, both terrified and curious about what you were going to see because a part of you recognised that voice - it was one you heard on camp all the time. 

Sure enough, before you was a large bed, Soonyoung sitting against the headboard, his pants pushed down his thighs and his dick in his fist, pumping it hard and fast. He didn’t seem to notice your presence, his eyes screwed shut as your name continued to spill from his mouth. Of course this wasn’t the first time you were seeing Soonyoung do this but something had most definitely changed since last time. 

When you took a step ahead, letting the door close behind you, the click of it shutting was what finally got his attention, his eyes flying open. Catching sight of you he immediately swore loudly, tucking his length back into his pants, face turning a lot more red than it already was. 

“God woman, how long have you-” 

“Long enough to hear whose name you were saying.” You looked at him guiltily. “Soonyoung, you have a girlfriend-” 

“Mina and I are not together.” He confessed, gulping.”She wanted to but for the first time ever I refused to….” 

“Why?” You whispered, terrified of the answer. Please, please, please. Kwon Soonyoung cannot be in love with you. 

“For the last ten years I thought no one could make me feel the way she did and that’s why the two of us belong with each other but….” He sighed. “I learnt that that’s not true.” 

You blinked at him as he looked at you softly. 

“And you know why it’s not true.” 

“Soonyoung we….” You walked in, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What happened between us was just a favour, one friend to another. How can there be something between us-” 

“I know.” He nodded. “I’m not saying I’m in love with you or something, I…. I myself don’t really know, all this is new to me too.” 

“But what you were doing,” You tried not to glance at his pants where his erection was still very much evident. “That seemed like-” 

“Y/n I’ve only ever been with one woman my whole life who gave me a boner before I turned her down for good.” He couldn’t look at you either. “What else could I really do…..” 

A part of you understood him. You too were incredibly wound for a while now and you knew what it was like to try and fight it - you too had succumbed. In fact you were still not fully rid of the feeling and Soonyoung was right before you, just as aroused. Yesterday could be justified as an ignorant act whose consequences were not expected but if you went through with this today, there was no coming back from it. It wouldn’t be right…..

.

.

.

But fuck it. 

“You didn’t finish, did you?” 

Soonyoung shook his head slowly

Sighing, you kicked off your shoes and climbed on the bed on all fours, crawling towards him as he held his breath. 

“This is yet another favour.” You clarified, more to yourself than him, “Just so you can understand if it's me you want to fuck or just anyone who's not your girlfriend.” 

W-what?” He stuttered as your hand found the waistband of his pants. “We're going to…?” 

“We don't have to if you don't want to-” 

“Yes.” He breathed out, nodding fast. “God yes I want to.” 

Smiling just a little, you pulled his pants down a bit, the way they were when you had entered. His erection sprung out, lying against his shirt, the tip pink and flushed. You were familiar with how it looked, but this was the most up close you had seen it and the first time you touched it as you wrapped your wrist around the base, earning a hiss from him. 

“How long have you been hard?” 

“Over 20 minutes.” He groaned. “Ever since we spoke at the table…. your ass looked fucking good when you bent over the table.” 

“Yeah?” You pumped his length slowly. “You're not too bad yourself. Your abs are hot.”

Almost immediately, without needing to be told, Soonyoung pulled his sweatshirt over his head, tossing it on the floor. 

“Good boy.” Tongue darting out, you licked the precum on his slit, looking up at his blown pupils. “You taste good too.” 

“Fuck y/n, I might just cum right now.” 

“In my mouth?” You cooed. “Not inside me?”

Groaning Soonyoung threw his head back. Honestly, you had no idea how these words were even leaving you - you owed it to both the aphrodisiac coursing through you and also how submissive Soonyoung seemed in your hands. So reactive, so easy to please. 

The moment you took his tip in your mouth, his hand gripped your ponytail, trying to push himself further in. Pulling back with a wet pop, you clicked your tongue. 

“Uh huh.” You shook your head. “If we do this we do this my way.” 

“Do whatever the fuck you want.” He panted, his thighs twitching. “I'm all yours.” 

Although you had some thoughts about that statement you didn't voice them. One because you really wanted to suck him off and two because you heard a voice you knew most definitely wasn't Soonyoung. 

“So this is how you choose to tempt me.” 

Before you Soonyoung froze, eyes looking past you at the door where Minghao was standing. You could tell the man before you was both shocked and embarrassed and wanted to cover himself up but you didn't move to give him room for that. 

“If you're worried about your modesty Kwon, you should know I don't give a fuck.” Minghao leaned back against the door. “I'm only interested in what Y/n has to offer.” 

Soonyoung looked at you confused as you smiled just a little. Oh you managed to crack him and it didn't even take much. 

“Tell him my offer is still open.” You ran your tongue from his base up. “If you’re okay with it too that is.” 

Soonyoung’s eyes widened, finally realising what was happening. You doubted that he wouldn't be okay with it - the man was quite literally falling apart in your hands. 

Sure enough, he slowly nodded.

“From only one woman ever to this overnight?” Minghao raised his eyebrow. “Your girlfriend must've put you up to a really strong dose of those sex potions.” 

“I didn't drink a-any beer.” Soonyoung muttered as you ran your eyes over his face. He was the same as you - pupils widened, face flushed, breath fast and shallow. 

Oh. 

“You're telling me that woman isn't capable of slipping in a little something to entice her boyfriend who won't crawl back to her like he always does?” Minghao chuckled. “Because I think so.”

Well wasn't this ideal, now you could justify everything that was happening - it was simply three people succumbing to the effects of an aphrodisiac - nothing personal, nothing beyond anything physical. Except deep down you knew it must mean something if despite being drugged Soonyoung rejected his girlfriend because of you and Minghao who was a man of impeccable self control was crumbling for you. 

Except he hadn't really yet. 

Deciding to leave the thoughts for another time, you slightly looked over your shoulder at the man who was leaning against the wall. 

“Only my mouth is busy, I have two more free holes you know.” 

You could tell that something about the energy in the room had shifted the moment you said that, like it was only a matter of time before Minghao joined. Sure enough, you heard the lock of the door click behind you and from the way Soonyoung gulped and his eyes followed his teammate, you could tell Minghao had neared. Wrapping your mouth around the older man's tip again, you hummed at the weight of his dick on your tongue. 

“F-fuck.” Soonyoung groaned under his breath. 

As the bed dipped behind you, you knew Minghao had climbed in, finally succumbing, finally giving in. . 

“Is that the best you got?” He chuckled with a deep voice, pushing your knees apart with his own and running his hand down along your back as Soonyoung stared at him wide eyed. “That won't be enough for me.”

You could feel your mouth practically water, drool leaking down the corner of your lips as you took Soonyoung further in your mouth, earning a pained hiss. Minghao though was still not satisfied as he bent over, one hand unbuttoning your shorts, his breath at the shell of your ear, whispering. 

“Take care of my friend and I'll take care of you.” You looked at Soonyoung to see his eyes flickering between the two of you. “The louder he moans, the harder you'll get it.” 

Most definitely motivated, you sunk Soonyoung’s length deeper into your mouth, his tip touching the back of your throat, a deep groan leaving the man as his hand gripped your hair again to hold you back. 

Minghao smacked it away with the shake of a head as he drew himself back, fingers hooking onto your waistband as he pulled down both your shorts and panties in one go, letting it pool at your bent knees.

You could feel your arousal drip down your legs given how incredibly wet you were. A part of you wanted to see Minghao's face but then you would have missed the sight of Soonyoung panting, looking down at you like the mere smell of you had awakened something wild in him. To make things a whole lot worse, Minghao ran his fingers up your slit, playing with your wetness before gathering it on his digit and holding it out to his friend. 

“Want a taste?” 

“Bold of you to assume this is my first time.” Soonyoung smirked as he sucked off Minghao's fingers and you grinned to yourself. Atta boy. 

Minghao chuckled as he pulled his fingers away, smearing the wetness on the cheek of your ass, landing a smack that sent a sharp sting, making you moan around Soonyoung. 

“Barely a week in camp and look at you.” He mimicked his actions on your other cheek, the impact jerking your forward, Soonyoung’s length slipping into your throat. “Good girl.” 

“So fucking good.” Soonyoung moaned. “That mouth is divine.”

“Not more than this.” Cupping the curve of your ass, Minghao dipped his finger into your quivering hole. You keened at the sensation, but didn't stop working on Soonyoung's dick - you knew if you gave Soonyoung what he needed, Minghao would give you what you wanted and god did you want to feel full of him. When you grinded against his hips, his hands left you and you finally heard the sound of Minghao's zipper despite the lewd noises leaving your mouth being much louder. 

“Fuck baby just like that.” Soonyoug groaned as you picked up the speed, making him feel more and more of your throat. 

You still couldn't tell what Minghao was doing, the absence of his touch testing your patience, your teeth accidentally grazing Soonyoung’s dick making him hiss in pain. 

Minghao chuckled, adjusting your body on each knee to pull out the clothes on your lower half and when he aligned himself behind you, you could tell he discarded his own too. His hands returned to your ass which you guessed was faint red, a colour that was exceedingly a part of Minghao's life, a colour he seemingly enjoyed. Although you did want him to rail you into tomorrow, you didn't mind if he took a moment to admire what he saw. 

As though he was lost in thought about the same, Minghao dragged his dick along your folds, his length bumping your clit and sending a jolt down your nerves, before he aligned himself.

“W-wait” Looking at his friend, Soonyoung let out a strangled cry. “She hasn't been prepped-”

“Oh Kwon.” You felt his tip pushing into your needy wet hole. “She's already ready for me.” 

And with that he buried himself to the hilt, the suddenness making you choke around Soonyoung’s length much to the latter's surprise and delight. Barely giving you the time to get a hold of yourself, Minghao began thrusting into you, the force pushing your mouth to take more of Soonyoung, your hands painfully gripping his thighs. The older man, who could have been a little more considerate, also began ramming his dick into your mouth, barely allowing you to breathe. 

You could feel yourself losing a grip on reality, one man fucking you onto another - you never thought you would ever find yourself in a situation like this but here you were, being wrecked on both ends by men who were strangers just a week ago but god did it feel good. 

Minghao bunched the material of your shirt, pushing it up along your spine, as you pulled yourself away from Soonyoung, desperate to get some air before you passed out. He groaned at the loss of your warm mouth but his expression turned fond as you looked up at him, drool running down your chin messily. Considering you looked absolutely fucked out, you didn't get why he was so enamoured as he tucked your hair behind your ear. 

“Shit I could watch you all day sweetie.” 

You wanted to say something back but your throat felt too sore and bruised so you settled on just giving him a sweet smile. Minghao watched the interaction between the two of you intently, his movements slowing down to deep, hard strokes. You could feel him so far in, reaching spots no one ever had before. Not even Cheol’s dildo model. 

“Do you need a breather?”

Soonyoung's concern laced voice was echoed by another one that sounded a lot more condescending.  

“Do you?”

Though you had barely gotten any air in you for so long and your eyes were threatening to roll back, you knew Minghao would only allow you to cum if Soonyoung did and man did the latter have the stamina of a bull. 

Shaking your head you spat in your hand and wrapped your fist around the base of his cock, stroking it. 

“I'm tired.” You muttered. “Fuck me Soonyoung.” 

Forgetting Minghao’s previous instructions to not use his hands, Soonyoung obeyed, gripping your hair again, guiding your mouth back to his cock. 

“Tap me twice if you want to stop.” 

Much to his surprise, you took him in at a whole new depth, making him throw his head back in pleasure as he held your head down, dick getting squeezed down your throat. At the same time the man behind you decided to pay attention to your clit, making you tremble at the combined sensation but there was nothing you could do - you were at the mercy of both men. 

As Soonyoung loosened his grip, allowing you draw back, you barely had the time to catch a breath before he was fucking his dick into your mouth, at the same speed Minghao was ravaging you from behind. 

“Fuck fuck fuck.” Soonyoung groaned as his movements got sloppy and his grip tight. 

“Fuck I'm gonna come.” 

Oh fucking finally. 

But to your complete surprise, you felt Minghao's weight press against your back as he leaned over you, hips not stopping their abuse on your hole, whispering, 

“Enough.” 

Although you knew it was cruel, you immediately tapped Soonyoung’s thigh and the moment he let you go confused, you pulled away, looking at him guiltily as you got on all fours.

“That's my good girl.”

“Xu Mingao.” Soonyoung groaned as the other man drew back. “What the hell?!” 

Minghao simply chuckled. “You know how much I enjoy pain.”

“Sadist.” Soonyoung mumbled, trying to push himself to the edge again, pumping his length slick with your spit, hard and fast. 

“Oh no.” Minghao shook his head, continuing to fuck the living daylights out of you. “If you cum I'm not letting you get a taste of this.”

“That's for Y/n to tell.” 

“Tell him doll.” 

You didn't know how he expected you to answer as he rolled his hips against your ass, hitting all the spots.

“Tell him what you want.” 

“Don't you…” You moaned as Minghao tightened his grip on you painfully. “Don't you want to cum inside me?”

Muttering under his breath, Soonyoung looked at you with eyes filled with lust. You could tell he was leaning to kiss you, but suddenly Minghao's hand wrapped around your neck, drawing you away. 

Sitting on his ankles, he pulled you back till your thighs rested on him and stripped you of your shirt, baring your body to Soonyoung like a mannequin on display. 

“Didn't you say you could watch her all day?” He smirked at the older man, hand snaking around your waist. “Now watch.” 

You finally seem to understand where the shift in intentions was coming from as he began snapping his hips up into you. Though he wasn't hitting you as deep, his fingers found your clit again and was tightening that knot in you unbelievably fast, your body growing hot and tense. 

It was the sound of Soonyoung’s soft sigh that brought you attention back to him as he watched where Minghao disappeared into you with unwavering eyes, fully discarding his pants. When you let out another unholy moan, he looked up, not before his eyes lingered at your tits, his tongue running along his lower lip ravenously. At the sight of him and with Minghao hitting that spot once again, you finally convulsed around him, your orgasm hitting you with an intensity it never had before. Under your grip as tight as a vice, Minghao swore in your ear as he came too, ropes of his release painting your insides. 

It was only when his warmth hit your walls that you realised he had not worn a condom and you had not cared.

Before you could justify to yourself that Demigods probably didn't get STDs and it didn't matter, Minghao pulled himself out, depriving you of his girth to clamp around. With a swift movement that was all a blur to you, he manhandled you around till you felt your back aligning against Soonyoung’s chest, the latter spreading your legs apart, the mixed releases leaking out of you, onto his dick. 

“Just a little longer.” Minghao tilted your head up by the chin, face hovering over yours. “Be a doll will you?”

You nodded as Soonyoung slipped himself into you with a groan. 

“Fuck I don't think I'm going to last long enough anyways.” 

Considering you still hadn't even fully come down from your orgasm yet, Soonyoung's intrusion felt like an intense surge of pleasure shooting up your being. Overwhelmingly, in less than a thrust or two, you found yourself cumming again almost immediately, walls fluttering, tightening around him. 

Muttering a string of fucks, Soonyoung bit down on your shoulder, his hips moving erratically as he felt himself nearing his high. Cooing into his ear though his thrusts were starting to get painful given your sensitivity, you rolled your hips and with two sharp jerks, Soonyoung finally emptied his load straight into you, cumming copiously. 

As he softly held you against him, letting your breaths slowly become regular again, your vision finally cleared and you caught sight of a half naked Minghao before you, watching you snuggled in the arms of his friend. Your eyes ran down, finally catching sight of the dick that had been inside you, lips curling into a small smile. 

“Good?” 

He asked, scanning your features as he slid off the bed.

“So good.” You muttered, beckoning him with your hand. 

Narrowing his eyes confused, he walked around, picking up all the clothes tossed around before he neared you. Pulling him closer to the edge of the bed by the hand, you wrapped your hand around his dick, leaning over to take it in your mouth. As you licked it clean, tasting your mixed releases along his length, you watched his eyes darken. 

“Just wanted to be fair.” 

“You're not satiated are you?” He smirked amused as you slowly shook your head. “Careful doll, you won't be able to stay conscious through another round with us.” 

“I know..” You muttered, snuggling back into Soonyoung’s chest. “I’m tired. Wanna go back.” 

“Let's clean you and get you dressed first.” Soonyoung patted your head softly, unwilling to move as your eyes began fluttering shut. “Hao, open that third drawer under the sink, there's washcloths in there.” 

“And how do you know that?” 

“This is my gir- ex girfriend's room.” Soonyoung muttered. 

That information seemed to surprise even Minghao who was usually quite unfazed. “You're crazy Kwon.” 

He voiced your thoughts as he disappeared into the bathroom, shaking his head. Within seconds he returned, handing a white towel to Soonyoung who slowly wiped you clean, trying not to brush any sensitive areas.

Just as he finished and his lips softly pressed against your temple asking you not to fall asleep, the sound of a knock resounded in the room, along with a voice.

“Anyone from Camp Seventeen here?” 

“Yes.” Minghao and Soonyoung replied at the same time.

“Someone is here looking for your team. Says it's code yellow.” 

You watched as the boys shared looks, panicked. Slowly pulling himself away from you, Soonyoung caught the clothes Minghao threw to him, the two of them moving quickly to dress themselves.Pulling your hair into a neat ponytail again and trying to ignore your aching body, you swung your legs off the bed.

“What’s going on?” 

“Get dressed.” Minghao handed you your clothes, looking tense. “When a team member calls a code, it means everyone needs to gather immediately.” 

 You nodded, half understanding as you began to dress yourself. “But what's code yellow?” 

Looking at your shivering self, Minghao threw you his hoodie, which you slipped on, letting it envelop you in its warmth. 

“Yellow is a moderate danger alert.” Soonyoung held the door open for you as Minghao stepped out. “It most likely means the camp is under attack.”

Oh fuck. 

Pushing through the crowd, you followed the boys downstairs, trying not to lose them in their hurry. Noticing you lagging behind thanks to the fact that you were struggling to walk, Soonyoung grabbed your hand, wrapping his hand around your wrist. 

From the corner of your eye, you saw Seokmin and Joshua laughing away with a group of girls but before you could call them along, you were dragged away in the urgency of the boys you were with. As you reached the front door, coming to a halt right behind Minghao, your eyes fell on the familiar back of a man leaning against the frame. 

Oh no.

“Chief.” 

Seungcheol turned as both boys bowed, greeting him. 

You simply stared wordlessly, as the blonde man's eyes found you, flickering from the jacket you had donned, to Soonyoung's hand which was still holding yours. 

Behind him lightning cracked opened the sky and rain began pouring furiously. 

a/n - please send me your thoughts - this series is waaaay out of my comfort zone, I need to know I'm not completely messing shit up and if I missed you in the taglist, please lmk! Also please be patient for chapter 3 - I have to temporarily shift focus to my other stories as well, I will be back here soon!

[steddieas-shegoes]

for @thefreakandthehair (and @vecnuthy and @wormdebut while we’re at it) because sometimes you help a baseball player through French class so they can stay on the team and then they end up on the Savannah bananas and you decide to put the fictional men into situations about it *shrugs*

Eddie was going to have to transfer out of this class. This was one of his easiest classes and it was filled with every jock on campus attempting to fill their foreign language requirement with French.

And they were all failing. And annoying. And obnoxious.

And a few of them were also hot.

But Eddie wasn’t gonna focus on that!

He was gonna finish today’s assignment and then head straight to the advising office to find another class that worked with his work schedule.

“Hey,” the guy next to him whispered as the teacher droned on about conjugating verbs. “Do you have any idea what the fuck the homework was?”

Eddie turned to glare at the person, but his face dropped when he noticed who it was.

The campus celebrity: Steve Harrington.

Couldn’t quite make it on the college baseball team, but managed to make the sort-of professional, but mostly joke team Hawkins Hooligans.

Eddie didn’t like sports, never had. He could appreciate that it took skill and whatnot, but he didn’t care much to watch it or make celebrities of people who were just really good at one very specific thing usually involving some kind of ball. But he could appreciate a joke. And this team had jokes.

Steve was actually apparently good enough to play pro, had even been scouted by the MLB his senior year of high school. One week before his professional tryout, he tore a muscle in his shoulder, had to sit for three months and had to do physical therapy for another three, and voila! No pro ball for him. No college either since he missed spring training.

But he still had skill, and he still had a father with a lot of pull in the business, even if it wasn’t quite enough to get him on the Yankees or whatever.

So he was biding his time on the Hooligans until next year when he could try out for the college team again, maybe increase his chances of a real pro career.

Eddie definitely hadn’t watched videos of him during their first few games of the season where they faced the Indy Idols and the Chicago Charades.

He definitely hadn’t gotten a weird flutter in his stomach when Steve had been the one to lip sync to Hot For Teacher while pretending his bat was a guitar.

He definitely didn’t have a crush on Steve.

“Uh. Dude?” Steve asked him again, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. It was the study guide for the first quiz. Not due until next class though,” he whispered back.

“Oh. Thanks.”

Eddie turned his attention back to the professor, not really needing to pay attention since he already knew quite a bit of French.

A tap on his shoulder made him yelp, and the entire room turned to him. He waved apologetically before turning to Steve with a murderous look.

“What?” He hissed out.

“Do you understand this?”

“Yes and you probably would too if you stopped talking to me.”

Eddie was ignoring the voice in his head screaming at him to let Steve keep talking to him for as long as he wanted.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Steve huffed before sitting back in his seat and folding his arms across his chest. He mumbled something else that sounded like ‘I’m just stupid’ but Eddie couldn’t be 100% sure.

“A lot of this stuff is just English spelled a little differently.” Eddie sighed. “You could almost definitely figure it out if you took some notes.”

“Yeah, probably.”

Eddie’s brows scrunched together as he glanced at Steve’s red face.

Hm. There was definitely something to unpack here.

“You can borrow mine if you want,” Eddie offered as he watched the professor switch slides on the presentation. “I don’t really need them until the final.”

“Oh!” Steve sounded genuinely surprised by his offer, like he hadn’t been basically asking for help only a moment ago. “You don’t have to do that. I mean, it wouldn’t do much good for me anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Steve had Eddie’s full attention now.

“I’m. I-“ Steve sighed. “I’m dyslexic, man. Reading’s hard for me.”

Well, fuck. Eddie felt like an asshole now.

“Oh.” Eddie looked down at his scribbled notes, cringing at the thought of someone else trying to read them, let alone someone who already struggled with reading from a printed page. “Yeah, my handwriting is shit so it’d probably be useless to you. Shit, it’s almost useless to me.”

Steve snorted, immediately covering his mouth to avoid any more noise from escaping. Eddie could see he was still smiling though. His eyes were very expressive.

“Don’t you have accommodations?” Eddie asked him.

“Nah, my dad doesn’t believe it’s a problem.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Said I just need to focus more and it’ll ‘work itself out.’”

“He sounds like he’s a lot of fun at parties.”

Steve snorted again. “Yeah, a blast.”

“So you aren’t a natural at French?”

Steve shook his head. “I’m barely a natural at English.”

“I could help you?” Eddie was an idiot. An idiot with a crush on someone who would never be interested in anything he had to offer except tutoring.

“Help me? You’d help me?” Steve seemed eager, maybe a little desperate.

Eddie kinda liked that.

“I mean, yeah. If you’re actually willing to put in the work and not expect me to just do the work for you.”

Steve smiled. God, that was a nice smile. Eddie was absolutely fucked.

“I work well with a reward system,” he smirked. “If you’re willing.”

Eddie’s eyes widened momentarily as the realization sunk in that he’d just been flirted with.

By Steve Harrington.

“Oh, I can definitely work with that.”

Steve nodded once, grinned at Eddie as he picked up his pen and ripped off a small piece of his unused notebook paper. He scribbled something down and folded it once before handing it to Eddie.

“Let me know when I need to show up, Eds.”

Eddie unfolded the paper and nearly dropped it.

Stevie H. 555-555-0086 My dorm at 7? No clothes required

When Eddie looked back up, Steve was facing the front, seemingly paying attention to the lecture.

Eddie quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and put Steve’s contact info in. He could wait until after class to send him a text. He could.

Instead, he typed out something quick to hold them both over until later.

Studying naked is my favorite thing 😉

Steve’s knee nudged against his in response.

Maybe Eddie wouldn’t take that trip to advising after all.

And if he was featured on the next TikTok for the Hawkins Hooligans, with Steve fake serenading him in the stands, nobody had to know he didn’t really like sports.

He liked Steve, though. Even when Steve actually managed to play real competitive baseball. Even when Steve managed to get a spot on the Cubs.

Especially when Steve proposed to him during a game in maybe the worst recorded French of all time.

[pucksandpower]

Ruin the Friendship

Max Verstappen x best friend!Reader

Summary: you and Max refuse to confess your feelings for each other in fear of ruining your friendship. Naturally, Max chooses to ruin every date with another man you go on instead

You can’t remember a time when Max Verstappen wasn’t your best friend.

The two of you grew up together, playing in the streets of Hasselt since before you could walk. Your parents joke that you learned to crawl just so you could keep up with him.

As you got older, your friendship only grew stronger. You were inseparable, there for each other through all the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence. When Max’s karting career took off, you were his biggest supporter, traveling all over Europe on weekends whenever you could to cheer him on at races.

After he moved to Monaco when he joined Red Bull, Max begged you to come with him. “I can’t do this without my best friend by my side,” he said. You didn’t hesitate — there was nowhere you would rather be than with Max.

Now you live together in his apartment in Monte Carlo. Mornings are spent on his balcony overlooking the glistening Mediterranean, drinking coffee and chatting about everything and nothing. Evenings are filled with video games, movies, and dreams of the future.

You know everything about each other, from favorite foods to secret fears. You trust Max more than anyone else in the world. He’s your person, the other half of your soul. Sometimes you think you love him as more than a friend, but you’d never risk what you have. If you lost Max, you’d lose yourself.

Today is like any other day. Max is sitting next to you on the couch, focused intently on crushing you in Mario Kart. You’re trying your best, but he’s just too good.

“Yes!” Max pumps his fist in the air as he wins yet again. “Too easy!”

You roll your eyes and shove him playfully. “Whatever, I let you win.”

He laughs. “Sure you did.” His smile makes your heart skip a beat.

You’re about to suggest another round when Max’s phone rings. He grabs it off the coffee table. “It’s Christian,” he says. “Probably wants to go over strategy for the race this weekend. I better take this.”

“No problem.” You stretch your arms over your head. “I’ll make us some lunch while you talk to him.”

Max answers the call as he makes his way out to the balcony. Through the glass door you see him pacing, one hand waving animatedly as he talks. You smile and head to the kitchen.

As you rummage through the fridge, you think about the race this weekend. You couldn’t be more proud of Max and everything he’s accomplished. But you’d be lying if you said you didn’t worry every time he got into that car. Still, you know racing makes him happier than anything else in the world. And his happiness is what matters most to you.

You find the ingredients for Max’s favorite sandwich — nutella and banana. As you start spreading nutella on slices of bread, you hear Max call your name from the next room.

“Y/N! Come here, I need your opinion on something!”

You poke your head out of the kitchen. “Can it wait? I’m making lunch!”

“No, it’s urgent! Just come here!” He’s smiling like he has a secret.

You laugh, wiping your nutella-covered hands on a towel. “Alright, I’m coming!”

You make your way out to the balcony, wondering what Max wants your opinion on. With him, it could be anything.

“Ok, what’s up?” You ask.

Max grins and takes your hand, his eyes twinkling. “How would you feel about being my date to the FIA Gala this year?”

You stare at Max, stunned. “Your … your date? To the FIA Gala?”

He nods, still grinning. “Yeah! It’s next month in Baku. I could really use my best friend by my side for moral support on the big Red Carpet.”

Your mind is reeling. The FIA Gala is the biggest formal event of the Formula 1 season. All the top drivers and teams come dressed to the nines to celebrate the end of the championship. Rumors always swirl about who will bring the hottest date.

And Max wants you to be his.

“Are … are you sure?” You stammer. “Wouldn’t you rather bring a model or something?”

Max scoffs. “Please. You know I hate those stuffy events. But with you there cracking jokes and making fun of everybody with me, it might actually be fun for once!”

You can’t help but smile at the thought of being on Max’s arm. “Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?”

“Yes!” Max pumps his fist. “This is going to be epic. I’ll have my team sort all the details. All you have to do is show up looking gorgeous.” He winks.

You blush slightly. “I think I can manage that.”

Over the next few weeks, Max’s stylist comes by the apartment for dress fittings. You settle on a couture emerald gown with a daring slit up the leg. The perfect blend of classy and sexy.

Max lets out a low whistle when you emerge from your suite the night of the gala. “You look incredible,” he says, staring at you in awe.

You smooth down the front of your dress self-consciously. “So do you.” Max cuts a sharp figure in his black tuxedo.

He offers you his arm. “Shall we?”

Your stomach flutters as you take it. You still can’t believe you’re Max’s date tonight. Part of you wishes it were real instead of just for show.

As predicted, jaws drop when you walk the red carpet on Max’s arm. Cameras flash furiously around you.

“They’re gonna think you’re my new girlfriend,” Max murmurs in your ear.

You laugh. “Let them think what they want.” But secretly, you wish the rumors were true.

The night flies by in a blur of champagne, dancing, and laughter. You and Max stay by each other’s side the whole time, laughing and judging everyone’s outfits. It’s the most fun you’ve had in ages.

On the ride back to the hotel, Max rests his head on your shoulder. “Thank you for coming with me tonight,” he says. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

You kiss the top of his head. “That’s what best friends are for.”

But as you fall asleep that night, you can’t help but wonder if Max will ever see you as more than just his best friend.

***

Not long after coming back home, you’re getting ready for your first date since the FIA Gala. After seeing you all dressed up with Max, your friend Julian finally got the nerve to ask you out. You said yes, partly to stop constantly pining for Max.

You’re meeting Julian for dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. As you put the finishing touches on your makeup, Max lounges on your bed.

“I can’t believe you’re going on a date with Julian,” Max says, scowling. “That guy is so boring.”

You toss a pillow at him. “Stop it, he’s cute! I think it’ll be fun.”

Max catches the pillow and frowns. “What if I took you somewhere way better tonight instead?”

You pause your makeup application. “Wait, like a date?”

“What? No!” Max avoids your eyes. “Just as friends.”

You feel a twinge of disappointment. “Oh. Well, I already made plans with Julian.”

“Fine, go on your lame date,” Max grumbles. “But when Julian puts you to sleep talking about accounting, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

You finish getting ready then head out to meet Julian. He greets you with a bouquet of flowers. “You look beautiful,” he says.

“Thanks!” You reply. The date starts off nicely. Julian is a perfect gentleman over dinner. But as the conversation wears on, you find yourself growing bored. Max was right, Julian is really dull.

Suddenly, you get a text from Max.

SOS come quick! Emergency at the apartment!

You frown, instantly worried. “Sorry Julian, I have to go. My roommate needs me.”

Julian looks disappointed but nods in understanding. “No problem. I’ll walk you out.”

You hurry home, anxious to make sure Max is okay. You burst through the apartment door. “Max! What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

Max looks up casually from the couch. “Oh hey Y/N. What’s up?”

“What’s up? You texted me that there was an emergency!”

“Oh yeah, we ran out of gummy bears,” he says, waving an empty bag. “I was hungry.”

Your jaw drops. “Are you serious, Max? I was on my date!”

Max grins. “Oops, my bad! But I saved you from dying of boredom with that guy. How about we order a pizza instead?”

You want to be mad at him for ruining your date. But looking at his smiling face, you can’t help but laugh. “You’re impossible,” you say, plopping down next to him.

Max just winks and hands you a controller. “Now come on, let’s see if you can actually beat me in Mario Kart this time.”

And just like that, you forget all about Julian and your ruined date. Nothing is nearly as fun as spending time with your best friend.

***

A few days later, you’re getting ready for another date, this time with a guy named Levi who you met online. He’s gorgeous with tattoos and an edgy style, totally your type.

When you tell Max about the date over breakfast, he nearly chokes on his eggs. “You can’t be serious. That dude looks like a complete tool.”

You roll your eyes as you grab your purse. “Don’t pretend you know anything about him. I think he’s hot and he seems cool.”

Max crosses his arms. “Well I don’t like it. How do you know this guy isn’t a total creep?”

“I appreciate your concern,” you say, “But I’m a big girl. I can handle myself on a date.”

Max opens his mouth to retort but you hold up a hand. “Nope, I don’t want to hear it! I’m running late as it is.” You give Max a quick hug. “Don’t wait up!”

You meet Levi at a trendy speakeasy bar downtown. He looks even hotter than his Tinder pics, with arm tattoos peeking out from under his leather jacket.

“Hey gorgeous,” he says with a crooked smile. He leans in for a lingering kiss on your cheek.

You blush. “Hi yourself.” Maybe Max was wrong about this guy.

You have a great time with Levi. The drinks are strong and the conversation is easy. After a few hours, Levi asks if you want to get out of there.

“I’d love to see your apartment,” you say with a flirtatious glance.

Levi grins. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

He pays the tab and you start walking to his place. As you turn a corner, you run straight into someone, nearly falling over.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorr-Max? What are you doing here?”

Max steadies you with his hands. “Y/N! Fancy running into you!”

You stare at Max in disbelief. “Did you follow me?”

Max avoids your gaze. “What? No, of course not. I was just in the neighborhood.”

You cross your arms. “I find that hard to believe.”

You stare at him in disbelief. Levi pipes up from behind you. “Uh, do you two know each other?”

“Unfortunately yes,” you reply tightly, not taking your eyes off Max.

Max finally meets your stare, his jaw clenched. “I was worried about you, okay? This guy looks like bad news.”

You scowl at him. “That’s not your call to make. I’m allowed to go on dates without you ruining them.”

Max’s shoulders slump. “I know, I’m sorry. I just care about you and want you to be safe.” He glances at Levi again uncertainly.

You soften a bit, seeing the genuine concern in Max’s eyes. You put a hand on his arm. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’ll be okay. See you at home later.”

You turn to Levi, who looks understandably confused. You loop your arm through his. “Shall we keep going?”

But as you walk away, the playful mood from earlier is gone. Levi tries to make conversation, but you’re preoccupied thinking about Max and the sad look on his face.

Levi invites you up to his apartment still, but your heart’s not in it anymore. You make an excuse and head home, feelings conflicted.

Max is on the couch when you storm in. “Hey! How was the date?”

You don’t answer, just grab a pillow and start smacking him with it.

“Ow!” Max holds up his hands, laughing. “What was that for?”

“You know exactly what it was for, you sneaky jerk! Sabotaging my date again.”

Max grins up at you impishly. “Maybe I just happened to be in the neighborhood.”

You keep hitting him with the pillow, but end up collapsing on the couch next to him, both of you breathless with laughter.

“You’re the worst,” you say between giggles.

Max drapes his arm around your shoulders. “Yeah but admit it, you love me anyway.”

You sigh and nestle against him. “Unfortunately yes, I do.”

And you know that no matter how many dates Max sabotages, he’ll always be your number one.

***

After the last two disastrous dates, you decide to take a break from dating for a while. But your coworker Jess convinces you to give it one more shot with a guy named Liam she met at her gym. Reluctantly, you agree to meet up with him.

The day of the date arrives and you get ready halfheartedly, already anticipating Max’s attempts to sabotage it. Speaking of Max, you realize you haven’t seen him all day, which is odd.

You find a note on the kitchen counter:

Had to fly to Milton Keynes last minute for work. Will be gone all weekend. Have fun on your date.

<3 Max

You’re surprised but also a bit disappointed. While his meddling is annoying, you’re so used to Max being a constant presence in your dating life. It will feel weird doing this without him.

You push that thought aside as you head out to meet Liam at a burger place. When you arrive, you’re pleasantly surprised. Liam is handsome, charming, and easy to talk to.

After lunch, you go on a walk through a nearby park. You’re having such a nice time, you don’t even think about Max. At the end of the date, Liam asks to see you again.

“I’d love to,” you say with a smile. Liam leans in for a sweet goodbye kiss.

As you turn to go, you hear a familiar voice yelling your name. “Y/N! There you are!”

You whirl around to see Max jogging towards you, slightly out of breath.

“Max? What are you doing here? I thought you had that work thing.”

Max shrugs nonchalantly. “Oh, it got canceled last minute.”

Liam looks between you two, confused. “Wait, is this the dude you live with?”

Before you can respond, Max strides up and vigorously shakes Liam’s hand. “Max Verstappen, nice to meet you! I’m Y/N’s … boyfriend.”

Your eyes nearly bug out of your head. “My WHAT?”

“Yeah babe, your boyfriend,” Max says, draping an arm around you. “Sorry I couldn’t make our date today, got held up at work. But who’s this guy you’re with?”

Liam stares wide-eyed at Max’s arm around you. “Uh, I should get going. See you around, Y/N.” He scurries off.

You shove Max away from you, fuming. “What the hell was that? Why did you pretend to be my boyfriend?”

Max shoves his hands in his pockets sheepishly. “I just couldn’t stand the idea of you dating that dude.”

“So you LIED? You scared him off forever!” You poke Max’s chest angrily.

He grabs your hand. “I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did that. I was jealous and I wasn’t thinking straight.”

You search his face and see real remorse in his eyes. Your anger starts to fade.

“Jealous? Why would you be jealous, Max?” Your voice comes out barely above a whisper.

He takes a shaky breath. “Because the truth is, I’m in love with you. As more than a friend. I have been for a long time. Seeing you with those other guys made me realize I couldn’t stand not being with you myself.”

You stand frozen, stunned into silence. Max rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Please say something.”

You finally find your voice again. “Took you long enough, idiot.”

And you grab his shirt and kiss him deeply. Max grins against your lips, wrapping you in his arms.

“No more sabotaging my dates,” you murmur.

“Deal,” Max whispers. “As long as I can be your one and only from now on.”

You answer by kissing him again under the setting sun. At long last, you finally have your dream guy.

***

The next morning, you wake up in Max’s arms, still unable to believe the incredible turn your relationship has taken. Last night after the park, you came home and talked for hours, admitting your true feelings while cuddled up on the couch. You kissed and kissed until you both finally fell asleep tangled together.

Now in the light of day, your worries start to creep in. What if this ruins your friendship? What if you’re not meant to be more than best friends?

You untangle yourself from Max’s embrace and go to make coffee. He finds you a few minutes later on the balcony overlooking the sea.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Max says, wrapping his arms around you from behind. He kisses your shoulder.

You turn in his arms to face him. “Can we talk about this?”

He frowns slightly. “Talk about what?”

You gesture between the two of you. “This new aspect of our relationship. I’m just worried it will mess things up. Maybe we should take a step back and think things through?”

Max’s face falls. “You’re having second thoughts?”

“No, not second thoughts exactly. I care about you so much Max, as my best friend. I don’t want to ruin that.”

Max caresses your cheek. “You could never ruin our friendship. It means everything to me too. But we both deserve to be happy, and I know we can make each other happy in this new way as well. I’m willing to take that chance if you are.”

You search his earnest eyes. He’s right — your connection runs so much deeper than just friendship. And you trust Max. If anyone is worth taking this risk for, it’s him.

You take his hand and intertwine your fingers. “You’re right. I want to make this work.”

Relief washes over Max’s face. He leans in and kisses you softly. “I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll be the best boyfriend ever!”

You laugh. “Well in that case, take me on our first official date tonight!”

“It would be my pleasure.” Max strokes your hair. “Thank you for taking a chance on me. On us. I know we’re meant to be, schatje. I’ve loved you all my life.”

“I’ve loved you all my life too,” you whisper. And you know that no matter what happens, your bond with Max will never break.

The future has yet to be written, but you’re ready to face it hand-in-hand with the man who has always had your heart.

[harrytheehottie]

‘TIS THE DAMN SEASON PART THREE

a/n: finally!!! the final part of ‘tis the damn season series. it’s a doozy! hope you enjoy! 

word count: 5.5k ⭐️ part one ⭐️ part two ⭐️  tell me your thoughts 

You wanted to say yes.

You knew you should have said yes.

You were standing in the pub where you first met. He rented the place out for the night - filling it with lights, candles and flowers. He had pictures of the two of you throughout the years placed on every table accompanied by a letter.

The first picture you took in this same pub was one neither of you were aware of. One of his friends took it upon themselves to snap a picture of the two of you talking in the corner and sent it to Harry the same night with a text, “I think you found your girl.” It was a feeling they got, he explained, a feeling that he brushed off but now, was thinking about how much of an idiot he was to not take the hint that night.

It took about 3 years for the two of you to get your shit together - Harry more so than you. It was fun at first, hooking up with no labels or “funny business” until it started to feel like you were someone he was ashamed of. And then one day, it all came out of Harry - his love for you, his deep regret for thinking you never wanted anything more with him and his eagerness to try again.

So, you did. You tried and you were happy, very happy. You and Harry spent 3 months dating slowly learning one another without the clouded judgements that come with sex. He was working on his commitment issues in therapy - something he shared with you quite often. You were proud of him for putting himself first and allowing himself the time to truly open up beyond the surface level. You were a unit, a very happy, solid unit.

Until tonight.

When you wake up that morning to an empty bed and a note next to your morning coffee that reads - “I’ll be out all day, meet me at the pub @ 7? Xx Harry'' you knew something was up. Harry wasn’t new to this random dinners and surprises thing, it was actually something you really loved about him. His ability to always make you feel like you were constantly on his mind. He would send you texts of things he saw throughout his day, a song on the radio you’d like, he’d pick up ingredients for dinner and have it ready when he had some time off and you’d been at work, if you mentioned an artist, play, movie that you’d like to see - he would have it on your calendar and you’d make it down to the O2, Royal Albert Hall, any venue across London with the best seats in the house.

You never really talked about marriage. You had been together for three years and never once spoke about marriage, the future? Yes, but never marriage. As far as you were concerned, Harry didn’t want to get married, didn’t believe that a piece of paper could ever sum up what the bond that the two of you had.

So, when you found yourself in your local pub with Harry down on one knee in front of you his hair parted down the middle - just like you always told him you loved because of the way it framed his face, wearing his olive green blazer with nothing underneath but the thin gold necklace with the banana charm you gave him for an anniversary shining off his chest.

“You mean the absolute world to me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Harry spoke as he pulled you in for a hug.

“What’s all this about?” You asked, unaware of what Harry was getting at.

“I love you,” he whispered into your ear before pulling away from the hug and taking a step back.

You could feel the sudden nerves that filled him. The way he started rubbing his hands together, his thumb and pointer finger pulling at his bottom lip, Harry looked down at the ground before looking back at you, his green eyes finding yours, taking a deep breath before falling down to one knee.

You were frozen.

Your heart dropped down when you realized what was going to happen.

Harry was going to propose to you.

“There is no one else out there for me. Will you please give me the privilege of calling you my wife?”

Harry looked up at you, the corner of his eyes beginning to fill with tears.

“Harry,” your voice trembled. You knew it wasn’t what he was expecting, you hated that you had to do this to him. “I…” you couldn’t finish your sentence but Harry knew.

He moved up from his position standing up in front of you, the tears that were supposed to be from happiness now streaming down his face for something much worse. You were still unable to speak. You felt the rush of guilt ruining this moment. You were more aware than ever that you were alone in this pub that had every detail of your relationship over the last 3 years in it.

“S’not how I really pictured this going” Harry snapped you out of whatever daze you were still in.

“Neither did I,” you admitted. “Harry, I am flattered beyond flattered, that isn’t even the right word for what I feel right now. I just never, I just. I feel so bad. I don’t want this to ruin us. I don’t want to regret this. ”

Harry let the tears fall, his brows furrowed his hand running through his hair before finding the way to pull at his bottom lip again. You’ve never seen Harry like this. The mixture of anger and sadness and you don’t believe this is that moment but if it was, you knew you deserved it.

“Believe me, my dear no one will regret this moment more than I will.”

“Harry don’t say that, please don’t say that. Can we just talk - can you hear me out?”

“I invited our family and friends. Planned this whole night with no doubt in my mind you’d say yes, we’d have time to ourselves before our friends and family surprise us in about 20 minutes.”

“They’re coming here?”

“Yes, here. S’why I rented out the entire pub. If I had any indication that you’d say no I probably wouldn’t have planned it this way.” He was being short.

You hated how much you deserved it.

“Harry, I love you so much. I just wish I had a heads up? We never spoke about marriage, I thought you didn’t want to get married when you told me about childhood and traditions and what we did or didn’t want you never once brought up marriage. I just,” you reached out in front of you to hold his hands, your thumb running up and down his knuckles. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you but,”

“You don’t.” Harry said in a low voice, his anger becoming more apparent as he refused to look you in the eye.

“Baby, please”

“Don’t.”

You wished you could take this moment back. Say yes and talk about it later. You wanted a future with Harry, you didn’t see a future without him in it. But there was something telling you to say no. You weren’t ready - you knew the both of you weren’t ready. Harry was about to embark on the craziest tour schedule that you have ever seen and you didn’t know what that meant for the two of you. And now, you were stuck, in the pub that you knew you’d never be able to walk by again, telling the love of your life you couldn’t marry him and trying to create a plan on what you’re going to do when your family makes their way over.

“We could just pretend?” You whispered.

Harry began to chuckle, clapping his hands together, “You want me to spend the next two hours in front of our closest friends and family pretending like you didn’t just… say no to a future with me?”

Before you had the chance to speak up and because timing was never either of your best qualities, the door of the pub opens, starting with Harry’s Mum and sister, Gemma and Anne walking through the door beaming with excitement. They have more flowers, balloons and what appears to be a congratulatory cake.

And it didn’t take long for their excitement to quickly die - the ring box with the ring in hand on the bar next to Harry, the clear distance between the two of you and if that wasn’t enough - the way Harry looked over to his mum and sister, with his brows furrowed, his lips began to tremble and like they were on cue, both women came rushing towards him.

You watched as they hugged and embraced him, the constant sorry’s slipping through their conversation. Neither of them even wanted to ask any follow up questions. If there was any shot of a reconciliation you had to get out of there as soon as possible.

“I’m going,”

“No,we will go, the two of you stay and work out whatever it is you need to. Mum and I will man the door and contact those we need to.” You were quickly cut off by Harry’s sister.

You nodded in agreement, the last thing you wanted was to give them another reason to hate you. They gave Harry one last hug and before the women started to walk away, Anne, Harry’s mother who you grew very fond of through the course of you relationship walked towards you with open arms, whispering “I know you love him, I’ve never been more sure of it and if that love is still there, allow yourselves the chance to fight for that love.”

“No matter what happens Anne, I’ll always think of you as family,” is what you could respond with. Gemma followed her mother, giving you a hug and reminding you that, “it’s your life and we’ll always love you.”

As you watched the two most important women in Harry’s life exit the pub that was supposed to be used to celebrate the next step in you and Harry’s life you wondered if they were trying to mask the disappointment.

“I don’t want to do this.” Harry said. He was short, rightfully so.

“Do you think I want to do this? Do you think I want to do any of this?” Your anger kicking in, “not once have we ever had this discussion. You have never brought up marriage until this very moment, you don’t just ask someone to marry you without bringing it up first.”

“Sorry, here I was thinking that proposals were supposed to be surprises,” he was pissed. You knew it from the second you rejected him. It always starts off slow, frustration turns to sadness and then into anger. You’ve never been the subject of that anger, until now.

“Do you know what a marriage is? It’s not a fancy wedding and an excuse to have a party. It takes work - what am I meant to do when you’re on tour for 9 months out of the year? Drop everything to be by your side? Give up my career so you could live out yours? We don’t even live together Harry, for fucks sakes. What shall I do with my house? Sell it and move into yours? Everything about our relationship from the day it started has been about you - when do you want me around, when is it time for you to want to take me seriously, and one day finally you came to your senses and apologized for the hell you put me through. Do you know how that feels? How does that mess with someone? I love you Harry, I love us. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that deep down something inside me will always wonder if I’m just here until you find your next best - no one makes the girl you've been stringing along for years the girlfriend, and now you expect me to say yes to being a wife?”

You were exhausted. You felt every emotion that you buried deep inside come rushing out.

“You’re still holding onto things from years ago and you know s’not fair. I was a dickhead, I owned that, I’m ashamed of that. I want you, I want every part of you for the rest of my life,” Harry’s green eyes meeting yours, you felt every word he was saying but you knew you couldn’t, not now.

“I believe you Harry and I love you so much, that’s why I can’t,” you were aware of how hypocritical you were being. You needed to think.

“You can’t even say it, s’pathetic, is this your way of getting back at me? If so s’working if that’s what you were going for.” His accent getting more thick stumbling over his words,  a sign that this conversation was far from over.

“If that’s what you think Harry then I don’t know if I have anything else to say to you.”

“S’not what I think? It’s what I know. S'pose to the love of my life and she can’t even say she’s rejecting me, s’pathetic, rented out this pub, bought a ring, got our friends and family excited.”

“You’re not being fair Harry.” You knew he was speaking from a place of hurt but you also knew, if you stood there any longer and allowed him to keep going - you’d both say something you could never take back.

“Fair? S’not fair?”

You moved closer to him, and when he didn’t step back from your advance towards him, it gave you hope that you’d be able to come back from this. You took his hands into yours, and looked him in the eye, searching for the familiarity and love that you always knew was there, even when you were going through the worst of it, “Harry, I want this to work, I love you.” You put your arms out to hug him and he fell into you - the comfort of his body embracing yours, your hands running circles around his back, you knew that it would take some work but you and Harry always came back to each other. “I’m going to go now.”

You pulled back, kissing him on his chest right where the first button of his blazer met. You looked up at him one last time and he couldn’t muster up the courage to look at you, mumbling his goodbye as you walked out the door.

&&

Gemma and Anne took care of letting everyone else that was invited know. Your parents came over with food and flowers and you tried to keep it all in. All you could think about was Harry, what he was doing or thinking and on the third night of radio silence from him, you began doom scrolling through the internet. You knew you shouldn’t have. You never allowed yourself to google yourself. It was never worth it. Once you became officially linked to Harry it was a breeding ground for rumors and gossip. Tonight was worse.

Harry Styles seen with a new mystery woman. Girlfriend hasn’t been seen in weeks. Trouble in paradise?

You clicked the link. Your stomach dropping at the sight of a very drunk Harry being escorted out of a club, a sigh of relief washing over you when you realized the mystery woman was one of the lesser known people in Harry’s inner circle. You kept zooming in and out of the images of him. The way he could barely walk, stumbling out with his security guards, his body looked limp. You haven't seen him like this since before you officially got back together. He kept partying for special occasions but never went overboard.

You wanted to reach out to him. Tell him that you could work through this. You wanted to be with him. You wished he would’ve waited. But that’s the man you fell in love with. His spontaneity was one of your favorite things about him. You never thought it would be the type to keep you apart.

During the years that you and Harry were in a limbo you would always wonder what he was up to on nights that you weren’t together. Your relationship always felt like it was in his hands. Does he want to see you? Did he ask you to come to a show? How fast can you get to his house? When were you going back home for the holidays? You felt like you had this duty to him even though it was no strings attached friends hooking up. The ball felt like it was never in your court.

And you could never escape him. When you’d go weeks and weeks of not seeing him you would inevitably catch his face somewhere. On your weekly grocery run there would be lines of magazines. It felt like you couldn’t escape. You would avoid the supermarket as much as you could so you wouldn’t be subjected to anymore of him. You immediately fell back into bad habits which made Harry constantly going out hurt more. You wondered what he told people. How those around him would react. The ones who knew you but had loyalty to Harry. What did his family think? You felt completely isolated.

And you really tried not to let your mind wander too far but you also couldn’t help but wonder how long it was going to take him to fall into someone else.

&&

You went out for one of your friend’s birthdays after being stuck at home for weeks. The last thing you wanted to do was be in a nasty club surrounded by drunk people. It had been years since that point of your life since you got into a relationship with Harry and now that your life felt like it imploded, it was the last thing you wanted to do. But you had to. Your friends had been your rocks through this experience and it was probably good to spend a night out trying to clear your mind of things.

So, you put on your little black dress paired with your favorite leather bomber jacket that Harry gifted you for your one year anniversary, kept the tears at bay once you had your hair up in a bun and makeup on ready to take on the night.

You took a shot of tequila before leaving your apartment to get your nerves in order. A second shot immediately as you got to the table at the club. Your third as you wished a happy birthday to the birthday girl. You were feeling the good type of drunk where you weren’t sloppy just a little loose. All of the worries of the last few weeks just went away, you felt good and present.

“I’m so glad you came out with us,” the birthday girl said as she embraced you for a hug. All your friends were happy to see you, they only knew bits and pieces of why you and Harry were in this current stage so they were being extra supportive tip toeing around your current relationship state.

Everything was good, you were all having fun.

Until, the birthday girl decided she wanted to leave the club and go walk over to a pub that she knows has karaoke. You walk in and the first song that you hear is one that had been a part of the ‘soundtrack’ of you and Harry’s relationship, The Way I Feel Inside by The Zombies. You remember it clearly, and can see it playing out in front of you like a movie. You were over at his. Harry decided to treat you to a dinner that ended up turning into a takeaway because he overcooked the pasta before you got there blaming it on his nerves.

“I make you nervous?” You teased as you watched him pour the both of you a glass of wine.

“Very,” the shy smile paired with the blush on Harry’s cheeks answered your question. Your heart beating out of your chest as you took his statement in. You felt like you spent so much of your early arrangement fighting for him to come to this realization and now that he was doing this all for you and letting you know how much you meant to him, you couldn’t help how much it melted your heart. Your relationship wasn’t perfect and it definitely came from unconventional circumstances but you knew he was it for you.

“Oh my god, are you Harry Styles' girlfriend?”

“What?” You were snapped out of your daydream and suddenly there were two very eager girls in front of you with their phones out.

“It’s you right?” They both said almost in unison before they flashed their phones in front of you, an image of you and Harry taken by a stranger illuminated the screen. You remember that day, you were both wearing each other's hoodies, a coffee in hand as you walked through the park. You had no idea that someone took a picture of the two of you.

Luckily, you were immediately pulled away from the girls by your friends. Your mind was spinning and you felt like you were out of your body. People taking pictures of you and Harry was unfortunately something you were used to. You have never been approached by anyone on your own and even rarely with Harry. He made a point to protect you from that and you were grateful.

But now, you were drunk, unsure about your future but hopeful that if anyone could make it work, it would be the two of you.

&&

You woke up from a text from Gemma, you hadn’t spoken to her since the incident and your mind immediately went to something being wrong with Harry.

Gemma: Hello! Are you doing alright? Just checking in.

Hii! As good as I could be right. How are you? Is Harry alright?

He’d probably say the same as you

If her motivation for checking in was to make you feel bad it was working.

I just want to make sure you’re okay and know you always have a friend in me, regardless of what happens.

Also, please don’t read any of the online bullshit. That’s a dark place to be and it’s not good for either of you.

Gemma was one of the first people to have a talk with you about the reality of being in Harry’s life. It was shortly after you accidentally ran into her after not so secretly leaving Harry’s childhood bedroom. She invited you to lunch once you were back in London to have a talk with you.

“I don’t know what you and my brother have and I’m sure he’s tried all he can to protect you from that side of the internet but I know how curiosity can creep up on you or anyone in your life and I promise it’s not worth it.”

You listened. You wanted to protect your bubble for as long as you could and you knew that allowing that outside noise into your life would do more harm than good. 

&&

You were woken up in the middle of the night by three rapid knocks at your front door. It startled you at first. It was too late at night for it to be someone you were expecting but there was also something soothing about your walk to the door. Your stomach filled with butterflies and anticipation, like your body knew who always knocked like that no matter what the situation. And when you opened your front door and saw Harry in front of you, slightly disheveled and clearly drunk from whatever bender he was on.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” You tried to hide the concern in your voice but knew you were doing a shit job at it.

``Ve been drinking at the bar across the street everyday waiting for you… walked over here a few times, s’just the first time I’ve made it up the steps. Think your neighbors finally took pity on me and let me up.” He was slurring his words and talking at a faster speed than usual, which were tell-tale tell signs since you were younger that he had a bit too much to drink and was probably going to regret whatever he was saying in the morning.

“You should come in.” You said making room for him as you opened the door wider, Harry stumbled his way inside. He was wearing a white button down and some brown trousers, his hair had grown out since the last time you saw him and the facial hair that you always loved was growing out too.

The silence in the room was heavy, the last time he was here everything felt natural. You were in a routine of dating, splitting time between your two homes, dinner dates, movie nights that you never made it past the first 30 minutes of any movie before your hands found their way to each other. The comfort Harry felt in your space was still there as he made his way into the kitchen, opening the right cupboard to grab two cups and plates.

“Making us a cheese toastie, you always loved a cheese toastie after a night out with a glass of milk.” Harry spoke before you could question him.

“Not sure if you’re that far gone but I didn’t go out.” You laugh as you watch him open your fridge for the ingredients. All the build up in your head of what the first time you would see Harry would be like suddenly disappeared. He was your Harry and no bump in the road was going to change that.

“S’gues I’ll just have both of them then?” He said.

“And leave me here to starve?” You walked across the kitchen island that you were standing at and took the pan out the dishwasher for him.

“You’ve always said you liked to watch me eat.” Harry teases you for a drunken confession you made years ago after a night out. You ordered in some burgers and fries and you made the mistake of telling him it was turning you on.

You fell into a comfortable silence as you watched him make a couple cheese toasties. You poured each of you a glass of almond milk and walked over to the coffee table, opting to eat while sitting on the floor. He was sobering up with each bite. You watched him eat, taking all that you missed in the last month. His skin was paler than you remembered, a sign that he hadn’t been out as much as you anticipated.

“Did you come here just for some food?” You broke the silence in the room. It was nice pretending that you didn’t just go over a month without speaking and now he was turning up after a few drinks to your front door.

“Obviously not,” Harry moves his body closer to yours placing his hands on your thighs - the familiar feeling of comfort in all of this.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

“Can we wait?” He asked his green eyes, finding yours, the familiar look and feeling of reassurance and comfort you always felt when he looked at you. You had come a long way from him not being able to look at you as you left the pub that night. “We have the rest of our lives to talk.” He whispered in your ear before pulling back and meeting your eyes again.

“I just want to say I’m sorry and I love you and I’m grateful that you’re here. You don’t know how many times I wanted to pick up the phone but thought you were just done with me and I don’t know how lucky I got to have someone like you,” you pause to take a breath, “I’m just so sorry.”

Harry leaned in closer and responded with a kiss. Your arms wrapped around him as Harry moves his to the back of your legs and thighs moving you so you’re now straddling his lap. Your mouth moved in a way that was so familiar, “I’ve missed this so much,” Harry said as he kissed down your neck, whispering how beautiful you are and how many nights he wished he would’ve just come over to yours. “You have no idea the things I want to do to you,” the roughness in his voice sends a flutter through your entire body.

“Hmm,” you quirk a brow at him.

A small smile on his face, as he pulls up your shirt and you help him take it off. Harry pauses for a second, repositioning you so you are now sitting down and he is in front of you, slowly working his way down from your lips to your neck before cupping your breasts and moving his mouth down your chest as he sucks on your nipple. Your slow moans filling up the room. You had a lot to talk about and this was always his way of feeling close to you and letting his guard down. And it was working. Your arousal grew as he continued to lick and suck up and down your chest. You squeezed your legs together in anticipation and it lit a spark into Harry as he moved down your body to where you wanted him most.

Harry pulls down your underwear and slips his thumb where you need him most circling your clit. You push your hands into his hair pulling the front ends away from his face so you can really see him work on you. He moves his thumb faster before shifting his to slip two fingers inside you. You close your eyes as you shift your body to adjust to the sensation. The feeling of comfort, arousal and home all wrapped into one. This was more than just sex with Harry - he was communicating all of his feelings for you through his slow and steady actions. The primal way he was watching how your body reacted to him. Always putting in the work for you before thinking about himself.

“Harry…” you moan.

“Missed that sound.” Harry mumbled as he continued working his fingers inside of you before moving down to find his mouth onto your center. You tightened the grip on his hair - pulling and tugging as he sucks and licks you into your first orgasm. Watching him working you up is turning him on -- your hands moving from his hair to his own waist, unzipping his pants and watching him grow - the more he was making you feel good it was making him feel better.

And that was the rest of your night, your bodies saying all the things that you couldn’t yet. The way you ached for him and he ached for you. As you drifted to sleep in Harry’s arms, you knew that no matter the distance and time apart you both knew this is was worth fighting for.

&&

You woke up the next morning to a familiar song playing throughout the house.

Should I try to hide

The way I feel inside

My heart for you?

Would you say that you

Would you try to love me too?

You walked downstairs and found Harry in nothing but his briefs, coffee brewing in the coffee maker with a stack of pancakes. A view that you were used to, a sense of calm and home.

“Morning!”

“What’s all this?” You questioned as you walked over to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

“M’just making breakfast for my girl.”

You quirked a brow at him, “I could get used to this, maybe I should reject you more often if it comes with these types of perks.” you teased.

“Ha, ha, very funny…” Harry deadpanned before breaking into a bit of laughter himself.

You spent the morning enjoying each other’s company and the breakfast feast that he made before spending the rest of the day putting all your cards on the table. Harry was going to reroute his tour to make more time to fit your schedule so you weren’t the one that had to constantly rearrange yourself to fit into his. You were going to move into his at the end of your lease. You created a plan on And most importantly, you talked about how a ring and a wedding was never the end goal for you.

“My goal has always just been you,” Harry finished your sentence before you could.

And for you, it’s always just been Harry.

[elliemarchetti]

Salted Caramel for Two

@jilychallenge | Summer Vibes | partner: @eastwindmlk

Prompt: A wants an ice-cream so much after the long day they've just had, it's hot and the summer just too long and now the queue is finally gone the last scoop of A's favourite taste is ordered by B, who was the previous customer. Will A fight or ask to share? Will B share or give? You decide.

Words: 494

Lily was hot. At the peak of summer, the sun shone high and bright in England too, and sometimes a dip in the Great Lake or in the river near her house was necessary to cool off and clear one’s mind, but this heat was different, sticky, humid, and to sum it all in one word horrible. She was hating every second of it, and she didn’t think she had it in her to not appreciate something in Italy, not after she had dreamed of going there for years. Since she had stumbled upon an article about a new, perfectly preserved mosaic when she was still a child, she had been obsessed with Pompeii’s sad fate, but once she found herself there, she hadn’t been able to enjoy a single moment of the visit, too busy sweating and fighting against an unavoidable sunburn. When Professor McGonagall suggested stopping for an ice cream she almost cried in joy, and she sight of the stall with cones and colourful cups displayed together with their prices in euros seemed almost like a mirage, at least until she noticed the never-ending queue.

“Professor Slughorn says it’s the best ice cream for miles,” Severus commented, but Lily wasn’t sure she had the energy to chat, though she couldn’t deny that the thought it was also the only ice cream parlour for miles went through her head.

When they got finally close enough to read the available flavours, her mouth watered. Salted caramel and banana, her favourites, were right at the top of the list. She was already enjoying the taste of the sweet delicacy when she saw the server scrape a last scoop from the bottom of one of the steel trays she was keeping an eye on and rotate its name plate, to signal it was no longer available. A sound of desperation came out of her throat untamed, attracting the attention of the customer in front of her, causing him to turn around and make her laugh almost hysterically. Of all people, James Potter was the one who had stolen the only reason she had kept walking for the last half hour, trudging at the back of what seemed like a seasoned group of adventurers.

“Were you by any chance planning on ordering salted caramel?” he asked, as if it was normal for them to have a peaceful interaction.

“Yes,” she hissed, and for some mysterious reason, he smiled, showing off the dimples that made half of the female students at Hogwarts thirst over him.

“We can always share, you know?” he proposed, but before Lily could respond, Severus did.

“In your dreams,” he almost growled, but before the Chaser could turn his back and take a seat with Sirius and Remus, who had found a table with five chairs in the shade, Lily surprised everyone, even herself.

“On the contrary, you should ask for another spoon,” she stated confidently. “Fair payback for being a filthy thief.”

[zehecatl]

happy steam sale to all, here’s a 'little’ rec list for (primarily) indie games that, in my opinion, isn’t as popular as they deserve to be!

Ghostwire: Tokyo -60% the only triple a game you’ll see on this list, and my own all time personal favourite. if you like anime, japanese history and folklore, and bromance, you will very likely love this game. it also lets you explore Tokyo and pet the dogs! and cats! literally perfect game!!

Iconoclasts -70% i have been shilling this game, at every major steam sale, for pretty much four-five years. before Ghostwire, it was my all time favourite video game. it was in development, by one person, for around eight years. it is still, in my opinion, one of the most gorgeous pieces of pixel art in the whole damn medium. just. please check it out i beg

Angels of Death -40% rpgmaker game that absolutely excels at being a character driven story. it also got an anime adaptation? which i’ve actually never seen?? but if you grew up playing horror rpgmaker games, please do yourself a favour, and check this out. and if you didn’t- check it out anyway! it’s not super scary or anything, with a more psychological horror focus

Owlboy -65% tiny owl boy does his very best and will worm his way into your heart and then crush it because life is maybe a bit too cruel to him. also you can fly! did i mention you can fly??

Pony Island + The Hex -80% did you adore Inscryption? did you like the meta element? then oh boy, should you check out Daniel Mullins’ two former games! they’re good! probably has the same vibe as Inscryption! could not tell you i still have not played that thing! but these are both very good, and absolutely worth every cent

Underhero -70% it’s a bit rough around the edges, but man, this game has so much love put into it, and i think it deserves way more love than it got

My Friend Pedro -75% the action is definitely the high point here, but i have a personal soft spot for the lil’ bit of lore we do get. like, there is something there, and i want to dig my fingers in. also wacky banana is funny

Sayonara Wild Hearts -40% queer girls on motorcycles? in my rhythm game?? it’s more likely than you think!! (also, if you suck at rhythm games: me too, this is still worth picking up)

MO:Astray -50% the fact that seemingly no one on tumblr has played this... despite the fact that it feels like it’d be a right shoe in... criminal. there is a little CREACHUR! LOOK AT IT. IT IS A SLIME!!

The Messenger -75% i legit thought this game was way more popular than it, apparently, is, which i think just speaks volume of my opinion on it. it’s genuinely right up there with Shovel Knight as iconic retro throwbacks- plus! the devs are making THE most gorgeous indie rpgs, apparently set in the same universe. so that is another reason to check it out

This Strange Realm of Mine -90% an extremely weird little game that will likely not be for everyone, or even most people, but that i really liked. considering the price, i don’t really think there’s much to lose on buying this little gem

Darkside Detective -70% funny point & click game with very shipable protagonists! there’s also a ‘second season’ that i have not played (yet), but is very likely absolutely worth getting

Haiku, the Robot -33% it is, rather obviously, not as good as Hollow Knight, but if you’re suffering from ‘waiting for Silksong’, perhaps this little gem will tide you over

Transiruby -30% another small metroidvania! has really pretty pixel art, and is just a fun little time

Flynn, Son of Crimson -50% not what it was promised, but it’s a fun platformer with gorgeous pixel art, and a dog. it’s a good time, and isn’t that what we all want :]

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows -70% a cute horror game, with excellent enemy designs, and a whole town to explore. also the story is so good. i am still absolutely enamoured with this title. this is, technically, the 2nd in a series, but you can play the games standalone, and while i’m sure the 1st is just as good, i’ve only played this one. because priorities (also keep in mind!! that this is a horror game!!! i’d recommend looking up some trigger warnings, because, uh. horror game!)

A Short Hike -35% just an extremely cozy and fun little game. exploring every inch of this island was just such a good time, i still think extremely fondly of this title

Webbed -30% i am gently laying an hand on the shoulder of every bug enthusiastic on this website. you play as a spider. who is trying to get back her boyfriend from a bird. and there’s a really fun swinging mechanic. do you really need anything more?

Garden Story -60% i am once again shocked this game isn’t more popular. what do you mean a cozy adventure game with community restoration, foraging, and some fun combat with a grape protagonist isn’t one of the biggest sellers in cozy gaming spheres. there’s a frog. you can put on different hats. what else do you want!!

Donut County -70% funny little game about making holes and being a chaotic racoon. i have an extremely soft spot for the characters in this, i could not explain it <3

also Oxenfree is not on sale, but it’s cheap, and the sequel is dropping very soon! and you should absolutely check it out! because it’s really REALLY good!!

[violivs]

NMTDaily: VOX POPS

- Hi all! I’m going to be rewatching along with TCWs NMTDaily and making posts about each episode, or as many as I can (I might miss some, but I hope not!)

- I want to start by saying thank you again to The Candle Wasters for making my favorite thing. Just, the amount of joy and creative fulfillment and friendship and delight I’ve gotten from this show and this fandom is still unmatched. Thank you so much for making it and sharing it. The love and care and skill with which NMTD was made still shines through and I’m still so awed by it. I think I was probably somewhat overdramatic about my reactions to Lolilo in places where you, TCW, could see, on my main blog, and you didn’t deserve that. I really hope I didn’t send you any aggressive asks about it, or make you uncomfortable in any way. I’m a little afraid I did, but I don’t know for sure. If I did, I apologize. I’m older and more mature now, I promise. I hope you’re all doing so very well now!

- I didn’t realize until today that Project I: VOX POPS was posted first, before any other video in the series. I didn’t start watching NMTD until right around the time Benedick’s first Q&A video was posted, so I binged the first chunk of episodes around that time. It will be interesting to watch them at a slower pace this time!

- I am immediately overwhelmed with warm fuzzies at seeing these characters again. They’re such babies! I love them!

- I never made a post about this, but Ben’s first line being about how he shares a (differently spelled) name with a Pope is both a great first line for him on a character level since he starts as kind of a cocky overconfident asshole (a cover for his soft sensitive insides) AND it’s evidence for my theory that he’s probably Catholic, but lapsed/non-practicing/maybe agnostic or atheist solely because I WILL keep projecting parts of me onto this character, it’s just what I do at this point. Other evidence: he has a confirmation name. We don’t get his full name til Lolilo, but still. And he’s partly Scottish, which can account for the fact that English people usually are not Catholic.

- “you need to imitate an eagle, that’ll scare them away!” That’s Ben’s second line and first bird reference! Already! Wow.

- The favorite band question! Mumford and Sons! Fife and the Drums! Sheep Dog and Wolf! The LORE! The REFERENCES! We’re already off to the races.

- “I don’t need chat-up lines” Beatrice I love you , and you have no idea what’s coming.

- I forgot about Beatrice’s Favorite T-Shirts Ranking System lol

- Extremely funny that Ben says bananas are his favorite food and then he goes on to become synonymous with mangoes instead. Sorry, buddy, you will always be Mango Skin Boy to us. xD

- I forgot how delightful Dogberry and Verges are in this episode

- “that you would leave me” oh Meg. Oh honey. Oh no.

- I’ve seen nine seasons of Doctor Who and only five episodes of Game of Thrones since 2014. Sorry Bea, I side with Ben on this one. And I’ve seen one season of Community. I’m slowly hacking away at the list of media referenced in nmtd that I need to watch!

- love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free! ❤️

- Balthazar plays every instrument, of course.

- Bea must not have an ear for music if she hated that question enough to force Ursula on-camera so she doesn’t have to answer it… Unless Ursula asked her something else she didn’t want to answer! Lol

- Ben makes me cringe so hard a couple times this episode. And yet I still love him. To be fair, that’s just every Benedick at the start of Much Ado, though. The cringy lines are completely in character.

- I decided to save the full story of how I discovered NMTD for whenever the NMTDaily email for Ben’s first Q&A episode goes out, because then it will actually be ten years almost to the day since I started watching. But I’m so impatient and excited to tell the story!

- It’s amazing how back then, these kids were my contemporaries and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries cast felt impossibly old compared to me. Now the NMTD kids are babies and I’m older than Lizzie Bennet! Trippy. It sure has been a nice ten years.

Until the next one! Happy NMTD Day, fellow flamangoes!

💖🥭🦩

[coffee-at-annies]

I think I figured out my feelings on what the pens have done in the last week. It’s safe. That’s all we are under Dubas and FSG. We’re safe. There’s no guts. There’s no sense of impending glory. We’ve had our cake (18 years of love and friendship) and we’ve eaten it (3 cups) and fans are impatiently yelling for more when we’ve got the best baker (of banana bread) in hockey and instead of mixing it up we’re following the recipe.

It’s not that there’s no hope. Through Sidney Crosby all things are possible so jot that down. It’s that we aren’t betting big. We aren’t swinging for the fences. We aren’t doing big moves or signing big players. We did that last off season and it worked out very good with Eller, pretty good with EK, and badly with Graves. We aren’t risking anything with the contracts we’re signing or the trades we’re making. Everyone is getting one to two years at cheap because we aren’t promising anything bigger or longer. We’re signing a bunch of boys for short terms who are looking to have bounce back years hoping at best we’ll find another Ned. Then if we like them we re-sign them and if we don’t they’re gone this time next year. That’s why we didn’t give PO an offer. They’re so scared of arbitration giving him more money or longer term than they offered him that they’d rather let him walk.

It’s hard to feel like this team has a future when it feels torn between this season and when Crosby retires in ???? years (but realistically 2-5). We’re banking draft picks and prospects for that nebulous future but it’s very clear that Dubas doesn’t expect anyone on this current team to still be here at that time (or at least none of the people we’re acquiring - Graves has 5 years, Jars Tanger Rak and Rust have 4 and I think everyone but Tanger is going to get traded when they hit 2 or 1 UFA). If this team is going to change year over year what is there to excite us about? The kids we call up and don’t play? Prospects that are realistically 1-3 years away from Wilkes and 2-5 years away from the NHL? The end of Sid (and Geno and Tanger but mostly Sid’s) career(s)? Idk.

We’re not betting. I know we can’t empty out the cupboards because the cupboards are bare but even in restocking we’re playing it safe. There’s nothing exciting. There’s nothing to distract from the real impending sense we’re at the end of an era and they haven’t invested time in creating a bridge to the next one. There’s no one interesting in the minors that they want us to care about. There’s no one on the team that they want us to get excited about since we’ve not heard from anyone on the team via official accounts since the end of the season. Maybe prospects dev camp next week will give us actual content but there’s nothing coming out of the penguins right now.

Maybe I’ve been fooled by the stability of 8 years of watching Sidney Crosby play. Maybe every team goes through a complete identity change up every 5 years or so and I’ve just been ignoring it as everyone around Sid and Geno left until it was just those two and Tanger still kicking. Idk. We could lose a hundred games like the 2022 pirates did and I’d still be a fan. Management isn’t betting on the team. Why should I?

[workingforitallthetime]

I would be super interested in hearing more of your thoughts on the bedard athletic article... i read it just now and. hmm.

OK we’re back for Part II, the Bedard/Fantilli parenting part! (Part I here.)

I previously squawked about being jarred by the subhead in the Star: “But Connor Bedard’s story was always more about raising a happy and grounded child than a star.” But now that I’ve processed both articles, it’s not necessarily off-base. The Bedards clearly do very much care about raising a happy and grounded child. It’s just that their philosophy about how to accomplish that outcome seems to be focused around making sure Connor has everything that Connor thinks he needs.

There’s presumably a difference between everything that Connor thinks that he needs and everything Connor actually needs, just like there is with any teenager. So what really stands out to me in both of these articles is the many examples of how the Bedard parents seemingly do not ever go against Connor’s decisions around hockey, even when they’ve had (or arguably should have had) legitimate misgivings. Some examples from the Toronto Star article:

Melanie didn’t think Connor should apply for exceptional status, to the point where she was losing sleep over it. Connor “told her how upset he’d be if she blocked his goals,” and she caved. (The quote is from The Athletic but Melanie’s emotions get more attention in the Star.)

This quote from dad about little kid Connor going to open ice: “He’d stay there eight hours at a time,” says Tom. “More, sometimes. He’d come off, eat, go back on. His feet would be literally bleeding. I would go on once in a while, but normally I would just let him do his thing.” Like… maybe it’s time to make your kid take a break if his feet are literally bleeding????

Ah, the Hawaiian vacation, the trip that Connor refused to go on unless he could take his hockey gear and keep practicing. There’s a series of choices there as a parent. Not only are you acceding to your kid’s demands to play hockey in the midst of your one and only family vacation ever, you’re actively facilitating his demands by paying to check his goddamned gear bag and leaving your own relaxing lounge by the pool/on the beach to drive him to the only rink on the island (which I’m fairly confident was not walking distance from any resort they may have been staying at.) Like!!! That is such a series of choices!!! All made in the service of allowing your hockey-obsessed kid to have exactly what he wants, rather than deciding that perhaps it would be good for him and for your whole family to have a tiny little vacation from his life’s obsession!!! (Much of the information in this paragraph is based on the TSN spot, which has the most detail about this trip.)

I think it’s super interesting that the coach of the Pats says he’s tried to dial Connor back (making him take days off, against Connor’s wishes) but apparently his family never has.

This is not the Fantilli family shared decisonmaking model, where all four of them talk about collectively making every decision about what Adam’s path has been. (And also extol the importance of family vacations.) In the Bedard family, Connor is driving the bus and his parents have decided that their role is to support him as he decides how best to follow his dreams.

I was absolutely gobsmacked by this quote:

Melanie moved to Regina to be Connor’s billet the past two seasons, because nobody knew what it would be like for a kid of his calibre, and as Paddock puts it, “His whole preparations are based around perfection, and she’s the only one that knows it.” 

Moving because you don’t want your 15-year-old to live with strangers would be completely understandable. Moving because you are the only person who can possibly live up to your 15-year-old’s standards of perfection and you don’t want him to have to live a life where everything is not exactly perfect for him is FUCKING BANANAS.

Of course, there’s a Fantilli contrast here too. I’m thinking of the interview where Adam said his performance coach therapist helped him “turn rituals into routines.” Learning how to cope when it is not possible to have everything run exactly according to your standards of perfection seems like a fairly important life lesson for your kid to learn if you want him to be happy and grounded. (Most parents start teaching that around the time their two-year-old throws a tantrum because the purple cup is in the dishwasher so they have to drink their apple juice from the green cup.) But maybe it’s less important if your version of “happy” is that your kid gets everything he wants.

It’s interesting that there’s a common thread between the Bedards and Fantillis of some distaste for the minor hockey scene. (“Melanie had already started staying away from the games after experiencing the fierce currents of youth hockey on the moneyed North Shore.”) The Fantillis dealt with that by finding a different path that took their kids out of that system entirely, and the Bedards don’t even seem to have considered that option. Connor wanted exceptional status in the CHL and that’s what Connor got.

And maybe that’s connected to another interesting Bedard/Fantilli contrast. The Fantills, in describing their shared decisionmaking model, always seem to radiate confidence that they’ve made the right decisions, even when those decisions have been hard or haven’t been popular. See, e.g., Julia emphasizing in Adam’s TSN spot that “it was about making the right decision for each son,” or Giuliano evangelizing the prep school route in the Gulo Gulo article, or Adam explaining, “It’s probably about a week-long process for every decision that we make and I don’t think we’ve made a wrong decision so far.” But the Bedards, apparently, have some self-doubt about letting Connor drive the bus:

Bedard’s parents still worry. Melanie worries about school taking a relative back seat — in the room at the Brandt Centre, a chart of Hamlet’s characters is the only real indication it’s a classroom. Tom thinks about the kids of the people he works with, and how they’re growing up.

“Their kids play hockey, but they hunt, they fish, they motorcycle, they snowmobile and they’re good at all of them,” he says. “But they’re not great at any of them. But is that better in the long run? Maybe it is.”

sources: The Athletic, the Toronto Star, TSN, Gulo Gulo,

[edens-trinkets]

whatever you do, do not think about tony balerdi spending christmas alone after adam left. do not think about the fact that tony probably hated spending christmas with his father so he would spend it with adam, who had no family to go back to, and would take extra shifts during holiday season because the rest of the staff would be out spending christmas with their family. and adam and tony would spend christmas eve drinking cheap wine and wandering snowy paris, talking amiably about new dishes. they would go back to the flat and bake cookies as some shitty christmas movie played. and then christmas morning tony would always give adam a gift, and adam would laugh. “i forgot to give you a gift, tones,” he would say, every year. that wasn’t the truth, though: adam may not have given tony a physical gift but he still gave tony a gift nonetheless. he would make tony breakfast (cinnamon and banana crepes, his favorite) and spend the rest of the day with him. and that was their christmas—it wasn’t a lot, but it was enough.

and then adam left. tony went back to london to spend christmas with his father, who made tony attend a cold church mass and that was that. the christmas without adam, tony sat next to the telephone eating a hasty made cinnamon-and-banana crepe. adam hasn’t called ever since he left; tony didn’t know why he was expecting adam to. but he still stayed regardless. tony would do anything for a call from adam, even if all adam said was “i forgot your gift, tones”.

[rainbow18]

All the reasons why Zoe is a Mary Sue.

1. Characters are made ooc when Zoe’s around.

Marinette met Zoe and She quickly began spilling her heart out by talking about she kept falling and discussed how she had a crush. Then she gave Zoe her phone number. Marinette talked about how she fell all the time and discussed how she fell in love. Then soon after, In Queen Banana, She gave Zoe the Bee Miraculous even though She only knew her for a short amount of time.

Does this sound like something Marinette would do if it was someone else?

Not really. Marinette doesn’t like talking about herself and her feelings in front of strangers. She usually only opens up if She’s with people who have been her friends for a while. (Although she will occasionally make exceptions if Adrien is involved) Marinette also doesn’t hand out Miraculouses so fast after meeting someone. Every other character has to know Marinette for at least 1 season.

Marinette isn’t the only one that’s ooc when it comes to Zoe.

How did Zoe get a name that’s so close to Chloe’s if Audrey can’t remember Chloe’s name? Plus why would she give Zoe a similar name when she doesn’t even like Chloe? The only other times that siblings names are that close to each other is if they’re twins. (I know Juleka and Luka weren’t always Twins but still, they got retconned to be Twins.)

Audrey completely left Chloe in another country yet She stayed in the exact same State as Zoe?

Andre showed no signs of not wanting to be a Mayor prior to Season 4 yet Zoe comes around and he suddenly reveals that he gave up on his old dream? Andre always does what Chloe wants him to do yet he refused to send Zoe away?

Chloe had become worse at around the same time that Zoe was introduced.

Plagg had quickly complimented Zoe when she first became Vesperia. How often does Plagg compliment someone else that fast? At least Félix had given Adrien, Plagg’s favorite food which caused him to earn Plagg’s forgiveness.

2. Zoe doesn’t have The Personality that she should have given her backstory.

The point of giving a character a Backstory, especially a Tragic one is to explain their PRESENT behavior.

Zoe has been left at a boarding school and She began being bullied when She stopped pretending to be someone that she wasn’t. Then She went to join Audrey, Chloe and Andre in Paris.

These are lists of beliefs that someone with that backstory could develop. (Taken from the website One stop for writers.)

(1 = Being abandoned/shunned. 2 = Having Neglectful parents. 3 = Discovering that one’s parent has another family. 4 = Being bullied. )

To be fair, Zoe does express a couple of these thoughts occasionally. However Zoe usually doesn’t express this stuff at all.

Before anyone suggests “Maybe the writers don’t want to show how a backstory can affect a person” Let’s compare Zoe to characters with similar backstories.

Marinette’s been bullied for years. As a result, Marinette has been shown hating how Chloe can get away with everything. Marinette’s been shown being insecure multiple times. Marinette has been shown being passive and it’s canon that she didn’t start standing up for herself until Alya came around.

Colt was abusive and it’s stated that Felix didn’t have any friends. As a result, Felix doesn’t like people much. Felix often fights with others. Felix hates the word “Monster!” because Colt often called him that. Felix likely mocked Nino’s ���Bros stick together” because nobody (except Amelie) stuck by him.

Gabriel is extremely neglectful at best, abusive at worst. As a result, Adrien been shown sacrificing himself multiple times and during Guilt Trip, He appeared to be trying to cataclysm himself. In Gamer, while playing, Adrien commented on how he was pretty much not even there due to how good Marinette was. Adrien was shown to be passive too.

3. Everyone has to like her otherwise they are a unredeemable villain.

Marinette? She’s the main Hero and She’s Zoe’s first friend.

Mylene, Rose, Ivan, Alya and so on? They all quickly agreed to be Zoe’s friends after meeting her. Every single one of them is a Hero.

Andre? He ends up disowning Chloe and adopting Zoe as part of his redemption.

Felix? Zoe isn’t allowed to properly meet him because He’ll have to like her, which will be too ooc for him. (I know that technically, they saw each other during Strike Back however they didn’t exchange any words or have any meaningful interactions.)

Audrey? Terrible human being. She doesn’t like Zoe.

Chloe? She doesn’t like Zoe and She’s evil.

4. She’s used to show off how horrible Chloe is as well as how much Thomas Astruc hates Chloe.

Thomas Astruc didn’t hide what he was doing.

His self insert was around during Queen Banana. He talked about how sometimes Writers rewrite the script. Zoe was to get one of the lead roles.

Every character’s relationship with Zoe is the opposite of the relationship that they had with Chloe.

At the end of season 5, Zoe gets adopted by Andre whereas Chloe gets disowned. Chloe’s forced to stay with their abusive Mother.

Zoe gets to keep The Bee Miraculous permanently in the Season 5 ending, which is exactly what Chloe wanted.

Since Zoe’s backstory didn’t affect her much, The only reason Why the Writers gave Zoe a tragic backstory is so that Chloe will look even worse because Zoe had similar problems but she turned out fine.

He had characters compare Chloe and Zoe and made visual comparisons between Chloe and Zoe, with Zoe always being superior. Please note the ONLY other characters that got compared to each other like this were Adrien and Felix. (We all know Thomas Astruc never misses an opportunity to have Adrien be superior to Félix because of how much he hates Félix and how PV fans don’t understand why he replaced Félix with Adrien. )

The reason why Zoe doesn’t want to go back to New York is so that Chloe will look more cruel for wanting her gone.

Zoe gets The Bee Miraculous but has a Wasp theme.

5. Everything about Zoe is copied from another character.

Having Audrey for a Mother? Chloe.

Good Person with bad relatives? Kagami and Adrien.

Clothing style? Marinette.

Colors? Chloe.

Dream to be a actress? Mylene.

Personality? Rose and Marinette.

Dyed hair? Juleka.

Wearing a Hat in her hair? Mylene.

Been bullied? Marinette.

Absent Father? Juleka.

[lily-blue]

13 reasons why | reason no.10: they are enthusiastic about the holiday seasons

☆ characters: interim manager!soonyoung & rival!you (Eunseo - ‘97 liner) ☆ genre: coffee shop au, humour ☆ summary: you have always liked a good enemies to lovers story, but once your own y/n moments come knocking on your door, you come to realise that having a handsome rival is actually more tiring than it appears to be on paper ☆ words: 11,2k ☆ taglist: @dat-town​, @soobin-chois​

➼ chapter index

Even though working at your grandparents’ small bubble tea and coffee shop had started as a convenient part-time job beside your studies, the youthful atmosphere of the place and the freedom you had with the menu had grown on you through the years. Hence, when you had eventually graduated and gotten rejected by eight IT companies within a single month, you had decided to take on more responsibility in the family business. Your grandfather was nearing eighty-two after all, and your grandmother had always had a hard time not pampering him when he showed the tiniest signs of discomfort. With your chronic back pain that seemed to run in the family, you had never blamed the woman for spoiling the old man. Some days you wished you had someone who drew you hot baths and gave you amazing massages in the tub, too. Not that you wanted to picture your grandparents in a similar scenario.

Shaking your head with a carefree laugh, you placed the freshly made biscuits on a porcelain plate and carried the sweet dessert to the only occupied table in the shop. It was already past nine, which meant you were off the clock for the day, but as the granddaughter of the owners and the person who had spent almost every day behind the counter in the past six months, no one had the right to tell you that you weren’t allowed to have your friend over for some tea and biscuits while you were making the usual inventory rounds.

‘I was about to make some chocolate-banana biscuits this time, you know, nothing too crazy, but then I saw the caramel candies in the jar on the counter and I couldn’t help myself,’ you explained what had inspired your latest experiment with your desserts, pointing at the jar somewhere behind your back with your thumb from above your shoulder. ‘Feel free to say they taste like shit if they’re bad,’ you added with a sheepish smile like you always did when Hoyeon was about to have the first bite of your biscuits you couldn’t have taste-tested first. Unfortunately, your acne prone skin hated chocolate, so you tried to minimise your intake to zero.

‘Next time I’ll make sure to introduce you to Mingyu’s girlfriend. She’s a food critic and a really good one. I’m sure she would give you better feedback than I could ever do,’ the older girl said, even though she didn’t hesitate to take a huge bite from the biscuit. She was a huge supporter of your baking from day one, but because of her mild addiction to said dessert and the fact that she didn’t have a single rude bone in her body, she tended to compliment your biscuits even when they were too bitter due to the amount of cocoa powder you had used.

Still, you appreciated her gentle insights each and every time. You also liked watching her eat with such enthusiasm. Her facial expressions and exaggerated hums never failed to make you smile.

‘Oh? His granny finally found someone he actually likes?’ You inquired on your way back to the counter where you started to make a list of those ingredients you should have ordered some more of in the morning. You might not have known Mingyu super well - you could have counted on one hand how many times the two of you had spoken since Seungcheol had opened Coffee Carat -, but you were pretty up to date with the everyday happenings at the coffee shop on other side of the park because of your friendship with the owner’s fiancée.

Hoyeon liked talking about the guys like they were either her annoying older brothers or her precious babies. She was such a mom friend.

‘Nah, she’s the one who wrote that harsh criticism about our cupcakes. He took it a bit too seriously when he decided to change her mind about his baking skills,’ Hoyeon said, the amusement in her voice too obvious to miss. You had faintly remembered the day when your friend had told you about the article that had caused a temporary drop in the number of their customers, but since she hadn’t mentioned it ever since, you had assumed that the situation had been the exemplary case of “every storm runs out of rain”.

The thought that the tall baker had managed not only to score a date with the critic who had called his cupcakes average, but to successfully make it official with her in such a short period of time made you smile to yourself. You had always loved a good enemies to lovers story, so theirs only made you feel more certain that your Y/N moments were also waiting for you somewhere out there. Maybe, you should have gotten out more often.

Speaking of which….

‘Are you excited about Saturday?’ You asked your friend, stealing a quick glance at her from behind the counter. The closer the official date came, the more anxious you felt because of the biscuits you had promised to bake for their wedding, but to your surprise, Hoyeon rarely spoke about the big day recently. If you hadn’t known better, you would have thought that she had completely forgotten she would get married in three days.

‘I am, but not as much as I expected to be,’ she confessed as she shoved another piece of food into her mouth. She looked unbothered. Hell, she sounded pretty unbothered, too. You could have never. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m not happy or that I love Seungcheol any less, it’s just…’ she tried to put her thoughts into words that you could understand, so you didn’t push. Instead, you gave her as much time as she needed while you checked the storage room. You would need to order more recycled plastic cups from Rina and twelve bags of tapioca pearls, too. ‘We’re already living together. It doesn’t feel like such a big step.’

You nodded with a low hum in the back of your throat. What she said made perfect sense, actually.

‘You really are like a married couple, hah?’ You teased, relieved that their relationship with Seungcheol was as good as ever, hence you had been worried for no reason. You didn’t particularly like being wrong, but situations like this were obviously exceptions.

While you were talking about when you should have arrived at the venue on Saturday with all those sweets you planned to bake for them, you started to pack the unsold pastries into plastic containers. You were at the third box, a little bummed that you had so many cupcakes left that no one had wanted to buy, when Hoyeon made a light-hearted comment on how you might have also found someone at their wedding as her fiancé still had handsome yet single friends despite many of them getting in a serious relationship since the coffee shop had opened two years ago. Her silly way of advertising her boys plastered a small smile on your face.

‘I heard Joshua is off the market again,’ you chirped in, putting the full containers aside and turning towards the machines you had to scrub clean. ‘Too bad, I could picture myself going home from the party with him,’ you admitted, finding it almost amusing that usually, by the time you heard about Joshua’s break-up, he was already with another girl. It was like some higher power didn’t want you to shoot your shot with him at all, although the guy matched your ideal type nicely. He was attentive, always made sure to compliment you when you met and hadn’t belittled your effort when he had accidentally gotten to know that you had failed as a web developer before you could have started your career.

‘Argh, let’s not talk about those two, Seungcheol is already out of the game and if they don’t break up until the day after our wedding, Jeonghan can boss us around for a whole week. The both of us,’ Hoyeon complained, her mood getting sour only momentarily, until she shoved another chocolate-banana and caramel candy biscuit into her mouth.

You shook your head with a smile.

‘You should really stop making these bets. They just aren’t worth it,’ you advised, unsure whom you should have felt more sorry for. It might have been Joshua’s inevitable heartbreak on the line, but regardless of your conflicted feelings about the morality of these games, you were aware that whoever was the subject of them, they also knew about the competition. On the other hand, was it really worth risking giving so much power to Yoon Jeonghan for the mere possibility of controlling his life for a week? Highly unlikely.

Yet, they did it each and every time.

‘But they are,’ Hoyeon argued, telling you about that one time early into their relationship when Seungcheol had still lived with Jeonghan and Joshua and he had won the right to send the boys away from home without giving them any explanation. She claimed those had been the most peaceful movie night dates they had before her fiancé had found a nice apartment for them and Kkuma.

Once the biscuits were gone, Hoyeon offered to help you with cleaning the customer area and you accepted her help with a grateful smile. She didn’t have to, you would have gladly kept her entertained while closing the shop, but she did every time, the sweetheart she was.

Right on time, about an hour after Coffee Carat had closed its doors as well, Seungcheol knocked on the door of Freefall to pick up his fiancée. Before leaving, he asked you whether you needed any help with your old machines or if you had any boxes or sacks that were too heavy for you to carry from one place to another, but you just waved him off with a smile.

‘Eyes on the road!’ You said them goodbye, asking Seungcheol to make sure they both got home in one piece despite the late night traffic.

Closing the shop, you headed home ten minutes later. The small studio apartment you rented two corners from Freefall greeted you with silence and a sweet smell you couldn’t have described in any other way than home.

The traditional wedding ceremony didn’t last longer than an hour, and while both Seungcheol and Hoyeon (and their parents) looked amazing in their hanbok, you were grateful for it. As much as you loved reading about love, you had always had a hard time sitting still for a longer period of time. You would have hated it if they had thought you didn’t enjoy their big day - because you did! - just because you had your own shortcomings and more frequently than not, you felt antsy when you didn’t have anything productive to do.

Munching on your lower lip, you leaned closer to the myriad of desserts that were placed on one side of the venue, so that you could read their funny descriptions that had been written by Hoyeon and smell-test them before choosing which ones you would have liked to try.

‘You should try those! They might not look as fancy as the shortcakes, but those biscuits are fantastic. I’m telling you, I’ve already eaten like,’ the boy in the elegant, white shirt and deep orange dress pants claimed, counting on his fingers slowly with his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. ‘Six or seven. And I keep coming back for more!’

You took a moment to observe his features: the bright, genuine-looking smile on his face, his almond-shaped eyes that were barely visible due to how excited and happy he appeared to be and his fluffy black hair; a few stubborn strands were covering a part of his forehead. He looked handsome in an adorable way you had never before considered manly. Until now.

‘Aren’t you afraid I’ll eat all of them if they are really that good?’ You teased, paying close attention to his reaction. Despite assuming the best - you doubted either of the newlyweds would have invited douchebags for their wedding unless they were family -, you didn’t know him. And you didn’t feel like engaging in anything but a short conversation with someone who got offended easily. Your jokes could get pretty controversial after three tequila shots.

For a couple of seconds, the two of you were staring at each other with intent. Then, the boy shrugged nonchalantly and reached for a cinnamon biscuit that was one of the most basic flavours you had prepared for today. Initially, you had intended to bake your most special creations for the party after the ceremony, but on Thursday morning Seungcheol had dropped a sly comment on how obsessed Hoyeon was with this particular flavour and you couldn’t not have made five dozen of them when they were the bride’s recent favourite.

‘I don’t mind sharing, especially with someone so beautiful,’ he said, and instead of lifting the sweets in front of his mouth with his bare hand, you were surprised to realise that he was using a textile napkin to hand it to you.

‘Smooth, aren’t you?’ You asked, but accepted the baked good with a soft smile on your face, biting off a huge piece of it, not shying away just because it wasn’t too lady-like. If the boy couldn’t have handled this much, he wouldn’t have survived seeing you munching on burgers or pizza happily.

Gosh, were you already thinking about spending some time with him in different settings? Well, he had indeed passed the vibe check so far, but it wasn’t like you had known him for longer than two minutes. It must have been the wedding’s doing; it was messing with your head, making you borderline desperate.

Luckily, the boy couldn’t read your mind.

‘With so many couples around, you kind of have to be,’ he explained with a smile as he took a banana-chocolate and caramel candy biscuit in his hand. ‘You know, so that you could play it safe and say you didn’t mean that way when the other person’s partner shows up to punch you in the face out of freaking nowhere,’ he added, coaxing an amused scoff out of you with those exaggerated hand gestures he was making.

‘That’s alarmingly specific,’ you joked, wondering if he had accidentally hit on someone with a girlfriend or a boyfriend in the past few hours or if he was talking about a past incident. For some reason, maybe because of the soft, rose-tinted patches on his neck, the possibility that he was talking about someone else or making the scenario up didn’t even cross your mind.

The boy’s embarrassed chuckle was adorable. 

You reached for a caramel-apple shortcake next.

‘So… you didn’t mean it that way?’ You inquired after the first bite, the flavours dancing in your mouth, making it impossible to suppress the pleased moan that scratched your throat. It escaped the same moment you started your question, turning your cheeks the same colour as the boy’s neck was dressed in.

‘I mean, you’re drop dead gorgeous, so if you, by any chance, happen to be single, then I was definitely flirting with you, yeah,’ he admitted, ears burning by the time he stumbled over the last couple of words. So awkward. So endearing.

‘Good to know,’ you said with a hint of a smile in the corner of your lips before you took another bite from the shortcake and finished it by shoving the third in your mouth. Delicious. Should you have tried another flavour, too?

As you were contemplating which one you should go for, the mango-orange or the last piece of strawberry-crackers, you could feel the boy’s piercing eyes on you, but it wasn’t creepy or unpleasant. You did put more effort into your posture, though, straightening your back and tilting your head sideways just enough to give him a better view for the crook of your neck, but that was your business and no one else’s.

‘You didn’t like them?’ It was a half-question, half-statement, and you needed a few seconds to understand what he was talking about, but when you shifted your gaze from the table to his face and saw how fixated he was on the biscuits, it became crystal clear.

You shook your head, careful to not mess up your elegant, loose bun with the sudden motion.

‘I had more than enough of them while I was perfecting the recipe,’ you explained before you added as a clarification: ‘I made them.’

You didn’t mean to brag. In fact, you were determined to keep your voice nonchalant as if it hadn’t been a big deal, because you had already known he liked them enough to praise them in front of a stranger. You didn’t want him to think that you were full of yourself and found joy in deceiving him, even if only temporarily. However, the way the boy’s eyes lit up after your claim indicated anything but.

‘Really? Thank God Mingyu isn’t single anymore!’ He exclaimed, a relieved sigh escaping from his lips as he made a show out of wiping the nonexistent sweat off his forehead. He was so dramatic, but more entertaining than annoying.

‘Why? Afraid of a little competition?’ You teased, the thought that you should have gone easy on him and admitted that you weren’t interested in the baker anyway crossing your mind for a split second. But then again, where was the fun in that? It wasn’t like you were hurting his feelings on purpose. You didn’t even try to make him jealous, to be fair.

Whether it was your raised eyebrow or the tension in the air that grew with every second you spent in silence after your playful question, but the boy’s eventual reaction was everything a good comedian needed: wide eyes, parted lips and big hand gestures.

‘Hah! Not a chance! I love a good competition,’ he claimed with pride in every single word, fist tapping his chest multiple times in a manner that reminded you of gorillas from that one Disney movie about a kid who had grown up amongst them. Tarzan. The resemblance really cracked you up. Especially when he caught himself and let his hand fall back beside him with a pout. ‘Is there a competition, though?’

‘Why? Would you like to win me over?’ You pushed, just a little more, while you lifted the strawberry-cracker shortcake without whipped cream on the top in front of your lips.

‘I mean, this whole conversation already makes me feel like a winner, but…’

His unfinished sentence and the smug curve of his lips made you smile like a Cheshire cat, but you felt like he deserved to see your amusement on display after all that teasing, so you made no attempt at hiding your happiness from him. Coming to a wedding without a plus one was indeed a whole different experience. And not in the lonely, lowkey depressing way you had previously expected based on the number of couples who had been sat at the same table your name tag was on.

Speaking of name tags…

‘You could start with telling me your name,’ you suggested instead of calling him out on his lame pick-up line or whatever his comment had been supposed to be. You weren’t sure what it said about your personality and preferences or maybe, about your sense of humour, but you didn’t find his flirting too cringe just yet. 

‘Soonyoung,’ he introduced himself eagerly and you told him your name in exchange with a less wide but equally genuine smile.

‘Well, Soonyoung, let’s drink some and hit up the dance floor,’ you suggested, grabbing one last shortcake from the table (the mango-orange one, obviously) before you led him towards the bar at the end of the food section. You hadn’t drunk more than a glass of champagne so far, but you were determined to catch up with the rest of the guests before you embarrassed yourself in front of everyone dear to Hoyeon and Seungcheol. You see, you loved dancing, you always had fun moving your hips and limbs for mainstream, upbeat music, however, you wouldn’t have called yourself particularly talented.

Still, you loved dancing. No one could keep you off the dance floor when the opportunity to shake your booty presented itself. Your friends’ wedding couldn’t have been the exception. You just needed a shot or two first.

‘You should be careful with this one. Our Hoshi is a lightweight. Like, light. His drunk face is literally in the dictionary, check it out when you hit up “feather”,’ Yoon Jeonghan warned you as soon as you reached the bar with Soonyoung; the name Hoshi vaguely familiar from your friend’s stories.

‘I am not,’ Soonyoung insisted and you shifted your gaze from the blacked-haired boy to the blondie before you decided to not care too much about which one of them was right and asked for eight tequila shots from the bartender - two from each, silver and gold, for the two of you.

Waiting for the drinks, you listened to Jeonghan’s stories about their bi-monthly dude nights with the guys and tried not to let your confusion show when he yet again warned you about Soonyoung’s drunk antics: some sort of tiger agenda, whatever that meant.

‘Okay, now how about I tell some stories to Yoohyeon noona about your sappy ass whenever you hit your limit, hah?’ Soonyoung threatened, but before he could have spilled the beans to the blonde girl who sat beside Jeonghan, your shots were served and you pulled on his sleeve to gain his attention.

‘I’m pretty sure she knows about his sappy side,’ you tried to keep the peace as you handed the first shot to Soonyoung and poured a bit of salt on his empty hand.

You both managed to drink three shots in a row before they hit, so you gave the remaining two to the couple and pulled Soonyoung towards the small crowd in front of the DJ booth. To say he was an amazing dancer would have been an understatement. He moved his body like he was made of liquid - and not the way your body was also 60% of water - and did it so effortlessly, you started to wonder whether you were the one who couldn’t hold her alcohol instead. Why did your arms move so awkwardly compared to his?

Whatever. The music was exhilarating, the crowd wasn’t suffocating and Soonyoung didn’t show any interest in anyone else around while he was with you, encouraging you and even joining you when you started to perform silly disco moves from the last century. It was easily one of the best days of your life.

‘Food break?’ The boy asked you before you noticed that you were actually out of breath and you nodded, letting him wrap his pretty, long fingers around your wrist before he elbowed his way through the mass. How could someone’s hold be so firm but gentle at the same time? Should you have asked him whether he had visited a nail technician before the wedding? He had such pretty hands!

‘Drinks, too,’ you shouted, so that he could hear it despite the music and based on how he shot you a smile from above his shoulder and squeezed your wrist simultaneously, you were pretty sure you had succeeded.

You ended up at one of the tables where the guests could comfortably eat and converse, far enough from the dance floor to protect your voice from the aftereffects of constant screaming, and ate some real food while you shared funny stories of your lives with each other and how the two of you had gotten to know the newlyweds. Of course, as the afternoon turned into early evening then midnight, the two of you talked a few words with almost everyone from the guest list, but you spent most of your time on the dance floor, in each others’ arms, as you blended into the crowd after each necessary break.

If you had been a more chaotic drunk, you might have shed a few tears of joy because of how freaking comfortable your high heels were.

‘Afterparty at mine?’ Soonyoung asked between two upbeat songs, his warm breath fanning over your neck, making you shiver because of the thin layer of sweat that coated your skin.

You looked around to check your surroundings; you weren’t sure why you felt the need, but it came naturally as though you had been seventeen again, hesitant to leave your friends behind because of a pair of pretty eyes and a smile that turned them into tiny crescends. It wasn’t like you were responsible for anyone in the building other than yourself nor had you come with another person. Not to mention that Soonyoung wasn’t a complete stranger, either. As it had turned out during the party, he was actually close friends with many of your own friends and acquaintances.

You could see Joshua sitting with Jeonghan and Seungcheol by the bar with only the latter two having their girlfriends close. They were drinking and laughing at something that made Joshua pout. If you had been less drunk, you might have been able to put the puzzle pieces together, but with your mushy brain, the only conclusion you could come to was that they looked lost in their own world. You didn’t want to disturb them.

‘Let’s go,’ so you said, not registering how utterly rude it was that you didn’t say goodbye to anyone whom you didn’t bump into on your way out or that you wouldn’t be able to apologise to the newlyweds in person for two weeks - they would leave for their honeymoon in Thailand and Laos early afternoon, which meant meeting up with you would be the last thing on their priority list. That, and you would most probably be sleeping out your hangover somewhere. Preferably, at home.

Or maybe, at Soonyoung’s place as you were heading there for the promised afterparty with a pleased smile on your face and feather-like kisses on your bare shoulder in the backseat of a cab you didn’t remember calling.

Did you have expectations? Maybe. Did the two of you lick into each other’s mouth as soon as the front door closed shut behind your back? Absolutely.

Yet, once you reached Soonyoung’s bedroom and you fell onto his bed, you knew having sex with the boy was off the table. If it hadn’t been, he would have hovered over you and kept kissing you instead of laying down by your side.

‘Can we not take a shower right now? I’m sooo tired,’ the boy mumbled against your upper arm, his nose nuzzling the edge of your shoulder. You couldn’t see his face from this angle, but you were sure his eyes were already closed.

‘I mean, sure, I guess,’ you whispered back, feeling the tiredness creeping in slowly. Maybe, it was for the better. Having a one night stand with one of Hoyeon’s boys wouldn’t have been the wisest decision of your life even though a part of you still craved Soonyoung’s touch despite how heavy your eyelids were.

‘Yey!’ Soonyoung’s arm knocked the air out of your lungs as it swung over your chest, his excitement absolutely beyond you. Still, it would have been a lie to say that you didn’t enjoy the way he hugged you close like you were his human-sized teddy bear. ‘You’re the best! The coolest person,’ he exclaimed happily, coaxing an airy chuckle out of you with his child-like behaviour. He was so ridiculous.

That night, you fell asleep in your sweaty clothes, atop of the softest blankets that would have felt like heaven over you, listening to Soonyoung’s endless chatter about how much he loved his mom, but how she would have forced him to take a shower immediately. At that point, it was lost on you why the woman refused to appear in your dreams. Certainly, you knew more details about her habits than you knew about your own parents’.

In the morning, you regretted not insisting on taking a shower before falling asleep. You also felt like you were about to get sick. Not because of how gross you felt or how bad both of you smelled, but because your throat was sore. Your body had definitely missed the warmth of a blanket over the night.

Was your head hurting because of the blinding light that came through the windows or was it your hangover? With your luck, it could be both.

Letting out a groan, you carefully lifted the boy’s arm off your middle and sat up, looking for your balance and the will to move. It would have been so easy to just lay back and stare out of your head. You could have even gone for a morning quicky with…

Yeah, it would have been wiser if you had just left.

Taking one last glance at the sleeping boy, you bit back an amused chuckle at the sight of his drooling face. Gross, but in some weird way, cute as well. Could you have developed a crush on someone so different from all the boyfriends you had ever had? Of course, it had to be one of Hoyeon’s boys.

Shaking your head, you pushed yourself up into a standing position, then left the flat without leaving as much as a note behind. If he wanted to see you again, he knew where to find you. It wasn’t like you were running away from him. But he had never asked for your kkt ID, either, or any of your other contact information through the night.

You refused to believe wanting some reassurance that the boy planned to stay in touch with you was a bitch move. You had every right to keep your walls up regardless of what you had done or hadn’t done a couple of hours ago.

What you hadn’t expected, though, was Soonyoung storming into Freefall three days later, before your grandparents’ bubble tea and coffee shop would have opened for the customers, accusing you of playing dirty. As you furrowed your eyebrows, confusion clearly written on your face, your fingers turned white around the orange white board marker in your hand. The door should have had the CLOSED sign on. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been standing on a ladder, finishing up the decoration for the Halloween season instead of standing behind the cash register in your uniform.

With your back to the front door, you took a deep breath and let your hand fall by your side; then you took hold of the ladder, so that you could climb down without breaking a bone. As you turned around and raised a challenging brow at the boy, you wondered how you could have missed the crazy glint in his eyes last time. Because as you were staring daggers at him, it was clear as day that he was nuts as hell.

‘Playing dirty? How so?’ You asked, linking your arms in front of your chest to show him he did not intimidate you, although your stiff posture might have looked defensive on second thought. Whatever. You simply raised your chin higher.

‘Carved pumpkins instead of fake pumpkins?’ He pointed at the scary-looking decoration you had put out the day before, the scoff that escaped his mouth mocking. ‘POPcorn maze in the customer area?’ He huffed, stomping his feet. ‘Pumpkin latte?’

You rolled your eyes at the last addition. Did he really think he had any right to call dibs on serving pumpkin latte in October? And since when had he worked in a coffee shop to begin with? Wasn’t he a choreographer at his bestie’s workplace or what?

‘What does any of these have to do with you?’ You inquired, scolding yourself mentally for assuming that he had been hinting at your night together (and the way you had left) when he had walked into the shop. Clearly, it was all about your handmade decoration that had been inspired by the moodboards you had seen on Pinterest.

As far as you were concerned, he had no idea who he was screaming at like a child.

‘I’m the manager at Coffee Carat until the owner is on his honeymoon. You know, the coffee shop you’re stealing your ideas from,’ he accused you, his stupid index finger pointing at you like he knew no manners. Based on his complaints about his nagging mother, you would have thought she had raised a decent son. What a waste of looks!

‘Not that I owe you any explanation, but I found these ideas on the internet. Also, thinking that pumpkin latte is something you owe is really entitled of you,’ you said. The longer he was staring at you with those vengeful eyes, the more frustrated you felt. ‘There’s still half an hour until the shop opens, by the way. So, as the manager of this shop, I need to ask you to take your baseless accusations somewhere else, Kwon Soonyoung!’

Even from the generous distance that separated the two of you, you could see it in the boy’s eyes when the realisation hit him: those chocolate orbs became twice as big as their usual size and it seemed he had momentarily forgotten how to blink.

‘You…’ he mumbled, his gaze sliding to the displays on your left and the boards above your head you still had to finish. ‘The biscuits…’

It was hard not to find the situation ridiculous, but you refused to acknowledge the comedy in his taken aback features that slowly morphed into something indecipherable. Was he happy to see you again? Was he mortified that he had accused you of stealing ideas that weren’t even his to begin with? Did he feel regret for acting so rude?

If any of these cases was true, he didn’t admit it. Instead, he let out a puff of air and linked his arms, checking you out from the top of your head to your torso - the last part of your body he could see from where he was standing.

‘If you think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re pretty and fun and smell like candies, you’re dead wrong,’ the boy said with his chin held high, making you scoff with his claim. You genuinely didn’t get what his deal was. Why did he take his time to come over to your shop to scream at you when he was only an interim manager and your coffee shops weren’t even competitors. Freefall mostly lived off on its bubble teas and biscuits while Coffee Carat served more quality coffees and amazing pastries.

Not to mention that you were close friends with Hoyeon, hence with Seungcheol as well. Had he not put two and two together considering that the two of you had met at their wedding? Or did he seriously believe that you were the kind of person who would have used their absence to your advantage and undermined their business? With what? Halloween themed decoration? It made no freaking sense.

You were about to tell Soonyoung that there was something seriously wrong with him when he spun on his heels and turned his back to you. He walked out the door without a proper goodbye - you couldn’t help but wonder whether it was his way of showing you how it felt to be on the receiving end of such an unpleasant exit -, the echo of the door sliding back into its frame filling the quiet atmosphere.

It took you longer than you would have ever admitted aloud to put yourself together once the silence sat on your chest. However, the time was ticking and you still had things to do before you opened the shop, so you willed your limbs to move.

You knew you had done nothing wrong or malicious when you had decided to change up the interior design of Freefall to suit the holiday season. You refused to let Soonyoung convince you of anything that suggested otherwise.

The following dawn, as you were walking to your grandparents’ bubble tea and coffee shop from your flat, you took a detour. You didn’t mean to spy on your rival, but last night you had been too tired to check out what Soonyoung had been so upset about and you would have much preferred knowing what you were up against. After all, that grown ass child had acted like he was about to march into war. It was both scary and ridiculous.

You considered yourself a laid back, chill person in your whole life. You weren’t one who got easily intimidated, either. You hadn’t broken down and thought that your life had been about to end when you couldn’t have secured a nice office job with your degree. Yet, you felt a tad bit jittery when you put the edges of your palms on the window of Coffee Carat and peeked into the building.

‘What the…’ you breathed, barely able to comprehend all the changes the interior design had gone through since the wedding. Instead of the usual, light brown and beige colours, the shop was dominated by dark grey and orange. There were (hopefully) fake spiderwebs around the windows and the coffee machines. The boards had the same skeleton and pumpkin drawings you had finished the day before just before opening and there was a POPcorn maze on one side of the customer area, the kpop version of it just like in Freefall.

Ever since Seungcheol had opened the shop, you had never seen Coffee Carat looking this… this during any of the Western holiday seasons.

‘A-ha! I knew it!’ You heard a familiar voice from behind you and your entire body tensed as you had thought you still had time. Why was he here so early in the morning when even the place’s owner preferred to show up later, a mere hour and a half before opening?

You should have still had time.

‘What? I didn’t do anything,’ you protested, mentally cursing yourself for sounding so lame. Because really, hearing these cheap lines, even you wouldn’t have believed yourself despite knowing more than anyone that this wasn’t what it looked like.

To make it worse, you spun around with the speed of lightning, like touching the window had burnt you: like you had been caught red-handed, when you hadn’t been. You had never stolen a single thing in your life, stealing stupid decoration ideas would have been the last thing you would have started your criminal career with.

Soonyoung narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the right. Fists balled up, you wished you could have wiped that stupid frown off his face.

‘I’m off to work,’ you claimed, hating the feeling of powerlessness and the palpable tension in the chilly, morning air. You craved to be in control.

So you bid your goodbye with mocking respect and turned your back to the boy, determined to get to the pedestrian crossing before the lights turned red again. Obviously, it was too far for you to succeed, but at least Soonyoung didn’t follow you. He seemed to be more than content with the reaction he had coaxed out of you.

That and with those smug accusations he screamed after you.

‘If you weren’t guilty, you wouldn’t run away. You’ve just proved I was right all along.’

You hated him for his confidence when it was clear to you that he was wrong and you hated yourself even more for giving Soonyoung fake evidence that only fueled his desire to destroy you in this ridiculous, coffee-centric Battle royal you had no intention to play.

The first week while Hoyeon and Seungcheol were away was both heaven and hell. On one hand, your childish competition with Soonyoung helped your creativity: you came up with new recipes every other day, you went as far as carving little skeleton bones from the jellies you put into your bubble teas and you managed to organise a daily lottery in which the more receipts a customer had, the bigger chance they got to win themselves a handmade keychain or bracelet and other boba-themed prices. Due to your immense effort, there were more people in the shop during the past days than in the previous months combined and that was huge. It was freaking awesome!

On the other hand, you hadn’t felt so emotionally and physically drained since your uni days. It was hard to have a new, original idea every day; not to mention the extra hours you needed to spend on turning each one of them into reality. Because those cute keychains and bracelets didn’t create themselves. The jelly didn’t become bone-shaped overnight on its own. Not to mention how tiring it was to banter with Soonyoung each morning before opening just for him to shop up after closing as well, bragging about their sales.

Of course, you could have locked him out, but as much as you didn’t want to admit, the boy’s extremes inspired you when you let your last remaining brain cell spread its wings in his company. Usually, you were carving jellies by the time he closed the shop on the opposite side of the park, so it wasn’t like you had to stand or move your stiff limbs around too much. You just sat still, like you did at that moment, humming along his endless chatters with your gaze fixed on the fruity goods.

‘It’s a Korean-Italian fusion Mingyu came up with. It was sold out in an hour,’ he claimed with his whole chest, sliding a familiar food container towards you with two slices of creamy cakes in it. At first glance, they looked like classic tiramisu, but they were orange-coloured and smelled like vanilla and pumpkin instead of freshly brewed coffee.

‘I thought it’s sold out,’ you commented with a brow raised in challenge before you turned back to your jellies. Based on the sales of the last two days, you needed to carve at least one more kilo of these and it was already nearing eleven. You genuinely wondered whether the holiday season was really worth the hype.

‘Yeah, but then Mingyu made some more. Obviously,’ he replied, pushing the container closer to you, urging you to have a bite. And honestly, they looked mouth-watering.

‘Obviously,’ you hummed, putting aside your work for a moment, so that you could fish out the metal dessert fork from beside the cake and have a bite from the baker’s new creation.

You didn’t expect Soonyoung to stand up and walk towards the counter for a pair of plastic gloves, but you were grateful for it deep down. Even if you watched him with hawk eyes as he tried his best to turn your regular jellies into Halloween-themed ones for God knew why. Shouldn’t he have been happy that you allowed him to steal some of your time? Should you have been more wary of his skills?

‘What are you doing?’ You asked suspiciously, taking another, bigger bite from the creamy cake that melted in your mouth. It tasted like a pumpkin pie, but it was lighter like you were cutting bites from a sweetened cloud with distinct vanilla flavour. Genius.

‘Making sure you get in bed before midnight,’ he retorted and you scoffed without malice when his smile became bigger at the sight of his own work. He looked so proud of himself, you decided to let him have this moment and enjoy the sweet treat instead.

Once the dessert was gone, you got up from your seat and stretched your body. Then, you walked up to the counter and poured some tea for the both of you into porcelain mugs, but with lots of tapioca pearls.

‘Here,’ you said when you slid the brown mug closer to him and took a seat from across him with your own bowl of jellies in front of you.

You intended to work in complete silence, so that you could have finished for the day as soon as possible, but Soonyoung had different plans. Between two sips, he chatted your ears off about his best friend and the guy’s girlfriend who apparently worked for the same company the two of them did. He told you about this new project Jihye was working on on her own - the very first mini album she composed without Jihoon -, then made you promise that you wouldn’t talk about this top secret comeback to anyone you knew. As if he hadn’t been the one who couldn’t have kept his mouth shut! The audacity.

You rolled your eyes and refused to swear secrecy.

‘Do your grandparents know you work so late?’ He asked at the end, breaking the momentary silence and making you look at him with indecipherable feelings in your eyes.

You didn’t understand why he asked. Admittedly, you didn’t understand why he stayed after he had rubbed their new dessert’s success into your wounds; your pumpkin-chocolate biscuit had been a huge failure that day. In hindsight, you should have gone for a combination you could have actually taste-tested yourself. A lesson that had been relearned the hard way.

You missed Hoyeon so much.

‘No, they don’t. But it’s only because of the stupid war you started, so they don’t have to know,’ you said, intending to keep your messed up sleep schedule from your grandparents as long as possible. Normally, you didn’t like lying. It made you antsy because you were bad at remembering those details that made your semi-truths believable and often got caught at the worst moments possible. However, you told yourself no October lasted forever. Making them worried because of a couple of extra hours of work would have been useless. ‘It’s temporary.’

Based on your history with Soonyoung - short but impactful -, you expected him to push you a bit, maybe call you out on lying and neglecting your health. In response to these, you would have kindly told him that you had been through worse in university and once again reminded him that it was all his fault. But he remained silent and with that… with that, you had no idea what to do.

You glanced at him a little worried and seeing the pout on his lips, you kept staring, trying to figure out what could have been going on in his head.

You were aware that you weren’t subtle about where your focus lay, but it still took you off guard when Soonyoung noticed and he masked his emotions immediately. Within seconds, his almost sad pout turned into a smug grin and his eyes disappeared because of his fake happiness. You might not have been friends, more like frenemies, really, but for some reason, you didn’t like that he felt he couldn’t be himself around you.

‘Like what you see?’ He teased you, the pick-up line as old as time and twice as cringe, but you just shook your head and turned back to your jellies.

‘Just keep carving those jellies and sipping on your drink. You said you wanted me in bed by midnight,’ you reminded him with a small, hidden smile in the corner of your mouth. His red cheeks and slightly parted lips were enough to bring your mood back up. In fact! While he was trying to come up with a cool, sassy comeback, you mapped out whole ass dialogues in your head, entertaining yourself with your own hypothetical remarks that aimed at turning the boy redder.

Sure, their desserts sold better, their coffee tasted better, but at the end of the day, at least he couldn’t beat you in your own game. Flirting shamelessly while you were switching between acting coy and as though you were down to anything was your element. You thrived off his amused scoffs and unconscious stutters.

That day, only your endless banters were longer than the night itself. However, you managed to finish the rest of the jellies almost twenty minutes before midnight, which gave you plenty of time to get home before the clock hit 12 AM. You might have refused to let the boy walk you home once he figured out you lived close and failed to get under the sheets before the new day officially began, but you did text Soonyoung when your head hit the pillow. You fell asleep not long after, for the unmistakable sound of an incoming message wishing you sweet dreams.

During the second week, some days were spent in a good mood regardless of your sales, some days were horrible and you wished you had been able to act like you were the bigger person and never engaged with a lunatic (affectionate?) like Kwon Soonyoung. Because the dude had difficulties sensing your boundaries and you snapped easier when you were running on four hours of sleep.

The worst part was the immense amount of guilt that overwhelmed your sense whenever the silence embraced you after you raised your voice at the boy. It made you feel like you were one of those people you had never gotten along with because of your harsh humour: people who took every joke personally. Self-loathing didn’t match well with your usual vibe. On the other hand, it generously contributed to your sour mood hidden behind your customer service smiles.

A teeny tiny voice in your head told you that you should have told Soonyoung to stop with this nonsense. He must have already figured it out that you had never intended to copy their decoration and their damned pumpkin latte that he had never had an ownership over. So what was the point of fighting?

As you called for the customer who had ordered a large Cantaloupe milk tea and handed over the drink with a smile, the same voice, with a pinch of mockery to it, called you out mentally on how playful banters and late night snacks shared over personal anecdotes didn’t count as fighting. You frowned, knowing more than anyone that if you had wanted to shut the boy out of your life, you could have easily locked the door after the last customer left Freefall. Yet, you never did.

The realisation that you wanted the holiday season to end as much as you didn’t want the boy to go back to working as a full-time choreographer left a bitter taste in your mouth. What kind of insane person developed a crush on someone so impossible? Soonyoung had been making your life four times harder since your lives had crossed paths. You let out a dramatic sigh. You had never pegged yourself as a masochist before.

Taking a new plastic cup into your hand, you reached for the metal ladle that you used for the tapioca pearls and poured a generous amount into the empty container to prepare the next drink: a medium sized Matcha milk tea.

‘Hey,’ you heard a faintly familiar voice from the other side of the counter. You stole a glance at the customer from above your shoulder and acknowledged his presence with a small nod before you turned back towards the tea you were making.

‘I’ll be there in a moment,’ you promised with your back to Soonyoung, silently wondering what he was doing at your shop so early. Even if it had been him who had opened the coffee shop this morning and Wonwoo had been the one who closed it, it was only 1 PM. He knew you didn’t sell anything at Freefall that could have been considered a nutritious, filling lunch.

Did he have his food container with him or something? It was true that you couldn’t have seen it from where you were standing.

Once the cup sealing machine did its magic, you called for the customer who had paid for the Macha milk tea, then turned towards Soonyoung with your palms on the countertop.

‘What can I get for you?’ You asked, your head tilted to the right, left eyebrow raised slightly. What you really wanted to ask was what he was doing here in the middle of the day when he had never once been at the shop when it was open for customers. You couldn’t help but feel alarmed due to the sudden change.

‘I’m sorry,’ he blurted out, his gaze weirdly fixated on the biscuit display and those colourful, plastic straws that were stuffed in a cylinder-shaped container next to the cash register. Your right eyebrow caught up with the other one, wrinkling your forehead in the process.

‘For what?’ You asked, his reasons genuinely lost on you. Sure, he had done many things in your short acquaintanceship that rubbed you the wrong way, but you were fairly certain that you had pissed him off just as many times in return with your snarky remarks. Neither of you had ever said sorry at those moments, but neither of you had been affected by the incidents afterwards, either.

If you wanted to be completely honest, his sudden urge to apologise was unnerving. It had a feel of finality to it as though he wanted to clear the air before disappearing on you. 

‘For this whole thing. I got too excited about being the best manager and… I’ve never wanted to stress you out,’ he explained and honestly, it was too easy to admit that you missed the big hand gestures that usually accompanied his rambles.

‘Where’s this coming from?’ You asked, trying to keep your cool instead of overthinking what could have possibly been going on in his mind. With Soonyoung, it had never been easy to see the logic behind the word vomits that left his mouth. But you loved the challenge and had learned with time that all you needed to do was ask. He was chaotic by nature, but he had the patience to explain almost anything to you in detail two or three times in a row while you were willing to listen. Hell. You just had to ask! ‘If it’s because I screamed at you yesterday, it’s fine. I came in sooner today and made enough tapioca pearls for the day, no biggie. I was just tired,’ you reassured him with a pseudo-nonchalant wave of your hand.

In hindsight, you could see that you must have crossed a line last night when Soonyoung had accidentally dropped a 10 litre cooking pot’s worth of tapioca pearls on the floor while he had been holding the ladder for you behind the counter, meaning you not only needed to clean up the mess, but also remake the whole thing. (Not to mention the waste of ingredients.) Still, at that moment your frustration had felt justified, so you didn’t intend to apologise. However, saying that you two were fine was something you could do with your chest.

‘Actually, hyung said I should come over and apologise for my actions on my own if I don’t want him to drag me over here by my ear,’ Soonyoung admitted after the momentary silence, somehow turning it even deeper with his confession. For a second, you were seriously at a loss for words.

But then, you failed to contain your laughter. How was someone like him real?

‘So now you’re sorry or not?’ You asked, half-amused, half-bewildered due to the unexpected turn of events. You had already had a hard time keeping up with the apology, but finding out that it hadn’t even been his idea to begin with was seriously messing with your head. It gave you a whiplash. Should you have been angry with him that he had come here to give you an insincere apology? Should you have felt relieved that seemingly he hadn’t meant to change your dynamic?

‘Well, if I really stressed you out, then yes. Otherwise, not really,’ he said and lacking a better reaction, you let out a scoff-like chuckle. At least, he was honest till the end; it provided you some familiarity you could hold onto. It pulled you out from your messy thoughts and helped you get back in the game. 

‘I mean, you can be a bit too much sometimes and you clearly have no idea when not to push someone…’ you teased because it was your thing from the get-go and it would have been such a shame to waste the perfect opportunity to shift things back to normal. ‘But I wasn’t too nice all the time, either, so I guess it’s fine. I enjoy our late night snacks more than I’d like to admit,’ you added with a tight lipped smile.

You weren’t proud of your mistakes, but you could admit it when you were in the wrong.

‘Me too!’ He exclaimed happily, drawing some of your customers’ attention at himself with his loud voice before he sheepishly lifted his hand to his nape and started to scratch it. ‘Though, I got fired an hour ago.’

You furrowed your brows and Soonyoung dived into the story without further interrogation. Lips ridiculously kissable and pouty, the boy explained that now that Seungcheol was back, his hyung didn’t need extra help at the coffee shop and that when he had been joking around, asking his friend what he would do without such a capable manager in the future, the older man had kindly declined his help and let him know that the mental health of his employees would always be more important to him than their profit.

‘It turns out, Mingyu was complaining about me to them throughout their entire honeymoon. Can you believe it?’ He whined, the flicker of hurt in his eyes faint but visible. It urged you to wrap him up in your hands and pull his chin atop of your shoulder, so that you could pat his head and comfort him with your closeness.

But there were already new customers waiting for their turn behind his back, hence you had to set your priorities as the owner’s granddaughter straight.

‘Go wait at that table,’ you pointed at one of the empty spots in the temporary POPcorn maze where people could enjoy good music and check out numerous different kpop albums’ photo books courtesy of your cousin. You had offered free drinks for her and two of her friends for a whole month in exchange for her collection, but Eunhye said she was happy to help. She had also said these albums only collected dust in her bedroom, so it was nice that she could share them with your customers. She was such an angel! ‘I’ll be there after I serve the customers.’

The promise earned a sweet smile from Soonyoung and it warmed your heart, but you had a job to do, so you quickly schooled your facial expressions and put on your customer service smile that was equally genuine, but in a different way.

As soon as the boy walked away from the counter, you turned towards the couple who took a step forward and took their order. You prepared them a medium iced tea and a large milk tea, then repeated the same process with four more people. You worked efficiently, hence it didn’t take that long. And you loved your job, so no matter how much you wanted to comfort Soonyoung at that moment, making sure that each and every customer got the best service you could offer didn’t feel like a bother at all.

It was Freefall’s policy that customers had to pick up their order at the counter. It was a must because your shop didn’t have any waitresses who could have walked around the customer area without the counter being left unsupervised. However, once you prepared a surprise Taro milk tea with bone-shaped jellies and tapioca pearls for Soonyoung, you decided to make an exception for him.

He had just gotten fired. Despite knowing from the beginning that it was a temporary job, he deserved some pampering. He loved being a manager at Coffee Carat.

‘Just so you know, you’re always welcomed here. Even after closing time. Even if you’re not a crazy, Halloween season-obsessed manager anymore,’ you teased when you placed the cup in front of him on the table.

He looked at the drink with wide eyes then shifted his gaze to you with an amused glint in those brown sugar orbs.

‘I was never!’ He linked his arms in front of his chest, pseudo-offended, but untied them soon, so that he could take the milk tea in his hand. Such a weirdo!

‘Sure, you were,’ you indulged him and patted his shoulder once, twice, three times before you walked back to the counter.

You tried not to stare at him while you were waiting for new customers, but regardless of your efforts, you saw the smile on his face when he took the first sip and that smug grin, too, that he shot in your direction when he left the bubble tea shop. He seemed happier.

He hadn’t visited you that night, but he came back to Freefall after closing time frequently in the following weeks. Without the illogical rivalry between you, there were less banters and more meaningful conversations passed around that filled the tranquil, past-sunset atmosphere while you were cleaning the shop. You got to know how close his relationship was with his family members and in exchange you explained to him why you had felt the need to move out from home despite staying in the same city where your parents and grandparents lived.

Your values were similar in many aspects, although you had your fair share of differences. For one, he couldn’t shut up while you were watching movies together and it got increasingly worse when it was something he had already seen. When he was around, it was impossible to not hear a spoiler every ten minutes, which meant that after the third time his rambles had gotten you frustrated, you had needed to come up with creative ways to soothe your urge to strangle him in a spoonful of water. Chips and popcorn were a must on those nights. He needed his mouth to be full to stay quiet.

You realised you were hopelessly gone for him nevertheless when your gossip sessions with Hoyeon started to involve your detailed reports about your not-date dates with the boy. You liked complaining about him in an endeared way to the older girl (mostly because she knew him personally, hence she considered both of your sides when she expressed her opinion) and listening to the older girl’s predictions about where your relationship was heading.

‘When’s your next day off?’ Soonyoung’s question reached your ears, pulling you back to the present. You looked up at him from the coffee machine, wondering when he could have arrived and just how deep you could have been in your thoughts that you hadn’t heard the bells above the front door.

‘Hm…’ you pondered, thinking through your schedule. You had promised your grandfather to supervise the restocking on Monday, but you were supposed to be free in the afternoon. ‘On Monday. Why?’

You put back the clean water container into the machine and wiped off the stray droplets from the counter.

‘Seungkwan, Chan and their girlfriends are going to an escape room date on Sunday. Was wondering whether we could join them, but it’s fine. Maybe, some other time,’ he said and took the mop in his hands with practised ease, getting to work immediately.

You let out a hum, chewing on your cheek from the inside as you were contemplating. The escape room date sounded fun and there were still three days until Sunday. Maybe, you could have made it work.

‘I’ll speak with grandpa. I might be able to make it work, but no promises,’ you said, earning a happy squeal from the boy. Seeing his obvious excitement, you linked your arms in front of your chest and shook your head. ‘Soonyoung, I said no promises,’ you reminded him in case he had misheard you, not wanting to put him into an uncomfortable position by cancelling the program at the last minute. It was better to be safe than sorry.

‘I know,’ he claimed, turning back to his work and breaking the silence within the next ten or so seconds.

As always, time flew quickly while you were filling the silence with mindless conversations. You asked him about the new choreo he was admittedly struggling with and you let him taste-test the new biscuit recipe you had a hard time perfecting. There was nothing unusual in your interactions: they were borderline shameless, flirty and light-hearted.

No wonder you were taken aback when Soonyoung hugged you from behind when you were about to grab your padded jacket and turn off the lights.

‘I really like you, you know?’ He murmured into the crook of your neck, his weight on your shoulders not too heavy, but slightly unpleasant after hours of working behind the counter. You couldn’t wait to stand under the shower head and let the warm water work its magic on the knots around your blade bones.

‘I had a feeling, but it’s always nice to hear,’ you teased, your answer playful and lacking any malice. You were confident that he knew you weren’t disregarding his feelings. You felt the same way.

The palm that slid over your tummy sent a pleasant shiver down your spine.

‘Can I kiss you? I’d like to kiss you,’ Soonyoung inquired and you furrowed your brows due to his unexpected straightforwardness. It wasn’t like you had never kissed before, but neither of you had initiated anything more than reenergizing hugs and coy hand-holdings since your friends’ wedding.

You turned around in his arms, so that you could see his eyes.

‘Is everything okay?’ You asked, worry lacing your voice, and he shook his head, blushing. You raised an eyebrow to dare him to refuse to give you an honest answer.

‘Jeonghan hyung said you are out of my league. That I better shoot my shot before someone steals you away from me,’ the boy whispered, clearly embarrassed. If he hadn’t looked so vulnerable, you would have teased him how easy it was to manipulate him, to influence his decisions. Like when he had apologised to you because Seungcheol had told him so even though he hadn’t been sorry.

However, Soonyoung was clearly in a fragile state of mind, so you brushed aside the memory and cupped his cheeks gently.

‘And since when is Yoon Jeonghan a qualified relationship expert?’ You asked, shaking your head in disapproval. ‘Of course, you can kiss me,’ you gave him permission and a bit of extra push as well when he didn’t act on desires right away.

Soonyoung’s lips were fluffy albeit a little chapped. The press against your mouth light as a feather until he finally overcame his shock and reciprocated the kiss.

A part of you - a tiny voice suspiciously akin to Hoyeon’s - wanted to ask him about labels as soon as you came up for air, but then he leaned in again and your thoughts became scrambled like a poorly made omelett. The night didn’t stay on the path you would have preferred it to take, but ended up being just as delicious.

When you arrived at your place half an hour later, you weren’t just sleeping in your bed and unlike you, he didn’t leave in the morning. Instead, he took you on a breakfast date.

➼ next reason

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

So since when the hell did Randall and Johnny all of a sudden become bffs?

How did Johnny even know where to find Randall?

WHEN did Randall ever bully Chet?

You don't have to be a Randall fan to know this writing is inconsistent to what we were shown in MU.

I get I'm not the target audience but jeez...

Either Johnny had him microchipped (and Sulley and Mike ask for the tracker from him in s3) or Randall’s memory has been scrambled by the shovel and Johnny lied to him about rescuing him.

The shovel could also explain Randall never questioning how Johnny found him despite being pretty suspicious as a monster usually.

(Honestly the shovel is doing a lot of justification here for why Randall could be out of character.)

Chet is just… I don’t know. He’s a snitch to the cops. Who cares. (I kid I kid)

But also: I think perhaps a thing to remember about these shows is that it’s not written by people as obsessive about details as those of us mired in the banana city that is fandom can be. They probably also wanted these characters to fit specific roles and do certain things in certain ways for the newer characters to react to. And so broke them to fit these square holes rather than make more new characters. Or write something else.

Perhaps corporate meddling is even partly to blame: and if I’m honest I think the fact Mike, Sulley and Randall were even in it to the levels they were is probably at least partly due to that. But like the mouse is kind of both ridiculously restrictive and a mess at points about what it lets writers do. They probably want it to be as marketable as possible and to do that has Sulley,Mike and Randall be there. Even when they don’t have to be.

They could have in fact written a show where Sulley and Mike were in it far less. Where they barely interact with Tylor at all. Or a show where Randall never appeared. But they didn’t despite these older characters being kind of weak at points in their construction in the show.

Mike I think does fit better to older depictions than Sulley though: who still also does fare better than Randall (there’s at least points in the show where it feels like Sulley: even if it’s kind of a coin flip each time he’s on screen for me).

—

But in any case: I’ve watched MI every few years at least. I really really liked MU and while it’s been longer since I’ve seen it: I can still remember a lot of details. But that’s because I’m a weirdo little fan who really really likes the three main characters and have for years.

MI wasn’t the first fandom I wrote in but it was one of the first three I’m pretty sure. It’s been a while since: but for some of these characters? I’ve written stories about some of them for years. And my first attempts were. Not very good. Hell I didn’t like Mike back then. The writing had issues. I had issues. Everyone’s first try probably does though. And lbr I’ve probably written a lot of things people would think of as out of character or not quite right since then too.

People working on the show might not even be that. (Fans I mean). They’ve never written Sulley or Mike or whoever before this show. This is their first swing at the bat. And that’s not really a moral failing, it’s just the way it is. It’s a job.

People need jobs to survive. And it takes time probably to work well with a character which isn’t even yours: not just new characters. Time they may not have. Let alone time to prepare before entering the ideas room with people who can make or break your future.

Even the fact season two improves on the newer characters shows the importance of time or just having the opportunity to write characters more often means you can improve. But also: if your team is the only one ever writing them it’s easier to keep things consistent within a singular work. When things get split up into movies that you weren’t involved in: issues can probably arise.

Hell even if you were involved with the movies: your memories could be fuzzy (people born when MI came out are able to rent a car next year; people born in MU are entering secondary school/middle school). Or you’re simply not the same person you were when you helped write the original. Maybe you worked differently with a different team or it’s just different when you have a movie budget in terms of both cash and time.

In the end: They’re just people doing a job, and they probably want to do a good job but it’s not necessarily a passion project like a fanfic for fun can be. It’s just a 9 to 5.

And like I think on some level they do seem to care about the characters they created at least: given how much better they worked writing wise with the newer characters vs the older ones. They also didn’t have to contend with what came before as much with newer characters as I stated. Things jive more with the newbies.

Not to mention it’s Disney. And Disney, especially these days, often only has any creativity attached to it despite the Disney name lately. Even tv shows under the company which people love and have less writing issues have the creators basically hating the company. (Gravity Falls etc. The Owl House )

And honestly maybe they (the writers) even wanted a show where Sulley and Mike were in it far less. Maybe they didn’t want Randall in it at all but Disney… was not going to let the show go by without the big three plastered over it to some degree. To drum up interest. It’s what they do sadly.

(Addendum/Disclaimer: Granted fandom doesn’t always get it right either when it comes to characters. Though I think MI’s fandom, does do a bit better than most: if only because it’s not so insanely large as some. Like with big fandoms like ATLA if you look at the most popular fic around: be prepared for a fanfic which will sound absolutely nothing like the characters whatsoever. (And sadly feels like by a writer who doesn’t even like the show). A part of it is because when a fandom gets too big it becomes fanfic of fanfic of fanfic a lot of the time. There’s a lot of fanon inbreeding and it gets the point that a lot of this stuff is written by people who haven’t seen the canon work in a decade if even that.

MI hasn’t necessarily reached that level yet, even if Randall fanfics of him in the human world compose about 85 percent of them.)

[what-gs-watching]

“Work like a captain. Play like a pirate.”

OKAY SO last week I found out that Joshua Jackson had a new show??!! And when I screamed and told my husband he was like ‘oh yeah I saw that on Tiktok’ and I was flabbergasted that he didn’t bother to tell me.

Hello. Did I not just suffer through all of Dawson’s Creek a few months ago just for Pacey? Have I not been screaming “PREVIOUSLY ON FRINGE” for like, over a year?! Husband, you dropped the ball.

But it’s fine. I’ve been running around excited about this since then, texting my sister incessantly and watching the trailer and just oogling this man who is clearly in his silver fox era and I. am. HERE. for it.

Don’t misunderstand me, gang - I knew from the get that this show is going to be terrible, but I absolutely do not care. Everyone needs a guilty-pleasure, absolutely 10000% so-bad-it’s-good show, and this is definitely gonna be my new one.

Doctor Odyssey.

Wherein incredibly sexy and beautiful Joshua Jackson signs on to be the doctor of a decadent  cruise liner because he’s trying to find joy in his life or some nonsense, and is immediately inundated with crazy medical emergencies.

WHAT A RIDICULOUS SHOW! Ryan Murphy, I get it - it’s all about the aesthetic. It's beautiful, the ship and the colors and the whole thing, I really enjoy a visible feast but man the content is going to be absolutely bananas. And cheesy. And maybe a little trite. 

But that’s what makes it fun!

Joshua’s “Doc” has two people under him, a nurse and a nurse practitioner who have been working together for a few years. Obviously the nurse has a crush on the NP but she basically immediately ends up making out with Doc, which was obviously the first thing I predicted. 

It’s formulaic, but at least they can play with the weird medical shit that might happen on a cruise - poisoning from eating too much shrimp, someone getting a broken penis (no really, that was a storyline, and we find out that Doc knows all about it because he had one, once?! Oh Pacey…) and a dude falling overboard among other things.

ALSO y’all. There was a scene where the nurse challenges Doc to a dance-off. Like, not ironically. NOT IRONICALLY! You know it’s gonna be a good-bad show when I’m sat on my couch squealing about how terrible it is and how much I’m into it.

My sister said to me, “I keep thinking it’s a Doctor Who ripoff”, which OMG I wish I would DIE for Joshua Jackson as the doctor, but it’s more a specific-situation Gray’s Anatomy ripoff. And I’m down for that. I was very hard into Gray’s for a few years until he just spun absolutely out of control. 

This show is going to feed my desire to see this man in tight white pants and swimsuits and gorgeous sets and ridiculous situations and awkwardly written drama. What more could I ask for, honestly? Sometimes you need a mindless show, and even though I don’t LOVE the idea of watching something as it literally airs on TV, I will make an exception for Peter Bishop every damn day. 

It’s gonna so dumb and so silly and so terrible and I’m gonna watch every single episode. Hello new TV season! I’m sooo happy.