#please give me validation and/or feedback in the notes thanks

[ivyyisbored22]

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭— 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐅

Please check Intro about me ;) , my masterlist :) , Requests (& Rules) ^^

I'm currently in my writer's era, so I wanted to publish this Fanfic I've been writing for the past few weeks. I've always had POVs and ideas for stories in my head but I stored them away in my notes app or my diary. But this one, I wanted to share. (I publish on Wattpad as well but my reach over there SUCKS.)

Consider giving this story a read and tell me what you think of it. Leave your comments and feedback, I always appreciate it. I'm still a beginner, so there might be some errors here and there. If you spot any please tell me and I'll correct them.

I'll try to upload weekly or whenever I finish writing a new chapter.

WARNING ⚠️ This story is for matured readers since there's smut, mention of alcohol and strong language.

Ready? Let's get in.

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Description:

𝑻𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆...

He knew that this marriage was under his agreement that it's only valid for a year. But once their contract ends and Aria tells him she is carrying his child, his protectiveness, possessiveness over her increased a ton more. He didn't want this marriage to last more than he wanted but now he can't live without her.

Bang Chan x fem/OC - Arranged marriage. Mature content. Cold Husband. Billionaire. DUAL POVS

TW ❗❗: Pregnancy (I know not everyone enjoys this trope but I can assure that once you read it you will understand the plot. Do consider giving it a chance)

This story contains mature content such as mentions of alcohol, sex and strong language. 🔞

Note: Underlined chapters are already published and non underlined ones are upcoming. Ones marked in red contains smut. At the end of each chapter, the next one is linked.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

Chapter 1 || Chapter 13

Chapter 2 || Chapter 14

Chapter 3 || Chapter 15

Chapter 4 || Chapter 16

Chapter 5 || Chapter 17

Chapter 6 || Chapter 18

Chapter 7 || Chapter 19

Chapter 8 || Chapter 20

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢꜱ, ʟɪᴋᴇꜱ, ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴇᴇᴅʙᴀᴄᴋꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇᴅ.

If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know <3. New tags will be included in the upcoming chapters, but please note that I won't be updating the taglists in previous chapters.

Thank you for reading!

xx,

Ivyy

[nayziiz]

Bridges | CS55

Pairing: Carlos Sainz x reader (you)

Author's note: I'm trying something a little bit different with shorter form fics, so please send through any requests or feedback. These one shots will likely not have a second part unless it really speaks to me to continue with it. Thank you!

Masterlist

Navigating a relationship fraught with distance and conflicting schedules can feel like traversing a rocky terrain, where every step forward is met with an unpredictable stumble. For you and Carlos, the challenges seem insurmountable at times. His perpetual travels, fueled by professional commitments or personal adventures, create chasms of physical separation that no amount of digital connection can bridge. Your own demanding job adds another layer of complexity, leaving scant pockets of time for meaningful interaction.

In this dynamic, the moments of togetherness become precious, almost elusive treasures hidden amidst the hustle and bustle of life. Video calls, once envisioned as lifelines, are reduced to fleeting encounters, struggling to capture the essence of your bond in pixels and sound waves. The warmth of his embrace, the sound of his laughter, the nuances of his expressions—these are distilled into fragmented pixels on a screen, a pale reflection of the real connection you crave.

The minimal time spent together often ended in arguments, particularly about your job. It wasn’t that you couldn’t work remotely—because you could—but rather, it was a matter of principle; sacrificing everything to please a man didn’t sit well with you. Carlos, to his credit, respected your career and never explicitly demanded such sacrifices, but the thought lingered, occasionally slipping out during heated debates. In those moments, you'd shut down, refusing to speak to him for days before mustering the strength to be civil again. You couldn’t help but wonder why he couldn’t consider giving up his job if it were so easy.

The aftermath of Carlos's slip of the tongue left a bitter taste in your mouth, a cocktail of resentment and hurt that soured the air between you. The weight of his words hung heavy in the silence that enveloped your shared space, casting a shadow over the once-intimate moments you cherished. The resentment festered, morphing into a simmering disdain that threatened to consume any remnants of affection.

Sleeping in the spare bedroom became an act of self-preservation, a physical manifestation of the emotional distance you felt compelled to maintain. Meals were solitary affairs, punctuated by the hollow echo of his absence and the gnawing ache of unresolved conflict. You sought refuge in the sanctuary of your bedroom, retreating behind closed doors as a shield against the pain that lingered in the spaces between you.

In hindsight, you couldn't help but question the pettiness of your actions. Was it fair to punish him with your silent reproach, denying him the opportunity to apologise and seek reconciliation? Perhaps not, but in the throes of hurt and indignation, rationality often takes a backseat to raw emotion. The desire for acknowledgment, for validation of your pain, outweighed any semblance of reason.

For Carlos, the silence was deafening, a constant reminder of his transgression and the widening chasm between you. He longed for the chance to express his regret, to extend an olive branch in the hopes of mending the fractured bond. Yet, each attempt was met with a wall of icy silence, leaving him stranded on the shores of remorse with no path to redemption.

In the end, both of you found yourselves trapped in a cycle of resentment and regret, each harbouring grievances left unspoken in the name of pride and stubbornness. The space between you grew wider with each passing day, a gaping void that threatened to swallow any hope of reconciliation. And as the silence stretched on, the echoes of unsaid apologies reverberated in the emptiness, a haunting reminder of the love that lay buried beneath the rubble of unresolved conflict.

Recognizing the toxicity of the situation, you came to the sobering realisation that the only path forward was to bring closure to the tumultuous chapter of your relationship. Amid the tangled web of hurt feelings and unresolved conflicts, the prospect of an amicable parting seemed like a distant beacon of hope, offering a glimmer of light in the darkness of uncertainty.

It was a decision fraught with emotion, tinged with a bittersweet mixture of sadness and relief. Ending things meant confronting the painful truth that the love you once shared had morphed into something unrecognisable, weighed down by the burden of unspoken grievances and unmet expectations. Yet, it also offered the promise of liberation, a chance to reclaim agency over your own happiness and well-being.

As you walked side by side along the familiar path to the nearby park, the weight of the impending conversation hung heavy in the air, casting a palpable tension over the otherwise serene atmosphere. The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves provided a backdrop to the silence that stretched between you, punctuated only by sporadic attempts at small talk that faltered and died as quickly as they began.

Each step felt like a journey into the unknown, a hesitant march towards a destination fraught with uncertainty and apprehension. You stole glances at Carlos, noting the furrow of his brow and the downturn of his lips, a reflection of the turmoil brewing beneath the surface.

As you walked together, the weight of the impending conversation still heavy on your mind, Carlos's sudden shift in focus caught you off guard. Following his gaze, you spotted the source of his attention—a young boy, no older than six, standing alone with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Without hesitation, Carlos reached for your hand, his grip firm and reassuring, as he guided you towards the distraught child. There was a sense of urgency in his movements, a silent determination to offer comfort and assistance to someone in need.

As you approached, the boy's cries grew louder, echoing through the quiet surroundings of the park. His eyes widened in surprise as Carlos knelt down beside him, his voice gentle and soothing as he offered words of reassurance.

“Hey there, buddy. What's wrong? Are you lost?” Carlos's voice was calm and steady, a beacon of comfort amidst the storm of the boy's emotions. The boy sniffled, wiping tears from his cheeks as he nodded hesitantly.

“I-I can't find my mom,” he whimpered, his bottom lip quivering with fear.

“It's okay, we're going to help you find her, alright? What's your name?” Carlos's expression softened, his eyes filled with empathy as he reached out to gently pat the boy's shoulder. 

The boy sniffled again, his tears beginning to abate as he whispered, “Nicolas.”

you couldn't help but instinctively pull him closer, enveloping him in a protective embrace as you offered what comfort you could. His small frame felt fragile against your side, a poignant reminder of the vulnerability of youth and the universal need for reassurance in times of distress.

Swallowing hard against the lump that threatened to rise in your throat, you fought to maintain a façade of composure, knowing that your own tears would offer little solace to the frightened child in your arms. Instead, you focused on projecting an aura of calm and reassurance, drawing strength from the warmth of Carlos's presence by your side.

Turning to him, you met his gaze, finding in his eyes a reflection of your own concern and worry. Yet, beneath the surface, there was also a shared determination—a silent pact to weather whatever storm lay ahead, together.

“We'll find his mom, Carlos,” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper as you sought to reassure both the boy and yourself. “We won't stop until we do.”

Carlos nodded, his expression a mixture of resolve and compassion as he reached out to gently squeeze your hand.

“We'll do whatever it takes,” he replied, his voice steady despite the hint of emotion that lingered in his tone.

“What does your mom look like? Can you remember what she was wearing?” you asked the young boy.

As Nicolas described his mother's appearance, you listened intently, committing every detail to memory as you scanned the park for any sign of a woman matching his description. Carlos, ever vigilant, was already casting his gaze across the sprawling expanse of greenery, searching for the telltale hint of pink amidst the sea of foliage and fellow park-goers.

Your heart raced with each passing moment, the urgency of the situation driving you forward as you navigated the maze of pathways and shaded groves. Every rustle of leaves, every flash of colour, sent a jolt of anticipation coursing through your veins, heightening your senses as you strained to catch a glimpse of Nicolas's missing mother.

Minutes stretched into eternity as you combed through the park, your determination unwavering despite the mounting sense of unease that gnawed at the edges of your consciousness.

As you lifted Nicolas into your arms, feeling the weight of his small frame against your chest, a surge of maternal instinct washed over you, driving you forward with a sense of purpose and determination. His tear-streaked face nestled against your shoulder, his sobs muffled by the fabric of your shirt, and in that moment, you knew that you would do whatever it took to offer him comfort and reassurance.

Caught up in the whirlwind of emotion, you barely noticed Carlos's approach until he was by your side, his eyes soft with concern and tenderness as he reached out to gently take Nicolas from your arms. His touch was gentle yet firm, his arms cradling the boy with a sense of ease that spoke volumes of his natural empathy and compassion.

“He's too heavy for you to keep carrying,” Carlos remarked, his voice gentle yet firm as he adjusted his grip on Nicolas, offering him a reassuring smile. “Let me take him for a while.”

Reluctantly, you relinquished your hold on Nicolas, watching with a mixture of awe and admiration as Carlos effortlessly carried the boy in his arms. The resentment and anger that had simmered between you for weeks seemed to evaporate in an instant, replaced by a profound sense of gratitude and love.

As you watched Carlos interact with Nicolas, his face alight with warmth and kindness, you couldn't help but feel a swell of pride welling up within you. Here was a man who had faced his own struggles and shortcomings, yet had risen above them with grace and compassion. In that moment, any doubts or misgivings you had harboured seemed trivial in comparison to the depth of love and admiration you felt for him.

And then, just as doubt began to creep in, a flash of pink caught your eye—a figure emerging from behind a cluster of trees, her black hair glinting in the sunlight as she approached.

“There she is!” Nicolas exclaimed, his voice tinged with relief as he pointed towards the approaching figure.

You followed his gaze, your heart soaring with gratitude and relief as you spotted the woman, her pink shirt unmistakable amidst the verdant backdrop of the park. With a sense of urgency, you guided Nicolas towards her, Carlos at your side as you closed the distance between yourselves and the reunited pair.

As Nicolas's mother enveloped him in a tight embrace, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks, you couldn't help but feel a swell of emotion welling up within you. The tension that had gripped your chest began to ebb away, replaced by a profound sense of gratitude and relief as you witnessed the joy of their reunion.

“You've been so kind,” Nicolas’s mother murmured, her voice thick with emotion. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

“Of course,” Carlos replied, his voice soft yet resolute as he met Nicolas's mother's gaze with a reassuring smile. “We're just glad we could help.”

Carlos’s eyes reflected the warmth and sincerity of her words. With a nod of acknowledgment, he tightened his arm around your shoulders, drawing you close in a gesture of solidarity and support.

Feeling his embrace, you couldn't help but return the gesture, wrapping your arms around his torso and pulling him closer with a sense of gratitude and affection. In that moment, surrounded by the quiet beauty of the park and the gentle hum of evening, you felt an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment wash over you, enveloping you in a comforting embrace.

Turning back to Carlos, you met his gaze with a soft smile, a silent acknowledgment of the strength and compassion that had drawn you to him in the first place.

“I can't be without you,” you confessed, your voice barely above a breath as you voiced the depth of your need.

As the words tumbled from your lips, carried on a whisper of vulnerability and longing, you felt the weight of their truth settle heavily in the space between you. In response, Carlos's expression softened, his eyes reflecting the sincerity of your words as he reached out to gently cup your face in his hands.

“Me either, my love,” he murmured, his voice a tender echo of your own sentiments as he leaned in to press a gentle kiss against your forehead.

The warmth of his touch sent a shiver of emotion coursing through you, reaffirming the depth of the bond that bound you together. Yet, even as you revelled in the comfort of his embrace, a nagging sense of unease lingered in the recesses of your mind—an unspoken acknowledgment of the challenges that lay ahead.

“I don't know how, but we need to fix this,” you added, your voice tinged with determination as you met Carlos's gaze with a steadfast resolve.

The words hung heavy in the air, a solemn vow to confront the obstacles that threatened to tear you apart and find a path forward, together. Carlos nodded, his grip on your body tightening ever so slightly as he met your gaze with a fierce determination of his own.

“No matter what it takes, we'll find a way to make this work,” he replied, his voice infused with unwavering conviction. 

In that moment, as you stood locked in each other's gaze, you knew that the road ahead would be fraught with challenges and uncertainty. Yet, with love as your guiding light and determination as your compass, you were ready to face whatever obstacles lay in your path, hand in hand, united in purpose and resolve.

[museandwords]

worship in decay ( bucky barnes x reader)

Warnings: female!reader, dubious consent, lots of alcohol consumption, mentions of casual sex, addiction mentions, the avoidance of genuine feelings, foul language, self-destructive behaviors, self-hatred?, self-esteem issues, parent issues, childhood trauma, bucky is no saint, but he tries to be a good boy, mentions of mental health, this will be expanded on per chapter.

Author’s note: this was affectionately nicknamed the hoe fic. i have been working on this for the better part of the past two (three?) months. im still adding, re-writing and editing a lot of the chapters. so far i have 7 chapters planned, though this may change as it's expanding by the second. weekly updates are planned, and to be perfectly honest this is just self-indulged and an ode to the sluts. please validate me, feedback is welcome. also sorry i've been gone for so long (i got married)

MINORS DNI! 18+ ONLY

PROLOGUE 

You don’t know why you do it. 

You suppose you could put the blame on your absent father, or the degradation and restrained hatred your mother held for you. You remember being that small child – begging for their love. 

Now you find it in the hands of strangers. 

Maybe you could blame it on the liquor that burns your throat and melts the ice off your bones and paints the world in some rose-coloured hue.

Or maybe (and this is the part that scares you most) you’re just truly a despicable human being, in which all of the ugly parts of your parents made you whole. 

You try not to think too much about that. So you find comfort in the warmth of bodies, the hunger in kisses, the worship of strange men that bring you closer to God than any religion could. 

At the end of the day; human beings are mammals at their core, it’s a dog eat dog world, and you’re starving.

‿︵‿︵ - - ‿︵‿︵ 

Waking up in the 21st century initially shook Bucky to his core.

American culture had fallen into a frenzy of degeneracy that could’ve made James Buchanan Barnes cry. 

But he wasn’t James Buchanan Barnes anymore, he was something else.

And he was already desensitized to the dread of the world thanks to the recollection of his own mental house of horrors.

He just couldn’t believe there were more people like him.

People who are more desperate, self-serving, and shameless, he notices. He feels right at home with them. 

That debauched urgency to chase a temporary high to replace the self-hatred even just for a little while was something he and these kinds of people shared. Addicts, the depraved, the lost, the broken. 

Let them say Bucky Barnes was their king. 

He's learned quickly that being brainwashed and kept on ice for the past 70 years really took a toll on his libido, go figure. He’s like a damn teenager full of raging hormones wanting to stick his dick in anything that moves. Now all he craves is the warmth of a human, living breathing body beneath him while their essence fills the holes in his soul. 

What surprises him more is that they let him. They let his blood stained hands all over their silken soft skin, they let his rotted essence into their core, infecting them, tainting them, over and over, and they enjoy it.

His teeth graze their neck, and they should be scared that the Winter Solider could rip their throat out in a millisecond.

Instead, they coo and sigh and hold onto him tighter. It's addictive.

He loves them, every single one, for one reason or another. 

This one makes pretty noises in his ear and smells like candy, that one has a beauty mark beneath her left eye and can make him laugh, those other ones look pretty in sundresses and make him breakfast in the morning.  They all give him something, things he never knew he needed. To be adored, taken care of, loved.

[persphonesorchid]

Cupid’s On Holiday - KSJ

Summary: You don't get it, you're a damn catch. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're smart, you're tidy, hell you'd give up your own kidney to a homeless guy if he needed it that bad. So what the issue? Failed relationships, blind date after blind date, and now your friend's competitive archery teammate is telling you he's Cupid here to help you find your one true love. You're not that desperate. He could take those golden arrows and shove 'em.

Genres: Angel!Au | Fluff, angst, smut, slight enemies to lovers, humor.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, smut (fingering, protected sex), Oc's a bit of a downer but hey! Aren't we all sometimes! If I missed anything, let me know!

Rating: Mature (Minors, please, go away.)

Word count: 17k

Masterlist

Notes: A little late, but I made it before Saturday! I really really hope you guys enjoy this!! My contribution to @raplinesmoon , @kithtaehyung and @joheunsaram 's Catch Of The Century Collab! It's been a bit of a struggle to write, so show it some love! Also, you won't understand what I mean yet, but emotions are valid and you should feel them. Thank you to THE LOMFL @xpeachesncream for beta'ing for me, Nikki I love you so so much! Thank you for being there when I screamed about this fic when lightening struck and hyping me up always. Ly babie ❤️❤️❤️

Don't forget to leave feedback guys!! I'll love to hear your thoughts ( or crazy emotional rambles) Enjoy!!

Serendipity was in full swing; music blasting so loud you can feel it in your chest. Fellow club goers crowding the dance floor in a wild flurry of limbs and ill-timed dancing. You can barely keep up with the conversation Yoongi and Jungkook are having, you’re not even sure how they’re hearing each other over the music.

Clubs typically aren’t your thing, not one for the deafening music or the people who never knew when they had too much to drink. Tonight, though, you made an exception, meeting a friend of a friend for a date you were excited to be on. You thank your lucky stars you had the foresight to grovel at Yoongi’s feet to come with you, lord knows you’d be making your grand escape through the club’s back door by now.

“I mean, it’s not that hard, right?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Dude. Grow up.”

You chuckle into your whiskey as Yoongi rolls his eyes, waving his hand to direct your attention back to him and not on the way Jungkook was snickering. The flashy strobe lights waving mindlessly in the club catch on the silver of Yoongi’s bracelet and he rights his leaning frame, propping an arm on the table between you both.

“All I’m saying is...” He thinks hard for a moment, tilting his head to squint at the ceiling. You could tell he’s gone above his limit tonight; the rosiness of his cheeks visible in the odd flashes of light. “Man up. When he gets back, tell him he’s an ass and we can go home.”

“You know she’d rather die.” Jungkook mutters, draining the end of his beer, adding the empty bottle to the rest that was steadily growing the longer you all sat there. “Too nice.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Yoongi says, brows furrowed as though he’s just heard the most distressing news in his life, “I’ll do it for you. I swear if I have to sit here and listen to that guy ramble on about himself any more I’ll actually walk out into the street and stand there.”

“I don’t find you funny.” You deadpan, kicking your foot against his shin. He only whines, reaching for your bottle of water instead of brandishing his silver tongue at you.

Yoongi takes a long drink, eyes scanning the crowd, “He’s taking a long time to get back from the bathroom.”

Jungkook lifts himself partly out of his seat – having more vantage with his height – and looks around too. “Fou-oh...”

“What?” You perk up, following Jungkook’s gaze, but you’re suddenly blocked by Yoongi, who you didn’t even see get up. He shifts every time you’d move to look around him. You open your mouth to protest, but Yoongi’s hands land firmly on your shoulders.

“How about we just go? It’s late.” The furrow of his brow and the clench of his jaw tells a lot; he’s seen something you’d be better off not seeing at all and you simply agree. You take the hand that he offers, sliding out of the booth and Jungkook follows with a frown.

When you all get outside, Yoongi throws an arm over your shoulder, and you’re grateful for his warmth as the late night air nipped at your skin. You sigh, watching mist dance on your exhale, ducking your head a little to look at your feet. It’s quiet between you three, and you realize belatedly that you should’ve asked Hoseok to come too. He’s always good at distracting you.

Of course, you should have expected it to go this way. Another failed date that’s left you feeling worse than before, you think you’d might as well give up now, resign yourself to growing old and having fifty cats to keep you company. It’s been this way for a while, your last actual relationship being exactly three years and six months ago -- not that you’re counting or anything.

You stayed out of the dating scene for a while, focusing on yourself and being happy and content with who you are first before anything. Because that’s important, you can’t love someone else without loving yourself first. It was a good run anyway, until you became lonely and Yoongi’s dry humor and good cooking no longer sustained you.

You loved him, truly, but you missed the level of intimacy he couldn’t provide you with. Even though you loved when he made a big deal about cuddling and holding your hand – and frankly would rather shoot himself in the foot than say he liked that shit. You’re honestly considering making a pact with him to get married in the next ten years or something. You feel like that’s the only way to get out of whatever curse you’re under.

You don’t know if it’s you, or what. You’ve tried meeting new people, friends of friend’s, strangers from dating apps. Your dating life is quickly going down the drain.

“Hey, get out of there.” Yoongi taps his fingers against your temple, looking a little more sober now, even though his cheeks remain pink from the cold. He frowns at you, pulling you a little bit closer to his side, “Don’t think about it, okay?”

You can’t help it though, it’ll do no good in the long run, you know that. You’ve been feeling all sorts of low, and really you shouldn’t. You don’t need someone next to you to feel complete, to make you feel like the world’s finally spinning on the right axis. You just hate that you feel like you do; everyone around you seems to be happy and with someone and you’re here feeling like the hottest dumpster fire. You want to have rose tinted glasses to wear, too.

You wanted someone to hold hands with that wasn’t Yoongi or Jungkook...or Hoseok whenever he wasn’t working at the bar and using you as his wing-woman. You wanted someone to tell you you’re pretty and not mean it in a totally-best-friend way.

You sigh, long and drawn out, shoulders sagging as you watch the pavement pass by under your feet. The cracks in the gray stone representing the cracks in your love life that’s slowly drifting away like the ashes of the universe post Infinity Snap. Oh, you wished Thanos was actually here to snap you out of existence. You can deal with floating away into nothingness than dealing with the loneliness that’s beginning to cling to the edges of your form.

“How about we stop at the convenience store?” Jungkook suggests, linking his arm with yours, he looks down at you with a soft smile you couldn’t see. “Ramen on me?”

You can’t say no when you look up and catch his smile, dimples and all, and the three of you walk a little faster.

“Damn, everything’s just going up these days.” Yoongi grumbles, reading the label of a vitamin gummy bottle with a frown. You hum, reading your own set of labels listlessly a few feet away.

You’d long lost Jungkook somewhere in the depths of the large convenience store. He’d run off to find something and it’s been five minutes of you and Yoongi walking around and complaining about prices.

Yoongi puts the vitamins back on the shelf, twisting the container until the brand label faces him. You see him glance at you in your peripheral, see him walk a little closer until he stops at your side, “Doing okay?”

You think about it for a fraction of a second and shrug, throwing Yoongi a careless ‘Ok' sign, “Yeah, A-OK.”

You really just want to go home, watch a movie and forget tonight. Maybe you can convince Yoongi to watch that movie with you, and you both can share laughs over more beers and the pistachio flavored ice-cream that Yoongi hates.

The man himself doesn’t look convinced, and it shows in the raise of his eyebrow and the way he studies you. He’s always said you’re like an open book to him and he knows how to read the lines well – as much as you hate that – you appreciate that he says nothing of it.

You know it will come up later, not now while it’s still fresh, but when you least expect it. Yoongi purses his lips at you, shaking his head before tugging you along behind him as he walks on.

“Guys!” Jungkook's call comes from behind you both, and you and Yoongi turn to his approach, and the company he had with him.

The guy trailing behind Jungkook, for the sake of your mind that grinded to a halt at the sight of him, is beautiful. You don’t think you’ve called a man beautiful before, but there’s no other word that you can use. This man with his dark hair, eyes of the deepest brown, perfect plush pink lips and the widest set of shoulders you’ve ever seen.

You stand a little stunned, just staring at him until Yoongi nudges your arm and you realize that Jungkook is speaking. You can feel Yoongi’s eyes on you, briefly, but you know he’s itching to grill you and you’ll never live it down.

“Guys, this is Seokjin.” Jungkook smiles, waving a hand at his friend, “He’s on the archery team.”

Seokjin bows his head in greeting, “Hello.”

“Jungkook talks about you a lot. It’s nice to put a face to the name.” Yoongi says as you struggle to come up with anything that won’t give away how nervous you suddenly felt.

“This is Yoongi, and Y/n.”

Yoongi nudges your side again and you smile, “Nice to meet you.”

There’s a twitch in his eyebrow as his eyes focus on yours, and for a moment it feels as though he’s looking right through you. He’s looking at you, but his eyes are so intense you feel like you’re under a microscope, or having one of those weird naked dreams and nothing to cover your shame.

It seemed like the moment stretched on for ages, and you’re stuck in a void being watched by someone you can’t see.

Seokjin's lips pull into a smile and when he blinks, you do too. There’s something strange about the air in between the space you occupied, something unfamiliar but at the same time not completely unknown. You’re not quite sure how to feel about it and you’re not sure if the shiver going down your spine was from the AC.

When he looks away from you to look at Jungkook, you lean over to take the basket from Jungkook’s lax fingers – it was filled with way more things than you’d all come in for - announcing that you’re going to check out.

You and Yoongi leave them both talking, walking back to the front of the convenience store where the cashiers were. You’re wondering about what that could’ve been, teeth picking at the skin of your bottom lip, brows furrowed in thought.

“You sure you’re good, right? You seemed a bit gone back there.” Yoongi asks, unloading the contents of Jungkook’s basket onto the counter, shaking his head as he picks up a packet of mint gum and places it with the things.. “Well, actually, you looked stupid – and I don’t mean that in the way it sounds. You just kinda...blanked. Like the second you saw him you went outta your head.”

“Huh...” You look back to where Jungkook and Seokjin are still talking, still feeling watched even though he wasn’t looking. “Kinda felt like it.”

When you finally left the convenience store, a light drizzle had started. Your apartment complex isn’t far, less than five minutes from where you are.

Seokjin had parted from your small group, getting into a fancy black car parked at the curb after bidding you all goodnight.

The walk was quiet until you’d all gotten home, with Jungkook waving a little frantically at his door a good way down the hall. Yoongi made no move to get into his apartment next to yours, watching you fumble with your keys.

“Not going in?” you mumble, looking over your shoulder to catch him waving his phone at you.

“Nah, I’m gonna meet Hobi.” He says, “Need me to stay with you?”

You shake your head. Sometimes you felt as though you treated Yoongi like your therapist, he’s always there to listen when you need to vent, always being the shoulder to cry on. Always a listening ear without complaint.

“I’m okay Yoongi. Promise.” You smile, lifting the plastic bag that Jungkook had so graciously provided you with. “I’m gonna eat my woes away.”

Yoongi sighs, “You know you can’t say you’re okay and then follow with that.”

He steps over to you and hugs you a little awkwardly, patting your back. You appreciate his effort to sacrifice his comfort, even as you laugh a bit. “Text me if you need anything and I’ll come back.”

Relaxing in his hold, you sigh, “D’You think it’s just me? I mea-”

“-No.” Yoongi cuts in, rubbing small, comforting circles against your back, “Men are dicks. It ain’t you, trust me.”

He leans away, hooking his pinkie into the handle of the bag and shakes it a bit, “Eat and get some sleep, okay? Don’t go thinking too much.”

You wait until he’s down the hall and out of your sight to head inside. Kicking your shoes off, you flick on the lights and drag your feet to your small kitchen. You dig through the bag in search of your ramen, finding the chocolate popsicles Jungkook bought you.

Maybe you should talk to Yoongi about that marriage plan of yours. Just so that you’d have something to fall back on, so that later down the road when you’re sixty you’d have grandkids running around and not a few cats instead.

There’s a loud banging on your door that jolts you out of your sleep the next morning. The blackout curtains you’d bought a couple weeks ago were working, you have no idea what time it is. You also have no idea when you’d gotten to bed either, you remember eating the ramen and one of the popsicles.

You remember hearing Yoongi come home, the opening and closing of his door and the clink of his keys against the little bowl with the cat on it that you gave him.

You don’t remember much else, you certainly don’t remember crawling into bed or changing your clothes for that matter.

You groan as the pounding continues, rattling into the empty hallways of your sleepy mind and knocking on every door. Rolling over you pull your pillow with you, covering your head and willing the noise to end. Squinting at the little blue clock on your nightstand and the numbers that squint back, you lay there wondering who’d be knocking on your door this early on a Saturday.

“Police! Open up! I’ve got a warrant.” Jungkook’s muffled, disembodied voice filters through your apartment and you sigh, kicking at your covers because you know if you don’t get up he’ll stand there and ring your phone until you pick up.

Grumbling to yourself, you drag your feet to your front door and open it. Jungkook’s standing there with one hand raised, looking ready to knock again and too bright eyed for the hour. His other hand balances a coffee holder with four cups and a large brown bag.

“Don’t you have practice to get to? It’s seven am.” you step aside to let him in, covering your yawn with a hand.

“Good morning to you, too.” Jungkook rolls his eyes, wiggling the brown bag at you – the brown bag that’s doing a great job of concealing its contents. “I brought breakfast.”

You’re moving to close the door when a hand stops the motion and Hoseok’s poking his head into your entrance hallway.

His eyes are bright, even though he’s not a morning person, and his smile is brighter when he sees you, as it always is. He pushes the door open as you step back to allow it, coming in to wrap his lanky arms around you. “Heard your night sucked ass.”

His fingers tangle in the mess that is your bed head, but he doesn’t let go of you even as he tries to free them. He rubs circles into your back, and sighs, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” You laugh into his sweatshirt, the old one he kept from college even though it’s fraying at the edges and the blue isn’t as blue anymore. The one you threw up on the night Yoongi lost you in a crowd of college freshmen and you didn’t know your ass from your elbow.

“Someone has to, you know?”

Yoongi’s the last to come through your open doorway, shutting the door behind him, looking like he’d barely slept, dark hair sticking up at odd angles.

He frowns at you both, “Guys, c’mon. You’re blocking the way.” He pushes lightly at Hoseok’s back, making him walk forward still clinging to you.

“You’re gonna make me trip!” You laugh, trying to wiggle your way out of his hold. When you’re free of Hoseok’s cuddling, you trail after Yoongi and into the kitchen where Jungkook’s pulling carefully wrapped bagels out of the bag.

“What’s the catch, Jeon?” You ask, knowing that he should be on his way to practice right now. Not that you don’t trust the guy, it’s just that normally if Jungkook has practice, you won’t see him until it’s over and he’s back in the building.

“Can’t I just be nice and bring my best friend breakfast from her favorite cafe?”

“There’s always a catch.” Yoongi says as he plops down into a chair at your small kitchen table and Jungkook makes an offended sound at the back of his throat. Yoongi shrugs, pulling a coffee free from the holder and passes it to you.

“What do you need this time?” Taking the coffee from Yoongi, you take the seat next to him and Jungkook gives you one of the bagels.

“Can you drive me to practice today?”

Hoseok ruffles your hair as he passes, leaning around Jungkook to grab a coffee and a bagel for himself while Jungkook neatly folds the brown bag. “I’d take him but I gotta be at the studio in an hour...”

You hum waving a hand, “No worries.”

It’s ten am by the time you return back to your apartment. You’d stopped at the grocery store to pick up things you needed and had no choice but to lug all the bags up at once.

You would’ve liked to make trips, which you would usually do going up and down the elevator and getting weird looks from old Mrs Bailey two floors down. The elevator was once again getting serviced and you curse the stupid machine to the high heavens.

You take one step at a time, the weight of the bags digging uncomfortably into your fingers. You’re sure they’re red by now and you groan thinking about the way they’ll cramp up when you put the bags down.

“Need help?”

You almost drop your bags, body jerking in place as you stop to look behind you.

Seokjin is standing a few steps down on the platform between the flights, and you find it just a bit strange that you hadn’t heard him; footsteps echo in the stairwell. You don’t think much of it though; Yoongi walks like a cat and you can never tell when he’s behind you either.

You look down at the bags in your hands, giving Seokjin a light smile. “Yes please.”

He jogs up the remaining stairs to meet you, and you envy the bounce of his dark hair that falls perfectly back into place. He’s dressed more casually today, with a loose white tee-shirt tucked into black jeans. He gently takes the bags from one hand and reaches for the other.

“Oh, I’ve got these.” You chuckle the sound awkward to your own ears and you want the floor to open up and swallow you. Seokjin thankfully says nothing of it, though.

“Which floor are you on?”

“The one above us.”

“Oh really?” Seokjin smiles at you and waves his free hand, “Howdy neighbor.”

You blink at him, a little confused, “Huh?”

“I moved in this morning!” He’s already walking up and you step quickly to follow. “you know the apartment just before the staircase?”

“That’s great! It’s been empty for years. Hobi thinks it’s haunted because he says he keeps hearing noises.”

Seokjin laughs at that, the sound bouncing off the walls of the stairwell. His laugh’s kind of squeaky and it makes you laugh, too.

You both share a light conversation going up the last staircase, and it isn’t as awkward as you thought it’d be. It’s certainly better than last night when you tripped over your tongue just to say hi back.

Seokjin’s presence is oddly calming. Despite being a stranger, it feels as though you’ve been friends for a while. He’s telling you about how he’s planning on decorating his apartment while walking to yours, and asking your opinion on paint colors.

“White always makes a room look bigger. Could be too plain though, if you’re not into that.” You say, fishing your keys from the pocket of your jeans. He places the bags at your feet when you asked him to, “Thank you,”

“No problem,” He gives a smile, a small one that puffs up his cheeks. “Well...I better get going...lots to do.”

“Of course! Bye then.”

“If I don’t see you around, I’ll see you square.” With a very serious expression, Seokjin shoots you some finger-guns before walking away, laughing at his own joke.

You shake your head, chuckling to yourself as you unlock your door.

You throw yourself on Yoongi’s couch, which by the way, was way bigger than yours and way more comfortable.

You groan into the throw pillow, smacking your hand against the cushions. “Yoongi. You traitor. Who’s hand am I supposed to hold now?”

“Hobi’s always available for hand holding.” Yoongi mumbles, barely paying you mind as he gets ready to go out on a date. A Date! How dare he.

“His hand doesn’t get sweaty like yours does!” You turn your head, pressing your cheek against the pillow, “This is absolute betrayal. I’ll never ever forgive you.”

“Quit being dramatic.” Yoongi sighs, fastening the clip of a silver chain around his neck. You pout at him from your spot. “It’s only the first date. If it falls through you’re welcome to hold my hand for the rest of our lives.”

Yoongi doesn’t date often, you honestly can’t remember the last time he even mentioned having one to begin with. You kinda feel bad about your whining, only because you feel bad that everyone’s suddenly finding significant others while you suffer.

“I’m joking.” You say, sitting up, “You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.” Yoongi smiles, all cute and gummy. “Now get out, I’m leaving.” He helps you up off the couch, grabbing his keys from the coffee table.

“You’re so rude!” You trail after him anyway, following him out his apartment. As he locks his door you poke his side, “What’s her name anyway?”

“Justine.” He glances at you, “Jungkook didn’t tell you? She’s on his archery team.”

“You met her through that rascal?” You scoff, crossing your arms, “You guys never tell me anything. When did you even have time to meet them?”

“Hey, I do other things when I’m not hanging out with you.” He walks you to your door, patting his pockets to make sure he has everything. “I’ll call you if I need to make a run for it.”

“Just go!” You push at his arm, waving goodbye, “Let me know how it goes!”

Yoongi’s in the elevator when he finally waves back, and you stay standing there long after the metal doors shut. Staring at your door, you sigh, you’re happy for him, really. Everyone else shouldn’t suffer with you.

“Hello.”

You startle, a frightened screech leaving you as you turn. The person behind you yells, too, backing away from you with wide eyes.

You press a hand to your chest and take a deep breath, “Dude. My heart almost fell out of my ass. Why are you sneaking up on me?”

“Why’d you scream like that? You scared me!” Seokjin presses his back against the wall behind him, a hand against his chest also.

He relaxes, hands dropping at his sides, and you do the same, laughing a bit at the situation.

“Did you need something?” You ask, watching as he steps closer.

“Actually.” He puts a finger up, “I came to make you an offer you can’t possibly refuse.”

“Huh?”

Seokjin straightens his form, smiling again, “I can help you.”

You blink, looking off to the side before your eyes settle on him again, “....help me with?”

Seokjin looks a little confused now, brows furrowing and he puts his hands behind his back and chuckles. “Your problem.”

When you stare at him blankly he sighs, “I can help you find the one you’re destined for.”

“Are you drunk?”

“What? No. I’m not drunk. I’m being serious!” He says, shaking his head, “Why do I always have to do this? I hate this part.”

He’s talking to himself now, and you’re trying to slot your key into your lock without him noticing. Maybe he is drunk, or maybe he’s one of those salespeople who try to talk you into buying shady things.

He suddenly looks at you and you freeze, giving a slow, awkward smile. “Um. Whatever it is... I’m okay. You should go lie down or something.”

“I’m not drunk.” Seokjin repeats, “Your friend went out on a date right? I saw him on the way up.”

That’s weird. Yoongi only left a few minutes ago, if Seokjin took the stairs there’s no way he would’ve seen him.

“I can help you with that. Getting a date, I mean.”

“Are you asking me out?”

“Not me, no.” He seems to think for a moment, “I’m actually the only person that can help you. I’m a Cupid. And it’s my job to steer you in the right direction so you can find that person.”

You laugh and he frowns, but what else are you supposed to do? He looks completely serious, and you wave a hand at him.

“Okay.” You say even though you don’t believe him, giving him a thumbs up, “That’s nice. I’m gonna go...and you can go lay down, okay?”

You turn quickly, opening your door and slipping inside. You leave him standing there, shutting the door behind you.

“...oh-kay...”

“I’m so tired.” You press your forehead against the cool wooden table. This isn’t really the way you’d like to spend your Monday afternoon, sitting in a café trying to finish up an article due next week.

The café you frequented is a bit crowded today, some either coming in to get their fix of hot drinks to battle the autumn chill outside, or either just taking in the scenery. There really isn’t much to take in, the cafe is a small hole in the wall on a street corner, with wet roads and people passing by outside.

There’s a park across the street that looks better in the spring, empty now that it’s getting colder and winter’s on the cusp.

You raise your head to stare at your half completed article. Cursor blinking mockingly against the white backdrop of the open word document. At least it’s due by next Friday, you have time to wallow in the writer’s block that’s been plaguing you for days now.

You stare out the window and sigh, watching the people and the cars pass by, watching the light rain that’s been doing nothing but falling all morning. You thought that getting out of your apartment would’ve been better, a change of scenery to help you finish your work. Now that you’re sitting in this crowded café, it’s difficult to concentrate, you don’t know how the college kids do it.

You’re quite bored by yourself, usually, your friend from work, Brinny would be with you. If you’re not working, you could at least pass the time with some gossip or some sort of stimulating conversation. Brinny had to be at the office today, and honestly didn’t have time to meet with you, so you’re stuck struggling alone.

“Y/n?”

You turn your head at the call of your name, the barista behind the counter is waving you over. “Your coffee’s ready.”

Getting up, you hobble over, reaching the counter to take your coffee. The barista smiles at you, closed lipped with dimples you want to sink your fingers into.

Namjoon was new, and you’re glad to see he’s getting the hang of things. You’ve seen the guy spill more coffee beans than he grinds and he’s burned himself so many times that you’ve been permanently worried.

You’ve also seen him staring, always when he thinks you’re not looking. You’ve had a few conversations with him on days when the cafe isn’t so busy, he’d always have some quote from a writer you’ve never heard of or he’d talk to you about art. He’s nice.

He’s cute. Even as he fumbles now to let you know that he put an extra shot of espresso in your coffee because you look tired.

You thank him with a sweet smile before going back to your seat, hoping to remember to leave him a tip.

You sit, squinting at the time displayed on the clock widget of your laptop screen, glancing over at Namjoon again who’s busy behind the counter. Maybe you should take matters into your own hands and just ask him out. Might lead somewhere, hell, you might even have a great time.

“I mean...”

Your head whips around to the person who’s suddenly sitting opposite you. Seokjin looks fashionable in a black coat over a white turtleneck sweater as he pulls a burgundy scarf from around his neck. He’s looking at Namjoon too, squinting at the man. “He’s nice and all but it won’t work out, trust me.”

“Are you stalking me?” You ask, still a little shocked because you didn’t see him approach, you didn’t even hear the chair move. He’s just there.

Seokjin chuckles deeply, the sound a far cry from his high laugh. He turns to look at you, “Me? No. I was just passing by and saw you. Thought I should say hi.”

“Hi. You can go now.”

“Wow.” Seokjin presses a hand to his chest, faux hurt morphing his features, “You wound me.”

“Seriously. Why are you here? Because it kinda looks like you’re stalking me.” You lean back into your chair, crossing your arms.

Seokjin tilts his head at you, expression serious as he simply stares. His eyes are intense, like the night you met him and you know that the shiver that runs through you isn’t from the cold; the café is warm.

“I’m honestly trying to help you.” He says after a while, expression unchanging.

“Right. ‘Cause you’re Cupid?”

“A Cupid. We are many.” He corrects you, putting a finger up. “Trust me, asking Namjoon out is gonna do more harm than it’s worth. Some things are just meant to happen in passing.”

You sigh harshly through your nose, closing down your laptop to stare at him without it in the way. “Listen.”

“You had a really great opportunity to say “Lend me your ear!”. I find that wording more effective in catching my attention, but I digress; speak away.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath as his laugh fills the silence between you. Funny, just Saturday morning you were thinking he was kind of cute with his stupid jokes and his finger-guns and his stupid laugh. Now he’s getting on your nerves and he’s beginning to give you the creeps with how persistent he is about this Cupid thing.

It's always the pretty ones.

“Okay, look.” You raise a hand because you can see he’s about to open his stupid mouth to say something even more stupid. He gives you his full attention, leaning in a bit like he’s waiting to hear the secret to DaVinci’s code. “Do you...perhaps have a psychiatrist I can call for you? Or a guardian?”

His expectant expression drops, he looks agitated now and you’ll take that as a small victory. “I’m not craz....” Trailing off, he slumps back into his seat, “I give up. Why do I always get stuck with the stubborn ones? I’m just trying to do my job.”

He’s talking to himself again, loud enough for you to hear him. He waves a hand at you, looking out the window petulantly, “Do as you wish. Ask him out. I’ll be swinging by to say ‘I told you so’ when it crashes and burns.”

“You know. You definitely can’t be Cupid with that attitude.”

“A Cupid. It’s not just me.” He huffs, sucking his teeth, “Why am I even still here talking to you?”

“I could ask you the same thing, really.”

Seokjin side eyes you, slowly turning his head in a way that you decided at that moment was quite unnatural. There’s something weird about the motion, he’s weird, and that’s all there is to it. He’s no Cupid, and honestly kind of curious about what made him think he was.

“Go for it then.” He waves a hand in Namjoon’s direction, “Don’t let me stop you.”

You feel petty, but you also feel the indescribable need to prove him wrong, so you get up, chair scraping against the floor. “Fine. Watch me.”

Seokjin gives you an unimpressed look, sighing as though you’re the one making his life difficult.

You march your way over to the counter, now that the rush died down, Namjoon’s just sitting idly in a corner, phone in hand. He looks up at your approach, smiling sweetly.

“Hey, need something?” He asks, getting up from the chair he occupied to meet you at the counter.

“Um..” Abort. Abort! Namjoon is looking at you patiently, waiting as you wipe your suddenly sweaty hands on your jeans. You take a breath, “Are you free on Friday?”

“Huh? Y-yeah. I could be?” He looks just as nervous as you do, another small victory; you’re not alone! “Why?”

“I was thinking that maybe we can get a drink? If you’re okay with it?”

“Oh! Yeah. I’d like that, yeah. Let me just... I’ll write my number down for you.” Smiling, he goes around to the other end of the counter, looking for a paper to write on before giving up and grabbing a napkin.

You turn, ready to rub your pettiness into Seokjin’s face but he’s gone. And so is your coffee.

“Dude I mean...are you sure?” Yoongi looks skeptical, raising a dark brow at you as he wipes down a table. He settles chairs into their rightful spots, stuffing napkins into the fancy napkin holders. “Last week you were literally ready to cry over a failed date and you asked a guy out?”

“I was not.” You say, “Water on a duck’s back my friend. This guy’s actually nice, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t go off with some other chick halfway through our date.”

“Well, I thought that you’d just give it a bit of time before going again.” He pauses to look at you, halfway across the empty bar, folding the cloth he was using. “I know you want what everyone else seems to be getting – I’ve noticed it too, lots of couples running around like it’s valentines or something. But I think you should just wait it out.”

“Yoongi.” You whine his name, laying your head against your arm. “I’m not getting any younger.”

“I know.” Yoongi smiles at the offended sound you make, “Everything happens on its own time, sweetheart. Just gotta be patient. Wait a little.”

“But what if I just wait forever?” You mumble, picking at the skin around your fingernails.

“I didn’t say it for you to get sad, you know.” Yoongi walks over to you, he smiles gently, “If you wait forever then I’ll meet you at the end. You can hold my hand while we wait together..” He offers his hand to you, wiggling his fingers.

You give a watery laugh, taking his hand with a sniffle, “That was so corny.”

“Tell anyone and I’ll kill you.”

When seven pm rolls around you’re sitting at the bar, sipping on a rum coke that Yoongi gave you to calm your nerves.

The bar’s a little quiet, but you know that it’ll get rowdier as the hours go on. Yoongi’s sitting opposite you, picking at his nails in his boredom.

“I hope tonight doesn’t get busy. Hobi couldn’t come out cause he has some dance things to finalize...”

“It’s Friday, though...” You point to the door with a tilt of your head as a group walks in. Looking fresh out of the office in their business suits and briefcases. Yoongi sighs, hopping off his stool to go greet them.

You spot Namjoon coming through the door next, pulling headphones out his ears and smiling when he sees you. He reaches you in a few long strides, sitting next to you with a soft greeting.

You catch Yoongi’s double take, and the raise of his eyebrows but think nothing of it.

In the hour that goes by, the bar picks up and Yoongi has company behind the counter. Namjoon has you giggling and blushing every time he looks at you, you’d like to think this is going well.

You do the normal routine, getting to know each other, trading jokes. He’s easy to talk to and you like that.

He and Yoongi go way back – Or so he’s told you. You didn’t know this, but when does Yoongi actually tell you anything? – and they make easy conversation while he works. You’re not getting the looks Yoongi keeps trying to send you, though. You’re usually in tune with each other’s signals, but Yoongi’s been sending up smoke all night, because what does he even mean?

“You guys need anything?” Yoongi comes over for the third time, nodding at your empty glass.

“I’m good, thanks.” You wave him away, why’d he keep interrupting?

Yoongi sighs, moving away to help Jimin bring out more glasses from the back room.

“This was nice. I don’t get out much...” Namjoon says, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “I uh...wanted to ask you something...”

“Sure, what’s up?”

Namjoon looks a little nervous, playing with his fingers. “You know, last week when you came to the cafe? It was Wednesday, I think... You came with someone... Brunette about yay high?”

You know who he’s talking about before he actually asks. You sip on your rum coke just so you’d have something to do, watching as Namjoon gives a height estimate with a hand.

“You mean Brinny? Yeah...she works with me.”

You don’t blame him, Brinny’s a darling, an absolute angel. You feel like a complete clown, though. Maybe you’re cursed, or maybe you’ve pissed off some wrathful god in your past life.

You didn’t mean to visibly deflate, really you didn’t , but honestly, you’re tired. You feel like you’re stuck in an endless loop of ‘yeah, this isn’t gonna work out.’.

Namjoon pauses, eyes widening, “Oh God. This wasn’t a date was it?”

Ah, ignorance is bliss indeed. He looks genuinely worried, a crinkle between his brows as they furrow. Eyes round and a hand reaching out hesitantly, like he’s not sure he’s allowed to touch you even if he seeks to comfort you.

“What?” You snort, smacking his arm playfully. It’s the only way you can ease out of it so you don’t burst into tears in front of him. “No way! You’re a cool guy. I can totally put in a good word for you. Brinny’s nice.”

If Namjoon isn’t convinced - and you’re pretty damn sure he isn’t – he doesn’t show it. He nods slowly, smiling a little – a lot – awkwardly at you before throwing back the whiskey in his glass.

“Hey, slow down a bit, yeah?” Yoongi covers the top of your glass with a hand, frowning at you. You stare at his hand, at the rings that glint in the soft lighting of the bar with a pout. He quickly pulls it to him when you reach for it and instead passes you a bottle of water. “Drink this, sober up.”

“D’wanna.” You slur, leaning forward to press your forehead against the cool bar top. Yoongi taps your arm, and you make a disgruntled sound at the back of your throat raising your head with some effort. You prop your chin in your palm and blink slowly at him. “I wanna not exist right now. I’m so embarrassed!”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Yoongi scoffs, twisting the cap off the bottled water, he presses it firmly to your hand. The bar eventually died down, unusual for a Friday but you’re thankful. A whole lot less people to witness your downward spiral into self pity with the help of Yoongi’s fancy drinks. “I swear I thought you knew. I was trying to tell you.”

“What am I supposed to do with your blank ass stare, Min Yoongi?”

“Just drink the water.”

Yoongi leaves you be, walking away to greet someone that waved him over. You stare at the bottle with a frown before picking it up and downing nearly half. “Cupid must be on a holiday or something.”

“I wish.” Seokjin plops himself onto the barstool next to you, and you groan, because he’s the last person you want to see. You hadn’t seen him all week since you asked Namjoon out for drinks, you were just starting to get comfortable. “I could be somewhere nice and sunny right now. Instead I’m stuck looking after you.”

“How are you literally appearing out of nowhere?” You ask, a little sober now, enough to question the way he just randomly popped in.

“I’ve been trying to tell you, but all you do is call me names and hurt my feelings.” Seokjin rolls his eyes, “Enough about me though, I want to hear about your date.” He gives a cocky smile and you really want to punch it right off his pretty face.

“There’s nothing to tell.” You grumble, and Seokjin chuckles.

“I told you so.” He says, shrugging, “You wouldn’t listen.”

“That was a coincidence.” Your throat burns.

“Or was it?” Seokjin nudges your shoulder with his, “Why are you so stubborn?”

“Why are you so annoying?” You fire back and he purses his lips, raising a perfect brow at you. “I really think you’re stalking me. How’d you know I’d be here?”

“I was just passing by.”

“Right.” You huff, rolling your eyes before leaning forward, “I’m gonna be alone forever.”

“Well, if you’d let me actually do my job you won’t have to worry about that.”

Something hot is burning behind your eyes, throat tightening. You’re once again asking if you’re doing something wrong. You don’t get it, you’re a damn catch! Anyone would be lucky to have you.

You sniffle, swirling the water around in the bottle as tears blurs your vision.

“Please don’t cry.” Seokjin says, but it’s not at all comforting. It comes out in a ‘Are you serious?’ kind of way that only makes you want to cry even more, so you hop off the stool, shooting Yoongi a text on your way out of the bar.

You’re quite aware of Seokjin trailing behind you like he’s got nowhere else to be. Your phone vibrates somewhere in the depths of your bag but you ignore it, promising that you’ll just let Yoongi know when you get home.

“Can you stop following me?” You stop, turning around to face Seokjin.

“We live in the same apartment building!” He points in the direction you’re walking, rolling his eyes, “Is it a crime to go home now?”

“Well can you at least not walk so damn close to me? You’re giving me the creeps.” Turning on your heel you continue walking, and thankfully, Seokjin doesn’t follow until you’re at least five steps ahead.

“My offer still stands, you know!” There’s no reason for him to shout, but he’s doing it anyway. “This’ll keep happening if you don’t accept it!”

You stop walking again, bowing your head to stare at the concrete below your feet. His footsteps slow and stop too, waiting.

“If...If I say yes. Would you leave me the hell alone?” You sigh, looking over your shoulder at him. He’s standing a few steps behind, hands in the pockets of his coat.

“No, but I can leave you alone for the rest of the night if you want.”

You tilt your head back, looking up at the overcast sky. Hoping for it to open up and give you the answer to all your problems. Honestly, what do you have to lose? Best that could happen is that he actually leaves you alone after this and you can go back to figuring it out on your own. Even though you’d already tried that and well...yeah.

“Fine.” You mutter softly, and Seokjin jogs over to you quicker than you can make sense of his movements. “I accept your stupid offer.”

“Finally.” Seokjin smiles, prettily, the glow of the street lamp looks like a halo above his head and for a second, you really believe that he’s an angel. He sticks out a hand, “You have to shake on it.”

“Are you serious?” You deadpan, staring at his hand as though it offended you.

“Yes.” There’s mirth in his eyes and you think he’s pulling your leg, but you shake his hand anyway. “Great! I’ll see you in the morning then.”

You look down at your hand as he walks away, grimacing, “You’re so weird.”

When you look up, Seokjin is gone and you’re standing on the sidewalk completely alone.

::

True to his word, you didn’t see Seokjin for the rest of the night. You’d gotten home, stared at his closed door for a while, having half a mind to knock and ask exactly what you’d gotten yourself into.

You thought that, yes, finally, he’ll leave you alone for good. That today when you had woken up bright and early, you’d be able to get some work done, maybe even clean up the apartment a bit.

You couldn’t be happier to work from home, even though it offers more distractions than you're able to deal with, it’s better to write from the comfort of your own home.

Though, Monday you had to be in the office to discuss some things with your team manager. You know that he’s going to ask about how your article is coming along, so you want enough of it finished by then.

You’re sipping on your coffee, content to watch the world wake up from behind your window, and there’s someone knocking at your door.

Sighing you place your cup on the coffee table, taking your sweet time to walk even as the knocks get insistent. You’re expecting Jungkook at the other side, or Yoongi coming over to give you a piece of his mind for bailing on him last night.

It’s just Seokjin, though. Standing there in black track pants and a white sweater, dark blue recurve bow in hand.

“Isn’t that dangerous to walk around with?”

“Not unless you’re my target.” Seokjin smiles, “Get ready, you’re coming with me.”

“I don’t think so, I have a lot of things to do today.”

“You really don’t.” He taps your forehead with a finger, but you’re not quite sure what he means by that. “Please hurry. I don’t want to be late.”

He races back down the hall, stopping to knock on Jungkook’s door before heading to his own apartment.

::

“Tell me again why I needed to drive you two?” You grumble, car slowing to a stop in the parking lot of Straight Arrow Archery Center. Jungkook gets out with a quick thanks, jogging through the parking lot.

“So I can start today, the quicker I get this done, the quicker I’ll be out of your hair.” Seokjin takes his time getting his things from the backseat, “C’mon.”

He waits until you're out of the car, rocking back on his heels before he marches across the parking lot. You’re following with quicker steps, trying to keep up with his longer strides.

The local archery range was owned by their coach, and they practice indoors when they’re not in the back field during the colder months. A big looming building, with large windows and chipping paint. You’ve only been inside a couple of times, once when Jungkook’s team was going against a team from the city over.

The heat’s blasting in the building, and you rub your hands together to help them warm up faster. Seokjin leads you through the front entrance of the building, where they have different types of bows mounted on the walls. There’s a board behind the counter, pinned full of photos of past teams and flyers about the center and archery safety.

The back room where the range actually is, some of the archers are taking practice shots or sitting against the back wall getting ready. You see Jungkook securing his quiver to his waist, joking with some of his teammates.

“Are you any good?” You ask Seokjin just to taunt and he purses his lips at you, leading you over to one of the many benches scattered around the range.

You sit and watch him set his bow up, attaching the stabilizers, sight and clicker to the front of the bow. He slips the chest guard over his head, sliding his arm through the loop, when he’s securing the arm guard against his forearm he finally answers you.

“I can shoot an apple off your head blindfolded.” He winks, “If you get hungry or anything, there’s a vending machine outside.” With that he jogs off at the call of the coach, the rest of the team following behind.

“Alright you guys, we all know that winter’s coming up, so we have a couple of weeks left to train up for the last competition. After that, we have some time off before the regionals in February.” The coach says, clapping her hands, “So! During these last weeks, I’ll be picking six of you for the competition!”

You watch on, genuinely interested in what’s being said. Jungkook had mentioned regionals a few times, talking about his excitement and nerves. The coach goes on a moment more about what she expects from her team and a few changes for meeting dates.

“Alright, let’s do our best today!” She says, waving them off, “Teams of three please. Seokjin, you’re up first.”

You perk up more, eyes following Seokjin’s movements as he stands behind a marker taped to the ground. He pulls an arrow from the quiver at his hip, the fletching and nock a shimmering gold that catches the overhead lights. He nocks the arrow, pulling the string back to his cheek and aims.

When he releases, you barely see the arrow cut through the air, you only hear the sharp whistle and the dull thump of it hitting the target dead center. The team claps and you’re not far enough to miss their mutterings as Seokjin walks forward to retrieve his arrow.

“He’s so cool!”

Half an hour later, you’re scrolling through your phone, finally answering the million and one texts Yoongi sent you last night.

Seokjin’s skill with the bow honestly surprised you, the way he’d nock and fire off arrows with inhuman precision was actually terrifying. It almost had you believing his little tirade, just almost, you’d yet to be convinced by his claims of being Cupid.

Part of you does believe him, though, as much as you’d hate to even think it. There’s just something strange about him. The way he’d seemingly appear from nowhere, disappear without a sound and – you truly believe that it was a coincidence – the way he knew that pursuing Namjoon would not be in your favor. There��s honesty in his eyes when he speaks of it, either you’re easy to be swayed or he honest to God believes he’s Cupid.

A Cupid, your mind berates and you scowl, shaking your head.

“I didn’t think you’d stick around.” Jungkook sits on the bench next to you, digging around his duffle bag, “I can take the bus back you know?”

“I know, I’m actually waiting for Mr Sharpshooter over there.” You wave your hand in a vague direction, not too certain where Seokjin was standing.

Jungkook nudges your shoulder, “I see how it is.” He wiggles his eyebrows, “I’m definitely taking the bus home.”

“Now why would you say that?” You raise a brow, pocketing your phone, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that.”

“Sure it isn’t.” He over exaggeratedly winks, quieting to unwrap a sandwich and take a bite. “He’s pretty cool, though. I approve. He’ll have a hard time with Yoongi though...” He says through his mouthful, brows creased - a little angrily - as he chews.

“There’s nothing to approve!” You push his shoulder while he laughs, almost choking on his sandwich. “Kook. Can I ask you something?”

“Hm, yeah. What’s it?”

“Have you actually ever spoken about Seokjin before?” You think about how strange it is, Yoongi mentioned that Jungkook’s spoken of Seokjin before. Now that you’ve asked the question, you realise that you’ve never once heard of him. Most of the time if you’re not by yourself, you’re with the guys, and they aren’t usually by themselves either. Though, it could be nothing, could have been a conversation you weren’t privy to, just something you missed.

Jungkook rarely talks about his practices, unless something big happens, like the regionals announcement or when he wouldn’t let you, Yoongi or Hoseok forget that he fired the winning arrow during the summer semi’s even though you were all there to witness it. Seokjin’s never once come up, you don’t think.

You don’t remember seeing Seokjin in the times you’ve visited the Range or at any of the competitions, though, he seems to be well acquainted with everyone, and no one thinks it’s strange.

Jungkook stops mid bite, brows furrowing out of confusion now – and not because he really likes his sandwich – he nods, slowly.

“Yeah? I think so...” He doesn’t sound as though he believes his own words, “Yup, yeah. Definitely did.” He nods more surely, “....I think?”

“Are you sure? Because...”

“Bad mouthing me? I’ve only been gone thirty minutes, that’s rude.”

You look up to find Seokjin watching you with a raised brow. He unclips the belt at his waist to remove the quiver before he sits down, squinting at you. “What?”

“Nothing...it’s nothing...” You quickly look back to your phone, replying to Yoongi’s recent text.

“I’m gonna get something to drink from the vending machine, want anything?” Jungkook asks, shoving the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and dusting his hands, you shake your head and he shrugs, “I’ll bring you back whatever, then.”

With that he leaves, lengthy hair bouncing with his steps as he makes his way out. You could feel Seokjin’s eyes on you and you slowly turn your head to face him, he’s indeed staring at you, in a way that makes you want to squirm and be as far away from him as possible.

“You have questions.” It’s a statement, because he knows.

“A few.” You nod, studying his features. He looks absolutely normal, nothing awry about him in visage. Leaning closer to him you ask softly for the sake of not being overheard. “Are you really a Cupid?”

Seokjin raises an eyebrow, watching you with thinly veiled suspicion, “What brought this on?”

“I’m just really curious.”

Seokjin hums, “I already told you, I am. I was extremely clear. Why? Change of heart? Or are you just trying to appease me by going along with it?”

There’s a hint of bite in his words, and you suddenly remember him saying that he gives up in the cafe, and realize, if he is indeed what he claims, you’re truly making his job harder. He’s like a venomous snake, poised and ready to strike if you misstep.

For a moment, you think it’s best to never get on his bad side if the slight irritation that darkens his eyes makes you feel cornered.

“I was just wondering.” You say, “It’s just strange how you just suddenly- I don’t think Jungkook knows you as well as he thinks. Yoongi definitely doesn’t know you either.”

“Ah.” He sighs, tilting his head curiously, “What I think is strange is that you noticed that.”

“You know... you’re kind of creepy. I think, sometimes it feels as though you’re normal but then it feels odd, like you’re an anomaly.”

“I’ll try not to be. But that’s just your senses telling you what you don’t want to believe.” Seokjin raises a hand to tap your forehead lightly with a finger.

You frown, “I’m not spiritual.”

“You don’t have to be.” He shrugs, “In terms for you to understand, I walk on a higher frequency than you do. Our energies are completely different, and it doesn’t matter if you are consciously aware of it or not, you’re going to realize that.”

“Okay.” You nod, trying to absorb the words that tumbled out of his mouth even though he basically dumbed it down for you. You’re still not certain if you believe what he says or if your mind is protecting you so that you just take it and run. “Why are you helping me?”

It feels silly to ask, but you’d like to think you’re not so deep and lost within the fog of your non-existent love life that a Cupid would take pity on you enough to step in.

“I hate seeing people struggle. It’s just so sad. You humans are like lambs without a shepherd; wandering aimlessly.” He sighs as though he’s in pain, before a smile breaks and his squeaky laugh follows, “I’m joking...partly.”

You roll your eyes, “No really, I want to know.”

“I don’t think you do.” Seokjin shakes his head, mirth lights his eyes still. Though you just stare at him, waiting, and he sighs, “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I suppose I already crossed a million lines telling you I’m a Cupid.”

He taps a finger against his chin, “I’m trying to get a promotion, it’s extremely important that we get this settled.”

“...what?” You frown, narrowing your eyes at him, “Are you joking?”

“I do find myself hilarious, but no.”

“I thought angels wouldn’t lie.”

Seokjin gasps as though you’d offended him, and judging by the look on his face you probably had. “When have I ever lied to you?”

“Just then. I’m supposed to believe that angels have what? A corporate system?”

“First of all, I do not lie. I just omit small things.” He pokes a finger at you and you swat at it. You want to tell him that telling a half lie is just lying while trying to seem truthful. “Secondly, yes. But I can’t tell you anything more on that, so don’t ask.”

You grumble to yourself, leaning back and away in time to spot Jungkook coming back with more than just drinks.

“He’s quite impulsive.” Seokjin chuckles, and you can only agree.

“Where are we going?” You trail behind Seokjin, down a busy street. Once again, struggling to keep up with his long legs.

“I’ve got a few potential candidates for you, all of which can work out though it mostly depends on your choices.” Seokjin slows down for your sake, “I’m not allowed to outright tell you who’s right for you, I can tell you who’s the wrong choice however.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier if you told me?”

“It would, but it’s against the rules and frankly takes the fun out of everything.”

“You want to see me suffer?” You cross your arms, and Seokjin chuckles, shaking his head as he turns to face you. He plants his hands on your shoulders, hands drifting down to unfold your arms.

“I think you’ve suffered enough. All work and no pl-“ Seokjin pauses, looking past you. The change in his easy going expression is startling, the humor dimming to be replaced by anger, jaw tensing.

You take a half step away from him, wondering what could bring about his change of mood so swiftly. Curious, you turn to look.

A couple stopped just a few steps from you both, they're both dressed warmly to combat the weather. The guy seems a little shocked, enough that the girl you assume is his girlfriend asks him if he’s okay.

He offers her a smile, one that seemed a little nervous to you. He eyes you for a moment, with the same intensity that Seokjin sometimes does, before his eyes settle on the man next to you.

“Hyunjin.” Seokjin says, eyes flaring with something indiscernible. His voice is clipped, stare harsh as he takes a single step forward.

“Seokjin.” The man replies curtly, pulling his girlfriend slightly behind him, “How about we talk about this elsewhere?”

He motions a hand to the people passing by who was paying no mind to either of you. Seokjin turns on his heel, walking briskly and you stumble to follow.

Seokjin is unusually quiet as he leads you through the streets, and you wonder just who Hyunjin is to him for him to react this way.

You pass by familiar places, the café where Namjoon works, and across the street to the park that was suspiciously empty.

You’re afraid to ask Seokjin what the matter was, mindful of the way you can feel the anger radiating off of him. So you keep quiet, stopping when he does, and sitting on the park bench when he tells you to.

He keeps walking, stopping a good distance away, waiting.

Hyunjin sighs, placing a gloved hand against his girlfriend’s cheek. “I won’t be long, okay?”

She nods and he leaves, walking towards Seokjin. As she sits next to you, you offer her a smile, “Sorry, I hope we aren’t interrupting you two.”

“It’s okay.” She says, pushing her glasses back up her nose with a hand. She glances over to where Seokjin and Hyunjin are talking briefly. “Is he your friend?”

You snort, friend is one hell of a reach, “Fortunately not.”

“I’m Nikki.” She offers a hand that you shake.

“Y/n.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Seokjin’s voice raises and both you and Nikki turn toward them, “You can fall for this. She’s human, Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin walks away, leaving Seokjin to gawk in disbelief. They both look angry enough to ignite the air around them, and Hyunjin ignores the call of his name, eyes softening when he lays them on Nikki. She stands at his approach, taking the hand that he offers. He gives you a long look, “I’d let him cool off first.”

You can only nod, voicing a soft goodbye as they leave.Turning your head you watch Seokjin who was too busy staring daggers into Hyunjin’s retreating form.

You give him a moment, waiting until Hyunjin and Nikki are across the street, until they merge into the crowd. You sit quietly, toeing the stone path beneath your shoe, kicking at a pebble and watching it roll its way away from you.

Eventually, Seokjin makes his way back, sitting next to you with a long drawn out sigh. “I have a headache.”

“You get those?” genuinely curious, you ask, but the withering glare Seokjin sends your way makes you snap your mouth shut. “Who is he?”

Seokjin sighs, running a hand through his hair in a way that’s deceptively human. You’re once again jealous of the way the strands fall back into place like they weren’t disturbed, making a note to ask him what shampoo he uses.

“Hyunjin is...” he shakes his head, jaw clenching, “We’ve been searching for him for a year. A guardian angel. That girl is his charge and up until now they’ve both been missing.

He said that he won’t leave her. That he would rather fall because he loves her. Ridiculous. It’s wrong, there’s only one way that could end and it’s not going to be nice. His duty isn't to love her that way.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it...” You mutter quietly.

“Of course you wouldn’t. You don’t understand, there’s no way that you can begin to. He’s putting her and himself in danger.”

He quiets and you do too, the air is still charged and Seokjin goes off muttering to himself. You glance at him and you can see that he’s thinking, fingers pressed against his lips as he stares at nothing in particular. It isn’t your business, but you ask anyway, “Are you gonna tell them that you found him?”

“I should.” Seokjin replies after a moment more of silence, “For now, though, I’ll turn a blind eye. I have more important things to do.”

“Right, yeah.” You nod, eyeing him carefully, “What were you saying earlier? Candidates?”

You’re not quite sure how people find watching sports exhilarating. Though, you’re here for Jungkook – and Seokjin - sitting on a bench between Yoongi and Hoseok, cheering as loudly as you can.

Its the last competition before the break, and if the Athens shoot the winning arrow, they’ll be at regionals next year.

You’d wished him and Seokjin luck before they’d left this morning, knowing well the latter didn’t need it at all. You know Jungkook was nervous, you can see him bouncing his leg even from where you are.

“Any bets?” Yoongi nudges your arm with his, passing you a soda, “I hope Jungkook doesn’t drop his bow or anything...”

“Nah, he’ll be fine. Seokjin’s on his team, there’s no way they’d lose.”

“You’ve been hanging out with him a lot.” Hoseok comments, and you spot him dipping his fingers into the pocket of his sweater only to come out with a gummy worm.

You wiggle your fingers at him, he side eyes you but gives you some anyway. “He’s cool.” You shrug, ignoring the soft snort that leaves Yoongi.

“Right.” There’s a knowing look that Yoongi sends you, one that you also ignore.

The teams take turns, women from opposite sides going first, and then the men, all scoring fairly well for their teams. It’s a moment again before the last shooters are ready, and they can either make or break the win.

Five minutes and a couple more gummy worms after, Seokjin is finally stepping up to his marker. If he scores a full ten, the Athens would take the win.

He nocks his arrow the way you’ve seen him done before, and the crowd quiets, waiting with baited breath. He takes aim and your squeezing Hoseok’s hand, he releases the arrow. There’s the sharp whistle, louder that the stands are still, and the sound of it hitting the target.

The folks that came all the way from your city to watch cheers the loudest as Seokjin and his team celebrates the win.

You’re all gathered in your apartment after the match. Though, Everyone had decided that celebrations would wait until the morning, desperate to get home and out of the cold of the winter air and into the warm houses. You just wished someone could convince the archers in your friend group.

Seokjin had insisted on doing something, claiming to be busy the next day. He’d drag you all off to the market, rushing you around to pick stuff from a crumpled list he pulled from the bottom of his duffle bag.

“Hey,” Seokjin says greets softly, passing you an opened beer with a soft smile.

“Thanks” You smile back, because he’ll just nag your ear off until he gets you to smile. Seokjin’s been in the kitchen since you all came back, shooing both you and Yoongi attempting to help, claiming culinary genius.

Your apartment does smell aromatic; filled with a blend of different spices. You know whatever Seokjin’s making is gonna knock your socks off. “You better wow me with your cooking. After you chased me out of my own kitchen.” You tease, and Seokjin chortles.

“Trust me, my cooking is unmatched.” He says confidently, chest puffing up.

You hum around the mouth of your beer, “Uh huh. You’ll have to prove that. No one’s better than Yoongi.”

Seokjin side eyes you playfully, poking at your stomach with a finger that you grab onto, “Yeah, Yeah.”

He quiets, wiggling his finger in your grip, “I wanted to do something nice.”

You make a confused sound in the back of your throat, because what more could he possibly want to do? He’s already helping you find the person you’re meant to be with, and on top of that, have the patience of Mother Theresa and you remain stubborn to a fault. Though, you suppose, he has his nature and you do too.

Hoseok and Jungkook are watching some age old holiday film, not paying mind to either you or Jin. Yoongi had long said he’d be back, though it’s been a half hour with no sign of your grumpy best friend.

“Wanna help me in there?” Seokjin points his thumb over his shoulder, and you raise a brow, “You can help me cut some stuff; I’ve only got two hands.”

“You sure you actually need my help?”

“She’s a disaster in the kitchen.” Yoongi suddenly appears behind Seokjin, a bottle of whisky in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. “I’ll help.”

You make an offended sound, “I’ll have you know that I am great at cutting stuff!”

Yoongi only hums, slinking off like a bored feline into the kitchen. Seokjin pats your head, “You know how to hold a knife, right?”

“Why are you cutting it like that?”

You look down at the cutting bored through the tears stinging your eyes, and you sniffle, “I could barely fucking see. I hate cutting onions.”

Yoongi shoos you away, taking the knife gently from your hold, “Go wash your eyes.”

You shuffle, partly blinded by the sting and tears in your eyes to the sink, arms stretched out before you as your only guide. A warm hand grasps your wrist, leading you forward, “I thought you said you were good at it.”

Seokjin’s voice holds amusement, and you don’t have to see him to know he’s getting a kick out of the situation. You want to tell him that your skill with cutting vegetables and the onion’s rhine burning your eyes has absolutely nothing to do with each other, but you’re too busy trying to find the tap with your hands.

He turns the tap on for you as you lean down towards the flow, and you feel his hands pulling your hair back and out of the way. Sweet relief comes with the cool stream of water rinsing the sting from your eyes, though they’re still irritated enough for you to dig the heels of your palms into them when you straighten. “Onions are evil.”

“Are they?” Seokjin gently pulls your hands away from your face, “Don’t rub them.”

“Tell that the itch driving me up a wall.” You’re a little surprised at how close he is, barely an inch away from you. The rhythmic sound of Yoongi cutting vegetables fades to background noise that you can barely focus on, distracted by Seokjin’s brown eyes peering into yours and the gentle way he swipes his thumbs under your lower lids.

“They’re all red now.” He says softly, and he seems distracted too, eyes filtering away from yours and somewhere lower.

“You guys want me to leave?” Yoongi drawls, effectively breaking the moment, “I can do that you know. Just walk right outta here.” He’s pointing the knife over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, though there’s humour in his eyes.

You pull away from Seokjin’s hands, clearing your throat, “Can I finish cutting the onions now?”

“No, but you can start on the bell peppers for me.” Seokjin hands you a small glass bowl with yellow and red peppers, and you do your best to ignore his fingers brushing yours.

When dinner was ready, the four of you gather at the table, trading laughs and stories and you feel content in this moment. Watching your boys be happy, and Jungkook laughing so hard he chokes only to be scolded by Yoongi. Seokjin next to you, close enough that you can feel the warmth of him.

You wonder how it’ll be once his job’s done and he leaves, would you miss him? He’s still as weird as you thought he was that time you met him in your hallway. You’ll miss his laugh, and the way he can comfort you without trying, you’ll miss him doing his best to make you happy even when he doesn’t have to.

The way he pulled you close when one of your first dates went wrong even with his meddling.

You’ll miss him.

Seokjin’s grown quite fond of you, he thinks, a dangerous thing, he believes. Over the weeks that passed, he’s successfully done his job; setting you on the right track to find your person.

The first couple of dates, Seokjin seeked out people you were familiar with, rather than strangers.

He’d stay close by at all times, observing from a distance. On the days when you’d rather not do anything, Seokjin would meet in your apartment. He’d never tell you that the thing’s you’d have him get up to weren’t what he’d consider fun. He’d go anyway, content to watch you instead of whatever movie you’d convinced him to watch with you.

That’s when he realized it.

Funny, really.

Seokjin has seen love before, as it is, his duty was to bring those who are fated together by a series of coincidences. A meet-cute here, a spilled coffee there, even going as far as to reunite friends who've grown up and apart from each other. He’s seen how love can make people bloom like flowers in the spring, and change like seasons together.

He’s seen love make people go distances they’d have never dared to otherwise. He’s seen it in simple words and touches, grand and minute gestures.

So, Seokjin knows what love is when he feels it. It’s that feeling he gets in his chest when you smile, poking fun at him because there’s always something that’s so distinctively human he would never understand. Strange now that it makes him happy, you’re at a point where you no longer deny him being your friend when other people ask, when you take his teasing in stride like friends do.

You’re happier now, despite the trial and error and the hoops you have to jump through to get where you want to be.

It’s the way your hand felt in his when you held it for the first time. It was after one of your many dates, a Saturday evening when the sun was already dragging the moon into the sky.

First snow, and you’d both sat on swings in an empty park far away from where you’d normally venture. Crystalline flakes fluttered into your hair and melted on your clothes. He’d given you his scarf before you could start to shiver.

He’d been content to watch you then, boots kicking at the snow that was piling up quickly.

Watching the way you found joy in a snowflake landing on your nose, and the way you’d try to catch them with your tongue. On the way out of the park, you held his hand because there was ice on the ground and you didn’t want to slip.

Even through the layer of your gloves Seokjin felt the warmth of your skin. He’s way beyond being flustered by such a thing, but heat climbed his neck and flushed his cheeks and he blamed it on the cold.

Seokjin felt something curl around his heart tightly, and he couldn’t ignore it anymore. He understands Hyunjin now, he thinks, his words play on his mind more frequently these days. Unlike Hyunjin, though, Seokjin is too rooted to his place.

The dangers that would come from you and him being anything more than what you are now are too great for Seokjin to risk it. He knows well what would come of it, and it’s nothing good. You would have to spend the rest of your life hiding from the seeing eyes of others, and the forces that will undoubtedly tear you apart.

Seokjin doesn’t want that for you. You will be more unhappy than you’ve ever been. Forced to remain in shadows even when Seokjin represents a light greater than man could ever create. It would be selfish of him to want it, to go through with it as though he’s not making you suffer.

There’s a lump in his throat as he swallows, as he looks at you now, sitting next to him, with not a care in the world.

You glow brightly, like a star, burning hot in the far distance. Far, far off. And just like a star, you’re something he could never reach, even with all his prowess; you aren’t his to hold.

Though he wants to, and it hurts that he can’t.

“Jin.” You call his name softly, and Seokjin realizes that he’s failed. It’s the first time he’s ever felt so defeated.

He’s seen you, too. The way you’d try to pretend that his feelings aren’t yours as well. He knows. He’s seen love enough to know.

The way you’d flush at your friends’ teasing, but would not deny it. The way you’d watch him as though you’ve found something that you’ve been searching for.

“Are you okay?” Your concerned tone made him realize that he’s turned to look at you, but he’s not said anything. He nods, a little unsurely and you have a right to not look convinced.

You’re different now than you were when Seokjin met you. When he’d planted himself into the memory of your friends for the sake of his task. Truly, he wasn’t supposed to, he was supposed to do his job from a distance, never to interfere. He’s watched you go on date after date and all his arrows would fall short of their target.

So, he did the most sensible thing and got directly involved. He was supposed to be finished already, it was supposed to be quick. He’s lingered too long, and now he's sunk so deeply into clear waters that it's turned to mud. He’s unwilling to lead you to the one you’re destined for – even though he knows who it is – and he’s unwilling to let himself be the one to love you instead.

His duty isn’t to love you, he knows this.

“I’m okay.” Angels aren’t supposed to lie, but he did, and he has been for a while. Trying to convince himself that he wasn’t falling in love with you.

“You’re lying.” You say, knowingly. How far have you come to be able to read him like this?

“I’ve never once lied to you.” Seokjin says, and it’s without his usual mirth. You give him a questioning look and not much else, nodding your head slowly.

“If you say so...”

Seokjin simmers in his thoughts for a while, glancing at you when you laugh at something silly.

“Y/n,” He calls softly, and you hum, turning to face him. Seokjin takes a breath, “I have to leave.”

“Right now? The movie isn’t even finished yet.”

“I know...” Seokjin sighs, running a hand through his hair. He stares at the TV screen, not really paying attention, watching a young girl ride a dragon to a far away place. He never understood your reason for having a TV in your bedroom, but it’s quite convenient for comfort.

He could just leave quietly, slip out of your apartment and out of your life without a word. It doesn’t feel right to do so without telling you, though.

“I won’t be back.” Seokjin waits for his words to settle, as the movie fades to background noise and he watches as realization dawns on you.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” You ask, voice pitching at the end, you stand and he does too, “But you haven’t – You can’t leave.”

“I have to.” He places his hands on your shoulders, trying to calm the storm before it blows in. It’s not helping, he knows, as you take a step back.

“Tell me why.” You demand, and Seokjin sees the tears in your eyes before they fall. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no. You didn’t do anything. It’s me.” Seokjin sighs, “This...this was a mistake. I never should have gotten involved.”

You call his name then, with so much pain that Seokjin feels his heart shatter in his chest. He hates it. He hates that even doing this, he still manages to make you unhappy, he’s the cause of your uneven breaths and the tears that race their way down your cheeks and he hates it.

“I’ll make sure you find them. I promise.”

“But I don’t want that! I love you. You can’t just leave.”

Seokjin lets his hands fall to his sides, staring at a spot somewhere above your head to avoid looking you in the eye. He knows what you want, of course he does, because he wants it to. You've gone and said it and that only makes things harder.

“Y/n.” He says your name firmly, and you snap your mouth shut, shoulders shaking still as you try to put an end to your tears. He takes a step closer, raising a hand to cup your cheek, “We can never be. It’s not meant to be this way.”

“Please don’t go.” You whisper, fingers curling around his wrist. “Please stay.”

His resolve is breaking. The longer he stays the harder it’ll be to walk away. Sighing he wraps his arms around you, holding you as you shatter.

Seokjin presses a kiss to your forehead and your eyes in turn, chasing away the remainder of your tears. There’s sadness still in your eyes when you open them, he tilts your head back to capture your lips softly with his.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He says, wiping away tears that still fall.

“Do you promise?”

Instead of answering, Seokjin kisses you again, hands slipping under the warmth of your sweater to meet your soft skin. He feels the shiver that runs through you, and he wonders if his hands are cold. You call his name softly and he gently quiets you, tugging lightly at the hem of your sweater, “Can I take this off?”

You nod and Seokjin helps you wiggle your way out of it. He doesn’t think of the consequences – he doesn’t want to, so he allows his mind to blank. He’ll give in only this once, he’ll give himself to you for the first and last time, no matter how selfish it seems.

He kisses you slowly, making a map of the marks he leaves against your skin. He wants to tell you everything, he wants to take every step with you, meet you somewhere along a coast where nothing matters. But here, he’ll steal this moment and keep it with him forever, until the pain of it fades and he could look back on it fondly.

He quiets the small sounds you make with his mouth, hands bringing your legs up to wrap around his waist. You fit perfectly below him, like a puzzle piece of a puzzle he’s been trying to find.

He props himself up on his hands, gazing at you, “You’re so beautiful.” He leans down, brushing his nose against you, lips finding yours again.

There’s a storm raging outside, wind sending snow pattering softly against your window. Seokjin tries not to let his mind wander, not when you're beneath him and so warm. Your skin is warm, your scent invades his senses and you’re the only thing he could see and Seokjin feels like crying. There’s something in the back of his mind that’s screaming at him, jarring and loud, that he should savor this moment because he’ll never have it again.

He pulls away from you, hooking his fingers into the waistband of your leggings, “I’m taking these off, okay?”

Your knee nudges his side, “You first. You’re still dressed.”

Seokjin chuckles, quickly pulling his sweater and the tee-shirt he wears over his head, “Now we’re even.”

He stands to step out of his sweatpants, allowing you a moment to strip the rest of your clothes on your own. He settles next to you, fingers tracing patterns against the soft skin of your inner thighs, touching lightly just to watch your eyes flutter shut and your nipples stiffen into peaks when he blows air over them. He marks you with his teeth and his tongue, taking a nipple into his mouth, hand stilling when you raise your hips to meet it.

“Impatient little thing.” He mutters, but cuts your pleading whine short, fingers finding where he knows you want him most, groaning at the wetness he finds. He rubs slow circles against your clit and catches your moans with his lips. When he’s teased you enough, when your desperate moans of his name is enough to make him rut his growing erection against your hip, he sinks his fingers into your heat, thumb never leaving your clit.

He curls his fingers against a spot that makes you cry out, your arousal drips into his palm, and he sucks bruises into the skin of your neck. Seokjin’s hips jerk forward when your fingers curl around his cock, squeezing around the base, “Fuck.”

Your other hand stills his and he pulls away to look at you, pupils blown and eyes heavily lidded, chest rising and falling with your breaths. “Can we just...”

“It’s been a while for you, right?” Seokjin asks softly, slowly resuming the thrust of his fingers, at your nod there’s a smirk on his exhale, “It’ll hurt if I don’t. Gotta stretch you out first.”

He can feel the way your walls tighten and flutter around his fingers, feel the way shudder, moans rising his pitch. “Jin- fuck, I’m so close.”

“Already?” Jin tilts his head, tone teasing. He kisses you, tongue sliding against your own, “Let go for me, baby.”

Your gasp is followed by a drawn out moan, curses and unintelligible words on the end of it. Seokjin watches you tip over the edge, unable to help the motion of his hips thrusting his cock into the loose grip your hand had around it. Removing his fingers from your heat, he lets you catch your breath, pressing a kiss to your temple, “You did so well baby, so good for me.”

Seokjin pulls away, placing a fleeting kiss on your shoulder, “Do you have condoms?” He asks, rubbing a hand on your trembling thigh. He would’ve thought you’d passed out if it wasn’t for the limp way you motion to the bedside table.

You peek an eye at him, “I’m clean if that’s what you’re worried about.” You murmur, and Seokjin smiles, shaking his head.

“That’s good to know sweet girl, but it’s not that. You don’t want what I can give you, trust me.” Seokjin turns to rummage through your things, finding the box tucked into a corner, “It’ll be hell if something unexpected happens. We’ll have a very big problem on our hands.”

“Oh, you mean...”

“Yes. It’s best if we avoid that.” He tears the glossy wrapper with his teeth, moving back to you, he kneels between your open legs. He slides the condom on and you prop up on your elbows to watch, when Seokjin’s eyes flicker up, he could see the hint of worry in yours. He raises a hand to brush your cheek with his fingers, “I’ll go slowly.”

He’s mindful of his size and how long it’s been for you as you settle again, one hand gently gripping your hip, he keeps his eyes on you, watching your every expression. He drags his cock against your sopping cunt, hand holding steady, he leans down to slot his lips to yours, “Ready?” He whispers, waiting until you nod.

A groan leaves him as he enters you, and your fingernails scratches red into his shoulders. He buries his face against your neck, teeth nipping at the skin he could reach, giving slow shallow thrusts until he bottoms out. You’re so warm and tight around him, he takes the calls of his name as prayer, you cling to him as though he’d disappear, and Seokjin thinks that some part of you knows.

Nothing you can say or do will make him change his mind, but he’ll allow you this moment. This moment where it’s just you and him and nothing else, where he can easily show you how he feels without promising anything more.

He thrusts slowly, wanting the moment to last for as long as it can, knowing that he will go on and remember this, and you, when the morning comes you would never know that you’ve loved and been loved.

This way, it’s better, it’ll be easier knowing that one day you’ll find what you need in someone else that isn’t him, without ever knowing what you mean to him at all. Things will return to the way it was meant to be, with him watching from a distance, guiding you in the way he was supposed to from the start.

Seokjin wills the tears behind his eyes to go away, and tells his mind to shut up.

Your name is a sigh on his lips, a prayer that when the time comes he could walk away. Your hips rise to meet his thrusts, and Seokjin loses his fingers in your hair, holding you closer because it’s all he could do as you grow ever tighter around him. He chases his end as you find yours, lips crashing against yours sloppily when he stills, release spilling into the condom.

“Are you okay?” Seokjin asks after a moment, when the room doesn’t feel like a sauna, and he’s finished cleaning you and himself up. Brushing back your hair that hides your eyes from his view, you kiss his palm and Seokjin tries not to let his sadness show in his smile.

“I’m okay. Can we take a shower? I feel gross.” You laugh, already getting up to walk to your closet, you throw a towel at him and he catches it.

“That’s rude, we don’t throw things.” Seokjin trails after you, taking your hand in his because he needs to be grounded right now and not think about what he has to do.

When you stir the next morning, the other side of the bed is cold, but Seokjin’s sitting at your side, brushing your hair away from your eyes.

“You’re still here?” You murmur, smiling sleepily. You open your eyes a bit to see him fully dressed in last night’s clothes.

“I’m here.” Seokjin smiles sadly, massaging your scalp with his fingers, “I have to go.”

You pull away from him to sit up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes with a hand, “Are you coming back?”

He watches you quietly for a moment before he shakes his head, “I can’t.” He takes your hand and squeezes gently, “This...we can’t.” He sighs, frustrated, knowing what he has to say, what he needs to do.

Seokjin has spent thousands of years watching the rise and fall of mankind over and over, doing his duty as a Cupid to bring those who are fated together. He’s seen heartbreak, he’s seen how it shatters a person’s very being, now he knows what it feels like as he watches tears gather in your eyes because you know, too.

“Don’t go. Please. We can make this work, Jin. Please.” His throat feels tight, something is squeezing his chest and he hates it. He hates that you’re crying because of him, because he’s breaking your heart. “Please stay.”

“I can’t.” Seokjin whispers this, pulling you closer when you reach for him, the sound of your sobs etches into his core and they cut deep. He’s held you, a star, and you’ve burnt him now. Stars burn the brightest as they die, giving their all in the last moment of their lives, and like a star he watches as you implode.

Sometimes though, stars don’t always turn into black holes when they die, sometimes they scatter into matter and burn dimly forever. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Why? Why’d you let me fall for you?” You hiccup, pushing at his chest and Seokjin lets you, letting his hands drop at his side. “You knew that this was going to happen and you let it happen!”

Your tears are angry now, but still so sad, and you slap weakly at his arms. “Why?”

“I’m sorry.” He cups your cheeks with his hands, thumbs catching your tears. He wished it wasn’t this way, he wished that things were different, that maybe, you could’ve met him under different circumstances. That he wasn’t him, but you were still you. He wasn’t expecting it, like most things, it simply happened.

He kisses you while you cry, your fingers curl tightly into the material of his sweater, “I’m sorry. You have to forget me.”

You pull away from him completely, tears flowing faster now, “No.”

“Y/n.” He sighs.

“You can’t do that. What gives you the right?” You escape his reach, moving to the other side of the bed where you get off, turning to face him, “You can leave. You can go and pretend that this never happened. You can’t make me forget, I don’t want to forget you.”

Sighing Seokjin gets up too, walking around the bed to you. You step backwards until you have nowhere to go, back against the wall. “I have to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“So stubborn.” Seokjin clenches his jaw, his head hurts and he wants this to be over. The longer he stands here having this conversation, the harder it will be to follow through. He walks until he’s in your space, hand finding your cheek again. “Why are you always so stubborn?”

“Jin.” You whisper his name and his heart breaks, “Please.”

“Are you ready to spend the rest of your life knowing that we can never see each other again? Knowing me will put everyone you care about in danger. There’s no chance. It’ll break you and I’d rather not have that happen.” Seokjin says, “This was never supposed to happen. We weren’t meant to happen.”

“I don’t want to forget.” You repeat, stubbornly. “Please don’t make me forget.”

Seokjin leans down, pressing a kiss to your forehead, his fingers already at your temple before you have the chance to stop him. He leans away, just watching you, memorizing your features as though he’d ever forget. “I love you.”

You finally quiet, staring at him with wide eyes, “Jin.”

“I’m sorry.” You fall limp and Seokjin catches you before you can hit the floor, holding you to him as the dam breaks and he cries. He cries for the moments he’s shared, the moments you would now live never to remember, he cries because he knows what heartbreak is and he feels it. “I’m sorry. I love you. I’m sorry.”

After he places you back into bed, he makes sure that nothing belonging to him remains. Seokjin walks slowly out of your apartment, looking around at everything because it’s the last time. There’s no way he can come back here, he needs to go as far away as he possibly can.

Softly, he closes your door behind him, and every step he takes he feels as though his heart is being pulled out his chest. He makes it all the way down the hall, and into the elevator when Yoongi steps out of his apartment. He looks at Seokjin for a moment, no sign of recollection whatsoever. The last thing Seokjin before the doors slide close is Yoongi opening yours and going in.

“Y/n. Why the fuck are you sleeping with the window open? Are you trying to get sick?” Yoongi stomps his way into your bedroom, pulling your window shut. He turns to look at you as you sit up, “Hey. Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

“Hm?” You hum, confused, wiping your fingers under your eyes, “I...I don’t know? Must’ve been a dream?”

“Can you get ready in ten minutes?” Yoongi boldly rummages through your drawers, throwing clothes your way. “The café has deals on donuts and I wanna get some before they sell out.”

He walks to your door, while you sit, still sleepy, still confused. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah...I just...I feel like I’ve lost something.”

Broke your heart? Read the What If sequel drabble - Here

Tagging: @xpeachesncream @bangtansmauyeondan @taestefully-in-luv @blog-name-idk @madbutgloriouspond @euphoricfilter @luaspersona @mssukeyna @matchstick6812 @jinsquishes @allhobbitstoisengard @eren-fall @dontstoptime​ @eoieopda​

[anyalovesu]

tolerate it.

xiii. all is well if it ends well with you.

—"all is well if it ends well with you."

necessary notes:

contains 🔞 content if ur not into that or u r a minor, do noT READ

the 🔞 is pw authenticated but the password just somewhere around this series hehe ( i did this to save face bc im that is the first time i wrote straight up smut and i'm seriously slowly getting delirious if it's good or what ) ( skl: embarrassingly i had a friend who has the experience that clearly i don't, read it and give me feedback if shit i wrote actually happens (basically validating the shit that i wrote) and it's safe to say that was the most awkward phase of our friendship 🥲🤡 )

ur feedback will be appreciated ( you can send it here ) tell me what i can improve or which parts did u enjoy or whatever u want to tell me ( pls be nice ) and i will read it and respond if u ever send me ur thoughts hehe

this is the last chapter of this series but i might be writing more about this in the epilogue or in the side stories hehe if ur interested in that, i will link the bsides on the main post !!

most of all, thank you, to anyone who read this. for a good amount of time i was convinced that i would be the only one reading this over and over until im delusional that someone is reading this other than me but it turned out that someone is actually reading whatever this is that i write 🥲🥲 sooo thank u sm, i will always appreciate u guys 🤍

anyways...

“Cielo, oh my god, you need to stop crying, papagalitan na tayo ng coordinator! They’re looking for me na!” Bianca whined, handing Cielo another tissue as Cielo asked her to accompany her before they went to the venue. “It’s not like she’s not gonna be your sister anymore!”

“Hindi mo nga kasi naiintindihan!” Cielo whined, breath hitching as he kept on crying. 

“I’m gonna get kuya. I’m so sorry I don’t know how to comfort you anymore, Cielo!” Bianca was in a verge of tears as well, being all stressed out and needing to excuse herself from the situation because she didn’t want to ruin the hard work that the make-up artists did on her. 

That being said, as Bianca was running towards the men’s dressing room when she came across Leon, who was all ready to go. “Oh bakit ka andito? Hindi pa kayo nakakaalis nila Ynes?”

“Cielo is still crying, kuya! I don’t know what to do anymore!” Bianca was clearly in distress. Her and Cielo have been friends for a long time too, and getting overwhelmed when a friend needed her really made her feel gutted.

“Pumunta ka na sa sasakyan. I’ll handle this, okay?” Bianca nodded before making her way to the front of the resort where the vans were waiting for them, meeting the rest of the girls.

Leon headed to where Bianca seemingly came from to find Cielo in the courtyard garden of the exclusive resort that they rented in Batangas. He was sitting on one of the benches, sniffing with the pack of tissue that Bianca had left him before she went to get someone to help.

“Hi,” he smiled, sitting next to him. Cielo was surprised to see Leon next to him that he jumped a bit when he heard his sister's soon-to-be husband. “Still worried about your Ate Ellie, no?”

Cielo nodded in honesty. Leon would not help but notice how adorable he was, realizing how much he is like his sister. So emotional and sensitive. Even the way they talk is so similar he finds it uncanny sometimes. It really shows how involved Eli was in his life. She did raise him after all, more than their own parents did, which only made Eli even more beautiful in his eyes despite not being able to see her since yesterday. At such a young age, Elijah raised this emotionally intelligent and sensitive young boy, which turned out to be one of the warmest people he ever met in his life. 

“Please don’t take my ate away,” he sniffled, pulling yet another tissue from the pack to wipe his tears and blow his nose. “I don’t wanna be left alone.”

“Ellie is still going to be Ellie, Cielo,” Leon chuckled, putting a comforting arm around the younger. “Wala akong inaagaw. She’s still gonna be there for you the moment you ask her to. Kailan ba humindi ang ate mo sa’yo, ha?”

Even before Eli moved out for college, she was there for him. Natrouble that school? Eli would be there. Naiwan ang baon sa bahay? It’s alright, Eli will just buy him new food or give him money. Nakalimutan magsabi na kailangan ng illustration board or ng cartolina kinabukasan, don’t fret, Ate Eli would be there before the time period when you need it with anything you might need. Eli always showed love by being there and doing things for other people. Everyone pretty much knew that. So it’s a surprise that Cielo is worried that she’s not going to be there as much for him when she gets married when it’s always been him who’s always at the top of her priority list.

“When you have children, she’s not going love me as much,” he sobbed, body shaking as he finally says what his main worry was.

Leon sighed. “I doubt we’re gonna have children until you’re ready, Cielo.”

“Hindi naman kasi para sa akin ang desisyon na ‘yon, kuya,” he argued.

“Yes, it’s for us to make. But knowing your ate, she’s not gonna do it until kaya mo na ng wala s’ya.”

“I’m always going to need, Ate.”

“Maybe just until you need your Ate Ellie less,” he smiled at him. “We’re young, Cielo, and at the peaks of our careers. Trust me when I say na hindi pa kami rin ready rin na magkaroon ng anak. So if waiting for you will be our sign to actually be ready, then you’re doing us a favor.”

“Are you really going to wait for me?”

Leon nodded and before he knew it, Cielo’s arms were around him already. “Thank you, Kuya.”

—

“You may now say your vows,” the officiant then steps aside before Leon takes the mic and opens his card that is eloquently decorated, a design that Elijah remembers she drew herself during the week that they were asked not to go to work because of the incident.

“Ellie,” he starts with a heavy sigh, before shaking his hands to relieve himself of his nerves. “Don’t worry, hindi naman ako kinakabahan dahil hindi ako sure. Kinakabahan lang ako baka kasi magkamali ako and I don’t want to mess it up.”

The crowd laughed at his remark before he glanced at her parents before glancing back at her. “It’s been approximately 23 years since I’ve had the privilege of meeting you. You have been my best friend ever since I could remember having one. And I must say 13-year-old Leon would go full on cardiac arrest if he found out that this would happen. That 10 years later, I would be standing in front of our loved ones, reciting my vows to you. That being said, I promise to always scour the internet and everyone and their mom just so I would know how to cook whatever you are craving the way you want it to. I promise to wait, everytime, especially when you’re still afraid to tell the truth. I promise to sit with you until you’ve already recovered from your emotions. I promise to always drive back 2 hours, give or take, whenever you forget something at home. I can promise so many more things but I’m afraid, for once, to say it. Hindi dahil hindi ko kayang gawin. Natatakot ako na baka hindi ko masabi lahat. Dahil d’yan, I must repeat a promise that I have already made before just to remind you that if you want me to, I will, dahil ikaw ang palaging masusunod. Ellie, I promise to never let you work for anything ever again unless you really want to. I know you come from a long line of families who worked hard for what they have right now, but Ellie, I promise to never let you work to be loved ever again. I promise to never let you try at all to be someone that people would love, dahil hindi na’tin sila kabati kapag hindi ka nila gusto. I promise to never leave your side ever again or ever meet death face to face again unless you tell me that you are ready for it. And although I don’t have to promise it, I promise to love you, always, in your highs and lows, and occasionally in the in betweens. I promise to be there, or here, or anywhere you want us to be dahil sa totoo lang, masaya na ako na magkasama tayo. Iyo ako, Ellie, palagi.”

“Hala,” Ellie sniffed as Ynes ran in front with a box of tissues to hand Ellie. “OMG ka, thank you, babes.”

“How do I start this, wait lang naiiyak talaga ako.”

“I can wait, baby,” he chuckled, reaching for her hand and squeezing it before she let out a heavy breath, gathering herself. “Okay na?”

Eli nodded before finally letting his hand go and opening her card. “I still wonder up until now how we always end up in the same route, to that house by the beach in Batangas, and somehow things would be alright when we go back. If I had known that pattern I wouldn’t have spent four longing years without you, because those years burrowed the pain so deeply inside me that it felt normal. And you waltzing back in my life like it was fucking nothing made me so mad because it felt like you were uprooting that pain again that I so badly didn’t want to feel ever again. But now that it’s uprooted and thrown way past me, I realized why it had to be done. I was never going to heal if the one causing the pain was still in me and really, thank you, because even if you don’t try, even if you just sit there yapping about how annoying I am for always insisting to do things for you, for always working for things I can just ask for, for making myself think that I am less than how you see me, you heal me, Leon. Every bruise and wound, somehow feels so much better when you’re the one who makes it feel better.”

“When we were young, Myla told us that it was possible that love was born at the same time that humanity emerged and it never stopped existing from then. It was as if humans were made to love. I was too young to realize it back then, but now that I’m old enough to admit it, Leon, I have known love ever since the day we first met. I had a clear vision of what love was like with you. I remember this memory with you in a preppy preschool daycare and me being the push over little kid that I am did what every little kid there asked me to and while now that I’ve thought of this, nothing was wrong with conformity, you took my hand back then and told the kids to do it themselves. Then it was you stepping in front of me when I was being bullied in Elementary school, then it was you always picking me in group activities because people would just ask me to do it on my own when we were in High School. You’ve protected me from things that could hurt me because as you said, there’s already too much pain in me for some lazy lowlife to add more into it. You’ve always made space for me to grow. I used to think it was unfair why you chose to let me go during college but now that I’ve reframed it, I realized that I needed that growing space. And even though it hurt you too and you were a little bitch to not admit it right away, thank you so much for giving me that space to grow. So I promise to protect you too, in the most deranged ways that you could think of. I promise to send anyone who tries to hurt you bankrupt. I promise to hold you when you’re full of emotions too. I promise to kiss you good night and good morning or whenever you ask for it. I promise to actually play the games that you put on my computer. I promise na hindi na ako magiiwan ng gamit sa bahay para wala ka nang babalikan. I promise na hindi ko na tutulugan ang mga pinapanood mo. I promise to take care of you, even when you object. I promise to get better, everyday, for you and for the life we’ll live from now on. Because in the same way that humans were made to love, when love emerged at the same time as humanity, it must not be a coincidence that I knew love from the very first day I met you. I was made for loving you, Leon and all is well if it ends well with you. Kaya pinapangako ko, na magduda man, magtaka man, maligaw o mawala man, ang bawat daan ko, Leon, ay palaging pabalik sa’yo.”

continue here (bianca and eli's conversation)

Bianca engulfed her sister-in-law in a warm embrace as soon as she opened the door. Soon after that, sniffles followed as her hold only got tighter.

The two sat there and talked about everything. Even going as far as talking about her recent split up with Liz Sim that broke Elijah half as much as it broke Bianca. It turned out that after Eli sent their company in the States bankrupt, Liz blasted her about how cruel and evil her family was—especially Elijah. And as cold as Bianca’s demeanor may be, she did not know how to take all the words said to Ellie not after everything she learned about what Liz’s family did to her Ate Ellie.

“It’s gonna be alright, bunso,” Ellie smiled at her kissing the side of her head as she cried, make-up now half ruined from all the crying she’s done. “Right now, let’s just enjoy the night, alright? We’re gonna meet people out there that’s going to treat us so much better than they did.”

“Right, hindi na’tin sila kabati,” Bianca sniffed, reaching for her handbag to retouch her makeup. 

Ellie chuckles at her. It really can’t be denied that Bianca really was raised on Leon and Tobi’s back, because behind all that cold demeanor is a childish heart that is sensitive and will break at the mere sight of their loved ones getting hurt. Leon mentioned before that he was afraid that maybe Bianca was growing up to be hard and cold, unlike how he sees Cielo, who was the complete opposite. Right now, Ellie really can’t understand why he thinks that way, because all three of them are just softies hiding behind cold facial expressions. 

“Let me help you with that,” Ellie smiled, picking up the makeup from the younger’s bag to help her do her retouches.

As soon as they were back, even with Leon still not being able to read Bianca’s messages earlier, he already knew Bianca had just finished crying. After all, he can feel his sister’s mood even from a mile away. It’s not hard to do for him anyway, especially when he had to study her facial expressions even as a baby just to know what she could possibly need even if they had nannies to do that for them.

“Girl talk, kuya,” Bianca told him right away before he could even ask. “Wag mo na muna tanungin kung anong pinagusapan namin, bukas mo na alamin.”

“Alright, well, can I have my wife back?” He chuckled at her. Bianca made a face and let go of Ellie’s hand, handing it over to her brother.

“All yours,” just then Alonzo Park arrives and asks for a dance with her youngest daughter leaving the newlyweds with each other.

“Hindi n’yo talaga sasabihin sa akin?” he asked, even trying to make puppy dog eyes to convince his wife to tell him, but Ellie already promised she would let Leon find out for himself so she really wasn’t going to say anything. So she shrugged her head.

“Did you have your things good to go na for Balesin?” Ellie asked them, starting to worry that they’d be late for everything as they’d be heading straight to their honeymoon destination straight after the party.

“Baby, Balesin is owned by Amina Myoi, what are you worrying about?” Leon laughed.

“Oh my god, Leon, don’t tell me hindi mo pa inaayos?”

Leon laughed at her wife even more before planting a soft kiss on her lips. “Naayos ko na po. Okay na, pinakaba lang kita.”

“I’m just saying na ayoko lang na makaabala tayo sa iba natin na kasama,” Ellie rolled her eyes at him. “Especially when your cousins offered pa to be the ones to bring us there! I don’t want them to think-”

“Anong sabi na’tin tungkol sa iisipin ng iba?” Leon cuts her off with a cheeky grin on his face, knowing all too well that it was discussed in front of everyone in their vows earlier.

“Yeah, whatever, it’s me you have to worry about. I don’t like being late, alam mo ‘yon,” Elijah replied to him.

—

“Baby,” Ellie calls out sternly as Leon plants yet another kiss on her neck while they were waiting in the private lounge of the airport waiting for their boarding time. “Keep your hands to yourself muna, please.”

While most of the people in the lounge were just their friends, they had some family members joining them too which meant that their little siblings could see Leon as bright as day, well, literally unable to keep his hands to himself. “Kahit ba quickie lang sa cr, baby?”

“I’m gonna have to keep you waiting, Leon. I’m sorry,” she chuckled at her husband, visibly in distress from how long he already has been holding himself back. He has already been planning how to ruin her the moment they left the wedding reception and it’s taking too much time waiting in this godforsaken lounge with so many people. 

For a good moment he regrets agreeing that they should come in the getaway destination after considering that they could literally have an entire villa to themselves and fuck the living daylights out of each other without being disrupted. His patience was running thin but he knew he had to be on his best behavior if he wanted to keep Ellie’s mood to its crisp condition right now if he wanted to get what he’s been fantasizing about for 4 hours already.

“Leon, calm the fuck down,” Ellie curses as soon as Leon pushes her down the white duvet, not seeming to give a flying fuck if they were on the bed with their outside clothes on. 

“I’m not sure if I can do that, baby,” he smirked as he hungrily pressed his lips against her, hands stealthily picking on the buttons of her light blue shirt.

“I’m all yours, love,” she chuckled, holding his face on both sides, forcing him to look at her. His eyes were dilated, blasted with both pure adoration at the woman lying under him, for the first time while they’re at their intimate activities. “Take your time, please?”

Leon then pauses, looks Ellie straight in the eye trying to see if there was hesitation lingering in her expression. There wasn’t, which was confusing to Leon, but he didn’t want to do anything that would make Eli uncomfortable. A blush creeped into her face when she realized that she might have to explain herself. 

“Are you okay, baby? P’wede naman bukas na kapag okay ka na?”

Oh god. Ellie just wanted the floor to open and swallow her whole when Leon blurted that out.

How the fuck is it possible to explain that she was fully aware how fucking big he was and she had been questioning every saint she knew of if she was capable to taking that big of a body part inside her? 

Elijah shrugged, eyes glossing in embarrassment as she tried to hide her face. 

“Baby, we can do it some other time, it’s okay-”

“No,” Eli retorts immediately, pushing herself up to a sitting position as she gathers up courage to actually say it.

“Are you sure? Saka nalang, baby–”

“Leon,” she calls, holding his face once again, forcing him to focus on her, leaning in to kiss him once again. “I want to do it, baby.” She mumbles quietly, as she turns to kiss his neck before nestling her face perfectly between the space connecting his neck and shoulder blades.

“What’s holding you back, Ellie?” he finally asks his wife, trying to pull her away from his neck but the younger remains unmoving. “Hmm?”

“I haven’t done it with anyone for quite some time,” she hummed. “And you’re malaki, Leon. I don’t want it to hurt.”

“You think it’s going to hurt?” he chuckles, finally managing to pull her away to kiss her once more making Ellie hummed against the kiss. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t take that as a compliment—the fact that she thinks he is big and the fact that she’s still willing to do it despite the impediment of it possibly hurting her.  “You want me to make it hurt less?”

“Please?” She looked at him, eyes round and glossy which really is just the most enticing thing Leon has ever seen her do.

“Okay,” Leon smiled at her fondly before carefully laying her down once again, kissing her slowly, lips moving in sync as his hands travel down to her jeans, fiddling on the silver button before finally pulling down the cold zipper.

continue here: honeymoon avenue (password authenticated; clue: color of ellie's engagement ring, 3 words, english, 15 letters, no spaces)

continue here (keeping up with the yangs chaos)

continue here (housemates' gc)

continue here (leon and eli's convo)

“Oh, bakit umiiyak ka nanaman?” Leon asked as soon as he entered the room after brushing his teeth in the bathroom. They had just come back from dinner and Elijah was, at most, tipsy from the Sangria that was served earlier.  “Bakit ka umiiyak?”

Ellie looks at him with a look that assures him that she’s not hurt. She’s just overwhelmed with emotions that feel too big for her own heart to process. Considering the amount of Sangria she had consumed with the girls earlier, her emotions were just flowing out of her. “Si iyakin talaga,” he chuckled before crawling on the bed, over the fresh bed sheets that were changed when they were in dinner.

“I’m just really happy,” she mumbled before climbing on Leon’s lap to hug him properly for comfort while Leon does what he does best, giving her deep compression by squeezing her. “I can’t believe everything turned out okay. I really hoped it was going to be okay.”

Everything was all so overwhelming but she knew she was safe. At last. All the pain, all the wandering around aimlessly in life—everything seemed to be falling back into place, here with the love of her life, holding her like nothing can take her away. 

And she really hoped it would be like that.

Because then, she knows that this was the agony was for and it was all worth it.

All that matters is that it ended up here where she is celebrated for her mere existence and for the love that she gives—it doesn’t even matter how much there is to share, the mere fact that there is love is already celebrated.

She’s finally where she truly belongs. Back to where all the turns and roundabouts lead her to. 

“I love you,” he hums, against her shoulder as he calms her down from her emotions.

Home.

“I love you, Leon.” she mumbled.

Back to Leon.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ characters ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ previous ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ main post ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

[thecynthh]

Gift — M.S.

synopsis • matt gives y/n a present since she passed her exams for the term

warnings • cotton candy fluff, my shit writing

notes • college setting, f!partner, matt n u r dating

author chats • this is my first ever fic !! please give feedback i need validation

also i’ll write a pt 2 with smut in it if yalls like this one 🤗

——————————————————————————

——————————————————————————

i want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck, chain round my neck

not because he owns me, but because he really knows me

Y/N’s POV

heavy tension finally clears from my shoulders as i take a step out of the thick classroom door. my feet automatically start my treck to a local coffee shop near my building. barely taking a few steps out the door my phone begins to buzz with excitement.

matty b❣️

the nickname flashes on my screen as i pull out my cell phone from the back pocket of my cargo pants. clicking the screen immediately after processing who it was.

“hello?” i say whipping my phone up to my ear.

“hey pretty girl” matt replies to my initial greeting. “so tell me, how’d it go?”

“personally i think it went phenomenal and to make it even better i KNOW it was super amazing” i explain absolutely thrilled by my amazing scores

unlike matt going through school was a necessity. i needed to succeed and i’m glad i had as great as a support that matt has been for the past year. my dream was so close all thanks to him, if he didn’t pull me out of that anxiety slump and put me back to work so soon i would’ve failed this exam.

i soon make it to coffee shop after asking matt how his day went and then getting greeted by the same barista whose been working there since i started at Eastwood.

“by the way i just made it to the cafe, im just going to pick up my coffee then i can head to your place to hang out” i tell my phone. the barista asks if my usual is good in a hushed voice seeing my phone up to my ear. i nod to him while walking over to the pick up side of the counter.

“actuallllyyy you can go straight to your apartment, i have a surprise for you” matt says showing excitement for what he got for me.

“matt, you can’t do this to me, im gunna cry” i reply with a fake teary voice.

a small chuckle echos through my ear. “you deserve it princess, all of it.”

“okay i’ll be home soon, i won’t make you wait much longer, love ya.” i snatch my drink and take a peak outside, snow fell from the coveted sky. matt would love how pretty this weather is.

Matt’s POV

“i love you too-“ that was all i could squeeze in before she hung up on me.

right now i just made it into y/n’s apartment waiting on her to get home, i bought a bouquet of red roses, which were here favourite, and i saw the prettiest necklace and i knew i had to get it for her.

it was held in a small velvet box waiting for its owner to claim it. opening it caused a small showcase light to illuminate the silver “m” that was a matching silver chain.

i thought about her when i saw it on the small mannequin. the only thing that played through my mind while i purchased it was that one taylor swift song she loves. i know swift isn’t really my vibe but she won a bet and got the aux for the car ride, it was catchy but i’ll never admit to liking taylor swift.

soon after fixing the bouquet i hear the lock on the door click and unlock. i hold up the flowers standing near the door with the necklaces box burning a hole through my jean pocket.

the door swings open revealing my girlfriend. my lovely girlfriend. her eyes lit up with glee as she looks at the bouquet in my hands.

Y/N’s POV

all i see is matt with a large bouquet of flowers in his hands and sweet smile drawn on his face.

i yank the large amount of red roses from his hands placing them down carefully on the coffee table near us and dive into his arms.

“thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” i blurt out between each peck on his face. matts face lightly covered in a deep red lipstick he still just stands there waiting for me to done.

“of course princess, im really proud of you for finishing that exam.” he says to me pulling me in even closer.

“but to make it even better….” he trails off while sneaking is hand into his jean pocket. out comes a small jewelry box, he opens it presenting a necklace with his initial on it.

“i remember that song you like a lot, i don’t remember it all too well but i knew it meant a lot to you so-“

“i love so fucking much matty. you have no idea” i rest my forehead against his and slowly connect our lips.

he returns the kiss slowly with his hand snaking around the small of my back tugging me a little closer.

i’ve never wanted to be anywhere else in that moment.

[hunieday]

Momo Sugao Rabbit Chat - Part 3 : Left on Read ?!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access it, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

Momo: Maneko-chan, hear me out!

Momo: Yuki left me on read! ｡ ・ﾟ・(ﾉД`)・ﾟ・｡

Takanashi Tsumugi: no..no way…｡ ・ﾟ・(ﾉД`)・ﾟ・｡

Takanashi Tsumugi: Maybe he was too busy to text you back…!

Momo: no, it’s Yuki’s day off, and he sure as hell doesn’t leave his house! he’s definitely on his phone! 

Momo: he probably ate lunch and is now relaxing watching a movie!

Momo: the detective Momo-chan knows (-○д○)

Takanashi Tsumugi: That's some excellent deductive reasoning…!

Takanashi Tsumugi: B-by the way, what was the content of your message?

Momo: Eh ?

Momo: the content?!

Takanashi Tsumugi: maybe I shouldn’t have asked…

Momo: Ah, no. I’m just a little embarrassed lolol

Momo: Don’t go? |・ω・`)

Takanashi Tsumugi: Of course!

Momo: I’m at the gym right now working out, and I think my muscles look quite nice today, so I posed in front of the camera…

Momo: I was so excited when I sent it, but now I’m starting to feel embarrassed about it orz

Takanashi Tsumugi: I understand, that happens sometimes!

Takanashi Tsumugi: When I get a job done that I’m proud of, sometimes I happily run to report it to Banri-san..

Takanashi Tsumugi: But if I don’t get a reply after a while I feel embarrassed about it because I’d feel like it was too eager > <

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

Momo: Maneko-chan, when you get passionate about something you become full of energy lolol

Momo: I like that about Maneko-chan, because I know you’re earnest and care about your job that much (｀・ω・´)b

Momo: I’m sure Ban-san is not put off by that either.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes, Banri-san is always as happy as I am.

I’m sure Yuki-san can’t reply for a valid reason.

Momo: I know, but a maiden’s heart can’t be relieved until it gets a reply ( ﾟωﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳﾝ

Takanashi Tsumugi: ( ﾟωﾟ)(｡_｡)ｳﾝｳ

Momo: But it must be nice ~! I want to have a casual Rabbitchat with Ban-san like you too!

CHOICE

1- What do you and Ban-san usually Rabbitchat about?

Momo: sometimes Ban-san gives me feedback on our new song, but as I reply to him my hands shake with nervousness (((( ；ﾟДﾟ)))

I type and retype my message but I end up with just a safe “thank you”...

2- What do you and Yuki-san usually Rabbitchat about?

Momo: Right now, about anything really! for example we give each other quizzes (●´艸`)

Oh right, when Yuki wakes up, his messages are super cute with occasional typos!

3- What do you mean by a “casual” Rabbitchat?

Momo: “Let’s go out for dinner”... something like that?

But I’m too scared to send a rabbitchat like that to Ban-san, after all…

Momo: AH !

Momo: Yuki replied!

Takanashi Tsumugi: Wah! I’m glad!

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

Momo: He was watching a movie, he fell asleep in the middle of replying _(:3」∠)_

Momo: Because of that, he had a dream where we were fighting aliens lolol

Takanashi Tsumugi: Was the movie about alien fights? I’d like to see you two fight against them..!

Momo: In the dream, Yuki was risking his life to protect me at all costs! ･ﾟ:kyun ━━━p(o´3｀o)q━━━ン*:ﾟ･

Momo: I’m really curious about it too! I’ll call you when Yuki’s memory is fresh, thanks for keeping me company, Maneko-chan!!!

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

[grey-fuckers-unlimited]

I've gone ahead and dug the press release for the new version out of the email i used for the app, pink text is clarifications added by me. i should have gone looking for this B4 i said anything in hindsight. I'm more hopeful about the switch than i was previously even if I'm still not convinced I'll be paying the subscription once my free months run their course.

Dear Android users of Magic Poser,

We are super excited to announce that the new Magic Poser on Android has launched in beta testing!

Beta testing is the final phase of testing before we officially launch this new update in Google Play. As a beta tester, you can try new features before they are officially released and give us feedback. Since launching our hugely popular iOS update last year, our small team has been tirelessly working towards bringing the same premium experience on iOS to Android. Starting from today, Android users can download the beta app and enjoy the same slew of amazing features such as our new male and female models with the best anatomy ever, muscular, fat and skinny body morphs, multiple lights setup and so many more!

This newsletter will walk you through:

🔧 How to download the Android beta app. (edited out bc irrelevant)

✨ Highlights of the new Magic Poser on Android.

🏆 Pricing changes to ensure the long-term success of the product that we provide to you, and rewards for our existing users.

❤️ Migration of your account, files and purchases to the new Magic Poser.

What's new

(link to a video showing new features and models)

The best posing app on Android has just become 10x better. Here’s a summary of the most exciting improvements in this new version:

New models with the best anatomy ever to help you nail figure drawing!

Muscular, fat and skinny body types to bring a variety of characters into your artwork!

Stunning lighting effects to add a cinematic touch to your scene!

Powerful library of 3000+ preset poses to greatly speed up your posing!

Group anything together with the Layers menu to create expansive scenes with ease!

Export in 3D formats to bring our models seamlessly into other 3D apps!

New hand posing with 50+ presets to finish poses lightning fast!

Comprehensive tutorials center to help you master Magic Poser!

Watch more preview videos

If you have trouble loading the youtube video above, please checkout our homepage magicposer.com for a sneak peek of these new features!

Pricing changes and rewards

Our goal has always been to help artists achieve greatness from day one of creating Magic Poser. To best achieve this goal, we need a solid business model. After 6 years of testing, numerous user interviews, and the validation of our new pricing on iOS, we discovered that the winning business model is very similar to the model that we started with back in 2016. It is so simple and is best for you and for us: A basic free version plus paid versions with more features.

Introducing the new free and paid versions

You can also check out a full list of features and compare these three versions on our website:

Help me compare versions!

** Please note that all prices shown are for the U.S. For international markets, please refer to the prices in the released app.

Rewards for existing users

With the change to our new pricing, we have prepared the following amazing rewards for our existing users:

Basic rewards

As an existing user, you automatically qualify for the following rewards (even if you are a Free user in the new app):

You will still keep all the prepackaged free models in the old app in the new app.

You will also get permanent access to anything you purchased from our previous Asset Store.

*"Prepackaged" means the models that came already downloaded with the old app

Please refer to our migration guide for more details.

Extra rewards

To express our heart-felt thanks for your long-term support, we are offering these extra rewards to our most valued and adored existing users:

🎁 If you downloaded Magic Poser app before this new beta

1 month free trial of Pro!

For anyone who just joined the Magic Poser community, welcome! This will help you transition seamlessly into the new app!

🎁 If you bought Magic Poser Pro (old version) before 03/2019 OR if you have spent a total of $9.99 or more in our old app (Wombat Coins and prop bundles):

New Pro version!

For those of you that supported Magic Poser from the very beginning, we give this to you as a special thank you!

🎁 If you have spent $14.99 or more in our old app:

Master for at least a month and Pro version!

How long do you get Master version? Divide the amount you've spent in the old Magic Poser by the monthly Master subscription price ($14.99) and round it up to the nearest number. Also, you will keep ALL Pro features even after your Master plan expires.

Why are we changing

After extensive testing, research and interviews, we picked the pricing model that is best for you and best for us -

It is best for you because:

Free users can still get art studio level anatomy, pose and lighting reference with our new Arnold 3 model.

You can choose to pay for more features and assets as you progress in your art.

You no longer need to wrap your head around the cost of individual props or characters. With Free, Pro and Master Asset Library, you pay less and get access to a collection of assets that is constantly being expanded and updated.

It is best for us because:

Our small team can be financially sound and continue to develop amazing features and improvements for you!

We can fully focus on improving and expanding our asset collection for you, rather than optimizing pricing for individual assets.

We can continue to make a lot more high quality 3D models and store large 3D files with the support of the subscription plan, which will fund ongoing art production and server costs.

Our #1 goal is to make the best drawing reference app to serve the amazing art community. We are always improving our business model to best achieve that goal!

Smoooooth transition

In short, to transition to the new beta app, you don't need to do anything! Just update your app to beta by following the instructions in “How to download the beta app”. We have made every effort to ensure the compatibility of your account and files so that you can lie back and enjoy the new Magic Poser 😃:

Continue using your existing Magic Poser account!

Open any local or Cloud files created in the old version! They just work!

If you have purchased any assets from our previous Store, you will get permanent access to them no matter if you are a Free, Pro or Master user in our new app!

As an existing user, you will keep the prepackaged free models in the old app in the new app too!

The winning business model means that there are two important changes for users who have purchased Wombat Coins and who are in the new Free tier:

Wombat Coins are going away with the change to Free, Pro and Master Asset Libraries. But rest assured, we are offering you great loyalty rewards of Pro and Master versions based on how much you have spent on Wombat Coins. The Master version, in particular, provides unlimited access to our entire asset library! (For details, please refer to the previous section and our New pricing and Rewards for existing users guide.) We believe that migrating from purchasing individual products with Wombat Coins to purchasing different tiers of Asset Libraries will be much better for you and for us long-term.

Local and Cloud files will be subject to limits under the Free tier. If you get the 1-month Pro trial reward, please ensure that you export images of your old files during your 1-month trial. After your Pro trial ends, you will NOT be able to open old files that contain multiple models due to the limit of 1 model per scene in the new Free version. You can read all the details in our Account, files and purchases migration guide.

Thank you thank you thank you

Exciting! We think you will enjoy the new Magic Poser and that it will propel you on your journey of drawing even better and even faster.

Get in touch

Listening to users like you has always been our #1 priority when making any changes to our product. If you have any question or feedback, there are two ways to get in touch:

The best way to chat with our team real-time is to join our Discord server. We have created a channel #android-beta specifically for feedback on our Android beta app. You can also meet thousands of other Magic Poser users there!

You can also email us at support@magicposer.com.

We would love to hear from you!

Cheers,

Your Magic Poser Team ♥️

[captain-aralias]

🌿💫💥

hello!! nice to hear from you <3 and thank you for these asks.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

this feels like it should be easy to answer. the act of writing often makes me feel like - ugh, i can't do this today. but if it's going well and i've written some good dialogue or something, then i'll feel - pleased, kind of the way i would reading some good dialogue, but also because i'll feel smart and like, yeah - i've got this. because i create in fandom, it also makes me feel part of something bigger, and then hungry for COMMENTS. vv much: when are the comments here, i need instant validation in trade for this fic.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

i love all comments, thank you for comments! my favourite kinds are the ones where people try to predict what is going to happen, or talk about why they think something is happening, while i post, and then i think 'yeah, that'd be cool', or 'hm, not that, but it gives me an idea'. this is sad times for book-writers who could be accused of stealing ideas, but for me as a fandom person i just slap a note at the front saying 'thank you to X for giving me this awesome idea in their comment!'

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

oof. my least kudosed fic is a harry potter fic i migrated from ff.net and backdated, it's unfinished, and it has ZERO kudos. the plot is that the marauders are all in slytherin, which may or may not have been an original premise twenty years ago, i don't know - it almost certainly isn't now.

i forced myself to read enough of it to answer this question and discovered it's in james potter's first person!! (not a well liked POV outside of carry on). honestly, it really could be worse, even though it's mostly just him grumbling about the premise of the fic.

meanwhile, there's some nice repetition i set up:

Sirius is one of things that makes being here bearable. I'm not sure but I think he likes it. Peter does too, you can tell when he whoops extra loudly when I make a great pass or when Sirius forces Snape to sing HMS Pinafore in falsetto. Sometimes I laugh too. Sometimes I'm the one torturing Severus; too much of the time it's my wand pointing at him, my lips curling into a sneer of triumph. Sometimes I hate myself for being who I am.

and then later on:

Yes, Remus is certainly different. Perfect Mr. Prefect Sirius calls him; mocks him. As if being a model student and not wanting to turn Snape's hair violet or make him tap dance across our breakfast table is a crime, or a character flaw. Sometimes I hate Sirius for being like me.

i could have written these paragraphs today. and i think i'm quite good at writing now. TWENTY YEARS ON. so well done little me.

(check out the two semi colons, though. that's how you can tell i was 16 when i wrote this 😂)

[oraclekleo]

AND!

All the valid asks are complete!

Please, check my blog if you haven't received notification.

It was so much fun to do this game about a Dark Lover character.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

A little reminder: This game comes with a mandatory feedback requirement. There's no deadline and no wordcount you need to hit. A few lines will do so I know you read your reading.

For anyone who would like to practice their tarot reading skills, you can always pull card(s) for me with the same question, I always give feedback.

If you have ideas for more sexy&spooky questions, don't be shy to tell me. What kind of question would you like me to answer with my specific style of reading the cards? You know I never shame, nor judge. 😜 The wilder the better! (Just keep it non-criminal, okay?)

So far missing feedbacks from:

@byeolili

@priestessofuniverse

There's no rush, only be aware that you are not allowed to participate in any other game, until I have the feedback for this one. Thank you!

A side note when we have that sexy&spooky topic on. Yesterday I used a sticker tattoo (you know... those temporal ones for kids...). It's a cute little lotus flower placed on my right boob. I told my friend about it, mentioning it looks really cute and I took picture of the tattoo, never intending to actually share it. And she thought it was hot! I disagreed with her but she insisted that any boy/girlfriend of mine would do anything to have that picture sent to them. To prove my point of it being nothing extra, I shared the pic with her. It seriously doesn't show anything inappropriate, just my skin, the lotus tatto and my bra but nothing like... you know... nothing directly sexy. She nearly lost her mind over it. 🤣 And yes, the lotus has the same colour like my bra (pink-red-orange-ish...) which I admit is cool because I would never have a tattoo that doesn't match, you know, I'm not a barbarian 😂

So! Now me and my friend can't agree. I say it's not hot and she says it is. And our friendship continues despite this major difference in opinions.

The moral of this story - you don't have to always agree with your friends but you can still love them. 💖

[banjjakz]

pardon me, but imagine my delight when I was sifting through ao3 and stumbled upon "final girl." needless to say, I gorged myself on it all day. all. day. you are the epitome of everything I adore, and your literary finesse speaks volumes, is so darkly riveting--scratches right at my strain of grotesque. (also someone who's into otoge is someone after my own heart.) I think you're absolutely adorable--I just want to eat you and your writing up ❤︎❤︎❤︎

?!??!

!!!!

//ferocious blushing

ahhh.,, Ahh!! wow! firstly, thank you very kindly for taking the time to not only read my work, but to type out and send such a lovely note!! feedback such as this motivates me so greatly to continue honing my craft & sharing it out. truly, i am quite grateful to you!

moreover, it is exactly these specific "strains of grotesque" (love that turn of phrase btw) that i seek not only to explore, but to validate in those who read my work. erotic morbidity is something that can be so personal and intimate. so engaging! so revealing! dark fiction has just as much value, depth, and creative merit as any other genre & i hope to reinforce this truth with the stories i write.

yes!! fellow otoge fan!!! if you've got any dark recommendations please feel free to drop me a line at any time... i like to collect deranged LIs like little kitschy keychains. very much so a mysme choi saeran / amnesia memories toma / collar x malice shiraishi / obey me belphegor type of gal. if that gives you any indication of my preferences & persuasions lol

in conclusion i will go to bed thinking of this note tonight! feeling normal things! if i sleep with my phone underneath my pillow and unlocked with this ask open i think that's normal and socially acceptable probably (´ `໒꒱. )♡ ♪♪

[kenobster]

For the ask game! 💫 🎉 💞 🍭 🎙️(Hope that's not too many 😅 I love your writing!)

It's never too many, it fulfills my lust for validation, as does your very kind compliment. XD Thank you for the ask! ❤️

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Unfortunately, my favorite kind of comment is one that can't be easily replicated, hahah. XD I get a sense of whether my writing is good (aka effective at what I was attempting to convey) if the comments match what I expected readers to feel. For example — since I expected people to feel horrified and anxious while Obi-Wan's shock collar was activated in chapter 7 of Five Peggats Each, the terror in almost everyone's comments was very emotionally satisfying to me. For an example of the opposite — in chapter 2 of Every Shadow, I was actually really surprised that nobody mentioned how hard Anakin was trying; thus, I started to wonder if I hadn't properly conveyed that (or if him whipping out his lightsaber had contradicted it to a greater extreme than I originally planned).

Note: I loved all the comments on chapter 2; this is just a gauge I use to understand the effectiveness of my writing and how it's being perceived. Any failure to portray Anakin correctly to my vision was mine lmao; no one can take that away from me. XD

In other words, my favorite kind of comment is the one that manages to pierce through the veil and speak to my very soul. My favorite kind of comment is written by someone who has literally read my Brainthoughts™ unfiltered via my writing alone. So, if you're aiming to regularly give me my favorite kind of feedback, good luck with that, hahaha. (Though honestly, I really appreciate knowing how people react, even if unexpected, because then it helps me improve my writing for next time! So even if a reader can't telepathically communicate with me lmao, literary analysis is still very favored.)

Also I can't be asked this question without stating my favorite comment ever lmfao which is: "Anakin, I mean this in the most understanding, empathetic way possible… You’re an ungrateful little bitch." Which, if you've read chapter 2 of Five Peggats Each, this is fucking hilarious. 🤣 I'll never forget it. ❤️

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

Never lmao.

One time, when I was younger, I read a writing craft book by an author I found pretty humorous. One chapter asked the aspiring writer to consider what they fear. "Some people fear failure. Others fear success... yeah, I still haven't managed to figure that one out." Ten-year-old me found this hilarious. Joke's on me though because now, twenty years later, I am exactly the kind of writer who fears success. :') And I, too, haven't managed to figure it out.

I'm insecure; thus, I crave validation. If I don't get validation when I post something, I will cry ugly crocodile tears. (In other words, please don't think the solution to what I'm about to say is to stop commenting, lol; I'm a ho and I love you.) At the same time, I am anxious! So, if I do get validation, I will cry ugly panic-attack fears. It doesn't matter if the feedback is positive or negative — the more I get, the more the terror paralyzes me. For the life of me, I do not know why this is the case. I love comments, I want comments; I love feedback, I want feedback. For some reason, my body just immediately goes into fight-flight-freeze-fawn, without my brain's consent lol.

Luckily, after the first week or so, the anxiety fades, and I feel very proud while I remember every single kindhearted and wonderful comment I got — without feeling like my heart is gonna skyrocket into the astral plane. By then though, the celebration period has passed lmao. So yeah, I don't really do that part. Though, I guess I do have a ritual of sending my chapter to my mom and hearing her thoughts while we get ice cream after... So that's pretty nice, and I like it. :')

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

Really, I couldn't care less about things like grammar and typos lol.

For me, the most important part of a story is that it's doing something different. In some way, it has to be doing something that hasn't been done before. There are so many ways a story can do this and many times it can be done purely just by being your own unique self. In other words, this is not a contradiction to the "two cakes" logic. Unless you're literally plagiarizing someone else's writing, the way you have made the second cake will always be new and different, purely because it was made by someone who is new and different.

I do think people often shy away from their own uniqueness when they're writing. There are an unfortunate amount of jokes about fic being "too self-indulgent," and many novice writers seem to think that their oddities and quirks make them weird or unpalatable to readers. They are absolutely wrong — those oddities and quirks are actually what make their writing most appealing! Being self-indulgent should be the goal. If you're not weirding the fuck out of people by being bizarrely interested in one specific thing, then what you're actually doing is trying to fit yourself, as a triangle, into a circle mold. If there are no triangle molds in existence, that's fine — carve one out for yourself. :)

In short, be a freak. Be a weirdo. The weirder and freakier you are, the more readers you will draw, and the more passionate your writing will become. Absent of passion, stories are bland and dull and tired. For me, the most important part of a story is the way it lets me empathize with an author who is radically different from the rest.

🍭why did you start writing?

I started writing the second I knew how to hold a pencil — like "yeah they knew I was a creep, since the day I was born" lol. Maybe instead, let's say why I started writing fanfiction. I've written fic since I was a teenager but the last few years, I've grown an intense appreciation for the genre. Ursula K. LeGuin is an author whose style is so wonderful to me, mostly in that she revisits and revisits and revisits and revisits. Truly, her work was very much like fanfiction of her own past work in many ways. The freedom of fanfiction to innovate and improvise the structure of a story (even one's own story) without the approval of a publishing company (or societal expectations) is something that's really hard to find in other spaces. So I like fanfic, and, though I sometimes cycle through fandoms, I'm very much here to stay.

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

The prose in Five Peggats Each is actually something I've worked very hard at — particularly in giving a rhythm to the words. One that is easy to hear and audibly pleasing. I would love if someone was interested in doing that. :') Especially because then I could listen to the total whumpiness of chapter 7 with my own ears. It's my favorite. I've forever peaked lol.

Relevant sidenote: I sent my brother some excerpts of my writing recently (specifically the excerpt in the summary of Every Shadow and the musician/cantina paragraphs near the beginning of chapter 6 of Five Peggats Each), and he was like "dude, this would be an incredible audiobook" which made me super happy. :')

[lets-talk-spirituality]

Hello. I’m S. Can I please have a channeled message from my future twin sons? I love them so much already and I’d love to hear anything from them. Is this question acceptable? Thank you in advance I can leave feedback:)

I’m not sure what will come up from this but I can try! I’ve never done a reading like this.

What messages do the twins have for you?

We are hungry and we aren’t ready yet for earth. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little bit scared. That’s why we’re coming in pairs. Last time I was on earth, well it was a shit show and I’m very anxious about returning. It’s very important that you stay as peaceful as possible while you carry me. Please do your best to not be around loud noises or other stressors because I’m already a bit of an anxious mess. I’m so glad that I have my brother coming too. Besties for the resties. I know you’re nervous about being a parent but we chose you! You chose us. We’ve done this before, only last time, we were your parents. Pretty neato. I hope you give us some dope names. Names are so critical. Michelle, Sarah, Gio, Barney, Bailey, just some names I’m throwing out there. I wonder what it’ll be like this time around. I think we contracted for birth to be a little bit rough but we all end up okay.

One of the biggest lessons we want to teach you is about balance and self love. There’s two of us, like libra scales. Hey maybe we’ll have some libra placements! But we want you to learn the balance in care for others and for yourself. We kinda want another sibling too, maybe a dog or cat if a human isn’t an option. I love cats! (I feel like they’re talking collectively and then one or the other, this is the second one speaking up for the first time, the other stuff above when using I was the other child). Scarlet, the color red, maybe they have red hair? Something about red.

We want to travel, we are very adventurous and we want to experience as much of human life as possible, but I will have anxiety so it’s critical you create a safe space for me to explore and to fail as a child, I’m not good at coming out of my shell after such a traumatic time here last time. I won’t go into details but it wasn’t endurable and I left sooner than planned, I’m coming back to clear up some lessons and one is learning how to embrace the harshness in life. Giving me a strong foundation younger will help me be more equipped. I may need a child psychologist at some point to help me manage my emotions. Sister is helpful to have. (I don’t think they’re aware yet fully of their genders because it’s like alternating, they feel like children coming through but obviously are expressing more eloquently).

Key notes: one of your twins is coming into this world more fearful and anxious. Look into non violent birthing techniques and maybe consider home birthing. The other twin was more quiet than the other, more peaceful, loved cats, maybe you can do some cat decor in their room or get a cat, I feel like they may be a boy and a girl or will somehow be like Yin and Yang, one is more quiet and peaceful and one is more anxious and loud, they balance each other out and are teaching you balance. You may want to take notes of things they say when they are younger because they may reveal stuff about their past life and that could give you insight into how to help parent them more. I think the anxious twin may end up having nightmares that are actually past life memories.

I think the other twin is mostly tagging along as a companion for the anxious twin, as a way to help them complete their karmic cycle they couldn’t finish last time because their life was pretty brutal (I’m getting some really horrible stuff here like extreme abuse, this isn’t meant to upset you as this is their past life and not current but I’m sharing as a way to help you understand why this twin may be so fearful or have some horrible thoughts at a young age, it’s past life memories, you can help them by talking through it with them and validating how painful and not okay something like that is to experience, it’s important you shower this twin with love and support because I think they’re gonna have a bit of a rough time adjusting to earth again).

Card Pull- Chakra Exploration Oracle

Anxious Twin

Throat Chakra—in what ways have you repressed your voice or been hesitant to express your truth? How has this effected the unfoldment of your life?

Mantra: sharing my voice, thoughts and opinions is vital and I speak my mind truth confidently and with ease

Interesting because this twin came through more talkatively. I’m getting that it’s important you help this child find creative outlets for their feelings and that you reinforce them sharing their voice. Try not to shame them or get onto them if they talk a lot. I think they were very repressed in the last life and this throat chakra work is important for their healing. The color blue could be important, maybe a color that soothes them, they may have blue eyes, and also throat chakra is tied to air, so there’s another air reference. Maybe libra placements. I have a feeling this twin may either be born second a good bit of time after the other or they will go first and the other will follow very quickly behind.

Quiet Twin

Crown Chakra— where is despair and lack of faith showing up in your present reality?

Mantra: I possess unshakable faith in the divine hidden order around me. I cultivate hope that heals, inspires and births miracles into form.

This twin is more spiritually advanced and that’s why they are coming through with the other twin. This is a mission they have, supporting this twin soul. This is a very evolved soul and you may struggle with knowing how to support this child because they may be more wise/evolved than you are at times. All this child seeks is acceptance and love. Do your best. It’s enough. Pay special attention to what this twin says, they will be very wise. Crown chakra is the color purple so that may be an important color for this twin. Maybe using lavender in the room or lavender clothes would be helpful. This is a soft soul, loves animals, will more than likely go into healing work or work that will help others.

Goddess Oracle

What Goddess can you embody to support these twins?

Diana— focused intention “keep your unwavering thoughts, feelings and actions focused on your target and you will make your mark”

Ostara—fertility “it is the perfect time for you to start new projects, access new ideas and give birth to new conditions”

Both cards are purple. To me it confirms what your twins were saying, focus your intention on creating a safe environment and on educating yourself as much as possible on early childhood development. Read books about child psychology, learn as much as you can. Your intent to be a good parent is the most important thing. And also ofc fertility came out. You are birthing new ways of being for these two souls to help them thrive, one to heal and one to step into their power. Also you gotta be pretty fertile to have twins!I think this card is also saying to create a new environment, make energetic changes, and shake stuff up in preparation for these twins.

Curious to know how this resonates and I hope it helps you.

[tisthedamnstark]

And whatever they lose, they rediscover (Stony Angst)

Read on AO3

It's a little known fact that at fifteen, Tony Stark was a gifted poet. The combination of his genius mind and his complicated teenage emotions made him an able writer, collecting and polishing words like a machine he has to restore.

Now, Tony writes again, standing in the ashes of the Avengers fever dream.

OR

Set after Civil War, Tony writes a poem for Steve when all he has left is a burner phone, broken promises and a stubborn ember of hope.

cap breaks promises. "we'll lose" in that second, every ounce of trust released unbound willing to believe whatever he says in return. "then we'll do that together too".

Tony remembers, vividly, that time when Steve promised to be there. The time when he swore, half unspoken, that no matter how catastrophic the loss, he would stay by Tony's side.

He can still feel the rush of relief, the band aid on his ageing heart when he believed he had Steve. The feeling of being wanted and trusted is burned so strongly onto his very being that he still dreams about it- even now. Standing in the ashes of the Avengers fever dream. Surveying the wreckage of his naivety.

A little part of him still believes. Tony is fully aware that he poured expensive alcohol on a flame and expected it to flicker and die, when deep down he knew that it would burn brighter than before.

One day, he thinks it was a Sunday, Peter came into the tower unexpectedly and, well. It wasn't a pretty sight, as Tony was (impressively) both drunk and hungover.

He took one look at his wasted mentor and pulled out his phone, frantically typing something.

"Hey kid," Tony slurred, "don't go telling on me. Not cool."

"I'm not busting you Mr Stark, it's, uh, your life I guess?" Peter scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "It just reminded me of a meme I saw. Um... this one!"

Peter handed Tony the phone, saying "This is you, Mr Stark, seriously."

The meme was a yellow dog in a room on fire, sat at a table with a mug. There was a speech bubble saying 'This is fine.'

Before Tony could respond indignantly, Peter took the phone back and said he was heading into the lab to work on the web formula. Waving him off, Tony sat back into the chair holding his glass of whiskey contemplatively.

"Damn kid." He muttered, "If only he knew how spot on that analogy was."

After that, Tony drank less, which was good. Unfortunately, he also decided that a good replacement for his poisonous drink was something toxic to inhale instead.

It had been a long time since Tony had smoked like this. Sure, he enjoyed a cigarette now and then, but he kicked the habit in his early twenties.

So, to say Rhodey was surprised to see his friend chainsmoking on the balcony was an understatement.

"You gonna talk about it, Tones?" He asked softly, without judgement.

"Not a chance." Tony scoffed, taking a particularly long drag.

"Hand me one then. I'll keep you company."

The pair spent almost two hours in a comfortable silence, the only sounds from the traffic below and the occasional click of the lighter.

When Rhodey got up to leave, he placed one hand on Tony's shoulder and said "Don't break yourself over this."

Tony heard the footsteps of his best friend fade, and wondered if he'd ever open up again. Ever trust again.

Tony remembers the time when Steve promised to be there. He wonders how delusional he must have been to have seen love in those eyes.

spoken so strongly you're compelled to believe. they lost. but they lost to eachother. promises twisted and poisoned and still promises. indescript phone. indescribable promise. "whatever it takes" he promised. his promises shouldn't mean anything now; no trust. liar.

Sitting at his desk, his eyes linger on the phone Steve left him when he, well, left him. Ran off with his childhood friend because he never truly loved-

Tony quickly cuts off that train of thought, forcing it back into the darkest corner of his mind, refusing to face reality. He returns his attention to the computer, to the document full of false starts and cliché concepts.

It's a little known fact that at fifteen, Tony Stark was a gifted poet. The combination of his genius mind and his complicated teenage emotions made him an able writer, collecting and polishing words like a machine he has to restore.

When his parents died, he felt the violent roar of grief, simultaneously overwhelming his mind and numbing his emotions to the point where he was so changed that he couldn't do it anymore.

Words that once flowed smoothly like clockwork ground to a bitter halt, depriving Tony of his last healthy outlet. Thinking nothing of it in the haze, he tucked his notebook away and reached for the whiskey.

The decades passed and it was almost as if the recent events revived the poetic voice in him; maybe two wrongs do make a right.

Deciding to change tack, Tony closed the document and reached for a pen and paper.

It was if someone had ripped open a faucet, everything that wouldn't type poured out onto the page. The poem was a mess, a formless chunk of angry, brutal, beautiful sentences that expressed everything he wanted it to.

He reread what he wrote with a more critical eye, reshaping the raw emotions into palatable English, harshly critiquing his rusty wording.

When Tony was satisfied, he folded the page in half and tucked it into the locked drawer of the desk.

Three weeks later, with a cigarette in his hand and a determined expression, he pulled out the burner phone and typed it all out into a text message. (It had been a while since he used an old-fashioned keypad, so that took longer than he would care to admit.)

Wondering if he would regret this, he quickly added a short line at the bottom:

"you asked to read my poetry a couple of years ago. i didn't like that idea. you taught me that we don't always get what we want, or even what we thought we already had. -ts"

Trying not to tremble, he sent off the message, praying that the phone really would contact Steve.

Without the luxury of read receipts, Tony went to bed troubled that night, silently begging the universe to give him a break for once in his life.

The universe, unsurprisingly, didn't reply.

yet somehow despite the pain, despite the loss, there's always more to gain in him. and whatever they lose they rediscover and it burns even brighter than it did before. hurts even deeper than it did before. they love even harder than they could before.

Tony, despite his current pessimism, hates bad endings. His life seems to deal him those cards constantly and unrepentantly, ending everything painfully and pairing them with beginnings that were so beautiful he couldn't bear to ignore them.

There was Yinsen, a saviour before he even spoke a word to Tony. He knows he owes his life to the man, and that debt shall remain unfulfilled until the day he himself drops. Tony tries to believe that death was truly what his companion wanted.

Obadiah was the caring father figure that Tony desperately needed, until his jealousy got the better of him and he went from supportive to unplugging the life support. Tony cursed the man who invented greed.

These circumstances are what made losing Steve so jarring. Somehow, Tony had convinced himself that his boyfriend loved him and would never leave him behind, but... it turns out even Captain America was a bastard.

"I'm so done with bad end-"

A shrill, tinny noise comes from the burner phone. On autopilot, Tony reaches for it and answers in a split second.

"Steve?"

There was a huff of breath and a pause.

"I read your poem, Tony."

Tony hadn't noticed how much he missed Steve despite everything. Hearing his voice was almost too much, but the last thing he would ever do is hang up.

Tony swallowed. "Um. Yeah. Thoughts?"

"We lost. And I'm sorry." Steve said, trying to hide the uncertainty in his tone, "I broke a promise, and I hurt us. We both made mistakes but..." A shaky sigh exits Steve's mouth, and Tony feels the familiar ache to kiss away the pain for him.

"But." Steve spoke more surely now, "I made the bigger one. That mistake was leaving you behind. I love you, Tony, and I have completely failed at expressing that in a meaningful way."

"I love y- you too." Tony said, voice small and stuttering slightly. All his residual anger was fading hearing from the man he loved speak to him again. "We really lost, Steve. Can we really continue the story of us? When all I have left is the ashes of what we were?"

"Killing me with poetry." Steve mutters, but he spoke too close to the microphone and Tony smiles a small, hopeful smile.

Steve, unbeknownst to Tony, was stroking over the words of his poem, having copied it out as soon as he received it. "What is lost, as you said yourself, can be rediscovered. What love we had can make it, Tony." He paused, before adding;

"We'll burn even brighter than we did before."

[with-love-from-hell]

Hello, I was wondering if you would be willing to write a specific situation with Lucifer, Barbatos and Simeon where the reader used to receive all kind of abuse for years, and feels like they are not worth any kind of good things happening to them. As in, they will unconsciously just reject it, or feel like it's for being polite. I'm sorry if it's too sensitive or something. Thank you for writing

Hi there anon! I absolutely can do this, but I am going to change the wording a bit and make this more a headcanon set for how these three approach an Mc with RSD - which is similar in how you are describing the characteristics of Mc here.

For those of you who don't know, Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is a way to describe a cluster of symptoms that occurs within folks who are neurodivergent and/or have experienced extensive trauma, in which they have a strong sensitivity or fear of social rejection, criticism, or any sort of sense that they are being rejected socially. Some of the symptoms that this includes is low self-worth, emotional volatility, social anxiety, difficulties feeling connected to others, social withdrawal and pushing others away, and disbelief/distrust of affection or positive feedback. For many years, it was believed this was only something that could be passed through genetics in folks with ADHD, but now we have a better understanding of the symptoms and mental health, we know that RSD can exist within a variety of mental illnesses, such as ADHD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Trauma or Stress Disorders, and Eating Disorders!

Also, I decided to add headcanons for other Obey Me! characters too, given that I have a feeling that will be asked for eventually.

How they comfort an Mc with Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria

Fandom: Obey me!

Characters featured: Brothers & Datables

Genre: Comfort

Written for a GN!Mc (you/yours pronouns)

CW: Allusion to/brief mentions of past abuse but vaguely, RSD, social rejection/exclusion

Note: Though I do have a masters degree in Psychology and clinical training in treating a variety of mental health issues, I am not your therapist, nor is this fic intended to take the place of professional help. If you are experiencing any type of crisis, please seek support from a professional. Utilize the HelpGuide.org to get connected to the appropriate helpline, both in the US and internationally. 

Diavolo

Diavolo at first would be surprised that you tend to push his affections away and come off to him as cold, but that doesn’t mean he stops giving you affection!

He will keep offering you kindness and mild flirtation despite that because that’s just who he is! 

Though, this may backfire for him if you see him acting similarly with others. But you cannot ignore the fact that the way he treats you makes you feel special!

But often you question if you deserve it, and anyone who you’d bring this question to would tell you Diavolo is head over heels for you. 

If you finally decide to bring your insecurity of being rejected to him and your past history of rejection/neglect/abuse, he would double down, doing his best to prove to you that you are worthy of his love (and you are!!) 

He will probably become a lot more physically affectionate too, if that’s something you’re okay with- like lots of hand-holding and hugs for sure! 

He will also give you tons and TONS of verbal validation that he loves you (either platonically or romantically, however your Mc fits in with him!) 

Overall he’s really good at his reassurance, and does his best to rid you of your rejection fears- at least with him! He will also try to validate and ensure that others want to be around you too as best he can, though this may be harder to believe.

Barbatos

Barbatos’ cold demeanor makes him a bit harder to be vulnerable around, and it makes sense that you fear he hates you or doesn’t want to be around you when his life revolves around the prince of Hell. 

Out of habit, you try not to get close to him despite the fact that it pains you to push him away, but you’ve convinced yourself any type of relationship with him isn’t worth it.

Over time, Barbatos will be concerned with the fact that you seemingly bypass him or act very surface-level around him, but he’d be lying if he didn’t say he hadn’t noticed it with the others too. 

He tries his best to grow closer, but it all just seems like he’s doing his “job” to you. Eventually though, he will figure this out.

He would approach you about it, but gently- probably inviting you on a tea date and asking what keeps you at arms length.

He knows of your past already given his insight into your life prior to you coming here, but he would still let you talk at your own pace and not make assumptions should you decide to open up about it to him. 

Even if you decide not to open up to him, he will try harder to reaffirm the fact that he does love and admire you- perhaps still not saying it with words, but with more obvious actions- like inviting you over for tea dates, taking more specific time out of his schedule for you, learning about your tastes and making foods specifically palatable to you, etc. 

Simeon

Simeon is smitten with you so quickly, so at first he may be hurt that you are so closed off and withdrawn. 

After a while though, he will connect the dots and realize it’s not necessarily something he’s doing wrong, but due to your past experiences of people rejecting you and lying to you. 

He would sit you down to talk to you about it, maybe being a little pushy about you opening up to him, but he just really wants to understand what he could do to make you feel loved.

He delivers on his goal though, and will do anything to get you to believe him when he says he cares about you and wants you around, even going so far as to write you letters weekly and leaving them in the HOL mailbox for you to find and read over. 

He will also be much more in tune to your moods and offer whatever you may need in that moment- particularly if you’re isolating from others despite wanting interpersonal closeness. 

He will make an effort to always spend time with you and engage in your hobbies, and make room for you to engage in his as well- ensuring that the activity is much more fun when done with you. 

Solomon

Solomon is a bit more on the flirtatious side, so he may come off as just a sleeze ball at first when you meet him- resulting in you not taking any of his complements seriously. 

Once he realizes you are dismissing every single compliment thought, he gets concerned- especially because he means every word. 

He isn’t as in touch with his emotions as he used to be- living that long can sometimes jade a person. 

He wont confront you on it, instead realizing that there is probably something in your past causing you to react that way and he will aim to rectify his actions appropriately. 

If you decide to come to him though, he wont turn you away. He will listen intently and offer apologies for anything he’s said or done that had triggered your RSD. 

He will try to be more genuine in his compliments, and work with you on actually believing them instead of shrugging them off. 

He will also be more ready to stand at your aid when one of the brothers tease you- reminding them to watch who they’re insulting especially if they don’t mean it. 

Belphie

Belphie would hate to admit it, but he understands the feeling to a degree. 

He always feels like the odd one out amongst his brothers and friends alike, feeling that people are always annoyed with his low energy and random sleeping spells. 

It may take awhile for you to be convinced that he means it when he says he wants to spend time with you- mostly due to, ya know, everything. 

But over time, you would surely notice how his cuddles with you are so much different than his cuddles with his brothers- there’s a desperation to them, as if he’s afraid you’ll leave him. 

If you decide to talk to him about it, he will be very open and honest in telling you that he can relate, and ensure you that he loves and cares about you despite everything. 

Honestly, even just the talk alone may qualm your anxieties. 

He is always open to reassure you, and you may even help each other with your rejection sensitivity- taking turns asking for reassurance when it’s needed and providing validation when the other needs it would surely strengthen your bond.

Beel

At first, Beel really just thinks you want nothing to do with him or the rest of his family when you push them away and reject his attempts at getting closer.

After you sacrifice yourself for him in the catacombs though, he knows that you care about him and wants to do so much to show you he does too.

Beel has a pretty stoic face, so sometimes its hard to tell when he is expressing genuine emotion. The difficulty in reading him may make some things come across differently than how he intends. 

When he seems to not make any progress with your relationship with him, he will confront you on it- maybe a bit too directly. 

If you decide to open up to him, he will be very present in listening to why you have a hard time believing others care. 

He will wrap you in the tightest of hugs and assure you that he truly does care for you- and there’s probably not a single person he cares for more outside of his brothers like you. (expect lots more hugs from now on)

He will do his best to work on expressing more emotion outwardly, and showing you love through gift giving, acts of service,  and quality time- like inviting you to the gym, doing things for you without being asked, or bringing you treats from his outing to Madam Screams

With each action, he will finish it by saying he loves you, and each one will be wholly genuine. (I definitely can see him saying it almost as much as Asmo)

Asmo

Asmo is stunned when you don’t accept/believe any of his compliments. 

He has tried everything to convince you he is being genuine, and yet you still pull away from him.

Eventually he will be so starved for you to return his affection that he will come to you practically sobbing, wondering why you arent as enamored with him as he is you. 

Obviously this goes without saying, but it’s hard to accept the embodiment of Lust’s attempts at affection at first when you’re almost certain that all he wants from you is sex, and he doesn’t really care about you as a whole...right?

Well, you would be wrong actually. 

But Asmo doesn’t realize that’s where your heads at, so when you tell him, he sort of gets a wake up call and realizes that the genuine compliments mixed with intense flirting maybe wasn’t the best approach to take. 

From here on, a lot of the flirtatious comments are kept at a minimum, and he often reassures you of more things about you that he likes other than just your appearance or your body. 

Asmo will finish every action by stating, matter-of-factly, that he loves you and cherishes every moment you spend together. 

After awhile, it will be pretty difficult not to believe him. 

Satan

Satan is pretty aloof, especially when you are first getting to know him, so he doesn’t bat much of an eye at first when you’re a bit distant. 

Though once he warms up to you, he is a bit shocked that you are constantly avoiding his attempts at building a closer relationship to you. 

He will be especially shocked when you degrade yourself in response to his words of affirmation and attempts at romancing you

He will probably attribute it to things he personally had done- like the threats he made when he tried to force you into a pact with him

He will confront you about it quite bluntly, wanting to get to the bottom of it right away rather than letting it fester.

Once you open up to him, he will take in everything you say, immediately reworking how he approaches you in his brain. 

He’s very gentle in his reassurance that he cares about you, and that he appreciates you for who you are.

He will be very patient with you, and do whatever it takes to reaffirm you that you mean the world to him. 

He will also give more platonic physical affection (like hand-holding, snuggling, sitting close to you, etc) and make more of an effort to go out of his way to spend time with you, even digging into his brother’s quality time.

Levi

Oof, this boy hard relates to you and honestly would probably experience his own form of RSD given all he does in game with the self deprecation and difficulty accepting compliments

Honestly, he’s probably the one you would grow the most attached to given that he seems to mirror your avoidant responses and has a difficulty maintaining friendships with others

Though his comments on you being a normie and the “umm actually” attitude he has on occasion will wear on you, so he will be half surprised when you become more distant, but again his own rejection sensitivity will lead him to believe it’s because you don’t like him. 

I imagine any confrontation about the situation will have to be spur of the moment, and I can see either of you nervously blurting it out at each other (and it goes something like this)

After a long talk, you both would form a sort of kinship regarding your RSD, and this would probably bond you both pretty close. 

He’s not much for verbal affection, but he will try his best to reassure you he cares about you and loves you, and will work on reducing his own self-deprecation and accepting compliments if you promise to too.

Mammon

Mammon is completely oblivious to any signs that you are avoiding his attempts at getting closer or are triggered by his constant degrading.

He really does love you, but how are you to know when he constantly calls you stupid or useless, even if he doesn’t mean it and his brothers try to reassure you that his love for you is obvious.

It gets worse when he actually does start showing you more affection and slowly opening his true feelings to you and try to be physically close to you more. All this does is confuse you, and continue your internal cycle of thinking you’re misreading signs and actually are a nuisance to him

It will probably take a you having a break down in order for him to finally get it through his head that his words are actively hurting you and triggering your RSD

After he learns, he will feel SO terrible. Expect many apologies, tight hugs, and maybe even some tears from him as he understands more and more what you’ve been put through

From here on, he’s much more cautious in thinking over his words before he speaks, being sure that he’s not going to say anything to hurt you. 

It takes awhile and he does make mistakes, but he does his best to rectify them. 

Expect lots of make-up gifts, often things you had mentioned you wanted or needed in passing, with a formal apology and genuine iteration of how he loves you and would be lost without you.

Lucifer

Lucifer is another who is pretty aloof at first, and you wouldn’t be wrong in automatically assuming he wants nothing to do with you.

Though, after everything you’ve done for his family, he does want to get closer to you, despite the fact that his exterior is still calloused around his brothers

This may result in a lot of confusion for you. On one hand he is very soft when you’re alone, praising you and telling you how much he loves and cares...but on the other, he is distant and sometimes straight up neglectful around others.

Unintentionally, he is repeatedly triggering the RSD. He has some awareness into the fact that it impacts you eventually, but he can’t quite put his finger on it.

He would probably try to approach you about it, being overly blunt, which may come across as accusatory, so I wouldn’t be shocked if it would push you into a breakdown. 

Lucifer would soften after this and provide a nearly overwhelming amount of comfort. He will rub your back, snuggle you, give you some gentle kisses to your forehead or knuckles, and give a lot of verbal reassurance and apologies for how he’s acted. 

Once you open up, Lucifer is very receptive and will ask what you need in regards to reassurance that he does care and love you. 

He won’t automatically make assumptions, but if you’re not sure, he will try a variety of different things- like holding your hand or being physically close to you in public, more words of reassurance, taking time off work to spend time with you, gift giving, etc.

No matter what you say, consider it done- even if it may take a stab at his pride, because you’re worth sacrificing his sin for. 

[warriorteam1924]

Houston, we got a problem....

John Deacon & Queen Band

Author note : Hello my beauties. here I am for day 3 of Deaky’s 71th birthday. I’m not following any prompts, it’s just birthday themed. I’ve been super busy lately and I’m aware it’s not my best piece, but I hope some of you will enjoy it anyways. Thanks in advance to anyone who will be giving honest feedback, it’s always very appreciated. Also, I remind you English isn’t my mother tongue, apologies in advance for the mistakes.

Warnings : none really, just my awful writing. and a slight cursing.... 

Summary : it’s John’s birthday !!!

Words count : 1,817 words

Permanent taglist : @reavenedges-lies​​ @thosequeenboys​​ @born-to-lose​​  @orionis8689​​ @queenlover05​​​ (communicate with me regarding tagging please)

Some thought since he was the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury was the decision maker within the band, but it was a false assertion. When it came to music and the whole band creating together, they all had their word, everyone’s opinion was valid.

 When it came to celebration, however, it was a totally different matter. He and only he was able to be in charge of everything. He always had a plan, and it was better for everyone else to follow his orders and it was useless to argue or contest his decisions.

 John Deacon, Roger Taylor and Brian May had rapidly understood it. So, when Freddie Mercury announced he was going to organize a surprise celebration for Deaky’s birthday, Roger and Brian had merely exchanged glances, loudly swallowing. They weren’t sure where all of this was going to lead them, but on the other hand, they knew they had to follow Freddie’s rules on this matter. The singer was about to become a real drama queen, largely pouting and slamming the doors behind him. And after all, Brian and Roger only had to follow orders, this shouldn’t be too hard.

 As it was clear for everyone, Freddie had a plan. He dragged Brian and Roger with him to go shopping. Balloons and decorations, presents, at least one from each musician, and a fabulous and fancy cake. After all, one only had a single birthday within a year, this needed a proper extravaganza.

 Brian was staying strong, trying to reassure everyone, including himself, that they were going to find what they needed. Even if it was already the fourth shop the three of them were leaving, empty-handed. Roger, on the other hand, was already dragging his purple shoes on the pavement, huffing and puffing like crazy. Freddie was merely ignoring him, leading the way, rocking his hips as he was rapidly walking.

 Eventually and at the end of what appeared to be an endless day for both guitarist and drummer, all was found and everything was ready. As they gathered at Freddie’s, they wrapped the presents, or at least, the singer undid the wrapping work the sellers had kindly done and wrapped everything all over again. The presents needed to be neatly presented, the paper needed to be straight and elegant. The bows had to be perfectly placed and the tag had to be correctly and distinctly written.

 The balloons and the cakes didn’t need more attention, they just needed to be brought to Deaky on his birthday. Which was the following day. The three men agreed to gather again at Freddie’s, this way, Roger would be able to drive them and the rest of the purchases to their final destination.

 On the D-Day, Brian and Roger made sure to arrive at Freddie’s earlier than expected. The two of them were aware the singer would be late anyways, but at least, they were making sure the blame wouldn’t be put on their shoulders.

 Freddie eventually kissed his cats and they all got in the car, the balloons and the presents in the trunk, and the cake safely laying on the singer’s laps. The way to get to John’s place was pleasant, the day was already surely going to be very lovely. The sun was shining and it wasn’t too hot thanks to a nice summer breeze.

 Roger parked not too far from Deaky’s and Brian headed to the trunk to take the rest of the stuff. The drummer took the cake and told Freddie he would safely and carefully bring it to the house. This way, the singer could be in charge of the rest of the presents and Brian could wrap the strings of the balloons around his long fingers, making sure none of them would escape.

 The driving from Freddie’s house to John’s went well. There was no reason the way from the car to the house would be different.

 Freddie was leading the way and opened the doorway that led to the pathway. Brian was following him, making sure the balloons weren’t on his way to see where he was putting his feet. Roger, bringing up the rear, very silently closed the doorway, his tongue sticking out as he was struggling between the cake and the lock. But it went fine and he let out a sigh of relief.

 The three men were still quietly walking, willing to surprise their friend.

 Yet, unlike Brian, Roger wasn’t really looking where he was going and since his shoelaces were untied, the inevitable happened. He made sure not to fall, and surprisingly remained quiet. Looking around him, he blushed heavily. They were only a couple of steps away from the front door.

 Since Brian was the closest, the drummer whispered:

 “Houston? We have a problem….”

 He knew the guitarist was fond of space and hoped this would soothe him before actually announcing the bad news.

 Brian turned around, trying to see between the balloons. No other words were needed. When he saw Roger’s face, he understood right away. The drummer let out a nervous laugh.

 “Ready guys?”, Freddie whispered as he was about to knock on the door.

 Yet, there was no answer.

 “Guys?”, he frowned and turned around as well.

 The scene wasn’t what he expected to see. Roger had his hand on his chin, thinking and Brian seemed to be trying to find a way to go back in time. Freddie noticed Roger’s hands were empty and looked down, since it was where the two others were looking.

 That’s when he saw the box of the cake on the pathway.

 “Noooooooooooooooooooooooo….”, Freddie whined, still in a whisper.

 He put the presents next to the front door and came closer to the others, all of them staring at the box.

 “Roger, what did you do?”,  the singer complained.

 The drummer looked at him, willing to sarcastically answer, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea.

 “I’m sorry, it was an accident….”, Roger explained, still in a whisper.

 “Maybe it’s not that bad….”, Brian said, trying to remain positive.

 The three men simultaneously bent over, still intensely examining the crime scene. An old lady passed by, stopped to glance at them. She paused for a few seconds, wondering what was going on. She then shrugged and carried on her way.

Freddie delicately put his hands on the box, very gently opening it.

 “Careful….”, Brian said, sweat forming on his forehead.

 It was as if Roger and Brian were witnessing an open-heart surgery, as Freddie was now on his knees, looking inside the box.

 He closed his eyes, sighing. He looked up, saying no with his face.

 “Are you sure? There must be something we can do?”, Roger whispered.

 “It’s too late, Rog….”, Freddie said.

 “Let me see.”, the drummer replied.

 “No, you cannot see this. it would break your heart.”, the singer stated, avoiding his eyes.

 Roger frowned, but opened the box all the same. And he grimaced.

 “Oh, bloody hell….”, Brian tried not to curse too strongly.

 “Fuck….”, Roger was, on the other hand, less polite.

 The cake was completely upside down, the frosting spread everywhere but on the top of the cake. The drummer came closer and put his index in the icing, willing to taste it.

 “What are you doing?”, Freddie asked, seeming deeply offended.

 “What? I’m just trying it.”, Roger shrugged.

 “Is it good?”, Brian asked.

 Yet, before Roger could answer, the guitarist had already taken a bit of icing on his finger as well, and tried it.

 “Delicious. This is an excellent bakery.”, he said, nodding.

 “You guys are insane….”, Freddie stated.

 “You should try, Fred, it’s really good.”, Roger replied, sitting down to take another fingertip of icing.

 The singer frowned, considering his option. He eventually shrugged and sat as well, tasting the frosting. Soon, Brian sat as well and the three of them started to take turns, cleaning the box from the icing that had spread everywhere. The three men were smiling, licking their lips, appreciating this moment.

 “What the hell is going on here?”, a voice said, making them strongly startle.

 John appeared on his doorstep, wearing shorts and an old T-shirt, summer slippers on his feet.

 The three musicians exchanged guilty glances, none of them daring to speak first as Deaky was walking closer.

 Roger searched his pocket and eventually found his lighter, turning it on. He placed it on top of Deaky’s cake, or what was left of it and began to sing.

 “Happy Birthday John, Happy birthday John….”, he began, looking at the others for them to join.

 The singer and the guitarist carried on singing with him, their voices harmoniously echoing in the pathway.

 At the end of the song, John gently bent and blew the flame, and the three others cheered him, applauding.

 There was a moment of silence and John sat with them, the whole band now seated around the open box, where the cake was still in pitiful condition.

 “Shall we eat this cake or are we just going to stare at it during the whole day?”, Deaky asked, breaking the silence.

 “Yes, Deaks’ right, let’s get inside and eat it.”, Roger nodded.

 “Why get inside and risk another tragedy?”, John said, taking four forks out of his pocket.

 The three guests looked at him, stunned.

 “I’ve been watching you for the past five minutes. I want a piece of cake too….”, John carried on, giving them the forks.

 They all exchanged glances again, a bit embarrassed. John took a full fork and put it in his mouth, licking his lips.

 “Okei, but this cake is delicious. I need to know where you guys got it….”, he said, trying to appease the atmosphere, since he had the feeling his friends were strongly uncomfortable about the incident.

 “Oh, we got it on Fleet Street, the white bakery….”, Freddie said. “I made sure you’d get the best of the best….”, he carried on, taking a piece of the cake as well.

 The four men carried on randomly talking as they were eating the cake. Soon, there were laughs and giggles. The musicians tied the balloons on their friend and eventually he also got to open his presents, still seated in the pathway.

 At the end of the day, John noticed his cheeks were sore, because he had been laughing and smiling a lot during the whole afternoon.

 Yes, some would have thought his birthday party was ruined, but as far as he was concerned, he considered it was one of the best birthdays he had ever had.

 He was surrounded by his friends, there was nothing fancy, nothing superficial, nothing luxuriant. And it was just perfect. And if sitting with his bandmates on this pathway during a whole afternoon and ending it with stiff legs was the price to pay, John thought it was cheap given how blissful this moment had been.