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[suashii]

— 𝒾 𝓂𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 ౨ৎ

sero hanta x reader. 7.8k wc. ﾉ sfw ( w/ some suggestive bits ) ﾉ fluff accompanied by a teensy bit of angst ﾉ summer romance ﾉ college au ﾉ swearing ﾉ mentions of alcohol & food ﾉ denki appearance ﾉ multiple tenses used ﾉ repost!

a/n: i recommend listening to never not by lauv before or after reading :3 ++ i edited this and read it through once so i apologize for any mistakes u may find!

this party fucking sucks.

you can’t put your finger on why it’s such a drag—maybe you’d grown out of your partying phase, gotten enough of it the past two years of university. had the scene at the  kappa xi sigma house become bland? or maybe it has to do with the fact that the beer pong and blaring music that was meant to serve as a distraction is proving to be more annoying than a useful diversion. 

the answer that is staring you in the face, the one you know is the most obvious, is the last one you want to consider.

the excitement of returning to campus with your friends feels dull this year. the transition from summer break to the fall semester has left a foreign void in your life. the annual welcome party hosted by greek life seemed like the perfect way to fill that void—they’d been fun in the past, anyway. but now that you’re here, sitting on the fourth step of the staircase with a concoction of who knows what in your red solo cup, it’s obvious that your intentions are backfiring. because instead of providing you any consolation, the party is only reminding you of what you were trying to force yourself to forget—your time with him.

you met him in the summer at a party similar to the one you’re currently miserable at, but the frat house was traded in for a sandy beach and cozy bonfire. instead of staying in your big city apartment for the seasonal break, you decided to take a trip to the town you’d been born in. it had been far too long since you’d visited your hometown and of course, your aunt was more than happy to have you for a few months. your cousin, too—you’d barely finished unpacking in the guest room when she barged in, insisting that you accompany her to a gathering.

MAY

“people come here all the time but it’ll be especially packed tonight since everyone is done with their classes. and you’ll get to meet a bunch of my friends!” your arms are linked and she tugs you in closer, resting her head on your shoulder.

“sounds like fun.” you smile and squeeze her arm. you missed that while you were away—the transparency people offered here. it’s not like that back home. the same people who will smile and wave at you would wait until you were out of earshot before finding some reason to talk shit about you. it’s exhausting, not knowing what people truly think. but it’s different here. no one ever feels the need to hide behind a mask. even if someone hates your guts, at least you’ll be sure of it. and as odd as it might sound, it’s comforting in its own strange way.

“we’re here!”

you’d visited this beach more times than you could count in your childhood but the sight before you is one you’ve never witnessed before. as the sun begins to dip below the horizon and the blue of the sky melts away into shades of pink and purple—both signs that the day is nearing its end—the beach comes to life. you’ve never seen the area after sunset, maybe because you hadn’t reached the double digits in age before you left, but after sundown, the atmosphere completely shifts. family fun during the day quickly turned to the escapades of students after dark. the set-up isn’t too formal—fairy lights are wrapped around any posts in the sand and bamboo torches fill the gaps that may have ended up too dark without them. there’s no stand for a bar—any drinks are kept cold in the coolers filled with ice. and to top it all off, a large fire sits in a dug-out hole of sand, the flames following the course of the soft breeze.

“wow,” you draw out the vowel, “you guys know how to throw a party.”

the town is small and the biggest school it harbors is a community college but you would be willing to bet money that most of the students who attend it are here tonight. even though summer still hasn’t technically started, there are plenty of people dressed in swimsuits and other summer apparel. you almost feel undressed in your tank top and shorts.

“be impressed later, we have rounds to make.” before you can gawk any longer, your cousin grabs your hand and leads you away. the two of you go from group to group so that you can introduce yourself to everyone. the task takes longer than you expect. it feels like the girl knows every face on the beach. you aren’t complaining though—her connections are sure to land you a few friends of your own. you aren’t sure how long it’s been since you started, but you’re relieved when, instead of hopping from one crowd to the next, you come to a standstill. you don’t think you can remember any more names even if you tried. though, your relief is short-lived.

“there’s one more person i want you to meet.” the girl’s eyes scan the beach in search of a particular someone as you sigh at the thought of having to give the same short “about me” spiel once more. “oh, there he is!”

just like she had all night, your cousin takes your hand and hers and guides you, seemingly to the figure sitting on the ground with their knees pulled up, one hand resting behind them in the sand, the other holding a brown bottle.

“sero! this is my cousin.” she gives him your name.

the man—sero—is quite a sight. a metal bar with a ball on each end sits on the arch of his right eyebrow, a small ring hugging his lip on the opposite side. the top half of his hair is pulled back into a loose bun that is having trouble keeping all the dark strands contained—a few pieces have escaped to frame his face. all three buttons on the chest of his white, long-sleeved shirt are undone, revealing a fair amount of tanned skin and just a sliver of something else. you can’t see exactly where it leads, but the ink on display due to his rolled up sleeves gives you an idea of what it is—a tattoo that stretches from his pec nearly down to his wrist. the dark lines warp and wind around his arm to paint a precise and beautiful image. vibrant pops of red on the petals of lotus flowers and scales of koi fish catch your eye as you inspect it. you will yourself to look away and back up to his face. if there wasn’t such a friendly smile gracing his lips, you would have found him intimidating.

“it’s nice to meet you.” you clear your throat and smile, sending him a polite wave.

“the pleasure is mine. wanna sit?” he holds your eye, jerking his head to the empty spot in the sand beside him.

“oh i should probably...” you were going to say stick with your cousin but when you turn your head to where she was standing, the girl was nowhere to be found. it doesn’t take long to find her, though, a familiar obnoxious laugh drifting through the air, the source of it several feet away. she’s a ways away now, but not so far that you can’t see her. you don’t see the harm in spending time with sero if she has found company elsewhere. “i guess i’ll take you up on that offer.”

crossing your ankles, you lower yourself into a sitting position beside sero, being sure to leave a reasonable space between you. you hug your knees to your chest. your head turns to face him, lips turning up into a slightly awkward smile. he was the first of many who didn’t follow up and ask the basic questions; what school you go to, where you’re visiting from, and whatnot. you have to admit, without the casual conversation starter, you’re at a loss for words.

“want something from the cooler?” maybe the silence was becoming too awkward for him and he decided to put you out of your misery, but you’re thankful for his words—even knowing you’ll have to find a new topic in a couple of seconds.

“if you have water, that’d be great.” sero seems nice enough but you don’t trust yourself to drink anything alcoholic in the presence of a stranger.

he nods, reaching over to open the cooler. he digs through the ice for a bit before pulling out a bottle of water. he holds the beverage out to you, fat drops of the melted ice dripping down onto the sand below. you stick your hand out to accept it.

“nice tattoo,” he comments upon seeing the mid-size piece on your extended forearm.

“oh this?” you turn your arm up so the ink on your skin is completely visible. the butterfly on your forearm was an impulsive decision that you made at the ripe age of eighteen. just looking at it brings back memories of the day you and your friends excitedly entered the tattoo shop. all of you had gotten some sort of symbol or pattern marked on you. they were something of a rite of passage into adulthood, or at least that’s what you told yourselves. you don’t hate it, but you don’t think much of it nowadays. “it’s nothing compared to yours.”

“it’s a little flashy, huh?” he chuckles as he twists his arm from side to side, examining the extravagant piece.

“no. well, maybe, but i like it.” your gaze finds its way back to his tattoo. it’s so much different than your own and you wonder what compelled him to get it. it must have been painful considering it takes up so much space, but even if his pain tolerance is high, you imagine the piece required multiple sessions in the chair. the dedication must mean the tattoo holds some sort of significance to him. “is there a story behind it?”

“nothing deep; i wanted it, so i got it.” the bottle in his hand meets his lips and he takes a swig of the beer.

“really?” his answer surprises you. while you can understand it—his reasoning is practically identical to yours—you weren’t expecting it. something made you think there would be a more grand explanation. “that’s all?”

he nods. “that’s all.”

sero is strange. not in a way that makes you uncomfortable or wary of him, but he’s certainly different. sure, you’ve only spent less than half an hour with him but from what you’ve gathered in that time, your conclusion is that he’s best compared to a puzzle. from his appearance to the way he speaks to the mysterious air that floats around him—you’re intrigued. you want to put the pieces together.

“my legs are getting cramped.” he stretches the limbs out with a dramatic groan before boosting himself up off the ground. his fingers brush the sand off from his khaki-colored palazzo pants. now that he’s standing at his full height, you can see how truly tall he is—over six feet for sure. despite his loose-fitting clothes, you can tell he is on the thinner side; his muscles more lean than bulky. he looks down at your sitting figure, holding a hand out, presumably for you to take it. “care to join me for a walk, butterfly?”

“butterfly?” you question with raised brows. there’s a glint of playfulness in his obsidian eyes.

he shrugs, a smile finding its way to his lips. “i thought it was fitting. so, are you going to leave me by my lonesome or hang out a little longer?”

you look at his outstretched hand. “well, can’t have you feeling lonely, now can we?”

you take his hand in yours and sero pulls you up to your feet. you struggle to find your footing in the sand, but sero doesn’t let go until you regain your balance. before the two of you set off, your companion helps you find your cousin so that you can inform her of where you are heading. the voices and music of the party become hushed the further you both makes your way down the shore.

the rush of waves laps at the sand of the beach as you walk beside them. the sound was soothing, a far cry from the atmosphere you’d just left behind. another wave rushes toward you and sero. you’re nervous that it will reach his sandal-clad feet but it stops just short of them. even if the water had hit him, you don’t think he would mind.

“so...” he breaks the comfortable silence, sticking his hands away in his pockets. you turn to face him upon hearing his voice, but he’s looking up to the sky. the sun was setting when you had arrived but it’s long gone now, the night sky illuminated by sparkling stars. “you’re only here until you go back to school?”

you nod even though he isn’t looking at you. “i wanted a change of scenery and my family used to live here, so this was the first place i thought of.”

he hums in understanding.

“how about you?” your mission of putting the puzzle that is sero together will remain unaccomplished if you don’t make an effort at getting to know him. “you probably go to UA if my cousin knows you from school.”

“yeah, i do. well, i guess i did. i’m transferring so this’ll be my last summer in town.” 

“i guess we’ll both be gone in a few months then.” you point out.

“all the more reason to make those months unforgettably exciting, right?”

he has a point; without assignments or essays or presentations to worry about, you’re free to have as much fun as you’d like. living carelessly and creating memories before going your separate ways is a lot like the coming-of-age movies you watched in high school. what sero is proposing sounds similar, but instead of making those memories with people you’d known your entire life, you’d be doing it with some guy you had just met. and, honestly, the thought is exhilarating. maybe the change of scenery you sought would come in the form of a person, not a place.

“what do you say?” he gently nudges your shoulder, looking down at you with eyes full of promise. “want to be my partner in crime for the summer?”

JUNE

it’s been a month since that night. of those thirty days, nearly all of them were spent with sero. you were able to get his phone number before you went home with your cousin and were pleasantly surprised to wake up to a text from him asking to hang out. that’s how it usually went—he either messaged you in the early hours of the morning or super late at night to take you to his favorite spots in town. you could recall a few of them from childhood but others were entirely new to you. one thing remained the same across all the places you visited together, that being with each stop you made, you grew closer and closer to sero.

today is no different—well, just a little. sero’s texts are usually accompanied by a location where you’d meet him. this time around, he asks for your address so that he can pick you up. you gave it to him without a second thought. when you get the text that he’s on his way, you grab your phone and keys and sit outside on one of the steps of the front porch to wait for him. despite expecting him, you’re caught off guard when he pulls into your aunt’s driveway.

“hey, butterfly.” he rarely ever calls you by your name, opting to use the nickname he had coined instead. you don’t mind it. “what’s with the face?”

“nothing, nothing. it’s just, when you said you were picking me up, i thought it would be in a car.” or a truck. maybe even a van. something with four doors; hell, even something with two doors would be on par with your expectations. the two-wheeled, one-seat scooter before you doesn’t even have doors. you aren’t even sure if you’ll be able to sit behind him on the cushioned leather.

“are you telling me you don’t like my vespa? you wound me.” sero dramatically holds a hand to his heart. you shake your head, your feet taking you to stand beside his unconventional mode of transport. upon further surveillance, the white scooter looks cute, charming. it even has a ledge where you could set a bag or basket in the back. still, in the month you’ve spent getting to know him, you never imagined that sero would own a ride that so drastically juxtaposed his image.

“no, no. it’s cool but... i guess i figured if you were driving something with two wheels, it’d be a motorcycle. or, you know, something edgier than a scooter.”

“it’s a vespa.” he corrects you, shoving his spare helmet in your direction. you snort as you take it, placing it on your head and clipping the strap under your chin. “and it’s plenty edgy.”

“whatever helps you sleep at night. so, where do i go on this situation?” you gesture. now that you’re closer, it looks even less likely that there’s enough space left on the seat for you to squeeze on.

“hop on the back.” sero reaches behind him to pat the brown leather.

you give him a doubtful look and he returns it with one of challenging amusement. you can tell when you were beat. with a sigh, you toss one leg over and shimmy forward until your chest is pressed firmly against sero’s back. if you lean back the slightest bit, you’re sure you’ll hit the ground. “i’m not going to fall off, am i?”

you can feel the laughter ripple through sero’s body as the vespa roars to life. he nudges the kickstand back, balancing the both of you on the scooter effortlessly. his head turns to look over his shoulder. the playfully mischievous look that seems to linger in his dark eyes is present—tenfold. “not if you hold on.”

your arms tightly wrap around his midsection as he reverses out of your driveway and speeds down the street. most of your hair is tucked away in the helmet settled on your head, but any of the strands that happened to escape are blown in the direction of the wind. the warm breeze tickles your face. each time sero curves into a turn, your heart feels as though it is floating up toward your throat. it’s nerve-wracking at first, but as you grow more confident that sero isn’t going to skid off the road, fear is traded in for enthusiasm whenever you see his lithe fingers reach for the turn signal. the ride ends up being much more pleasant than you imagined. so much so that you’re slightly disappointed when sero pulls into a parking lot and situates the vespa in an empty spot.

you follow his lead and remove your helmet, taking his hand when he offers it to help you off the scooter. you take the time sero spends making sure the vehicle won’t fall over to survey where he had taken you. he claimed that he was treating you to lunch and the sign spelling out “hamburgers” in bold letters cements his word.

the building is only large enough to house a kitchen—there’s no indoor seating, but a few picnic tables take up space on either side of the establishment. the lack of an indoor dining room doesn’t deter the townspeople from enjoying the food, though. a number of families and groups of friends lounge outside, conversing and laughing over their meals. the environment is friendly.

“mind if i order for us both?” sero bumps his shoulder against yours.

from the start, sero told you he’d never lead you astray. he made a habit of rubbing it in your face and saying “i told you so” during the times when your skepticism at his suggestions turned into you begrudgingly admitting defeat. as a result, you quickly learned to trust his judgement. you shake your head in response to his question, “go for it.”

“i’ll be back.”

you watch as sero makes his way toward the stand to place the order. he greets the employee with a smile and they return it. you’re too far away to hear their exchange but something tells you that it had shifted from food to something else, if the fact that sero was shoving his wallet back into his pocket is any evidence. his comfortability makes you wonder if he is familiar with the worker. if that’s the case, sero has ties with almost everyone in town. it’s possible that he is just charismatic enough to make it seem as though he knows everyone he chats with, but you wouldn’t be surprised if he really did. it made you think about how difficult it would be for him to move away.

“i’m back and bearing food.” sero approaches with a bright red tray carrying all the menu items he had ordered. “let’s go find somewhere to sit.”

you nod and fall into step beside him, walking past parked cars to find the seating area. he jerks his head toward an empty table, silently asking whether or not that one was okay. it is clean and unoccupied which checks the two boxes on the short list of what you consider a suitable table. you sit down on the bench and sero takes a seat beside you, setting the tray down on the table. you finally get a good look at its contents. two burgers, a large serving of french fries, and a paper cup filled to the brim with a strawberry milkshake, two red straws sticking out of the frozen beverage.

“a milkshake with two straws? and you continue to deny that you’re a romantic.” you waste no time popping a fry into your mouth. the whole “sero the romantic” thing started as a joke. he was gentlemanly whenever the two of you hung out, always offering to pay, guiding you with a hand on the small of your back, and never failing to open a door for you. you took every opportunity to point out his kind gestures, even going as far as calling him boyfriend material. he’d always laugh and brush it off, but his behavior never changed.

“because i’m not. this,” he gestures to the paper cup, “was a frugal choice.” 

you smile at his excuse.

“stop looking at me like that and taste your food.”

you laugh and raise your hands in mock surrender before unwrapping the burger from its parchment paper. sero had been raving about this restaurant that supposedly had the best burger in town. the one in your hold looks plainly average but you figure that this must be the place he was talking about—you can feel his stare burning into the side of your face, waiting for your reaction. you would’ve messed with him for a little longer if you weren’t so hungry. so, you turn to face him and take a bite. 

he raises his eyebrows in curiosity as you chew. you nod your head and give him a thumbs up so you wouldn’t speak with your mouth full.

“mm, i think it’s more than a head nod and thumbs up if it’s all over your face,” sero comments. while you’re sure that he was exaggerating, you can admit that the first bite usually is messy. your eyes scan the table for a napkin so that you can wipe off whatever is staining your face. luckily, a small pile of white rectangles sit on the tray. before you can grab one, sero softly presses his lips to the corner of your mouth, his tongue poking out to clean off the lingering sauce. your frown brings a smirk to his lips as he pulls away.

you can’t say exactly when that started—the kissing, not licking. maybe a couple weeks into the summer? it was nighttime, you remembered that much, and it was spontaneous. neither of you initiated the kiss, it just happened, almost as though there was a magnet between the both of you drawing you together. and it felt good. too good. sero knew as much, which was why the first words out of his mouth were ones explaining that it would be easier if the two of you didn’t label your relationship. it was strange to you—the concept of being intimate with someone and not calling them your partner, but you understood that it was better this way. you’d have to say goodbye eventually and dissolving ties would come as a less painful task if you didn’t think of sero as your boyfriend.

“i could have done that myself, you know.” you hold up your free hand to flick his forehead but he catches it before you are able. instead, he kisses the pulse located at your wrist, smiling against your skin.

“where’s the fun in that?” he asks through a laugh after you swatted him away.

“ugh,” you groan theatrically, “just eat.”

even though you’re here at sero’s suggestion, he has a more enjoyable time playing around than eating. he spends practically the rest of the outing trying to see if he can land small, torn up pieces of the food in your open mouth and dipping french fries into the strawberry-flavored shake despite you fighting him on it, claiming that the saltiness would throw off the taste. before the two of you clean up to leave, sero pulls out his phone to document the moment. it had become a sort of tradition—taking a photo every time you hung out. he said that this way, the both of you could look at the image and relive the day.

the picture taken to highlight the day is one of you and sero happily drinking your shared milkshake.

JULY

“why couldn’t we ride your stupid vespa here?”

ever since sero introduced you to his vespa last month, he started taking you everywhere on the moped you insulted as if to spite you. so when he came to pick you up tonight, you were surprised to see him on foot. you don’t mind it much, but it’s a little odd strolling down the sidewalk—arm in arm with sero—in your swimsuit after dark.

“first of all, fuck you—it’s not stupid.” he tries to shake you off of him but you only hold on tighter, grinning at his reaction. he never lets any of your sly comments about his vespa go unnoticed. god, he loves that dumb little scooter. “second of all, it might have drawn some unwanted attention.”

“now what is that supposed to mean? you’re not going to get me arrested, are you?” of course you don’t really think sero would take you to do anything illegal, but his wording warrants cause for concern.

he tries once more to escape your grasp, but this time around, you let him go. his now free arm wraps around your shoulder to pull you into his chest. you stumble at the unexpected motion, but he makes sure to keep you on your feet. a pair of soft lips meet your forehead in an obnoxiously messy kiss. “have some faith in me, butterfly. i promise we won’t have any run-ins with the law.” 

“so you’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?” you ask.

“nope,” he pops the p, “wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

sero promised you a summer full of excitement and he has yet to disappoint. no matter how vague he is in regard to what adventure you’re taking next, you trust him.

so when he asks you to close your eyes, you do so without hesitation.

one of his hands covers the upper half of your face to ensure you won’t peek while the other guides you. his touch grounds you but your fingers restlessly tap at your thighs in anticipation. maybe it’s because you gave up one of your senses, but it feels like you’ve been walking blindly forever.

“i feel like people usually do the whole ‘close your eyes’ thing when they’re closer to their destination.”

“so impatient.” his hand moves from your back to tickle your side in a weak gesture of scolding you. you giggle and flinch, but there isn’t much you can do to get him to stop without your eyesight. his fingers don’t continue for long, though, as teasing tickles turn into a comforting squeeze. “we’re here, but keep your eyes shut.”

the warmth that had spread across your face is replaced by a brisk breeze when sero pulls his hand away. even with your eyes closed, the street lights make the darkness within your eyelids a tad bit brighter. you aren’t sure how far away he is, maybe a couple of feet, but you can hear sero fiddling with something—something metal that clacks against more metal. finally, a creaking sound. his sandals scrape against the sidewalk as he moves to stand beside you.

“you can open them in three, two, one.” as soon as his countdown comes to an end, your eyelids flutter open. beyond the gate that sero just made work of unlocking is a sparkling blue pool. the light breeze creates soft ripples throughout the water that is illuminated by circular lights. “ta-da.”

“wow, i didn’t know you had a pool.” a while ago—you can’t say when—you had told sero that you thought swimming in the sea under the stars was something you always wanted to do when you were a kid. you knew that it was pretty much impossible considering how dangerous it might be, so the thought only lived in your head as an unattainable fantasy. this is a little different but the premise is still there—swimming in the blue under the night sky. and you can’t believe that sero had remembered the little piece of information you shared with him.

“i don’t.” sero nonchalantly replies, pulling his crew neck over his head and tossing it onto one of the chairs. the lack of sleeves reveals the tattoo you’d easily grown to love. he lets his hair loose from the hair tie that binds it, smoothing a hand over the dark strands  to tame any flyaways. you stare at him incredulously. didn’t he just tell you that you didn’t have to worry about getting into any trouble?

“whose house are we at then?” you question. your feet are anchored to the ground. as much as you want to live out this modified version of what you often imagined, you aren’t entirely comfortable with the thought of trespassing on someone’s property to do so.

“a friend’s. and don’t worry, no one’s home. his family is away on vacation.” it seems plausible enough. the silver key that sits on top of his jacket shines under the moonlight. that’s proof that he hadn’t picked the lock. so unless he stole the key, maybe you two really are in the clear.

“hey, relax.” sero can sense your reluctance and moves to stand behind you. his hands reach around you to unzip the hoodie that served as a coverup. once he’s pulled it off your arms, he flings the article of fabric and it joins his in a pile on the pool chair. with your shoulders now exposed, he presses a light kiss to each of them before wrapping his arms around your waist. “i wouldn’t lie to you.”

“yeah, yeah.” he’s right, though. it isn’t like him to lie, not in a situation like this, anyway. you’ve spent enough time worrying and the walk here wasn’t a particularly short one. all things considered, you’re wasting valuable time. “let’s get—”

you aren’t able to finish your sentence before sero’s hold on you tightens and your feet are pulled up and out of your flip-flops. your eyes widen in shock at the sudden motion. there isn’t time to question his actions as sero begins walking you to the edge of the pool. he swings you back to gain momentum before hurling you forward. you’re already mid-air and above the water when a scream rips from your throat.

under the water, everything around you sounds muffled. the cold temperature is jarring enough to shake you from your state of surprise and urge you to swim up. when you emerge at the surface, the first thing you can hear is sero’s irksome laughter. your hands move to push the wet hair sticking to your forehead off of your face. the sight of sero recovering from his fit of chuckles has you narrowing your eyes. “hanta, you asshole!”

you don’t mean to scream—your plan was to keep your volume down in hopes of not disturbing any of the neighbors, but you can’t help it considering what the man had just done. and he has no remorse as he wipes a tear from his eye at your reaction to his antics. to make things worse, you can’t even get him back by splashing the chilly water at his dry figure because he’s jumping in to join you before you have the chance.

the water splatters with his weight, leaving the drops that had escaped to decorate the pool patio in dark little specks. you shield your face with an arm to keep yourself from becoming a victim of his cannonball. he surfaces not long after, shaking his hair out as if he’s a dog getting out of the bath. he meets your gaze with a bright smile.

“i can’t believe you.” you kick your feet to take you away, not wanting to be pulled in by his charm. the waves tickle your face as you float to the other end of the pool. now that you have been in it for a while, the water doesn’t feel as cold.

loud splashes and a new set of waves alert you of sero’s presence. he’s beside you in an instant, still wearing that very same smile. “you can’t?”

you aren’t mad—you don’t think it’s possible for you to truly be upset with him. and despite the little stunt he pulled catching you off guard, you have to admit that it was on-brand for him. all of your lingering annoyance with him disappears as he juts his lip out in a pout. you huff out a laugh at his childish expression.

upon seeing your relaxed countenance, he swathes you in his arms, pulling you close so that the tips of your noses are touching. the blue of the water accompanies your reflection in his dark irises. “i know a pool doesn’t really compare to the open expanse of the sea, but i hope you’re having fun.”

“this is more than enough for me. thank you.” your hands tangle in his wet strands of raven hair to draw him in impossibly closer. your lips brush against his softly in what can barely be considered a kiss. the unintentional teasing has more of an effect on sero than you expect, his lips chasing yours the moment you drag them away.

the cool metal of the jewelry that hangs from his lip presses against your skin as he deepens this kiss. your legs unconsciously wrap around his waist as you suck in a breath through your nose. his tongue swipes across your lower lip and you part the two without hesitation. though, you aren’t granted the opportunity to continue on much further without interruption.

“sero, what the fuck?” an unfamiliar voice rings out in the air causing you to hastily pull away. you search for the source of the noise, following sero’s gaze as he turns around to address the person calling for him. you tilt your head up to the second story of the house you’d barely paid any mind to and are met with a head of yellow hair that is strikingly bright in comparison to the darkness surrounding it. this must be the friend that sero was talking about.

“hey, kami.” he’s considerably calm for having just been caught in such a promiscuous position. does he not find this the slightest bit embarrassing? “i thought you were out of town until tomorrow.”

“yeah, well, obviously plans changed.” the guy’s—kami’s—eyes finally fall on you. the burning in your cheeks tempts you to hide behind sero, but there’s nothing malicious behind his stare. there is only fatigue and a little alarm swimming in his golden eyes. they dart back to sero. “i hate to cut whatever you’re doing short, but you need to get out of here. my parents are going to kill me if they find out you have a spare key.”

“we’ll be out of your hair, man.” sero sends him a two-finger salute. his friend shakes his head and closes his window, presumably to go back to bed.

sero rotates to face you.

“on vacation, huh?” you shoot him a questioning look.

“you heard him,” he shrugs with a smile, “plans changed.”

AUGUST

aside from the chirping of crickets and the gentle wind rustling the lush leaves, it’s silent. your head rests comfortably on sero’s shoulder, his arm folded around your waist. he’s brought you to a hill that overlooks what seems like the entire town. it would have been nice—his company and the view—if the silence wasn’t so suffocating.

even your first night together wasn’t this quiet.

you try to ignore the stillness by turning your focus to the scenery before you. somewhere down below is denki’s pool that you swam in last month, the burger place you’d eaten at the month before, and the beach where you met sero the month before that one. you can only pick out the beach now. just like that mid-may night, it’s lit up by string lights and contained flames, and the stretch of sand is occupied by the very same people you became acquainted with three months ago. there’s a party going on—some end of the summer get together that your cousin invited you to just out of courtesy. she knew you wanted to spend your last night here with sero.

“it’s really our last night together...” his voice cuts through the silence. you normally love hearing him talk; it usually brings a smile to your face. but just like the rest of this night, his voice has a different effect on you—one you can’t claim to be fond of.

“yeah.” your voice breaks. there it is—the reason, or part of the reason, you can’t will yourself to break the silence, will yourself to speak. you don’t know what to say and you figure any words you can string together into a coherent sentence will only end up cracking in your throat.

your cheeks are wet—you’re crying. the tears slip from their ducts, sliding down your cheeks and slipping past the corners of your mouth, leaving a taste as bitter as this moment on your tongue. an instinctive sniffle makes you wrinkle your nose. you don’t even realize that the sleeve of sero’s shirt is soaking up half of your tears.

“hey, no tears, butterfly.” you can feel the vibrations of his voice on the side of your face. he squeezes your side in hopes of comforting you. and it does, a little, but part of it hurts. not physically, but knowing that these few touches from him will be your last is painful. “didn’t we have fun?”

you think back to one of your first conversations with sero—the one when he asked you to join him in making the summer unforgettably exciting. you had no way of knowing just how much fun you’d have and how many memories you’d make along the way. at some point, sero had wedged his way into your heart and made a room for himself. all the memorable moments you had lived with him over the summer would reside in that room.

you nod weakly, as best you could in your current position. “yeah, we did.”

from the start, you knew that this was bound to end eventually, that this world you were living in would only last the summer. what you couldn’t have predicted was the bond you’d make with sero. you knew that the closer you got to him, the more difficult it would be for you to say goodbye in the end. still, even facing the hardship now, you wouldn’t change anything given the chance. 

"thank you.” his utterance is barely a whisper, as though the words were meant for you and you only—as if you’re in a bubble secluded from everyone and everything else.

“hm?” you snuggle into the crook of his neck, taking in the familiar fragrance of his cologne—just another thing you’ll miss. “for what?”

“being my partner in crime.” his head comes to rest on your own and your eyes drift shut at the contact. he breathes in a heavy sigh against your hairline. you can feel his lips curl up into a smile. “i can’t imagine giving the position to anyone else.”

a smile of your own makes its way to your lips. “same here.”

sero is much better at hiding the emotion in his voice, but if you were able to get a look at him, you’d be able to see his eyes glossed over with unshed tears.

—

it’s been almost two weeks since you’d last seen him. as happy as you are to be back in your element, you’d be lying if you said things had bounced back to the way they were before you met sero. something about life now feels off. it isn’t that you aren’t yourself, rather, that a newly discovered piece of you has gone missing. you’ve been driving yourself crazy trying to figure out how parting ways with someone after only four months of knowing them could leave you feeling so hollow.

all you are sure of is that you want to get out of here.

you throw back the pink liquid in your cup, the sting causing you to squeeze your eyes shut and shake your head. no point in letting a perfectly good drink go to waste, right? you stand up and wipe the condensation that had transferred from the cup to your hand on the front of your pants. your feet carry you to the nearest trash can and you crumple the plastic, tossing it in the bin. you attempt to recall where your roommate said she had wandered off to—you can’t remember if she said beer pong or king’s cup. either way, you need to find her to see if she planns on staying much longer.

process of elimination; beer pong up first.

the scent of liquor and sweat invades your nostrils as you near the room where the long, black table is situated. it’s nauseating but you push on, determined to find the person you’re searching for. unfortunately, your roommate is nowhere to be found in the crowd of people packed within the four walls. you scan each room left on the first floor of the frat house and there is still no sign of them.

it isn’t like her to go somewhere without a word and she definitely wouldn’t leave without telling you. you have yet to pull out your phone but it’s becoming clear that you’ll require the aide. you just hope she has her phone somewhere on her person.

your eyes are glued to the screen in your hand, fingers tapping out a message while you make your way to the back door. you’re just about to hit send on the text when you collide with something hard. the impact draws an “oof” out of the barrier you had just run into. that much tells you that it isn’t a wall, but a person. you rush to apologize for your fault. 

“shit, sorry.” you rub your forehead at the site that had bumped into what must have been a chest. everything inside your skull feels jumbled.

“no worries—butterfly?”

your ears perk up at the nickname. only one person calls you that and as far as you know, he isn’t anywhere near here. but there is no mistaking that voice—it sounds exactly like him. your eyes drag up from the floor to face the figure. you must have put back that alcohol too fast or hit your head harder than you thought because you swear that sero is standing in front of you.

“don’t tell me you forgot about me already. or are you just drunk off your ass?”

you almost, almost, can’t believe it’s him, but everything about the guy from his daring piercings to his hypnotizing dark eyes to the stunning tattoo on his arm screams sero. it is him. it has to be.

“sero?”

“the one and only.”

you blink at his confirmation. all he can do is smile at your confusion.

“wh-what are you doing here?” you ask—not that you aren’t unhappy to see him—it was quite the opposite, but you’re still trying to wrap your head around him being here.

“this happens to be my new campus. thought i’d try to make some friends before classes started. but i can’t say i expected to see you here—what a pleasant surprise.”

he told you that he was planning on transferring schools but you figured there was no point in asking what or where that school might be. and what was the likelihood of him ending up on the very campus you called your own? apparently, the odds were greater than you thought. 

the awkwardness of your encounter is melting away into the comfortability you’d come to associate with sero due to the newfound information. you don’t know if it’ll be possible to jump back in where the two of you left off, but having him back in your life is more than you could ever ask for.

you nod, biting the inside of your cheek to hold back the wide smile that threatens to stretch across your lips. “how’s that going for you?”

he shrugs. “eh, doesn’t matter. i just ran into an old one.”

“oh yeah?” you raise an eyebrow in question.

“yeah.” he shoots you a knowing look. the sparkle in his eye serves as a signal that something playfully entertaining is brewing behind them. and, more than any time during the summer, you can’t wait to find out what he might be scheming. “hey, do you wanna get out of here?”

you don’t have to think about your answer. “i’d love that.”

thank u for reading! if u enjoyed, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated ❤︎

[kpophubb]

♡ 𝖤𝗇𝗁𝗒𝗉𝖾𝗇 𝗑 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 ♡

нσω єηнα мємвєяѕ ωσυℓԃ вαву тнєιя ѕ/σ ♥︎

🄶🄴🄽🅁🄴: 𝖼𝗈𝗍𝗍𝗈𝗇 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗒 𝖿𝗅𝗎𝖿𝖿 ᰔ // 𝗼𝘁𝟳 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 // мαѕтєяℓιѕт

[ 𝗋𝖾𝗊𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗇𝗂𝖾 <𝟥 ]

✼••┈┈┈┈••✼♡✼••┈┈┈┈••✼♡✼••┈┈┈┈••✼

☆ 𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗨𝗡𝗚 :

𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗/ 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧𝗟𝗬- lee heeseung is someone who loves babying his s/o and in turn, being babied by her. A relationship with him means one that’s dripping in endless affection and appreciation for eachother. Heeseung’s way of taking care of you is his gentle head pats that show his adoration for you throughout the day. When you’ve accomplished sth, no matter how little it may be, like finishing an assignment, eating your breakfast, doing a chore like washing the dishes, hee will come and pat you on the head lovingly and go like “yosh that’s my good baby I’m so proud of you”, while pouting his lips slightly and smiling at you. Hee is always watching your every action and acknowledging your efforts and he thinks it’s so important to praise you for that. Most times, he also rubs your back in small stroking motions to ease your muscle and help you sleep better while humming you a lullaby in his angel voice as if he’s putting a baby to sleep. Heeseung loves caring for you like this and he’s never ashamed to show his affection for you and hype you up as though you’re a kid who needs constant reassurance, cause, to him, you’re his baby that he must ALWAYS protect at all costs! <3 >.<

☆ 𝗝𝗔𝗬 :

𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨 & 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨- It goes without saying that Jay’s whole love language is cooking for you and feeding you that food with his own hands. When you’re with jay, it’s impossible to skip any meal, cause he takes his personal responsibility as taking care of your health like your knight in shining armour (and you’re his queen). He even sets reminders on your phone when you don’t see, placing one for every hour you need to take a meal. The husband material boyfriend who even packs food in boxes inside your fridge, with sticky notes attached to them about when you should take them. Jay would also call you randomly throughout the day to ask you how you feel and if you had eaten. Will show up with your fav food at your doorstep when he doesn’t have much time, and when he does, he will come home and prepare everything for you by himself while confessing to you how much he loves you. With jay, no such thing as using your hands exist, cause he’s the type of loving boyfriend who will feed you completely, while sneaking in a few forehead kisses in between, and treat you like the most special girl on earth like you deserve! <3

☆ 𝗝𝗔𝗞𝗘 :

𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗛- whenever you come back home tired after a long day, jake would lift you up all princess style from the bed and offer to give you a romantic bath. Even though he himself is exhausted, he will set up the bath tub with warm water, light up scented candles in the space and play his chill, love songs playlist. With the setting as soothing as it can get, jake would wash your hair in relaxing strokes, proceeding to rub your back and massaging your shoulders to ease your frustration. There’s no such thing as loofah or scrubber with Jake, cause he prefers using his hands on your soft skin, and most times, his hands get exchanged with his lips. 💋 he loves caressing your wet skin with his lips, pecking everywhere he gets a chance to, and fumbling confessions about how beautiful you are everywhere and how much he loves all of you. “You’re my princess and you deserve to be loved and taken care of in every way baby” he always speaks with his gentle voice, and when you insist too much, your tempting beauty makes him join you in the bath as well. Jake kisses you a lot the whole time, wrapping his hands around your waist and giving you a tight hug with your bare bodies pressed with eachother and heart beats colliding. As romantic as it can get, sometimes, the situation can get very playful too because before you realize, he’s splashing water in your eyes and squealing like an excited little kid. Now who’s the baby? But no complaints tho cause he’s got the most therapeutic giggles in the whole world so you can’t help but smile and melt into his loving embrace. :’) <3

☆ 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗡 :

𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗬-sunghoon LOVES loves to baby talk with you like this teasingly like you’re a little toddler. Although it may come off as a mischievous habit, deep down, he truly finds you as cute as a baby especially when your chubby cheeks are inflated with rage when you’re annoyed by him haha. He won’t admit it, but you’re his ✨babiegirl ✨ so you need to be talked with like that. For example, you’d be struggling with opening a jar (yes which he himself tightened so you ask for his help) and sunghoon will appear out of nowhere and go like “aigo my smol babie can’t even do this mush? Give it to me.” with a teasing glint in his eyes. He also loves petting your chin like you pet a kitten and laughs at you soon after. To most people, you’re a pretty grown up girl but to park sunghoon, you’re a pretty mochi that he wants to squish and bite all the time cause you’re just the cutest thing alive in his eyes. Expect this baby behaviour every now and then, and you know despite his best attempts at brushing it off as a way to make fun of you, this kind of treatment comes from the fact that he truly and deeply adores you the most! <3

☆ 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗢 :

𝗗𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧-𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨- there’s nothing in this world sunoo loves doing for you than doing your skincare! And that too while treating you so nicely-you lying down on your bed and him pulling the warm blanket over you and tucking you in like a burrito. He will bring along the best sheet masks for you and gently massage your face with the tips of his finger, bringing you endless ease. Cucumber slices on your eyelids, the smell of lavendar in the air and the feathery touches of your boyfriend sunoo. He doesn’t even let you move from your comfortable position, even if you try to turn, he will pout and whine as to why you’re not letting him take full care of you. 11/10 experience cause the boy even feeds you snacks and does your pedicure and manicure while humming your favourite songs for you with his sweet voice. Oh, and free kisses too cause that’s “customer service”! <3

☆ 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗢𝗡 :

𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗔𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨- jungwon and the “silently affectionate” saga continues. He cringes himself so incredibly much when he tries to openly baby you, so forget about pet names and cuddly behaviour. Jungwon is always a step ahead to making your day easier and helping you out so every night/ day before you leave for college/work he’s already done packing your bag for you even before you ask. This sincere boy will put in all your essentials and even sneak in your favourite snack bar in case you need the extra energy for the long day. Sometimes though, you find little love notes rolled up in your bag pockets, ofc which he would deny placing when you confront him. Love notes like “I love you baby y/n.” “I can’t wait to come home and see you because I miss you.” And fr, the lovey dovey words would be scribbled because he’s TOO SHY to be direct about it hehe. But, you can’t help but smile big every time you see him take care of you through this unique and his style gesture, and you do happily look forward to finding more of these adorable notes buried inside your bag that give you a daily serotonin boost. He’s low-key romantic so you can expect to find flowers and chocolates and Polaroids of you two someday inside it too. Jungwon is so in love with you and treasures you, that he will use every opportunity to protect your smile like his it’s his most important life mission. <3

☆ 𝗡𝗜 𝗞𝗜 :

𝗪𝗜𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛- everytime and anytime you’re eating, niki is looking at you with big sparkling eyes and giggling aloud watching the way your cheek pockets get loaded with food like a baby squirrel’s and you make a mess around your mouth while at it. He’s gonna instantly pull out his phone and snap pictures of you looking like that, adding funnier filters on top just to make a meme out of it later. In his defense, he actually does that because he wants to store how cute you look, and he’s quick to wipe away the food traces from the corner of your mouth even though his hands shake a lot from laughter. He’s the type of person to go like “you’re such a baby you know that?” “Look at you, can’t even eat without smudging aah” with a smug expression while being a baby himself. Ni ki is hella playful, so he’s gonna smudge more food and sauce along the sides of your mouth only to later wipe it with his mouth, oh so romantically. 👄 <3 ;)

✼••┈┈┈┈••✼♡✼••┈┈┈┈••✼♡✼••┈┈┈┈••✼

🄰/🄽: 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒𝖾𝖽! :) 𝖽𝗈𝗇'𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖼𝗎𝗍𝖾 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝘁𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗂𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 ^~^

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘮𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵! ♡ ( 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘪 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦) & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨!!!

Tagging : @boowoowho @heejakeysworld

[dear-ao3]

saphs song prompt challenge

ring in the new year with me and a silly challenge. any fandom, any genre. only rule is that you must use the song to inspire the fic. multi chap, one shot all are welcome. do as many or as little as you want, on time or not! doesnt matter to me. most fall into the angst/hurt comfort genre because that's what i write best but i threw in some other more happy ones

theres a collection link on ao3 for them here

all of these songs are some of my favorites to write to/about and i wanted to share :)

on each day of the month ill post some of my favorite lines/a bit of analysis of each song if anyone needs a bit of inspiration. happy writing everyone

the songs:

jan 1: quite miss home by james arthur

jan 2: lonely eyes by lauv

jan 3: dear reader by taylor swift

jan 4: my friends toyota by asiris

jan 5: montana by mikey ferrari

jan 6: girl on the internet by knox

jan 7: 3 am by matchbox 20

jan 8: jet pack blues by fall out boy

jan 9: love u like that by lauv

jan 10: line without a hook by ricky montgomery

jan 11: who says you can't go home by bon jovi

jan 12: just to hear you say that you love me by faith hill

jan 13: honest by the chainsmokers

jan 14: two by sleeping at last

jan 15: i hate your friends by alex cole

jan 16: safe inside by james arthur

jan 17: all i want by kodaline

jan 18: almost lover by a fine frenzy

jan 19: stick season by noah kahan

jan 20: if i could fly by one direction

jan 21: what am i by why don't we

jan 22: falling slowly from once

jan 23: the night we met by lord huron

jan 24: roaring 20s by panic! at the disco

jan 25: wonder by shawn mendes

jan 26: best years by 5 seconds of summer

jan 27: one way ticket by one ok rock

jan 28: falling by harry styles

jan 29: give me love by ed sheeran

jan 30: illicit affairs by taylor swift

jan 31: shallow by lady gaga and bradley cooper

[hyuckbeam]

try again

things don’t seem to be going the way you’ve been wanting them to go the entire week. to make things even worse than they already are, your boyfriend (or rather ex-boyfriend) dumped you in front of the entire campus. you can’t seem to lift yourself up and try again — well, that is until he comes into your life.

pairing | college barista!jeno x college student!reader

genre | fluff, angst, college au

warnings + notes | afab!reader, a bit of cursing, ex-bf being a red flag, mentions of alcohol, roomie!ningning, that’s p much it!

wc | 5.1k words

a/n | im super duper excited to finally release this chapter of the tttc series!! personally, i just like the overall flow of this one and i hope u do too!! let me know what u think abt it :> as always, rbs, likes, and feedback are appreciated!

song recs | all 4 nothing - lauv, the loneliest time - carly rae jepsen, tfw (that feeling when) - enhypen

tttc m.list, main m.list

the first time you met him was seriously by coincidence.

your stomach had you hurling for the past few days, not to mention how sore you were from phys-ed class yesterday. you still remember asking your coach to let you off the hook for the day, but they denied your request – oh well, they were never a great teacher anyways, you think to yourself. your own boyfriend hadn't even checked up on you once to ask if you were doing alright. it’s not like you were going to burden him or anything… you just wanted a little bit of reassurance to get you through the week. was that so much to ask for?

as if all odds were finally in your favor, a light buzz from your phone snaps you out of your thoughts. you pick it up to see your boyfriend’s caller id. maybe this was it. maybe the gods finally heard your pleas to make life just a teensy bit bearable for you.

“hey, i think we should meet up for a moment. do you have time?” is the first thing he’s told you all week and for some reason, instead of the comfort you were anticipating, all you felt was sheer annoyance. not even a simple how are you? the lack of emotion he’s displayed just breaks your heart even more than it already is.

you still manage to reply, mimicking his dry tone instinctively. “yeah, where?” it's faint, but you’d be lying if you said there wasn’t a little hope in you. maybe he wants to meet in person to give you a hug, maybe a kiss? you desperately want that to be true.

“at the campus open grounds, you know, the one near that coffee shop?” he suggests through the call and you once your head despite him not even being able to see you. “okay, i’ll see you then.”

you couldn’t even believe he just asked if you knew where the open grounds were located. doesn’t he remember that’s the place he asked you out? perhaps it was an important event only to you. the thought manages to send a dry chuckle out your throat — it already didn’t seem like your little meetup with him was going to be of any help to your mood.

not much time had passed by the time you arrived at the chosen spot, setting your sights on a nearby bench to rest your feet as you waited.

a lot of people crowded the grounds today. it wasn’t usually this jam-packed, but you suppose the bright and sunny weather encouraged people to roam around outside. after all, the sky hadn’t been this pretty shade of vibrant blue in a while. you’re thankful the weather is good — at least something seems to be turning out well today.

your boyfriend arrives, albeit later than expected, even though he was the one who asked you to come out in the first place. you had been scorched by the sun’s rays for over ten minutes now, wanting nothing more than to just head back indoors.

“sorry i uh… took a while. i’ll make this short.” he states awkwardly, a bit too much considering you were dating. “i’m breaking up with you. i just fell out of love, you know that feeling, right?” your relationship was never the best, this was inevitably going to happen someday, but hearing it out loud was what did it for you.

out loud… wait. you look around to find practically everyone around you whispering to themselves, watching the scene between you and your boyfriend unfold — eating it up like it's the plot of a famous drama.

the shame, the anger, the embarrassment, you just wanted to get away from it all. the hope you gained earlier was all an illusion. your days weren’t going to get any better as the week just became like the stuff that comes out of nightmares. you utterly felt sick to the bottom of your stomach. not only did you get dumped, you got dumped in front of so many people.

without saying another word to your boyfriend — or should you say ex-boyfriend — you grab your things and take a run towards the nearest alleyway that just happened to be the one at the back of the coffee shop.

you crouch down to the floor, curling up into yourself as best as you could before finally letting emotions overtake you, just enough to calm you down. surely no one would find you here if you let out a tear or two, right?

wrong. whoever put that idea to your brain was a big dumbass (whoever being you) because a boy emerges through the shop’s backdoor and into the alleyway, presumably taking out the trash since he’s holding a familiar-looking black plastic bag. however, he quickly stops in his tracks, noticing your presence when there was usually no one else there. the alley was pretty dark after all – it gave most people the creeps but here you were, willingly occupying a small portion of the horrid area while bawling your eyes out. “um… i don’t usually do this, but do you want a cup of hot chocolate?” the guy offers, rubbing his nape sheepishly after noticing your tear-stained cheeks.

you can’t help but silently thank him for not bringing up your appearance in the conversation. you probably looked like a disheveled tomato by now, prompting you to wipe your tears with your arm to at least make yourself look presentable. “actually… yeah, that would be nice.”

you got a better look at him now that you were seated in the cafe, the warm lighting easing your nerves little by little. as expected of him, there’s a welcoming aura that surrounds his figure, a calm smile that’s sure to brighten up anyone’s day (including yours), a tiny little mole below his eye, and the shiniest hair that made you want to touch it — that probably wasn’t the most appropriate thought you’ve had all day.

what you didn’t expect was that he’d actually give that cup of hot chocolate free of charge. you didn’t even know who he was (and probably vice versa). still, it made you gain back a little bit of hope that was lost. with a soft smile now spread across your lips, you begin to ponder that maybe today could still turn out to be better for you.

-0-

the rest of your day goes better than anticipated, and you’re beginning to think that barista you met at the coffee shop is some sort of miracle worker or a lucky charm. even if he wasn’t, you sure do feel lucky you ran into him – though the situation wasn’t exactly the most ideal in hindsight. still, the thought manages to keep your spirits high all the way until you reach back to your dorm.

“ning yizhuo!” your sudden call turns two heads in the room, one being the said person, and the other being her cousin, renjun. the latter often came by and you were quite used to his presence and practically saw him as a brother.

“oh no, not the government name!” a sarcastic tone laces your roommate’s voice. truthfully, she had already heard about your breakup and was expecting you to be bawling your eyes right about now… except… you weren’t. in fact, you had a beaming smile displayed for everyone to see. weird – renjun had probably thought the exact same thing as they gave each other identical looks.

this goes completely unnoticed by you, dropping your bags before making yourself comfortable by the couch. “seriously, you guys won’t believe what happened earlier.”

“... you got dumped?” renjun voices out slowly, almost as if he’s testing the waters still.

“no! i mean yes, but that’s not what i was going to talk about.”

“why aren’t we talking about that? your ex was a douche- i can finally talk shit about him!” ningning cheers.

renjun clears his throat, “more importantly though, are you really fine?”

his words linger in your head for a bit. were you really okay? genuinely speaking, you didn’t feel much – probably because you expected your relationship to fall out eventually. both of you wanted different things and came to realize that. there was an underlying feeling of gratitude that your ex finally cut through the cracks of your bond, but you could definitely do without all the public shame though. that might continue to haunt you, but what’s done, was done.

“mhm, i’m really fine. i’ll get over him sooner or later.” you answer softly. both renjun and ningning could tell you were certain, silently agreeing within themselves to drop the topic completely. “but gosh, i probably wouldn’t have been able to make it through the day if it weren’t for that barista guy in the coffee shop.

you see renjun’s ears visibly perk up at the mention of a barista there, like he already knew who you were referring to. “do you mean the guy who works there? y’know, the one who kind of looks like a fluffy white dog and has a mole under his eye?” god, was he spot on with the description too.

“that’s him!” you gasp out, still in slight shock. you suppose renjun frequents the shop – especially since that’s where he and his girlfriend go to study. “huang renjun, are you psychic?”

that seems to bring out a snort in him, “you just knew that now?” he remarks rather playfully, “actually, his name is jeno. we’ve been friends for a pretty long while now.”

ah, so his name is jeno. you wouldn’t tell anyone, but you mayhaps ingrained that piece of information straight to your heart.

the second time you met him, you just wanted to see him one more time after.

ever since you learned about his name from renjun, he seemed to pop up in almost every conversation you engaged with. was he always this popular or were you just really ignorant to the people around you? it’s crazy how much you’ve been thinking about him ever since.

“put a finger down if you’ve gotten butterflies from a stranger!” frankly, you’re startled at the command, forgetting that you were in the middle of a ‘never have i ever’ game with your group of friends. jeno just so happened to be there too since your friend groups actually aligned well within each other. with him personally being around, you couldn’t seem to focus on anything except him. it’s the nudge ningning aims at your shoulder that gets you placing a finger down, remembering you’re still part of the game. you suppose your brief interaction with jeno does count as part of this…

this small action had the entire group cooing. it was a bit overwhelming, not knowing what to do when so many eyes were set on you. wanting to brush it off, you simply give a shy smile to the crowd, persuading them to not go any further and just continue on with the game. luckily, that’s exactly what they do and you’re met with sweet relief – finally letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in the first place.

still, your gaze shifts back at jeno. had he realized you were the person that bawled their eyes out in the back alleyway of the coffee shop? had he realized you were the one he offered a free cup of hot chocolate to? had he realized you were staring at him like he held the entire universe in his hands?

but most importantly, had you realized he was looking back at you the same way? no? maybe that’s for the best.

the air was getting too stuffy in the room for your liking, you had to excuse yourself out for some fresh air. it was already pretty dark out and you weren’t sure when your friends would finally call it a night. frankly, the breeze was much colder now (and you kind of regret not bringing a jacket out), but at the same time it was calming and quiet – a sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere held inside.

that serene silence was cut off by the faint sound of footsteps coming from the main door, jeno’s figure coming into view. what was he doing out here?

“hey… inside got too much, huh?” guess you and him share that opinion as you nod in agreement.

“a little?” your nose scrunches up at the thought. “i don’t usually mind it but it does get me swamped sometimes.”

a small hum is what comes out as a reply, the both of you opting for the comfortable silence the night bears. a few ruffling sounds are heard coming from jeno and before you could ask him what was making the noise, you felt warmth embrace you from behind. it was a jacket. not just any jacket, his jacket.

“sorry, did i startle you? it’s just, you looked cold.” truth be told, you were far from cold after his gesture. isn’t this something someone would do when they’re in a relationship? why was jeno doing this… with you?

it was then you unconsciously already had your mind made up. you weren’t going to acknowledge it yet, but you were completely over your ex.

-0-

there was absolutely no chance of you getting sleep that night, especially after the events beforehand. though you enjoyed every moment you spent with jeno, you kinda preferred having a full night’s worth of sleep right about now. it’s a good thing ningning was able to grace you with a cup of coffee as soon as you woke up — you don’t think you would have gotten out of bed otherwise.

“seriously, what’s up with you two!” ningning squints her eyes with suspicion glazed over them, trying to get some sort of answer regarding your situation with jeno.

“it’s not what you think it is.”

“then what is it?”

huh. she had a point there. just what is your relationship with lee jeno? it was a little foggy to yourself as well. the both of you never had much conversations, but when you did, they managed to send cupid arrows straight to your heart without fail. this was so much unlike your past relationship. when was the last time you ever felt this way?

“it’s just small conversations, that’s all it is.” you finally reply, words acting more like a reminder to yourself rather than an actual response to ningning’s query.

“is that really true?” your roommate frowns with a sigh, “you know, i noticed the way he looks at you. it’s different from others.”

“you’re probably mistaking his kindness for something else, ning. i doubt this’ll even lead to anything.” your statement is brief, but ningning manages to catch the light thread of hope in your words, understanding you wished it would lead to more. that’s all she needed to know. she knew better than to push you just to ease her own mind from the heapload of questions she has stored away.

“just know, whatever happens, i’ll always support you, okay?” she smiles brightly like the gentle rays of sunshine that slip through your dorm’s sill curtains. “okay.”

the third time you met him, you wished for nothing more but to remain in his company.

it’s just midday and you already feel like falling asleep. naturally, your feet bring you to the campus coffee shop, not registering the fact that jeno’s probably working his shift. in this moment, you were too sleep deprived to care.

“hi, can i get one chocolate chip frappucino-” you finally look up to see jeno’s familiar face right in front of you, recallings of the night before plaguing your thoughts and sending a surge of adrenaline in your body. suddenly, you were wide awake and could probably last the whole day with or without the coffee you were about to purchase.

“y/n, it’s nice to see you.” he greets softly, eyes scanning your features to find dark bags staining your usually lively eyes. “i think i’ll add another shot of espresso to your drink… you might need it.” he mutters out, more so to himself.

you can’t help but smile, finding his slight worry for your well-being to be endearing. “i’ll add that espresso shot then.” you chuckle, catching him off guard as he didn’t expect you to hear him.

“i’ll make sure to prepare your drink well.” he finally replies, punching in your order as you move to find a seat to occupy while you wait.

it doesn’t take long for jeno to approach your table, a drink with a swirly straw in hand. to your surprise, instead of simply dropping off the drink, he takes the seat in front of yours before setting it down. “i’m actually on my break right now but i wanted to talk to you. i hardly see you on campus after all. aside from when you visit here, that is.” it’s almost laughable at how predictable your response is to anything he does, feeling your stomach gain the now familiar fluttery sensation you always experience. when it comes to him, it seems to never get old, but none of that was the main point.

he wanted to talk to you. he went out of his way for you. he could be spending his break time elsewhere, but he’s here with you. perhaps you were overanalyzing his actions, yet you can’t stop the heat that creeps up your cheeks.

“sure, take a seat- i mean, you already did but-”

he chuckles, a slip of a smile coming into view. “your drink by the way.” he motions at the sweet drink you ordered. “i added more chocolate chips for you too.”

“spoiling me now, are we?”

“you caught me!”

talking to him just felt so natural. there was never a dull moment, and when silence would fill up the air, it was never thick and heavy, but light and freeing. you quietly sip your drink to these thoughts, occasionally wondering if this would be what it felt like if you two started dating- you’re thinking too ahead for someone who hasn’t even come to terms with their own feelings. you should just enjoy your time with him.

-0-

since then, you and jeno have grown closer to the point where you frequently talk on the phone at night. neither of your paths often crossed during the day, so these calls definitely made up for that – at least for you. through them, you’ve come to learn that jeno usually plays video games until the crack of dawn, sometimes even streaming his screen for you to watch. tonight, you decided to prepare ramen for yourself so you had something to eat while watching him.

“what flavor are you making today?” his voice is a lot huskier than it usually is during the night.

though this isn’t something new to you, there’s still that cozy feeling that almost feels domestic, and sometimes, you can’t help but squeal to yourself and kick your feet in the air. ningning even asked if you were alright because she thought you had gone crazy after hearing you from her own room.

“i think this one is cheese flavored? i’m not really sure since ning buys our groceries.”

“you should prepare me some when i come over next time. i wanna try some too.”

did he want to come over? your mind immediately fills with the idea of jeno visiting your dorm (or humble abode as ningning likes to call it). he’s seen glimpses of it as your background when you’d facetime each other, but what would he think about seeing it in person? there’s that famous saying that your home reflects your personality, after all. you don’t realize it, but you go dead silent, completely encapsulated by your imagination.

“hello? you’re still there, right?” he calls out for you, it’s much softer this time as if he’s checking up on you in case something happened.

“yeah, yeah i’m here. come over next time, then.”

he does, in fact, come over as soon as he got the chance to. honestly, he resembled an eager golden retriever exploring a new area the entire time you showed him around your dorm, having only seen it through a screen. on some occasions, he would point out a random trinket you had on display, saying it looked like you. he said the same about your potted succulent and you’re not sure how you feel about that one, but nonetheless, he seemed to be enjoying himself and that’s all that mattered. you were practically worried over nothing the other night.

“didn’t you say you were going to prepare me a little treat too?” jeno questions, finally finished with going around the dorm room.

“hm? oh, right the ramen-” you recall, immediately taking a few steps to the kitchen to prepare what you had promised him. “make yourself comfortable, i won’t take long!” it really doesn’t take much to make instant ramen, after all.

once it finishes boiling, you carefully transfer it to one of those gold-colored, aluminum pots to keep the ramen warm – making sure to add a few toppings to the dish to make it a bit more filling.

you make your way to the living room, seeing jeno on his phone by the couch. there’s that domestic feeling worming its way up on you again that has you wondering how it’d be like if jeno was your boyfriend. would he come visit over often? would you be able to visit his dorm sometime? the thought continues to remain on your mind for the entirety of jeno’s stay.

you really wanted this moment to become just as frequent as your nightly calls with him.

the most recent time you met up with him, you finally acted on what you’ve been holding in all this time.

ningning had invited you out to a party, luring you in by slipping that a certain someone was also going to be there. all jokes aside, you knew she also just wanted you to have fun, it’s been a while since you’ve gone out to a party anyways.

the event wasn’t anything fancy, your average college party hosted by one of the frats. you wore a black mini dress, one you bought but never got the chance to use until now. it fit you perfectly in all the right areas, but it took a lot of convincing from ningning’s part for you to actually buy it. you surely had to thank her now or else you wouldn’t have anything to wear for tonight.

“you’re finally wearing it!” it seems you weren’t the only one excited to see yourself wearing the dress as your roommate’s eyes sparkle at your outfit. “here, here. i’m letting you borrow these too since they match.” she hands over a pair of black earrings made with sequins and glass beads. it looked perfect for the look.

“thanks, it isn’t too much, right?”

“not at all! plus, it’s a party. who cares what others think- what’s important is that you look good!”

this makes you let out a small laugh, she was right. she always is. “okay then, let’s go?”

“lets!” ningning takes her purse from the coffee table before linking her free arm around yours. “we should get going if we don’t want to be late.”

it’s a good thing you both left when you did since the two of you arrived just on time. the party had already started a few minutes ago with some people already wasted (they probably drank before everything even started…). it doesn’t take long for you and ningning to manage through the sea of people, finally spotting a couple of familiar faces by the corner of the room.

“hey, you two made it!” renjun beams alongside his girlfriend, a plastic red cup in hand containing who knows what. “oh y/n, jeno’s by the kitchen. he was asking where you were before you arrived.”

“oh? thanks jun, i’ll go see what’s up.” you offer him a small smile before leaving ningning’s side and trying to find where the kitchen was located. after a bit of roaming around, you eventually find the boy you’re looking for.

cheeks flushed, dazed eyes, and a lopsided expression. jeno was probably no where clear from sober by the looks of it. guess you weren’t going to drink today, especially when your friend isn’t in the right state of mind.

“jeno? renjun said you were looking for me.” you call out to him softly in hopes he could hear you through the music that’s blasting on the speaker system.

by the sound of your voice, his head quickly turns in your direction. “y/n! i’ve bween looking por you everywhere!” he immediately wraps his arms around your figure, burying his head in the crook of your neck. your cheeks have flushed now too, not from alcohol, but because of the way he’s hugging you.

you never imagined jeno to be big on skinship while under the influence – well, you’ve never dealt with a tipsy jeno in general until now, so this was truly going to be one hell of an experience.

“have you, really?” you question him, patting his hair. “i’m here now though. did you need me for something?”

you feel him nod against your shoulder, “i wanted to kiss you but you were nooowhere to be found, and then renjun gave me a drink, and then haechan started laughing, and then i started laughing-”

he was beginning to ramble off and probably won’t remember any of the things he’s telling you right now. would that also include how he just confessed he wanted to kiss you? you know jeno’s just drunk, but there’s a part of you that hopes he wouldn’t forget that. you urge him to stand up straight for a moment before letting him lean onto you for support. the best you could do was probably have him sit outside for some fresh air (and maybe a cup of water).

-0-

the two of you are now seated silently next to one another with jeno’s head resting on your shoulder, and it’s reminiscent of the first time you actually had a proper conversation with him. the night was just like this, and yet, so many things have happened already since then.

“hey, about what i said earlier…” oh, he sobers up rather quickly. “y’know, about the wanting to kiss you and all that.”

you turn to face him with a bittersweet expression, the nearby streetlamp placing a soft glow over your features and jeno wonders where that solemn look on your face is coming from. “hm? no it’s alright. i’m sure we all say things we don’t mean when we get drunk. it’s normal.”

“well no, because, i did mean it.”

“that’s okay- huh?”

“i like you, y/n.” although its dark, you know he’s staring at you, waiting for you to respond.

“i… i do too, but we just met like a month ago.” you hadn’t even come to terms with your own feelings yet. “wouldn’t we be, i don’t know, going a little too fast? maybe both of us aren’t currently in the right mind.”

“that just proves my point even more. in a mere month of us getting to knowing each other, i’ve come to learn so much about you, grown so fond of you, and… i just want to be with you. trust me, i had a lot of time to think, but if you need more time. i’ll wait for you.”

now you were conflicted. did you really need more time to understand your own emotions?it’s not like you hid your affection for the boy, instead, it was quite the contrary. people started looking for you through jeno and others asked you about jeno’s whereabouts. its as if you two were now two peas in a pod, and everyone knew. were you going to break something you cherished just because you felt like your emotions hadn’t been sorted, when in reality, have been perfectly laid out right in front of you all along?

“no. no need.” your eyes crease as you smile at him, “i know what i want, and it’s you. it’s always been you.”

he doesn’t need any more validation than this, snaking his arm around your waist before pulling you close, lips barely touching. “can i kiss you?”

“please.” you surely don’t need to tell jeno twice, wasting no time as he quickly locks your lips with his own in such a way that you’d think he’s been pining over you longer than you had originally thought. you hadn’t drank a drop the entire night, but you felt so giddy just kissing him.

jeno pulls away first, and you already feel breathless from such a short kiss. slowly, he brings a hand up to cup your cheek, thumb rubbing small, comforting circles onto your skin. “should we head back now?” honestly, you didn’t want to just yet, still unable to hide your smile from the lingering touch of his lips. still, you knew better than to stay out for too long.

“yeah, the others are probably wondering where we went.” and with that, he pulls himself off the ground, extending a hand out to help you get on your feet.

“let’s go back in… slowly, okay?” you giggle out, still wanting to cherish the moment with him.

“how could i say no to you?”

eventually, you do make it back into the party, quickly spotting your group of friends.

the sight of you both sporting puffy lips and rosy tinted cheeks, not to mention your lipstick smudged on the corner of jeno’s lips had everyone raising a brow. neither of you had noticed that because it was so dark out… um, oopsies?

ningning manages to connect all the dots together, a loud gasp erupting from her that startles the rest of the group. “OMG DON’T TELL ME! no wait actually please do confirm- PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE TOGETHER?”

you and jeno look at each other with a knowing look, feeling his hand reach out for yours before you happily reply, “yeah, we are.”

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[montrealmadison]

Tater 27 please ?

i have never written tater before - ever! - so this was incredibly fun! thank you so much for the prompt and for helping me stretch my writing muscles a little bit ❤️ the only things i know about patater are inspired by a frankly shocking quantity of sidgeno rpf so make of that what you will

27. tater + i’m so tired by lauv & Troye Sivan for @shygryf

Strangers, killing my lonely nights with strangers And when they leave, I go back to our song, I hold on Hurts like heaven, lost in the sound Buzzcut season like you're still around Can't unmiss you, but I need you now

Tater’s letting some girl he doesn’t know shoot tequila out of his belly button when he gets the text.

Kent Parson: you awake? Kent Parson: sorry know it’s late

It is late, three or so, and the club’s fun but the idea of not being here is just as good. Maybe it’s rude, but he doesn’t care; he props his elbow on the table for better leverage and sends back, yes, and then ok?

Kent Parson: no Kent Parson: popped my achilles Kent Parson: we're out

Shit. That means the end of their playoff run, which in turn means about five hundred other things. He doesn’t even have the chance to formulate a response before Kent adds, will you come?

A cold thing settles in Tater’s chest, a weighty purpose that he doesn’t stop to examine. Maybe it's the shots making this seem like a good idea; of course he will, and that’s the end of it. There’s something about clambering up off the table, tequila soaking down into his open fly, and shouldering his way to the exit without a word that makes him feel about a thousand feet tall.

read more below or on ao3 | request a fic here

Kent lives in a nice building. Not nice enough for the security guy downstairs to make any real effort to stop Tater from getting in, but then, Tater is six foot seven and built like the desks that lesser men hide behind. He hits the button for the elevator and zips upward, chewing on his lip, watching the numbers tick higher.

This is stupid. This is an absurd way to spend a thousand dollars and God knows how many days, catching a frantic red-eye to Vegas like he’s going to be able to do anything the Aces’ trainers haven’t already tried. It’s more absurd that he stands in the hallway with his fist poised to knock on Kent’s front door for at least five minutes, wondering if he should have brought food. Does the kid even eat? He’s awfully tiny.

He finally gets over himself and knocks. There’s a voice from inside at once: “Open.”

Tater does.

The apartment is nice, modern. It’s also a complete fucking mess. There are ostentatiously dirty shoes scattered all over the entryway, possibly-related scuff marks up the bare white walls. Tater has to do this dainty hop through a minefield of Yeezys just to make it to solid ground, and is very glad that no one can see him. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Parson?”

“In the living room.”

Tater drops his bag in the kitchen and heads for the voice. The close little hallway seems much more inviting than it did in the dark last time he was here, and the living room is spacious and airy without a couple hundred bodies packing it. There’s a big TV on one wall, running something trashy. In the middle of the room is that ugly couch, brown suede and covered with cat hair, and in the middle of the couch is Kent.

Relief spreads through Tater at once, numbing the tingle in his hands. Okay, so maybe he spent the whole five-hour trip picturing the worst-case scenario. Guys in their line of work are not, as a rule, great at handling their injuries, especially later in the season; Tater only has to look at Jack for proof of that one. But Kent’s eyes are clear, if tired and a little wet-looking, and he’s sprawled out comfortably with his hand in Kit’s fur and his wrapped ankle carefully supported by a pile of throw pillows. He’s wearing ratty old sweats, white socks gone gray on the bottoms, a couple days’ worth of scruff that marks his sorry excuse for a playoff beard. 

“Shit, man,” he says, seeing Tater in the doorway. “You came.”

“You call.” 

It’s not quite that simple, but somehow, faced with the fact of Kent’s obvious, boneless relief at having him here, it feels like the right sentiment.

“I did,” Kent says. He sounds croaky, exhausted. The deep shadows under his eyes make them look more green. Tater wonders if he’s slept, or how much. “Thanks.”

He has this weird impulse to poke the bear, which maybe isn’t fair to Kent, but it’s all he knows how to do. 

“You miss me?” he asks, slouching further into the room. Kit lifts her head imperiously to watch him settle a polite distance away on the couch. “That why you ask me, not teammate?”

This is the dynamic they built at the bar, in the darkness of Kent’s bedroom: push and pull, catch and release. Things are still too new, too fragile between them; they’ve never implied a sense of belonging to each other, or at least not the kind that prompts something like this. 

As it stands, Kent doesn’t play along with the teasing, and that’s what finally gives Tater a sense of how shitty he feels. 

“Let ‘em grieve, right?” he says listlessly, tipping his head into the back of the couch. “Shit game. Didn’t wanna bother them.”

You were okay with bothering me, Tater thinks but does not say. A guy you’ve hooked up with twice who lives across the country. What the fuck does that mean?

He knows what he wants, what he wants it to mean. It’s part of what caught his eye in the first place: this kid is so, so young to be a captain, to bear this weight. The Aces are out of the playoffs not because they played their hardest, but thanks to a non-call and an injury that’ll have Kent in PT all summer. Now he’s curled up on the couch in his disaster of an apartment with only the cat for company, his teammates pushed away or otherwise nowhere to be found. It’s incongruous with the spitfire who finds a reason to drop gloves every time they share the ice, who likes to have his wrists pinned down and kisses with too much teeth and, holy hell, called Tater in Providence when he got hurt.

“Bother me anytime,” Tater says before he can bite down on it. He scoots a little closer, clasping his hands briefly between his knees. “Poor Parson. Need friend when teammates being sad.”

Kent’s laugh turns into a cough and Kit scrambles off his chest, affronted. 

“Is that what you are?” he asks. “My friend?”

“Maybe,” Tater hums, pretending to consider. “Well. Maybe not yet.”

“Not yet,” Kent echoes. He sounds puzzled. “Okay?”

“We not really know each other,” Tater says. Maybe it’s mean, the way this is lighting him on fire. Kent likes to bottom, but never to lose control; even in bed he runs his mouth like everything that comes out of it is gospel truth. Opportunities to catch him on the back foot are few and far between, and—well. Tater likes to take care of his people, likes to show them love, and above all likes a challenge.

“We don’t—”

Tater decides to take pity on him. “Sex not knowing, Parson. Think maybe you think that way.”

Okay, yeah, this is definitely mean. Kent’s breath is coming faster, and the line of his jaw is set and trembling. But Tater wants to push him a little bit, get his money’s worth for the flight, the worry; Kent can pay him back in kind, and will. Tater just has to help him get there.

“So what if I do?” Kent asks. His laugh is tiny. “Man, I’m confused. Not like we’ve had much more time to figure each other out.”

And yet you asked me here, Tater thinks, and decides to play his trump card.

“It’s summer. You not play, I’m not play.” Tater spreads his hands wide, goes for broke and scoots in close to curl a hand slow and sinuous around Kent’s good ankle. “Need rest, someone to take care. Seem like good time to me.”

Kent’s breath catches in his throat. He smells sweaty and kinda gross, but his smile is soft, a fragile thing, and Tater knows he’s gotten it right. 

“Captive audience,” Kent says, barely a whisper.

“Yes,” Tater agrees, and leans in to meet his mouth.

[kasdan]

𝐸𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝐹𝑢𝑟𝑦 {𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 12}

join the taglist | series masterlist | marvel masterlist

a/n: this chapter literally took me forever to write i'm so sorry, and i actually can't write lovey dovey stuff i think there's something wrong with me anyhoo enjoyyy

summary: frank tries to teach you about your powers and how to control them

pairing: frank castle x reader

warnings: slight fluff, angst (sorry it's all i'm good for), language, frank begs. yes you heard me. trauma

word count: 2.1k

chapter song: i like me better - lauv

I freeze at the contact, not knowing what to do in the moment, or entirely of what I'm feeling, I just know that it feels right.

Suddenly, tingles shoot throughout my body as if all my limbs have fallen asleep, and are now in the process of trying to wake up.

I feel them make their ways to my hands and connect to where I grabbed Frank's wrist. We both jump back from each other at the feeling, and my mind races to come up with an apology and explanation.

"I'm sorry, I don't-" I bring the hand up that shocked him, but lose my train of thought when I see a dark red hue emitting from it.

At this point, I'm not surprised with what I see, as it's happened so many times already.

Frank's gaze locks onto my hands, and you both just sit there as if in a trance from the glow. The trance is broken when we hear a throat clear in the room, and both of us tear our gazes away from my hands to the source of the noise in the room.

David stands in the doorway to the room, looking over at the two of you with slightly narrowed eyes before walking into the room.

"Everything's packed, might wanna get going before it gets too dark." David speaks towards Frank, and my eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Where are you going?" I look at Frank who's working his way up from the ground and heading towards the door.

"Where we're going, you're coming with." Frank speaks before walking out of the room.

I look up at David, still confused and he just shakes his head and follows Frank out of the room. Frank shows up in the doorway again with a bag slung over his shoulder and motions for me to follow him out when he sees me sitting in the same spot.

I follow him to the van that Curtis dropped off earlier in the day when it was left at the motel. All I heard after the drop off was him cussing out the guys for not telling him about what happened, and that he had to get through a dozen cops in order to get the van out of the parking lot.

Frank opens the door for me to get in while he throws the bags he had on him in the back. "Are you not going to tell me where we're going?" I ask when he gets in the drivers seat, starts the van up, and backs out of the bunker.

"Nope." He smiles when he hears me huff at his unwillingness to let me know where we're going.

The drive allows me to admire more of the outside world that I've missed out on. There are trees almost everywhere you go, but I find myself still in awe of how tall they are and how bright everything is.

Soon, the number of buildings around slowly dwindles down to nothing, and trees become the main thing that is seen. I still don't know where we're going; I try to ask Frank multiple times during the drive, but he only says the same thing along the lines of "you'll see." I give up trying to figure it out after the third time I don't get an actual answer and end up zoning out, staring out the window and watching blurs of colors pass.

Suddenly the van stops at an open field, and Frank hops out and grabs the bags he threw in the back. I hesitantly get out and slowly start to walk towards where Frank is.

He laughs at my confused look and just beckons me to follow him out into the field. I follow him, though still clueless about what we were doing here, and we soon stop in the middle of the field.

Frank drops the bags he was carrying down onto the grass and opens one of the bags he had. A various amount of guns littered the inside of the bag, and I feel myself instinctively take a step back.

He says nothing as he grabs a pistol from the bag and immediately turns around and tosses it to me. I'm not expecting the movement so suddenly, and my body immediately flinches away; my arms come up in an attempt to block my body from the weapon, and my eyes squeeze shut, waiting for the impact.

When the impact never happens, I slowly open my eyes to see the gun lying on the ground a couple of feet in front of me, not getting even close enough to be able to hit me.

Frank makes a noise of content before walking forward and grabbing the gun from the ground, turning around, and going back to the bag on the ground.

"What the hell is happening?" I take a few steps towards Frank, who's now loading the gun with weird-looking bullets.

"The start of your trainin'," he exclaims, cocking the gun in his hand, making it ready to shoot.

"What?" My voice is full of confusion, and I see him lightly smile at me.

"Do you know what happened when I threw that gun to you? How your body reacted?" He takes a couple of steps towards me as he talks, the gun still being held in his hand.

The only thing I could come up with is to shrug my shoulders up slightly. My brain can't comprehend everything that's happening, and I can't stop it from going to the worst places again.

"Hey." I snap out of the daze I'm in to find Frank standing in front of me, with a concerned look on his face as he watches me. "You're okay." His palm is placed on my cheek, and I notice that my whole body is practically shaking.

The shaking stops almost immediately as soon as Frank's skin was pressed against mine. I can feel tingles start to form over my body again, but this time we don't break the connection.

My body soon feels like a light burning sensation going through it, and I feel Frank's body tense. I quickly pull myself away, remembering what happened last time that we touched for this long.

Besides the slight change in body language, he doesn't act like he was bothered at all from the shock. I find myself not being able to say anything, ending up opening my mouth, but closing it quickly after.

"How do ya feel?" His voice comes out just above a whisper, his eyes still staring into mine.

It takes a couple of attempts for words to leave my mouth; his eyes leave me in a sense of trance. "Like- like I'm burning."

Frank just lets out a small hum before stepping back away from me once again. "What?" I can only feel dumbfounded by his reaction as he nonchalantly walks away from me. He hasn't been telling me much of anything about why we're out here, and I can feel myself starting to become impatient.

He stops a ways away from me and turns to look at me. "You hear 'bout rubber bullets before?" He inspects the pistol he still holds in his hand before glancing up at me for my answer. I slowly shake my head at him, my brain still processing everything.

"Well, they're less lethal than the ones you're used to, but will still hurt like a bitch if ya get hit by one." His explanation seems to knock me out of my trance, and my eyes quickly flick over to his.

"And you're planning on using it on me?! Are you insane?!" I see him slightly recoil at my reaction, and I feel my stomach slightly twist at the sight, but I'm still mostly hung up on what he said to me.

He takes a short breath before speaking again. "I know it's not ideal, but it's the only thing we could think of that would help." He takes a small step towards me while he's speaking, and I can see emotions swirling in his eyes, but I can't interpret what they mean. "Darlin', I need you to trust that I would never intentionally harm you in any way. 'M just tryin' to get you to understand your emotions and the power that stems from them."

"What do you mean the power that stems from them?" I already have a sense that my powers are connected with my emotions somehow, with how many times things have happened when I feel a rush of emotion at once, but I feel the need to hear it from him to get an explanation as to why.

"Whenever you feel a strong emotion, you release a certain power that correlates to it. The lab was tryin' to control what power went with what emotion, but soon it got out of hand, and no one could keep up with the development of them. You were too powerful even for them, and of course, they got scared, so thought the best they could do was try to subdue you as long as they could until they could find everything they're lookin' for."

"How- how do you know all of this?" My voice comes out shaky when I speak, still trying to comprehend everything that was just said to me. It sounds like he knew more about me than I did, and I would be lying if I said that it didn't scare me a little.

"It's all in your file. David and I managed to read most of what we could in order to get a better read on you. We just wanna help you, sweetheart. It makes me physically sick on what they did, especially with children and how young you were when they started this shit. I can't imagine how you feel, to have to have lived your entire life locked up like you're some type of lab rat." At this point, there are tears in his eyes from the passion in his words, and I can't help my own doing the same from feeling the emotion in him that's practically hitting me in the face.

He slowly moved closer to me while he was talking, which leaves him standing in front of me again, and doesn't leave me room to say anything before he's speaking again. "Every time I think of the shit that they forced you through I can feel my heart clench, as if someone grabbed ahold of it 'n just started squeezin' the life outta it." His voice is a lot softer than it was when he first started talking, and if he talked any lower his voice would just barely be above a whisper.

"Let me help you, please. I think I'd never get over it if I just let you figure this out on your own, I would hate myself knowing that I did that to you when I coulda helped. Please." During his speech he brought out his hand to mine and gently took ahold of it, but I can't even focus on it when all I can see is him standing in front of me letting everything in his mind out in the open.

At this point, I can feel the tears that were once gathering in my eyes freely falling down my cheeks, and I can't bring myself to say anything back to him. I have no idea what to say back, all I can do is just stare at him.

I don't even notice the tingles in my hand where our skin is touching, or how Frank glances down at where our hands are connected, and tightens his hold on me. The only thing I start to realize after a minute is the feeling of water falling on me.

I look up at the sky to find water coming down from it again, causing me to squint my eyes at the suddenness of the water crashing onto me. "C'mon, let's get inside." Frank gently starts to pull me in a certain direction and I realize that there's a small building at the edge of the field we're in. How did I not notice that before?

Frank pulls me away from the area we were just at in order to make our way to the building. He grabs the bags full of things I still don't know what are yet, only letting go of my hand for the moment he needed to pick the bags up, and grabbing ahold of it again. He ignores my mention of being able to carry one of the bags inside, knowing it couldn't be all that light considering one mainly just had guns in it, and instead just walks me towards the building, not letting go of my hand once.

@sleeperthelazy @hathay @lunaticgurly @casa-boiardi @mattmurdocksstarlight @stilldreaming666 @cherry-berry-ollie

buy me a coffee ♡

[jmdbjk]

Man at work.

 Apparently working more than we thought he was...

Kookie bought a pack of 500 straws so he could exercise his vocal chords because he saw Sam Smith do it. But alas, he didn’t think it was working for him. Nevertheless! they won’t go to waste! because he can slurp down his highball much faster using a straw...

This cute goofball is the global spokesperson for Calvin Klein jeans... he mentioned that the Calvin Klein video was up and he acted bashful about it. He did say when doing these types of endorsements as a group is one thing, but doing them personally on his own, the product must be something he personally endorses. And he also said he will be embarrassed when people speak to him about his ad images. Perception vs reality. 

He tells us he’s cleaned out his closet recently and only kept all his black clothes, but now he says he will wear Calvins now. One thing to look forward to... Calvin Klein clothing silhouettes are typically cut close to the body. Meaning they are not the oversized baggy things that we normally see on JK. Just sayin’! Bring on the airport fashion! 

He asks to please show Calvin Klein a lot of support. Check! Marked off the list! I believe that company is scrambling to actually have any merchandise in stock this week, right? They weren’t prepared. Mission accomplished, JK. 

For a few moments he thought he spoiled Jimin’s episode of Suchwita because he couldn’t find it on Youtube. Sus, Youtube. 

Aside from the adorable heart eyes he had and the knowing grins and outright laughter while he watched, Jungkook nodded when Jimin said if he could go to any point in time, past or future, he would choose 2025 when they would all be together again. Kookie nodded vigorously again and let out a deep, wistful sigh while watching that brief segment. Was he getting a little lump in his throat too, just like I was?

Yoongi then says “we all have an idea of what things will be like when we come back” and Jimin agrees and when Yoongi asks Jimin what he thinks it will be like, Jimin says “we’d all be back together after we’re done.” I am assuming he means military service, and that he is curious to know how it will be and that’s why he wants to go to that point in time. 

Jimin, we all want to fast forward to that time. None of us want you all to have to take this mandatory break and we all want it to be over with as soon as possible. 

When it was over, Kookie fixed himself a fresh drink, took a potty break and then sat wordlessly on the couch for at least 15 minutes listening to music and pondering the universe (it seemed). Songs he queued up: “12:45″ by Etham; “thoughtboutu” by Karencici; “Another Day” by Gervs; “Adrenaline” by Lauv; “Where Does the Love Go” by by María Isabel and Yeek and “Honeymoon” by Johnny Stimson.

He sweetly sang along to “Honeymoon.” That song has a similar vibe to “10,000 Hours” and I wish to god Kookie would create a song with that ambience because it would become one of those all time greatest hits.

JK read a few comments (FINALLY?) he randomly says he was wanting to look up Jimin’s lyrics...? Jungkook and his never-ending fight with his Apple TV commands ensues. And he finally finds what he’s looking for... the BigHit intro.

He proceeded to fanboi during Set Me Free Pt 2 even being a tad slack-jawed and droolly when the 2nd verse started and Jimin’s cheat sheet tattoos were on full display, JUST LIKE US! 

Done satisfying his need to know the lyric was “maze” and watching the entire video anyway, he quickly found a Jimin compilation video. Are you shitting me? 

Now, we all know how insidious the Youtube algorithm is. If you watch ONE video of any genre/topic... what happens? YT serves up several more from the same creator or same topic or genre. Watch a reaction video? Then a dozen videos by various Youtube reactors will be summoned. Watch a Korean street food video? Then you will see a dozen videos about Korean street food. FACTS!

Every time you go to Youtube after that it’s like trying to get rid of cockroaches. You spend some time hitting the “not interested/don’t show me this shit ever again” option or else that will be all you ever see forever and ever amen. 

So my point is, that Jimin compilation video was not random. Youtube isn’t a random platform, it is very articulated to deliver cocaine in video form straight to your brain in order to get you addicted so you keep coming back. 

Anyway. Kookie again was like a kid watching cartoons and Army comments were totally forgotten while he watched this fan made video. 

The evening full of Jimin, laughing at a fan made compilation video and a song that was playing called, “up at night”, by Kehlani featuring Justin Bieber, stirred something inside him and the lightning bolt of inspiration hit him and that was it. Game over for the live broadcast.

I’m glad he’s working. I’m glad he’s doing well. He’s still our Kookie and he still loves his Jiminie and the rest of his hyungs. 

[liyawritesss]

can you do more reader x riri maybe a date night or something on campus

ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴍ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ

Character: MCU!Riri Williams x Black!Fem!Reader

Type: Fic

Synopsis: School is out for the semester, and all Riri wants is to spend some quality time with her girlfriend back home.

Warnings: Some BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER spoilers if you haven't watched the movie. Some cursing as well but overall just some tear jerking fluff

A/N: I may have went a lil sidetracked with this request. I couldn't really think of any good date night ideas on campus per se, but I do think that during the cold Riri would prefer indoor dates with her loved, and that's kind of how this came about. I hope you enjoy nonetheless! Suggested songs to listen to while reading: Lauv's "I Like Me Better".

Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my followers, mutual, friends, family, and important people in my life, on Tumblr and beyond. Yall have made this an enjoyable year and I can't wait to spend many more with you guys!!

Tags: @verachii @rxcently @badass-dora-milaje @babyboiboyega @inmyheadimobsessed @lunerenzo @letitias-fav

December 17th. The day that college students all across America had been waiting for since the start of the semester….the end of it.

Riri was all too happy to be boarding the plane back to Chicago. Her and her mother had packed up her dorm room the day prior, so all that was left to go back home was herself. While Boston had its perks, there was nothing there that could even begin to compare to the wonders of the Windy City. And it didn’t have the people she really cared about, either.

Speaking of, the moment she got settled on the plane, an inbound Facetime request caught her attention. The caller ID on the screen read ‘babygirl <3’. A smile instantly spread across her face.

“Hi baby!” Your cheery voice chimes through the cellular device once she answers it. “You’re just gettin’ on the plane?”

“Yeah, takeoff is in like twenty minutes they said,” Riri replies, plopping down in her seat after putting her carryon in her overhead compartment. “I cannot wait to be home. I be tired of Boston the moment I step in this bitch.”

Your giggle warms the engineers heart as she stares at you endearingly, her head leaning on the window which shows the outside of the plane. “What’chu doin’, mamas?”

“Ah, I was just finishing something up for you,” you reply, and by the tone of your voice shifting from cheery to bashful, Riri could tell it was from the nickname she had given you. Her eyebrows furrow together as you add on “It’s a surprise!”

“Oh no, what’chu don’ did now?” Riri questions, her tone playful. She breaks out into a toothy grin as she sees your face feigning hurt.

“Me? Why you always assume I don’ did somethin’ bad?”

“‘Cus whenever I come home, you always in some trouble!”

“It’s not my fault! The world just…hates me!”

“Yeah, okay, (Y/N),”

The overhead intercom beeps alive, and the voice of one of the plane staff begins to ring from the speaker above Riri. “Attention all passengers. This flight will be ready for takeoff in ten minutes. Please follow the necessary precautions regarding electronic devices, personal carry ons, etc. Thank you for flying with us, and we hope you have an enjoyable flight.”

“You heard her, babe. I gotta go,” and although your pout makes Riri want to continue the Facetime call, her resolve is much stronger than any puppydog eyes you could pull on her. “I’ll meet you when I land, okay baby?”

“Okayyy…” You reply, drawing out the last syllable of the word. “I love you. Be safe!”

“I love you, too, mamas. I’ll be home before you know it.”

The moment you saw Riri coming from the escalator, you instantly bolted to her, despite her mother’s protests. Riri virtually dropped everything in her hands and rushed to you as well, both of you colliding in a bone crushing embrace that left you two on the floor of the airport terminal, smothering each other’s faces with kisses of endearment and a many ‘I missed you’s.

“Aight, nah, y’all get up, people’s is startin’ to stare!” Ronnie warned, but it was a moment before her words registered with the both of you. You were just so happy to see each other, after basically four months apart and constant schedule conflicts. But when the reality that what you were doing may have been a teeny bit inappropriate for the airport set in, you helped Riri get her previously discarded belongings, and the three of you were off back to Riri’s home.

Ronnie spoke of some business she needed to take care of, but when Riri asked for specifics, the older woman replied “Grown folks stuff,” with a mischievous smile. And with her gaze shooting to you for a quick second, Riri suspected that whatever you had planned for her arrival, her mother had conspired, so much so that she was leaving the two of you at the house for an unspecified amount of time. Who knew a mother could be their child’s girlfriend’s best wing woman?

“C’mon, baby, just show me what it is,” the engineer whined, becoming impatient, “is it in my room? It’s in my room, ain’t it!”

“Calm down, speed-ball,” you replied, “Just keep your eyes closed and you’ll see soon enough.”

Although Riri wanted to open her eyes now, she obeyed, and kept her eyes closed as you led her through the house and to her room. You twisted the knob of the door and opened it quietly, guiding your girlfriend through the threshold. After centering her in the middle of her room, you took a step back, and told her to open her eyes. What Riri saw absolutely stunned her speechless.

Her room, with lilac walls and a variety of posters littering the walls, that once had junk neatly scattered everywhere, had been completely transformed. In the top ceiling corners, false vines wrapped around the four walls, and with them were lantern colored LED lights that shone a warm white color. Her bedding had been replaced with a more festive covering, the blanket, sheets, and pillowcases having small reindeer pattern on the white background (save for two pillows, which just had new white silk pillowcases on them). In one corner was a snack table set up with both of your favorites, most - if not all - holiday themed. And in the space above her dresser, which would have held a TV, had the projection of Netflix on its walls. Also on the bed were two matching pajama sets, with black tops and red, green and white plaid pants.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Riri breathed in disbelief, “You did all this?”

You nodded proudly. “With some help from Ms. Ronnie, she helped with the projector.”

The engineer is still in a state of shock when you come to her side, placing a peck on her cheek. “We can unpack later, but you, my darling, deserve to relax a little,” You add on, taking her face into your hands. You smile when you see her visibly melt into them. “I know MIT’s been kicking your ass.”

Riri takes the opportunity, and your closeness, to place a short kiss of gratitude on your lips. “Nah you know damn well them white folks ain’t got shit on me, mama.”

Her words make you laugh, because you know it’s true. “Aight, baby, lets get you in the shower.”

After an hour of showering and getting cute for your evening in, including a water fight in the shower, trying not to slip on the wet floor the both of you made, and taking a couple of mirror selfies in your matching pajamas, you and Riri find refuge in her bed, snacking on the various little food options you so graciously provided. Riri has her head on your chest as she munches on a bag of Takis, while the movie Gremlins is projected onto the wall above her dresser; though little attention is being paid to the movie itself, as Riri is disclosing information from the last few weeks that she was away.

It’s moments like these that Riri misses the most about being away at MIT. Sure she gets to make different gadgets and best preppy white boys in chemical equations, but nothing will ever beat coming home to the girl she loves.

“And then come to find out the fish-lookin’ nigga just needed to be baked a lil’ bit to knock his ass down-” It’s the way you burst out laughing, almost spitting out your drink, at her description of the legendary fight she was able to witness as part of the attack force in Wakanda. Riri laughs too as she looks up at you from her position on your chest.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, cuz it really sounds like she turned him into some grilled tilapia-!”

“-and did! And did!”

Your shared laughter echoed throughout the four lilac walls of Riri’s room, the christmas movie being played from the projector becoming obsolete to the two of you at that moment. When the laughter finally began to cease, you caught Riri staring at you. Not an awkward kind of stare, nor an examining one. Just a gaze of endearment as she placed her head on the plush of your thighs, not breaking eye contact.

“What’chu lookin’ at me like that for?” you question, bashful, at the intensity of her gaze, Riri just shrugs, and turns her head to the ceiling.

“Nothin’, just…thinkin’,” she replied. There's a slight pause, before her eyes return back to you, and she starts to speak once again.

“I like me better when I’m with you,” the engineer confesses. Riri reaches for your free hand, and you happily hand it over to her. Her words intrigue you, as you’re unsure why she randomly spoke them, but nonetheless, your heart warms at them.

As though you spoke your confusion aloud, Riri sits up, her fingers now intertwined with yours, and she continues on; “I mean- like, when I’m in Boston, it’s like I’m on autopilot. I just kinda do shit ‘cuz I have to. But when I’m here- when I’m with you…everything makes sense. I ain’t gotta stress about shit, I’on have to be perfect. I look at you and shit makes sense, y’know? It’s corny as fuck but…I really don’t know where I’d be without you, (Y/N).”

It’s a revelation Riri came to while stationed in Wakanda for her protection against Talokan. Not being able to contact you because of the secrecy of the whole ordeal gave her ample time to think about you and your place in her life. Because truth be told, when Riri was around you, she was a completely different person compared to being in Boston or being at Princess Shuri’s side. With you, life was effortless, love was plentiful, and the idea of being separated from you, the reality of being separated from you with no contact, tore her up inside.

You were truly her peace.

Riri’s words made your eyes tear up a little. The engineer was never good with words - her actions and the ability to show what she was about was something she always prided herself in - but to hear the sincerity and ingenuity spill from her lips was a gift like no other.

You took your interlocked hands, bringing them to your lips and pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles, soft and sweet-smelling from the cocoa-butter she applied onto her skin after the shower. She was heaven in your hands, and you would do anything to protect and love Riri with all your heart.

There wasn’t a need to exchange anymore words - the look in which you two shared spoke enough volumes that mother nature herself could hear the comforting silence, and take from it the love you two shared and melt away the frosty December cold and snow. And the two of you rested with your foreheads pressed together, hands holding each other, smiling like idiots in love, as the moonlight from the sky bathed the two of you in a glow fit for goddesses.

If you enjoyed, please leave a like, comment, and reblog for others to see! And don’t be shy to send in a request!

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

Crumb do you think Ethan would have been one of those partners who is constantly doing cheesy romance things like buying Mia roses whenever he goes to the store, putting notes in her lunch secretly, etc?

YESSSS OMGGG HE WOULD BE SOO LOVEY DOVEY!!!

he loves mia!!!!! he lauves her!!! he would pack her lunches every single day!! he would set up a candle lit rose petal bath for her!!!

ethan winters lauves his wife so much anyone who disagrees is wrong idc

he dies for her bro!! he lauves her!! he comes looking for her after 3 years! he would make so many romantic dinners for her i just know it

hed show everyone his wedding ring and be all bashful about it he loves his wife ETHAN LOVES HIS WIFE!!!! hed show people pictures of her and talk about how beautiful she is

he is the #1 wife guy

[omnicviolence]

wwoah oh my cheese your like 1 of five npt blogs not ia.. can i request elysia hi3 ids? :3

oh my cheese is such a great expression im gonna use that now :) OFC I LOVE WLYSIA SHES SO PRRETY EHHEHEHE

Elysia (Honkai Impact 3rd) ID pack

　◞◟　NAMES　✦

Elysia, Ellie/Eli, Azaela, Rose, Fuchsia, Bellerose/Bellerosa, Blossom, Blush, Coralie, Cerise, Dahlia, Flora, Lotus, Ego

　◞◟　PRONOUNS　✦

Pink/Pinks, Love/Loves, Lauv/Lauv, Cheer/Cheers, Happy/Happiness, Heaven/Heavens, Haven/Havens, Grace/Graces, Beau/Beauty

　◞◟　TITLES　✦

[PRN] Who Lives Among The [Favourite flowers], Femme Beauty, Loving Elf, Blushing Lover, [PRN] Who Is The Safe Haven

　◞◟　IDs　✦

Pinkcharsic, Lovesickfem ou Lovesickmasc, Loveabomination, Godethealgic, Cutemaiden, Pinkadored, Lacegender, Heartbeatgender

[currently-stanning-bts]

Who Are You -Namjoon x reader-

Namjoon x reader

Category- Angst no fluff

warnings- none, just some angst, if you don't like angst please don't read :) not proof read, so sorry if there are any typos!

Authors note: This really hurt me writing this tbh. But every time I listen to "who" by Lauv ft. BTS, I get ideas about writing something, and since Namjoon is my bias I had to write something with him in it. Don't worry all my Namjoon lovers!! I'll make it up to all of you!

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You and Namjoon had grown up together and were practically inseparable. But that was years and years ago, now you two never talk. When you do, it is always work related. Something had happened, you're not sure what, but something in him changed. You had confronted him about it one day, but he brushed you off.

*Several years ago*

“Namjoon, what the hell?” you said annoyed. It was the tenth day in a row he had ignored all of your calls and texts. Namjoon looked at you, but chose to ignore you, making it seem like you weren't even there. “Kim Namjoon, if you don't at least say something to me, I’m going to be pissed.” you threatened. Still though, he said nothing. “Please, Joon. I just want to know what has happened. What's changed?” you tried speaking softer, but still, he chose to ignore your presence.

*three years later*

Namjoon was still ignoring you, you had tried over and over again to talk to him but he never listened. One day though, Namjoon came up to you during work. You worked at Hybe Corporation, and helped to form new k-pop groups. You were currently in the middle of packing for a trip. You would be a judge on the show I-LAND. You had been looking forward to it all month. You had been given information about the boys trying out prior to the day. You had even picked out two boys you hoped would do great. You picked Ri-ki or more commonly known as Ta-ki, and Nishamura Ri-ki also known as Ni-ki. You were in your office, you had to stop here before your flight because you had left something that you needed. Namjoon knocked on your door. “Come in,” you said, not paying attention to who it was, trying to look for that one important thing.

Namjoon walked into the room, he smiled when he saw you, his heart breaking slightly at how cold he had been to you the past few years. He truly regretted everything, but it wasn’t his fault truly! People had started dating rumors about him and another idol. Hybe threatened to put him on Hiatus if he didn't get cleared up soon. So Namjoon was forced to act as if you didn’t exist. These dating rumors though, there was some truth in them. Namjoon had given you a promise ring many years ago when he first found out you both had feelings for one another. He had promised you that one day you would be together, just not now. His career was just kicking off, plus, if Hybe found out he was dating someone, he could be forced to leave BTS.

Neither of you wanted that for him, so you thought it best to put off your relationship until he could work some things with Hybe out. Try to see if there was a way he could date someone without being let go. So far he hasn't been able to find a way. That was until today. Today he had talked to Hybe again, and they told him that since all of the rumors of him dating someone had left, fans had truly wanted to see him with someone. This person was someone who he was constantly with, and who would it be other than you!

Namjoon cleared his throat. You picked your head up, smiling at the person before your brain registered who it was. The color drained from your face, and your eyes went wide. You quickly pulled yourself together. “Hello Nam-RM,” you quickly corrected yourself, you didn't feel the need to call him that anymore with how he’s treated you the past couple of years. You saw Namjoon flinch slightly at the name correction. “How can I help you? It has to be quick, as you probably know already, I am getting ready to leave for I-LAND.” you said. Namjoon cleared his throat again, “I-I, um,” he paused, taking a deep breath, “I just wanted to apologize for how I’ve treated you these past few years. I want to explain myself-” you cut him off with a scoff before you spoke, “tch, it's been how many years since you started ignoring me? Three? Four now? To be honest, I’ve lost count. I tried talking to you every damn day, but you chose to ignore me. Namj-RM, you looked right at me so many fucking times, and just ignored my existence. Now you expect me to sit around and listen to you ‘explain yourself’” you air quoted him. “Your stupid if you think I’ve waited all these years for you.”

That’s not true. You did wait for him. You kept the promise ring he gave you so many years ago, but your pride and anger wouldn’t let you admit that to him or yourself. It's funny because the thing you're currently looking for is the promise ring. You had placed it down when you had to do a monthly check up on BTS during their dance practice as well as vocal practice, when you got back to your office, you couldn’t find it to save your life. It had scared you, you couldn’t lose the one thing you still kept so dear to you.

“Please baby-”

“Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that three years ago.” “I’m sorry, y/n please, just listen to me. I swear I never wanted to ignore you, but Hybe had threatened to put me on Hiatus because there were dating rumors about me and some other idol flying around. They weren’t good ones either, it was negative about me. ARMY tried to back me up with it, and somehow they were able to convince Hybe that I could date someone. It created a lot of positive buzz with the good side of ARMY, Hybe will let me date a person of my choosing! Plus!!! ARMY already knows about you, you’ve been in so many of our past Vlives, and vlogs, plus, they’ve seen you in some when you come in to do the monthly reports on vocals and dance! They want us to be together!” he told you, a smile on his face towards the end, before it went away, being replaced with a look of seriousness. “So please, y/n” he walked closer to you, you took a step back but he continued forward. You hit the front of your oak wood deck, and Namjoon was right in front of you. He took your small hands in his larger ones and looked you in the eyes, “please y/n, give me another chance. I swear to you I won’t fuck it up like I did last time.”

You shook your head, “no, Joon, you can't do this. You can't treat me like that then one day decide you missed me and come running back and think I’ve waited for you the entire time. I don't even know who you are anymore. Who are you? Are you Kim Namjoon, the man I fell in love with, or are you RM of BTS, the man that chose his career over his relationship? I need to know. ‘Cause you're not the guy I fell in love with. Something has clearly changed Joon, because you’re not the same, and if I’m being honest…” You paused for a second taking a deep breath to stop from letting tears fall before you continued again. “I really hate it. I’m sick and tired of waiting for you. And now I know that you're not the right one for me.” you felt tears in your eyes before you quickly blinked them away. You looked at the clock hanging above your door. You pulled your hands from him, “look, I have to go or I’m going to miss the taxi taking me to the airport.” You walked to the door, turning back to look at him one last time. He was just as handsome as the last time you saw him, when you were both on speaking terms with one another. “Thank you,” you started, “for coming to see me today, it means a lot. Thank you for telling me this, but just know, we” you motioned to you and him, “we wouldn’t be able to make it out there,” you pointed outside your office door. “I’m sorry RM, I truly am, maybe in another life where you are not an idol and I don't work for your company. In a life where you’re just a normal person, and we met on normal terms. But that won't be us anytime soon. So again, I’m sorry, but we can’t be anything.” and with that, you left, closing your office door on the way out.

Namjoon was left standing there alone. He felt tears form in his eyes before they fell down his cheeks. He walked over to the door and locked it, sliding down it after. In here he was just Namjoon, he didn’t have to deal with the outside world, being an idol, the rumors or anything. He placed a hand over his eyes as he looked up, tears spilling from his eyes. Why did he have to be such an idiot? He ruined something so beautiful just to try to keep that beautiful thing. He had ruined your relationship, the promise ring he gave you so many years ago meaning nothing anymore except for the empty promise he made. He truly fucked up, now he could never make it up.

*present*

You and Namjoon still don't talk, you had blocked his contact information, and you chose to work with a different group within Hybe. They let you work with ENHYPEN. You had hoped Ni-ki would get in and thankfully he did! He did such a great job too! You had also worked with Tomorrow x Together, you enjoyed working with them. A lot of this helped you forget about Namjoon, but part of you still longed to be with him. But you knew it was better this way. You could focus on work, and he could focus on making great music for his fans and the company. Namjoon however still longed to be with you, but he also knew better. He tried to contact you, but you had blocked him. So to ease his ever aching heart, he listened to your old voicemails and read over the old text messages you would send back and forth. He missed you deeply, but he knew he could never be with you, he wanted you so bad it hurt. But you could never be, you had said that exact same thing years ago, and now he believes it.

[cariantha]

Bad Dream

Book: Open Heart, Book 2 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: General Category: Fluff Word count: 1.2K Summary: Sawyer has a nightmare while Ethan is out of town and despite the distance he is able to bring her comfort in the sweetest way.

A/N: To the anon who sent this ask, I’m sorry for taking so long to follow up. I had promised “Coming Soon” content, but the original idea for this fic was not working. So, I scrapped it and ended up going another direction, inspired by the song Bracelet by Lauv. Hope you like it!

Almost three months had passed since the attempted attack on the senator and Sawyer was doing fairly well. Finally back to work full-time, going to counseling, and taking medication as needed. Despite the positive prognosis, Ethan knew there could still be setbacks. Nor was he over his own fear of losing her. So he continued to keep a watchful eye. And being this far away caused stress and constant worry. 

It was supposed to be a quick turnaround trip. The plan was to fly to Cleveland with Baz, consult on a case, and return home as quickly as possible. But nothing had gone according to plan. A diverted flight, lab work delays, and a challenging diagnosis kept him in Ohio three days longer than originally anticipated.

2:00 P.M.

8:30 P.M.

“You were right, Ethan,” Baz announced as he returned to the conference room with updated lab results. “It’s POEMS syndrome.”

A couple hours later, Ethan and Baz had drafted a detailed treatment plan to present to the patient's physician of record.  

“Baz, we’ve been in Ohio much longer than I anticipated. I need to get back to Boston. Do you think you can wrap up this consultation on your own? There’s a flight back to Boston leaving at 5 a.m. that I’d like to catch.”

“I got this, Boss.”

“Thank you.”

1:00 A.M.

After booking the flight and packing his things, Ethan laid on the hotel bed intending to catch a nap before his ride to the airport arrived. Eyes closed but far from sleep, his phone buzzed and vibrated on the nightstand, Sawyer’s name flashing on the screen.  

“Rookie?”

“E-Ethan.”

He sat up and turned on the lamp when he heard his whimpered name. “Hey,” he said delicately, “what’s wrong?” His heart started to beat faster and harder, mind suddenly racing with all of the possible reasons for the broken voice on the other end of the line.  

Trying to stop herself from crying, Sawyer snuffled, “I just needed to hear your voice. Will you talk with me for a little bit?”

“I’m here,” he assured her, “whatever you need.”

With that specific request he understood the cause of her distress. Though not as frequent several weeks later, Sawyer continued to have nightmares about the poison attack. This one likely the result of whatever triggered her anxiety earlier in the day. “Was it another nightmare?”

“Yeah, it was a bad one,” her voice was still shaking.  

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” 

“I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“No need to be sorry. I wasn’t asleep. I was actually lying awake thinking of you.”

“You were? What were you thinking about?”

One night after a particularly upsetting dream, Ethan brought comfort by revealing one of the moments when he started to realize he had feelings for her. Since then, whenever they were together and Sawyer woke up from a bad dream, he soothed her back to sleep with another endearing memory. 

“Do you remember the leather wrist band you bought for me at the farmer’s market last year?” he recalled.

“You mean the friendship bracelet I gave you? Because you were being stubborn and wouldn’t admit that we were friends?” she wise-offed.  

“Can you hear my eyes rolling?” he came back with, earning a light chuckle from the other end of the line. “Yes, that’s the one.” His voice now gentle, “I don’t remember if I ever told you, but I took it with me when I left for the Amazon. You know that I convinced myself that it would be best for us to try and move on… but that didn’t mean I was ready to let you go right away. With a foot already out the door, I realized that I needed to take a piece of you with me, so I went back for it. I figured I’d wear it until enough time passed that I didn’t need to anymore. I was so busy and distracted when I was working that I sometimes fooled myself into thinking I was finally getting over you... but at night when I was alone with my thoughts…” he exhaled softly, “well, they always drifted to you and I’d wake up missing you even more.” Sawyer sniffed back sentimental tears as he continued. “The day that I didn’t need it anymore never came. I wore that leather band every day until I came home.”  

“Thank you for telling me that,” she whispered.  “Want to know something?”

“What’s that?”

“When you first told me about the W.H.O. mission, I started following their Pictagram account. After you had been gone for a few weeks, they posted a picture of you and you were wearing the bracelet. And the night you came back, when we were talking in the beer garden, I saw it around your wrist. Just under the sleeve of your jacket,” she explained. “It’s the reason I kissed you that night. You’d never wear something like that unless it meant something important to you.”

“I see you’ve mastered the art of observation,” he joked before getting serious again. “And it did. It still does.” 

Sawyer’s phone vibrated in her hand as a notification alerted her to a new text message.

“Ethannnnn, you’re wearing it now?” touched by the gesture.

“This time it was the first thing I grabbed when packing for this trip. I wanted a piece of you with me while I was away.”

“I love…” she caught herself. It’s not that she didn’t want to say it, she just didn’t want to pressure Ethan to say it back if he wasn’t ready. “I love that. It’s so sweet.”

“And far less creepy than pocketing a pair of your panties,” trying and successfully making her laugh.

“Well, I should probably confess that I’ve raided your closet and will be spooning your pillow so I can feel close to you too.” 

He laughed heartily at the mental image. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much.”

“I’m glad. Go have a cup of tea and try to get back to sleep,” he encouraged.

“Any chance I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

“We’ll see, but I think the odds are looking good,” he replied knowing full well he’d be boarding a plane and on his way home to her in just a couple of hours.  

“Well, fingers crossed. And Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she said most sincerely.

“Only good dreams now, okay? Goodnight, Rookie.”

“Bye, babe.”

9:00 A.M.

Ethan entered the still apartment, leaving his coat and suitcase in the entryway. Seeing no sign of life yet, he quietly made his way to the master bedroom. Head just barely poking out from under the comforter, he found her just as she said, spooning his king size pillow.  

He carefully toed off his shoes and parted with his shirt and pants.  He removed his watch, placing it on the top of the dresser, but left his other accessory on.

Lifting the comforter, Ethan climbed into bed scooting up against her backside and wrapped his arm tightly around her. Though jarring her from sleep, the familiar touch and scent instantly quieted her alarm.  

“Surprise,” he breathed into her ear before kissing her cheek and trailing down her neck.

With a raspy morning voice she uttered “Hiiiii” while her hands hugged his arm, the feel of braided leather under one of her palms.  

“Did you have better dreams after we talked?” he mumbled against the skin of her exposed shoulder.

Rolling over, she nudged him flat onto his back and slowly straddled his hips. “Mhmmm, the best. And it looks like they’re about to become reality,” she smirked before leaning down and kissing him deeply.  

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @potionsprefect @jamespotterthefirst @annfg8 @peonierose @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @jerzwriter @quixoticdreamer16 @mysticalgalaxysstuff @inlocusmads @txemrn @trappedinfanfiction @mvalentine @takemyopenheart @ofmischiefandmedicine @openheartforeverinmyheart @doriopenheart @coffeeheartaddict2 @genevievemd @starrystarrytrouble

[confuchan]

HI LAUV <333

Hiii🤗 ahh the lil smile that came to my face when this notif popped up

Im awful about checking in on ppl lately and attempting to write anything bc im packing to move (which is stressing me out) and tbz cb is sooo distracting, this made me so happy🥰

I'll be better at popping in starting sometime next month when this is all over i promise

[allurespring]

Welcome, please have a seat ✺ 𓈒 𓆇 ˚⁎ 🫖 ⁺˳

Greetings, lovely souls. Herewith, I, Kayla Evangeline will be the storyteller to help you know more about me. First and foremost, you may address me as Kayla or if some idea to address me flashes in your mind, you may call me using the preferred nickname long as it doesn’t offend anyone. 🏹 🪞

I am legal and I identify myself with feminine pronouns therefore please use she/her when referring to me. I have Leo as my sun sign … Libra as my moon and Gemini as my rising 🎐 for long as I remember I have ESFJ as my MBTI type but sadly I haven’t had the chance to take the test again. I must not forget to include that my hogwarts house is Gryffindor.

I am an RP writer that currently use Jennie as my muse, if you wish to know my handle or become mutuals there do leave me a notice!

My interests 🩰🕯️. ♡ᰍ

I love reading! I mostly read novels in my spare time, I'm into romance fiction and psychological books! and by this I hope you won't mind seeing me rambling about my favorite characters <3

I fancy writing as well, although I still lack in some aspects I enjoyed pouring my heart into the paper. If you’d like to see my works, you can check my medium

Kitchen is a sacred place they say and although I am no professional cook nor I have ever taken a cooking lesson but I’m interested into making dishes or dessert. I mostly cook healthy and efficient packed meals in a small portion. I also bake in my spare time with the help of her majesty, mum.

A huuuge MCU, manhwa, and animanga fan! I love captain america and doctor strange the most out of all marvel characters. For anime I mostly watch jujutsu kaisen, haikyu, re-main, spy x family, and fruits basket.

For music, I listen to every genre that fits to my ears. I am an avid listener of BTS, BLACKPINK, Enhypen, IVE, stayc, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, keshi, lauv, lany, jeremy zucker, ruel, NIKI, Fourtwnty, Rendy Pandugo, Tulus, Raisa, Rara Sekar, Isyana, and many more. If you would like to listen to my playlist, feel free to check my Spotify

I am a huge fashion enthusiast. I set my bars high on designer products that you can ever think of therefore you might see fashion related contents a lot on my timeline.

Where did we meet?

here are the list of agencies, squads, and group DMs that I have participated in.

The 4395, Petals

The Adolescents, KID00Z, 99cents, 98-99z, 2016 debut year, GDM mixue

La petit bakery, Monochrooms, The Brooks Club, La’Terrarium, dissnewclub, 22 Officers, Dittours

Jennie of Soonday Club, Jennie of yum_mm_my, Hyewon of 7 Days of Dreams, Karina of Stereo Midnights, Cherry of Above Ordinary, Bella Swan of Legally Starring

Note 🕰️ ୨ ⊹ ۫ .

My account is a safe palace for everyone to visit, whether to chit chat, to stay, or to sip a tea. I have no restrictions regarding my account thus I accept and welcome everyone here.

Love, Kayla Evangeline

[ofedevane]

イ. ⸺ 𝗞𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗡𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗘𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗲

In the realm of nights and the melodies of the day, she reflects the charm of moonlit tranquility and daytime serenity. Identified by the pronouns she/her, interaction is restricted for those underage, abrupt, prejudiced, impolite, or promoting negativity. Remarkably perceptive, she tunes into the subtleties of conversations, swiftly capturing the essence even in the briefest exchanges.

Film and TV series enthusiast ( アマチュアオタク。)

She truly delights in engaging conversations and has a chatty nature. While she's generally quick to respond to messages, there are times when she might take a bit longer. Her passion lies in the world of cinema, and she's open to deep discussions on the subject, willing to invest a significant amount of time—up to several hours, if needed. One of her charming traits is her attentive listening, always eager to absorb information and insights from others.

She stays on top of the latest happenings in the entertainment industry, keeping a close eye on recent film and TV releases. Her taste in movies spans a broad spectrum, from eagerly awaited sequels like Top Gun: Maverick and John Wick: Chapter 4 to international gems like Titanic, Suzume, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and independent films such as A Man Called Otto, Past Lives, and Noktah Merah Perkawinan. Blockbusters like Harry Potter, The Batman, No Time to Die, and Fast and Furious appeal to her, as do action-packed spy movies like Mission Impossible.

On the television front, she's just as diverse in her preferences. Dramas like The Queen’s Gambit, Scenes From a Marriage, Severance, and Chernobyl capture her interest, along with coming-of-age stories like Normal People and supernatural/fantastical shows such as Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy and Spinning Out. She, also, has a profound passion for crime, thriller, and mystery TV shows like Criminal: United Kingdom and Germany. The medical drama The Good Doctor is another favorite. Furthermore, she indulges in captivating international series such as Detective Conan and Youth of May, a Korean drama, and immerses herself in the timeless masterpieces crafted by Studio Ghibli, including Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle. Notably, she's eagerly anticipating the TV adaptation of the beloved video game, The Last of Us.

Kashi's musical palette is quite extensive, drawing the attention of many. She's into a diverse range of genres, including alt-pop, pop (semi-rock), and R&B. Her playlist features tracks from artists like DPR IAN, Charles Leclerc, Mäneskin, Celine Dion, Westlife, LAUV, Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi, and GFRIEND.

Alongside her love for music, she's deeply engaged in the Formula 1 world, with Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen earning her favor as her preferred constructor and drivers.

Despite finding joy in the tranquility of living alone and cherishing the small, humorous moments that bring a smile to her face, Kashi is a sensitive soul, easily moved to tears. Yet, this sensitivity is complemented by her natural ability to empathize with others and offer support when needed.