#second edit: ah someone i follow has gotten the same ask. i think they’re just sending it to everyone who liked a specific post then

[bees-nest]

get mauled

???????????? Hello????? Okay?????

[jaesqueso]

The Bachelorette: NCT edition - Men tell all (special)

The season of love is finally here! An interactive series where you’ll get to choose who goes home each week and ultimately who Y/N chooses in the end!

pairing: nct(ot23) x fem!reader

summary: The eliminated bachelors come back to spill the tea on the season

episode guide

word count: 5,086

warnings: none :)

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

Last week on the Bachelorette:

3 men go on international dates to prove they deserve to be up for the final rose.

In the most heartbreaking rose ceremony this season, Y/N says goodbye to one more bachelor leaving only two to dispute her heart.

Before we get into the final decision, we bring back all the eliminated contestants for a get together nobody will forget.

What was left unsaid? Are feelings still hurt? Who’s got exciting news?

Find out on the Bachelorette!

-

Chris: “Good evening everybody! My name is Chris Harrison and today we bring back all the eliminated contestants from this season of The Bachelorette where we’ll reminisce about everything that happened! Later on, the beautiful Y/N will join us to give her side of things too so we don’t miss out on any detail. Now, without further due, please welcome the bachelors: Jisung, Chenle, Sungchan, Taeil, Yangyang, Ten, Lucas, Mark, Jungwoo, Winwin, Xiaojun, Kun, Doyoung, Shotaro, Hendery, Haechan, Renjun, Johnny, Jaehyun, Taeyong and Jeno!”

One by one the guys enter the stage smiling and waving to the cameras and getting seated in the couches available.

Chris: “Welcome back everyone, I’m so excited to have you all here and hopefully ready to tell us all the truth!”

They all cheer and clap excited to discuss their journeys on the show.

Chris: “23 bachelors started in the competition to win a beautiful girl’s heart, but week by week they had to say goodbye to their chance at love. Based of first impressions 5 of them didn’t even unpack their bags and get settled at the guest house. Jisung, Chenle, Sungchan, Taeil and Yangyang, how did it feel to be sent back right in the first night?”

Chenle: “I was quite sad actually because I felt like there wasn’t even a chance to prove myself.”

Yangyang: “Yeah, there wasn’t enough time to really talk to Y/N and present ourselves.”

Sungchan: “I agree, but on the other hand I feel like I personally could’ve done more that night.”

Taeil: “I kinda feel the same, maybe if I had approached her instead of just chilling around I could’ve stayed a little longer.”

Jisung: “But it was really intimidating with so many people in the room.”

Chris: “It must be hard to fight for attention in a room full of men all with the same objective. In the beginning it really comes down to who’s able to be memorable and who’s not. Even though you were only in the house for a few hours, was it a good experience?”

Yangyang: “I wouldn’t say good, maybe interesting is the right work.”

Taeil: “Definitely interesting.”

Jisung: “Also made me realise that this is not how I’d want to meet my future wife.”

Chenle: “Yeah, I feel like I’d prefer something more traditional.”

Sungchan: “But it was still interesting, for sure.”

Chris: “It’s never a wasted experience right? Thank you for joining us tonight.”

Everybody claps and the five boys smile and bow.

Chris: “After that first night 18 of these men settled in the guest house and got ready to start going on dates with our bachelorette. 2 of them were even lucky even to have an individual date but one of them didn’t end as they expected it. Lucas, why don’t you come and join me?”

Everybody cheers as Lucas gets up and sits on the chair next to Chris.

Chris: “So Lucas, Y/N choose you for one of the first one-on-one dates of the season and she even picked you up to take you to the beach. How were you feeling in the beginning?”

Lucas: “Oh Chris, I was so excited. I did not expect her to pick me up and we had so much fun on the ride, just singing and laughing. It was really cool. And when we got to the beach I was having a really good time with her. She’s an amazing girl and I felt like that was a good start to possibly build something in the future.”

Chris: “It did seem like you two were having a lot of fun until you were telling her a story that seemed a little bit familiar right?”

Lucas: “That really caught me off guard, but when she started to say things about Ahreum it all started to make sense.”

Chris: “Yes because actually the first time Y/N saw you she said you looked familiar.”

Lucas: “I know! But back then I didn’t think too much about it because I was so excited for the journey ahead. To be honest I had only seen her a few times before and she has changed a bit over the years so I didn’t even think to connect her to my past.”

Chris: “It was really a surprise to all of us. And then she left you at the restaurant and went back to the mansion. What was going through your head?”

Lucas: “Honestly I think my head was completely blank, I didn’t even know what to think, I only started to reflect on things once I got back to the guest house. Everybody kept asking me how the date went and I didn’t know what to say.”

Chris: “The following day, Y/N called you to the mansion to discuss the situation, were you expecting to go home when you went there?”

Lucas: “I kind of was, even if we had decided to give it a chance and see how things went, Ahreum would always be in the back of our heads and I would end up still going home.”

Chris: “Speaking of Ahreum, a lot of the fans are really curious, did you have the chance to meet her once you were out of the show?”

Lucas: “Actually… Yes.”

There’s a lot of whistles and cheers around the room.

Lucas: “When I left I couldn’t stop thinking about her because we did leave things unfinished back then when I left the country so I thought we should at least sit down and talk. So I called her and she agreed to meet and it was a very pleasant conversation.”

Chris: “That is really amazing! Do you two still keep in touch?”

Lucas: “We have. In fact, we decided to give us another change so we are now officially back together!”

Chris: “Wow! What an unexpected turn of events! I think everybody will be very happy to hear about it. How did Y/N react to those news?”

Lucas: “She was genuinely very happy for us, she’s been really supportive of our relationship and it’s really good that I got a very good friend like her out of this experience.”

Chris: “Well Lucas, I am very happy to hear things worked out for you and I wish you two all the best.”

Lucas: “Thank you, Chris.”

Everybody claps as Lucas gets up and returns to his seat.

Chris: “But Lucas was not the only one leaving after the first week. After a racy soccer match we said goodbye to 4 more bachelors. Ten, Mark, Jungwoo and Winwin, what did you feel when you didn’t hear your name being called?”

Ten: “Oh I was so sad! I was having so much fun!”

Jungwoo: “Yeah it was really fun to get to know Y/N.”

Mark: “But we knew we couldn’t all stay, someone had to go.”

Winwin: “I had a feeling it would be me.”

Chris: “Why did you think that Winwin?”

Winwin: “I’m a more quiet guy and with so many big personalities I’d end up fading into the background.”

Chris: “I can see how it can get overwhelming to be surrounded by so much competition.”

Jungwoo: “Sometimes even if you try your best to stand out it isn’t enough.”

Mark: “There was always someone who shined a little bit more.”

Ten: “You can only do so much. But it was fun!”

The others nod in agreement.

Chris: “Well, I’m glad you at least had a good time.”

Everybody claps for the 4 boys.

Chris: “On the second week we had two more individual dates and in the group date the guys met Ahreum to shoot a Charity Calendar. Kun you didn’t seem to have a good time there, what happened?”

Kun: “Ah… When we were in the dressing room getting ready I looked around and everybody seemed to have amazing costumes and I thought mine was just terrible. At the time I was really upset but now looking back at the footage I realise I exaggerated on my reaction, I should’ve just had fun with it.”

Chris: “Y/N surely didn’t appreciate your attitude, do you think there’s something you could’ve done to stay?”

Kun: “She asked me why I was so upset and I should’ve just been honest about it, I thought that not talking about it would just make the situation go away but after talking to her at the cocktail party after I realised I should’ve just said something and maybe I would’ve gotten another chance. But we’ll never know now!”

Chris: “That’s why I always told you guys to just enjoy and make the most out of every situation. Xiaojun, you were also eliminated that week, why do you think that happened?”

Xiaojun: “I think there was just lack of investment from my side. At the time I didn’t notice but like Kun was saying, after you see yourself on the screen you understand what you could’ve done better.”

Chris: “Do you feel like you were holding back?”

Xiaojun: “I wouldn’t say holding back, it was more me not creating situations where we could’ve maybe bonding a little bit more. And I do regret that.”

Chris: “Sometimes it’s not about what you did but what you didn’t do. Thank you for sharing.”

Claps fill the room.

Chris: “The following week we saw one of the most heartbreaking eliminations of the season on an individual date. Shotaro, the fans were devastated to see you go. When you went on the date did you have any idea you wouldn’t be coming back to the guest house?”

Shotaro: “Yes and no. I had a lot of fun on the date and I really like her but I knew I wasn’t at the same level as many of the other contestants, they’re such amazing guys.”

Chris: “Do you think feeling that way sabotaged your stay?”

Shotaro: “Not really. I knew I would eventually go home and I’m happy Y/N took the time to actually talk to me alone and explain what she felt, I really appreciated it.”

Chris: “Even though you weren’t destined for love, she seemed interested in keeping a friendship with you, is that in your plans?”

Shotaro: “Oh definitely! We actually have talked a few times after the shooting and she even promised to make me the godfather of one of her future kids!”

Chris: “Wow, that’s really amazing Shotaro! I’m sure the fans will be happy to know you two haven’t given up on the beautiful friendship we saw you construct. Now, by the end of the week we said goodbye to one more bachelor that left with a warning. Doyoung, come on up and join me!”

Doyoung gets up to sit next to Chris as the other guys look at each other.

Chris: “Doyoung, before you left the mansion after your elimination you told Y/N something that left her shook. She tried to ignore it at first but then she decided to confront the bachelors as you revealed some was not being honest and already had a girlfriend back home. Because we never got a real explanation what can you tell us about this?”

Doyoung: “I received some hate after those episodes aired and a lot of people said I only did that because I was upset that I was going home. While that may have been true, I did not lie. I heard some conversations and I thought Y/N should know because it was not fair that this person kept being in the competition and possibly break her heart.”

Chris: “So you’re saying the objective of your message was to help Y/N and not hurt her?”

Doyoung: “Absolutely.”

Chris: “So why not let her know who this person was and just leave it vague? I think that’s what made a lot of people doubt the truthfulness of you words.”

Doyoung: “I thought I should give that person the opportunity to come clean, but I guess he never did.”

Chris: “Ok, let’s clarify things then. Did you actually hear someone say they had a girlfriend?”

Doyoung: “I didn’t hear those exact words but I understood from the context.”

Chris: “You didn’t hear those exact words? So how come you assumed that’s what the person meant with whatever they said?”

Doyoung: “Now that we’re all here, I think we should finally give time for that person to come forward and clear things out. Johnny, care to say something?”

Gasps are heard from everywhere, including Chris. Johnny simply lowers his gaze and chuckles, shaking his head.

Chris: “I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were not expecting this. Johnny did you have a girlfriend when you joined this competition.”

Johnny: “I didn’t, Chris.”

Doyoung: “Well that’s not what I heard.”

Johnny: “Well maybe you shouldn’t have been hearing half conversation behind the door and assume things without asking people first.”

Chris: “Ok, now I’m really confused. Johnny what was the conversation about?”

Johnny: “Well, right in the first week there was this one night everybody had gone to bed but me and Ten stayed outside for a little longer. We were getting to know each other and we ended up talking about past relationships and if Doyoung really cared to know the truth he would’ve understand that I just told Ten that I had been though a break up right before I decided to apply for this.”

Doyoung: “But I heard you say you still had feelings for this person, isn’t that the same thing?”

Johnny: “I’ll always have feelings for my ex-girlfriend but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t ready to move on. And I was.”

Chris: “But wasn’t it too soon to enter a show to find love right after you got out of a relationship?”

Johnny: “At the time I didn’t think so and I still don’t. I went into the show ready to fall in love again and I felt like I was walking to that.”

Chris: “Why didn’t you had this conversation with Y/N at the time when you saw how hurt she was with all of this?”

Johnny: “Honestly I didn’t think Doyoung was talking about me. Firstly because he wasn’t there and secondly because I didn’t have a girlfriend and I never said I did.”

Chris: “But later on when you were eliminated you told her not to worry about the girlfriend situation anymore. Had you put the pieces together by then?”

Johnny: “As you can imagine, around that time that’s all we talked about at the guest house and I realised it couldn’t be anything else.”

Chris: “Did any of this weighted on your decision not to accept the rose on your individual date later on?”

Johnny: “A little bit I have to admit. I really felt like I was starting to fall in love with Y/N but I knew she didn’t feel the same thing for me.”

Chris: “So you decided to go home by yourself before she sent you packing?”

Johnny: “I was just trying to save her a harder decision by the end of the week, that’s all. I never meant to hurt her in anyway, but I also didn’t wanted to hurt myself.”

Chris: “So going back on the girlfriend/ex-girlfriend situation, after you left the show did you re-connect with this person?”

Johnny: “Actually no. Our relationship was more than solved in my head and I don’t feel like there’s anything else to be said.”

Chris: “Doyoung, hearing Johnny’s explanation what do you think about all this?”

Doyoung: “Honestly I don’t know if I believe it.”

Ten: “Chris, if I can just say something.”

Chris: “Of course, Ten.”

Ten: “What Johnny said about our conversation is true, we were talking about past relationships but he never said he had something still on going.”

Chris: “I guess it’s up to everyone to believe what they want. Doyoung, before you go back to your seat, if you went back would you do anything differently? Would you talk to Johnny first? Would you not say anything to Y/N? Or say something sooner?”

Doyoung: “Honestly I don’t know, I guess being upset at the time didn’t even allowed me to think straight. But if I want back to that moment before I went home I would’ve at least said Johnny’s name so that she could go straight to him.”

Chris: “Thank you, Doyoung. Also Ten and Johnny for giving us your side of the story.”

Doyoung goes back to his place and the mood is tense.

Chris: “The following week during a boat ride there were some fun moments were the bachelors had the chance to bond with our bachelorette but after a conversation was heard the reaction was not the best. Haechan what did you first think when you heard Y/N and Jeno talk about a kiss they had previously shared?”

Haechan: “In that moment my heart dropped to the floor. I was trying my best to get close to her and I had no idea she was already that close to anyone. Specially because we previously talked about it and nobody shared that.”

Chris: “You know what they say, a gentleman never kisses and tells.”

Haechan: “That’s true, that’s true. But at the time I just felt betrayed and I didn’t even know why.”

Chris: “And then you exploded and said somethings Y/N didn’t really appreciated.”

Haechan: “That’s what I regret the most. I did what I thought was right at the time, but looking back at the images I should’ve never talked to her like that. If I could go back I wouldn’t have done that scene and waited to talk to her when I was a little bit more calm.”

Chris: “It’s very good to see that you understand what you did wrong and regret it. Thank you, Haechan.”

Everybody claps.

Chris: “The week after we faced what was possibly the hardest confrontation of this season. It started since week one but it just kept aggravating throughout time, to the point that Y/N had to make the decision to have them in a two-on-one date to send one of them home. Hendery, how did you feel when you weren’t chosen to stay?”

Hendery: “It was rough. I really thought I had a chance to stay but I guess she was right. I did end up letting this whole situation get to my head and lost focus on what was really important and what I actually signed up for.”

Chris: “We did see a few moments where it was just you and Y/N and it felt like something could blossom but whenever you were with other people you seemed to instantly get in defence mode.”

Hendery: “You know, Chris, after seeing myself on TV I realised that I was really dumb. I feel like we had gotten along so well if only I had ignored everyone else around. I should’ve kept my calm most times instead of exploding like that so at the end of the day I do understand why she chose to send me home instead of Renjun. He seemed to a little bit whenever she talked to him and I didn’t.”

Chris: “Renjun, what do you have to say from your side?”

Renjun: “I think it is a common thing to think you’re doing something right and realise how stupid you’re being when you see yourself on the screen. Honestly if I was Hendery I would’ve probably reacted the same way because I did come off as such a jerk.”

Chris: “The fans are pretty divided between who was right, are you saying you ended up being the bad guy?”

Renjun: “I don’t see myself as the bad guy, I think we both thought we were right but ended up making some not so good decisions.”

Chris: “Hendery, do you share this opinion?”

Hendery: “After watching the scenes at home, yes I do agree, we both did and said things that weren’t right and I apologise for being a bit aggressive in my approach.”

Renjun: “Yeah, I would also like to apologise, not only to Hendery but to everybody if I ever did something you didn’t appreciate because I mostly likely didn’t even notice I was doing it.”

Chris: “I’m really proud of you guys in this moment for manning up and talking about this. Can we agree to leave this in the past and focus on a brighter future?”

Renjun and Hendery look at each other and then nod with a smile.

Chris: “I think we need to seal this, don’t you agree guys? You two should hug it out!”

The other boys start cheering as Hendery and Renjun get up giving each other a tight hug that leaves everyone happy with the turn out.

Chris: “Now that we’ve moved on from this tough situation let’s talk about the next gentleman that left the competition. Jaehyun, did you ever think it would be you?”

Jaehyun: “Not really, I actually thought I had a chance to make it to the end.”

Chris: “Some say you got comfortable after Y/N gave you a kiss that you stopped trying to win her heart, specially with your attitude during the two-on-one date with Taeyong. What was really on your mind?”

Jaehyun: “Honestly I don’t know why I looked so apathetic on every shot! I actually had a lot of fun that day, the museum was really cool. Maybe I was a bit jealous having to share the attention with Taeyong but I didn’t realise that maybe Y/N would’ve start feeling like I stopped trying, because that was definitely not true.”

Chris: “You did get emotional when you had to finally say goodbye and that shows you actually cared about Y/N.”

Jaehyun: “I do care a lot about her and I’ll always cherish the moments we spent together. Even though I thought I’d get further in the competition I could feel her feelings were already growing for someone else. But it was still very hard to leave.”

Chris: “Thank you for sharing Jaehyun.”

Everybody claps.

Chris: “After Jaehyun we saw another beloved contestant get sent home. Taeyong, how did it feel to be so close and get sent home?”

Taeyong: “It was bittersweet. It felt good to know we were getting closer and I really enjoy Y/N’s company but deep down I knew it was too late. We only started bonding mid-way through the journey and she already had very strong connections with the other guys.”

Chris: “What would’ve you have done differently?”

Taeyong: “I would’ve focused on Y/N from the beginning instead of trying to make friends first, sorry guys!”

They all laugh.

Chris: “Do you at least take some friendships out of this experience?”

Taeyong: “I’d like to think so!”

Everybody cheers in agreement.

Chris: “Last but not least we saw the bachelorette say goodbye to someone a lot of the fans of the show thought would make it to the finale. Jeno, did you see yourself in the final, possibly taking that last rose and spending your life with Y/N?”

Jeno: “I definitely did. Really early on I started developing feelings for Y/N and I felt like we were in sync but I guess I wasn’t the only one she was in sync with.”

Chris: “On the fantasy suite we saw you two talk about the future and you expressed your lack of interest in moving out of your hometown. Do you think that might have been a deal breaker for her?”

Jeno: “Like you said earlier today, sometimes it’s not about what you do, but what you don’t do. The further we got into this journey the more selective she had to be and unfortunately I believe that was the disagreement, let’s say, that got me sent home.”

Chris: “If you could go back would you do anything different?”

Jeno: “If I could go back I’d do it all over again just like I did. I really appreciate all the moments we shared and I wouldn’t change them one bit.”

Chris: “You were definitely a fan favorite this season and the people want to know: are you still single and looking for love?”

Jeno: “I am, Chris, but it might be that my search could be coming to an end.”

Chris: “Is that so? I feel like there’s more to that story.”

Jeno: “There is actually. I’d like to take this opportunity to announce I will be staring in the next season of the Bachelor where, like Y/N, I will be looking for the right person to spend the rest of my life with.”

The other guys cheer in support of these news.

Chris: “Those are very exciting news!”

Jeno: “They are, I’m really excited to do this.”

Chris: “Well Jeno, we’re really excited for you and we hope you find love.”

Jeno: “Thank you, Chris.”

Everybody claps.

Chris: “We have heard from the bachelors, but how about the one calling the shots? She had been backstage hearing the whole conversation and will now join us to give her side of the story. Let’s give a warm welcome to: Y/N!”

Everyone in the room gets up and cheers and you enter the stage taking the seat next to Chris.

Chris: “Welcome Y/N. How are you feeling?”

You: “It’s really great to be here and see all this familiar faces!”

You wave and smile at all of the guys you met and spent time with during weeks.

Chris: “You have been listening the whole night, id there anything you’d like to say?”

You: “Definitely. To the first guys that went home I’d like to again say sorry because I didn’t even gave you a change, I believe you are amazing.”

They thank you with a smile.

You: “Lucas, I’m really happy we made the decision to call it quits since that helped you reconnect with Ahreum. It was not fair the way things had ended between you two back in the day and I was thrilled to know you reunited. I can’t wait to receive an invitation to your wedding, and make it a plus one!”

Everybody laughs and Lucas throws you a thumbs up accepting your terms.

You: “Shotaro, I’m really happy with the way we left things and I will make you the godfather to one of my kids, I’ll keep that promise!”

He smiles excitedly.

You: “Doyoung, hearing the whole explanation now it did feel quite unnecessary for you to leave things like that, you could’ve just mentioned Johnny’s name and I could’ve just cleared the whole situation with him. You say you did it to help me but I was really hurt by it actually. And Johnny, I do understand that initially you didn’t connect the dots but once you figured out the whole thing could be about you, you should’ve said something instead of just leaving like that. You left me wondering if I did something wrong even if I did understand your reasons.”

You gulp feeling yourself get a bit emotional.

You: “Haechan, thank you for acknowledging what you said wasn’t right and I hope you think twice before reacting like that ever again.”

He mouths an ‘I’m sorry’ and you nod with a smile before you move to the next guys.

You: “Renjun and Hendery, I was really happy to see you two talk it out and make up. The whole thing was just way too dramatic and it would kill me to know you’d hold a grudge. I hope you take this experience to the future and know how to reach a little better if you end up facing something like this. Which I hope you don’t!”

Everybody laughs not wanting to imagine these two getting involved in any more love messes together.

You: “Jaehyun, thank you for explaining what you felt that day because to me it did seem like you started to take things for granted between us and that did throw me off a little bit. But I understand your side now even thought that might not have made a difference at the time.”

He smiles at you with those perfect dimples that still make your heart flutter.

You: “Taeyong, it was really hard letting you go but I mean it when I say that however wins your heart in the future will be very happy by your side.”

You take a deep breath before you move on the the last one you said goodbye to.

You: “Ah Jeno… I didn’t know I had it in me to send you home. But I’m really excited to know you’ll have the opportunity to go on your own journey and I hope you’ll be able to find true love amongst the contestants. I really fo wish you all the best.”

He thanks you before you turn back to Chris.

You:  “I think that’s it!”

You wipe the little tear at the corner of your eye with a smile.

Chris: “Thank you so much for being here with us today, Y/N. Also thank you to all the bachelors that came here to share their sides of the story and clear their names. To you at home, please stay tuned for next week where we’ll finally know who takes the last rose and the bachelorette’s heart. Could it be Yuta? Could it be Jaemin? Could it be none? Find out next week! My name is Chris Harrison and this was the special episode of ‘Men tell all’. Goodnight!”

-

In the next episode:

The final 2 bachelors pour their hearts out for the last time:

“I think we were destined to meet.”

“I knew you were the one the moment I saw you.”

“I love you.”

And plans are made for the future.

“I can make you the happiest woman in the world.”

“Will you marry me?”

Stay tuned for next weeks episode premiering 22/08.

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

Episode 10

a/n: what a throwback in this special! I hope you could get the clarification in all things left unsaid and I still can’t believe next week we’ll know who get’s the lst rose! do give me some feedback please! ❤

taglist: @skrtbabe @yutahoes @yokshi-unbeliebubble @nakamotonudes @n0hyuck @negincho @love-and-other-possibilities @readers-posts @sylviacxt @tyongf-sunflower99 @princessjunnie @thejungjaehyun

If you’d like to be included in the taglist for the series do let me know ❤︎

[lyranova]

Heyooooo Lyraaaa 😘!!! I was wondering if um hehe👉👈😅, if you could make a yamichar fic where they accidentally traveled in time and accidentally meet their future child (or children lmao) lol😂, it's okay if you don't wanna do it 🙂 no pressure 😘

Children of the Future:

Chapter 1: Hikari

Of course Lei! I’m sorry this took so long IRL has been busy 😅! But i hope you like this, also I just realized you wanted Yamichar to be the ones who time travel, and instead i made it the child who goes back in time oops. But i hope this is ok! Also, Hikari belongs to the lovely @eme-eleff (thank you for letting me borrow her for this Ilysm 🥰💕!)

Edit: This is Chapter 1 of my new series ‘Children of the Future’, instead of reposting it I decided to edit it and reblog it haha!

Word Count: 1,701

Warnings: None

———

Yami couldn’t stop grumbling, he had been summoned by Julius to come to his office, he claimed there was something important he needed to see. Yami had been confused at first, but he wasn’t really allowed to disobey a summons from the Wizard King. So he walked through the halls that he knew like the back of his hand, deep in thought, when he saw a flash of blonde out of the corner of his eyes. He turned and noticed it was the Prickly Princess herself, Charlotte Roselei. He watched her look up in surprise at him and her face turned a shade of pink.

“ Y-Yami? What are you doing here?” She asked as she came to a stop, she hadn’t seen him for a while, since everyone had been training in order to battle the Spade Kingdom. She watched him tilt his head and do a half-shrug.

“ The Wizard King summoned me, said he had something important to show me. You?” He asked as he also came to a stop.

“ Same here, I wonder if he summoned the other Captains as well.” Charlotte said curiously as she folded her arms, it wasn’t unusual for Julius to call them suddenly, but when it did it usually meant trouble for the Kingdom.

“ I didn’t see any of them, and I don’t sense their Qi, so I think it’s just us here.” He told her with a thoughtful scowl, Charlotte hadn’t seen any of them either, which made this meeting even more curious.

“ C’mon, let’s not keep him waiting.” Yami said suddenly as he began to walk away, she blushed even more as her mind raced ‘H-He wants to walk there together?! Won’t that give people the wrong impression?!’ Her mind screamed, but she shook her head and followed behind him. They could always say they met outside the door or something.

Charlotte watched as Yami knocked on the door, they heard Julius say something on the other side to signal to them that they could enter. Yami pushed the door open, allowing Charlotte to walk inside first, and closed it behind them.

“ Ah good you’re both already here.” Julius said with a warm happy smile, Charlotte and Yami walked up to the desk. It was still hard to believe that the Wizard King was now back to his original self, they had gotten so used to seeing him younger that they would sometimes forget this was him.

“ Why are we here Julius?” Yami asked as he crossed his arms, he wasn’t really in the mood for chit chat, and he assumed Charlotte wasn’t either since she had a small scowl on her face as well. They were both trying to train their squads so they could face the Spade Kingdom, and this was distracting them from doing that.

“ Well,” he said with a sheepish laugh, that only made the two Captains scowl further. “ I went down stairs where we keep the forbidden magic items, and I stumbled across this portal. I don’t think it’s ever been used, anyway, I went down there looking to see if there may be an item to help me change back to my proper age. Well, instead I found her,” Julius moved out of the way and behind him sat a young girl around 19 years old.

She had long dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a small scowl on her face. Charlotte looked her up and down, she was wearing a deep blue top with a pair of dark brown pants, wrist length gloves, and dark knee length boots. But what caught her attention was the cloak she was wearing, Charlotte’s eyes widened as she looked at the insignia, it was a Black Bulls robe, she looked over at Yami and saw he recognized it too. But if he was surprised he didn’t let it show.

“ Why did you give some random kid my squads robe Julius?” Yami asked as he suddenly grabbed a cigarette and put it into his mouth.

“ I’m not just some random kid! Also, if you’re going to smoke it’s best to do it outside or, even better, stop smoking. It’s bad for you.” The young girl remarked as she stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked over to stand next to Julius’s desk.

Charlotte and Yami blinked, this kid had quite the mouth on her. But he did as she asked and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and put it back in it’s case. The young girl smiled in triumph, that's when Yami frowned. That smile, it looked familiar, but where had he seen it before?

“ Anytime I ask you to smoke outside you always ignore me, but when a child asks you too you listen and do it without a second thought.” Charlotte commented with a small laugh and a shake of her head, Yami rolled his eyes a bit, of course he was going to listen to a kid. He wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but he could be a big softie when it came to kids. He looked over and noticed Charlotte had a small smile on her face, he paled slightly, that was the same smile the young girl wore just a moment ago.

“ Hey kid, what’s your name?” He asked, hoping beyond hope that his gut feeling was wrong, that her Qi wasn’t what he saw it to be. The young girl glanced over to Julius who nodded, she turned back to them, her head held high as she announced.

“ My name’s Hikari, Hikari Sukehiro.” Both Captains paled, Sukehiro? As in Yami Sukehiro?! Charlotte turned to look at him, he wasn’t able to hide the surprise on his face at this revelation.

She felt a small pang in her chest, as though someone had just plunged a dagger into it, he had a daughter? With another woman? She shook her head, they weren’t dating so what right did she have to be hurt and upset, at the most they were just colleagues. Nothing more, nothing less. But it still hurt to think of him being with another woman, of him having a child with another woman.

“ This isn’t funny Julius.” Yami growled, he knew this wasn’t a joke, just from the way she stood he could tell she was his daughter, also from the way she had no problem telling him off about smoking. The only thing that confused him though, was why she had the same smile as Charlotte.

“ It isn’t a joke Yami, she came here from the future, at least according to her. I had Marx use his memory magic on her, everything she has told me is the truth and her memories prove it.” Julius said as he leaned back against his desk, Charlotte couldn’t help but glare at him slightly.

“ Why did you call me here then you majesty? Just so you could have a witness in case Yami tried to murder you?” She asked, a little more ice to her tone then she had intended. It didn’t go unnoticed. Julius blinked a bit before looking over at Hikari.

“ Um, I think you need to explain your parentage a little more, Hikari.” He stated with a nervous laugh, the young girl nodded.

“ Yes sir. It’s true, my father is Yami Sukehiro. But my mother,” she turned to look at the blonde haired woman. “ is Charlotte Roselei.”

Charlotte blinked at Hikari. Her? She was her mother?! No, no, no, that made no sense! How could she be this girl's mother? She and Yami weren’t even dating! There was no way Hikari was their daughter!

“ That makes sense,” Yami said suddenly, she whipped around to face him, her face brighter than the sun, and she gaped like a fish out of water.

“ H-How does this make sense?!” She suddenly shouted, she watched a small smirk tug at the corner of his lips.

“ Her Qi first off; it’s a mixture of mine and yours which is why I didn’t recognize it at first. Second, the way she carries herself is the same as you, her eyes are a similar shade although they’re a little lighter than yours, and her smile, heh, that smile; it’s exactly the same as yours.” He said the last part so softly, so warmly, it made Charlotte not only turn redder, but it made her heart melt. He...noticed how she smiled? Of course he did, he was very observant. But what she didn’t expect to see was how his smirk had changed into a warm loving smile, how his eyes had softened.

Charlotte had to be dreaming, she just had too!

“ So, umm...until we can get Hikari back to her own time, she’s going to have to stay with one of you or, if you want my opinion, both of you. Since she is your child and it’s probably what she’s used to, I’d suggest you all find somewhere to stay that’s close enough to each of your respective headquarters. I think it’ll be easier for Hikari to adjust that way.” Julius said with an innocent smile, both Captains couldn’t help but frown, was he trying to subtly get them to move in together? Yami suddenly sighed.

“ Fine, I guess we really don’t have much of a choice huh. Especially since that was an order.” Yami stated, causing Charlotte to gap at him even more, he wasn’t even going to try and convince the Wizard King that them moving in together was a very bad idea?! But as much as Charlotte wanted to argue, she could tell by the tone of the Wizards king's voice that it was, in fact, an order. She also couldn’t disagree, it would probably be better for the young girl if they all did live together. She suddenly chuckled humorlessly at the situation.

Finding out she had a daughter and now being ordered to move in with the man she was in love with who, by the way, was completely oblivious to her feelings for him? This was not how she was expecting this meeting to go!

——

Ah i’m sorry if this isn’t very good 😅! I couldn’t really think of how to end this but I hope some of you enjoyed this and I apologize if you didn’t! Also I hope you like it Lei 🥺💕! Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

[the-void-i-scream-into]

White Tulips - a JunJin fanfic 3/3

Full Story: Part 1, Part 2

Hey my beautiful readers. Thank you so much for sticking around till now. I was honestly so terrified of posting this fanfic because I had never done that before but everyone’s response has been so kind to me. Thank you.

This is the final part. I hope you all enjoyed the story. As always, this chapter is dedicated to the Shooters GC who are the best people on Tumblr.

Quick Info: The songs used in this chapter are You Were Beautiful by Day6. Park Yoona who plays Sujin said in an interview that she liked Day6, specifically this song. Haru by Royal Pirates is a personal favorite of mine. It has the same theme as True Beauty that in real love, things like looks don’t matter. The final song that Seojun sings to Sujin is Half Moon by Dean. Hwang In Yeop who plays Seojun stated that he liked this song in an interview.

Pairing: Kang Sujin x Han Seojun

Romantic Trope: Haters to friends to lovers

Word Count: 16.2k [this one is LONG]

Rating: T

PART 3

i.

“What have I done?” Sujin pulled at her hair in frustration.

The deal she had made with Han Seojun had been the on account of the many shots of soju she had taken. It was only when she had sobered up the next morning that she realized, with horror, just what exactly she had promised.

It was a bad idea. On paper it sounded plausible; two people suffering from the same pain could empathize with each other. But in reality, going through a heartbreak meant that you needed someone to support you, not the other way around. Trying to support someone whilst being in pain yourself was hard. And in this particular case, it would be impossible. Mainly because the people Kang Sujin and Han Seojun liked were with each other.  

Sujin could see her and Han Seojun’s fledgling friendship going up in flames before it had even had a chance to fly. She would always want to talk about Lee Suho and he would resent that since Suho was the one dating Jukyung. Seojun would want to talk about Jukyung and Sujin would find that annoying for the same reason.

It was a recipe for disaster.

“Yah, gimme your number.” Sujin had demanded last night, handing Han Seojun her phone after he had agreed to her stupid proposal. Seojun had obediently entered his number at her behest. She programmed her number in his phone as well.

“There. Now we can text each other if we ever need to talk.”

“Ya, why am I Gangster in your phone?” Seojun had protested when he had saw her type it out.

Sujin had chuckled, drunk on soju. “Because you’re a gangster, you gangster.”

“Is that so?” Seojun proceeded to type away furiously into his phone. He held it up for Sujin to see.

“Princess? Are we kindergarteners?” Sujin had frowned.

Seojun stuck his tongue out. “That’s what you get for naming me Gangster.”

Sujin had retaliated, editing his contact. “Here!” She held up her phone.

“Wha-What? Twerp?”

Sujin blanked on the argument that had proceeded after this but she knew they did argue. To the point that the owner of the tent bar kicked them out. 

Now Sujin was stuck with the contact named as Twerp on her phone and she had no idea what to do with it. Should she text him? Should she delete it? Should she just pretend last night didn’t happen?

She knew she should choose the third option. Or even the second. But her hand itched to send Seojun a text and see if he really was up for hanging out.

All day long Sujin kept checking her phone, looking for any new messages or missed calls she may have received. All she got were some memes from Suah and everyone else’s responses to those messages on their group chat. Han Seojun had also responded with a laughing emoji. Which meant he wasn’t too body or occupied to text Sujin.

Then why wasn’t he texting her?

Why do I care?

Sujin knew why. It was because she had no body else to talk to about what was bothering her. Normally, she would have called Jukyung but this time, she couldn’t. Jukyung’s giant engagement ring kept flashing in her mind over and over. It even plagued her dreams last night.

Sujin needed to occupy herself. Her current jobless situation wasn’t helping things either. She quickly fired a text to Suah to see if she was free to hang.

Sorry Kang Su! Me and Taehoon are going to visit his parents. Suah had replied.

Sujin looked at her list of contacts. There was no one else but Han Seojun who she could ask. Reluctantly, she texted him.

I’m going to the batting cages. Wanna join me?

Sujin pressed send before she could stop herself and was immediately filled with deep regret she saw the “Seen” check appear.

One minute, two minute, fifteen minutes passed. He didn’t reply.

“Guess he wasn’t interested.” Sujin lamented. It would have been nice to have someone to hang with, but given the obvious rejection, she had to make do with just lonesome herself.

Kang Sujin wasn’t exactly a prodigy at sports, but she was considerably better than most. Batting happened to be one of her strong suits.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

She hit each ball with graceful ease. Her brows were furrowed in focus. Her breathing controlled and steady. Sujin had learned long ago that sports aided in dealing with her rage and frustrations. It was a way to release all of her worries in a healthy manner and channel inner peace.

Thwack! Thwack!

She hit again and again, not caring about the score, just wanting to get the shot.

“Wow, I’m impressed.”

“Huh?” Sujin carelessly turned and her surprise at finding Han Seojun standing in the adjacent batting area was only thwarted by the ball hitting her in the torso. She yelped in pain.

“Oh, gwenchana?” Seojun asked in concern.

“Aish.” Sujin held her side and moved out of the way of the pitching machine. She gave Seojun a scathing look. “What are you doing here?”

“You asked to meet here didn’t you?”

“People normally respond to invitations to confirm they’re coming.” Sujin checked herself for injuries before resuming her batting position.

Seojun was quiet. “I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to meet you.”

Thwack! Sujin hit a ball. “Oh, yeah? What made you change your mind?”

Seojun picked up his bat, not responding. The pitching machine on his lane whirred to life. He hit his ball. Thwack! “Did you see the video Jukyung posted?”

“Ah-nee.” Sujin replied. Thwack!

“She posted a bridal makeup tutorial.”

Sujin missed the next ball. And the one after that. Seojun could feel her gaze on his back but didn’t dare turn. From his posture Sujin could sense hostility. Which was fine, she hadn’t invited him here to talk. She invited him here to vent. She resumed her batting.

“I scored higher than you.” Sujin informed with a grin once they were done.

“Good for you.” Han Seojun said, unimpressed.

He still seemed on edge. Sujin had tried to engage him during their small breaks between the game but all he had given her were clipped answers.

“Did you watch the entire video?”

“Yes.”

“How did it feel?”

“How do you think I felt?”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Just hit the ball.”

Sujin didn’t know how Seojun was when they had parted, but she herself felt significantly better. She went home with a peaceful mind and even discovered that she had gotten a call from a prospective employer. They asked if she could come in for an interview the following week. Perhaps things would be getting better from now on.

Or perhaps not.

The interview had gone horribly wrong, especially after the interviewer realized who she was. Sujin had expected a polite rejection but instead the interviewer had decided that she deserved a lecture on bullying from him.

“You know. I was bullied too as a kid.” The interviewer had said.

The experience had left her shaken. Was this going to be her life from now on? Would she just be kicked out of society just like that, over a badly reported gossip article?

Sujin’s hands ached to be washed but she refused to even think about it. She needed an outlet and she knew exactly what she wanted. It was then that she got a text from Han Seojun.

Let’s meet.

Sujin told him where to show up.

“You know jujitsu?” Seojun was surprised when she had invited him for a match.

“Don’t you?” Sujin said, clad in her white Gi. She had been warming up when Seojun had arrived clad in jeans and a hoodie. He had a cap on underneath the hood.

“I don’t fight with girls.”

“And what if a girl fights with you?”

Seojun chuckled incredulously.

“If you can laugh like that then you can show me what you’ve got, no? Or are you afraid you’ll lose like you lost in the batting cages.”

“That wasn’t a competition.”

Sujin smirked, “Sure it wasn’t.”

Seojun rolled his eyes and went to change out of his clothes.

Smack! Down Han Seojun went. He had gone easy on Kang Sujin for the first round because she was a girl. But she had immediately disarmed him and thrown him over her shoulder. Grinning like a wolf, she immediately took the fighting position again, leaving Han Seojun to recover on the floor.

“First one doesn’t count!” He argued.

“What’s wrong, Han Seojun? Can’t even fight against a girl?”

Seojun got up, “Alright. I won’t be going easy on you anymore.”

“Fine by me.”

Sujin attacked first, Seojun quickly blocked her, wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to push her down. She wrapped her legs around him and swiveled him around so that he fell. Then she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling at his arm.

“You fight without strategy.” Sujin said through clenched teeth as she tried to keep him down. Seojun managed to turn her entire body over, releasing himself.

“Fighting is about instinct. Not strategies.” Seojun went for the attack this time. Sujin blocked him but he easily maneuvered around her, throwing her down and pinning her in place with all his strength. It was an awkward position to be in, but he didn’t care. He would not let her win.

“Anything without a strategy is doomed to fail.” She grabbed his collar and adjusted her leg to flip them over. Now she was keeping him down.

“Nope. Instincts always win.” He weaseled out of her grip and they parted.

Sujin took fighting position again. She easily jabbed and smacked him around while Seojun blocked haphazardly. She was precise and focused, knowing exactly where to hit and how.

In her mind, she wasn’t fighting with Han Seojun. She was fighting with her interviewer. She jabbed and blocked and kicked the man who had sat and judged her without even hearing her side of the story. It was cathartic to let this all out. And if Han Seojun got hurt in the way, then she didn’t mind.

Sujin and Seojun fought for a long time, both sweating and panting with exhaustion but neither relenting.

“I’m still winning Han Seojun.” Sujin said with labored breath.

“We’re not done yet.”

Smack! Down Han Seojun went. Again, and again, and again.

“Had enough?” Sujin asked as they parted.

“Never.”

Seojun attacked. Sujin easily blocked it, kicking him in the chest. The mat was slick with their sweat. Sujin didn’t see Seojun slip and fall to his knees. She only spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his torso. But the kick would have hit him in the face. Except, except Han Seojun caught her ankle just in time. The force of it nearly knocked him down.

“I can’t let you hit my face.” He said with a half smirk.

“Wae?” She asked with a flick of her brow.

“It’s a precious commodity.”

He pulled Sujin by her ankle, bringing her leg to his side. She fell on him, using his shoulders to brace herself. Their noses were almost touching. He cupped her calf and grabbed her sleeve to hold her in place.

It was too close. Sujin’s mind went blank. And that was the opening Seojun needed to throw her down.

“I won that round.” He grinned, standing up.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m still ahead.” Sujin’s face still felt hot. She got up and straightened her Gi. “I think that’s enough for today.”

Seojun nodded. “You hungry?” He asked. After the workout she had just had, she was ravenous.

They went to a nearby convenience store where they got ramen. Seojun watched in surprise as Sujin hungrily chowed down.

“What?” Sujin asked.

“You are a very unexpected girl, Kang Sujin.” Seojun took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair.

Sujin smiled and stirred her ramen. “So, what happened this time?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why’d you ask to see me today? Did Jukyung post another video?”

Seojun hesitated. “Last time… I was in a bad mood. But you seemed like you wanted to talk.”

Sujin gave a slow smile. “What? You felt guilty?”

“Yes.” Seojun said unabashedly.

“You know we don’t have to talk. Maybe we can just keep each other company.”

“Sure. That seems fine.” Seojun looked at her critically. “But something was bothering you today.”

Sujin bit her cheek. “I had an interview today.”

“Didn’t go well.” It wasn’t a question.

Sujin told him, about how her interviewer treated her. About how she feared she may never get a job again.

“Ah-nee, how can people be so ridiculous? You already settled the matter didn’t you? Then what’s everybody’s problem?” Seojun’s outburst warmed Sujin’s heart. It felt good to talk and share. It made Sujin feel lighter. She wondered if she could return the favor.

“You didn’t tell me what you thought of Jukyung’s video.”

Seojun’s face fell. “Ah. That.” He leaned back and sighed. “Did you see it?”

“Yeah.”

Seojun’s face was a strange combination of pain and admiration. “She looked beautiful, didn’t she?”

Sujin’s voice was small. “Yeah, she did.” And Suho probably thought so too.

“They’ve been together for so long. Marriage was inevitable. But now that it’s happening… I don’t know. I just feel… honestly I don’t even know what I feel anymore.”

“I know what you mean. I can’t imagine how I’m going to attend the wedding.”

“My mom’s inviting the two over for dinner to celebrate. Imagine having to sit through that.”

“Yikes. Does your mom know how you feel?”

“Of course, she does. But Lee Suho is my best friend and she’s happy for him.”

“Well… I’m always here,” Sujin held up her phone, “just a text away. If you need me.”

“What I need right now is more food.” Seojun got up.

“Aren’t idols supposed to diet?”

“Not when they’ve had their ass kicked twelve times. You want anything?”

“Nah. I’m full.”

While Han Seojun went inside, Sujin checked her phone for any messages and emails. She had applied to a dozen non-profit companies. None of them, except the interview today, had gotten back.

“Omo. Isn’t that, that girl?” Someone said loudly.

“Yah! Shhh!”

Sujin looked up to some mean looking high schoolers gawking at her. There were three of them but the one standing in the front was clearly the leader. The girls to her side was trying to keep her quiet but unsuccessfully.

“It is! Look. Its that woman, Kang Sujin! Wah! I never thought I’d meet someone I read about online in real life.” The leader girl came forward, crossing her arms.

Sujin stood up to her full height. The girl was shorter than her, but she was undeterred. Sujin half admired her courage.

“Can I help you?” Sujin asked in a measured tone.

The leader girl stared Sujin down. “Check out her audacity. Should someone who’s hated by everyone be talking like that?” The girl spoke in banmal.

“I don’t know you. And you don’t know me. So why don’t you leave?” Sujin suggested. These kids were younger than her, although by not much. They looked like seniors who might have been held back a year or two.

“Why should I leave? You leave.”

“I was here first.”

“This is my usual place. My boyfriend’s coming here to meet me.” The girl said self-assuredly.

“Then let him come. There’s enough space for the both of us.”

“I don’t think so.” The girl got right in her face. “You’re the girl who seduced our Seojun Oppa, aren’t you? Don’t you know that you almost ruined his career by doing that?”

Sujin laughed at the thought of Han Seojun being someone’s Oppa. He always seemed so childish to her.

“Oh, you think its funny to ruin someone’s career?”

Sujin tried to explain calmly, “No, no. I wasn’t—"

The girl pushed her, “Women like you are everything that’s wrong with the world!”

The old Kang Sujin would have kicked this rude girl’s ass by this point. But Sujin was trying to be a new Kang Sujin, one that didn’t hate easily. Sujin sighed. “Kid, just leave me alone.”

The girl poked her finger in Sujin’s shoulder. “And what if I don’t?”

Sujin raised a hand and the girl flinched. But Sujin only stroked her head. “Youngster, you shouldn’t be so rude to people.”

“Like you were to Lim Jukyung?” Sujin’s face hardened as the girl taunted, “What? You guys are friends now? Who would buy that bullshit? People are you are such trash. You go around flaunting your beauty, seducing our idols. Trash like you doesn’t belong here.”

“Yah, stop it!” The girl’s friends warned from behind.

“Chaeri, you’ll get into trouble.”

Chaeri didn’t listen. “Leave! I don’t want people like you here.” She told Sujin.

It was one thing to be nice. It was quite another to be weak. And Kang Sujin was anything but weak. “You want me to leave?” Sujin said. “Then make me.” Sujin stood her ground, glaring at the girl.

Chaeri smiled. “Okay.” She reached over to the half finished can of soda that Han Seojun had left on the table and poured it over Sujin.

Sujin closed her eyes to calm herself. Don’t engage Kang Sujin.

“Here you go, b****.”

Alright, screw it.

Sujin’s eyes popped open enraged. “What did you just call me? B****?” She grabbed Chaeri’s hair and pulled.

Chaeri screamed, “Yah! What are you doing?”

“I was going easy on you since you’re a teenager. But now I see you need to be taught a lesson.” Sujin kept her grip firmly on the Chaeri hair as the girl struggled to break free. “Listen carefully. Just because someone has allegedly done something wrong doesn’t mean you get to take justice in your hands. If you see something wrong, you speak up about it. If it’s happening in front of you, you stop it. But you don’t go around harassing someone without even understanding the full story, arachi? If I’m a bully, then go tell the police and have them investigate. Calling me names and bothering me only makes you another bully, not an avenger.”

Sujin let go. Chaeri ran and cowered by her friends who looked at Sujin in fear.

“Now get out of my sight. And don’t let me see you girls again.”

The girls ran away as Sujin watched. She didn’t enjoy what had just happened. It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Was I too harsh?

“Remind me never to piss you off again.” Han Seojun came to stand by her.

“Mwo-ya, were you watching? How long were you here.”

“I came out when I saw you grabbing that girl’s hair.”

Sujin frowned in worry. “I wasn’t—”

“I know.” Seojun came forward, eyeing her head. “I heard the speech. Did they do this?” He pointed to her wet hair.

“Ugh. Yeah.” Sujin groaned.

“Let’s go inside. You can clean up.”

Sujin used the convenience store bathroom to wash out the soda from her hair. She dried off with some paper towels but her head looked like a mess when she was done. She tried to smoothen it down but then it stuck to her face weirdly.

In the store, Han Seojun was signing an autograph for the store clerk. “Ya, gimme that.” Sujin came up behind him and took his cap off from him, putting it on herself. Han Seojun didn’t bat an eye lash.

“Here you go.” He told the clerk.

“Thank you. My girlfriend will really appreciate it.” The clerk beamed.

The convenience store entrance rang as they exited.

“You can keep that cap.” Seojun told Sujin.

“Ah really?”

“Yah! Are you the one who harassed my girlfriend?”

Seojun and Sujin turned. The high schooler, Chaeri, was standing there with four hulking boys, all looking like miscreants with their mean faces and unkempt clothing. They seemed older than high school kids, more like college students. The girl’s friends were notably missing. It was just her and the four thugs.

“Han Seojun,” Sujin whispered, “you leave.”

“No.” He said casually, yet firmly.

“You could get into another scandal, you idiot!” Sujin hissed.

“No.”

Sujin clenched her jaw. “Listen to me, you dolt. You’ll—”

“Omo! Is that Han Seojun?” Chaeri was staring, eyes wide in wonder. “It is! Oh my God, Oppa! Is that you? Why are you here?” Chaeri’s eyes passed between Seojun and Sujin. “Oppa, are you actually dating this girl?” She asked, sounding betrayed.

“You know this guy?” Chaeri’s boyfriend asked.

“He’s Han Seojun. He’s an idol.”

“He’s not with me.” Sujin declared as she walked up to the group, putting distance between her and Seojun. “We just coincidentally met inside.” She stood resolutely with her shoulders squared, not showing an ounce of fear.

Seojun walked up and stood Sujin. “I am with her. So what? You got a problem?” He asked Chaeri.

Sujin’s face contorted in exasperation. Han Seojun, you idiot!

The boyfriend looked amused at the situation. “Aaah. I see now. You think that just because your boyfriend is a big shot idol that you can do whatever you want?”

“That’s not what happened. Your girlfriend here harassed me first.” Sujin explained coolly.

“Oppa, she’s lying.” The girl said. “I was just walking by and she started pulling my hair.” 

Sujin scoffed. “What an obvious lie. You gonna believe that?”

“I don’t see why I have to believe you.” The boyfriend replied.

“Why would I attack her without any reason?”

“Oppa, she did it because I was a fan of Han Seojun.” Chaeri looked at Seojun, “Aren’t you going to defend your fans?”

Seojun tilted his head. “My fans don’t go around harassing my friends.”

Chaeri’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“Also, no real fan would damage their idol’s reputation but causing a scene like this. Don’t you know it reflects badly on me when say I have toxic fans?”

Chaeri’s face contorted in anger. Sujin gulped, “Han Seojun, shut up.”

“Oppa, you’re going to just let these people treat me this way?” Chaeri pulled at her boyfriend’s arm.

The boyfriend leaned down to Sujin, “Listen here ahjumma, you hurt my girlfriend. That action is going to come with consequences.”

Seojun grabbed the boy’s collar, pushing him away from Sujin. “You can’t call yourself a man if you threaten women like this.”

The boyfriend laughed, before he went in for the punch. Seojun dodged it and kicked the guy in the chest, sending him backwards. Chaeri squealed and jumped to the side. The other three thugs went for Seojun and Sujin.

Sujin brought one of them down with a spin kick in the face. The other two boys were on Seojun. Sujin kicked one of them away and dragged him further by his hair.

It was difficult for Sujin and Seojun to keep up. The thugs, while young, were still huge and more in number. Sujin took her time to size up her opponents, hitting and dodging accordingly.  Seojun fought in his typical instinctive manner, taking many hits but also delivering his own. 

One of the boys had Seojun backed up in the corner and by this time the boyfriend had gotten back up. Seojun didn’t see the boyfriend, but Sujin did. The boyfriend picked up a stick lying on the corner of the street by the garbage cans. Two thugs were on Seojun now, holding him back as the boyfriend raised the stick, aiming to swing it right in Seojun’s face.

In that moment, Sujin forgot all about fighting with strategy. All she could think of was saving Han Seojun. She ran into the boyfriend, taking him down with her entire body. She kicked him in the groin, causing so much pain that the boy’s face became red. Han Seojun, and the two thugs holding him back, were staring at her speechless.

“I won’t let you hit his face.” She told the boyfriend. Then, giving Seojun a sideways look she added, “It’s a hot commodity.”

Seojun took this opening to break free and kick the thugs away. Sujin swung the stick and hit one of them in the back. The last one standing decided to be smart and ran away.

Seojun and Sujin looked at each other, and the high schoolers lying on the ground, moaning in pain. They had won and it felt good. Seojun looked at something behind Sujin. She followed his line of sight and found Chaeri standing by the corner, recording everything on her phone.

Sujin walked up to her. “Give it while I’m being nice.”

“I’m recording this too you know.” Chaeri said insolently.

Sujin smiled. Then spun around to kick Chaeri, except she missed her face by an inch.

“Ah, how sad. I missed.”

Chaeri just stood, frozen in place. Seojun walked up, pulled the phone from her hand and smashed it to the ground.

“Am I going to hear about this online?” It was a rhetorical question. Said with such authority, in that deep angry baritone, that even Sujin felt intimidated.

Chaeri just shook her head.

“Good. Lets go, Kang Sujin.” Seojun led Sujin away by her arm.

“So, like I said. Remind me never to piss you off again.” Seojun repeated. Sujin chuckled. “Also…” Seojun rubbed the back of his head, “Thanks… for saving me back there.”

“Don’t mention it. After all, we have to protect his hot commodity.” Sujin teased. Instead of getting annoyed like she expected him to, Han Seojun smirked.

“You know I never said my face was a hot commodity. I only said it was a precious commodity.” Sujin stopped in her tracks as she realized he was right. But Seojun kept on walking smugly. “I guess you think I’m hot.” He called back to her.

“No way!” Sujin yelled as she ran after him. “No way!” ii.

Things had changed between Kang Sujin and Han Seojun. They were way past enmity now. In fact, Seojun couldn’t even remember the hate he used to have for her. They were also past the courteous co-existence they had sustained for a brief period where they acted polite and nice to one another which was more a sign of them being strangers than anything else.

Now Han Seojun and Kang Sujin really could say that they were friends. Hanging out together had become a weekly ritual. Almost always, it was prompted by something Jukyung or Suho did.

The night of Suho’s and Jukyung’s the engagement party, hosted by Suho’s father, they went to karaoke to sing their hearts out. As expected, Seojun was the better singer. But Sujin wasn’t exactly bad herself. Her song choices were about self-empowerment and having fun. Seojun chose soft, ballads that were clearly about Jukyung.

“One day, my songs will be on a karaoke machine too.” Seojun had wished as they had walked back home.

“And then I will sing it.” Sujin encouraged.

“And ruin it.”

Sujin punched him in the shoulder.

The time Suho and Jukyung announced their wedding on Jukyung’s channel, they went to an arcade. Of course, Sujin beat Seojun at every game.

“Ah-nee, how do you know how to play? All I ever saw you doing in school was study.”

“Just accept it, Han Seojun. I’m better than you.”

“At bragging maybe.”

The time Jukyung got drunk and went around hugging Han Seojun thinking he was Suho, they went for a drive on his bike.

Sujin had insisted that he teach her how to ride it.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Seojun remebered how terrified Jukyung had been when she first rode with him.

“Why would I be?” Sujin asked, confused.

She took to the bike quickly and soon was riding them both around the city without Seojun’s guidance.

“Not too bad, Kang Sujin.” Seojun was impressed. Sujin grinned triumphantly.

As per their agreement, the two looked out for each other when they were with the group, making sure their feelings weren’t too apparent. At the night of the engagement party, Sujin kept covering for Seojun when he didn’t participate in conversations as much as he usually did. She would answer for him or change the subject. On the same night, Seojun had been the one to sneak Sujin away when she was on the verge of breaking into tears when the couple was cutting the cake. No one had noticed the two heart broken friends that night. All eyes had been on Jukyung and Suho.

On the same night that Jukyung had gotten drunk, Han Seojun had been the one to distract Suah when she kept pushing Jukyung into dating a guy she knew from work. And on a separate occasion, when the group was out for dinner and had run into Suho’s father, Seojun had kept a firm hand on Sujin’s back when Lee Joheon spoke at length on how sad he was about her parents’ divorce.

As uncanny as it seemed, it was undeniable. Han Seojun and Kang Sujin were friends now. Oddly enough, no one seemed to have picked up on their closeness, despite the fact that they never hid it from anyone. Sujin mentioned that Seojun had taught her how to ride his bike but the statement went unnoticed for its inclusion of Han Seojun. All Suah and Jukyung cared about was how dangerous it was to drive bikes.

“Han Seojun! Stop being a bad influence on Sujin!” Jukyung had scolded.

“What did I do? She’s the one who wanted to learn. And she’s not so innocent either. Just ask her about how she beat me in jiujitsu.” Seojun had pointed a finger at her.

“You know Jiujitsu?” Suho had asked, ignoring the part about her beating Seojun.

“Yeah. We should spar sometime.”

And so things went on and Jukyung’s and Suho’s wedding date inched closer and closer. But Sujin felt nothing had really improved with her feelings about Suho.

“We should really get to the therapy part one of these days.” Sujin casually said over a cup of coffee. This time, they had opted for a quiet meeting in a café.

Seojun considered her request. “What should we talk about?”

They both drew a blank, neither able to come up with a good starting point. Their feelings were so complicated and tangled that neither knew were to start unraveling.

Sujin raised a hand, fingers spread out wide. “Five questions.” She said, and with each word she lowered a finger, “Who, What, When, Where and Why.” She said in English.

“What’s that?”

“Its how you gather basic information. You ask yourself these questions.” Sujin explained, translating in Korean, “Who is it? What is it? When was it? and Why was it?”

Seojun nodded. “Okay. You first.”

“Hmm… We can skip the Who since we already know who it is. So, what is it that I like about Lee Suho? Hmm…” Sujin had to think for a minute. 

The first thing that popped into her mind was her father. She and Suho both had troubled relationships with their fathers and at the time, Sujin had felt that Suho could understand her better because because of this. But she couldn’t tell Han Seojun that. Having a dysfunctional family made her feel like a freak. She didn’t need Han Seojun knowing about her private problems, even if they were friends. 

So instead of the truth, she said, “He was cool,”  

Seojun scoffed. “Kang Sujin were you that shallow?”

Sujin looked at him flatly. “It wasn’t just that! It was… well, he was always cold to everyone else. But he still treated me better.” Sujin looked at her hands, nervously playing with her thumbs. “I guess I liked how he was with me. And I liked that he wasn’t shallow like most boys are. ”

That answer seemed more acceptable to Seojun. “I don’t think I can distill my feelings to just a couple of traits. I like everything about Lim Jukyung. The way she smiles, the way she ties up her hair, how kind and caring she is with everyone… she just has this warmth about her that just… draws you in.”

“I know what you mean.” Sujin agreed. But there was a little part of her that resented Seojun’s compliments of Jukyung. Wasn’t she kind and caring too? Didn’t she have any warmth?

Probably not. Her father’s voice said. Sujin pushed it away.

“When did you first start liking Lee Suho?” Seojun asked.

Sujin thought for a minute. “I don’t know. I just know that when I noticed I liked him, it felt like I had always liked him.” She sat up straight. “What about you? When did you start liking Jukyung?”

After a pause he replied, “When I started to get to know her. I can’t say exactly when… But I noticed my heart would act weird after she started teasing me about my underwear--”

“Say what now? What underwear?” Sujin perked up. It was at this moment that Han Seojun knew, that he had messed up. He could feel himself get red in the face.

“It was nothing. What I meant was—”

“Nononono, no. Han Seojun, you’re not getting out of this one. Tell me. What underwear?”

Seojun crossed his arms, “I’m not saying a word.”

Their therapy session had ended there. Sujin tried again and again to get Seojun to reveal what the underwear incident was but he kept his silence. He would die before he ever told anyone about how Jukyung had seen him dancing around in his cheetah print underwear.

Han Seojun still experienced PTSD when he heard “Okey Dokey yo!” from anywhere.

iii.

Seojun didn’t know how the fight began. They had met up for dinner after Sujin got off from work. She had taken up various part time jobs to pay the bills. With her being busy throughout the day, dinner was the only time they could meet.

They had been talking about Suho and Jukyung. Seojun normally danced around the topic of what Sujin had done back in high school now that they were friends. But this time she had brought it up herself.

“Do you remember that picture I took of you?”

“Yeah.” Seojun still remembered how flatly she had said You look cool. He had almost admired her audacity back then, and he did so more now.

“I traded it to get the info on Jukyung.” She admitted quietly.

“Ah, even back then my face was such a hot commodity.” Seojun said smugly.

Sujin made a face at him.

They joked about the past, about how Han Seojun hadn’t changed since then, about how Sujin had changed so much. Then, as they walked towards Sujin’s apartment, they got into the serious stuff. About how Sujin just disappeared after the truth about her was revealed, about how Seojun was right that she had only destroyed herself, and no one else.

“I wish I hadn’t done all that. Looking back, I want to kick myself.” Sujin had said.

“You should have shared, about what you were going through. Suah and Jukyung would have understood. I mean, having your father treat you the way he did… it must have made everything harder to deal with. Looking back, I might have acted better too, even helped y--”

Seojun suddenly noticed that Sujin wasn’t with him. She had stopped in her tracks and was glaring at him but Seojun couldn’t understand why.

“W-what do you mean my father’s treatment?” Sujin asked icily, her face was unreadable.

“Well… didn’t he used to beat you and pressure you for—”

“Shut up! Just shut up, Han Seojun!” Sujin suddenly freaked out. And it scared Seojun.

“What’s wrong?” He asked with concern. He moved towards her, but she moved back.

She looked at him coldly. “Who the hell told you about this? Was it Suho? It was Suho, wasn’t it? No one else knows besides him.”

Seojun hesitated. “Actually... that time when I met your mom—”

Sujin blinked rapidly. “So you’re saying that you’ve known about this all this time?”

“Kang Sujin, calm down its not a—”

Sujin spoke through clenched teeth, “What’s not a big deal? The fact that my family is broken or the fact that my father was an abusive asshole? What exactly about it is not a big deal, Han Seojun?”

Seojun was thoroughly confused now. “Sujin-ah.” he called out to her but she kept moving back with every step he took towards her. She was shaking quite visibly.

“Did you have fun, thinking I was so tragic and damaged? Did you have fun pitying me all this time? Did you—” Sujin’s eyes went wide as if she hit a realization. “Ya Han Seojun… did you become friends with me because you pitied me?” She said the word with such acidity that Seojun flinched.

It would be a lie to say it hadn’t influenced his opinion of her. But it wasn’t the only reason they were friends. Surely Sujin had to understand that.

“Sujin-ah—”

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Sujin’s lip quivered. “All this time, you’ve only treated me decently because you thought I was some tragic case—”

“You know that’s not true.” Seojun protested but Sujin wasn’t listening.

“—and here I was thinking we were actually friends. Han Seojun, would you have even been nice to me if you hadn’t known?”

“Does that matter?” Seojun asked, frustrated, “We’re friends now, aren’t we?” 

That had been the wrong thing to say. Sujin’s eyes flamed as she suddenly switched. Gone was the shaking and the freaked out look. Sujin was now very calm and cold; calculating in her movements. She gave a sarcastic smile. “Ya Han Seojun. Do you know? I pity you too.”

“What?”

“Pathetically liking someone for so long, whining like a boy over everything, acting all childish, you think that makes you attractive?”

“Ya, Kang Sujin—” Seojun warned.

“I bet Jukyung pities you too.” Sujin stalked up to Seojun. “Ah, that loser, Han Seojun, until when is he going to be hung up on me? I bet that’s what she thinks every time she sees you.”

They glared at each other for the longest time. Maybe too long.

“Kang Sujin… you are seriously messed up.” Was all Seojun said before he walked away; from Sujin and the entire situation. Sujin’s eyes filled with tears which she furiously blinked away.

If Sujin had been more like Jukyung, she would have dealt with this situation maturely. Lim Kukyung would have faced her emotions and not taken Seojun’s sympathy as pity. Lim Jukyung would have been up front about how she felt and not pushed Seojun away. Lim Jukyung would have been better.

But Kang Sujin was not Lim Jukyung. Kang Sujin was a messed up girl.

iv.

“Has anyone heard from Sujin recently?” Jukyung asked the group. They were all gathered for lunch, all except Seojun and Sujin, both of whom had been absent these past couple of get-togethers.

“Wae? Has something happened?” Suah asked.

“Not really. But she hasn’t been replying as much to my texts.” Jukyung pouted.

“You know what Kang Su is like. She’s rarely online. Plus, she’s working all these jobs now.”

“She always replies to me though,” Jukyung muttered to herself as she looked at her chat with Sujin. The one Sujin hadn’t responded to since four days.

“Is Seojun not coming today either?” Taehoon asked Suho.

“Don’t know. He’s so busy with brand practice these days that he barely replies to me.”

“Guys! Sorry I’m late!” Sujin rushed towards the group.

“Kang Su!” Jukyung and Suah welcomed her.

“We were afraid you wouldn’t show up again.” Jukyung said, putting her arm through Sujin’s.

“Kang Su-ya,” Suah said, playfully nudging Sujin’s shoulder, “you’re all dressed up. Did you just come back from a date?” Indeed Sujin was wearing a sleek black pant suit with full makeup on.

“Who went on a date?” Seojun arrived but stopped when he saw Sujin. Sujin held her breath as she waited for him to say something.

“Our Kang Su.” Suah responded. Seojun just flicked a brow but betrayed no emotion. He took a seat besides Suho.

“Ya! It wasn’t a date. I just came back from an interview.” She grinned.

“Ooh! How did it go?”

Sujin kept her silence for a second before she finally burst with excitement, “I got it!” The girls squealed at the good news. “Its at this non-profit that works with providing clean water to under-developed countries.” She showed everyone the website for the company and the work that they did on her phone.

Everyone congratulated Sujin on her accomplishment. Even Seojun gave her a “Congratulations.” To which she thanked him.

“I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t think you’d come.” Suho told Seojun.

He wasn’t going to. But he had heard that Sujin hadn’t been present either and he had figured it would be okay for him to join everyone if she wasn’t there. 

She should have been an actress, Seojun thought as he watched Sujin behave like nothing was wrong.

The conversation over lunch flowed easily as it usually did. Everyone laughed, joked and shared about what had happened since they last met. No one seemed to notice that Seojun and Sujin were not speaking directly to each other, even once. They only spoke to everyone else.

It was only when Seojun was leaving the men’s room that he found Sujin waiting for him and jumped in surprise.

“Ah, ggam-jjak-ee-ya!” Seojun held his chest in shock.

“Aww, the great Han Seojun get’s scared?”

“Only when confronted by pervert girls who stalk boys outside the washrooms.”

Sujin narrowed her eyes. “Shut up! I wasn’t stalking. I was only waiting to talk to you.”

“That’s equally worrying. What do you want?” He said dismissively.

Sujin handed him a keychain. It was his own face made in cartoon form. “Here. I know how much you love seeing yourself.”

“What’s this for?”

Sujin cleared her throat. “An apology. Mianhae, Han Seojun. Last time—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” He handed the keychain back to Sujin. She grabbed his arm as he tried to leave.

“At least hear me out.”

“No.” Seojun pushed her arm away.

Sujin’s lips tightened. She grabbed Seojun’s arm again, pulling him with brute strength. “Will you just listen to me you big baby! I’m trying to apologize.” She glared at him.

“Why? I thought you hated me.”

Sujin’s face softened. “I don’t hate you, Han Seojun.” She let go of his arm. “That time… when you started talking about my father, I just lost it. I haven’t actually told anybody about what he did to me. Not even Suah and Jukyung know. All they know is that he was tough on me.”

“Lee Suho knows.” Seojun accused.

“He figured it out on his own. I never actually told him. How could I?” Sujin felt ridiculous admitting it out loud, “How could I tell him that I don’t know what a happy family looks like? I see Jukyung with her dad and Suah with hers and how they have such good relationships, and I can’t imagine being the same way with my father. And that makes me feel like a freak. People already give me weird looks because of my parents’ divorce. If they knew about my father, they’d think that I was crazy… and maybe I am, who knows.”

Seojun softened. “You’re not crazy, Sujin-ah.” 

There it was, that pity on Han Seojun’s face. Sujin hated it but she had come today to this lunch only to apologize to him and that is what she was going to do.

“I am, Han Seojun. Why else would I have said all of those mean things?” Sujin’s voice shook. Seojun moved to hug her but she stepped away. Him comforting her would be too much, she would fall to pieces if he did. She had to hold herself together, on her own. “I’m sorry Han Seojun. I didn’t mean any of it. Not a single word.”

Seojun nodded. “I know.” He felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and only then did he notice how bothered he really had been about their fight.

“You guys not coming?” Suho asked as he passed by. Seojun and Sujin straightened themselves up and joined the others.

They found the girls giggling at something on Jukyung’s phone.

“What’s funny?”

“Ya Kang Sujin, your nose looks so big in this!” Suah commented. Jukyung turned the phone to Sujin. It was the video of the live event they had done.

“Aish!” Sujin said disapprovingly. “I look so weird in this video.”

Suho and Taehoon leaned over and laughed too as Sujin robotically read off the comments in the video.

“Maybe we can go Seojun’s makeup next.” Jukyung suggested.

“I’m a celebrity, Lim Jukyung.” He said haughtily, pulling the lapels of his jacket, “You can’t just have me on any show.”

Sujin wrinkled her nose at Seojun, “This coming from a guy who didn’t even know the difference between ppt and fitting.”

“That never happened!” Seojun contested. Everyone else laughed.

“Sujin-ah. Maybe I can have you on as a guest next time.” Jukyung suggested.

“Sure.” Sujin put her arm around Jukyung and whispered audibly, “And let’s do it when Suho isn’t around.” The girls winked to each other.

Suho smacked Sujin’s hand away from Jukyung’s shoulder. “Keep your hands off my girlfriend.”

“Sure. But I can’t guarantee she’ll keep her hands off me.” Sujin grinned evilly. Suho’s wide eyed, worried, expression made Jukyung laugh.

v.

Han Seojun fell on his face for the umpteenth time as he tried to hit the ball that Sujin had served. He was lucky they were all on the beach and his face was hitting soft sand instead of concrete.

“Ya, who’s idea was it to play volleyball?” Seojun asked as he brushed himself off.

“Quit being a sore loser, Han Seo!” Sujin called from the girl’s side of the net.

“Just you watch. I will make you eat your words!”

Of course, the boys lost. Suho was too distracted by Jukyung. Taehoon played bad on purpose because Suah said she wanted to win. Chorong was a bad at playing in general. The only two people taking this seriously were Han Seojun and Kang Sujin who ran around covering up for their team mates, as if their lives depended on winning. Sujin in particular refused to let Seojun get a single goal.

“You must really hate Han Seojun, huh?” Suah asked once the game was over.

“No. I just don’t like to lose.”

“Look at her, it’s like she’s going to war.” Jukyung laughed at the fire in Sujin’s eyes.

“Did you piss Kang Sujin off?” Taehoon was asking Seojun on the other side as the boys drank water.

“Nah, she’s just like that in general.” Seojun panted, still exhausted from the game.

A crowd of girls had gathered around their little game, drawn towards Suho and Seojun playing. They had cheered the boys on during the game and now they gravitated towards the two, hoping to get a chance to talk to them.

Suho had brushed them off in his usual rude manner. Seojun had been obliging, especially when they recognized who he was. He patiently signed autographs but couldn’t take pictures since his company didn’t allow them.

“Han Seojun, we have to get back.” Suah had come over to inform him.

“Yeah, just one minute.” The fans kept coming and coming. Seojun realized that maybe he should tell them he has to go. But as much as he wanted, he couldn’t say no to the hopeful girls who had liked the music that he made and had decided his signature was worth something.

“Han Seojun hurry up! We have to move!” Jukyung called.

“Just a second!”

Suho came over and rudely pushed through the crowd of girls. “Yah! Don’t be like that to my fans.” He tried dragging Seojun away but Seojun dodged him and the girls quickly pushed him back.

“Yah! Haven’t you girls had enough?!” Sujin’s voice boomed over the crowd, terrifying everyone. “And you girls over there!” Sujin pointed, “I saw you two return twice! You’re planning on selling those autographs, aren’t you?”

“Ya Kang Sujin—” Seojun began to protest.

“Don’t piss me off.” Sujin warned, “Our trip isn’t a place for you to have fan meetings.” She grabbed Seojun’s wrist and dragged him away before he could object.

The fangirls whispered to each other angrily, but none dared stand in Sujin’s way as she took Seojun away from them.

“Mwo-ya.”

“Who is that girl?”

“What the hell?”

“Come on, I’m hungry. We should get back to the resort.” Suho said when Seojun had joined them. He and Taehoon picked up their things and loaded them in their car.

At a distance, near a food cart, stood Kim Chorong. He watched as everyone got ready to leave. He could see Suah and Jukyung clinging to their boyfriends, his own posse goofing around and Han Seojun laughing and joking with his arm around Suho.

“Did you see how all those girls swarmed around me?” Seojun asked Jukyung. “Ya, aren’t you lucky to have a guy like me as your friend?”

“What lucky? You wasted all our time!” Jukyung scolded.

“Ah, I just can’t turn off my charms.”

Sujin scoffed, pulling a disgusted face, “Where? Where are these charms?” She put her hand over her eyes and mimicked searching.

“Right here!” Seojun replied, puffing his chest. “See how charming I am!”

“As charming as a sea louse maybe.”

“Yah!” The group laughed as Seojun pointed accusingly at Sujin.

Chorong had watched as Seojun pointed at Sujin in a huff while everyone laughed. It was the liveliest that Chorong had ever seen Han Seojun be.

“Chagi, what are you doing here all alone?” Chorong’s girlfriend came up to him.

“Geunyang.” Chorong put his arm around his girlfriend and walked towards the group.

They all went back to their resort, a beautiful location that Suho had paid for as this was the first time that everyone was going together since high school. They were all given shared rooms. Naturally, Chorong shared his with Seojun.

“Han Seojun,” Chorong began as Seojun changed out of his shirt, “I’m really happy for you.”

“Huh? What for?”

“You always used to complain about hanging out with everyone, but I don’t hear you do that anymore.” Chorong said sentimentally.

Seojun blinked. “Kim Chorong did you drink too much sea water? What kind of a weird thing is that to say?”

Chorong came up and hugged the half-naked Seojun, who balked at the gesture. “What the hell?!”

“Do you know how worried I was about you?” Chorong, with his enormous size, did not notice how Han Seojun desperately struggled to break free from his grip.

“Ya! You pervert, lemme go!”

“Ah-nee, look at you now. You said you would never go on an overnight trip with Suho and Jukyung, and yet here you are.”

Seojun stopped struggling. “What?”

It was odd that out of all people, Chorong had been the one to notice. “I’m so happy for you Han Seojun. Th—”

“Han Seojun, Jukyung’s asking if you would—whatthehell?” Sujin burst in and went still when she saw a half dressed Seojun being held by a sentimental looking Chorong.

Sujin betrayed no emotion. Just wordlessly took out her phone and promptly snapped a photo.

Han Seojun tried to push Chorong away, “No! Ya! Don’t you dare!”

“Jukyung is asking if you will sing songs for us. Quickly get dressed and come over, okay?” Sujin went out and Seojun caught a glimpse of her evil smile as she did.

“Yah! Kim Chorong!” Seojun shouted as Chorong finally let him go.

Of course, Seojun would perform. He always did when Jukyung asked. The group clapped at the end of the first song but the only reaction Seojun cared for was Jukyung. As usual, he found her engrossed with Lee Suho instead of him. Seojun couldn’t help but stare at the two.

“You sounded good.” Sujin came out of nowhere, blocking his view of Jukyung. Seojun knew, she was doing it on purpose.

“Too obvious?” He asked quietly.

“Too obvious. Suah almost noticed.” Sujin moved to block Suah’s line of vision to Seojun’s face.

“Thanks, I owe you one.” Seojun said.

“Pay me back with a song then.” Sujin rolled on her heels.

“Nope. Only Jukyung gets to request songs.”

She pfft-ed through her lips, “Mwo-ya. How stingy.” She turned on her heels.

“What song?” Seojun asked. Sujin smiled and turned back.

“You Were Beautiful by Day6.”

“Why not something by my band?” Seojun sounded almost insulted.

“I like Day6 better.” Sujin teased.

“I expected better taste from you, Kang Sujin.” Seojun adjusted the tuning of his guitar, testing the chords.

“Its my goodbye.” Sujin explained. “I’m moving on from Lee Suho.”

“Haven’t I heard that before?” Seojun said skeptically.

“Its for real this time.” Sujin said. Seojun looked up at her determined face.

“You’re serious.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah. It’s been long enough now. This is my way of making it official. So do a good job, okay?” Sujin walked away.

“I bet I’ll sing it better!” Seojun called after her.

“We’ll see!”

She hadn’t looked at Suho even once during his performance. But then, she hadn’t looked at anyone, just stared out the window. By the end she was tearing up. Seojun saw Suho happen to look over at Sujin.

He’s going to see her cry.

Seojun began to play his guitar loudly and messily, “Yeppeosseo! Yeppeosseo! Neon neomu yeppeosseo!” Everyone winced as he sang, or rather shouted, at the wrong note. But the abrupt bad singing had its intended effect. Suho’s attention was on Han Seojun. It took a second for Sujin to get the message. She sat up straight and wiped her face.

“Han Seojun! Stop it!” Suah yelled and Seojun stopped. “Are you in a rock band?”

Sujin sent him a grateful smile.

“It’s a totally new style of singing. You guys don’t like?” Seojun asked.

“No!” Came the resounding response.

Sujin’s was the only voice that said. “Yes!”

Seojun pointed his guitar at Sujin, head tilted back. “Better than Day6?”

“Much better!” Sujin grinned.

vi.

“YES! I WIN! I WIN!” Seojun ran around the court, pumping his fist in the air as Kang Sujin stared with a flat face and her hands on her hips. After having lost at nearly everything to Kang Sujin, Han Seojun had finally discovered something she was bad at.

“Are you really that happy?” She said, her upper lip pulled up in disdain.

“Ya! How can someone be so bad at basketball? You didn’t score a single goal!” Seojun’s eyes were wide with pure joy, his cheeks uplifted in a wide smile.

“Stop making fun of me.” Sujin fumed. She hated losing.

“I mean, I’ve never seen anyone lose so bad!” He laughed while pointing at Sujin, relishing in her first defeat. He knew he was great at basketball, but he hadn’t expected Sujin to be that bad. Sujin looked away, puffing up her cheeks.

“Zero!” He made a circle from his finger and thumb, “You got zero! I’ve seen worse players score more on accident!”

“Ah shut up!” She stomped her foot, "I was just off my game!”

“Off your game? Wae? Was my handsome face too distracting for you?” Seojun expected Sujin to come after him with a flying kick, or a punch in the shoulder or even a pithy retort. What he didn’t expect was the deep blush that spread across her cheeks. She looked around, choosing to look anywhere but him.

“Oh my God, jinjja? You got distracted by my face?” Seojun moving to look at her face better.

“Ah-nee-godun!” Sujin yelled, dodging his gaze. “Who would get distracted by those mean eyes?”

“Oh, so it was my eyes?” Seojun purred.

“As if!”

“Ooooooh! You’re even blushing!” He teased.

“I’m red from playing!” Sujin spun around and walked away, leaving Seojun laughing.

“I’m joking! I’m joking! I know it’s not that. Come back Sujin-ah!”

They changed out of their sweaty gym clothes. Seojun was wearing his typical brown coat over black pants and a black turtle-neck sweater. He was ready before Sujin so he waited for her outside.

She came out all dolled up, her hair brushed straight, fresh makeup on her face. She had a white coat over a pretty, pale pink dress. Seojun didn’t understand why she had dressed up so brightly today. She even had heels on. Sujin had denied any special reason when he had asked before so he figured this was just a girl thing that he would never understand.

They had only walked a couple of steps when Sujin stopped in her tracks. “Ah, shit. I think I forgot my phone inside.”

“Why are you so distracted today? Where is your head, Kang Sujin?” Seojun complained. Sujin ran back inside to get her phone.

“Got it!” She came back running.

They walked over to the café that they frequented to the point where the barista recognized them now.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t go to the amusement park like you wanted.” Seojun apologized.

Sujin waved a hand dismissively, “Doesn’t matter. It was just a throw away suggestion.”

“But I understand why you wanted to go there instead.”

“You do?” Sujin asked with a tinge of worry.

“Its because you didn’t want me to find out you were bad at basketball, didn’t you?” Seojun snapped his fingers.

Sujin’s face fell. She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Sujin replied sarcastically, “Ah, you’re totally right Han Seojun. I am so immature that all I care about is winning against a guy who thought Einstein was an appliance.”

“That happened only once.” Seojun defended.

A silence fell between them as their order came. Wordlessly, Sujin drank her iced latte and Seojun sipped his iced Americano. They often had these moments where neither would speak. But it was a comfortable silence. Sometimes Seojun and Sujin just enjoyed each other’s company without feeling the need to talk.

“You know we never finished our five questions.” Sujin reminded.

“Oh wow. That feels like it was so long ago.” Seojun leaned his head back as he tried to remember. “We covered the When. Where… I don’t remember where I fell in love with Jukyung. I think it was the moment in school where she was making fun of my…” Seojun cleared his throat.

“One of these days I’ll find out what that incident was, Han Seojun.” Sujin claimed.

“But not today.” He smiled. “So yeah, I think it was in school. What about you?”

“I think it was at the tutoring centers. I used to go there to study. My father had hit me, and I was in a strange place at that time. Suho comforted me and I guess that was when I realized I liked him. Now you, why did you like Lim Jukyung?”

Seojun leaned back and thought for the longest time. “She was… unexpected. I only started to pester her because I thought she was dating Suho.”

“Yeah, I remember that pestering part.”

Ya, Han Seojun are you a gangster?! Whiplash. Every time Seojun remembered that moment he felt whiplash.

“Since I hated Suho at that time, I had expected her to be hateful too. I thought she was just some vain, mindless girl but… she was the complete opposite. She was kind and thoughtful. She had a good heart and that made her beautiful to me. With or without makeup.” Seojun paused, then suddenly chuckled.

“What?”

“It’s funny. Before, I was never able to pin down what I liked about her. My feelings always seemed so complicated. But now that I see it… it feels so obvious.”

Seojun didn’t notice Sujin looking down at her hands, nervously rubbing them together, “Seojun, do you ever think you coul—” She spoke just when Seojun did.

“What did you like about Suho—oh sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“No, no.” Sujin shook her head. “I wasn’t saying anything. You were asking why I liked Lee Suho? Umm…” Sujin thought about it.

“Lee Suho, has never once liked a girl. Not before Jukyung, at least. There was a time when I was his only friend in school. And I thought… I misunderstood, his kindness as interest. I’ve always been pushed to get the number one position, you know? I always had to be number one. And when I thought that the guy that liked no one, liked me… it made me feel like I was number one, even if I ranked low on the grade sheet.” Sujin looked out the glass wall of the café, out on the street where people were walking, and it was slightly drizzling.

“When he found out that my father hit me, I thought he would see me as a crazy person, or pity me, or judge me for hating my father. But he never did. He only comforted me. He just… understood. And it was the first time that I felt that there was someone else who could understand me and understand what I was going through. That’s why I liked Lee Suho.”

Sujin looked back at Seojun. His mouth had shrunken into a small curve.

“But now he’s just annoying.” Sujin said in a lighter tone, “I mean, at a certain point you start hating people when they appear too perfect, isn’t that so?”

Seojun attempted a smile but it was weak.

“I’m happy now, Seojun-ah. I’m happy that I’m not with Suho. I think its for the best. If I think about it. Suho and I are too similar. We didn’t need more of the same. We needed someone who would help us change. Jukyung helped Suho do that. I could never have.”

“That’s a healthy way to look at it. Though I still think I’m perfect for Jukyung.” Seojun said smugly.

Sujin scoffed. “You think you’re perfect for every girl.”

“Where’s the lie?”

“Here! Yeogi! Here’s the lie.” Sujin tapped her finger on Seojun’s side of the table.

“Ah, Kang Sujin. You have no taste.” Seojun squinted his eyes at her in mock pity.

“And you have the IQ of a sloth.”

“I don’t need a high IQ. My greatest strength is my charm.”

“You keep mentioning this charm but I never see it.” Sujin put her hand over her eyes and began to search around.

They bickered in the café till the barista had to remind them, that they were being too loud. The banter continued as Seojun walked her all the way to her apartment. Throughout the way, Seojun could notice Sujin acting nervously; playing with the hem of her dress, combing her hair again and again, wiping her sweaty palms against her coat when she thought he wasn’t looking. He felt she had something to say to him but he didn’t want to ask what it was. If Kang Sujin had something to say, she said it.

Then, out of the blue, she swiveled on her heel to stand right in front of him.

“Ya, Han Seojun…”

“What?”

Sujin gulped. “Ah-nee-da. It’s nothing.” She turned her back to him.

“Whaaaat?” Seojun whined. “You’ve been fidgeting this while time so you definitely have something to say. What is it?”

“I forgot.” Sujin said, walking ahead, biting her lip.

“Mwo-ya…” Seojun let it go. She probably had more to say about Lee Suho and he wasn’t in any mood to hear it.

“Good night, Sujin-ah.” Seojun said when they reached her building.

“D-Do you wanna come up?” Sujin asked, stuttering a bit.

“Nah. I should go. I have an early day tomorrow.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Chalga.” Seojun waved goodbye. He had not walked more than ten steps when Sujin called out to him.

“Han Seojun!”

“What?”

Sujin hesitated. “B-Bye!”

Seojun chuckled. “Mwo-ya. She’s so weird.”

Sujin saw him wave and then leave. “If he turns, then I’ll tell him.” She told herself, trying to work up the courage to say what she had been meaning to the entire night.

But he never turned. Seojun just kept on walking and walking till he disappeared into the crowd.

“I like you, Han Seojun.” Sujin confessed to the wind. “I like you a lot.”

vii.

Han Seojun had to be absent for the whole month due to his idol duties. Sujin was glad for his absence. It had given her time to set her head straight about her feelings. She could still vividly remember, that last time she had ever confessed to a guy and that was back in high school. She clearly recalled how Suho had looked at her with disgust when she had said, or rather declared that he would have liked her if she had confessed first.

No. I wouldn’t have.

“Aish! What was I thinking saying all of those things?” She pulled at her hair as she rolled over in her bed. The humiliation of demanding that Suho break up with Jukyung, and ridiculously saying that she would toss Jukyung aside for him was too much. On top of that, she had tried to kiss Suho and he had pushed her away, repulsed. That in and of itself made her stomach ache with embarrassment.

She had a good heart and that made her beautiful to me. With or without makeup.

“Ah out of all people why him?! Why another guy who loves Lim Jukyung?! What the hell is wrong with me?!” Sujin groaned, rolling around in her bed over and over. Was she obsessed with men who were into Jukyung? Sujin felt frustrated with herself and wanted to throw her heart out.

She just has this warmth about her that just… draws you in.

Kind, caring, genuine, warm; none of those things describe me. Good heart? A single search on the internet would reveal just how good my heart is. Betraying my best friend and ruining all of my friendships in the process… who would say I have a good heart?

Sujin couldn’t compete with the shadow cast by Lim Jukyung. Even if Seojun did start to like her, Lim Jukyung would always be his first love. And just like always, Sujin would be second.

Sujin felt a familiar jealousy creep in; a resentment, a hate, an anger. It was history repeating itself. It was Lim Jukyung again. Why? Why did it have to be her? She and Suho had ten years worth of history between them and even that couldn’t compare to how he felt for Jukyung. Sujin and Seojun had only a year worth of friendship, a quarter of which included Seojun hating her.

It was a dark feeling. A heavy feeling. Like a weight in her chest. Sujin carried it with her whereever she went. She was supposed to meet everyone today. Seojun was suppsed to be back. She felt like she would be a coward if she didn’t go. But she felt like she would hate Jukyung more if she saw her. In the end she did go, and that weight in her chest went with her.

Jukyung was outside alone when Sujin saw her. She was finishing up a call.

Why? Why did it have to be her? Whywhywhy?

Sujin stopped in her tracks. No. She thought resolutely. She would not make the same mistake again. She would not let her feelings take over her judgement. She would not lose her friend again. As much as she loved Han Seojun, she loved her friendship with Lim Jukyung even more.

“Sujin-ah! You’re here-Oh?”

Sujin enveloped Jukyung in a massive hug, almost on the verge of tears. Jukyung hugged her back, confused.

“You know I love you, right?” Sujin said.

“Dangyunhaji! I love you too.” Jukyung hugged her tighter.

“I’ll always be a good friend to you, Jukyung-ah. I promise.” Sujin sniffed.

“Oh, are you crying?”

��No, there’s just something in my eye.” Sujin quickly wiped her face while still holding Jukyung so that she wouldn’t see her cry.

But before she could part, something pulled her collar from behind.

An irritated Suho stood, still tugging at her collar, “You’re not stealing my fiancée.”

“I bet she’d prefer me to you.”

“Okay! Okay! No fighting!” Jukyung declared a ceasefire.

“Are we fighting?” Seojun came up, putting his arm casually around Suho. “If it’s a fight, my bet’s on Sujin.”

“Wae. You think she’s better than me?” Suho asked.

“She’s scarier than you.”

“You traitor.” Suho released himself from Seojun’s side hug and went inside, grumbling. Jukyung followed after him.

“What was that about?” Seojun asked Sujin.

Sujin looked at him. His delicate, boyish features, his mean looking eyes that carried a surprising warmth. Her heartbeat wildly like a hummingbird. Sujin felt like she could spend an entire day just staring at his face. And then she felt it again, the quiet darkness that reminded her that she could never be with him. Quite suddenly, Sujin spun around and kicked Han Seojun in the back.

“Yah! What was that for?!” Seojun yelled.

“For being you.” She said and walked in, leaving Seojun bruised and confused.

viii.

You were pretty

The feeling of not wanting anything more

Moments that only you gave

Everything, everything

Everything has passed

But you were so pretty

Seojun hummed the song as he finalized the playlist for Jukyung’s wedding. Of course, he was going to perform at Jukyung’s wedding. It only made sense given his connection to Jukyung and Suho. The fact that Suho’s father was an important man at Move Entertainment also helped make things official.

A part of Han Seojun had wished that Jukyung hadn’t asked him. He was terrified of her wedding day; terrified of what his heart might do to him, terrified that he might feel compelled to run away with her in front of everyone.

Right now Seojun was calm. But it felt like it was the calm before the storm.

“Memories of me, have probably become, a thing of the past for you too, whatever I saw to you, it will all be something, in the past.”

“What’s that? New song?” His band mate asked when he overheard Seojun singing to himself.

“Hmm? No, its Day6.” The song had been stuck in his head since the day he had sung it for Sujin.

“You’re going to play a cover for your friend?”

“Yeah.” It would be his send off to Jukyung. Like Kang Sujin, Seojun was going to put an end to his chapter with Jukyung.

His bandmate put the song on their speaker. After the first verse he declared, “Yah! You can’t play a breakup song at a wedding.”

“Is it too obvious? I was hoping I could get away with it.” Seojun scratched the back of his head, stretching. He had been on his computer for hours now.

“Take it off. Choose something else.”

Seojun went back through his list of songs that he wanted to play. There was one other song that he had discovered recently by a disbanded group. He had really connected with the lyrics and it wasn’t a breakup song.

“How about this?” Seojun played it.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Use that for the couple dance.” His bandmate said.

The anticipation of the pain kept Seojun up all night. He worried about how he might behave or what might happen. The next day he woke up grouchy and depressed.

“Woah! Why do you look like a ghost?” His bandmate had said when Seojun arrived that morning. He would be going to the wedding with his band, given that they were performing. This might have been easier if he had gone with his friends.

Don’t worry. I’m here if you need me. Sujin had texted that morning. But Seojun was done relying on Sujin like a crutch. He would deal with things on his own. He didn’t want Sujin to think that all he was good for was complaining about his broken heart.

Seojun waited for the pain to hit when they arrived at the location but it didn’t. The wedding planner helped Seojun and his band set up along with members of Seojun’s own staff. When everything was good to go, Seojun took his leave to meet Jukyung in the bridal room where everyone was taking pictures with her.

Here it comes. The pain. How would it feel? Would Seojun cry again?

“Seojun-ah! You’re here!” Jukyung said. She looked stunning in her beautiful white dress. “Hurry! Get in the picture!”

Everyone was there, already positioned for the shot. Seojun joined Sujin to the side. She was wearing a tasteful black pant suit that fit her well. She was wearing makeup which Seojun noticed looked similar to one of Jukyung’s tutorials.

“How does it feel?” He whispered to Sujin.

“Meh.” She replied. “You?”

It was strange. Seojun didn’t feel anything. “Oddly enough, I feel fine.” Surely he was in shock. The pain would hit any time soon. 

It was a while before the pictures were done. Seojun’s cheeks felt sore from all of the smiling.

“Come with me to see Suho.” Sujin held up her arm and Seojun took it. She escorted him to where Suho was receiving his guests.

“Lee Su! Congratulations!” Sujin hugged him. Seojun did the same.

“Yah! I can’t believe we’re old enough to get married.” Seojun commented. Suho laughed.

Chorong and the Seojun Squad came over too, patting a blushing Suho on the back.

Seojun couldn’t help but think that Seyeon would have loved to have seen this. Sujin sensed his sadness and bumped shoulders with him.

“Okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Seojun smiled. Oddly enough he was. The pain still hadn’t hit.

A couple of girls walked up to him and asked him whether he really was the Han Seojun they were fans of.

“Of course!” Seojun puffed his chest and signed their autographs. He couldn’t see it but he could feel Sujin’s disgusted gaze on his back. When they were gone, Seojun turned to Sujin with an arrogant grin.

“Ah, I hope more people won’t bother me for my autograph.” He said in fake modesty.

“You should be grateful to have any fans.” She scoffed at him.

“Ugh. You’re too mean, Sujin-ah.” Seojun pouted.

“Ugh. You’re too childish, Seojun-ah.” Sujin mimicked him.

“Um. Excuse me.” A shy looking girl approached Seojun.

“Oh, you want an autograph too?” Seojun had a pen ready. Sujin gave him her most scathing side eye.

“Um actually—”

“You want a picture too? Sorry but I’m not allowed to take pictures at the moment. But I’ll sign if you like.”

The girl blushed deeply. “No, um—”

“Oh I get it.” Seojun swiped his hair dramatically from his forehead. “You’re here to confess to me. Well then I should let you know—”

“They’dlikeyoubackonstage!” The girl quickly blurted. “They’d like you to join your band. The ceremony is about to begin.”

Sujin laughed uproariously, that clear gurgle of pure, high pitched happiness that Seojun often enjoyed. But not in this moment. Not when his arrogance had been so efficiently deflated.

“Sure. I’ll be right there.” He mumbled to the girl who scurried away. Sujin was still laughing. “Found that funny, did you?” Seojun said, but it was not a reprimand. He liked that she was happy.

“Yes.” Sujin wiped away tears.

“You’re going to regret making fun of me when I perform.” He said, comically pulling the lapels of his jacket before leaving.

The lights dimmed as the wedding began. The Master of Ceremonies kicked things off, guiding everyone through everything. The band only played instrumental now. Suho entered first. Jukyung entered after him, looking every bit the ethereal angel that she was.

The couple exchanged their wows and drank the traditional wine. They then bowed to each other and bowed to their guests. Even in the darkness, Seojun could pick out Sujin. From the light glittering off her cheeks he could tell she was crying. He was too. But these were happy tears. His friends were about to make a new journey in their life together and he was happy for them. Truly. That pain he had dreaded over Jukyung’s wedding never did show up. Perhaps it never would. All he could feel was excitement for his closest friends.

Seojun had only one regret, that Seyeon hadn’t been able to see this moment. Seyeon’s was the one absence he always felt. In that moment, Han Seojun swore that he saw Seyeon among the guests. He saw his friend smile to Lee Suho’s and then to him. But Seojun blinked and Seyeon was gone but Seojun would keep that image of Seyeon similing with him forever.

Once the formal ceremony was over, it was time for the real party to begin. Seojun and his band turned up the performance, raising the mood of the room. People danced and sang along with them as they played so well that Sujin realized she could no longer make fun of Seojun when he bragged about his band.

The band then slowed things down, the set finally reaching the song Seojun was excited to play. He emptied his mind of everything but that one song and how it made him feel. This was for Suho and Jukyung and he was going to give his best performance tonight.

The bride and groom took center stage and swayed as Seojun played a softer version of Haru by a lesser known band, Royal Pirates. His rich baritone filled the room as everyone listened, entranced.

“You’re not a traditional beauty, but I like you, you who gets more attractive everyday.”

Seojun had never understood why people considered her attractive. To him, beauty had never mattered. But as he had gotten to know her, he found her to be more beautiful that how others described her.

“You don’t have a feminine voice, but the more I hear it, the more I get attached.”

He could hear her now, scolding him, yelling at him, throwing witty remarks at him that caused him whiplash, which was just his heart beating really fast.

“I can’t call you often, but I always miss you.  Each minute, each second. Yeah-yeah.”

When he thought about it, they never really hung out as much as he did with Suho or his Seojun Squad. Most of the time Seojun was busy with work and so was she. But he still looked forward to the times he would meet her again.

“An entire day would pass just by looking at you. If I look at you, I can’t do anything else. Oooooooh. An entire day would pass just by thinking of you. I won’t be able to sleep at thoughts of you. But I can’t help it, an entire day would pass just because of you.”

Time did fly when they were together. Whether he liked her or hated her, he had to admit. She was never boring. Even through the mundane stuff, she always kept his attention. With her brows furrowed as she concentrated, her mouth turned like an ‘n’. He smiled whenever he thought about it.

“We have so many differences. But you fill up what I lack. No matter how much I see you, you’re always beautiful. No matter what anyone says.”

She was always ahead of him; so much smarter and stronger. Beating him at everything. Well, everything except—wait. He never played basketball with Jukyung.

Seojun missed a note. The guitar twanged awkwardly as he stopped singing. His hands were shaking but he didn’t have time to digest what had just happened. The moment only lasted a half-second; Seojun had recovered quickly and continued. No one paid attention to his little mess up, but his hands were still shaking, and his heart felt like it would burst.

He couldn’t think about it. But how couldn’t he? This song had been for her all along. He had been staring at Kang Sujin the entire time he was performing, without even knowing it.

“An entire day would pass just by looking at you. If I look at you, I can’t do anything else. Oooooooh. An entire day would pass just by thinking of you. I won’t be able to sleep at thoughts of you. But I can’t help it, an entire day would pass just because of you.”

The base guitarist for his band leaned over to him when the song was done.

“Thought you lost your footing for a bit there.”

“You noticed? Did anyone else did?”

“Nah, I think you’re safe. But are you okay? You’re shaking.”

“Nothing.” Seojun said, more to himself, “Its… its nothing.”

ix.

He never got to see her again at the wedding. The band was surrounded by fans once they finished so they had to be escorted out. Their food had been arranged separately for privacy. By the time Seojun got the chance to break free, Sujin, along with most of the guests, had left.

Which was good because he needed to settle himself before he said anything to anyone. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what had happened.

“I like Kang Sujin? Ridiculous. Totally, ridiculous. This would never happen!”

Be that as it may, his heart still acted strangely when he got a text from her asking if he was okay. She was worried about him since Jukyung and Suho were now married. He told her tersely that he was busy and couldn’t meet. Then threw his phone away when he realized he actually really wanted to meet her.

It was the first time that I felt that there was someone else who could understand me and understand what I was going through.

Seojun could still remember his irritation when Sujin had told him why she liked Lee Suho. He had resented the fact that yet another girl saw Lee Suho as perfect. How could Han Seojun ever compare to the perfectly perfect Lee Suho? He and Sujin had ten years between them and a shared tragedy with their fathers that Seojun didn’t have.

Ah-nee, can’t I be someone who understands? Can’t she see that I get her too?

“Ridiculous. Why would I want her to think I understand her? Ridiculous.”

If Han Seojun had to answer the What, When, Where and Why of his feelings, he would not be able to put it into words. His feelings were intense and complicated. Too complicated for even him to comprehend. Which is why the braincell that he shared with Suho decided that he must be mistaken and that he didn’t actually have any feelings for Sujin.

“Ah-ne-da. I must have been overwhelmed because of Jukyung. Yes, that must be it. It must be a defense mechanism. I’m only thinking about her to protect myself, because I’m still not over Jukyung.”

It made sense. She was the only other girl he was close to in his squad, and they had been hanging out together more than they used to. His heart must have just gotten confused for a moment. Yes, that was it and nothing more.

The group did not meet each other for a while. Suho and Jukyung had gone off to their honeymoon. Suah and Taehoon had their own things. Seojun only met up with Chorong and Co. but his heart was never in those meetings.

He wouldn’t meet up with her. She tried texting and calling but he always gave her an excuse.

Why did we start meeting so much in the first place? He hadn’t noticed when it had happened, but Sujin had become someone he had come to rely on and this he only noticed when he started avoiding her.

“Seojun, you’re not coming to the flower festival?” Chorong asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“Huh? What flower festival?”

“Ah-nee, where is your mind these days? You attend it every year! Did you forget?”

Oh right. Seojun always did like to see the flower exhibitions held once a year. He always got flowers for his mother and sister when he went. It may have seemed like a ridiculous hobby for a boy to be so interested in flowers. But Seojun unabashedly liked them and of course, Chorong and Co. were always there to go with him.

“Of course I’m going to attend. Wae?”

“Sujinnie was asking if she could tag along with us. Suah and Taehoon are not around so she has no one to go with.”

Sujinnie?! Seojun blinked rapidly. “Ya, since when are you and Kang Sujin close?”

“Waegurae? Aren’t we all friends with her now? Did something happen?”

Seojun put on a straight face, “Ah-nee!” He exclaimed in a pitch too high, “Nothing happened. I’m just surprised, as all.”

“Aigoo. Did you guys fight? Sujin did say you haven’t been replying to her texts recently.”

Seojun tried hiding his curiosity, “You’ve spoken to her?” He said, as nonchalantly as he could, which wasn’t nonchalant at all.

“Of course. We all had drinks yesterday.”

“What?! Why the hell did you guys meet her and not me?”

“Seojun, she did text you about it.” One of his friends pointed out.

“Yeah! And why are you acting so weird? Do you hate Kang Sujin again?” Chorong asked.

“Ya! Don’t hate her! We like her now!”

“Yes!” Half the group said together.

“Arasso! Arasso! Calm down.” Seojun waved at them to chill. It wasn’t as if he minded that Kang Sujin was hanging out with his friends. But he did feel a sense of betrayal that he didn’t know about it.

“So, how about it? Will you go?” Chorong asked.

The flower festival was an exhibition where all flower vendors came over to show off their best products. People looking for suppliers of flowers and the public in general could attend, buy flowers or just enjoy the various arrangements.

Seojun went with Chorong and the others. Sujin was there waiting for them.

“Ya Han Seojun! You’re alive!” She lit up when she saw him, punching him in the chest with a brutal force only she had.

“Yah! How could you hurt an idol like that?” Seojun rubbed his chest in pain.

“Oh, sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“Not at all!” Seojun said, “I’m a man. I don’t get hurt.”

“Pfft. Sure.” Sujin grinned.

They went through the various stalls that showcased the various beautiful flowers. The group seemed to have broken off. Chorong was led away by his girlfriend to take some pictures. The boys all banded around a strange, evil looking plant like school children. Seojun and Sujin seemed to have taken a track of their own.

“You don’t want to take pictures?” Seojun asked, pointing at Chorong and his girlfriend who were stopping at every stall.

“I don’t care for that sort of thing. Wae? You want me to take yours?”

“No. We should take on together.”

Seojun took out his phone and pulled Sujin closer, taking a selfie.

“Ya, you can’t even see the flowers.” Sujin complained.

“Yes, you can.” Seojun put a hand to his cheek. “Right here. I’m the flower.”

Sujin’s lip curled in disdain. “Ah, right.” She said dryly. Seojun laughed and she couldn’t help but smile too.

As a regular attendee, Seojun knew most of the repeat vendors there. He took Sujin around, introducing her to the people who knew him and showing her the various flowers he liked. Sujin listened to him go on at length about where the flowers came from and what they meant.

“You know the language of flowers?” Sujin asked, thinking back to the white tulips and the yellow roses he had gotten her way back when.

“Dangyunhaji! Every man should know flowers. How else will you impress the ladies?”

Sujin chuckled. “You know if being an idol doesn’t pan out, you can always be a florist.”

“I’m too pretty to be a florist. The flowers would all wither in shame.”

Sujin patted his head, sarcastically remarking, “Aigoo, our Seojun has suffered so much for being so good looking. It must have been so difficult, living like this.”

It felt nice being with Sujin again. Seojun felt oddly energetic; like he could run a mile and not break a sweat. He babbled about this and that and wondered if Sujin was getting bored. But she never was, she listened and nodded and responded when need be. Time flew by and before he knew it, they had finished going through the festival.

He pulled at the sleeve of her coat, “There’s something else you should see.”

In the back corner, hidden away from the main area were the small level vendors who could only afford the cheaper stalls. It was a street that led away from the festival. Only a couple of people were around.

“These people don’t earn that much because they’re always placed at the back. But they have the best flowers.”

Seojun introduced her to the people that were running the stall, all of whom he knew by name. Some of them gave Sujin flowers for free. She gratefully took them.

The day was almost ending, the slow sunset had begun. A lot petals had been shed. The street with these vendors was covered in these petals, making it look like a path made entirely of flowers.

“This is really beautiful, Seojun-ah.” Sujin said, admiring the street.

“Yeah.” Seojun said, looking at her.

One of the stalls was filled entirely with tulips. Bright yellow owns, pretty pink ones, eccentric multi-colored ones. Seojun pulled out a purple one and gave it to Sujin.

“Here you go, Princess.” Purple tulips represented regality. Sujin smiled.

“Aaand…” Seojun’s picked out a red one. “Here.” He said. Then quickly-— a little too quickly— he added. “Ah-Because it matches your coat.” He pointed at Sujin’s red coat.

Sujin looked at the flower, then back at him. But said nothing.

They strolled over to a bridge that overlooked the entire festival. The descending sun had set everything in a warm glow. The air smelled sweet with all of the flowers. Petals flew in the air.

“Here.” Sujin handed the tulips back to Seojun.

“Why? They’re for you.”

Sujin smiled. “Phabo. You should be giving them to the girl you like. And tell her what they mean when you give them.”

Seojun sighed wistfully, “The girl I like doesn’t know the language of flowers.”

Sujin hit him lightly with the tulips. “I wasn’t talking about Lim Jukyung. Go and like someone else, and bring her here, and give them these.”

“I wasn’t talking about Lim Jukyung either.”

“Mwo-ya. You have someone you like?”

Seojun’s bit his lip. “Yeah. But I’m going to give up.”

“Waaaee? You only just got over Lim Jukyung!”

“Because this girl likes someone else too.”

“Omo, chincha?” Sujin laughed. “Again? Ya, Han Seojun, can’t you choose a better girl to like?”

Seojun gave a sad chuckle. “I know, right?”

“Who is she? Do I know her?”

“Yeah.”

“Who is it? Tell me!”

“Nope. Secret.”

“Ugh, how stingy. At least give me a hint. What does she look like?”

Seojun looked at Sujin, “She’s beautiful. Very beautiful.”

“Ayyy, that’s every girl out there.”

“Well, that’s all the hint I’m giving.”

Sujin punched his arm but relented. It was perhaps better to not know who Seojun liked. Sujin would have been filled with jealousy again and she didn’t want that.

It was curious however, that Seojun found someone he liked, and she didn’t even know. It was curiouser that this new girl had someone she liked too. Just like Sujin, Han Seojun had—

Sujin looked at the tulips in her hand. They stood out among the other flowers the various vendors had given her. Sujin looked at Seojun, who was busy admiring the sunset.

It was strange, but in that moment, she remembered something her teacher had once said.

Some of you don’t know what it is you really want. And some of you do know but you’re hesitant. However, opportunities come without warning and you must be prepared to take advantage of it.

“Han Seojun.”

“Hmm?”

Sujin pointed the flowers at him, tilting her head slightly. Much like he had done a long time ago when he had asked her Do you think I’m handsome?

“Do you like me?”

And just like she had, Seojun answered immediately, with no remorse or regret. “Yes.”

Like the cool girl she was, Sujin didn’t overreact or exclaim in surprise. She only casually said, “I like you too. So, we should date.”

A beat of a pause. One, two three.

“What? What?! WHAT?! You like me? You like me?! Me?! As in, Han Seojun?”

“Yes you, you idiot. Manhi Joahae.”

“What? Ican’tbelievethis. How? Why? Wait, you asked me if I liked you. Did you already know?” Seojun appeared as if his brain had malfunctioned.

Sujin grinned. “You phabo, even if I didn’t know flower language, I could still tell by the red tulip. Ah-nee, red is the universal color for romance. Didn’t you know?”

Seojun’s face was a mixture of wonder, shock and pure happiness. His eyes were wide, cheeks red and pulled up, mouth hanging open in a slow smile. He had no words to speak. He felt like he would explode like a firecracker and light up the sky in sparks.

“You like me? You really like me?”

Sujin closed the distance between them, pulling at the lapel of his coat. She gave him only a chaste peck on his lips before moving back, blushing. “It’s official now. So, no backing out, okay?”

His mind, that was already haywire, went blank.

He pulled Sujin by the waist, pressing her entire form to him and cupped her face with his other hand. The kiss he gave her was intense and she gasped before giving in to him. Sujin felt she could stay like this forever. The kiss only ended because their mouths kept pulling back in an uncontrollable grin.

“You like me?” Seojun asked.

“Yes.”

He kissed her again but they couldn’t stop smiling. Both of them were shaking.

“You like me?” He asked again.

“Yes.” She replied again, chuckling.

And they kissed again.

“You like me?”

“Yes!” She laughed.

And they kissed again. And he asked again, she replied again, and they kissed again and again and again.

 EPILOGUE

When Seojun and Sujin told Jukyung and the others that they were dating, it had been the first of April. So naturally everyone assumed they were joking. Seojun and Sujin hadn’t realized this and were surprised at the luke warm response that everyone gave to their announcement.

“Yes. We believe you.” Suah had said and Sujin missed her sarcastic tone.

when Seojun gushed over Sujin, the group all just looked at each other thinking, Wow, they’re really dedicated to this prank.

And even when they left together, the group all gathered and said;

“You believe them?”

“Why pull a prank that’s so obvious?”

“Exactly! Han Seojun and Kang Sujin? No way.”

Only Suho had been the one to keep his silence and not say anything.

But when they all met up again and Seojun and Sujin acted like a couple again, everyone gasped in shock.

“What?!”

“You guys are actually dating?!”

“How?! How did this happen?”

Only Suho had been the one who wasn’t surprised. “Congratulations. I’m happy for the two of you.” He had said warmly.

“Sujin-ah, what about our affair?” Jukyung said despondently, making a crying face.

“I’ll let you know when Seojunnie goes on tour.” Sujin assured her quietly.

“YAH!” Both Suho and Seojun exclaimed in protest, pulling their girlfriends away from each other.

“Lim Jukyung, you keep your hands off my girlfriend.” Seojun warned.

“I will. But there’s no guarantee she’ll keep her hands off me.”

Chorong and Co. had a similar reaction, they all exploded into shock and happiness at the news. Only Chorong seemed unsurprised.

“So you finally figured out your feelings?” Chorong asked Seojun.

“You knew?”

“Friends know.”

To Sujin, Chorong said, “Sujin-ah, I respect you a lot. But if you hurt—”

“Arasso, arasso. I won’t hurt your precious Han Seojun.”

“I meant don’t hurt me if he ever pisses you off. You scare the shit out of me.”

When enough time had passed and they knew they had to tell their parents, they went to Seojun’s mother first. The woman had been pleasantly surprised by this news and declared Sujin a part of the family immediately. She had met Sujin before and had taken a liking to her immediately but now that she and Seojun were dating, the woman gushed and cried.

“Ah, I have another daughter now.” She said, kissing Sujin on the forehead.

The tricky part was Sujin’s mother, who was still a little pissed over the scandal.

“What will people say if you announce this online?!” The woman had argued.

“But mom,” Sujin made a flower pot with her hands around Seojun’s face, “look at how handsome he is.” And that was enough to entice Mrs. Kang.

Receiving so much happiness and love from everyone was an unfamiliar experience for Sujin. So much so that it terrified her. She felt like she was in a dream that would shatter any minute and she would suddenly wake up back in her old bed with her father banging on the door, screaming at her that she was worthless.

It was this image that jerked Sujin awake in the middle of the night. She sat up straight, her heart was pounding, her hands felt sweaty and clammy. Her father’s shouting was still ringing in her ears.

Seojun stirred on the other side of the bed, “Bad dream?” His rich baritone was husky from sleep but it cut through the darkness of the room and Sujin didn’t feel so scared anymore.

“Um-hmm.”

“Come here.” Seojun patted her side of the bed. She fell back into his arms, nuzzling her nose in his neck.

He sang to her softly, his deep voice soothing her. “Love, love the stars. Love, love the moon. Nothing has really changed. It’s still the same air. With the same bed looking at the same ceiling.”

Sujin’s hands stopped feeling clammy and dirty and soon enough, she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of flowers and sunsets.

 THE END.

A/N: Dear reader, if you stuck till the end and liked what I wrote, then thank you. Saranghae <3

Please have my badly made memes with my sarangs

[ellewords]

(not me reading this back and thinking you could make a drinking game out of this ask because of how many times i say “because” lmaooooo)

i’ve never actually seen wgm but i really love the idea of hinata being on the show, because i feel like he would be so starry-eyed the entire time. literal ✨👄✨ at everything because he’s never thought about what being married would be like and now suddenly he gets to experience it??!!?! he fumbles through all of it, and the fans love him for it because a lot of the other participants seem so smooth and suave, but not with hinata! he blurts his thoughts out as they come, he’s clumsy in situations that would normally require him to be put-together, he makes a huge deal out of every little thing. the first time his partner brought him a bouquet of flowers, hinata literally turns bright red and starts rambling so fast the audio just barely picks it up—

“you didn’t have to but that was really nice of you, i’ll get you something next time, hey, the flowers smell sweet, oh no, that’s actually you, you smell so nice, have you always smelt that way, you should definitely tell me what body spray you use because i might just have to get some of that—“

and the fans eat it up. and so does their partner who absolutely adores him even if hinata doesn’t quite get/see it.

i feel like it would also be hilarious if the partner was someone who isn’t necessarily the biggest (by choice, they don’t want to be in the spotlight all that much) but because of a really big project they have out soon, their team thinks they should get some of that pr. maybe a painter or a sculpture? one that has gotten a lot of attention as of late because their art is a little controversial/suggestive but has somehow managed to keep most of the media on the actual art and not on themself. they come off as really shy and recluse, but the second they get on the show, hinata brings them out of their shell, and that makes the fans like them even more. they love getting to see the artist behind everything and they especially love seeing how their artist brain translates into the real world. and just the idea of hinata being the kind of person who would be able to make even the most introverted person go a little crazy is something i think would be hilarious on reality tv.

anyway, hinata gets a lot smoother as they continue on, and it absolutely floors the fans because he’s so different from when he started. he holds his partner’s hand like it’s nothing, he says super sweet things without missing a beat, he holds eye contact without looking like he’s trying to win some unproclaimed competition. but he doesn’t realize he’s doing it, and the partner is too nervous that he’ll get weird about it to say anything.

by the end of their time on the show, fans can see how deflated the partner is even though they’re really good at hiding it still, and hinata is off too, but he can’t tell why. he is still chipper and all over the place, and the partner is still more open and engaging, but their energy is off. hinata chalks it up to them going to miss the time they shared together, but even that doesn’t feel quite right.

after they leave the show, hinata is super excited to see that the partner has started doing more community stuff (charities where they show up in person, giving art classes to people that donate certain amounts to organizations and projects that they support, going out in public and doing sketches/paintings of people on the street for reference later and recording tiny interviews with them as they do it to make a new documentary of the process or something). he gushes about it all over his social medias and anywhere else he can get someone to listen because they don’t have the time to actually ever meet up with the way their schedules are. he even starts posting behind-the-scenes clips that he had taken (with the permission of the partner) to engage with both parts of their fan bases.

and the partner does the same for hinata. they do a bunch of pieces of the jackals and sells them to get both of their communities involved and supporting them even if they can’t go to the actual games. their instagram is flooded with designs of new projects for them and even more of them of just hinata, all of which have captions that target just hinata (“wow, my ex-husband is so fine 🥵” “that’s your man? mhm! look at him! yeah, that’s mine” and other stupid, cheesy ones that make the fans feral because damn, they really have come out of their shell, huh?!)

the internet loves it, and they love even more that hinata seems to become the person at the beginning of the show all over again, flustered and a mess and tripping over his feet. a new hashtag starts because of it about the two of them being in love still (as a joke) and people upload some of their favorite moments of the pair together. when hinata sees it, he tries to play it off (horribly) but when he finally gets to talk to their partner about it, there’s a calmness in their voice that eases him just a little bit, and suddenly he’s aware of why exactly leaving felt so wrong.

this got a little sidetracked, but i don’t even mind, lololol. also, i definitely need to check out the show after this because i love the fake dating/marriage idea. thanks for putting me on to it! make sure to drink water, have a snack if you haven’t eaten in a bit, and take deep breaths! -🌙

— from elle ! okay but hinata and a painter/artist!partner is literally such an amazing idea to dive into, this now lives in my head and i will continue thinking about it for days on end. i absolutely love everything that you’ve sent aaa i’m actually screaming, i had a difficult time picking which part of your hc to focus on bec so many things popped into my head. but i ended up choosing to kind of pick up where you left off for my little addition (under the cut as usual) tysm for this 🌙 anon ! take care <3

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

hinata’s blush grows redder every second he spent staring at his phone, his twitter mentions filled with photos, edits, and even fanmade animations of the two of you. your shipname was trending again, all after you posted a rare photo of yourself in msby merch. you looked cute, that much was evident to hinata. then again, he always thought of you as cute — from the second you walked into set, all shy and nervous, from the minute you left it, your arms wrapped wrapped around his neck. why was he acting like this? filming had ended months ago; he’d grown more confident around you, hadn’t he?

your name flashed across his phone screen, interrupting his train of thought — you were calling him. his heart beat sped up, fingertips immediately moving towards the ‘answer’ button.

“hey shoyo!” you greeted, enthusiasm very much evident in your voice, “did you see the picture i just posted?”

“i did! um...you look great.” he mumbled, unsure if you had heard him, heat continuing to rush towards the apples of his cheeks.

“thanks!” he hears your chuckling from the other end of the line, and a small part of his mind convinces himself that you were somehow teasing him. “you’re coming tomorrow, right?”

“what’s tomorrow?”

“my photo exhibit, silly.”

ah, that. hinata could imagine you shaking your head, biting your lip as you attempt not to burst out into laughter at his cluelessness. the beating of his heart is more rapid now, thinking of how you anticipated his answer, how you wanted him to be there. “i was only kidding, of course i’ll be there.”

“sure,” you replied like you didn’t really believe him, “i’ll see you then.”

—

hinata was the one who convinced you to get into photography. truthfully, you wanted to try and exploring other mediums beside your usual set of paint and pencils.

“maybe i should try taking photos.” you joked, gently nudging his shoulders as the two of you browsed various film cameras. the crew had taken a brief break from filming, but you and hinata still wanted to continue exploring the various antique shops that lined the street.

“go for it!” he replied without missing a single beat, quickly rattling off a list of potential subjects, “you can take photos of plants, or maybe animals, really pretty scenery...it’s not even going to matter because i know you’ll end up taking really amazing photos.”

and when hinata insisted that he pay for the camera you chose, you decide on a subject.

__

the gallery is empty. well, at least the reception area is.

hinata’s dressed in his finest button-down and slacks, black dress shoes clicking against the white granite tiles. the receptionist directs him to the floor where your exhibition is meant to be held — right at the very top.

his brows furrow, there should be more people here. photographers, critics, fans even. he should’ve been greeted by reporters, by the surely hundreds of people all excited to see your work. you had only grown in popularity since your appearance on wgm, the number of people going to your exhibits only ever increasing. he should know, hinata’s been to every single one over the course of the show’s run. he knew what to expect. and it was certainly not this.

the elevator dings, indicating that he had reached the top floor. still, not a single person there. the frown on his face only deepens. hinata catches a glimpse of the exhibition’s title, “beyond the cameras: a retrospective”

the glass door is unlocked, hinata pushes through them only to be greeted with pictures of the last subject he expected: himself.

framed on the white walls of what possibly was tokyo’s most famous gallery were photos of him, glossy and bright, colors vivid and alluring. and they weren’t just any photos too, they were photos taken on the rare occasions wherein cameras weren’t following your every move. there were photos of him from nights he snuck you in the gym to teach you how to play volleyball, ones of him covered in paint taken in your studio, ones of him attempting to make you breakfast. all of which had him looking away from the camera.

that is until he reaches the final photo, the only one that had you in it as well, taken the night before the final day of filming. he was looking at the camera, but you were looking right at him — your gaze soft, the corners of your lips forming the smallest of smiles.

“so maybe i lied,” hinata heard a voice speak from beside him, recognizing it as yours almost immediately, “the exhibition is actually tomorrow. i just wanted you to see it first.”

“but why me?” he asked, biting the inside of his cheek.

“just because.” you shrugged, not even turning to look at him, gazing at your final photo — just like he was.

but hinata feels it, the tightening in his chest, the tension that enveloped your bodies as the two of you continued to stare straight ahead. he hears it, the ringing in his hears, the hammering of his heart, the unevenness of his breath.

you stand next to him, just a few inches separating you. hinata’s hand is drawn like a magnet to yours. at first your knuckles graze, and hinata holds his breath. then his fingertips push in between yours, you bite your lip. finally he he grasps your hand, a quiet exhale escapes you both.

you tear your eyes away from the photograph at the same time he does; your gazes meet. and just like that, you finally reach the same understanding as him, of just why leaving felt so wrong.

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

a question: how would the hq boys (specifically timeskip) act on a variety show like we got married?  |  written on the margins masterlist

taglist : @haikyuutothetop @crystal-lilac @tobioespresso @sushijimawakatoshi @itsmeaudrieee @pantherhappy @jesssobs @mysticstrawberryballoon @cloudedsky_29

join my hq taglist here. <3

[atlafan]

Take it Slow  - Part Twenty-Seven

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Smut.

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Rachel left around 10 the next morning so you could get ready for the day. You were so happy to have alone time with her. You both didn’t get as much one on one time together as you’d like. You decide on wearing your hair up in your classic high pony, especially since your nephew was starting to get grabby. You put on a pair of skinny jeans and a black sweater. You put a pair of booties on, and wait for Harry.

He keys into your apartment around 12:15. He was getting better about being early for things.

“Love?” You hear him and come out of your room. “Hey cutie.”

“Someone’s in a better mood.” You practically jump into his arms, kissing him on the lips.

“Yeah, sorry again for being a meanie.”

“S’okay, we all have our moments. Ready to go?”

“Yup.”

Harry lets you pick the music for the ride.

“Alright, so please, tell me all your good news.”

“Okay, so yesterday afternoon my supervisor called me into her office, and at first I was scared. But she called me in to tell me that because of the work I did on that project last week, our contract has been extended, thus gaining more business. Apparently a lot of good word has gotten back to the CEO about me. Get this. Not only do they want to pay for grad school, like the whole thing, not just half, BUT they want to give me a raise. Like a significant one with a new title and everything! They want to make me an associate director!”

“Are you kidding me?! That’s incredible baby!” His hand squeezes your thigh. He felt terrible for blowing up at you last night. You could’ve celebrated. “We have to celebrate tonight!”

“I’m so excited! And they said I could pretty much pick whatever program I want as long as it’s online. Don’t say anything to Niall though. They’re planning on bumping him up to, but they plan to talk about it Monday. There’s all this restructuring happening. I’ve only been there two years, I can’t believe it.”

“I’m so happy for you, it’s great they’re recognizing your work! And I know how much you already love it there, this is like icing on the cake.”

“I know! She said they didn’t want to risk losing me.”

“That’s amazing, this is so great.” Harry was beaming. He was so proud of you. “What school do you think you’ll apply to?”

“I’m not sure yet. I need to look over the information my supervisor sent me, and then do some research. I need to figure out what I want to become a master.” He chuckles.

“I’m so proud of you, really.”

“Thanks babe.” You put your hand on top of the one he has on your thigh, and you stay like that for the rest of your drive.

//

Harry brought a ton of equipment with him. It was too cold to take photos outside, so he brought this giant white sheet to hang up in your brother’s living room. It went all over the floor as well, creating a nice background. You were holding your nephew while he was setting some of the lights up.

“Thanks again for coming out to do this.” Your sister in law smiles while clearing some toys out of the way.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. These are my favorite kinds of photoshoots.” Harry smiles back. He looks over at you lovingly while you rock the baby and talk with your brother. “I brought some props with me, was there anything in particular you were hoping to do?”

“Well, as you can see, we’re all wearing the same sweater. I think we’re trying to go with a season’s greetings vibe? Almost like a winter wonderland? I’m not Jewish, so we didn’t want it to be too overbearing with the religious stuff.”

“Right, yeah we can definitely do that. I can show you some samples too of some after effects. I can edit in some snowflakes, or even a snowman behind ya.”

“Did you hear that honey?” She says to your brother who is laughing with you about something.

“Hm? Yeah, that sounds good.”

“So, we’d like some of the three of us, obviously, some of just him and I, some of just him and daddy, and then some of daddy and I.”

“Alright.”

Harry sets up two different cameras, one on a tripod, and the other around his neck. He connects his laptop to it so the pictures will go right in. You didn’t realize his freelance operation was quite so high-tech. Harry unfolds a collapsible bench, and sticks it on the sheet.

“Okay, so if dad wants to sit on the bench, and them mum can sit right in front.” He comes over to you, gesturing to hand the baby over. “Thank you, hey little guy.” He coos to the baby. “And mum if you wanna have him in your lap…that’s perfect.”

Harry uses his handheld camera for a few test shots, and then goes over to the camera on the tripod. You go behind him to watch them pop up on the screen. He had gotten the lighting perfectly. No shadows, no one looked shiny, you were impressed. You made a funny face to your nephew to keep him happy and smiling.

“How ‘bout one where you’re all sittin’ on the floor?” Harry goes behind your brother to move the bench out of the way. “That’s great.” He snaps a few shots. He tries to get a few candid ones in.

“Do you have a chair or basket you wanted to put him in for his solo shots?”

“Yeah! Let me go grab it.” Your sister in law pulls over a little chair to rest the baby in.

Harry gets in close to get some different angles. Your nephew is mesmerized by the camera, so the pictures come out really good. You loved seeing Harry do his job.

“Mum and the baby next?”

Your sister in law picks the baby up, and gently rocks him. Harry gets a few shots from the still camera, and then goes over to the two of them.

“Let’s get his face on your shoulder, and then have you looking down at him. Mind if I touch ya hair, love?” You and your brother give Harry a funny look.

“Um, not at all.” He moves a few strands of hair from her face.

“Perfect.” Harry moves behind her to get the shot. “Just tilt your head up a wee bit, there ya go.” Another shot. “Dad, can we get ya on the other side of them?” Your brother move where he tells him. “That’s amazing, thank you.”

Harry takes a few more shots of just your sister in law and the baby. Then moves on to your brother and the baby. He got a really good one of him lifting him over his head.

“He’s bein’ so good, haven’t heard a peep yet.” Harry says.

“We fed him right before you guys got here. He snaps the minute he’s hungry.” Your brother explains. “You wanna hold him while we take our pictures?” He asks you.

“Of course!” You take your nephew. “Where’s his bubby in case he gets hungry?”

“In the kitchen, right side of the fridge.” You walk into the kitchen to grab the small bottle, and a rag to throw over your shoulder, just in case.

On cue, your nephew starts crying, but stops the second the nipple of the bottle hits his mouth. You soothe and feed him, sitting down in the rocking chair near the set up. Harry looks over at you, distracted by how gentle and sweet you are. Your brother coughs, grabbing his attention.

“Right.” He walks over to the two of them. “You’re a little stiff, just relax a little. Let’s put this arm here.” He takes your brother’s arm and puts it on the small of his wife’s back. “And you can you put your hand on his chest?” He furrows his brows looking over how they’re standing. “Can you put your other hand in your pocket? Ah! There we go.”

Harry goes over to the tripod, he flashes you a quick smile as you continue to feed the baby. He takes a few photos. You finish feeding your nephew, and sit him up to burp him. Once he does burp everyone starts laughing, and Harry is able to get a great candid shot of the two.

You hand the baby off to his mom so you can help Harry pack up his gear, and get everything into the car. When you both come back in, you see your sister in law has put out some snacks for everyone.

“Mind if I hold him?” Harry politely asks. She passes the baby off to him.

“Mm, this hummus is so good.” You say.

“It’s that fire roasted pepper one.” Your brother says sticking a carrot in. He takes his checkbook out of his pocket. “Harry, wanna talk shop in the kitchen?”

“Sure.” He follows your brother into the kitchen. Your sister in law leans close to you as you both sit on the couch.

“He’s such a doll.”

“I know. And so talented.”

“Incredibly professional. I see why you like him so much, if I heard a man call me love like that in that accent, I wouldn’t have let him go either.” You both giggle. “I’m so glad he was able to squeeze us in, he must be so busy this time of year.”

“You have no idea.” The boys comes back and sit in the area with you. Harry sits right next you, baby still in his arms.

You tell your brother all about your big work news, and how excited you are.

“But don’t tell mom or dad, I wanna tell them myself.”

“Sure thing, so Harry, are you gonna come to our uncle’s Hanukkah party next Saturday?”

“Plannin’ on it yeah.” You and your brother share a look, trying not to giggle.

“It’s a really fun party.” Your sister in law says. “I remember the first time I went.” She giggles. “It’s a great way to be initiated into the family.”

“What are you doing on Christmas this year? Another vacation with your girlfriends?” Your brother asks. You feel shy all of a sudden, and put your hand on Harry’s leg.

“Um…no. I’m actually going to England for a week or so with Harry, to meet his family.” Your brother and his wife look at each other then back to you.

“Does mom know?”

“Yes.”

“Does dad know?”

“No.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Don’t tell him either.”

“He has to know.”

“I’m not saying I won’t tell him, I just don’t need you spilling the beans, and then him calling me freaking out.”

“Why would your dad freak out?” Harry asks, adjusting the baby’s head to rest on his shoulder.

“He just…overthinks every little thing.” You explain. “You think he takes news well, then two days later he has a million different questions.”

“How long are you gone for?” You sister in law asks, trying to break some of the tension.

“The 23rd through the 29th, so literally a week. I’m really excited, I’ve never been to England before. Harry said we’re going to spend a couple days in London too. I’ll get to do all of the touristy stuff.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun.” Your brother says. “What will you do for New Year’s?”

“Niall’s having a party.” You look up at Harry. The baby has fully passed out on him. “Oh look at him!” You rub the baby’s back. “You two just had to have the cutest baby in the world, didn’t you?”

“Mind if I take him back? I don’t want him freaking out when he wakes up.” Your sister in law giggles.

“Sure, thanks for the snuggle little guy.” Harry coos to the baby before passing him back over. “Well, I suppose we should get goin’, (y/n) and I are gonna celebrate her big news.” He stands up.

They walk you both to the door. Harry and your brother shake hands.

“Thanks again for everything.”

“No problem, and like I said I should have these for you in the next couple of days, you’ll be able to download all of the images and have them printed wherever.”

//

“So, where do you feel like going tonight? Anywhere you want.” Harry smiles at you in the car.

“Gosh, I don’t know! It would be fun to go somewhere that has dancing. I’m just so jazzed up.”

“That baby is the cutest baby I think I’ve ever seen.”

“Right? Can I ask how much you charged my brother? I hope he didn’t try to stiff you.”

“No, no, he didn’t. In fact, he wanted to overpay me. It all worked out, don’t worry. How come he got so weird about us going to England?”

“I think it’s just cause I’m leaving the country with you. My dad also has a way of putting him in the middle of things.”

“Do you want me there when you tell your dad?”

“God no, I’m gonna tell him over the phone so I can hang up if I need to. I’ll call him next week or something, I’m not really worried about it right now.”

Harry brings you both back to your apartment. You rummage through your clothes to find something to wear.

“We could go to that club a few blocks from here. You know the one that has food til a certain hour, and then the dance floor opens up?”

“Oh yeah! That would be perfect. I haven’t been there in a long time, probably since the summer.” You furrow your brows at the pile of laundry on your bed. “I cannot decide on an outfit! It’s gonna be cold tonight, so I know I should wear pants.” You scratch your head and dig for a pair of dark blue jeans that have a few intentional holes in them. “Hmm, what to wear with these though…oh!” You snatch your black crop top from the top of the pile. It was cute, tank top style, a little low cut, but it had a nice fringe on the bottom for some texture.

“A crop top?”

“Yeah, these pants are pretty high waisted, it looks good together.” You take your clothes off to change. “You know what, I need to find the right bra for this.” You walk over to your dresser and search for one that goes with the shirt. “I bought one to specifically wear with this top.”

Harry goes into your closet to put on a fresh t-shirt and sits on your bed to wait.

“Aha! Found it.” You put the bra and put the top on, and stand in front of him. “See? You can just barely see my piercing.” You point to your belly button. You go into the bathroom to throw a few curls in your hair and run your fingers through so it looks wavy. You put some night time makeup on and feel ready. “All set?”

“Yup.” He wraps his arms around you and gives you a kiss on the top of your head. “Uber’s here, let’s go.”

The bar area of the club was a little crowded when you got there, but because there only two of you (and maybe because you pushed your boobs up when you spoke with the host), you were able to get a small table after only five minutes. Since you were celebrating, you both ordered a big plate of nachos to split, and some tequila shots.

“I’m so glad you like doing tequila too. A lot of people don’t.” Harry says as you two clink the small glasses before tossing them back.

“I know! I don’t get it. I’ve never had a problem with tequila, ever.” You both decide it’s a good idea to stick with the same liquor, so you both order margaritas. “Margaritas and nachos, what could be a better combination of food?” You giggle, diving into the cheesy chips. “So, you’ll actually dance with me tonight?”

“Yes, I will.” He rolls his eyes playfully. “Maybe after a couple more drinks though.”

Harry loved watching you dance. You always had so much fun, and it made him have fun too. He loved hearing you say, “I love this song!”, to just about every song that would come on, and the way you’d yank him closer to you to dance. And you. You loved the way Harry would let loose in times like these, not caring if anyone was looking. The way he would move his hips along with yours, or when he’d stop to twirl you around, the quick kisses you’d share.

You both had a great night. Harry ordered an uber when you both agreed your feet were too tired and you both were just too drunk to keep dancing.

“That was so much fun!” You exclaim twirling around into your apartment. “Thanks again.” You wrap your arms around his neck, deadweighting him.

“Jesus.” He laughs, almost falling to the floor with you. “Alright, time for some water, yeah?” He lifts you up, and sits you down on the kitchen counter. He fills two glasses of water and hands you one. You both take small, slow sips. “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“I always do when I’m with ya.” You slur. He stands between your legs.

“Ready for bed?” You pout. “What?”

“Dontcha wanna love on me?” You run your hands through his hair. He rests his hands on your thighs.

“I do…but maybe in the mornin’, love.”

“Why?” You pout again, really jutting your bottom lip out.

“We’re both a little too drunk.”

“Not you, just I am.” He gives you a half smile.

“You’ll be mad at me if we do anythin’.”

“No I won’t.”

“(y/n).”

You lean down and kiss him, pulling him closer to you. His fingers press into your thighs. Your stomach starts to feel weird, so you let go of him.

“Oh no.” You say and hop off the counter.

“What? What oh no?” He looks at you very concerned.

“I think…I had too much dairy tonight, I don’t feel very well.” You put a hand over your mouth and run down to the bathroom attached to your room.

Harry quickly follows after you, and hears you throw up. He sighs, and goes to get a rag to run under some water, and a hair elastic. After he hears you flush the toilet, he comes in.

“No! Don’t come in, I don’t want you to see me like this!” You turn your face away. You feel him take your hair and put it into the elastic.

“Not the first time I’ve seen someone spew.” He crouches down next to you and presses the rag to your forehead. “Are you lactose intolerant? I didn’t think people threw up from that?”

“I’m sensitive to dairy, so I think because those nachos had so much cheese, plus the combi, the combi, oh no.” Harry stands up and uses his hand to brush back any hair he may have missed in your ponytail. He rubs your back while you vomit again. He pats the damp rag across your forehead again. “I’m so sorry.” You say, flushing the toilet and wiping your mouth.

“It’s alright, love. Happens to the best of us.”

“I think I’m through.” He helps you stand up, and you look at yourself in the mirror. “Yikes.” Your makeup had run down your face from tears. You run the water in the sink and brush your teeth. You turn the hot water on and grab your makeup remover rag. Harry watches you as he stands in the doorway.

“Don’t think I’ve seen someone only yak twice from drinkin’.”

“I told you.” You dry off your face with a hand towel. “It was from the dairy, the cheese.” You make a disgusted face. “Not eating that for a long time.” You look at him and sigh. “That was disgusting, I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” You take your hair out of Harry’s makeshift ponytail, and shake it out.

“S’alright, vomit doesn’t really bother me.” He shrugs, and follows you to your bed. He takes his shirt off, then his pants, and you do the same. He kisses you on your temple before going into the bathroom to do his thing.

You got cozied up in his t-shirt, and got into your side of the bed. He comes out and joins you.

“Sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna dry heave or anything.”

“Guess that was one way to sober up. C’mere.” You rest your head on his chest, and he puts an arm around you.

//

The next morning you both wake up around ten. For once, you wake up almost completely on top of Harry. You must have fallen asleep on his chest and never rolled over. You rub your eyes as you start to wake up, and see that he’s sitting up, reading from his book.

“Mornin’.” He says looking down at you with a smile.

“Shower?” He nods yes, and you both get up.

You both brush your teeth before going in. You felt gross from last night still. You peel his t-shirt off and put your hair up. You both step in to the warm water, and stand in it together, arms wrapped around each other. You felt groggier than usual, and could feel slight cramps forming in your lower back. You groan into him.

“Whatsa matter, love?” He says, chin resting on your head.

“Getting my period this week.” You knew that already due to your birth control tabs, but it was still annoying nonetheless. “I’ve got the precramps.”

“Better to get it now than while we’re away though right? Less things you’ll have to pack.”

“That’s true. I hate getting it when I’m traveling.” You nestle into his chest more.

Harry takes your chin between his fingers and tilts your head up to look at him. He leans in and gives you a soft kiss on the lips. You nuzzle your noses together, making you smile. You wrap your arms around his neck, and go up on your tiptoes so you can kiss him properly. His hands moving down to squeeze your butt. You feel him harden against you, and you press yourself more on him. You tongue enters his mouth to find his, and you’re happy when you’re greeted with his.

You push him back against the cold tile, taking him by surprise a bit. Harry’s mind can’t help but race. If you would let him, he’d pick you up and put you against the wall. He would drive into you with his hard cock and have you screaming his name. But no…he couldn’t have that yet, and it was driving him nuts. He was genuinely curious, though, about exactly what you planned to do with him right now.

You lace your fingers through his hair, and gently tug. Your mouth moves to his neck and you bite down on him. He groans, tilting his head back. You push your body as close as you possibly can to him, as you suck on his skin harder. What is she trying to do to me? He asks himself. You reach down between the two of you, and wrap your hand around his throbbing cock. He sucks in a breath as you work your thumb over his leaking tip. You lean your forehead against his chest as you look down. You take a deep breath as you rub him against you.

“Woah!” He flinches. “What’s, um, what’s happening right now?”

“I just…” You look up at him. “I just wanna rub the tip against my clit. Can I do that? Please?” He blinks at you. “And then I’ll suck you off, okay? I’m not trying to tease, I just wanna feel you against me.”

“O, okay.”

You look back down, and move his tip to rub against your clit. The contact felt amazing to you both. His slick tip rubbing against your clit had your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

“Fuck.” He groans, eyes closed and teeth clenched. His hands move to your breasts, and knead them, needing something to hold onto.

You move one of your legs up around one his legs so you can get a better angle. Harry pries his eyes open to watch your hand around him.

“I’m, I’m not gonna last much longer.” He says, panting.

You drop to your knees and take him into your mouth. His hands rest gently on your shoulders, not wanting to pull your hair in fear of triggering you again. His hips thrust forward, hitting the back of your throat. You need to use one hand to pump him, not able to take all of him into your mouth. Your other hand was on his hip, fingers pressing harshly into him.

“God, you take it so well.” He says through a moan. You groan against him, and the vibration makes his hips roll further. His nails are digging into your shoulders as you bob faster on him. “Fuck, (y/n), I’m gonna come!” His hot come splurts into your mouth, and you swallow every last drop.

You stand up, and rinse your mouth out in the shower water. Harry quickly pulls you over to him, pushing you against the tiles this time. He kneels in front of you, and connects his mouth to your clit. Your hands go right to his hair. He holds on your thighs up so he can get his tongue inside you easier. You almost lose your balance.

“Ah! Harry!” You moan. “Please, please just take me to the bed!”

He stands up, both of your pupils are blown out. He quickly turns the water off, kneels back down, and lifts you up over his shoulder. Neither of you care that you’re soaking wet, you’ll just throw the blankets in the dryer later.

Harry puts you down on the bed, and gets on top of you. He kisses you firmly, you stick your tongue in his mouth and he sucks on it. You moan loudly as his thumb presses down on your clit.

“You really want it, don’t you?” He asks, biting down on your collar bone.

“Fuck! Yes, I do. So bad. Please, let me feel your fingers.” Harry’s jaw clenches, he should have known that’s what you meant. But his small glimmer of hope told him you wanted more than that.

He bites down on you harder, sucking on your skin, leaving a nice purple bruise in its place. He had to do this. He had to get his frustration out somehow. And you were letting him. His fingers plunge inside you, making your hips buck up towards him.

“I love how wet and tight you are, it feels amazing.” He says into your ear, taking the skin just underneath between his teeth. Your nails sink into his shoulders. They rake down his back as he pumps in and out faster.

Your hands grip onto his butt, and your nails sink into his cheeks as you move your hips to grind against his hand. He bit down on your neck harder, he was hard again, there was no doubt about that. He grinds himself against one of your hips.

“Harry, fuck!” He hit that spot that you love so much. He didn’t even need to rub your clit to make you come, this felt good enough. “Harry!” You’re screaming his name. You weren’t sure what made you feel so hot today, maybe it was the hormones, but you didn’t care. You didn’t care if your neighbors heard you screaming either.

You release all over his fingers, he removes himself from your quickly, and grips himself. He jacks off onto your stomach. Your mouth falls even further open at the sight. He collapses next to you as you both catch your breaths.

“Holy shit.” You say, closing your eyes.

“Sorry, I, it was just…I had to come again.” He says looking down at your stomach.

“It’s okay.” You smile at him. “I can’t always be the one to come more than once.”

“Let me go get a rag to wipe you up with.”

“No, it’s okay.” He raises an eyebrow at you and you giggle. “I’m gonna go hop back in the shower quick. Could you throw these blankets in the dryer while I’m in there.”

“Mhm.” You kiss him quick.

“Thanks.”

You get up and go into the bathroom. You gasp when you see yourself in the mirror. You put your hand over your mouth so he doesn’t hear, and you close the door. You inspect the many large, purple bruises on your neck and collar bone. These were going to be hard to cover, and they were going to take a long time to heal. You rinse off quick, and wrap yourself in a towel. Harry is in the kitchen making smoothies.

“Love, I made breakfast.” He smiles handing you a glass.

“Thank you.” You take a sip. “Mm, yum!” You take another big sip and put your glass down. “Um, babe?”

“Yeah?” He looked so good, just standing there in his tight black boxers. You rub your hand over your neck. “Jesus.” He pulls your hand away. “Shit, I did a number on you huh?”

“Yeah, in a couple different spots.” You had two prominent love bites on your neck, and two more on your collar bone. He rubs his thumb softly over them.

“Did it hurt?”

“Um…yes, but…not in a bad way.” You blush. You look up at his neck. “I gave you a pretty good one too.”

“Mhm.” He smiles.

“You don’t mind?”

“Nah, they heal pretty quickly. They’re not that noticeable on my skin. But you’re a little fairer than I am.”

“They’re just hard to cover with makeup. I’ll need to wear a scarf or something. Um…I like getting them, I like the way they feel. Just…when you feel the need to bite me that hard, could you find a more discrete spot?” Harry cocks his head and looks at you. He takes a sip of his smoothie.

“But if I did that, how would everyone around you know you had a boyfriend?” He walks by you, leaving you stunned, and sits down on your couch. You sit down next to him, sipping on your breakfast. “I mean, that’s how everyone knows I’m seein’ someone.”

“It’s just not very…professional. People will notice, and talk. Otherwise I wouldn’t care where you did it.”

“But I like it best on your neck. It’s my favorite place to bite into. You’d deprive me of that?” You were sweating. If he kept talking to you like that, you weren’t sure how much longer you’d last before your lips were wrapped around him again.

“N, no. You can do it without leaving such a large mark can’t you? I mean, what if my family saw?”

“Alright, ya got me there.” He fake pouts. “Guess I can try to be more careful.” He sighs. “Anythin’ ya need to do today?” You mean other than you? You thought to yourself.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind going to Walmart, I’m low on some stuff. But you don’t need to come with if that doesn’t sound like fun.” You laugh.

“Nah, I need some stuff too, now that I think about it.”

“Great, I’ll drive us.” He frowns. “Am I a bad driver or something?”

“What? No! I just prefer driving.”

“Why?” He just shrugs at you. “Well, I would like to drive if that’s okay.”

“Alright.” You get up, and he watches you walk into your room. Something about your ass shaking in a towel made him smile. He gets up to follow you.

The second you dropped your towel, Harry’s arms were wrapped around you, pressing your back to his chest. You giggle as he presses kisses to your neck and shoulder.

“Harry…”

“What?” He whispers in your ear.

“We’ll have all day to do this, but we need to go to the store now, okay?” He rolls his eyes and lets go of you.

“All day, huh?” That shit eating grin covers his face, and this time you roll your eyes.

“You’re ridiculous.”

[starbuck]

Terror Notes: “Go For Broke”

well… I guess I’m really doing this! Some proper, bullet-pointed notes for each episode of The Terror, starting with ep 1: Go For Broke!

I wrote these out last night (and edited them this morning to make them readable - you’re welcome!) so I hope that y’all enjoy my thoughts and assorted nonsense! I tried to save my comments for points I actually wanted to make because I feel like they bring something to the table but I still ended up writing A Lot lol

I love that Crozier couldn’t even be bothered to be present in welcoming Sir John and Fitzjames onto Terror, making Little and Hodgson do it by themselves. One could argue that he had important captain-y things to be doing at that time or something but I’m not 100% sure that wasn’t the case. 

idk if it’s just the angle, but I paused the episode just as the shot of the officer’s mess is coming in from above and Hodgson’s hands make me so uncomfortable. They look so bone-y and weird. (Just what you came here for, I know. Hand commentary.)

Cannot tell you how uncomfortable it is, after many rewatches, to listen to Fitzjames recounting in a casual, lighthearted manner 1) shooting people 2) people catching fire (and burning to death), and 3) their burning flesh smelling “like roast duck” (so, like something edible) and it’s even more uncomfortable to have the closeup be on Hodgson’s face as he laughs at the ‘roast duck’ comparison.

On a lighter note: I love that Fitzjames felt the need to remind everyone what size cherries are by illustrating it with his fingers. In case they forgot, I guess? As someone who occasionally speaks unnecessarily with my hands, big mood tbh.

I LOVE it when Fitzjames gives Little that affirmative tap on the arm after he compares Fitzjames’s injury to Lord Nelson’s. My friend Eli and I refer to it as The Fitzjames Arm Tap. I would like a Fitzjames Arm Tap, pretty please.

God, Sir John loudly setting his hands on the table to try to dispel the tension from the ‘birdshit island’ debacle as he attempts to change the subject is so funny. I’m gonna stop just pointing out things I find funny soon, I swear, but I just cannot handle this scene.

Between Hodgson looking horrifically embarrassed by Crozier’s outburst at Fitzjames and Little looking nervous when Crozier shoots him a look as Sir John says that there’s no reason to be concerned about the ice, it really does seem that they were having to ‘manage’ him even back in ep 1 when his alcoholism wasn’t completely out of hand.

Personal sidenote about this: My Pop-pop is often rude to workers in stores and restaurants (he doesn’t drink thank goodness but he has Alzheimer’s coming on which has worsened his temper) so I very much understand the feeling of being on-edge that an outburst is going to occur and trying to deal with the fallout when it does. Just going by my own experience, I can imagine Little apologizing to Fitzjames for Crozier’s rudeness as soon as they were out of Crozier’s earshot (not that anything Little could say would heal the deep psychological wound that Crozier created but hey, it’s something).

The way that Sir John brushes aside Dr. MacDonald’s and Crozier’s concerns about moving Young when he’s in such bad shape never fails to upset me but also ~foreshadowing for hauling the ill on boats oooohhh~

I said I was done pointing out random things that amuse me but the speed and agility with which Des Voeux pops out of the hatch and onto the deck after Orren falls into the water is just so funny. I could watch that two second clip on repeat all day. Might gif it so I actually can.

Is this a good time to point out that there’s also a scene in Moby-Dick where someone falls from high up on a mast and drowns? It’s in a chapter all about bad omens experienced by the crew of the Pequod and The Terror definitely has some similar vibes going on with the sun dogs displayed in the establishing shot of Erebus in that scene and David Young, a “warning of things to come,” on his way over.

The second(?) time I watched the part where Young tells Stanley that he didn’t think anything of getting headaches since he’s always gotten them, I had this thought pass through my head that was like “oh god, I had chronic migraines for years so I’d never have known if I had lead poisoning either!” but then I realized that this probably was not a relevant concern I should have.

Not sure I have any deep commentary on this but as Gore informs Sir John and Fitzjames about the blocked propeller, he’s standing in the same spot, in the same room as Goodsir will stand next episode to tell them about his death.

Also regarding this scene, I love how Gore waits for Fitzjames to give him the go-ahead to leave before actually going. I know that Fitzjames is his superior officer too but, since Sir John already dismissed him, it seems like waiting for Fitzjames’s approval isn’t really necessary, yet a nice thing to do. Perhaps this is a legitimate formality, but something similar happens later in this episode in the command meeting when Crozier asks Gore how many sun dogs he’s seen; he looks to Fitzjames and waits for his nod before answering Crozier. He doesn’t look to Sir John, he looks to Fitzjames. I know that we know essentially nothing about Gore but like.. underrated ship???? Just saying…

Ten nights ago, I was unable to get to sleep for at least an hour because I started thinking about David Young’s saying “I want to go to my grave as I am” and, of course, that ultimately doesn’t happen for him but also, this, like all things about him, is a “warning of things to come.” I’m pretty sure that no one else was properly buried until, arguably, Fitzjames and ironically, that was explicitly not what he wanted done with his body (and, since his grave was later looted by Hickey, similar to the way that Young’s autopsy ultimately achieved nothing, it didn’t really matter anyway).

I know that this happened exactly ten days ago because I forced myself to wake up and write it down in my notes app, lest I forget, which only prolonged my sleeplessness. I suffer for my analysis. 

Ah yesssss Tozer’s lesbian haircut. We love it! Why does my hair not look like that when I take a hat off? I’d like to file a complaint.

Was just thinking the other day about how Hartnell being the one to notice that there was something up with the ice in ep 1 is followed up on with Blanky complimenting Hartnell’s ability to read the ice to Crozier in ep 7. I wonder if Blanky ever gave him like. ice-reading lessons after becoming aware of his interest and natural talent at it in ep 1? That makes me happy to think about.

The two people who we’re shown awoken by Young’s screaming are Sgt. Bryant and Morfin and like. Do I even have to explain why that’s an Oof?

The way that Goodsir hesitates before knocking on Stanley’s door and Stanley irritatedly closing his book before answering the knock in an exasperated voice would be comedic in any other context. If I’m being honest, it still makes me laugh. As does Stanley’s “As if that weren’t plain.”

I’ve pointed this out before but mmmmm... that shot of Stanley in profile with the open candle flame in the background… the foreshadowing in this ep is thicker than the smoke at… Oh alright, I’ll stop. 

God, the autopsy/dive scene…. Collins being lowered down and entering the water paralleled with Goodsir’s initial cutting into Young’s corpse, the breaking up of the ice paralleled with the cutting of the bone-saw. But most significant to me is the parallel of what is seen/not seen and the long-term effect that this has. Collins sees Orren’s corpse (and then presumably never tells anyone about it), reinforcing his guilt over Orren’s death, the beginning of his mental health decline. Goodsir doesn’t see the cause of Young’s death in his autopsy and this not knowing about the lead poisoning until it’s too late to do anything about it is the cause of many of Goodsir’s later problems as well. And, to finish it all off, both the autopsy and Collins’ dive were ultimately for nothing (considering a spinning propeller is useless when your ships are frozen in). 

Crozier and Blanky’s simultaneous face journeys as Sir John rambles on about how there’s nothing to worry about and they’ll find the passage any day now are truly legendary.

I wrote some pretty extensive tags on this already but man… Crozier’s comment about how not all of Sir John’s men returned from one of his previous arctic expeditions is just so nasty and awful. Like, yes, Sir John is wrong to undersell the danger they’re in and Crozier is advocating for the correct position here, but that was completely uncalled for and horrible to say, particularly in a command meeting, in front of so many people. And Sir John looks legitimately upset by it too. He gets over it quickly, at least on the outside, but I still feel really bad for him (and I NEVER feel bad for Sir John so this is weird for me).

“But of course we will not be abandoning Erebus, or Terror…” Let’s check back in six episodes and see how that’s going! 

Crozier slamming his fist on the table to prove he’s not being melodramatic reminds me of this one post (that I sadly can’t find rn) about Jesus Christ Superstar that’s like “‘CUT OUT THE DRAMATICS’ Judas hollered dramatically.” It’s such an Overall Mood.

I don’t have a developed commentary on this at the moment but it’s an interesting reverse-parallel that Sir John had no concern for Young’s well-being when he was alive, ignoring Crozier’s concerns about moving him from ship-to-ship when he was in such poor health, yet now that he’s dead, Sir John is the one to recommend that Young be buried which Crozier is surprised by, and seems to feel is unnecessary.

There’s been so much amazing commentary already made about Young’s burial scene so I’ll skip it except to say that Hickey’s irritated sigh when he hears footsteps coming towards the grave is SO funny. That’s exactly how I feel when I know that someone is about to tell me something that will annoy me.

Goodsir was really getting into the emotion of Sir John’s “eulogy”/motivational speech before he remembered the promise he made about Young’s ring. Also, what triggered his memory was Sir John saying “We shall earn our loved one’s cheers and embraces,” so no doubt a reminder of the traumatic “Your loved ones will be there in Heaven to welcome you! :)” “I never knew my mother or father” exchange (or maybe just a reminder of the fact that he was supposed to get Young’s ring to his sister but just let me scrape a little humor out of this. God knows I need it).

The shot of Bryant praying in his hammock the night before they get completely frozen-in is honestly deeply upsetting to me. Especially considering he’s a marine so he Did Not Ask To Be Here, yet there he’ll die.

According to Melville, ship’s compasses occasionally spun round-and-round when a ship was caught in a severe storm and this was an incredibly upsetting thing to behold because of how disorienting it was. So, considering that, Fitzjames keeps his composure pretty well but he clearly has some reservations about how things are going and Sir John has no comforting-sounding remark about ‘Magnetic North’ to offer him now.

The bit where Sir John “sees” Crozier, on Terror, turn away from him with a half-smirk on his face is interesting because there’s no way he could have possibly seen Crozier’s expression at that distance and I’m doubtful that he’d even have been able to make out the identity of anyone he might have been able to see on Terror’s deck. So really, it speaks mostly to Sir John’s mental state; his seeing their getting frozen in as a loss against Crozier and imagining that Crozier would see it as a victory for himself.

Ugh the final shot is making me think about @catilinas’s post comparing a shot of the two ships stuck in to the shot of the ink drops from ep 3 and I am LOSING IT but I was losing it anyway because it’s 2AM now and my entire body feels like gelatin. 

THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT! 

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

[quinnybee-writes]

Title: On the Same Page (Of A Slightly Different Edition)

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Rating: G

Words: 6350

Summary: Hogwarts/Harry Potter AU; Sequel to Leap of Fate ( Tumblr / AO3 )

Shouta Aizawa isn't just a Hufflepuff, he's the Hufflepuff, which means Hizashi has to do everything in his power to make sure today goes exactly to plan.

Which, of course, is why a rainstorm, a stray kitten, and a whole host of jitters, insecurities, and inopportune timing decide to invite themselves along for the ride.

On AO3

Hizashi frowned hard at his reflection in the common room mirror. His hair wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary but today wasn’t the day for “ordinary”. He sighed, fluffing it out of shape and then back in, hoping that would make it stop annoying him. It didn’t.

“I’m gonna shave my head,” he groused under his breath.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Nemuri replied from one of the nearby armchairs. “It’ll make your forehead look big. Well, bigger.”

Hizashi scowled at her through the mirror. “You always know just what to say,” he replied flatly. Nemuri blew him a kiss.

“Seriously, though, you look fine. Aizawa already thinks you’re a total cutie, you don’t have to try so hard,” she said.

Hizashi felt his face going red for the thousandth time that morning. As much as Nemuri seemed to think he and Aizawa were some kind of sure thing, the anxiety-riddled basilisk squirming in his gut had other opinions. If Aizawa was just some random good samaritan Hufflepuff he’d met a week ago, he could have shaken off his jitters and still had a great day in the village whether they ended up clicking with one another or not.

But Shouta Aizawa wasn’t just a Hufflepuff, he was the Hufflepuff. He had been ever since he’d glanced across the table during a blended Potions class their third year, diagnosed Hizashi’s disastrous mixture as being the result of the nettle extract not emulsifying, and suggested he mix both clockwise and counterclockwise to make it come together before returning to his own work without another word. That had been the first time in three years of Potions lessons that Hizashi’s sample had come out right without at least a half dozen revisions, and like a song from a genre you never thought you’d like, Aizawa had been stuck in Hizashi’s head ever since. Hizashi had tried to thank him for it a thousand times, but could never manage to tamp down the nauseous mix of intimidation and infatuation that bubbled up in his stomach the moment the two of them made eye contact. Not until Aizawa had risked literal life and limb to rescue Hizashi from his own inattentiveness and the infatuation momentarily won control of his tongue, anyway.    

“Oi, Yamada.” Nemuri snapped her fingers in front of his nose, jogging him out of his thoughts. Hizashi blinked and looked over at her.

“Sorry, yeah, what?” he said. Nemuri gave him a sympathetic smile despite her raised eyebrow and took his face in her hands.

“Look me in the eye and listen close, okay? This boy is crazy about you. He jumped out of the stands to save you from a nerfed Bludger during a school-sanctioned Quidditch match. He wants. To smooch. Your face,” Nemuri said, squishing his cheeks to punctuate.

The thought of not just hanging out with but kissing Aizawa hadn’t occured to Hizashi until now, and it sent a whole new sharp flip through the pit of his stomach. His face burned and prickled like it was trying to flush and grow pale at the same time. “I think I’m gonna barf. Thanks, Nems,” Hizashi said weakly.

“Hey, it worked for him, didn’t it?” Nemuri pointed out, standing on tiptoe to give him a peck on the forehead. “Now stop stalling and go get your man.” She took him by the shoulders and turned him towards the door, giving him an encouraging swat on the backside to get him moving. Hizashi took a deep breath, squared his shoulders as best he could despite his whole body feeling like it was going to shake apart, and forced himself to start walking.

Aizawa was already waiting for him on one of the courtyard benches. Hizashi felt a little overdressed in the skinny jeans, concert teeshirt, and sleek leather jacket he had pestered Nemuri into helping him pick out as he took in the scuffed cuffs of Aizawa’s faded black jeans and the well-worn thumb holes in the sleeves of his hoodie. Aizawa looked like he’d rolled out of bed looking effortlessly cool and casual, slouched forward with his free elbow on his knee and his attention buried in a paperback novel he’d folded in half so that he could read it one-handed. Hizashi swallowed hard, his throat dry and his palms starting to sweat.

C’mon, Yamada, this is no time to be gutless, he reminded himself sternly. “Hey!” he called to Aizawa. It came out louder than he had really intended, echoing in the mostly-empty courtyard. As with everything, though, Aizawa took the noisy greeting in stride. He looked up from his book, shaking hair out of his face, and unfolded himself from the bench as Hizashi strode over.

“Morning,” Aizawa replied with a nod.

“Sorry if you were waiting long,” Hizashi said with an awkward laugh. “I was, ah. Um. Sorry.”

Aizawa shrugged. “I don’t mind,” he said, holding up his book as evidence before stuffing it into his back pocket. “I think most people already went on ahead,” he added. “We should get going before the pub gets too crowded.”

“Sure, yeah,” Hizashi agreed.

Neither of them spoke much on the way down to the village. The short walk seemed to grow longer and longer the more Hizashi tried to think of ways to fill it. He wished he’d spent less time picking Nemuri’s brain about what he should wear and more about what people actually did on dates. His brief middle school romance with her in his second year followed by several years of long-distance crushing on someone he had been too terrified to speak to had left him severely underprepared. He was pretty sure holding hands was a thing, but was it a first date thing? Maybe not this soon after meeting up with the other person. Conversation was the most obvious answer but a vast chasm of blank nothing opened in his brain the moment Hizashi tried to think of something to say.

“You like the Weird Sisters?” The question silenced the panicked claxons going off in Hizashi’s brain instantly. “Your shirt,” Aizawa went on when Hizashi just stared at him without answering. Hizashi reflexively glanced down like he’d somehow forgotten what he was wearing, then nodded with a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, they’re cool,” he said. “My sister Haruko was super into them when we were kids and it kind of rubbed off on me. We went to their show in London last summer for her birthday, that’s where I got this,” he added, tugging at the hem of his shirt. “How ‘bout you?”

Aizawa nodded. “They’re one of my favorite bands,” he said.

“Really?” Hizashi asked, secretly thrilled that they’d already found something to agree on.

“Yeah. I’ve never gotten to see them live, though. Kinda jealous.” Aizawa flashed a sliver of a smirk that made Hizashi’s heart seize hard in his chest.

“We should go together sometime!” Hizashi blurted out before he could stop himself. He flushed as a few people ahead of them glanced back to see what all the noise was about. Aizawa, though, grinned again and shrugged his uninjured shoulder.

“Yeah, maybe,” he half-agreed. His face was mostly hidden behind his hair, but Hizashi could have sworn he was blushing too.

As predicted, the main room of The Three Broomsticks was packed with students and staff getting in one last relaxed moment before the end-of-year exam crunch began. The two of them put in their orders at the bar, then sought out one of the last remaining open tables.

“I’ve never seen so many people trying not to make eye contact at one time before,” Aizawa commented as he looked around the pub. Hizashi laughed.

“It’s like avoiding the T-Rex in Jurassic Park,” he joked. “If nobody moves, the students can’t beg for extra credit and the profs can’t remind you about your career counselling appointments.”

“Terrifying,” Aizawa said dryly.

“It is for me,” Hizashi admitted with a laugh. “I’m pretty sure Torino’s going to run me down the next time I tell him I still don’t know what I want to do after graduation.”

As if to prove his point there came a badly-muffled snicker from a couple tables away. Hizashi glanced over to see Professors Torino and Shimura along with Shimura’s TA Toshinori Yagi commiserating over drinks and stacks of grading. All three waved, Torino with a somewhat more meaningful smile than the other two. Hizashi felt himself flush and gave a vague flail of his hand in return before quickly looking away.

“See?” he said, turning back to Aizawa. Aizawa gave a kind of “well, when you put it that way” half-nod, half-shrug.

“I assumed you were going to be a professional Seeker somewhere,” Aizawa said. “Slytherin’s been unbeatable ever since you joined the team. With your talent you could easily get scouted for at least a semi-pro league right out of school.”

He said it without any hint of flattery or exaggeration in his voice, like it was simply an immutable, commonly known fact; water was wet, the sky was blue, and as far as Aizawa was concerned Hizashi had what it took to be a pro Seeker. Hizashi tried to cover the flustered catch in his throat by grinning and miming flipping his hair over his shoulder.

“Well, obviously,” he joked. “But...I dunno. I think if I’m gonna to do something for the rest of my life it should be something I’m gonna have fun doing, y’know? And the most fun part about playing Quidditch is getting to hang out and play with Nemuri and the others,” he said. “If I can figure out a way to group all of my friends together into a new league for just us I might consider it, but it doesn’t look like that’ll happen anytime soon.” Hizashi laughed apologetically, suddenly worried he might be straying too far into “Oversharing My Insecurities” territory for this early in the day. He was saved the additional discomfort of backpedaling by their lunch arriving. Looking at food made his stomach double-knot but he tried his best to not show it.

“How about you? What do you want to do after you’re out of school?” Hizashi asked, dumping too much ketchup on his fries as an alternative to eating them.

Aizawa shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t really know either,” he admitted with a slightly grudging tone to his voice. “Shirakumo keeps telling me I should become a teacher, but I’m not sure.”

“Oh yeah? I think you’d be good at it,” Hizashi said, thoughts of a solemn-eyed thirteen-year-old saving him from certain disaster drifting through his head. “You’re one of the top brains in the year and you’ve definitely got the guts for it. My sister Hinako’s studying to be a linguistics instructor and she always says all you need to be a good teacher is a high tolerance for bullshit and enough raw nerve to tell someone to fuck off without stammering.”

To Hizashi’s surprise and delight Aizawa let out a sharp bark of laughter at that, clapping his hand over his mouth to muffle it a split second later. Hizashi beamed, a swell of pride growing in his chest at getting Aizawa to break character, even momentarily. “I thought you said your sister’s name was Haruko,” Aizawa said, clearing his throat around another laugh.

“Other sister,” Hizashi clarified. “Haru and Hinako are the older twins, they graduated two years ago. My brother Hiro and my sibling Hoshi are the younger twins, they’ll be ten in August.”

Aizawa stared at him, dumbfounded. “You have four siblings?” he asked with the kind of wonder-filled shock that picked him out instantly as an only child. Hizashi grinned.

“Yep,” Hizashi said, nodding. “Middle child of five, and the only single birth on either side of the family for, like, two or three generations back. Haru swears I ate my twin in the womb so I wouldn’t have to share a birthday.” About halfway through he had the too-late realization that the joke might not be funny outside of his family, but to his relief Aizawa let out a hard snort at it.

“Not a bad plan,” Aizawa said.

Hizashi shrugged. “It worked,” he said. “So what d’you think you’d teach if you did end up back here?” he added.

“Muggle Studies,” Aizawa said. The way he said it without any hesitation made Hizashi wonder if he was actually as reluctant about the idea as he claimed.

“That’s cool,” Hizashi said, nodding. “I took Muggle Studies as an elective third year but I ended up dropping it before fourth. It wasn’t terrible or anything, it was just kind of. Um.” He tried to think of a nice way to phrase the fact that he had maintained a perfect grade in the class while using it as an extra study hall.

“Boring?” Aizawa suggested flatly. Hizashi flushed.

“I wasn’t going to say that,” he hedged. Aizawa sighed, shaking his head.

“No, I’ve taken three years of it, I know it is,” he said. “The curriculum might be Ministry approved, but that doesn’t save it from being complete garbage. No matter who the teacher is it’s always some Pureblood, and they just stand at the front of the class acting like it’s some incredible miracle that Muggles managed to invent solutions to problems without magic to help them.”

Hizashi nodded; that sounded about right from the hazy half-forgotten memories he could dredge up.

“If they had any sense, they’d have someone who knows what they’re talking about teaching and it would be part of the core classes in first and second year. Then it would actually make sense to let you decide if you want to stick with it as an elective,” Aizawa went on. “That way the kids who don’t know anything about non-magic technology will learn alternatives for when they run into something magic can’t fix. The way it is now just ties everyone down to a single way of thinking with no alternatives until after they’re used to relying on magic for everything anyway. It’s completely illogical.” He grew more animated as he spoke, eyes bright and spots of enthusiastic color rising in his cheeks. This was the most Hizashi had ever heard Aizawa say at one time and he was enraptured by the sudden force in Aizawa’s voice. To his disappointment Aizawa seemed to realize he was getting riled up and deflated slightly, sinking back into his usual neutral holding pattern.

“But that’s just the Muggleborn in me, I guess,” he muttered.

“Nah, your plan sounds way better to me,” Hizashi said encouragingly, trying to pep him back up. “If I was gonna send my kids here, I’d be way more likely to suggest they take your class than if it stays like it is now.”

Some of the glow seemed to come back behind Aizawa’s eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched up into almost a smile. “Noted.”

Their conversation hit a short lull as they finished lunch and headed back outside to the main street, but the silence felt less disquieting now that the ice had broken. Hizashi was used to being around constant noise, growing up in a family of extroverts and living in a House where half the residents were in a constant duel of one-upsmanship with the other half. Being around Aizawa, though, was like hanging out with the human form of a comfortable silence. Bits of short conversation passed between them as they ambled, happening and ending in a breezy ebb and flow.

Aizawa stopped in at the used bookstore to trade the book he’d been reading--or rather, re-reading for the third time, as he told Hizashi--for the next in the series, which was even thicker and more battered than the last. At some curious prodding from Hizashi, Aizawa began to give a synopsis of the books up to the current volume. His energy from before returned, but in a lighter tone bordering on excitability as he explained the truly surreal level of bad luck that seemed to be constantly befalling Simon Snow and his friends. Aizawa talked like someone who held his words in as long as he could when he didn’t think it was appropriate to use them, but couldn’t help the way they spilled out when given the chance. Reserved, Hizashi thought. Not so much the taciturn, easily bored loner his reputation presupposed, just more comfortable keeping to himself when he wasn’t sure the other person was actually interested. Hizashi counted himself as fully interested despite having only a vague idea of what Aizawa was talking about. He was more than content to just walk slow circuits of Hogsmeade next to Aizawa as he monologued, sharing a bag of black licorice from Honeydukes that Hizashi had bought and offered without thinking and Aizawa (to Hizashi’s private delight) had accepted without hesitation.

The two of them perched on the fence around the Shrieking Shack, giving their feet a rest as Aizawa went on a fascinating tangent about the books’ author getting investigated on suspicion of illegal experimentation because their fictional magic system was too water-tight. Aizawa fell silent mid-sentence, blinking in surprise, and rubbed at something on his nose.

“What--” Hizashi started, but his question was answered as three large raindrops plopped down onto his face as well. “Well, crap,” he added, squinting up into the murky grey sky and getting rewarded with another drop on his forehead.

In unison the two of them hopped down off the fence and began to quickly walk back down the lane towards the row of shops. The rain picked up its pace with them, turning from a sprinkling to a drizzle to a full-bore downpour as they rushed back. Hizashi pulled his jacket up, doing his best to keep it over their heads as they scampered for shelter. A distant growl of thunder followed them as they darted past the flat front of the post office building to the sanctuary of the bookshop’s awning.

“Perfect time for the sky to open, huh?” Hizashi laughed, using the display window to try to slick his soaked hair back into a decent style. When Aizawa didn’t reply, Hizashi paused to look over at him. Aizawa wasn’t under the awning anymore; glancing around the corner into the alley between buildings Hizashi saw him crouched down prodding at something next to a trash bin. Hizashi deployed his makeshift umbrella again and hurried over to see what had caught Aizawa’s attention. Drawing level with him, Hizashi saw that Aizawa was pulling at the melting top flaps of a cardboard box, trying to keep them open as they collapsed inwards. The word “free” was just barely visible scrawled in marker on the front of the box and peering inside Hizashi could see the small trembling body of a kitten. It was hard to tell what color the poor thing was under the dirt and bits of cardboard that had fallen in and stuck to its fur. The kitten made struggling attempts to paw at Aizawa’s hand, giving off long pennywhistle yowls at the top of its voice.

“I think it’s stuck on something, but I can’t get to it,” Aizawa said over his shoulder.

Hizashi squatted down next to him to get a better look. Sure enough, he could see where the rubber band serving as the kitten’s collar had tangled in a stray thread from the tea towel that had been stuffed into the box to serve as a bed. The towel was fully soaked and melded with the bottom of the box, becoming a sodden weight around the kitten’s neck. As Aizawa reached in to help, the collapsing box and having to use his off hand made him awkward and clumsy and the kitten kept dodging away from the perceived attack from above.

“Let me try,” Hizashi said. He shrugged off his jacket and balanced it on both of their heads to free up his hands. “Easy there, tiny,” he added to the kitten in as soothing a voice as he could, slowly reaching into the box. The kitten squawked and squirmed at the indignity of being gently scruffed in one hand while Hizashi tugged the rubber band from around its neck with the other. “There. Not so bad, was it?” Hizashi asked, doing what he could to wipe some of the cardboard flecks off of its head. The kitten peeped irritably and gave a hard full-body shiver. “Let’s get somewhere drier,” Hizashi suggested.

Aizawa noded. He unzipped his sweatshirt and bundled the kitten into the pocket of fabric caused by his immobilized arm, then zipped it up again most of the way. The two of them--three now technically--made back under the bookstore’s awning just as a new wave of rain came down. Hizashi shivered as a stream of cold water ran out of his hair and down the back of his neck.

“Looks like that’s it on today,” he said, watching as the last few stragglers other than themselves fled the street for somewhere dry.

“Guess so,” Aizawa agreed. He had opened his jacket just a little again and was letting the kitten attack his finger, gnawing at his knuckle with the two stubby baby teeth it had. He gave a quiet, delighted chuckle, pulling his finger away to scratch under its chin. It was the first time Hizashi had ever seen him look truly relaxed, no hint of his usual stiff practicality as he looked down at the ball of fluff tucked into his elbow. Hizashi couldn’t help the warm glow that spread through him at seeing such a gentle smile on Aizawa’s face. Aizawa had to quickly muffle a sneeze in his shoulder as water dripped from his hair onto his nose. He tried to shake his hair back but only succeeded in sticking more strands to his cheeks in the process.

“Here,” Hizashi said, reaching out a hand to smooth Aizawa’s hair back behind his ears. Aizawa looked over at him with the same easy, soft smile still on his face.

“Thanks,” he said. Hizashi was too caught off guard and suddenly tongue-tied to reply. Instead, half on instinct and half on impulse Hizashi leaned in and kissed him.

It was brief and a little awkward from the inopportune angle he had to take to avoid leaning on Aizawa’s injured arm and the kitten, but for the moment it happened it was glorious. Hizashi pulled back, heart hammering at his own nerve. Aizawa had gone stock-still, his eyes owlishly wide and his face blank as he stared at Hizashi. He blinked once, hard, as if he was trying to process what had just happened. Then a dark flush spread through his face and his head snapped down to stare at his shoes. A cold, guilty weight dropped into the pit of Hizashi’s stomach. His mouth worked open and shut around words of apology or explanation or both that didn’t want to form. Hizashi forced his jaw shut, clearing his throat around the knot trying to form and looking back out into the rain.

“We should probably get back to the castle. It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon,” Aizawa muttered, not taking his eyes off of his sneakers.

“Y-Yeah, probably. I, uh, I think I saw them selling umbrellas inside, I’ll go check. Be right back,” Hizashi jabbered on.

He ducked past Aizawa and into the bookstore. Aizawa’s red-faced non-reaction was not at all what he’d been hoping for. In the golden high of the moment Hizashi had thought it was kind of sweeping and spontaneous, if not outright romantic, but now common sense was setting in on him with a vengeance. He grimaced, grabbing the first novelty pocket umbrella he saw on the store’s display rack and taking it up to the front to pay. He was an utter idiot, of course something like that was going too fast. They might have clicked for the most part during the day but that didn’t mean he could go around smashing his face against Aizawa’s willy-nilly. Nemuri’s assurance that Aizawa did in fact want to “smooch his face” came floating back but Hizashi shook it away. In a general sense maybe, but not now out of nowhere with no provocation. Hizashi tried to console himself that Aizawa didn’t seem to be angry with him at least, but even that fell flat. With how good the other boy was at hiding his feelings he could have been angry to the boiling point right now and Hizashi would never be able to tell. He’d have to apologize, sincerely and quickly, that was all there was to it. As soon as they got a free minute back at the castle without distractions or onlookers Hizashi would explain and apologize and hope he hadn’t utterly ruined any chance he had at least staying friends.

Aizawa hadn’t decided to leave without him, which felt encouraging; he also didn’t make eye contact as Hizashi opened the umbrella over their heads and they started walking, which felt less so. As they approached the school gates, Aizawa zipped his jacket up all the way under his chin and rested his free arm on top of the arm in the sling, his hand on the kitten’s back to keep it still and quiet. He looked calm and assured, eyes trained forward and face neutral as they passed the teachers monitoring the groups scuttling in out of the rain. No one batted an eye at them the whole way inside and down the stairs towards the dungeons.

“Smooth,” Hizashi commented under his breath. The corner of Aizawa’s mouth quirked up just slightly.

“Not my first time,” he replied in an undertone.

He led the way to one of the lower-level bathrooms and locked the door behind the two of them after confirming they were in there alone. “Can you run some water?” Aizawa asked, pointing at the row of sinks with his elbow as he scooped the shivering kitten out of its hiding place. “Just warm, not hot. There should be spare towels in the cupboard, they usually don’t run out until later in the week.”

Hizashi did as he asked, running a shallow bath of water and gently setting the kitten down into it. Aizawa hovered at his elbow, giving instructions on how to test the temperature so that it wouldn’t be too much for the kitten to handle and how to scrub the grime away from its fur without getting soap near its eyes or ears. Slowly but surely a small white tom kitten with a thick stripe of tabby orange down its back emerged from under all of the muck. Washed and dried and swaddled in a fresh hand towel, the kitten’s eyes blinked sleepily shut as Aizawa held him cradled in his elbow again.

“What’s his name gonna be?” Hizashi asked. He reached out and ruffled the tuft of fur between the kitten’s ears with the tip of one finger as he began to snore. Aizawa frowned, shaking his head.

“He’s not mine. I couldn’t leave him out there, but I don’t think my Housemates would appreciate it if I took in another stray,” Aizawa said grudgingly.

“No room for a common room cat?”

“We have three already,” Aizawa said sheepishly. “Well, two. Mikey was mine to start with.”

Hizashi grinned in spite of himself, remembering Aizawa’s comment about this not being his first smuggling operation. “If he was a little bigger we could probably just let him loose to be a mouser, but right now I’m pretty sure the mice would win,” he said.

“Whoever does take him will have to coddle him for a while,” Aizawa said. “He’s not actually old enough to be on his own, no matter what the scumbag who abandoned him thinks.”

That sparked an idea in Hizashi that made his grin grow even wider. “I think I have just the person,” he said. “Follow me.”

“Oh Nem-my,” Hizashi said in a singsong voice, leaning down over the back of the sofa Nemuri was stretched out on. Nemuri looked up from the book she’d been reading, seeming surprised to see him.

“Back already?” she asked. “I assumed you’d still be off somewhere sucking face with Aiza--”

“It started raining so we came back early,” Hizashi said quickly, trying to drown her out as his ears burned. “Not the point. I brought you a present.” He reached down and booped her on the nose.

Nemuri looked dubiously up at him. “If it’s another half-finished bag of licorice, I’m locking you out of the dorms for a week,” she replied sweetly, booping him back.

“That was one time. And joke’s on you anyway, I’ve found someone with taste,” Hizashi said. He nodded towards Aizawa. Nemuri sat up to see where he was looking. She nodded hello to Aizawa, then looked back over at Hizashi.

“Mind telling me why there’s a Hufflepuff in my common room?” she asked.

“Because, I brought you a present,” Hizashi repeated. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

A look of deep skepticism crossed her face, but Nemuri did as he asked. Hizashi took the towel-wrapped kitten from Aizawa and placed it in Nemuri’s hands, guiding her arms to her chest to make sure she was supporting the little bundle.

“All right, open them!”

Nemuri squinted open one eye, grimacing like she was bracing for impact. Her whole face lit up as she saw what had been put in her arms. “Look at you!” she said breathlessly, cradling the kitten. The kitten squeaked up at her as the sound of her voice jostled him out of his nap.

“Aizawa found him caught in the rain while we were out,” Hizashi explained. “Aizawa’s full up on cats and Ai-chan’s enough for me, but I thought since you had to leave Oni home this year you might want to look after the little guy.”

Nemuri tried to put on a begrudging, put-upon expression, but her obvious adoration leaked through around the edges. “I mean, if there’s no one else I might as well,” she said in a faux-haughty voice. “Can’t leave him on his own, can we?” Her sentence trailed off into a sweet baby-talk tone as she directed it more towards the kitten.

“He’s still too young for solid food. You’ll need to feed him soft food and bottles until his teeth come in,” Aizawa said. He pulled out the top drawer of a nearby side table and ran his wand around the edge of it, muttering a spell under his breath. He reached into the shallow drawer up to his elbow, retrieving a few small baby bottles and a canister of powdered kitten formula. He sat down next to Nemuri on the couch and talked her through all of the steps to prepare bottles and how to support the kitten while he ate. Again the cool detachment melted away as Aizawa spoke and his more passionate side peeked out. He explained everything in simple, direct instructions with the kind of calm competency and depth of knowledge that made Hizashi wonder how Aizawa could ever doubt he was meant to teach. Even Hizashi’s haughty black cat Ai-chan seemed impressed with him; she hopped up into Aizawa’s lap as he was speaking and forewent her usual first impression greeting of a sharp nip on the hand, content to accept a lengthy backscratch from him instead.

“If you have time between classes to come check on him while he settles in, it would be best,” Aizawa finished up.

“Right,” Nemuri said, nodding. “A baby’s a baby, even if it’s got four feet and a fur coat.” She smiled down at the kitten as he finished his meal and flopped down onto his full belly with a yawn.

“So, what’re you gonna call him, Nems?” Hizashi asked, relieved his plan had worked.

“Sushi,” Nemuri said instantly.

Hizashi laughed. “Big bro Onigiri will be thrilled,” he teased.

“He’ll adore him,” Nemuri agreed primly. “Now go take your Hufflepuff somewhere else so we can take a nap in peace,” she added, making a shooing motion towards the door.

“Rude. I give you a kitten and all you give me is lip.”

“Don’t make me call a hall meeting about fraternization, Hizashi Yamada.”

“Fine, fine,” Hizashi said, holding his hands up peacefully. “Sheesh. You give someone a Prefect badge and suddenly they own the place,” he added in a loud mutter, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“What was that? You’ll have to speak up, my Plebeian is rusty,” Nemuri said in a lofty voice.

“Don’t worry about it, Nems, have a good nap,” Hizashi said. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out,” he added to Aizawa, nodding towards the door.

“Nice meeting you,” Nemuri said to Aizawa as he got up to leave.

“Er. You too,” Aizawa returned with a nod.

Nemuri popped her head up over the back of the couch as Hizashi held the door open for Aizawa. She grinned at him, waggling her eyebrows meaningfully. Hizashi gave her a short, tight smile in return and flashed a weak thumbs-up before he followed Aizawa out. The common room door shut with a snap behind him, sounding louder than it needed to in the empty hall. The two of them hovered awkwardly, the last buffer between what had happened before and where they should go from here now safely tucked away behind them.

“She seems nice,” Aizawa said finally.

Hizashi gave a weak chuckle. “Nemuri can be kind of extra, but she’s cool,” he assured him. “She was pretty gutted when she had to leave her cat at home this year but he’s about ten billion years old, so she couldn’t really help it. I think she’ll be a good cat mom for that little guy.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Aizawa said.

A second silence stretched on longer than the first, as if they were both waiting for the other one to take the next step. Aizawa cleared his throat and seemed to be about to excuse himself. Hizashi forced himself to speak before Aizawa left.

“H-Hey, um. About before,” he blurted out. Aizawa hesitated, his expression guarded. “When...When I kissed you. I just wanted to say I’m sorry?” Hizashi said, hating the way his voice cracked upward at the end. “It’s just. Today’s been so great and I’d never seen you look so happy like that before and I guess I kind of...got ahead of myself. Not that that’s an excuse or anything!” he interrupted himself quickly, wishing he could just shut up and say what he meant for once. He took a deep breath, raking a hand through his hair, and tried to rally his thoughts. “What I’m trying to say is I really, really like you and today has been totally amazing, and I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable and screwed all of that up.” Hizashi gritted his teeth, bracing for what would come next.

To his surprise, instead of agreeing that the kiss had been uncalled for and requesting that Hizashi keep his distance going forward, Aizawa just looked quietly confused. “I-- That’s not it at all,” he said.

Hizashi felt the heavy lump in his chest break apart into a flock of hopeful butterflies. “N-No?” he sputtered, not sure what else to say.

“No. I really like you too,” Aizawa said, sounding a little breathless with the effort of making himself say it out loud. “And today has been great. Earlier, I just. A lot was happening all at once, and then you seemed kind of embarrassed about it so I didn’t want to make it worse by bringing it up. But I didn’t not like it. It was a nice surprise.” The soft smile was back, accompanied by a quiet self-deprecating chuckle as Aizawa reflexively ducked his head and rubbed the side of his neck.

Hizashi’s face was on fire and his chest was so full of fluttering thrills of energy he felt like he might start floating away at any second. “Oh. Cool!” he said, mouth running off into the distance and leaving his brain to catch up a moment later. He winced hard, wanting very much to disappear into the bricks of the corridor wall and never be seen again, but the snorty chuckle Aizawa let out pulled him back. Aizawa hesitated a moment, then braced his hand on Hizashi’s shoulder as he leaned in and kissed him.

A million panicky thoughts about what to do with his hands, nose, face, everything flashed through Hizashi’s head in a split second before being wiped out of existence by the singular thought that Shouta Aizawa was kissing him, and it was awesome. Both of them lingered in the kiss, no one around to interrupt and neither wanting to be the first to pull away. Finally Aizawa leaned back, a full-blown cheshire cat grin on his face.

“Cool,” he agreed. He bit his lip, then said, “My common room is probably going to stay pretty empty until later, even with the weather. We could go sit by the fire and talk some more, if you wanted?” He said it like there would be any question in Hizashi’s mind that today should keep going as long as possible.

“Yeah! I mean, if you’re sure that’s okay?” Hizashi asked, thinking of all of the rumors he’d heard about the intense security around the Hufflepuff dorms.

Aizawa shrugged. “Fair’s fair, right? If Kayama’s going to lecture us about fraternizing we might as well deserve it.”

Hizashi barked out a laugh. “You got me there,” he agreed. He held out a hand, gesturing for Aizawa to lead the way. Instead, Aizawa reached up and took it, lacing their fingers together as they started off down the corridor. Hizashi thought he might very well have a heart attack before he ever got a chance to cross the Hufflepuff threshold but right now it seemed more than worth the attempt.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 227: Basically Just Me Saying “Holy Shit” a Bunch

Previously on BnHA: We went on a semi-enlightening romp into Toga’s past. Basically she was an adorable child who just so happened to have a taste for blood. And whoever’s job is was to explain to her, “hey Toga, I know you like blood, but other people like being alive, so, you know. Let’s explore some other options for you,” they basically dropped the ball there. So after she murdered her hapless Deku-looking classmate in middle school, she went on the run, and we basically know the rest. Back in the present, Toga had just been blown up from the inside out as you may recall, so she spent most of the chapter kind of out of it. At one point Kizuki even started talking about her like she was already dead, reassuring her that she’d become a martyr for the Army’s cause (which, no thanks). But then Toga managed to stumble to her feet and transform into Ochako as she tried to flee. It was revealed that while transformed, she can use the quirk of whoever she’s turned into, and she proceeded to demonstrate this by floating Kizuki (and half her redshirt goons) a hundred feet into the air before dropping her back down to the pavement. Yeah. So I’m pretty sure she’s dead now. Ah well.

Today on BnHA: Toga passes out in a shed after a job well done. We learn that the MLA is recording all of the fighting, most likely for propaganda purposes because as we have previously established they’re a bunch of dicks. Hanabata confirms that Kizuki is dead and gets the Army all fired up. They charge at Tomura, who is really fucking sleep-deprived you guys, and as he stands there blinking at them he has another flashback. Turns out the little girl from the previous flashback was his sister, and back when they were cute lil munchkins and she was still alive (sob), she showed him a picture of Nana and told him that their grandma was a hero. Tomura doesn’t remember this clearly, but he remembers the accompanying emotions, which is enough to get me hyped out of my mind fyi. Back in the present, Tomura disintegrates I’m-gonna-go-with-about-200 Army henchpeople basically instantaneously without even touching some of them, which, oh shit. And then Dabi is all “oh cool I want to do some mass murder too” but before he can let loose, some dude with fucking ice powers shows up to challenge him. I guess this means we’re never going to get Touya VS Shouto, or if we do it’s going to be very repetitive. But it’s not like I’m complaining either way. Here’s hoping the villain flashback trend continues next week because omfg.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter like an hour ago lol. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity, but aside from that this is as close to a live liveblog as I’m going to get. It took two-thirds of a year, but these recaps are finally caught up.)

this is so exciting guys. I mean, for me the reading process is basically the same, but the posting process is going to be a new one since I’ll be trying to get this up the same day once I’ve read it! so you can expect many exciting errors and brain farts! prepare for the full brunt of my unpolished rough draft thoughts!

so anyway, here’s Toga

lol so much to analyze here. real quick:

“sleepy.” if that isn’t the most relatable chapter title in the history of time, though

loving the “my villain academia” logo in the background! as far as I’m concerned that’s the official title of this arc

“the conclusion of the battles” y’all I read this and I was like “what?! already!?!” but then I realized they’re talking about volume 23, which features the conclusion of the joint training battle arc. so who knows how many more villain battlin’ chapters we’ve still got ahead. I have a feeling we’re already winding down, though

note how all of the stuffed animals are stabbed. ah this girl

it’s 2214, who the fuck still uses polaroid cameras. that would be like someone in our time using a [googles inventions from 200 years ago] modern suspension bridge. ...wait

anyway you guys maybe I should start reading the actual chapter already if I want any hope of actually getting this posted before fucking midnight though

oh hey, so Toga is dying in a shed you guys. fun

I’m not really thrilled about this! to be honest! I mean for fuck’s sake she’s only 17. she was blown up from the inside out. and although the consequences initially seemed to have possibly been handwaved, it appears that no one can escape BnHA’s realistic injury clause for long! so. yeah

I get why she hid, because it’s not like the others are just gonna drop everything to come help her (although Twice, though...), and there are enemies everywhere so this is probably safer. but it also means that if she passes out here there’s a good chance she’s not going to wake up again! and that is bad! that is very much not good

what she really needs to do is call Ujiko! hitch a ride out of there while you still can! he is a doctor, right? even if it is the questionable mad scientist type! worst case, you end up as a Noumu. actually, wait a sec, maybe we should think this through

and yet the fact that she’s still laughing, though. just. goddammit. I love her so much. I swear to god Toga if you fucking die...!!

so now she’s curling up in the fetal position and thinking “once again I’ve gotten closer to you”

yeah, Deku really does do this every other week. or he did for a little while at least sob

and now we are cutting to ReDestro who for some reason is monologuing about Toga!

oh right, because he had the cameras and shit set up to livestream that shit

okay but is it just me or is he not looking at any cameras. he’s just enjoying the view from his little observation tower same as before. does his quirk allow him to see everywhere at once or what

is it bad that I barely even paid attention to the actual content of his ramblings lol. it’s just the same old same old. blah blah society rejects anyone who’s different, it’s so unfair, blah blah

it’s not a bad point, mind you; it’s just that RD and his army are completely full of shit and acting like they’re so much better even though they’re just a bunch of mur-diddly-urderers. it’s like how PETA acts like they’re champions of animal rights when really they mostly just kill shelter animals, insult Steve Irwin, and claim that milk causes autism. but I digress sob

oh shit I forgot about this dude

here I was thinking there was only the one other miniboss to go before the big bad. silly me. how could I have forgotten that two page spread and our friend here with the Gorillaz mouth and the Beatles haircut

wow are you serious?

Giran sitting there with one skeptical eyebrow raised thinking about how these guys threatened to kill him in order to lure his friends out so that they could, you guessed it, kill them!

and also, way to completely disregard the dozens of other minions who already bit the dust before Kizuki. like, your entire town is basically doomed, guy. but sure let’s cry for the one dead villain who actually had a name though

holy shit you guys

are you telling me that’s why you were recording the whole thing? is that why you invited the League here in the first place?? for the fucking publicity? kill the bad guys and earn the public’s good will? did I miss that part of the planning sesh, or was this objective already painfully obvious and I somehow either missed it or forgot all about it?

either way it’s amazing how these guys become bigger assholes with each progressive chapter

oh now he’s explaining it all on the next page lol. so I guess I didn’t miss the memo, good

okay but first he’s getting real physical with my boy Giran here though

okay first of all, all he did was say “footage...?” like wth was so fucking impolite about that. and second, why do I get the feeling that there’s probably a fair percentage of people who read this chapter and got to this panel and now suddenly ship it sob

I mean, he just got so up close and personal though. all up in his face. this guy has such a weird energy and it’s really creeping me out now ngl

anyway so here we go with the explanations

holy shit you guyssssssssss

when did Giran get so fucking hot?? and is he single?! asking for a friend???!

anyway so now RD is wiping away his crocodile tears and says Giran is lacking in imagination

oh hey

what an interesting segue back to Tomura!

wow, Spinner’s asking how much longer until Big G wakes up, and Compress says one hour and twenty minutes. so that means they’ve already been at it for like an hour and fifteen minutes! minus however much time it took to warp over and then follow Back-Stab n’ Go out to the center of town for the ambush. even if that took a whole half hour they’ve still been fighting for a long time! but I guess they’re more than used to that by this point, thank you so much Ujiko and your six weeks of brutal endurance training

Spinner’s all “no matter how many we defeat, they just keep on coming!” and I know, dude, it’s almost like there’s over one hundred thousand of them or something dfskdj

although to be fair, probably not every last one of them is actually there. can you imagine. it might take a whole nother hour to beat them all

now Hanabata is driving in on the back of an election van. because apparently he just fucked right off in the middle of his fight with the League, and then came back. with a van

so he’s all “EVERYONE I HAVE SOME DEEPLY SADDENING NEWS” and oh my gosh what is it

oh

yeah dude we already been knew. RIP and all that

so the crowd is all distressed and asking what the Supreme Leader said

really?? that’s what they call him?? yeah you guys aren’t evil at all

and Hana quotes, “‘do not let her sacrifice be in vain’“

sorry bruh. but. it’s gonna be in vain. hate to break it to you

right??

GASP

TWICE STOP BEING AWED AT HANABATA’S INFLUENTIAL AURA AND START PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DUDE WHO’S SNEAKING UP BEHIND YOU AND TRYING TO SNATCH YOUR MASK OFF

anyway so in the meantime this is happening

maybe there are 100k of them. seems like there’s a lot. I do like that from this angle it appears that Tomura and the others have holed up in a relatively narrow alley, thus creating a choke point and limiting the number of enemies who can attack them all at once. although this panel does make it look like there’s just a big ol’ wave of bad guys surfing their way towards them though, so it remains to be seen how effective this strategy will actually be lol

eh?

yeah no shit boy you’ve been fighting Daruk from BotW for the last month and a half

anyway so apparently he’s feeling ~weird~ though

I shit you not guys, my sister was hospitalized a couple months back (she’s fine now) because she started hallucinating after a three-day bout of insomnia. shit is no joke. don’t be like Tomura. go to bed and don’t stay up all night fighting villains

-- OH SHIT!?!

ASDFALSDFHLKSDHLFKJHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT’S A LITTLE GIRL!! AND SHE’ S OPENING A SECRET DRAWER!!

SHE’S ALL “IT’S OUR LITTLE SECRET!” OH MY GOD

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SWEET JESUS MARY JOSEPH!? HORIKOSHI DO YOU FUCKING READ THE THEORY POSTS ON TUMBLR JUST SO YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY SHIT ON THEM TWO DAYS AFTER?? HOW THE FUCK

AND IS NANA’S SON WEARING DEKU SHOES?? OH MY GOD PLEASE

AND THIS MEANS THE LITTLE GIRL IS ACTUALLY TENKO’S SISTER SOBBBBBBBBB NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE THIS MAKES TOMURA MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GO APESHIT ON AFO’S ASS IF HE COMES TO REALIZE THAT AFO INDIRECTLY MURDERED HIS SISTER OH SHIT

BUT SHIT YOU GUYS, SHE’S SO CUTE AND SHE’S FUCKING DEAD NOW SOB THAT’S SO FUCKING HORRIBLE I MEAN IT I’M REALLY UPSET THOUGH

BUT LET’S CONTINUE WITH THE FLASHBACK TO SEE IF HORIKOSHI WANTS TO TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS ANYMORE!!

NANA DIDN’T DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB ERASING ALL TRACES OF HER CONNECTION TO HER CHILD AND IT EVENTUALLY RESULTED IN HIS DEATH OH SHIT. I’M SERIOUSLY SO UPSET ABOUT THIS??

NOTE HOW BABY TENKO’S FACE IS PURPOSELY BLACKED OUT EVEN THOUGH (A) HIS SISTER’S IS NOT, AND (B) WE SHOULD, IN THEORY, ALREADY KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE! IT’S BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE THE SCARS OR THE WHITE HAIR YET CUZ AFO HASN’T WIPED HIS MEMORIES. [nods sagely as though I have any sort of proof of this whatsoever and it’s not all just wild speculation and conjecture]

HANAAAAAAAA oh shit I better come up with another nickname for Hanabata then. looks like it’s Back To The Full Name for you mister

!!?!?!?

okay you guys I think this is intentional misdirection. we’re meant to believe that Tenko’s dad was perhaps abusive and that his behavior toward his son ultimately triggered the awakening of his quirk and led to all of the subsequent Horrible Things happening

but I think what it actually is is that Tenko’s dad probably resents Nana for giving him up. and maybe Tenko wanted to know more about her and maybe he got in trouble for it? because now Hana is showing him the picture, and then talking about this mysterious conversation with their dad and saying she’s on Tenko’s side. so that’s my bet

anyway! but this means Tomura might not need as much convincing as I previously speculated! I figured he probably wouldn’t know much, if anything, about his grandma even if he did somehow get his memories back, because he was only four when all that shit went down, and Nana had parted ways with Tomura’s dad years ago. but if he actually did know a bit about her and even possibly felt a connection with her, as this flashback suggests, that could go a long way towards fueling his eventual breakaway from AFO’s side once All Might is able to explain the truth

ahhhhh you guys this is exciting I’m excited. though also still very sad though because wtf seriously

so Tomura’s tiredly thinking that the least his stupid memories could do is show him the whole picture instead of these fragments. “it’s like a broken tape recording or something”

HOLY SHIT

...I have no words. holy shit

anyone else getting flashbacks to the Highway to Hell though? what is it with Tomura and periodically pulling off the most badass stunts in the whole fucking manga. all because he didn’t get his nap dsflkjlk

ReDestro look at this loss of life. are you crying again. no, I can’t imagine that you are. you ass

you guys are probably getting tired of me just going “holy shit” over and over, but

hooooooooooooly shit

guys, if Tomura can dust people without even touching them he might as well just change his name to fucking Thanos and we’d better start praying this kid gets redeemed and soon

so now there’s a panel of Tomura being all drooly, and honestly he looks like he’s about to pass out. not sure if this is intended to be a glam shot or what lol

ohhhhSHIT

YESSSSSSSSSSS DABI. DRACARYS

!LKJDSLFKJLSDKJF!!

OH SHIT YOU GUYS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ABOUT TO GET ALL A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE UP IN THIS BITCH

who is this weird little black mage. I’ll tell you one thing, he’s the only guy I’ve seen so far who’s actually dressed appropriately for fucking December weather, though, so good on him

will he defeat our boy Touya (spoilers, he won’t)? will Touya have some flashbacks of his own (TOUYA PLEASE), since that seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days? will I lose my fucking shit all over again next week? stay tuned! but yes I absolutely will, oh jesus this is awesome

[inkslingerharry]

Reindeer on the Roof?

Description: Y/N lives above Harry and loves to blast Christmas music. What happens when Harry marches upstairs to confront her, but finds himself highly intrigued?

Word count: 2,145

This is technically Day 6 of the 25 Days of Christmas.

Thank you so much to @alwaysjacked-up for doing this Christmas writing event!!  Thank you for letting me be a part of it!! Check out the rest of the authors and the 25 Days of Christmas masterlist here and my other writing here. I hope you guys enjoy it!!

(I also wrote this in a little over an hour with very little editing so please be kind lol)

Six days. Six days in a row that the person living above Harry has been blasting Christmas music. He’s listened to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” about a million times in the past week alone. He was already on edge because he wouldn’t be able to make it home for Christmas this year with flights being cancelled and plans just not working out.

He wasn’t fully against Christmas music; in fact, he loved Christmas music. Just not blasting loud enough to hear above his apartment. Someone was a little too into their Christmas cheer. Harry groaned when “Let It Snow” started again. The person didn’t even have the decency to switch playlists, a crime Harry could not forgive.

As he tried finishing another last-minute email, Harry typed away, closing his eyes in frustration when all he could focus on was the laughter and tunes coming from above.

“That’s it,” he grumbled to himself, closing his laptop with too much force, slipping on some tennis shoes and grabbing his phone and keys. He stepped out of his apartment, locking his place briskly before walking to the staircase.

Just as he was about to ascend, he stopped with one foot on the first stair. Silence. The only sound was his breathing and a door faintly closing in the distance. He cherished the moment, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a few seconds before hearing a cough behind him.

“Oh, sorry,” he muttered, stepping out of the way of an older man carrying a few grocery bags.

Harry waited a few more quick seconds before continuing on his journey. He started a script of what he was going to say to the noisy neighbor. As he walked a little ways down the hallway, he hesitated in front of the door where the music was coming from. “Frosty the Snowman” was heard throughout the entire hallway.

Harry could also hear people singing inside. He instantly felt guilt swarm through him. These people were having fun and enjoying themselves and he was about to ruin that because he needed to write a few emails.

Important emails, Harry thought to himself. He raised his hand and brought a knuckle to the door, hitting it a few times. The music didn’t falter, and the laughter didn’t die down. After waiting a few seconds, Harry rolled his eyes and brought his fist up, giving a few harder knocks. Again, nothing seemed to change.

Just as he was about to bring his fist up again, anger evident in his actions, the door swung open, revealing a woman in one of the ugliest sweaters Harry has ever seen. With lights and bells, the horrendous green and red sweater hung around the body of the woman standing in front of him. She hesitated, eyeing Harry.

“Hey, I don’t mean to be rude, but-” Harry started, but was soon interrupted by the woman’s face lighting up, a smile wide on her face and her eyebrows raised.

“You must be the judge! Come in, come in!” she reached forward, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him inside her apartment. “We’ve been waiting for you. I thought Marco told you to be here at six? Ah, whatever, we’ve busied ourselves. You’re not very festive are you?”

“What?” Harry exclaimed.

“It’s an ugly sweater party!” She laughed, looking at his attire. “Oh well. We have white wine, which is almost gone, some red wine, and I might have a few beers in the fridge. What do you want?”

Harry couldn’t speak. How could he? He was just about to scold this woman for playing Christmas music loud enough for the entire apartment complex to hear, now he’s in her apartment and she’s offering him a drink? What went wrong?

She noticed Harry’s hesitance. “I’ll get you a water. Everyone else is in the living room, so find a place to sit!” she ordered, leaving his side to head to the kitchen.

Harry watched as she left, his feet carrying him throughout her apartment. Every surface seemed to be covered in pictures of, what he assumed, her friends and family. There were a couple frames filled with her holding dogs, children, or other people. She was smiling or making a funny face in every single one.

By the time he made it to the living room, Harry had skimmed over every wall in sight. He looked at the four other people in the living room. Their faces were flushed with laughter and wine. Two people sat on the floor in front of a coffee table, and the other two sat on a couch. Everyone clearly drank their fair share of wine.

“Oh, the judge is here! What’s your name again?” a woman sitting on the couch asked, lifting her wine glass to her lips.

“Uh, Harry,” he responded.

“Great! Take a seat in this chair! We’re going to start soon, once Y/N gets back.”

“Y/N?”

“You know, the girl who owns the place?” she laughed.

Harry raised his eyebrows and nodded. He made his way to the recliner, having to step over a bottle of wine and a few hand-made, paper snowflakes on the way. Harry sat, glancing around the room. More pictures of Y/N crowded their way into the space around him. He noticed that a lot of the pictures held the faces of the same people who sat in front of him.

“You don’t look familiar,” a guy sitting on the floor giggled. He was very clearly the most drunk.

“Marco! He’s the judge you picked out.”

“Hm, don’t think so. I wouldn’t pick him out, not for the judge anyway. Maybe for something else,” Marco winked at Harry, causing a deep red to creep up his neck and onto his cheeks. He also gave a small smile.

“Marco, stop flirting, now hand out the paints,” Y/N playfully snapped, handing the glass of water in her hand to Harry. He graciously accepted it, taking a big gulp right away to soothe his dry throat.

“What am I judging, exactly?” Harry asked, wiping the condensation from the water onto his pants.

“We’re following a Bob Ross painting tutorial,” Y/N answered, accepting a basket of paint tubes from Marco. “He really didn’t tell you anything, huh?”

Harry shook his head and took a deep breath. He watched as each person readied their canvas and paint brushes. The television next to him started up, a Bob Ross episode already waiting on Netflix.

The episode started, each person suddenly extremely focused, their paint brushes swishing to and fro. Harry watched intently, his attention specifically focusing on Y/N. She furrowed her eyebrows and flicked her wrist just right as her eyes stayed on the television. The faint lights from her sweater gave her chin and cheeks a light red tint, her double chin showing up once in a while when she was confused.

By the end of the episode, Harry had memorized her face. He felt like he could recognize her just by her eyes. Her face was like a map, and Harry could mark every contour. He can’t believe he’s never seen her around before, despite her living directly above him.

“Alright, judge, your time to shine,” she smiled, giving light blows to her painting so it would dry faster.

Harry coughed, leaving his trance. He sat up straighter and took another sip of water before setting it down on the coffee table. As he looked at each painting and compared them to Bob Ross’s, he took his job very seriously. Even though he wasn’t the actual judge, he knew that the people in front of him were competitive, and winning this painting contest means winning the world.

His eyes landed on Y/N’s, admiring the little details she was able to squeeze in, like a dusty layer of snow on trees and a reflection of light on the frozen lake. He wasn’t sure if he was hyperaware of how good her painting was because she was actually an amazing painter or because of his undeniable developing crush on her.

“So, boss, who’s the winner?” Marco asked, his words slurred together.

Harry pretended to think about it before shaking his head. “It’s hard, but I think I have to go with Y/N.”

Marco rolled his eyes and started laughing. Two girls started clapping and another guy, who seemed to be the quietest out of everyone, finished his glass of wine with a single chug. Y/N smugly grinned as she pretended to flip her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

“Should’ve known,” Elizabeth, the other person sitting on floor, chuckled.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Y/N is a fucking artist,” the other guy in the room answered. “See these paintings and drawings all over her walls? She did them herself.”

Harry scanned the room, taking in each and every piece of art. He noticed them before, and did admire them; however, now that he knew they were done by Y/N, he let his eyes linger longer.

“Oh, hush, stop embarrassing me,” Y/N said, casting her eyes to the ground as she shyly smiled. A blush was evident on her face.

“They’re really good. I didn’t know,” Harry complimented, making eye contact with Y/N. “Are you a professional?”

She scoffed and waved her hand. “Hell no. I mean, I do some commissions, but I’m just a receptionist at a gym. Art doesn’t pay the bills unless you have a big name.”

Harry nodded, completely understanding. Just as he was about to make another comment, people started gathering their items, mentioning stuff about heading home and sleeping. Harry didn’t realize how dark the sky had gotten since he arrived.

Marco was the last to leave, pecking Y/N’s cheek and hugging her goodbye. He quickly waved to Harry before slipping on his coat and closing Y/N’s door behind him. Harry was left alone with Y/N.

“You weren’t the judge, were you?” Y/N asked after a few seconds of silence.

Harry laughed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “No.”

“Why did you come to my place, then?”

“I came up here to complain about your loud Christmas music. You do realize it’s been six days of nonstop Christmas music you’ve been playing? Six bloody days,” he smiled.

Y/N crossed her arms. “Well, damn, you really aren’t festive. Wait, do you live here?”

“Right below you,” Harry tapped his foot on the floor.

“Oh. Well, I’m only slightly sorry. Shouldn’t you be home for Christmas anyway? Or does your family live near here?”

“Nah, plans didn’t work out so I’m stuck here. My, myself, and I on Christmas this year,” he said, making his way to her door.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Y/N said, her voice genuine.

Harry shrugged. “It sucks, but not much I can do about it.”

Y/N agreed, making more small talk with Harry before he reached for the door handle, mentioning how he should be leaving. He thanked her for an amazing night, despite him originally showing up to complain.

“I will say that you have the most disgusting sweater I’ve seen in a long time, though,” Harry snickered.

Y/N gasped, reaching forward and giving a quick slap to Harry’s arm as she laughed. “How dare you! I had to dig through two tubs of clothes before I found this, thank you very much.”

Harry laughed, crinkling his eyes and throwing his head back. “I’ll see you around, Y/N,” he said before leaving her apartment. As he walked down the hallway, he waited for the sound of her door closing, but it never came.

“Hey,” he heard a soft yell come from down the hall. Harry turned back around.

Y/N was standing in front of him, her arms crossed again. “I’m going to be here for Christmas, too. It’s just going to be me, myself, and probably my vibrator.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he opened his mouth in surprise.

Y/N shook her head and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, that was crude, but I’m a little drunk. Anyway, you’re welcome to join me. I promise I won’t use my vibrator in front of you. Just bring a nice bottle of wine and like, something to eat, yeah?”

“I’d love that,” Harry smiled, licking his lips.

Y/N nodded and started to turn. “I’ll see you around, Harry.”

Harry nodded and turned again, descending the stairs. A smile was plastered on his face the entire way back to his own apartment. As he arrived to his door, unlocking it and stepping inside, he grinned even wider when he heard Mariah Carey’s voice coming from above. He was more optimistic and couldn’t wait for the upcoming holiday, ready to spend Christmas with his new friend.

[friendlyneighborhoodborg]

Marc Appreciation Week 2019| Day 6: Collab| “Working Together”

Okay, this is actually late.  It is past midnight, technically Day 7.

I am actually posting Day 7 later today, hopefully before the week is out.

Anyway here’s the 6th day, and the only chapter in the dumpster fire to actually follow the prompt given.

Disclaimers were in Day 1.

Chapters:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

AO3 Link

(~3200 biddling words.  Why do I do this to myself?)

           Marc didn’t know what he was.  Today was weird: he didn’t feel girly anymore after last night, but at the same time he didn’t think the “he” suited him today.  He realized this must have been what Alix was talking about before, about non-binary gender.

           Being something that wasn’t a boy or a girl was trippy.  Marc had felt it before, probably, but knowing what it was (which felt obvious now, considering… well, everything he was currently feeling) made it… something.  For all the words he knew, he couldn’t peg one for the experience.

           It occurred that he ought to have been surprised by how quickly he had taken to reconsidering his pronouns.  But then, that’s what his gender did, didn’t it?  Didn’t he always know that his gender did that?  Hadn’t that been such a large source of his anxiety for years?

          And now he was just rolling with it.

          That morning, he had glanced at himself in a mirror, per his usual routine.  His old adjectives, “Not him again” and “Could be worse” were absent this time.  Instead, he had felt heavy.  Overdressed, perhaps, only in his own skin.

          But he could live with that.

          It still stank, because French didn’t have a third-gender pronoun.  That meant that, regardless of his actual self, he had to use male pronouns.

          So, he comfortably got dressed, did up his face in a way he thought would suit him, and left for school.

          Something was different that afternoon.  Alix wasn’t in for some reason, which automatically meant the art teacher (he still kept forgetting his name) was more relaxed.  Juleka and Rose were separated, for once.  Rose was sitting in a corner, feverishly scribbling down notes in her pad.  Juleka was in the opposite corner, reading a horror novel, and her ankle was shackled to a protruding pipe.

          He approached Juleka cautiously, eyeing her restraints warily. “Did, uh…” He glanced up at the teacher, making sure he wasn’t listening.  “Did Alix tell you?”

          “Yeah, she got your text.”  Juleka glanced up meaningfully at her girlfriend, by herself in the corner. “Lucky someone in this club has their head on straight.”

          Marc chuckled.  “I don’t know if we can say that, there’s like one straight person in this club.”

          Juleka smiled for a second, then went back to reading her book. “And where was she, huh?  Crazy overworked, fixing up stuff our last class rep neglected.  Notice she couldn’t drop by all week?”  She calmly flipped the page she was on.  “Once again, Chloé got us into another fine mess that Marinette’s gotta pull us out of.  Again.”

          “What?” said Marc.  “No, I meant… wait, Marinette’s straight?”

          The musician shrugged.  “So she claims.  It is impolite to assume.”  As normal, her expression and tone betrayed little.

          “Biggest shock of my week,” was Marc’s jested reply.  “But I was talking about Nathaniel.”

          “Hm?  Oh yeah.” She pulled up one hand to do finger-quotes.  “‘Straight.’  That’s definitely an adjective that can describe him.  Marc, have you seen the way he draws Chat Noir?”

          “Of course, what about it?”

          “Well, maybe you’re both blinded by the superhero’s skintight leather, but the boy is not that ripped.”

          Rose hummed loudly.  Juleka glanced up at her.

          “I’m not trying to push anything, unlike some people,” she protested.  “I’m merely pointing out that he should have already noticed by now, in a manner he will not pick up on for purposes of dramatic irony.”

          “What’s going on?” he asked. “And what’s with you two?”  He looked at the chain.  “And… that?”

          “She’s on probation,” explained Juleka.  “Until she realizes what she did was wrong.”

          “Probation of what?”

          “Getting to run my hands through that soft, dark hair,” Rose replied for her, rubbing her fingers over the pages of her lyrics.  “Holding her close to me, closing my eyes and breathing in her clove-scented perfume.  Feeling the warmth of a heart matched beat-for-beat with mine.”

          Marc looked back at Juleka.  She was nose-deep in her book, but her forehead was sweating, her knuckles were white, and she refused to look anywhere near where Rose was sitting.

          “Is that why you’ve chained yourself to this pipe?”

          Juleka whimpered a little before answering.  “It’s funny, in a tragic sort of way.”

          “So, what’s holding Rose back?”

          “Pity, mostly.”

          “This isn’t about the makeup thing, is it?” questioned the writer.  “I don’t blame Rose for anything that happened.  I mean, it worked out, sort of.”

          “Yeah, no thanks to me,” sniffed the poet. “If I’d have known…”

          “Hey.”  He approached her and offered his hand.  “Hindsight is 20/20.”

          “Still.”  She rubbed the brimming tears from her eyes.  “I was such an idiot, and you had to go through all of that because of me.”

          “You’re still the first one who listened.  Let’s be honest, that could have gone a lot worse.”

          “I overreacted.”  She looked down and continued to write, though it was mostly an excuse to avoid Marc’s eyes. “I thought I knew what was happening, and I thought I could help.  I was wrong to try and do it by myself without seeing a second opinion.”  Sniffing, she closed the notebook.  “I’m sorry.”

          “Oh…” groaned Juleka.  “So close, Rose.  Come on, I know you can do it.”

          “Do what?”

          “We aren’t be allowed to touch each other until she figures out exactly where she went wrong.  She’s got most of it, but I’m not allowed to tell her the last one.”

          “Okay, but why are you doing,” he gestured wildly at both girls, “this?”

          “Because I don’t have the key and Rose is really trying, bless her.”

          He looked between the two of them a few times, both of them equally miserable.  “I get the feeling this wasn’t your guys’ arrangement.”

          “It was Alix’s,” admitted Juleka.  “We both went along with it.  The chain was my idea, though.  It’s the cruelest and most elaborate punishment ever devised, who do you think dreamt it up?”

          “I mean,” Marc disputed, “I wouldn’t have pegged her specifically.”  Particularly not after their little heart-to-heart yesterday.

          “Never tick off someone with a small body-mass-to-temper ratio,” Rose advised.  “Especially if everyone in her family is an ancient history buff.”

          “What’s that got to—”

          “Look, she knows a little something about torture.”

          “Ah,” Marc commented, thoroughly confused and only pretending to understand.  “You two look like you’re busy, I’ll leave you to it.”

          He quietly took his seat at the back of the room, leaving the two to sort out their issues in peace.

           All things considered, life was pretty good.

          So why was Marc still feeling so anxious?

          Nathaniel crept in through the door with his head down, answering the question.

           “Nathaniel,” Juleka said.  “Unlock me.  I need to go use the bathroom.”

           “Sure thing.”  Nath approached her, holding something else up.  “Brought your headphones, too, you left them in class.”

           “It won’t work.  She’s stuck in my head.”

Rose cast a saddened, dramatic gaze towards the writer in the back. “Pray you don’t become like us, Marc.”

           Marc blushed.  Of course Rose figured it out.  She probably told Juleka, too.

           Yet another thing to watch out for.

           ‘Wait, so is Nathaniel straight or not?’

           Nathaniel joined him at their usual table once Juleka had been freed.  “Hey.”

           “You know,” Marc bet, “one has to wonder if that’s some sort of metaphor for something.”

           The artist burst out laughing, but quickly shut himself up when he realized he was making noise.  “Yeah,” he confessed.  “Probably. But they’re good for each other. Rose helps Juleka’s self-esteem, Juleka keeps Rose grounded.”

           “Yeah.  They really are kinda fun to write.  Speaking of…”

           “Right!  Back to work.”

           “If we end off our comic there, Rose is never going to forgive us.”

           “I know,” expressed Nathaniel, glancing over at the person in question.  She was the only other student who hadn’t gone home yet.  Volume up high in her earbuds, she wasn’t even looking at them. “But this story is way too interesting for one issue.  With a cliffhanger like that, she’ll keep breathing down our necks to make more.”  He blushed, realizing he had gotten ahead of himself.  “I mean, if you’re okay with… I’ve really liked working with you and I want to—”

           “Yes!” Marc blurted with a blush of his own.  “I mean, um, yes.  I would… I would love to keep working with you.”

           “Okay.”  He turned his attention back to the work.  “So, if we end the issue with Princess Fragrance’s reveal, then that’s going to take a full-page panel.”  He drew a border inside another blank page.  “Right, so we’ve got that planned out.  Now to just get cracking on those last few pages.”  He surveyed the pages of blank boxes in front of him, each with a little note of what went in each.  “And we know what has to be said at each bit, so if you want to edit specific dialogue, now’s the time to do that.”

           “Cool.  I’ll get on top of that.”

           Marc’s brain suddenly took a dive, and he hastily tried to delete the previous sentence from his brain.

           Each of them had the plans for everything, so they didn’t see a reason to talk much, a silence Marc respected even if he himself wasn’t comfortable with it.  If it made Nathaniel more comfortable, he could swing that.

           His brain needed to stop it immediately with the double-entendres.

           The two of them worked for another few minutes, with only the sound of their pens scratching their paper.

           Nathan, surprisingly, was the one who broke the silence.  “So… last night you were a girl.”

           Marc exhaled nervously.  He wasn’t wrong, but it still felt weird to acknowledge the elephant in the room.  “Uh, yeah.”

           “Earlier yesterday you were a boy.”

           “Yep.”

           “So…”  Nath bit his lip, which Marc had to avert his gaze from.  “I don’t want to just assume, in case I get it wrong.  What are you now?”

           Marc had been stewing this over while he worked. Truth be told, he found he didn’t actually care as much today.  He knew he wasn’t a boy, and he wasn’t a girl, but… he wasn’t really much of anything else either.

           “I don’t think I’m anything right now.”

           “Really?”

          “Nothing, right now.”  He shrugged.  “I’m just… nothing.”

          “How does that work?”

          “Search me.”  He shrugged once again.  “I don’t have much of a gender today, I guess.”

          “So…” Nathaniel paused.  “It’s like there’s no… asterisks.”

          “Asterisks?”

          Nath winced.  “Sorry. I was trying to be poetic, y’know, like you?  You have this great, flowing… your words are just, they click.  Does that make sense?  It probably doesn’t make sense, forget I said anything.”

          Marc smiled at the compliment, going back to his journal.  “They’re just words.”

          “They’re not, though, alright?” he declared.  “They’re not just words, they’re you! The way you get words to line up, only you can do it that way.  You’re so… smart, and creative, and… your writing style is just great.”

          “Th-thanks.”

          “I mean that.”  Nathan looked away, holding his arm sheepishly.  “You’re great, you’re really…”  He shut his eyes.  “Forget it.”

           Marc blinked.  “What was that?”

           “Never mind.  Where you at?  Panel 9-g, the security guard is revealed to be possessed, Ghostlight comes out, and we need a good, punchy line to start the fight with.”

           “No…”  Marc closed his journal.  “This can wait.  What were you going to say?”

           “Nothing important.”

           “I doubt that.”  He reached over the table and took his hand.  “Nath, whatever it is, it’s important.  You want to say it, say it.”

           Nathaniel blushed.  His mouth opened and closed, flopping like a fish, and he started to sweat.

           Marc looked down and realized oh wait, he was actually holding Nath’s hand.  He instantly let go, which seemed to shock Nath back into coherency.

           “I can’t,” he told him.

           “You can’t?”

           “No,” he restated.  “I’ll just mess it up, just forget it.”

           “I’ll listen.”  This gave the author pause.  “I’ve been keeping up with you for the last week.  I’ll understand what you’re trying to say.”

           His face had determination etched into it. He opened his mouth and began.

           “Oh!” Rose said suddenly, breaking his momentum. “Look at the time, I have to… go make an excuse.”  She scooched off of her seat and sashayed out the door.  “I’ll leave you two alone,” she called back, leaving the door ajar.

           Both collaborators stared after her.  The art teacher glanced in her direction, then he, too, left the room.

Nathaniel and Marc were alone.  Nathan, only a little deterred, summoned back what little courage he had left.

“You…”  He stopped. “You’re my friend, right Marc?”

           “Yeah,” was the immediate, nodding answer.  “I hope so, anyway.”

           “And… I’m your friend, right?”

           “Of course.”

           “You… you’re so much of a better person than I am.” The boy gulped.  “No matter… who you are.  And today, it’s like… I’m so glad I get to see you happy.”

          “Uh…”  Marc nodded again in appreciation. “Thanks.”

          “I mean, look at you, you’re happier, even if you’re still the same person who’s come in to help me with this stupid thing—”

          “Nathan, it’s not stupid—”

          “It is, though, and sometimes it feels like we’re the only people here who care about it.  Only now you’ve changed, and you’re so much more relaxed now, and… And it’s good for you, right?  You get to be so much more confident.  Like just now, when you said you had no gender, you said it and you were sure.”

          “I’m still not really sure.”

          “You sounded sure, and that’s better than I can do.  With pretty much anything.  I’m not strong or witty, but you are. There’s just so many little things, here and there, and I can’t concentrate right.  There’s just so many things about—”

          The sudden halt from the speed at which Nathaniel had been talking gave Marc whiplash.

          Marc looked at him, expecting him to finish what he was saying.

          “I can’t…” he mumbled.   “Just… that’s it, then.  I don’t know how I was going to end that.”

          “You feeling okay, Nathan?” queried Marc.  “I don’t think I’ve heard you talk so much in one go.”

          “It’s…nothing.”  Nath took a deep breath.  “I’ve been trying to… think of things I wanted to say—”  He got out of his seat, turning away.  “Never mind, it’s stupid.”

          “No,” Marc stated, standing up behind him.  “You’re not.  If you need to say something, just say it.”

          “I think—”

          “Go on.”

          “I think you’re—” Nathaniel swallowed his tongue and hunched over, covering his mouth.

          “Nath!”  Marc rushed to his aid.  “Breathe slowly, okay?  Are you alright?  You look like you’re going to puke.”

          “I didn’t say anything, just…”  Nath’s voice broke.  “Please, just drop it, I don’t wanna…”

          Marc couldn’t believe it.  Nathaniel, whose creativity knew no bounds, was censoring himself.

          That could not happen.

          And Marc needed to know.

          “What if I don’t want to drop it?”

           “Marc, please…”

           “What if I don’t want you to be afraid to talk to me? What would you say if you could talk to me?”  He looked into his icy-blue eyes, piercing through with his warmth.  “What if you were about to say what I thought you were going to say?  What if it’s that important that I hear how that sentence was going to end?”  He snatched Nath’s hands from where they had covered his mouth and cradled them in his own. “And what if, by some miracle, I cared about how you felt and what you thought?”

           Nath stared back at him, and both of them reeled from the shock of Marc’s outburst.

           Then Nathaniel slowly started shaking his head.

           “Don’t do this… don’t do that to me,” he murmured. “Stop doing that, you’re going to just regret it.”

           Marc tightened his grip.  “Just say what you wanted to.  Stop putting up all these filters in your head.”  He grasped at something.  “Do the thing about the asterisks.  What did you mean by that?”

          Nath took a deep breath and tried.  “Well… right now, you’re… no gender.  No asterisks.  No added stress.  You’re just… Marc.  Pure Marc.” He scowled.  “I mean… that’s not good, is it, that’s not clever.  Cause you’re not just genderless, are you?”  He wrenched his hands from Marc’s ironclad grip. “Look, you could be a girl and I’d… you’d still be you.  Same for if you end up a boy.  You just get to be you.  And… I like it when you’re you.”  He stopped, looking to Marc for criticism.

           After a moment, Marc smiled warmly.  “That was pretty poetic.”

           “Y-you do it so much better than me.”

           They both smiled.

           “C-can I—” Nath gulped, shutting himself down.

           “What?”

           “N-nothing.”  He shook where he stood.  “Forget it.”

           “No chance.”  Marc wasn’t sure where this courage was coming from, but he didn’t shake it away.  “You don’t have to filter yourself.  I won’t judge anything you say from here on out, you hear me?  It’s the least I can do for what you and Alix have done for me.”

           Nathaniel drew closer suddenly, his hand touched Marc’s cheek, and their lips barely touched.  For a single half-second, their lips brushed against one another, and then Nathan drew back like Marc was a burning stove.

           Both creators were left in a state of shock.

           “Oh… my… God.”  Marc gaped.  “You…”

           “Cute,” Nathaniel muttered.  “I was gonna say cute.  Before.”  He looked down.  “I’m… sorry, I’ll just…”  He made his way to his bag, tripped on a chair, and started to bolt for the door.

           Seeing Nathan start to panic and run away triggered something in him.  He suddenly found a good reason to raise his voice.

           Nathaniel had given him strength.  Now he had to return the favor.

           “Hey, get back here!” Marc called out, and the artist stopped. “I’ve had a crush on you for over a full month now.  You get a do-over.”  Marc surged forward, turned him back around, and kissed him again, this time much more solidly.

           A few seconds passed and they separated.  “You have a crush on me?” Nath said, confused.

           Marc laughed a little at his expense.  “There were times, even just this week, where something you did just completely killed me, stone dead.”

           Nath blinked.  “Do you want to go out sometime?”

          “You see, this is what I’m talking about.”  He pulled him close and hugged him tightly.  “Son of a gun, yes, but don’t give me heart attacks like that.”

          Nath’s arms awkwardly returned the embrace.  “I, uh… I’ve never had a… an actual date before. What’s the, uhm… protocol, here?”

           “Are you serious?”

           “Half-serious.”

           “Well don’t worry.  It’ll be a learning experience for the both of us.”

           We have always belonged together!

           Nathaniel tore away from the embrace, turning sharply towards the door.  “Rose, what the hell!?”

           The little pink devil held the phone up high, volume turned all the way up.  We will always belong together!  Just keep moving on!

           “Sorry,” Rose giggled.  “My hand slipped.”

           The collaborators looked at each other.  Nodding a silent agreement, they chased after Rose together.

Okay.  I don’t have much else to say right now, so... *shuffles away*.

[booksncoffee]

under my skin - twelve

twelve || you got into my head

As soon as their colleague has left the break room, Brooklyn turns to face Niall. Before she can say anything, Niall voices out the exact thing that's on her mind. “That was close.”

“I know,” Brooklyn breathes out. Her heart is thumping against her chest so she sucks in a few deep breaths to calm it down.

“We’re lucky that wasn't Harry,” Niall adds.

read below // story page // your thoughts

It’s a dream – that’s the first thought that pops into Brooklyn’s head when she opens her eyes the next morning. She is sure of that because there’s no way last night was real. She wouldn't say she’s a pessimist, but it’s impossible for so many good things to happen to a person in one night especially to someone like her.

So the only explanation she can think of is that everything that happened a few hours ago didn't happen.

Brooklyn blindly reaches for her mobile phone that’s on the nightstand to check on the time – her alarm hasn't rung yet, which is strange because she feels like she’s gotten enough sleep – and she’s surprised to see a couple of text messages from Niall. She blinks her eyes once, twice, to make sure she isn’t imagining them. When the texts are still there, she opens them.

I forgot to tell you that I had a good time with you soooo I had a good time with you, Cooper .

Oh shit didnt realise its late ,sorry !

Now she has proof that last night did happen. Staring at the screen of her phone, Brooklyn tries to wrap her head around that.

The date happened and so did the kiss. Brooklyn still can’t believe that she and Niall kissed last night – twice. She finds it even harder to believe that she initiated the first kiss. She becomes fearless when she’s with him, taking surprisingly bold risks like doing so is a walk in the park. And now she’s about to take another risk.

Glad to know that. Was worried the kiss made you change your mind.  

After sending the rather risky text and turning off her alarm, Brooklyn puts down her phone and makes her way to the bathroom. When she stands in front of the mirror, she’s taken aback by the reflection she sees in the mirror. She has a huge smile adorning her lips, which is a rare sight because as much as she loves her job, she’s never woken up with a massive smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach.

It hits Brooklyn that she’s both nervous and excited to go to work – that’s a puzzling combination. When she steps under the shower, questions after questions start flooding her mind.

She ignores most of them, except for one: will things be different at work? She hopes not because she likes how things are between them – the constant teasing, the ridiculous jokes and most of all, the meaningless conversations they share whilst they’re doing their work. She didn't know how much she values them until the prospect of losing them is in sight.

Before she knows it, Brooklyn ends up making up scenarios and overthinking things whilst she’s getting ready for work. It’s hard not to because she and Niall have just entered an unfamiliar territory, a territory that they have been avoiding these past few years, and whilst that thought terrifies her, she has a feeling that it’ll be worth it.

Besides, worrying about it is beginning to tire her. Maybe it’s time for her to just go with the flow, see where this thing with Niall will take her – she owes that to herself especially since she spent years repressing her feelings for him. She doesn't want to spend the rest of her life thinking of the what-ifs.  

Brooklyn’s the first one to get into the lift and she presses the button to keep the door open whilst she waits for other people to file into the lift. She smiles at everyone who makes eye contact with her, something that she hardly does because her eyes were always glued on the screen of her phone. In her defence, she didn't do that on purpose because she’s usually checking on her emails to make sure that she didn't miss any.

Once she’s sure that no one is going to come barging into the lift, Brooklyn pulls her finger away from the button. That’s when someone suddenly slips inside, a couple of seconds before the door closes.

The scent. That’s what Brooklyn recognises first, followed by his smile. When her eyes meet his, a smile curves her lips. The way he barges into the lift takes her back to the first time she met him and if the glint in his eyes says anything, she’d say he’s thinking of the same thing.

When they’ve reached their floor, Niall steps back a little to make way for her. She doesn't even want to get started on the warmth she feels spreading across her chest at the small gesture. Brooklyn’s read enough articles to know that once you’ve realised that you like someone, you begin to notice every single thing, including the tiniest details about that person or the smallest moves that the person does.

Right now, Brooklyn notices the slight curve on his lips when he looks at her and the way his eyes wander around the office like he’s looking for something. It turns out that he’s making sure that there aren’t people around them. Arm wrapped around her shoulder, he pulls her to his side. The unexpected move knocks the air from her lungs, but it takes her only a second to melt into his touch.

He presses his lips on the top of her head and Brooklyn can’t fight the smile any longer. It almost splits her face into two when she gives in to it.

“How’d you sleep last night?” He asks as they make a stop at the empty break room.

“Great,” Brooklyn answers. Before she can pick up the cup she always uses, Niall beats her to it and hands it to her. She thanks him before asking, “You?”

“Didn't sleep until it’s almost 3-“

“-Ah, that explains the texts.”

Niall lets out a chuckle, a look of guilt crossing his face. “I’m so sorry. I didn't realise it’s gotten late.”

“S’fine. It obviously didn't wake me up,” she reassures him as she pours coffee into her cup. “I’m surprised you’re able to show up early.”

“Let’s just say I’m excited to go to work today,” he says with a smile on his lips. His hand drifts into his trouser pocket, his eyes dart from Brooklyn’s face to the doorway.

“You’re always excited to go to work,” Brooklyn points out. That isn’t a lie. Niall proves to her that there is someone out there who loves their job so much that they come to work with a smile on their face everyday.

Niall rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Do I?” She kinks an eyebrow as she looks at him disbelievingly. Sometimes Brooklyn thinks Niall’s annoying habits have rubbed off on her. She supposes that ought to happen when you spend an awful lot of time with someone. When Niall gives her a pointed look, she continues to play dumb. “I really don't know what you mean, Niall. You have to tell me.”

Niall reaches for her and pulls her to him until her back meets his front. A yelp escapes her throat when she almost spills her coffee, but luckily nothing slips through her hand. It blows her mind how perfectly they fit and how effortless everything feels with them right now. She expected awkwardness and silence, but so far she’s proven to be wrong.

“What’re you doing?” Brooklyn asks Niall.

Instead of answering her question with words, he leans forward to capture her lips. But before he can do so, someone walks into the break room and they jump apart from each other, taken aback by the new company. Their colleague, Trent, darts his eyes from Niall to Brooklyn. A suspicious look is written all over his face. Brooklyn looks at Niall just as he looks at her. She hopes he knows what to say because her mind is drawing a blank.

In an attempt to wipe that look off of his face, Niall clears his throat. “Morning, mate. Brought sandwich today?”

Trent chuckles. “Yeah, but this one’s a special one so I can’t share it.”

“Bummer,” Niall sighs. “Was just about to ask ya if I could have some.”

“No can do,” Trent replies with a wink before he puts his sandwich in the fridge. When he turns to face them, his eyes land on Brooklyn. “Is that your first coffee or the fifth one?”

“First.” Brooklyn replies as she rolls her eyes – nearly everyone in this office knows how much she loves coffee and that’s all because of Niall. He can’t keep his mouth shut.

“You gotta keep an eye on her, mate,” Trent says to Niall. He raises an eyebrow questioningly. “Read on the Internet that it’s not good to drink too much coffee.”

Niall lets out a laugh. “Think she’ll bite me head off if I tell her not to drink coffee.”

“I’m right here, y’know?” Brooklyn grumbles before she nudges Niall in the rib. He winces in pain and that puts a smile on her face. Sometimes it scares her that inflicting pain on someone makes her happy.

“See?” Niall says as he rubs the sore spot.

Trent shakes his head, laughing. “On a second thought, Brooklyn, what I read is probably wrong. You can drink as much as coffee as you’d like.”

“That sounds about right,” Brooklyn replies. “You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet, Trent.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Trent chuckles. He takes out a bottled water from the fridge before he heads for the exit. “Well, as much as I love to stay here and chat with you two, I have pictures that need editing.”

As soon as their colleague has left the break room, Brooklyn turns to face Niall. Before she can say anything, Niall voices out the exact thing that's on her mind. “That was close.”

“I know,” Brooklyn breathes out. Her heart is thumping against her chest so she sucks in a few deep breaths to calm it down.

“We’re lucky that wasn't Harry,” Niall adds. She cocks an eyebrow at him, confused. Surely Harry knows what happened last night because he and Niall share everything. “I, uh, didn't tell Harry that we kissed. I mean he knows we went on a date last night but I spared him the details.”

“Oh.” She didn't expect that. “Oh okay. That’s… That’s good, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t have to worry about him pestering us, then.” Brooklyn says.

They both know that Harry will give them shit if he finds out that they kissed. He’d probably say the most hated four words – ‘I told you so’ – and take the credit for being the one to make Niall and Brooklyn realise that they like each other. She can also foresee him bragging about it for the rest of his life.  

“He’ll still pester us about the date.”

“Well, if I can handle you, I think I can handle him.” Brooklyn remarks.

Niall gasps as he places his hands on his chest, an offended look crossing his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean,” Brooklyn rolls her eyes at him as she brings the cup up to her mouth and takes a sip of the warm coffee.

“Do I?” Niall quizzes, to which she shoves him away from her. Stumbling back a little, he laughs when Brooklyn gives her the middle finger.

He likes how their dynamic hasn't changed because he knows how much Brooklyn worries about that. He worries about it too. But judging by how they are around each other last night and this morning, they realise that they have nothing to worry about – except for when other people find out, that is.

When his laughter has died down, Niall looks around to make sure that no one is about to walk in before he takes Brooklyn’s hand and squeezes it. “Last night was amazing, Cooper.” He smiles and it takes her only a second to reciprocate it. She nods her head, agreeing. “Kept thinking about how much I’d appreciate an encore of it.”

Brooklyn opens her mouth to tell him that she feels the same way, but realisation dawns on her and she sees an opening to tease him. “Is this… Is this your subtle way of asking me out on a second date, Horan?”

A slight blush spreads from his cheeks to his neck. Rubbing the back of his neck, he asks, “If it is, what would your answer be?”

“I knew I’d found you lovebirds here,” Harry interrupts as he barges into the break room. Both Brooklyn and Niall roll their eyes at him and groan when he drapes his arms over their shoulders. “So, will there be a second date?”

“That’s none of your business, H.”

Startled by his friend’s answer, Harry squints his eyes at Brooklyn. “What have you done to him?”

Brooklyn elbows Harry’s rib and takes a few steps back from him. “Hey, I didn't do anything.”

“Yeah, she didn't do anything,” Niall backs her up.

Harry’s eyes dart from Niall to Brooklyn. “You know, I can feel a shift in the air. Something definitely happened between you two last night.” He taps his chin thoughtfully, then, and Brooklyn’s scared to hear what he has to say. “I’m gonna assume you two kissed.”

Niall lets out a loud scoff and shakes his head.

“So what if we do?” Brooklyn asks. Niall shoots her a questioning look, confused as to why she’d say that. He thought she prefers to not let Harry know anything about last night.

“If you two did kiss, congratulations are in order,” Harry replies. There’s a glint of mischief in his eyes. “And I believe I also have another thing to tell you-“ the dramatic pause gives away what he’s about to say next and Brooklyn has prepared herself for that. And yet when those four words do leave his mouth, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “-I told you so!”

A smug grin takes over his face. She can tell that he’s very pleased with himself, happy that he’s finally able to say those words out loud. She can imagine him practicing that line in front of the mirror several times and the mere image of that makes her laugh.

“The fact that you two aren’t denying it tells me that I was right,” Harry continues before he pulls Niall into his arms, hugging him tight. “I’ve waited years for this to happen.”

Brooklyn doesn't know why Harry is so invested in their relationship and honestly, she doesn't even want to figure out the answer. She’s learned that some things are better left unsaid and this is one of those things. So as those two best friends continue hugging, she slips out of the break room and makes her way to her desk.

The first thing she does when her computer is turned on, she logs into her email account and checks on the emails she recently receives. Her eyes fixed on the screen, she fails to realise that Niall has taken a seat in front of her. It’s when he clears his throat that she finally looks up and sees him at his desk.

“So… you haven’t answered my question.” He points out.

“You’re right,” Brooklyn nods. Wearing her thinking face, she taps her chin. She already has an answer, but she likes to keep him on his toes. “I have one question.”

“Ask away.”

“What do you have in mind for the, uh, second date?”

“I was thinking we could have a night in,” he suggests. Brooklyn likes the sound of that. “But no Grease will be involved. Wouldn't want you to fall asleep on me again.”

“Thought you wanted an encore of last night?” She cocks an eyebrow at him and he lets out a chuckle.

“We could do that, but I don't think you’d want to watch that movie for the second time unless…” Brooklyn shakes her head profusely. The thought of having to sit through Grease again is enough to horrify her. “Thought so. Anyway I did my grocery yesterday before the date so my fridge’s pretty full right now so I was thinking that we could have dinner at my place.”

Brooklyn’s eyes widen in surprise. “You’ll be cooking for tonight?”

“Don’t look so surprised,” Niall comments. “You’d think I’d survive living on my own if I eat outside everyday?”

“I thought you eat ramen every night,” Brooklyn replies jokingly. She knows Niall isn’t a fan of instant noodles.  

His nose crinkles in disgust, looking so repulsed by her assumption. “You’d be surprised at how good I am at cooking.”

“’Course,” Brooklyn mumbles under her breath. Is she surprised that he can cook? Yes. But if knowing him for years has taught her anything, it would be that he’s good at everything he does. It’s annoying, really, that one man can be good at so many things.

“So does a night in with cooked meals entice you?” Niall brings the question back to the table.

Brooklyn places her chin on her laced fingers and with a serious face, she says, “After careful consideration and much thought I’m pleased to tell you that what you’re offering does entice me.”

Niall lets out the breath he’s been holding and chuckles to himself because for a split second, he thought she was going to say no. He’s heard of that particular line before, but it usually ends on a distressing note like when he was applying for an internship position and wasn't accepted to the company because he didn't meet their standard criteria.

“Great.” Niall grins from ear to ear. “Can’t wait to charm you with my food.”

Brooklyn rolls her eyes and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth to prevent a smile from splitting her face into two. Niall doesn't need to know that he’s already charmed her.  

&&

“Are you going somewhere?” Beck asks as he leans against the doorway. He just got home from work and she’s surprised that he doesn't head straight to his room – that’s what he usually does. Unlike Brooklyn, Beck isn’t a fan of his job as he constantly complains about how draining his work is, but the pay is good so he stays. At least until he can find a new job and has enough money to get back on his feet.

Brooklyn nods. “You?”

“I was supposed to have a drink with Clara just now but she got held up at work so that and our dinner are cancelled,” Beck says with a slight pout. It’s obvious that he’s into that girl because if he weren’t, he wouldn't get upset over cancelled plans. “Anyway, where are you going?”

“I’m, uh, gonna have dinner with Niall,” she tells him sheepishly.

Fashioning a surprised expression, he kinks an eyebrow at her. “Second date already?”

“Yeah,” Brooklyn answers as she unplugs her mobile phone from its charger and check on the time. She should leave now if she doesn't want to be late. “Why?” She asks defensively.

Beck shrugs, unsure if he should really say what’s on his mind. When his sister continues to look at him, he knows that he can’t get away with keeping his mouth shut. “I don’t know, Bee. People usually wait for a few days before the second date and you just had your first date last night,” he says. “But then again, you and Niall have waited years for this to happen so…”

“You think we’re moving too fast?” Panic starts to trickle in. Relationships that move too fast hardly end well – she’s aware of that because she wrote an article about it last year.

Upon noticing the panicked look on Brooklyn’s face, Beck makes his way to her. “Hey, you and Niall are different. You two have been friends for years and things are normally different for friends, yeah?”

“I don’t know,” she replies. “Should I cancel the date?”

“No,” Beck answers quickly. “No, don’t do that. You should talk to him, tell him you want to take things slow – if that’s what you want?”

Brooklyn nods. Taking things slow is the best thing to do. She doesn't want them to burn out so quickly – that’d be unfortunate. “I’ll talk to him,” she says, more to herself rather than to Beck. She keeps her phone in her bag and once she’s sure that she hasn't left anything, she turns to Beck. “I should get going now.”

“Have fun,” he grins. “But not too much fun.”

Brooklyn rolls her eyes at that. When she reaches the doorway, she glances through her shoulder and says, “Thanks for the advice, Beck.”

She leaves as soon as those words leave her mouth because she doesn't want to stick around and hear Beck gloating about it. Besides, she’s supposed to leave seven minutes ago.

Brooklyn doesn't know what’s gotten into her brother recently because it seems like he’s suddenly matured. She wouldn't say he’s not wise before this, but he’s certainly a lot wiser now and knows more about relationship than she does – not that she considers it a competition. She might have written and read a lot of articles about relationships but that doesn't mean she knows what she’s doing with her own love life.

Alas, thanks to Beck, she knows what she needs to do next.

“Hi, so sorry I’m late,” is the first thing Brooklyn says when Niall opens his door. He lets out a startled laugh and leans forward to press a kiss on her cheek before ushering her inside. “It smells amazing in here.”

“That’d be the chicken curry,” Niall tells her. Placing a hand on the small of her back, he leads her to the small dining table where the plates are already set up. He pulls out a chair for her to sit, to which she thanks him bashfully. “I’ll be right back.”

Niall makes his way to his open kitchen and transfers his curry to a bowl. Brooklyn watches as he wipes the brim with tissue, his meticulousness evident as he inspects the bowl twice before bringing it to the table along with rice. “You do eat curry, yeah?”

“Yep,” Brooklyn nods. “I eat anything that smells good.” When Niall raises an eyebrow at her, she adds, “Anything edible, that is.”

“Good to know,” he chuckles as he fills Brooklyn’s plate with food, followed by his. Then, he pours chardonnay into their glasses. “I read on the Internet that this wine goes well with curry.”

“How’d you manage to do all this?” Brooklyn asks, impressed. She’s usually too tired to even think about cooking when she gets home – unless she’s craving for something – and the fact that Niall managed to cook curry and rice within a couple of hours astounds her.  

“Did the research at work, bought Chardonnay on the way home and started cooking as soon as I got home,” he reveals, chuckling when Brooklyn gapes at him. “Shall we start eating?”

“Yes, but first I’d like to make a toast to you,” Brooklyn says as she picks up the glass and holds it up. “I didn't really congratulate you when you won the bet-“

“You did.”

“Shh, let me talk.” Chuckling, Niall pretends to zip his mouth. “Anyway, I wasn't really upset about not winning the bet, I was upset that once again my article didn't make the cut. But I know you and your article deserve it, and I can’t wait to read it. Congratulations, Horan.”

“Thanks, Cooper,” he smiles sheepishly. “I honestly thought you’d win because you’re a brilliant writer, Bee, and I assure you that your article will be in the special issue next year.”

“You sound confident,” Brooklyn notes. He shrugs. Something suggests that he knows something she doesn't, but she refuses to delve into it at the moment. Raising her glass once more, she says, “To us?’

“To the amazing Niall and Brooklyn,” Niall grins, clinking his glass with hers.

After they’ve taken a few sips of the drink, they put the glass down and start eating. Brooklyn shouldn't be surprised that his meal tastes amazing but when the curry and rice hit her tongue, she understands why he’s so confident when he said he’s good at cooking. He has every right to brag about it because if it were up to her, his meal could win awards – she might be a bit biased but that doesn't change the fact that his food taste amazing.

“Your silence scares me,” Niall comments with a nervous laughter. Pointing at her plate, he asks, “What’s the verdict?”  

“So good I could eat this everyday,” the words slip past her mouth before she can stop them. She wants to tease him, tell him that she doesn't like it, but when she sees how happy he looks upon hearing her compliment she knows telling him the truth is the right thing to do. “You’re good at everything, aren’t you?”

“What?” Niall sounds surprised. “No, I’m not.” Brooklyn scoffs. “I mean I’m glad that you think I’m good at everything but that’s not true.”

“Since when do you know how to be modest?” Brooklyn teases him.

“Hey, I’m the humblest person you’ve ever met.”

“Riiiight.” That’s not how Brooklyn would describe him, but she doesn't want to get into that. “Anyway, I have a more pressing question: how and when did you learn to cook?”

Niall’s face lights up even before he opens his mouth to answer her question. Brooklyn knows straightaway that he’s going to launch into his story of how he possesses a cooking skill and she doesn't mind at all because she’s positive it’s an interesting story.

And she’s right.

&&

Their conversation moves from the dining table to the couch. Niall places two coasters on the coffee table before he puts down their wine glass, and Brooklyn feels the need to comment on that. “You’re Monica.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Monica from Friends. You’re her. You can’t stand mess.” Brooklyn elaborates, though that’s not the best elaboration she’s ever given.

“Uh, I guess?” Niall rubs the back of his neck. “Let’s just say I’m partially Monica. I’m not obsessed about cleanliness, but it puts my mind at ease when things are well organised and when there’s no spill on my furniture.”

“So… Monica?”

Niall throws his head back, letting out a peal of laughter. “Monica Horan,” he sticks his hand out to shake Brooklyn’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Monica Horan.” The absurdity of their conversation makes her giggle. “Do you mind if I look around your place?”

“Not at all.”

Brooklyn gets up from the couch and walks over to the shelf placed next to his television. Several books are placed on the top shelf and whilst she’s curious to know what books he usually reads, the picture frames that are on the second shelf catch her attention.

One of those frames holds a photo of her, Niall, Harry and Beck from the Halloween party a few years back. Beck wasn't wearing a costume in that picture because he was supposed to just rescue her and take her home, but he ended up staying at the party for a couple of hours. Beck’s smile in that photo reminds her of the talk she needs to have with Niall but the problem is, she doesn't know how to bring it up. She can’t straightaway tell him that she wants to take things slow – there has to be an opening before she goes into that.

Brooklyn glances through her shoulder and meets Niall’s gaze. “You got it framed.”

“Yeah,” he admits sheepishly.

“Have you ever thought about going blond again?” Brooklyn asks as soon as that random question pops into her mind.

Niall moves to stand beside her and shrugs. “I’ve been told that I look more mature this way,” he runs his fingers through his hair as his eyes are fixed on their picture, “but I do miss the blond hair sometimes.”

When Brooklyn tilts her head to look at Niall, she finds that he’s already looking down on her. His eyes drift to her lips and she lets herself do the same. Niall leans down a little and she meets him halfway. His hand makes its way to the back of her neck as he deepens the kiss whilst she pulls him closer until there’s no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

The idea that they could do this whenever they want is… surreal. It’s too good to be true.

“This still feels like a dream,” Niall says as he rests his forehead against hers.

Brooklyn lets out a breathy laugh, agreeing with a nod. “It does, doesn't it? To think that a few days ago we were just two co-workers who had a secret crush on each other… it-it’s crazy.”

“Crazy is right,” Niall replies. “But crazy can be good, yeah?”

Now would be the right time to talk to him, Brooklyn thinks. So before she can chicken out, she clears her throat and says, “I want to talk to you about something.”

A look of concern furrows his brow. “Okay, should we sit?”

Brooklyn’s eyes dart from the couch to his face. “Yeah sure.”

Niall leads her to the couch and once they’re seated, Brooklyn picks up the wine glass and finishes the drink in one swig. Niall’s eyes widen in shock before worry settles on his face. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Brooklyn nods as she swallows the lump in her throat. She needs that drink for a boost of confidence and now she has it. “I think we should take things slow. It doesn't mean I like you any less, it simply means I don’t want us to jump into something too fast and maybe regret it in the future.”

“You’re right,” Niall agrees. Brooklyn didn't think he’d agree immediately. “We should take things slow. Wouldn't want us to become Ray and Eva 2.0, would we?”

Brooklyn lets out a laugh. “I got into your head, didn't I?” He nods, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “So you’re okay with taking things slow?”

“Absolutely. I waited three years for this to happen, I don't mind waiting another three.”

“Is that so?” Brooklyn kinks an eyebrow at him, to which he responds with a chuckle. “You are aware of how cheesy that line sounds, right?”

“Wished I could take it back as soon as they left my mouth,” he admits. “But I meant it, Cooper.”

“I know.”

[bedlamgames]

Q&A #111

After a far too long a wait leading to far too long a Q&A. Enjoy!

Anonymous asked:

Have you considered adding another way to get the effect of the Denial mantra besides Hypnosis, maybe a Corruption or something? I like the effect, which makes it a little unfortunate I can't get it on trained slaves due to the degree of exclusivity between training a slave vs hypnotizing one.

- - There is a mechanic where some slavers with either Hypnosis or a bunch of other potentially mind affecting traits have a chance to implant certain mantras on certain trainings. Denial isn't one of them yet, but I can definitely see that being included on a future training.

Anonymous asked:

One thing I noticed about dwarf player characters is that they are the only dwarves that start out without having the Resilient trait. Could you please make that something that dwarf players start with to match up with their in game counterparts?

- - That's a really good shout. Added the trait to all of the regular dwarf starts.

Anonymous asked:

Hey! I was wondering if you are ever going to be releasing a guide on some of the older assignments? I am a bit of a completionist and there are just a small number of them i have yet been able to beat. Most of these being the ones iwht unique characters. Ive gotten critical succes so many times without recieving the unique. So will there be any guides in the future or is there any forum of chat where ppl with knowlegde on all of this recide?

- - There is a wiki and there's a link to it on the tumblr on the No Haven page. There's threads on Hypnopics Collective and TFGames, and possibly other places too. There's also the discord for patrons where people are always happy to answer those questions.

Anonymous asked:

Some questions how the like and dislike system works. What are a characters likes and dislikes based on? completely random or are there things that can affect them. Are they set in stone? so if i have a general chat, find out a character hates smithing will he always hate it? Also from aesendril and Kiruna seem to have a relationship status in their examines. Can you get these for random or your own characters too? Can two of my slavers have that kind of relationship or is it only the 2 uniques?

- - They're rolled at the beginning of the game, and do get affected at least partially by their traits. So someone who started with Leader will like being a Second-in-Command or Spiritual Leader more, and visa versa for someone with Follower. There are morning events where they can shift upwards and downwards. There are relationships that can form between slavers. So far there's a couple of assignments that can form relationships for good and bad. There will likely be other ways for them to happen in future.

Anonymous asked:

Are missi9ons like the reign of thw witch queen a one time thing even if you do not go on it? Sometimes it appears a bit to early in a playthrough and i jusut dont have the slavers to do it. Does that mean i lose the chance of ever doing it? The mission private passage has a bunch of really cool uniques. One of the best assignments you have in the game imo. But after getting one of the uniques i can´t seem to get the mission to appear again. Is it bad rng or is it locked after getting a unique?

- - There's only a couple of assignments like Witch-Queen that are one offs and I've had that feedback from others so now it won't appear as early as it used to. Glad you liked it! Funny you say that too as this week we've been doing some polling games on the discord where various stuff gets matched against the other in random eliminations and Private Passage was voted best assignment ever (Spectacle of the Sacred was second, and third place was A Deluge of Oozes). Bad rng I'm guessing, as it's made to be repeatable.

Anonymous asked:

What was the inspiration for your game? It says on your page here that you were inspired by the doff system from STO, could you elaborate a bit on that? What with games like Fort of Chains seemingly being inspired by your game, I tried to look at whether this "text-based procedurally generated weekly quest party management" genre existed in the non-adult sphere, but I couldnt really find anything, which is surprising, considering that this would probably be attractive to the DnD community.

- - Pretty much exactly that. Didn't have much interest in that MMO, and yet the concept they had of collecting various lower deck type officers who all had their own traits, and then sending them off to do various stuff from raiding enemy ships down to putting on a play (no lie, that likely will be a NH assignment sooner or later) for various rewards I found to be surprisingly compelling. So like with WR where I took a chan dice roller game and thought can I do this in RAGS, I had the same thought with the doff system. Of course I've complicated and expanded on the idea a whole bunch since.

Also was unaware of Fort of Chains, but on looking they do give me a shout out which is most appreciated, thanks!

Anonymous asked:

any ability to move some of the traits like strong right arm or revears to the encampment ? just so it cleans up the PC

- - Strong Right Arm and Recruiter should be removed after the game starts, but yes that's a good idea. What I'll likely do is redo that miscellaneous full custom options and all of those Encampment specific which makes sense as they're not so specific to the player themself.

Anonymous asked:

Is it possible to play on mobile?

- - That's one of many reasons I'm working to convert the game to Twine so then it should be playable by anything with a browser.

Anonymous asked:

Not sure if I am extremely unlucky or its an actual bug, but I seem to roll only male slavers when I choose females as preferred gender in general orders.

- - It was a bug, and will be in the next public release coming soon.

Anonymous asked:

Have you considered adding a solo game mode where you start with no slavers whatsoever? Also, any plans to add the options to start with other advanced traits such as Flier, Riding, Bimbo, etc to full custom characters? Looking forward to the next update!

- - I have yes. The idea was to do a 'super-villain' style start under the scenarios where you'd have some big advantage to counteract the lack of staff, like being better at planning, being better at seducing minions, or just having lots of gold and a better source of mercenaries. Fleet is already in there, Flying possibly, but I like having that as part of slaver upgrades as a big perk from that, and Bimbo is available in the patreon TF edition version.

whitewolf1414 asked:

Hello just curious. Will it be possible in the future for the player to get images for the encampment, as well as images for specific buildings inside the encampment, like your personal tent or lodge? Will we also be able to use those buildings in the later future, maybe for the next major game you work on? And second question. Will the other slavers be able to follow quest threads (like extra actions) on assignments or is this only available for the protagonist? Thanks :)

- - I would definitely like to get more images of the encampment like that one I got with the wright, succubus, neko, tentacle beast, and sleeping lamia. There's going to be at least one assignment I have planned that's so long you'll need to designate a leader for it if you don't go yourself and then that way they'll be the one to get to make the various choices that come up. I'm also thinking it'll be fun that you'll have a choice for them to try to take over when they get back in case you liked playing them so much.

Anonymous asked:

I keep getting the JIT prompt and brain too smol to figure out

- - In the readme file that comes with the game there's a link to a page on the patreon available to everyone with a full step by step guide of how to get the game to work.

Anonymous asked:

Is there anyway in No Haven to remove the Puppet Leader status? It seems really complicated to recover and I would rather just promote a new leader at this point, but I can't get my current character enslaved no matter how intentionally bad I do. I would definitely like to see some kind of functionality that allows your current character to give up, either being enslaved or leaving the encampment. I really enjoy the game otherwise.

- - There's not. If you get puppet leadered you become immune to being enslaved, as the encampment basically treats you like a slave by that point anyway. I can definitely see a case though there should be a way for things to go bad enough that both you and whoever is puppetting you ends up being enslaved. Could be a fun event that.

Anonymous asked:

When re you going to finish/improve the biomancy.

- - Biomancy is getting an improvement in the next release via a reward from one of the new assignments. That also was one of the needed steps on the storyline I have in mind for it. As to finishing? Well that could be awhile. There's a commission I need for the ending that will need to be done, likely when I can afford it as a bonus as it's one I want to keep as a surprise so will be only in the game. There's also at least one or two more assignments that will also have general usage outside of the storyline. I know how it ends, and that's all been worked out. I do though need to work out some more of the mid-steps and I'm not sure at this point how many there should be. Definitely will be at least one though and that will also need a commission.

Anonymous asked:

why doesn't the rough landing download link work?

- - Ah, I see tumblr has played silly buggers again where it breaks links cause why not. ...And I can't edit the page as tumblr is threatening to reset my theme. This is one of the many, many reasons why I mainly use twitter and patreon these days. Okay the link is basically right, just delete the 'https://href.li/?' at the beginning and it works fine.

Anonymous asked:

More like suggestion: can we make "Truly Divine" not show at the very start?

- - I think that's fine? It's not like Witch-Queen where it only appears once, and not all assignments you start with are going to be viable options.

whitewolf1414 asked:

First question. will there be extensive player character exploration? Second will there be extensive character interaction between everyone at the encampment? Third and final. Will there be a character image mechanic in your future builds of this game. Say like crushstation made with their game female agent. Thank You. :)

- - Not sure what you mean by that one? Yes I do want to do more interaction between your slavers so they're not all focused so much on you. That will likely be more in dilemmas. Third, likely not. I prefer to keep that as a patron thing so I can give it more care and attention.

Anonymous asked:

Level 1 kinky draenei guard named Qualmore Findel i went to draenei territory south east tried to go east and found a chest. tentacle beast i try going east another chest another beast east once more chest white potion. Not sure if its a bug but i decided to report it anyway I'm using the twine version of whorelocks revenge. Looking forward to future updates.

- - Well people did say they wanted to see more chests :D More seriously, WR is pretty much on hold due to the hostile reception the Twine conversion got. If you do like it, want to see more of it then please let me know, and I'll then be more likely to come back to it. Not a lot of point developing something that's a cat when people keep moaning that it's not a dog, and doesn't even bark, but if you do like the cat, and happy with it being a cat, I'm totally down for coming back so it's not such an unfinished cat. It's also entirely possible that metaphor got away from me so far.

Anonymous asked:

Completing the "Truly Divine" quest causes the potential slaver value to get stuck at -1, thus preventing the recruitment of any more slavers via level up bonus.

- - That should be fixed for the public release.

Anonymous asked:

Hey, I recently found the whorelock's revenge game, and I really like it. The only thing is that I really want to play this game as an Android game with the latest version. What would be the best way to make this happen? I'm currently playing through my smartphone's Chrome browser.

- - Hey someone else who likes WR! (see a previous question in this Q&A for context) I'd need to learn how to code for android, or there'd need to be someone interested in converting the twine version. So not out the question, and would be potentially be a good project to look at when the No Haven twine conversion is done if the other project I have in mind doesn't pan out.

Anonymous asked:

Are you a girl

- - Sure if it makes you happy.

Anonymous asked:

Is the latest update really more than 6-7 months old? There doesn't seem to be any information about it here or on twitter, and every patreon post is locked so we can't tell anything from that either...

- - This year has not been great to put it lightly. Then this one still does puzzle me. I do a public post on the patreon that's also linked on the twitter every two weeks, and I've given updates on how things are going. I've checked on another browser where I wasn't signed in and it worked fine? I've also been posting the patch notes on the current patreon release on the twitter as twitlongers so there also should be no issue with accessing those.

Anyway, the new public release will be out very soon indeed so you won't have to wait much longer.

[salty-dracon]

ace hang invites more people to fuck around on youtube

THE REAL VAMPIRES OF RC | Interview with Adrian from PerpetualThirst!

Adrian: So being a vampire... it’s like, you know, being gay. Not that you’d understand since you’re not gay. Well, I’m not either, but I’m a vampire.

Lily: O...kay?

Adrian: Like, no one chooses to be a vampire. It’s just a thing that happens. Like when you’re gay. And you can tell because you have these huge pointy canine teeth and you really want to drink blood. Kinda like when you’re gay, and you want to fuck people that are the same gender as you. 

Val: Heh. So do people like, want to kill you for it or something?

Adrian: Yeah, I’ve gotten arrested once or twice for like, just trying to get my fill. It’s really hard. People just aren’t willing to donate their blood anymore. So, like, you have to take it. Sometimes by force. Using a knife.

Lily: So you’ve actually attacked someone for their blood?

Adrian: Yeah. It’s normal.

Val: ...

Lily: ...

Adrian: You know how the cops used to attack gay people for being gay? It’s like that.

---

BUSINESS LADY | Interview with some business lady!

Amelia: So tell me about this... YouTube.

Lily: Well, it’s the only major and general platform for sharing video with the general public. Well, not “only”, more like “biggest and easiest to use”.

Amelia: I see, I see. So, what other platforms exist?

Lily: Uhhh, Twitch?

Val: But that’s more livestreaming stuff, and it’s gamer-oriented. Oh, and DailyMotion. And Vimeo.

Lily: But DailyMotion is laggy and annoying, and Vimeo’s geared towards professional animators and stuff like that. And we’re just regular ol’ kids who edit videos of us gaming. 

Val: But YouTube has its share of problems. Like demonetizing videos that contain otherwise nonoffensive words like “lesbian” or “gay” or stuff like that. Like, now they’re demonetizing everything. And for people who basically make a job through this service, it’s absolutely devastating.

Lily: Yeah, and YouTube also does nothing for content creators that actually ruin the system for everyone else. I’m sure you’ve heard of the PewDiePie scandals. 

Amelia: Thaumas?

Thaumas: *offscreen* A very popular YouTube star has made a number of antisemetic and racist remarks in the past. 

Lily: Oh yeah, and then there was the viewcount drop for whatever reason. 

Val: Is that even over?

Lily: I have no clue.

Amelia: Ah, interesting. I know there are parts of my company which use this platform to... train others. So, what is the relation of this platform, to say, consumers like you? If you do view videos.

Angel: *offscreen* Ms. Fisher, the tea is ready.

Amelia: Does he know you run this channel?

Lily: Of course he does. We even had him show up in some of our videos. 

Amelia: Can I see?

(Lily and Val exchange worried glances)

----

UP TO Y’ALL | Talking Asexuality w/ Straight Ass Narin!

Narin: So, like, what if you four were stuck on an island together? Would you, like... fuck?

Arthur: No.

Narin: But you’re asexuals, which means you don’t necessarily dislike sex. You just... don’t want to fuck people on sight. Right?

Lily: No one fucking touches me.

Val: I don’t really care about fucking.

Brid: It’s not like I want to screw strangers.

Arthur: I’m uncomfortable with the idea.

Lily: Besides, I feel like babies would be a bad idea on a desert island. And maybe they have STDs, I don’t know.

Narin: But couldn’t you fuck Brid?

Brid: N-No! I mean, Lily’s just... she’s not someone I really like... 

Lily: Brid could have a yeast infection or something!

Narin: Just use condoms or something.

Lily: On a desert island?

Narin: Make your own!

Everyone: ............

----

THIS GAME IS SATAN | Doki Doki Literature Club w/ Clubs and Hearts!

(Some jumpscare happens. Val jumps back, Lily almost screams but starts choking on her own spit and collapses on the ground, Brid looks like she’s about to have a panic attack, and Arthur looks like he’s about to cry)

Lily: GAHKKK... KFFF... water... *loud coughing*

Arthur: JESUS FUCK DONT KILL ME!

Brid: OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

Val: Iswearmyheartjustfuckingstoppedohgodmybodyscramping.... fuck *falls out of chair*

(Angel walks in. He sees the kids in varying degrees of pain. After trying to contemplate what to do for a few seconds, he leaves.)

Val: I don’t think we can move on. So thanks for watching, that’s the end of this episode of Doki Doki Literature Club. Like and subscribe, comment down below, please tell us how to get the good ending.

Arthur: *actually starts crying*

----

FILMING IN LILY’S HOUSE | Danganronpa Chapter 3 w/ Not Narin!

Brooke: So where’s your sister? I’m kinda getting paid by the hour to tutor her.

Lily: Who knows. Just let us know if we’re being too loud. Silently. We’re filming Danganronpa today. 

Brooke: ...what?

Val: The video game. Danganronpa.

Brooke: ... My brother’s going to pick me up, just saying. So, if you see this red Tesla out front, it’s his.

Val: Tesla? Holy shit.

Lily: His name’s Grey, right? My mom won’t stop asking me to ask him about college and shit. And then she does it herself. Oh god, he must feel awkward.

Brooke: Yeah. He’s probably not interested in you or your mom, to be honest. No wonder your sister can’t stop complaining about her... Can I take my smoke break now?

Val: You smoke?

Brooke: Oh god, not again... Listen, I don’t care if I die from lung cancer-

Val: No, we’re fine with it, just not in the house. And my dad’s downstairs talking with her mom. About tea. Just not around them.

Lily: Yeah, my mom will never let a smoker in the house. 

Brooke: ...Thank you.

----

BE A MAN | Life Lessons w/ Angel!

Angel: *addressing lily and brid* While you may receive enjoyment out of nonconformity to gender ideals, it’s your conformity to various aspects that will help you rise in the educated world. For example, a woman should always be well-dressed. Never immodest, but well-dressed. 

(Lily blatantly doesn’t care, Brid’s listening but looking bored)

Angel: A woman should also be confident in her own sexuality, no matter what society tries to tell her. When you’ve ascended high enough in the social ladder, and trust me, you’ll know when, you can afford to be confident in that way. Until then, you must rely on your wits. The same applies to men. They must always follow the same rules a woman does, to uphold a standard that is to be respected. Furthermore, as women are historically more fragile and important creatures to mankind’s survival, a man must take every step to protect the women in his life, as well as to never hurt a woman themselves. Women should never be afraid to defend themselves, and speak the truth. 

Brid: Okay, I think that’s enough-

Angel: However, you may meet a man one day that you have... feelings for. Know that the hot feeling you get down there is absolutely normal for a woman your age, and is nothing to be ashamed of. You may start to crave the feeling of... something... down there. Long and phallic. While men aren’t necessary for the long and phallic nature of the object you want in there, it’s perfectly normal to want something.

Lily: Okay, okay-

Angel: If you do decide to stick objects up your vagina, men would rather you keep it a private matter. I don’t mind, of course- but men in general would rather that the only thing that enter your sacred flower be their penis-

Lily: And that’s all the time we have for this episode. Tune in tomorrow for more shenanigans involving video games and sh-stuff. Bye. Like and subscribe.

Angel: And comment in the comments section! Only nice things of course!

*Brid facepalms*

----

HOW TO BOOB RESPONSIBLY | Shantae: Half-Genie Hero!

(Giga Mermaid Level)

Lily: ALL I WANNA DOOO IS SEE YOU TURN INTOOO A GIANT WOMAN

Val: WITH BIG ASS BOOBS

Lily: THIS IS LITERALLY A GAME FOR LESBIANS

Michy: *pops head in* Lesbians?

Val: OH MY GOD I DIED

Lily: Big booby mermaids!

Michy: Dude, what the fuck? I wanna see!... that is one thicc mermaid