#side note: the dude who gave me the shots was someone I went to high school with

[bowl-of-fruit-loops]

I got my covid booster and flu shot today and I was so so brave about it

[minkkumaz]

FROM ME TO YOU

all of your experiences since you first moved into the neighborhood were more than magical. you had completely fallen for woonhak and his boyish charm. but there was something different about him recently and you'd find out exactly what. THE DAY I MET YOU series

PAIRING kim woonhak x fem!reader WC 3.0k TAGS adults dni. angst. some fluff. miscommunication. woonhak is kinda serving meanie butt. best friend jaehyun dynamic w/ reader. TAGLIST @woon2u @lumixen @woonhakist @jungwoning @yumicherryiiOMI NOTE this series is finally coming close to an end! i hope you enjoy this part, and please keep an eye out for further updates, trust me you'll want to.

the day you met him, and every day afterwards, was only something that could be described in an unrealistic fairy tale. though the best part of it all was when he pulled your face closer to his, trapping you in a kiss you’ve only ever dreamt about. 

something different, something perfect. the feeling of finally being with someone you pined for since you met wasn’t fathomable, but it happened, and it couldn’t be more real.

since then, that photo strip has been trapped in the back of both of your phone cases. the sentimental value it had would have a hold on the two of you forever, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. it truly captured that moment in a way you could still feel your heart racing whenever you looked at it.

it was a constant reminder that you and woonhak shared a bond strong enough to blossom into a beautiful flower, petals far from wilting anytime soon.

the bike ride back was full of sheepish giggles and soft kisses on the back of his neck. but besides that, there was a lot of planning that went into what exactly you wanted to say. how do you tell a group of boys that you just bagged their best friend? you know they wouldn’t care, but the idea of jaehyun freaking out wasn’t impossible.

once you and woonhak got home, the two of you gathered the boys together in his room before intertwining your hands with one another and dropping the news. and as if you didn’t already predict the situation, you gave a teary - eyed jaehyun a panicked hug. 

“oh my god..” jaehyun sniffled into your shoulder, “i’m so happy for you guys!”

“you’re such a crybaby it’s not that big of a deal!” woonhak laughed, rubbing a hand on his back.

“dude, my boyfriend just got stripped from my grasp! why wouldn’t i cry?!” he joked in between sobs before you flicked his forehead.

“hey, just know if he ever fucks up i’d be glad to send him your way hyun.” you smile.

“bro, we’ve been dating for like 30 minutes! you’re already selling me away?”

“i mean, he’s your highest bidder, woonie.”

the rest of them were extremely accepting, poking fun at woonhak and praying for your sanity. because, while a relationship grew between you and him, a loving friendship also prospered with the rest. it felt too good to be true.

things continued along like history, many moments you and woonhak shared stowed in your happiest memories. 

dates were always frequent; you didn’t know how he could come up with so many ideas that never failed to make you blush. 

one time, he took you to the basketball court, revisiting his fondest recollection of hitting the high score in the arcade; dedicating every shot to you, even if he missed. his rebuttal was ‘i might’ve missed that shot, but i didn’t miss shooting my shot with you.’ this made the both of you audibly cringe, you threatening to tell jaehyun about his corny one - liner.

“baby, that might’ve been the cringiest thing you’ve ever told me.” you snicker, “i’m totally telling jae.”

“if you tell him i swear i’ll break up with you holy shit.” he whines out, throwing the basketball to the side and running towards you.

“you wouldn’t dare!” you gasp, waving your phone in front of his face.

he snatched the device from your hands, holding it out of reach, “who has the upper hand now?!”

“woon, you’re no fun.” you furrow your eyebrows as he kisses the fake pout on your face.

“but you love me, don’t you? it’s okay to admit it!” he teased.

even the most simple dates, like going out for dinner, he’d make the best nights of your life. insisting on trying everything on the menu until both of your stomachs hurt, then getting a discount from the nice old lady that found him cute. this also enabled a lot of teasing.

“i can’t believe she gave us twenty - five percent off because you’re cute! i can’t have old ladies trying to steal my boyfriend.” you roll your eyes amusingly.

“food tastes a lot better when it’s cheaper, i might have to start taking you there more often.”

“are you gonna take me there because you love treating me, or because you just want free food!”

“my lips are sealed.” he swipes his finger across his lips, pretending to lock them.

“let’s be honest, that old lady was probably jaehyun in a wig. only me and him find you that adorable.”

“normally i hate being cute but if it bags me a discount, i might have to do aegyo more often.” he shrugs.

“i might need you to log out for me…”

other times, whether you were tangled with him in the warmth of his sheets, cooking lunch for the rest of the boys, playing video games, or going shopping together, all of these things added up perfectly. there was a distinct kind of happiness that he gave you, releasing the utmost amount of dopamine in your brain.

but even with the romantization of these fairy tales, it never disregarded the much darker root. the original stories that didn’t get much of a happy ending. this sounded too deep for your liking, but over time things felt burnt out.

moments where he’d grin against your lips, unable to get enough of you, turned into an apologetic excuse to leave. over some time, his words became dry, and hangouts were less recurrent. this left you with the ill thought that maybe the petals of your relationship were wilting after all.

there was something happening, and you didn’t quite know what. woonhak grew more distant and dismissive, like he was hiding something. and while you tried your best to ignore it, nothing made much sense. to everyone else, he seemed to be acting completely fine.

then began the very long days where you were unsure what was going on, trying to act normal with a boy that was starting to feel unfamiliar to you.

light barely emit from your curtains that morning, leaving your sleepy body in the comfort of darkness. grabbing your phone, the glow of the screen illuminates your face. a groan fell from your lips as you quickly glanced at woonhak’s messages to see if he sent you anything, but all you were met with was texts from the night before left on read.

the absence of your boyfriend almost made your headache worse, knowing he was usually awake at this time, pounding on your window for attention. reminiscing made you dizzy, sitting up to let your feet hit the floor; they were cold from the ac blasting in attempt to battle the summer heat.

a lazy hand ran through your hair before messaging woonhak a simple, ‘good morning (or good afternoon since i woke up late), i love you!’ that was bound to be ignored.

you walked to your window, sliding the curtains down the rod above to let some sunlight in. in the house across from yours, you could see the silhouette of six boys through the sheer curtain. the sound of instruments coming from them was loud, but not distinguishable enough to dwell on.

they were practicing a lot more recently, and you remember how excited woonhak would be when he spoke to you about their music. it was admirable, and any of their talents were never disregarded. the sound stopped as quickly as it begun.

taking a seat on the window sill, you took out your phone again to message jaehyun, your platonic light in the dark. you often seeked advice from him when things were a little too much to handle.

‘hey, are you over at woon’s house right now?’

a notification came in quickly, him telling you that their practice just ended and that he was about to go back home. you asked him if he could come over for a bit, in hopes to confide in him about woonhak. 

three small bubbles popped up on the screen, lingering for a second before disappearing. there was silence in your messages for a couple minutes before the sound of a knock rattled your door. the doorknob twisted open as the boy peeked in, seeing you sitting at your window.

“oh shit that was quick, did my mom let you in?” you quirk an eyebrow as he pulls out your desk chair to sit down.

“you know how much she absolutely adores me, of course she let me in.”

you smiled at the memory of when you first introduced your mother to all of your friends. she immediately greeted them with handshakes and brought them all snacks. jae absolutely kissed ass for no particular reason at all.

for the remainder of the night, she couldn’t stop telling you about how cute everyone was, especially woonhak and jaehyun. 

“so, what’s up?” he questioned you as you moved yourself over to the foot of your bed.

“we need to talk about the obvious elephant in the room; why the fuck is woonhak avoiding me like the plague? did i do something to upset him?” you frown.

jaehyun’s expression twists into something unreadable, his eyes going wide and lips parting slightly, “wait, he’s been avoiding you?”

“i’ve never seen so many back to back read receipts, jae,” you grumbled, “please help me figure out what i did wrong!”

“y/n… i don’t think you did anything wrong, he just–” he sighed.

“he what?”

“listen, it’s really not my place to tell you. maybe try asking him about it?” he suggests, scratching the back of his head.

“so you know what’s going on, but you can’t tell me? i thought i was your favorite.” you pout half jokingly, “and asking him would never work, he barely messages me back anymore.”

“no, it’s not like that! i might have an idea, but it has nothing to do with you, i promise. i don’t know why he’s been weird about it, trust me.”

“it has seriously been eating me alive, can you help me think of a plan at least?” you sulk.

“why don’t you just go over to his house, knock on his door, and give him a piece of your mind?” jaehyun tells you.

“what if he sees me in the peephole and doesn’t let me in?” you ponder.

“man, you teenagers are so complicated. his spare key is under the front mat.” 

“jaehyun, are you forgetting that you’re also a teenager.. you’re barely older than all of us!” you argue, throwing a soft plush at his head.

“hey, no need to get violent! i’m just saying.” he picks up the plushie from the floor and chucks it back in your direction, barely missing.

“be serious then! if you know what’s going on, how should i approach it?”

“okay, okay, i’m sorry. y/n, i really think that you should just go over and try to talk to him. he has to come around sooner or later.” he leans his elbows above his knees, looking at you.

“fine, i’ll follow you out and stop by. do you think the rest of the boys are still there?” you plan.

“they shouldn’t be, leehan said him and riwoo were gonna stop by the fish store to pick up something for his aquarium. the rest are probably just going home.” he thinks for a second.

you poke your head to peek out the window, seeing woonhak sitting at his computer. “alright, i see him by himself. let’s go.”

“do you want me to wait here?” he added, seeing the nervous expression on your face.

“no, i’ll be fine, jae. you can go back home to your discord kittens.” you get up from your seat on your bed, jaehyun quickly following behind you down the stairs.

“dude, i don’t have discord kittens. not anymore, at least.”

“not anymore?” you laugh, slipping your shoes on.

“anyways! i hope things go well, i’m sure he’ll tell you.” he pat your shoulder.

“thank you jae, seriously. you’re kind of sweet, i guess.” you roll your eyes dramatically, watching him kick the stand of his bike and sit down.

“you’re welcome, i suppose. text me if you need anything, okay?” he calls out, starting down the street.

“i will!” you wave goodbye to him thankfully.

watching him blur into the distance, the weight of the situation starts to become heavier. it had been days since you and woonhak have properly spoken, what are you even thinking? swallowing down any doubts, you cross over to his house and knock on the front door. 

a minute passes with no response, enabling you to knock again a little louder. secon later, the sound of footsteps become prominent, and soon the door opens slightly revealing your disheveled boyfriend.

“hi baby, can i come in?” you ask calmly, trying your best not to ask about his physical state. 

“ah– i’m sorry y/n, i don’t think now is a good time. i was working on something.” he explains, staring at you in front of him.

“you haven’t really responded to any of my messages in a few days, i just miss you.” you bite the inside of your cheek.

“i know, i just– can you leave me alone for now? i’m really busy and don’t feel like talking.”

“oh, okay. that’s fine, just.. text me later, then?”

“i’ll see.” he says blankly, closing the door on you. it was sudden, making you feel flushed and embarrassed. not wanting to stand there like a fool, you begrudgingly walk back to your house.

every step you took felt burdensome, failing to realize what could be bothering woonhak so much. your hand felt weak as you opened the door back inside, closing it quickly after to escape the outside weather. you wondered why he didn’t want to talk to you at all.

you. his supposed girlfriend who is supposed to be there for every chapter of his life. assisting him in his ups, downs, discomforts; what was happening between the two of you? was it something you were supposed to read closely in between the lines to understand? these thoughts swarmed your head.

it was then that the pounding in your head became prominent as you threw yourself back into the comfort of your blankets. being alone with your own thoughts made the tears begin to pour out, letting puddles of your sadness dampen your pillow case. 

everything came crawling back to bite you in the ass, all these suppressed feelings overruling you. all the sadness you felt from this stupid situation drowning you. and in your room, you sat there forever, choking in your own sorrows.

there was still a painful ache gnawing at your body when you woke up. you were in a cold sweat, face still hot. the glare from your alarm clock read nine forty - five pm. the street lights peered through your open window as you rub your eyes to adjust to the darkness.

part of your memory was still hazy from just waking up, and you didn’t remember when you fell asleep. there was still a wet spot engraved on your pillow from crying. you exhale annoyingly, before your phone vibrated your night stand.

once you grab your phone, the brightness almost blinds you. swiping up to turn down the brightness, you see two notifications that lay idly on your home screen, each a few minutes apart. 

‘hey are you awake?’

‘i wanna talk to you.’

as your eyes scan through the messages, you were soon interrupted with the small patter against your window. the sound made you jump slightly, getting up from your bed to check below. when you slide the glass upwards, you see woonhak standing in the grass with his hands in his pockets.

“do you think you can come down?” woonhak says sheepishly.

“oh uhm– yeah, i’ll come down. sorry, i just woke up.” you mumble.

“okay, i’ll be on your porch.” he tells you, walking off towards the front of your house.

after closing your window, you reach over to pull your phone off the charger and scramble down the stairs. the rest of the house was dark, so you quietly let yourself outside, not bothering to put on any shoes except your slippers. 

woonhak stood a short distance away from the bottom step, looking visibly uncomfortable. his lips pulled into a slight smile when you stepped down to meet him. you noticed that his hair was messy, and there were dark circles forming underneath his eyes.

“hi, pretty, are you okay?” he spoke, breaking the silence.

“i think so, i’m just so confused.” you avert your eyes from his, in an attempt not to cry again.

“i’m an idiot, y/n, i know. but i want to explain everything to you now, okay?” 

“then please tell me what the fuck i did wrong for you to treat me like i didn’t exist.” your words were like fire, starting to feel more angry than sad.

“you didn’t do anything wrong, y/n, i just– there’s something i haven’t been able to tell you because i know it’s going to kill you.” he exhales deeply.

“are you cheating on me..?” you stutter out, feeling like you were going to vomit at the idea.

“oh my god, no, of course not! i love you so much, i could never do that.” 

“then spit it out, woonhak.”

he paused for a second, taking in a deep breath. “about three weeks ago, jaehyun got an email from a company in korea. in the email, they explained that they were scouting for idols to be in a boy group under their entertainment. we sent them some of our demos and ahm– they really wanted to work with us.”

“holy shit, baby, thats amazing! why did you keep that from me for so long?” 

“i just didn’t know how to tell you that we can’t stay here, y/n.”

“woonhak.. what are you saying?” your heart drops suddenly.

“we have to leave for korea tomorrow. not just me, all six of us.” he fell silent.

“what?”

© 2023 minkkumaz, all rights reserved support your writers by reblogging + giving feedback! it is greatly encouraged and appreciated. thank you! → why feedback + reblogging is so important. ~ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ if you'd like, donate to minkkumaz !

THE DAY I MET YOU series

[luvdsc]

august.

Bad habits are hard to break, and you’ve made a terrible one of loving him.

pairing :: liu yangyang x reader genre :: fluff, angst ⋮ best friend + college au word count :: 10,500 words warnings :: none. playlist :: time lapse (taeyeon) ⋆ 2 kids (taemin) ⋆ daydreams (exes) ⋆ sharing you (lany) ⋆ august (taylor swift) ⋆ too close to love (will hyde) ⋆ sad stripped (lany) ⋆ strangers (taemin) ⋆ the 1 (taylor swift) author’s note :: can you believe that i literally wrote this entire 10k fic in one day aka today ??? whew this gave me the same rush that i got when i wrote my research paper in the class it was due for the day of, printed it out during break, and handed it in at the end of class :’) ↳ part of the almost collaboration series.

Liu Yangyang is jumping fences to escape late night parties, shared laughter over childhood favorite cartoons on February mornings, midnight dancing in the refrigerator light, and November kisses stolen in between the shelves of the nearby 7-Eleven. He is obscure doodles in the margins of your physics notes, good intentions laced in December’s mistakes, strawberry lemonade and broken truths wrapped in summer bliss, and September endings with honest lies.

He is your August, he is your everything, but he isn’t yours.

AUGUST 2018.

August has barely begun to fade away.

You’re eighteen years old, and you’re drunk off of your first taste of freedom, one toe already dipping into the shiny pleasures of adulthood. Your new roommate, Karina, has excitedly told you about the famous beach night themed frat party that kick starts every school year at your university. Everybody who’s anybody would be there, and your heart already races at the thought of going to your very first college party.

“Coral or blue?” Karina holds up a solid colored neon blue bikini and a striped, bright pink one for you to choose between.

“Blue.” You nod towards the first option, and she discards the other one back into the open drawer. You pull out a marigold yellow one and a black one lined with white strings, wordlessly gesturing towards them, and she immediately points to the latter.

“That one is gonna look so cute on you. Well, both would, but I love that one.”

You grin at her, silently thanking whoever decided to pair the two of you together for the random dorming. “Perfect, thanks. Do you know any of the guys hosting the party?”

“Yeah, Dejun? He’s really sweet and a year above us. I met him in the music elective I’m taking.” She turns to take off her shirt and tosses it to the side, pulling on her bikini and wriggling into a pair of ripped jean shorts. “You?”

“Kind of? Jaemin is in my project group in Intro to Engineering. He’s rushing for that frat.” You quickly change out of your outfit and into your chosen swim top and daisy dukes. You make sure to grab a pair of black flip flops from your closet. The bundle of nerves in your stomach grows as you step out of your dorm with your new friend, a bit anxious but also excited to attend your very first party.

Thank goodness for summer weather. It’s still a nice, warm 75 degrees Fahrenheit according to your weather app when you and Karina finally make your way to the frat house. The sun barely begins to set, but the party slash dayger had started earlier and is in full swing. There’s a DJ set up out front, blasting some sort of EDM music, and the lawn is absolutely covered in foam. You see the source of it shakily set up on the roof of the patio along with a couple of boys sitting up there, Hawaiian shirts barely covering their figures. You catch the eye of Jaemin, who happily waves at you from his vantage point, and you wave back at him.

“Oh my god, I love college,” Karina says, grabbing your arm excitedly as the two of you step into the foam. You reach down to pick up some of it before flicking it towards your roommate, who squeals before scooping some up and throwing it in your direction as well.

“Ready for our first shitty college drink?” You pull her through the mass of other students and towards the horribly decorated tiki bar stationed in the corner of the patio.

“Hell yeah, let’s do it.”

The two of you stumble over, still throwing handfuls of foam at each other amidst giggles before making a full stop in front of the bar. The older boy behind the makeshift counter lazily grins at you both, a shell necklace hanging loosely around his neck, and his unbuttoned orange Hawaiian shirt gives you a nice flash of his toned abs.

“Hey, I’m Johnny. What can I get for you two?”

“Two vodka shots, please.”

“Alright, ID?”

You freeze, and Karina’s grip on your arm tightens, and then Johnny laughs, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Relax, I’m just messing with you, freshie. Two vodka shots coming right up.”

He pulls out two small plastic cups and pours out the drinks for you. “How many do you want?”

“This is good for now, thanks.” You and Karina pick up the drinks, smiling a little nervously at him. He flashes another amused smile at you. “Alright, come back anytime if you want another.”

You move away from the patio, and Karina follows close behind. The two of you throw back the drinks and dispose of the empty cups quickly. The burning sensation in your throat disappears after a few seconds, and you turn to your roommate. “Should we find our friends?”

“I think I see Dejun back there! Let’s go say hi, I can introduce you to him.” Karina drags you through the rising foam, the bubbles clinging to your skin, and when you go past the DJ stand, you feel the pounding bass reverberating in your chest harder than ever. You trek past the gate and into the backyard where the foam has risen to your waist, thanks to the enclosed fences. She taps on the shoulder of a boy with the prettiest almond eyes you have ever seen, and you shyly smile at him when he greets you.

“Hey, I’m Dejun.”

Oh my god, even his voice sounds pretty. Older college boys are definitely better and hotter than high school boys. Heck, they’re better than freshman boys. Nobody wants to date a freshman dude, not even the freshman girls.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.” You extend your hand, but then realize how stupid that must be. You hastily start to retract your hand, but he laughs and warmly grasps your hand. Smiling at you, he shakes it firmly, squeezing your hand gently before letting go.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.”

The butterflies in your stomach grow in volume as the conversation goes on, and you’re positively enamored by the end of the night. Karina had given you a look earlier before walking off with Dejun’s friend and joining the dancing crowd. With the addition of his phone number in your pocket and a promise to show you a new song he’s working on with his guitar next Friday, you’re walking on cloud nine.

“Do you want something to drink? I need a refill, and I can go grab you one,” he asks, and you’re about to offer to go with him, but then you remember the teasing upperclassman and simply agree, asking for another shot of vodka.

After he disappears, you look around, eyeing the crowd and wondering if you can spot your roommate anywhere. You bump into someone lightly and turn around to apologize. Your eyes meet a pair of curiously bright ones.

“Sorry about that, I’m looking for my roomie.”

The boy gives you a Cheshire Cat grin. He’s wearing one of those dumb Hawaiian shirts, too, and it’s unbuttoned, but he has a white T-shirt layered underneath it. “No biggie, it’s a massive party and it’s crowded. Who are you looking for?”

“Ah, I don’t know if you know her, but Karina? She went off with this dude, Kunhang, I think?”

His eyes light up at that name. “Oh, I know him! I saw him earlier by the keg stands inside. Your friend might be there, too. I can—”

“THE COPS ARE COMING!” A loud voice bellows, and you freeze up. Suddenly, the music is shut off as everyone starts running away. You start to panic, the terror rising in your chest, and the boy in front of you grabs your hand and pulls you with him. “What are you doing?! Don’t just stand there! We gotta go!”

“Wait, but Kar—” You start to object, but cut yourself off when you bump into his back as he abruptly stops. He scans the backyard, quickly assessing the situation before turning to you.

“There’s way too many people trapped in here, we’re not gonna make it to the gate. We need to climb over the fence. I’ll hoist you up, and you can help me up from there.”

“I don’t even know you,” you protest, and he throws you a look.

“Hi, I’m Yangyang, nice to meet you, I don’t want to get my ass hauled out by the police and continue the icebreakers in jail, so let’s move now. We good?”

“Yeah, okay, we’re good,” you say faintly, mind still whirling around as you try to grasp the situation. “I’m Y/N.”

“Great, now up you go.”

He immediately picks you up without any warning, and you almost fall backwards, arms flailing before you grasp the top of the fence and pull yourself up. Balancing precariously on top of it, you grab his arm, tugging him up until he’s sitting right next to you, too. The both of you swing your legs over the fence and jump down to the other side. You let out a sigh of relief, squatting down as you clutch your heart.

“Oh my god, we made it. I didn’t get arrested at my first party.”

“What an amazing accomplishment.” Yangyang brushes off the back of his shorts. “We aren’t going to jail. Freshman year is gonna be a breeze if your bar is set this low.”

“Hey!” You frown at him, standing up and crossing your arms over your chest. “How do you know I’m a freshman?”

“It’s written all over your face.” You give him a look, and he relents. “Only a freshman would be this scared of getting caught.”

“So are you an upperclassman?”

“Nah, this is my first party, too. I’m rushing for Nu Chi. Hold on, wait here.” He sneaks around the edge of the fence, peering around for a few seconds before jogging back towards you. “Okay, the police are over there. I’m gonna have to wait a while before going back in.”

“You have to go back?”

“Part of tonight’s rush process,” he sighs before turning to you. “Do you live on campus?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna walk back now,” you answer, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “It’s late, and I’m not in a partying mood anymore.”

“I can walk you back,” he offers, and you shoot him a grateful smile.

“That’d be great, thanks.”

The two of you start the trek back, an awkward lull in the conversation making itself known. You wrap your arms around yourself, shivering slightly when a soft breeze picks up. There’s a light rustling noise, and you pay no mind to it until a soft cloth is draped over your shoulders. Eyes widening, you notice the colorful, palm tree-printed button down shirt wrapped around you and the boy next to you, looking straight ahead with his hands shoved into his pockets. Smiling to yourself, you slip on the shirt, loosely buttoning the front of it.

“So, Yangyang,” you casually begin, testing his name on your tongue for the first time. You decide you like it. It’s cute. He turns to you, raising an eyebrow, and you continue, “Since our lives are no longer in jeopardy, we can continue the icebreakers, right?”

His lips curve into a smile. “Alright, shoot. What’s your first question?”

“Captain America or Iron Man?”

“Oh, Iron Man, hands down. He’s so…”

You meet him in August.

FEBRUARY 2019.

“Hey, where’s your cereal? The Reese’s one?”

February marks six months of your relationship with Dejun. It also marks six months of your friendship with Yangyang. It is time for your weekly Sunday rituals of watching old cartoons and eating breakfast, and you could’ve sworn that box was still half full last week. You rummage through the top drawer Yangyang had designated for snacks and other foods in his dorm as he takes out the milk from his mini fridge and carries it over to his desk.

“I ran out a few days ago. There’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch somewhere in there though.���

With a victorious cry, you manage to pull out the slightly crushed box of the aforementioned cereal from underneath the packages of flamin’ hot Cheetos and spicy nacho Doritos and triumphantly bring it over to your best friend. He already pulls out two bowls (which were stolen from the dining hall) and hands over the plastic spoons in his grasp (which was also taken from the dining hall).

“Thanks.” After dropping a spoon into each bowl, you shake out the sugary cereal squares before pouring the milk because you’re not an absolute heathen who puts milk in first, like Sicheng. Yangyang clambers up to his top bunk bed, and you carefully pass over the two bowls of cereal, milk sloshing precariously near the edges. You climb up afterwards, and he gives you your bowl once you settle down.

“So, Scooby Doo or Pokémon?”

“Mm, we watched Pokémon last Sunday already, so let’s do Scooby Doo this time.” He nods in agreement, pulling up the cartoon from the queue in Netflix, and the two of you lean back against the ginormous mound of pillows and stuffed animals of his that occupy nearly half of his bed.

You’re shoveling a spoonful of cereal into your mouth when he casually asks, “So how’re you and Dejun doing?”

Choking slightly, you quickly swallow. “We’re doing good. I think he booked a table at the Italian restaurant down the street for Valentine’s Day. Are you doing anything for Valentine’s?”

“I’m forcing Renjun to come watch that “��Happy Death Day’ movie with me.” The faint sounds of the Scooby Doo theme song plays in the background as you hum in acknowledgement, mouth twisting into a mischievous smirk.

“That’s so sweet. So who confessed to who? Not gonna lie, I thought you had a crush on Hyuck, not Jun.”

“... I would shove you right now, but I just did my laundry, and rewashing my comforter is expensive and I’m out of quarters.”

You stick your tongue out at him, and he rolls his eyes before lifting his bowl up to sip the best part of having Cinnamon Toast Crunch: the milk infused with all the cinnamony, sugary goodness. You let your spoon fall back into your bowl with a soft clink, a sudden worrying thought popping into your head.

“I bought him some customized guitar picks and a pretty composition book. Do you think he’ll like it?”

“That’s a pretty basic gift, isn’t it? It feels like something Kun would get him,” he teases, but his heart falls when he notices you chewing on your bottom lip, spoon held limply in your hand.

“Hey, I’m just joking, of course he would like it. He’s completely whipped. He’ll love anything from you.” Yangyang’s voice grows softer, and he fiddles with a stray thread on his comforter, avoiding eye contact with you. “I know I would.”

He looks up slightly and sees you smiling gratefully at him, eyes shining bright. He quickly ducks his head, turning away slightly to hide the hues of pink blooming on his cheeks. He feels you leaning over to rest your head on his shoulder with a quiet sigh, and his breath hitches in his throat.

“Thanks, Yang.”

Replaying the sight of your smile in his mind makes his stomach flip flop, and he resists the overwhelming urge to tell you you’re pretty, pushing it back into the farthest crevice of his mind.  Your head on his shoulder makes him feel like he’s carrying the entire world, and he doesn’t know what to do. He paints on a tight smile of his own, silently hoping you can’t hear the way his heart nearly pounds out of his chest.

Yangyang knows that having feelings for his best friend, specifically one of his good friends’ girlfriends, is something he absolutely should not be doing, but he can’t help it. His stupid heart refuses to listen to his brain. For now, all he can do is desperately hope that this dumb crush of his goes away soon because while 99% of his friends are oblivious (including you), Ten and Donghyuck are not. They’ll be able to spot his feelings from a mile away, like how Kun always knows when there’s a good sale going on at the Asian supermarket downtown (This week, it was the 50% off bean sprouts and chili paste).

Letting out an inaudible sigh, Yangyang carefully rests his head on top of yours. Clutching the empty bowl with one hand, he shoves his other one under his thigh to stop himself from reaching over and tangling his fingers with yours. He stares at the screen, watching until the bright colors blur together.

“Anytime.”

He likes you in February.

AUGUST 2019.

The earth spins around the sun for another time, and August makes its presence known once again. It’s Thursday night, and you’re sitting on the countertop in Nu Chi Theta’s kitchen, swinging your legs back and forth as Yangyang struggles to make some scrambled eggs because the half filled carton of eggs the two of you managed to find is the only thing that isn’t expired (besides Jeno’s protein shakes, but neither of you are gonna touch that cardboard tasting monstrosity).

“Maybe I should make it.” You peer over at the frying pan, wincing when you see the full damage of your future meal. “Did you use oil?”

“Of course I did!” he exclaims indignantly before pitifully pushing around the nearly charred mess of yolk and whites around with his spatula. “I’m not Mark.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you mutter, waving your hand around to dissipate the acrid burning smell, and Yangyang throws you a dirty look. He grabs a fork and stabs a small chunk of the eggs. Picking it up, he brings it closer to his mouth before hesitating. His eyes dart to you, and you raise your eyebrows at him, a silent challenge in your gaze. The sad piece of egg hovers in the air for a few more seconds before he defeatedly drops it back into the pan.

“Okay, what if we just Uber Eats some McDonald’s?” Turning off the stove, he then tosses the remnants of his cooking into the trash and drops the pan into the sink.

“Stellar plan. Best idea you’ve had all night.” You hop off the counter to stand next to him, propping your chin on his shoulder to see him pull up the app. He immediately puts in your usual order along with his before holding it up for you to see it better.

“Looks good?”

“Looks perfect.”

He clicks the confirmation button, and the delivery is set to come in 30 minutes. You’re suddenly hyper aware of how close you are with your chest pressed against his back and hastily move away, warmth spreading across your cheeks.

Glancing over at your best friend, you don't miss the way Yangyang smiles down at something on his phone before his fingers fly across the screen. When he looks up, you immediately turn away, focusing your eyes on anything but him.

“Hey, you’re going to the Alpha Sig formal, right?” Yangyang calls out, and you throw on a teasing grin.

“You mean Alpha Sigma Psi, also known as the sorority I’m in?”

“Ah, right, yeah.” He flushes, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “But you’re going, right?”

You nod, the sudden realization creeping up on you. “Oh yeah, I am, thanks for reminding me. I completely forgot to ask, but do you want t—”

“Ningning just asked me to go with her,” Yangyang blurts out, and you freeze, failing to hide your shock for a split second before you regain your composure.

“Oh wow, that’s great, Yang! I’ll see you there then.” You try to give him a convincing smile. He wrings his hands, biting his bottom lip. Something is on his mind. You can tell. He’s not someone to hold back with his words, but this time, he is.

“I… I don’t know if I’m gonna go,” he says at last. Your heart picks up a little at that. Does that mean he doesn’t want to go to the dance at all? Or does he not want to go with Ningning? If you asked him now, would it make a difference?

“I’ve never slow danced,” he confesses, leaning against the opposite counter, and your heart drops. So that was it. Of course, he wouldn’t reject Ningning. She’s an absolute goddess, heck, you wouldn’t say no if she asked you either. You stamp out that last flicker of hope.

“What if I suck at it?” he continues, absentmindedly carding his fingers through his hair. “Oh god, I bet Yukhei and Kunhang are never gonna let me live it down. I can do choreographed dances, but I’m gonna mess up over a stupid slow dance. But where am I supposed to put my hands?! Like on her shoulders? Her waist? Do I hold her hand?”

Your eyes follow the way his hair ruffles slightly, and you wonder if it’s as soft as it looks. You swallow hard before saying quietly, “I can teach you?”

His hand pauses mid-movement, and your eyes fly down to meet his. His eyes widen, and he contemplates your offer for a split second before nodding excitedly. “Yeah, that’d be great! Can you teach me right now? While we wait for our food to come!”

“S-sure,” you stammer, flustered at the sudden acceptance and his eagerness. “Um, here? In the kitchen?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugs before straightening up. “The lights should be dimmed, right? We can kind of mimic that here to set the mood or whatever.”

He goes over and fiddles with the light switch, flicking it on and off, and you laugh, walking over and placing your hand over his. “What are you doing? Some kind of Kevin Nguyen mating call to look for a rave bae?”

“First off, I’m offended that you think I’d be one of them,” Yangyang narrows his eyes at you. “Secondly, I’m trying to make this feel more formal dance-y. Oh, wait!”

He turns off the lights for the last time and reaches over to pull open the refrigerator doors, the artificial fluorescent light pouring out and mixing with the faint beams coming in through the window from the street lamps outside. He grins at you, satisfied. “Romantic, huh?”

You roll your eyes, but the amused smile on your face gives away your true feelings. “Wow, Romeo, you swept me off my feet. The food is gonna go bad, and Kun is gonna kill you for the high electricity bill.”

“What food? Jeno’s protein shakes probably never expire.” He snorts before standing closer to you, his hands resting on either side of you on the counter. You can see the pretty gold flecks in his irises, and your breath gets caught in your throat. “And I guess this means you gotta teach me fast before we waste more electricity, right?”

You place your hands on his chest and lightly push him away, and he laughs, stepping back. You let out a shaky breath, remembering that your lungs need oxygen in order to, you know, continue living.

“Okay,” you clear your throat before pulling out your phone and putting on a slow song. “Ready?”

“You chose Ed Sheeran? Thinking Out Loud? Really?”

You raise your hands up defensively. “Hey, he’s the king of sappy slow songs that all girls want to be played at their weddings for their first dance.”

When your legs don't work like they used to before,

And I can't sweep you off of your feet,

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

“Is this the song you want played at your wedding?” He raises an eyebrow at you, and your face grows warm. You ignore the question, and this time, you’re the one taking a bold step forward, a few centimeters now separating you and your best friend. You see his Adam’s apple bob as he gulps lightly before meeting your eyes.

And darling, I will be loving you 'til we're seventy,

And baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three,

And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways.

“So, your hands go here.” You take his hands and place them on either side of your waist. His arms freeze up. “Relax, Yang. Precious cargo here.”

He lets out a chuckle, loosening his grip as he starts to relax. You reach up and slide your arms around his neck, interlocking your fingers. You gaze back at him, saying softly, “Now pull me closer.”

He does so.

Maybe just the touch of a hand,

Oh me I fall in love with you every single day,

And I just wanna tell you I am.

“And now follow my lead. We’re going to take one step. And then another. We’re just slowly turning in a circle.”

After a few spins and steps, you stop leading and let yourself be led. Yangyang continues to hold onto you carefully, and you can hear him muttering a 1, 2, 3, 4 count under his breath until he finally gets the hang of it. He grows a little braver, pulling you even closer.

So honey now,

Take me into your loving arms,

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.

“Are you going with Dejun?” he asks quietly, and you stiffen at the mention at him before shaking your head.

“No, we broke up in July.”

Yangyang falters in his step before recovering. “Oh. You never told me.”

“Yeah.” You struggle to keep your voice level. “I just… he’s your friend, and I didn’t want to make it weird.”

“You’re my best friend though,” he says firmly, looking you directly in the eyes. His grip on your waist tightens. “It’s his loss. That dumbass just lost the best person who’ll ever come into his life.”

You give him a tired half smile, one that doesn’t quite meet your eyes. He hugs you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist and securing you against his chest. You rest your head in the crook of his neck and hope that he doesn’t feel how quickly your heart beats in your chest.

Place your head on my beating heart,

I'm thinking out loud,

Maybe we found love right where we are.

“Thanks, Yang,” you whisper, your breath tickling his skin. He envelops you tightly, and the two of you continue to spin in slow circles, quietly dancing in the refrigerator light as the remaining verses of the song warble in the background.

You think you finally understand what Dejun meant when he said he’s breaking up with you because your heart was already occupied by someone else.

You fall in love with him in August.

NOVEMBER 2019.

[ 12:54 a.m. ] yang 🐏🤪: hey you up?

[ 12:54 a.m. ] yang 🐏🤪: 7/11 in ten mins?

Tiredly rubbing your eyes, you stumble out of your dorm building, one of Jeno’s sweaters draped over your figure. November nights are cold, but this one seems chillier than usual. Yangyang stands near the front steps, and he stiffens up when he notices whose hoodie you’re wearing. He makes no mention of it though when you join him.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” He glances over to you as the two of you walk side by side to the small convenience store just on the edge of campus. You shake your head, shoving your hands into the front pocket of your sweater.

“I was up cramming for midterms. I could use a break anyway,” you shrug. A wisp of your hair falls in your face, and Yangyang starts to reach out to fix it, but forces himself to keep his hand by his side. You reach out to carelessly brush it away, tucking it behind your ear.

“What about you?” You look over at him, noting the bags under his eyes. “Rough night?”

He smiles tiredly at you, shoving his hands into his pockets as he kicks a stray pebble along the sidewalk. “More like rough week. Two more midterms left, and they’re for electromagnetic theory and linear systems.”

“Oh god, good luck. I took linear systems today, and it was absolutely brutal.” You wince, brightening up when you see the familiar neon orange, red, and green lights up ahead.

“Maybe I should just withdraw and take it again next quarter,” your best friend grumbles, kicking the stone as far as he possibly can.

“You really want another quarter with Hwang?”

“You’re right,” he sighs, “I just need to get a C+ to maintain my GPA. C if I’m pushing it.”

The two of you hurry over to the 7-Eleven, quickening your pace, until you reach the store doors, and you pull them open. Entering quickly, you push the door open slightly wider, and Yangyang slips in behind you. The cashier doesn’t even look up, texting away on his phone. You make a beeline towards the chips aisle, grabbing a bag of flamin’ hot Cheetos and a pack of sour gummy worms.

“What are you getting, Yang?” You call out over your shoulder, eyes zeroing in on the Red Bull stand at the end of the aisle. When you hear no response, you halt in your steps, turning around. Yangyang stands in the middle of the aisle, looking dazed under the fluorescent lights.

Putting your items back on the shelf, you approach him, reaching out and touching his arm gently. “Yangyang, what’s wrong?”

He jerks back before silently holding up his phone for you to see. There’s a slew of text messages from Ningning a few hours ago, and a quick scan tells you all you need to know. Your heart weighs heavily in your chest when you look back at him, a forlorn expression on his face.

“She dumped me,” he says quietly, shoving the phone back into his pocket. “She said our relationship was like a friendship. She didn’t feel anything. She said we could still be friends if I wanted to be though.”

He jabs a large bag of Lays potato chips angrily as his voice raises slightly higher. “But I don’t get it. Do friends take each other on dates? Do friends spend the night? Do friends hug each other and hold hands walking to class? Do friends spend three hundred dollars to do a surprise weekend trip for their birthday?”

He whirls around to face you, and he’s so close that you can see those pretty golden sparkles in his eyes again. Suddenly, his hands are cupping your face, and the next thing you know, he’s kissing you. Your eyes widen for a fraction of a second before they flutter shut, and you press your lips against his. The 90s pop station music playing overhead seems to fade away, and all you can focus on is that your best friend tastes like spearmint gum and grape soju. He pulls away abruptly, the realization of what he’s done finally hitting him as his chest heaves up and down.

“Do friends kiss like this?”

His voice is barely a whisper, but it cuts through the silence. You feel like you’re spinning out of control, a split second from careening and crashing.

“No, we—they don’t,” you mumble, and Yangyang sees the starstruck look in your eyes, and he wants to apologize: to say sorry for kissing you. But he doesn’t. Because for some reason, he doesn’t feel sorry. He closes his eyes, curling his hands into fists before exhaling slowly. He sees you looking back at him this time, and he wonders if you feel as equally lost as he does.

Because you’re right. Friends don’t kiss each other like that. Friends don’t feel like this about each other.

He kisses you in November.

AUGUST 2020.

The sun still shines bright late into the day, and August greets you like an old friend. You’re absentmindedly doodling in the margins of your notebook designated for Quantum Mechanics. Yangyang sits next to you in the lecture hall, making a bunch of origami cranes before tossing them at Renjun’s head right in front of him. When the bird reaches its target for the sixth time in a row, the annoyed boy whirls around in his seat, glaring at your best friend.

“Stop that,” he hisses, and Yangyang innocently raises his hands in the air. Renjun angrily frowns at him before turning back around in his seat. After a few minutes, Yangyang flicks another crane towards his friend. If this was a cartoon, you would see steam blowing out of your friend’s ears. You silently watch as he wordlessly picks up his phone, seething as he presses on a particular number.

Suddenly, Travis Scott’s SICKO MODE starts blasting, amplified by the large auditorium-like room. The professor goes silent, and everyone turns to see Yangyang scrambling to pick up his phone. He fumbles around for a few seconds with it before finally shutting it off and putting it on vibrate mode. Cheeks burning red, he meekly puts his phone back in his bag and squeaks out a “sorry” before sinking down in his chair (You can see the culprit grinning like the cat ate the canary right in front of him. Karma’s a bitch who also goes by the name of Renjun).

You pat his arm consolingly as he sulks next to you for a few minutes, mouth jutting out into a pout. You decide to take pity on him and lean closer to him, whispering quietly, “Would it make you feel better if I bought you boba after class?”

Immediately, he brightens up. “One oolong milk tea, half sugar with white pearls and coconut jelly?”

“Yes, I’ll pay for your overpriced drink,” you huff, thinking about how his one seven dollar drink could buy you a whole rotisserie chicken that’ll last you a week. At least the fluffy dog at Cloudy with a Chance of Boba is cute and fun to play with. “I’ll even get the honey waffle fries.”

“Heck yeah!” he whisper-yells, fist pumping quietly before he suddenly deflates. “Wait, I can’t. I promised Lia I’d get lunch with her.”

Ah, right, there’s Lia now. Yangyang’s new girlfriend: the only other student who went to Düsseldorf, Germany to study abroad over the summer, and inevitably, the two of them became close. All you really know about her is that she’s pretty, she’s in Iota Theta Zeta, and she followed you on Instagram a few weeks ago (of course, you followed her back because of the unspoken best friend and girlfriend policy).

Her page looks carefully curated, and there’s a common pink tinted theme going on throughout her feed. She has over a thousand followers, and it seems like Yangyang fits perfectly in her magazine curated life, judging by how he occupies nearly every picture taken in the summer with her or how he’s tagged as the photographer. You can’t deny that they look good together, pointedly shoving the green eyed monster back under the bed.

You take a peek at your messy Instagram page where you only post pictures when you’re half drunk, so there’s no semblance of uniformity anywhere. You shrug at him, pocketing your phone.

“No biggie. I’ll see if Karina is up for some boba. She’s been holed up in the dance studio already, and it’s only week two of classes, can you believe it?”

“I remember Ten was the same way,” Yangyang hums, eyes fixated on his phone and fingers tapping away. He laughs quietly, lips curling into a pretty smile, and you glance over curiously.

“What’s so funny?”

“Hmm?” Yangyang finally tears his eyes away from his screen for a split second to look at you before another buzz takes his attention away. He’s distracted, lovestruck, and you wistfully smile before turning back to your notes.

“Sorry, what’d you say earlier?” he loudly whispers a few minutes later, and you barely glance up from the large bulbasaur doodle you’re in the progress of completing right next to the chart marking the wave functions for a bouncing ball that you had copied down from the blackboard.

“Oh, I just asked what was so funny,” you murmur, coloring in the flowers you drew around the Pokémon with your blue ballpoint pen.

He looks confused for a moment before lighting up. “Oh! It was just a German joke. It’s not really funny if I translate it though.”

“Got it, no worries.” You notice the professor starting a new example problem, and you abandon your drawing, focusing on the formulas rapidly filling up the chalkboards in front of you. A quiet chuckle echoes in your ears, and you pause in your note taking to look over and see your best friend still typing on his phone. You make a mental reminder to create a copy of your notes for him later on when you pass the library on the way to the dining hall.

“Hey, Y/N.” Yangyang nudges you gently. “Rain check on the boba?”

You offer him a soft smile. “Of course. Anytime.”

He gives you a quick grin in return before his attention returns to the device in his hand—or rather, the pretty girl behind those texts. Your best friend is sitting right next to you, but you’ve never felt so far away. You know distance makes the heart grow fonder, but you don’t think it’s possible to be even fonder of him than you are now. Bad habits are hard to break, and you’ve made a terrible one of loving him. No wonder it’s beginning to hurt so much.

You lose him in August.

DECEMBER 2020.

December is the coldest month of the year, yet it is also simultaneously the warmest with all the holiday festivities it brings. If Yangyang were to choose a month to describe you, it’d be this one. You are a walking paradox, a conundrum he might never solve, an oxymoron come to life. He doesn’t understand how you can be his best friend, yet feel like a stranger; a friend who he wants as a lover; someone who has created such an impact in his life, but disappears seamlessly here and there.

He wonders when you’ve gotten so distant. He wonders why he never noticed the way you seemed to slip away through the cracks until it’s now nearing the end of the year, and the last time he’s seen you in person was before the November autumn break.

But you’re here.

You’re standing right next to the punch bowl filled with spiked eggnog, wearing a garish knitted button down jumper with brightly colored Christmas lights decorating it. It’s perfectly in theme with the Ugly Christmas Sweater party Nu Chi is holding, and Yangyang is beyond ecstatic to know that you’re attending. He had texted you an invite two weeks ago, and you merely reacted with a thumbs up.

Yangyang swears he was going to follow up with you on that, but he got so caught up with midterms, then meeting Lia’s family for Thanksgiving, then studying for finals, and then finally, preparing for this party. Buying enough beer for twenty-three keg stands is a lot more difficult than it seems (Donghyuck’s car broke down halfway during one trip, and they all had to carry back the packs of beers to the house in 40 degree weather in their Sperry boat shoes and Patagonia long sleeves that definitely weren’t cut out for this kind of weather).

His girlfriend is somewhere in the room, wearing the other half of the reindeer sweater she forced him to put on, but all he can focus on is you. He hurriedly makes his way over, skidding to a stop in front of you, and you’re startled before a smile spreads across your face.

“Hey, you, I haven’t seen you in a while.” You grin at him, reaching out to poke the reindeer tail sticking out from the front of his itchy sweater (Lia got to wear the head half of the reindeer, while he was stuck with the behind).

“Yeah, how have you been?” He reaches around you to pick up a cup and pour himself some eggnog. He offers you one, but you decline with a small shake of your head.

“I’ve been doing good, a bit tired with finals coming up, but what’s new?” You joke, grabbing one of the sugar cookies from the table. You’re secretly surprised that they actually have real food (No, Hyuck, Jell-O shots do not count as real food). You suspect Jaemin has something to do with it. He always contributes to the annual Greek row bake sale.

“Are you here with someone? Did Karina come?” he asks, curiosity coating every word. He looks around for your roommate, but she’s nowhere to be found.

You shake your head. “No, I actually came with—”

“Me!”

Yukhei bounds over, slipping an arm over your shoulder. He hands you a new cup of apple cider, which you accept gratefully. He grins happily at Yangyang, who freezes up at the sight of his tall friend. “I asked her to be my date for the party, and she agreed. She also made our sweaters! Aren’t they so cool? There’s even lights that spell my name and play Christmas songs. She did a bunch of cool programming tricks to make them work.”

Yangyang realizes with a start that the two of you are indeed wearing matching sweaters, and that leaves a rather sour taste in his mouth (and it definitely wasn’t because of expired eggnog). The corners of his lips tilt downward as he presses his lips together tightly.

“So… you two are together?” He gestures between you and Yukhei with a forced laugh. Jealousy never did look good on anybody, and unfortunately, he’s not an exception.

“We’re just seeing each other and seeing how it goes for now,” you answer quietly, noting the way your best friend reacts. You have always been good at reading him, and you tread carefully now, not wanting to make a scene. Drunk Yangyang never holds anything back, and he’s had quite a few pre-game shots already (It definitely doesn’t help that he’s a lightweight, too).

“I see. How did you guys meet? Or I guess, start talking?” He attempts to look intimidating, staring down at Yukhei, but it’s a difficult feat to accomplish, especially when he’s trying to stare down a six foot guy who’s more like an overgrown puppy and his friend.

“Oh, she came by for one of your boba runs, but you were still out with Lia. So I asked if I could go with her.” Yukhei flashes his pearly whites at you, and you chuckle, leaning your head against his shoulder.

“I said yes, and we hit it off, I guess.”

“You guess? And you took him on our boba runs?”

“You were out with Lia,” you say defensively, and he blanches when he hears his girlfriend’s name come out of your mouth.

“You could’ve waited,” he mutters, but you still hear it, and you give him a scathing look, finally too tired of this push and pull game that’s been going on behind the scenes for nearly three years now.

“I did. I waited over an hour here for you, but you didn’t show up or even text me that you were gonna be late. Yukhei was nice enough to offer to go with me.”

He stays silent, and you gnaw on your bottom lip, unsure of what to say next. Yukhei looks at you in concern, but you reach up and squeeze his hand reassuringly, which your best friend doesn’t fail to notice, his lips pressing into an even thinner line.

“I don’t understand what the deal is,” you finally burst out, startling both boys. “What’s the big deal about me and Yukhei going out?”

Something inside of him finally snaps. “The big deal is that you’re basically sleeping through my list of friends and then breaking up with them! First Dejun, then Jeno, now Yukhei? Who’s next? Should I give Renjun a heads up? Pencil you into his planner? Or Sicheng?  Sungchan? You have a class with him, so you’re bound to flirt with him, too, right? When are you gonna stop fucking around with my frien—”

He gasps, stopping mid-outburst as he stares at you in disbelief. Apple cider slides down from his hair, dripping onto his face and soaking into his sweater, the sticky juice clinging to his skin uncomfortably. You’re absolutely seething, the empty cup crackling in your clenched fist. Shocked, Yukhei carefully tugs the plastic away from you and places it on the table before replacing it with his own hand, his thumb caressing circles on the back of your hand soothingly. Yangyang doesn’t dare to meet his furious gaze, lifting his chin to look at you instead. The entire room has hushed down by now, all eyes staring directly at the three of you in a mixture of surprise and slight terror.

“Screw you, Yangyang,” you say lowly, voice shaking with anger. Tears form on the edge of your waterline, but you blink them away before hastily brushing a stray droplet from your cheek. “They asked me out. I said yes. We went out. It didn’t work out. We move on. Just like how you’ve gone out with my  friends. And they didn’t work out, so you moved on. So what’s so wrong about that? What’s so wrong about trying again to find love?”

He can’t answer you, curling his hands into fists until his fingernails indent miniature crescents in his palms—until the pain overtakes the feelings that are threatening to spill from his heart. Yangyang may not be yours, but he doesn’t like the fact that he can’t call you his either.

Love. That’s what you want, that’s what you crave, but not if it’s from him. So what is he supposed to do with love that’s unwanted? It’s bursting at the seams, and he has nowhere to hide it anymore.

He loves you in December.

AUGUST 2021.

August sneaks up on you this time around, and you find yourself in Kunhang’s apartment. All of your close friends are here, starting the last year of youth with one final first day party. You think back to that day three years ago: when your eyes met a pair of equally bright ones for the first time.

Curled up next to Yukhei on the couch, you look across the room and meet those very same eyes, although they seem hazier this time around. Lia is wrapped around his arm, and you think it’s quite ironic how both your and his relationships remain the same after all this time. Perhaps you both were bad luck for each other, leading to the other’s demise with short lived relationships. He looks away from you.

The rules of truth or dare are simple. You cannot ask the same person again until three other people have been asked first, and no one can be asked more than three times in each round. And, for reasons you can’t understand, everyone seems to take the code of truth seriously.

“I’ll start,” Kunhang announces, leaning back in one of the several beanbags he has in his place. “Goeun, truth or dare?”

Goeun sighs, leaning back on the palms of her hands. “Dare.”

“You and Mark, seven minutes in heaven.” Hendery points towards the coat closet, and the immediate reaction of hoots and wolf whistles has the girl rolling her eyes. With an exasperated huff, she stands up and pulls a red faced Mark along with her.

“Wait, you gotta pick the next person!” Donghyuck calls out, and she stops in her tracks, throwing open the closet door and shrugging. “You can choose for me.”

With that, she and Mark disappear behind the door, and Donghyuck turns toward the rest of the group, eyes glimmering mischievously. You pay no attention to him, absentmindedly playing with Yukhei’s fingers. You tug one of his rings off his finger, and he smiles, plucking it from your grasp carefully before holding your hand. He carefully slides it onto your right ring finger, but it falls off. Grinning, he pretends to try it on every single one of your fingers until finally settling on your thumb. The ring fits snugly there, and you admire it, wriggling your thumb around.

“Well, look at that. It fits you. I think that means we’re meant to be,” Yukhei says, smiling broadly, and you laugh, interlocking your fingers with his again before glancing down at the silver engraved band resting on your finger. The weight of the metal feels heavy resting against your knuckle.

“Yangyang, truth or dare.”

Donghyuck’s voice cuts through your thoughts, and you instinctively perk up in your seat at the sound of his name before freezing up in your spot. Yukhei squeezes your hand softly, and you tighten your grip around his fingers.

“Truth.”

“You’re no fun,” Donghyuck sighs, slouching back against the armrest. Yukhei leans over and whispers something in his ear before settling back next to you, shifting slightly to wrap his arm around you. Donghyuck lifts an eyebrow at your boyfriend before shrugging. “Okay, here’s an easy one. Are you in love…”

“Yes.”  is his immediate response, and you notice how Lia absolutely preens next to him.

“… with Y/N?”

Your breath hitches in your throat, and you immediately turn your head to look at Yukhei, your eyes growing wide in horror. He looks apologetic, shoulders drooping. “I’m sorry, but just the way he looks at you, it’s so obvious, and I had to know.”

You whip around to face the boy in question. With bated breath, you look at him, but Yangyang stares at the center of the floor, struggling internally. Everyone is quiet, and it reminds you of the calm before a storm. At last, he looks up, gazing right at you, and you can almost swear that you see those pretty little gold flecks in his irises from here.

“Yes,” Yangyang confesses quietly.

There’s almost a collective gasp rippling through the room, and Yukhei lets out an inaudible swear under his breath. Your grip on his hand grows slack as you fumble to get a grasp on the entire situation.

He loves you. He loves you. He loves you.

The words echo in your mind like a mantra until it grows so loud that you can’t hear any of your own thoughts anymore. Lia is in absolute hysterics, demanding an explanation from him, but he merely shrugs her off. Standing up, he quickly moves to leave the room, glancing at you one more time before disappearing out the front door.

It’s like your body is on auto-pilot after this. You drop Yukhei’s hand, immediately standing up and rushing after your best friend, paying no mind to the hushed whispers that only seem to increase in volume once you leave. You step out onto the porch, and there he is, sitting on the steps.

You quietly stand behind him, contemplating what to say and carefully choosing your next words. But there’s only one question on your mind.

“Why did you say that?”

He stays silent for a moment, staring out at the moon shining brightly ahead. “Because I meant it.”

Your heart wrenches in your chest. “You shouldn’t.”

He finally turns to look at you, an indescribable look in his eyes. It reminds you of heartbreak. “But I do. And I tried not to for the past three fucking years, but I can’t anymore.”

“Since freshman year?” You feel the tears well up in your eyes, and this time, you let them go. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yangyang grips onto the edge of the stairs tightly, frustration ringing with every word that falls from his mouth. “Because I was scared. And I thought you never felt the same way. You’re my best friend, and I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Yang…” You whisper, hand reaching out as you let it hover over his shoulder for a few seconds. Then, you pull back, curling your fingers into fists, pressing crescent indentations into the palms of your hands.

He stands up, whirling around to look at you, desperate. “Tell me I’m not too late. Please, Y/N.”

Something inside of you breaks. You open your mouth and start to say something when the door opens behind you. Turning around, you see Yukhei. His eyes widen when he sees the two of you standing there.

You know this is it. This is the moment. This is where you have to decide.

“I, I was just looking for you. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Yukhei awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, I’m gonna go back in and—”

“No, wait, it’s okay,” you gently interrupt him. You reach out and slip your hand into his, and he relaxes, giving you a relieved smile. You smile softly back at your boyfriend before turning to face him, eyes apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Yangyang.”

He and you are asymptotes: two lines curving towards each other, but never touching; two hands reaching towards each other, but never interlocking; two people tangling their red strings of fate, but never tying.

You give him one last glance before going back inside with Yukhei.

You break his heart in August.

SEPTEMBER 2021.

September is supposed to be a new beginning: the transition from summer to autumn. Yangyang doesn’t think he can let go of you as easily as the trees shed their green for gold and red. Wherever he goes, wherever he looks, little reminders of you bloom in every crevice. You’re absolutely everywhere and nowhere, and it drives him crazy.

He thinks he’s gone completely insane when he hears your laugh while he’s walking to the laundromat one day. He shoves his airpods in and continues on his way until he sees you. Walking across the street, there you are. You’re on the phone with someone, and he contemplates going over to say hello. But suddenly, you’re hanging up the phone and waving eagerly at someone. When he turns his head to look, his heart drops and gets buried six feet under. He hurriedly ducks into a nearby bookstore and watches as you run up to Yukhei, slipping your hand into his like it’s second nature to you now. The two of you walk off together, and Yangyang is left standing at the window of the store until the shop owner politely asks if there’s anything he needs.

He doubts a time machine is something they have in stock, so he silently shakes his head and steps out onto the street once again. It is now silent and empty.

He loses you in September.

AUGUST 2022.

A lot can change in eleven months.

You’re twenty two years old, but you feel like you’re eighteen again. You know you’re going to see him for the first time since September at Kun’s housewarming. You had repeatedly assured Yukhei that you’d be fine. After all, life goes on; the world doesn’t stop just because you had a falling out with your best friend, even if it may have been a little more than that. Nevertheless, a year has nearly passed. Time is known to be the best healer, and perhaps your heart has shed its old skin and habits.

Your hand is safely enveloped in Yukhei’s, and the two of you walk towards your older friend’s new apartment. He playfully swings your interlocked hands back and forth, and you giggle, tightening your grip around his fingers. You stop in front of the door, the muffled sounds of a party slipping through the cracks. You suck in a breath, shoulders tensed. He’s in there.

“Are you okay?”

Yukhei squeezes your hand gently, voice laced with concern. You remember to breathe, exhaling slowly and relaxing before nodding. You smile up at him. “I’m okay.”

“If you want, we can go back home now, have another NCIS marathon, and drink this by ourselves.” Yukhei waves around the nice bottle of wine the two of you had brought for Kun. “We can even stop by the convenience store and get some ramen.”

You laugh quietly, the corners of your lips upturning with mirth. “It’s okay, I’m fine, Yukhei, I promise. Plus, I have you, right?”

He brightens up at that, practically beaming at you, and your heart skips a beat. “Right!”

You reach out and knock on the door. Kun greets the two of you, and you enter his apartment. Yukhei still doesn’t let go of your hand, and you follow behind him as you weave your way through the living room, greeting some of your friends. You hear Kunhang calling out to your boyfriend from the kitchen and feel him hesitate next to you. You squeeze his hand gently before letting go and nudging him in the direction of his friend. Yukhei gives you one last look, but you wave him off, smiling goodnaturedly and silently assuring that you’re okay. He swoops down and leaves behind a soft kiss for you before going.

You walk over to the alcohol table, pouring yourself something to drink. Leaning against the wall, you take a sip of your drink, your eyes flitting over the rim of your cup and slowly scanning the room. It feels like forever, like everything is moving in slow motion, like the world is submerged underwater, but it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

You find him easily. After all, it’s hard to forget someone whose features you’ve memorized over the past four years. Your eyes map the delicate outline of his face once more, and for a moment, you wonder if red is still his favorite color, or who he shares a carton of Ben and Jerry’s with nowadays. You wonder if he thinks of you sometimes, too.

But then, you wonder where Yukhei is. You search around until you see your boyfriend still standing in the kitchen, laughing at something your mutual friend said. Your eyes soften when you see him grab your favorite snack. You turn back around, your heart swelling in your chest tenfold, and your lips curl upwards, an endeared expression on your face.

That’s when you notice that he’s looking at you.

You brace yourself, waiting for the tidal wave of emotions to wash over you and the quickening of your heart rate to greet you like an old friend. Because that’s what always happens when you’re around him. After all, he is the biggest what-if in your life. He is someone you almost loved forever, someone you almost stayed for.

And yet, nothing happens. You wait a little longer. The world still goes round, and you’re still breathing. There’s no shortness of breath, no erratic heart palpitations, no sweaty palms, absolutely nothing. Liu Yangyang is a stranger in a familiar body, and your heart remains still.

You give Yangyang a faint smile, nodding towards him, and it feels like a sudden jolt in his heart. Time stops, and all he can see is you. You look beautiful. You have always been beautiful. This is his chance. Whatever higher entity out there has taken pity on him and given him a second try to make it right. He finally takes a step towards you, and the tender, encouraging expression in your eyes gives him the strength to take another one. After all, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Clutching his drink in hand, he pushes his way through the crowd. He’s only eight, seven, six, five steps away from you now. A smile grows on his face as relief curls around his heart like a bandage. You’re standing there, waiting for him, smiling at him.

And suddenly, you’re no longer looking at him.

You stopped looking at him.

Yukhei makes his presence known next to you, excitedly chattering about something and gesturing towards the kitchen as he hands you something to eat. It’s a snickerdoodle cookie. Your favorite. Your eyes are fixated on the tall boy, positively sparkling as you beam at him.

Yangyang feels like he can’t breathe. The bandage is ripped off, and all he can feel is excruciating pain like a thousand pinpricks into his heart before the numbness hits. He freezes, rooting himself in that spot on the scratched hardwood floor as his colleagues and friends continue to jostle around him. As his world crumbles around him, he can’t tear his eyes away from you. They stay on you, the barest traces of nostalgia lingering in the dimmed golden flecks of his irises that you had still admired all those months ago. It’s like he’s trapped in a silent film, stuck in a fish bowl and swimming in circles, and he watches in horror as you outstretch your hand and intertwine your fingers around Yukhei’s, leaning up to press your lips against his tenderly. Your boyfriend looks at you like you hung the stars in the night sky yourself (He would believe it if you said you did).

You don’t look at him like that anymore.

Yangyang remembers when you used to. When you used to love him. When you were almost his. He feels something inside of him break for a second time.

The world continues to spin, and yet, he’s still not moving. He’s stuck in quicksand, sinking deeper and deeper as everyone around him moves on—as you move on. He desperately tries to keep you in his view, and his feet finally pick up as he lurches forward. He’s not fast enough. You’re slipping away, walking away from him, hand in hand with Yukhei, disappearing around the corner of the hallway, and he can’t do anything about it. It’s too late. He’s too late. The sticky remnants of cheap beer run down his wrist, and it finally registers in his mind that he had crushed the flimsy plastic cup in his hand sometime in between now and then. In a crowded room full of people, he’s left standing there, alone and lonely.

Almost is the worst way to love someone, Yangyang bitterly realizes. It hurts to lose someone you almost love. No, it was never an ‘almost’. He most certainly loved—loves—you. And it should be impossible to lose someone who was never his to begin with, yet he has. All this time, he thought he had you, but it had always been the other way around.

He was your August, he was your everything, and he is yours.

But you will never be his.

You let go of him in August.

[nights-legacy]

Trading 3 angrys for 1? - Bakugo Katsuki

   Help and Hide Series. Bakugo Edition

   Kirishima Ed.  Denki Ed.  Todoroki Ed.  Deku Ed.  Shinso Ed.  Iida Ed.  Aizawa Ed.  Tamaki Ed.   Hawks Ed.  Dabi Ed.  Shiggy Ed.

     + You are a student at UA and the whole class is on a field trip in Tokyo. On a free day, you all went out and you ran into to old “friends” and things go south. While trying to get away from them, you spot the token hot head of the class and decide to take your chances with this angry person over the angry people chasing you and are you pleasantly surprised. 

Note: My first My Hero Academia imagine!!! Let me know it you want a part two of this and I was thinking of making this a headcanon type for some of the other MHA/BNHA guys too. What do you think??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      “Over here Mina! I found those little things you’re obsessed with!” I called over to the pink skin girl.

       “Yay! Lemme see! Lemme see!” She came barreling over and nearly ran into me and the table. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. She squealed and call Jirio over to show her. I walked over to another street vendor. Our class was on a field trip in Tokyo and we were given a free day. Everyone agreed on going out and seeing the scene.

       “Ah! Don’t throw squid at me Kaminari!” I heard Deku scream and laughed at the context before turning to see said electric boy chasing the broccoli with a squid arm. I burst out laughing, holding my stomach. I shook my head before wandering farther down the street.

        I was originally from Tokyo before I moved to attend UA. My family are not insanely rich but we are well off. My parents own a house in both Tokyo and Musutafu as well as vacation homes or condos in different parts of the world. I wandered away from most of the class and I really wish I hadn’t.

      “Oi! Lookie here, dudes. It’s Lee’s younger sister Y/N.” A chill went up my spine as I froze from the familiar voice. I slowly turned around to see my older brother’s former three best friends with wicked smiles on their faces.

      I hadn’t seen them since my brother cast them out of his life. He found out that they were bullying me behind his back for god knows how long and immediately cut ties with them. He only found out because I missed covering up an unmistakable wounds from their quirks. He was mad at me for not telling him but was more concerned for me in the long run.

      “H-hey g-guys.” I stuttered, mentally berating myself for being so scared. I’m training to be a Pro-Hero for god sakes! I tried to steel myself against the incoming assault but couldn’t help but inwardly shake.

      “Aw. Is wittle Y/N scared?” Kei, the leader of them teased. “Well you should be bitch!”

     “You cost us advantage with your brother!” Haru yelled as he jerked forward, grabbing my bicep hard. I yelped and he shook me. “Shut up.”

     “We could never…‘talk’…to you about it because Lee never let us near you again. And it became even harder when you went off to that Hero school. You didn’t even give us a chance.” Kei gave me a smirk when he said talk, meaning something completely different the actual definition. “We could have worked things out.”

      “In more ways than one.” Aaron eyed me up and down. “You sure have grown up, little sis.” Kei rolled his eyes and hit him in the chest hard. Aaron looked at him offended while Kei just gave him a ‘really’ look.

      “I’m sure we could have but…” I gulped as I saw Haru activate his laser quirk. “I really have to go right now.” I pointed behind me. “Gotta catch up with the rest of my c-class.” I tried to pull away but was pulled back hard. I looked at them with fearful eyes.

      “Not just yet, bitch!” They laughed and looked at each other amused. I looked around at the people around us. There are not too many people close so I decided to use my quirk. I have a light and shadow quirk.

      “I really have to go.” I said in a firm voice. They looked at me surprised and I gave them a blinding flash. The grip on my arm immediately disappeared and they all covered their eyes as they yelped. I took off running back in the direction of the rest.

      “Get back here!” Kei yelled. I obviously ignored him. I ran and avoid people easily with my high agility. I stopped to take a breath and see how far they were behind me. At first I could only hear them and other people yelling at them but I saw them finally a ways back.

      “Shit, shit, shit.” I mumbled looking around for anyone I knew or something to hide behind. I finally caught sight of Bakugo a few yards away. I bit my lip and wondered if it was worth asking the angry Pomeranian for help against the anger musketeers. When I saw the three close I didn’t think twice. “Ah!”

      I ran over to the explosive boy and quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him over to the close by building.

     “What the hell!” He screamed at me. I flinched but looked back towards the others.

     “Sh, sh! Please, shh!” I tried to shush him but he growled at me.

     “What the hell do you think you’re doing you damn strobe light?” I wanted to giggle at his nickname for me but there was no time. I caught sight of his hoodie around his waist and ripped it off of him. “Hey!”

     “Please, just…I...ah!” I saw them closer now. I yanked the hoodie over my head and made sure the hood was up. I then did the unthinkable without even thinking. I grabbed Bakugo by the collar of his shirt and backed up. My back him the wall and I pulled him close and into kiss before he could even protest.

      “Wha…” He mumbled against my lips, hands falling tense on both sides of my head. He tried to pull away but my grip was vice.

     “Where is that little bitch! I am going to beat her to a pulp when I get my hands on her.” I heard Kei growl from right near us. “She will be so messed up that she won’t even be able to go to brother to rat this time.” I whimpered against Bakugo’s lips and my grip on his shirt tightened. I felt Bakugo stop fighting me.

     “I say we don’t even let her be able to do anything at all when were done with her.” Haru chipped.

     I don’t know what happened but Bakugo relaxed and leant into me. He moved his hands so one of his forearms rested next to my head and the other moved to my hip. What shocked me most is when he started kissing me back. We slowly started to actually kiss each other making the scene more authentic.

     “Come on, let’s check this way.” Aaron said and I heard them move on only slightly, more focused on the man kissing me then the men who were chasing me. I expected Bakugo to pull away as soon as they were gone but it seemed like he moved in even closer, continuing our soft make out session. We only pulled away when we both ran out of breath.

    “Wow.” I said was gasping for the breath he stole. I saw a small smirk grace his lips. “I think they’re gone now.” I whispered. Bakugo chuckled at my comment.

      “Yeah.” He rasped out before leaning back in, starting another make out session. I don’t know how long we were here but we were only brought back out when we heard a chorus of surprised yells come from Kami and Kiri.

     “Woah! Bakubro! L/N! What’s this pleasant development?” Kami asked while adding kissing noises on the end of his question. Bakugo pulled away and dropped his head a little groaning.

     “Dudes! I didn’t know you had a thing for each other!” Kiri exclaimed. :That’s totally awesome.

      “At least there’s someone out there that can deal with your angry ass, Bakugo.” Kami teased.

      “Shut it you damn extras!” Bakugo yelled over his shoulder. I giggled. He smirked when he turned back to me. He reached up and pushed the hood down and pulled my hair from the hoodie, brushing it out lightly with his fingers. He suddenly placed his hand at the juncture of my neck and pecked my lips. “Keep it on.”

       “Okay.” I said softly. He smiled for real before throwing an arm over my shoulder.

       “Come on you idiots! Let go find the rest of our dumb class. It’s getting close to time to head back.” We started walking and they conversation quickly changed comments. As we walked by an off shot of the street, I flinched when I heard their voice again. I felt Bakugo pull me tighter against him and rub his hand up and down my arm in comfort. He leant down to whisper in my ear. “When we get back to the hotel, I want to tell me what just happened and what those douchebags did to you. Is that okay?”

         “Yeah, that’s okay.” I whispered back. He hummed and smiled before pecking the side of my head and nuzzling my hair. I almost got whiplash by how soft he was being to me but reveled in this side of Bakugo that I was quickly beginning to love. Well, more than I already loved this explosion boy. He just didn’t know that yet.

[evienyx]

DSMP Citizens POV- Part 1

I've seen a lot of the memes going around, but I'm not funny enough to write that, so here's my addition to the trend :p

This is part one, because I had a lot of fun with this and want to do it more.

- - -

DSMP Citizen POV Masterlist

- - -

Sometimes, it was odd for the residents of the Dream SMP to be reminded of the fact that the constant state of chaos that their server was in was not, in fact, reflective of every server.

"Why did we move here?" One woman in Snowchester whispers to another as the sirens go off for yet another nuke test and they duck down into their bunker.

The other shrugs. She doesn't have an answer. No one does.

Things started out all right, the people supposed. There weren't any wars, at least. Some of those who lived on the server before the Revolution could remember back far enough to tell you about the first true conflict, between Dream, the creator of their home, and TommyInnit, a sixteen-year-old who could yell shockingly loud, even for a teenager. Dream fought against Tommy and Tubbo (yet another teenager), and it seemed to all be in good fun.

Some will tell you now, though, that the signs of tension were already there, and when Wilbur Soot joined, those tensions only escalated.

One moment, things on the server were normal, the next, there was a Revolution.

"Did anyone else hear Dream shouting about 'white flags' this morning?" One person would ask their friends, and receive nods in return. "Anyone know what it's about?"

"A Revolution," one would respond. "Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are starting a new country."

"Oh," the first would hum. "How long until they get completely crushed?"

"Eh, I give 'em a week."

It was only a week, but it did not end the way anyone thought it would. Instead, L'Manburg gained its independence after TommyInnit gave up his discs once he lost a duel with Dream.

"Is the L'Manburg cabinet missing someone?"

"No, I don't think so. Anyway, did you hear that Dream just declared that Eret is to be crowned king?"

"...Can he do that?"

"He's Dream. He can do whatever he wants."

After the Revolution, when the server finally had more than one ruling faction, more than one place to live, things seemed to pick up a bit. President Soot, with Vice President Innit (VP Tommy, the people called him), ruled over L'Manburg, and called it a place of freedom. When word spread to other servers, people came to see for themselves.

And often, they stayed.

It was peaceful, for a while.

"President Soot announced he's holding an election," one man said to his wife one day.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Said it was for democracy." The man snorted. "He and Innit are the only party running, though. Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

"Darling, I know you're still salty about losing the war, but there's no reason to talk bad about a child," his wife said.

The man wrinkled his nose. "Still."

It was peaceful during the campaign.

For a while.

Then, though, Quackity announced that he was running for president, with GeorgeNotFound, best friend of Dream himself, as his running mate.

"This feels like a sitcom," one girl says as she watches the debate reruns with her friends.

"At least it's entertaining," her friend replies, shoving popcorn into his mouth.

And, for the people of the Dream SMP, from both L'Manburg and the Greater SMP, it was entertaining.

Until the election results came in, Schlatt was declared the winner, and President Soot and VP Tommy were banished.

"Dude, dude!" One teen says to their friends, running up to meet them on the Prime Path.

"What is it?"

"I just saw Technoblade join the server!"

The arrival of the Blood God shifted something in the people of the Dream SMP. When he joined Pogtopia, the rebellion being led by the two ex-leaders of the country, the people felt something settle within themselves.

All of a sudden, choosing sides wasn't as simple as where you live.

It was what you care about.

As the son of the ex-president burned down the old flag, the people of the Dream SMP, of (L')Manburg and of the Greater SMP, realized suddenly that they had to make a choice.

Without even wanting to, without doing anything to deserve it, they would have to fight.

Some people went to Pogtopia, some stayed in Manburg, some in the Greater SMP. Those in the latter two stayed where they were because they wanted to stay out of it.

It didn't change anything, in the end.

In Manburg, they watched their president (Emperor) fall further and further into alcohol, yelling at his cabinet and talking of expanding into territory that they had no right to.

In the Greater SMP, murmurs of King Eret's attempts to assist the Pogtopia rebels filled the alleyways.

In Pogtopia, people sat and watched the decline of the man that they had all once believed in. As Wilbur Soot slowly devolved until he was no longer recognizable as the man who had once led people to freedom, the residents of Pogtopia ate potatoes farmed by a man famous for his bloodlust and pretended that they were sleeping somewhere warm.

The day of the Manburg Festival, though, things felt better. Other than ex-president Soot and ex-VP Tommy (Wilbur and Tommy, the two insisted. No one listened), everyone, even the rebels in Pogtopia, were invited to attend. The people wandered through the stalls playing games, watching as Soot's son attempted (in vain) to drown Technoblade, buying food, and chatting with people from other factions, friends and family that they hadn't spoken to in weeks.

When the time came for the speeches, before the true festivities were set to begin, everyone was feeling good about the day. People congratulated Secretary Tubbo for a successful event, and offered him small words of encouragement for his speech coming up. The teenager would grin at all who spoke to him, and looked (rightfully) proud of how well he organized and decorated the festival.

Secretary Tubbo gave his speech, and people clapped, and then fell silent as President (Emperor) Schlatt laughed, asked for his Vice-President's assistance, and encased the teenager in a cage of concrete.

And then he called Technoblade to the stage.

And then, in front of the people of the Dream SMP, a teenager was executed in a spray of color that shot toward the sky.

Fireworks rained down on the people in the stands, then, and, regardless of where they were from, the people of the Dream SMP ran.

The Pogtopia ranks grew that day, and a nineteen-year-old who claimed to be a doctor without showing any credentials forced four other people to help her heal VP Tommy after he fought Technoblade in a pit, egged on by a man who once might have called himself his brother.

"How is this kid not dead yet?" One of the helpers asked, looking at the unconscious teenager's face.

"Pure spite?"

The first hummed. "Sounds about right."

One day, a bit after the festival, the people of Pogtopia woke to find Vice President Quackity walking through the ravine as if he owned the place.

One resident was noted to rub his eyes, blink three times, and then say, "It's too early for this shit," before heading back to bed.

A surprising number of people followed his lead.

Finally, the day of November 16th came, when Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit vowed to take their country back.

"I heard President Soot is planning to blow up L'Manburg," one Pogtopian woman mentioned to her friend as they suited up and prepared to fight, as they had signed up to be part of the forces.

"That's stupid," her friend replied.

"Bet you ten diamonds he blows something up."

"Fine."

As the country of L'Manburg blew sky-high, one woman was seen following another, screaming that she wanted her diamonds.

When Pogtopia won the war, the forces from both sides sat outside of the remains of the van as President Soot, VP Tommy, Secretary Tubbo, Dream, Technoblade, and many more, all piled inside to confront Emperor Schlatt.

They emerged fifteen minutes later, and Dream announced to the crowd that Schlatt was dead.

There was no time for the news to sink in, as they played hot potato with the presidency, going from VP Tommy to Wilbur Soot to Secretary Tubbo.

"President Soot is leaving, do you see that?"

"Probably going to the river to celebrate the win, if you know what I mean."

"Literally shut up. Never speak again. I hate you."

As the newly-inaugurated President Tubbo finished his speech, the people felt a wave of relief wash over them. Maybe the server could finally be peaceful once more.

Then, there was the tell-tale hiss of explosives under their feet, and the people ran as the ground beneath them fell away.

Stories of what happened next are conflicting, to say the least.

Words of President Soot dying in the explosion, of him turning the blade on himself, of another man killing him.

"He had wings," people who saw the man said. "Blonde hair, a green hat and robes. He stabbed Soot with the guy's own sword."

Technoblade apparently gave an incredible speech, and anyone who was there to witness it lamented that they hadn't recorded it.

Then, two Withers flew through the sky, and blood ran down the newly-exposed stones, and people who had never experienced death on the server before finally knew what it was like to die.

Afterward, though, when the anarchist had fled and the ex-President lay dead, President Tubbo, with VP Tommy by his side, stood and addressed the people, and made promises of a brighter future, and the hope and determination in his eyes was enough for the people to hope that maybe he was right.

("Whoa, cool wings, dude," a resident of L'Manburg said to their newest neighbor, a man in green with wings, burned across all the feathers, sprouting from his back. "Wait, what happened to them?"

"Oh, I was protecting my son from the explosion," the new resident replied.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is your son all right at least?"

"No, he died just a few minutes afterward. His last life, too." The man sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he probably deserved it."

A beat. "What did he do?"

"Well, you may have heard of him. Wilbur Soot? He was the president here before Schlatt, I believe."

"...Holy shit, you're the bird man that killed President Soot!"

"Yeah, mate, that's me."

"...He was your son?"

"...Yeah."

"...What the fuck is wrong with your family?")

[justhockeythings-blog1]

Who said I’m out of your league?

A/N: I wasn’t sure how to end this one so let me know what you all think! Feed back is greatly appreciated! Also I totally had to use this gif, his confidence is unmatched lol

Request:  Can you please do a William Nylander imagine where you meet the team for the first time and they tease him about you being out of his league or something. Thanks!

For the entirety of your six month relationship, you had always assumed that Willy was out of your league. He was a professional hockey player, the Swedish-Canadian version of Thor, not to mention that his personality could impress even the strictest mother on the planet. You were, for all intents and purposes, average. You had a normal job, normal friends, you considered your looks to be normal, and you had a normal, by your own standards, upbringing. Your personality was probably the one thing you were confident could hold a flame to Willy’s but even then, he had the ability to be so selfless at times you wondered if you were dating an angel. 

Willy on the other hand thought that you were the most amazing thing to ever walk this planet and he took every single opportunity to tell you just that. You did something different with your hair? “Wow babe, you look amazing.” You wore new clothes that you just got? “Damn baby you should model for that company.” There was never a shortage of compliments that came from him about you. 

Which was probably why you didn’t feel as nervous as you should about meeting his teammates for the first time. You knew that Willy loved you, there was never a doubt in your mind, so you figured even if today went horribly wrong in every aspect you still had that going for you. You also had heard wonderful things about his teammates, from Willy himself but also the fans. It wasn’t like you hadn’t interacted with them in some capacity, they had heard your voice over the phone or briefly over the headset when Willy joined them for video games. You were pretty sure Willy had talked about you to them, at least in some capacity, so really you should be set up for an easy meeting with all of them. 

That’s what you tried to tell yourself anyways, the closer you got to the bar you were meeting the team at the more you felt your hands beginning to sweat. You rubbed them on your jeans for the fifth time, reaching over to lace your fingers with Willy’s as he drove. You thought you were holding your nerves fairly well, you had assured Willy before you left that this was going to be a walk in the park.

Boy were you beginning to eat your words.

“What’s got you so worked up?” He teased, pulling his eyes away from the road momentarily before he returned them to focus on where he was going. “You’re never nervous.”

That was a lie. In fact Willy had seen you nervous on numerous occasions, including the first time you two had ever met. He would be lying if he said he didn’t find it cute. You had a number of nervous ticks that he had picked up on over the last few months. You would bounce your leg while waiting for an event that was causing your nerves to spike or you would bite your lip when deep in thought, as if planning out every option. Your cheeks would heat up, creeping up your neck, when someone called you out on any and you would wave your hand in the air as if physically brushing the nerves away momentarily.

 Right now you were expressing all of those ticks, right down to the heat climbing up your neck as you tried to wave your free hand absentmindedly, brushing his words out of the air. It caused Willy to smile, he knew you better than you thought he did. He brought your hand up to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it before he focused back on the road again. You would never admit it to him, you liked to be a neutral front but he had seen your nerves spike randomly in the days leading up to today. You had grilled him about his teammates a few times, wanting to make sure you at least had the basics of their names, girlfriends who may or may not be there. It had made Willy laugh, comparing it to you taking notes as if you were about to write a paper on the leafs player. 

“You can hide it all you want, but you’re nervous.” He called you out again and you gave him a sharp look, sticking your tongue out at him childishly. 

“I’m not nervous, I’m just…” You trailed off, tossing around a number of emotions in your head before you settled on the one. “Worried. These guys are your teammates and your best friends. I know it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, because you love me and that’s important but it’s going to make things awkward if they don’t like me.” 

You turned to look at him, letting your words settle in the car as Willy parked, your stomach dropping to your feet as you realized you were there. Everything felt so much more real now that you were looking at the sign of the bar, peering in the front window you could see Zach and Rasmus, already surrounded by other players. 

“Hey..” Willy’s soft voice pulled your eyes away from the window and back to him. “It’s going to be okay. They’re going to love you, I mean it’s not like I haven’t hyped you up. Just be yourself, if you’re uncomfortable after like an hour then we can go, okay?” He assured you, giving your hand another kiss.

“Okay, let’s go.” You smiled a little, grabbing your purse and climbing out, stopping in front of the car to wait for him before you both made your way inside. Your stomach flipping once more as he held the door for you, following you inside and guiding you over to the table.

“About time, we were wondering if you got lost on your way.” Zach teased, causing Willy to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I get lost one time and you never let me live it down.” Willy laughed, pulling out a chair for you to sit down in before taking one at your side. “This is Y/N. Y/N, this is Zach, Rasmus, Auston…”

You followed his finger as he pointed to each player who was there, as well as their own guests, mentally trying to commit them all to memory. You were pretty good when it came to names and faces, but the nerves weren’t helping, you could almost feel your hands shaking a little. 

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you all.” You waved a little, smiling softly as conversation picked up, Willy holding your hand under the table. 

~

It was as though you had known these people your whole life, you fell into conversation easily, answering questions about your job, hobbies, and your family. Willy kept a close eye on you the entire time, making sure that you weren’t getting overwhelmed by the amount of people who were trying to get to know you all at once. He smiled a little as he watched you engage in a conversation with Mitch about puppies and which breed was superior. He hadn’t been worried about you meeting the guys, he knew you would get along well and they would probably end up liking you more than him. 

In his mind it was impossible to not like, you were the sweetest person he had ever crossed paths with, with the exception of maybe his mom. You were constantly doing what you could to help others, taking care of him in the smallest ways like putting his laundry away after a road trip, making his favorite dinner after a rough game, or making sure he followed the trainer’s instructions even if he tried to avoid them. Not to mention that you seemed to make friends everywhere the two of you went, you just had the type of energy that drew people to you. 

“Hey, I’m going to grab another drink with the girls, did you want anything?” You asked, pulling him out of his thoughts as you stood up and he smiled a little. “Sure, surprise me.” 

He gave your hand one more squeeze as he watched you branch away from him with some of the girls, making your way up to the bar to order your drinks. It was like a proud parent watching their kid go off to school for the first time, it was a sign to Willy that you really were comfortable around his friends now. 

“Dude, she is so out of your league.” Mitch snorted, taking a sip of his drink as he watched Willy look after you with that same lost puppy dog expression you had been describing about your own dog only moments ago. 

Willy felt his cheeks heat up as he tried to hide his face in the last remnants of his drink, he should have known the second they had him alone they would say something to him.

“I mean seriously, she’s like a walking angel. How did you land her?” Zach asked, joining in on the chirping of their young teammate. Everyone was happy that Willy had found someone who seemed to match his energy, knowing that the blonde deserved the best. 

“It’s my undeniable charm boys, maybe you should try it sometime.” He smirked a little, firing back at his teammates as they all erupted into chuckles around him. 

“Well if she ever wants a real man, let her know I’m always around.” Rasmus teased, reaching over to mess up Willy’s hair playfully as Willy smacked his hands away. 

“She wants a man not a man child.” Willy fired back before he felt a hand on his shoulder, another drink being placed in front of him. “Got your usual!” 

He smiled as he saw you sitting back down beside him, shooting a look to the boys to behave, he didn’t mind their chirping but he didn’t know how you would take it seeing as how this was your first time meeting them and while it was going well, he didn’t want it to ruin anything.

~

The rest of the afternoon continued in a similar manner, the conversation flowed easily, and any time you stepped away from the group Willy was hit with another round of chirping about how you were out of his league. It was all in good fun and by the end of the afternoon you had begun to pick up on some of the chirping that carried over into the normal conversation, firing back at the boys with a smirk. 

“I mean, at least Willy knows what he’s doing, when was the last time a girl came back to you after a night?” You shot back at Auston innocently, sipping your drink as Willy and the boys burst into a loud round of laughter, accepting the high fives and the fist bump from Auston. 

“On that note, I think we better get going, gotta get my girl home and away from you hooligans.” Willy smiled, throwing his tip money on the table as he helped you up and you waved your goodbyes to the group. 

“Bye Y/N! You know where to find us if you ever want an upgrade!” You heard the boys called, laughing as you and Willy made your way back out to the car. The ride home was nice, you were buzzing as you filled Willy in on the conversations he hadn’t been a part of. This continued when you got home too, jabbering away as you made your way upstairs, stripping out of your jeans and sweater, tugging a pair of his sweatpants from the drawer as he sat on the bed, staring at you. 

“Damn you are so out of my league.” He muttered to himself, smiling as he watched you glow in relief of his friends approving of you. 

“What? Who said I was out of your league?” You frowned a little, setting yourself between his legs and playing with his hair as you looked down at him, his hands resting on your sweatpant clad hips. 

“Just the guys chirping at me, don’t worry about it but they do have a point. I am dating a literal angel.” He smiled as he could tell that the heat was rising up your neck to your cheeks again, in an attempt to hide your blush you shook your head. These were the things you usually thought about Willy, not things you were used to him saying about you. 

“Oh please, have you looked in the mirror Nylander?” You hummed, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips so he couldn’t argue against you. “Maybe we aren’t out of each other’s leagues but just in a league all our own.” 

He smiled against your lips, giving your hips a gentle squeeze. “That’s a pretty elite league to be in, I must’ve gotten called up when I started dating you.”

“You’re running my compromise!” You laughed and pushed his shoulder, hardly enough to budge him. “Now, I had fun today but can we get pizza or something and just chill? My social battery is drained.” 

He smiled and stood up, now towering over you gave him the advantage to press a kiss to your forehead. 

“Your wish is my command, Princess.”

[bnhaficsforthesoul]

BNHA College AU - Dabi

Major: Graphic Design

Minor: Business

Sports: Nope

Clubs: He’s not necessarily in the Shogi club, but he competes in tournaments just because he’s so good at it

Dabi has two reasons for going to college: to prove to everyone, mainly his dad, that he can be successful despite what they say, and to force his dad to spend a lot of money

He hangs out with all the labeled creepy people (save for Keigo, but even then he won’t hang out with him in public cause Keigo’s pretty popular), cause of his scars and resting bitch face people are generally too scared to talk to him so he stayed with the people who didn’t judge him for that

He got his scars in an accident when he was young, the house had gotten set on fire and he got trapped inside after saving his little brother Shouto, who luckily got out with only a scar on his face

Overall dabi was lucky to have survived the ordeal at all, having inhaled so much smoke and being so burnt, but by some miracle he turned out fine, and his scars, other than being a permanent dark red and the skin being rough, weren’t too bad (basically he has the scars in the same general areas but they look more like how real burn scars would – there’s no staples anymore either)

He also changed his name as soon as he was old enough, wanting to create his own identity rather than the one his dad had crafted for him

Dabi works at a tattoo shop near campus, he’s always been pretty good at art and loves tattoos, so he decided he might as well get a job doing something he actually likes. He’s given himself a few tattoos too, and all of his piercings

Him being a graphic design major stems from his love of drawing, but him choosing graphic design rather than fine art or just drawing was due to him wanting to try a new medium, and then enjoying it

Then his business minor is so that he can open is own tattoo shop - he feels that owning his own shop and being successful in it is the best way to spite his dad, so he is all for it

He also lives off campus in his own apartment, he didn’t feel like bothering with getting a roommate 

You meet him when you go into the shop to get a tattoo, you just had the sudden urge to get a tattoo so you walked in there and asked if there was any space for you, and turned out Dabi was free

You told him the basic design that you wanted, but also told him that he was free to add whatever he wanted which he greatly enjoyed, and he went to work

Normally dabi would kinda just do the work and move on, maybe make a few comments here and there if he felt like it, he wasn’t much of a talker anyways

But hey, you were cute, so he couldn’t help flirt a bit – and you didn’t seem creeped out by him like a lot of people tended to be, so he took that as a sign that you didn’t mind it

And you definitely did not mind it – you weren’t expecting the person tattooing you to be so hot, but it was for sure a welcome surprise. And you’d be lying if you said the smirk he flashed at you occasionally didn’t give you butterflies

After the tattoo was finished, it didn’t take that long since you had gotten a fairly small one, you were doing the stuff for payment and he went, “ya know, if you go on a date with me, maybe I’ll give you a discount on the next one”

Yes he was technically bribing you for a date, but again, you were cute and didn’t give him a weird look when he started flirting, even flirting back a couple times – so he was just tryna shoot his shot

“I’d like that. Even without the discount, though that would be a nice bonus.”

Sexy tattoo man asks you on a date? Who are you to say no

So you give him your number and give him a little wave before running out of the shop, already wondering where he was going to take you

Now, Dabi never wants to come across as desperate, and in all honesty he really isn’t since he’s not even looking for anything serious, so he decided to wait a few days before even texting you – making you worry that he had decided he didn’t wanna go out with you anymore

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t, it’s not like you’d been crushing on him for months or anything dramatic, you’d met the guy once – but he was pretty, and fun to talk to, so you were hoping you’d at least be able to see where it went

Luckily though, late at night a few days after you had met him, you finally get a text, reading “hey its dabi, the guy who tattooed you. Still interested in that date?’

You almost ended up texting him right away, ready to get on with it. But nah, he waited 3 days, you can at least wait an hour or two – thank god you didn’t have your read receipts on

Eventually you got to it, responding ‘Hey – yeah I’m up to it. What’d you have in mind?’

Finally deciding he would save the both of you the time, he responded quickly, ‘nothing fancy, I’ll surprise you though.’

You said that was fine, and that was it for the night. You were just gonna wait until he told you when, and didn’t worry about it too much

But then that night, at around 7pm, you got another text: ‘you busy rn?’

You weren’t, so you said so, and he said ‘can you meet me back at the shop in like 30 min? We’re going out tonight.”

Bold of this man to not only assume you could make it in 30 minutes but to just spring your first date upon you like that – but you weren’t going to complain about it, other than the fact that if you wanted to get decently ready you’d have to sprint over there (you were lucky that the shop was close to campus – and that he probably assumed you went to the college here since you never told him)

But you threw on the first clothes you deemed acceptable and got any other small touch ups finished in the next 20 minutes before grabbing your phone, keys, and wallet and booking it towards the tattoo shop – only stopping to look at your reflection in a car window once you were up the street to make sure you still looked decent

Why were you putting in so much effort for the hot emo dude? You’d never know. But you wouldn’t be disappointed either.

You soon walked into the shop and were almost immediately greeted by Dabi. He was wearing ripped black jeans and an oversized black hoodie with black converse, simple but nice

“So what are we doing exactly?”

He didn’t say, just walked out of the shop, so you followed him back into the parking lot where he directed you to an expensive looking matte black car – which side note, he was very proud of. He bought it with his own money (I don’t know car breeds, forgive me for not specifying what type of car it is)

The car ride was pretty vibey – he has awesome music taste but he kept it just high enough so that you could hear it but low enough so that the two of you could talk, he generally doesn’t like small talk but you were pretty interesting so he let the conversation go wherever you led

Eventually you arrived at a big park with a lake and a bunch of tall trees, and you got out of the car while Dabi went to grab a backpack from the trunk – then he led you over to a nice little clearing right next to the lake and pulled out a blanket from his backpack and laid it out so you two could sit

“like I said, nothing fancy. We’re just gonna hang out.”

He had a whole bunch of snacks and drinks in his backpack, and you just spent the next couple hours talking about anything and everything – he loved when you asked him about tattooing and stuff, gave him a chance to brag, and he asked you a bunch of probably too personal questions just because he thought it was cute seeing you flustered

In the end, the first date was a success – and it led to many more. Many of which weren’t even classified dates, just more times where he would randomly text you to hang out, and each time you found yourself liking him more and more, and he shockingly felt the same

At the beginning, the best and most dabi could hope for with you was a kind of friends with benefits situation. He didn’t want a real relationship, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to be close with someone

But then you came along, and despite you being very good looking of course, he wasn’t just waiting for the right time to ask if he could fuck you, he just wanted to be around you and actually spend time with you – not just turn you into someone he could fuck when he was bored

Regardless, he’s not very good at getting attached to people, it scares him, so as soon as he realized he caught actual feelings he kinda ghosted you for a bit, worrying you that you did something wrong – he wouldn’t respond to your texts or anything

So this time you stormed your way down to his apartment, where he had brought you a couple times to watch movies and whatever, and knocked on his door

Dabi, much to his disdain, was happy when he saw you standing there. So because of that, he didn’t immediately shut the door, and you walked inside before he could protest

“Are you okay? Did I do something wrong? Why’d you disappear all the sudden?” Even outside of your crush, you considered him a friend, and you had hoped he did too, so you were worried

“It’s nothing… I’ve just been busy, don’t worry your cute little head about it.”

You rolled your eyes, “Dabi, I’m serious. What’s wrong?”

He sighed deeply, running a hand through his messy hair and staring back at you, “It’s – it’s stupid. I don’t want to talk about it.”

God he hated how concerned you looked, he could tell you cared about him and it weirded him out, but he loved it so much. He couldn’t help himself, as much as he wanted to push you away, he knew that he wanted to keep you around

“Still… if you change your mind, I’m here you-“ you didn’t even get to finish your sentence before his lips were on yours – something you very much weren’t expecting to happen today but you sure as hell weren’t complaining

“That’s what’s wrong. I think I love you.”

You could see that he looked scared, but he wasn’t pulling away, so you wrapped your arms around his neck and pressed a soft kiss on his lips, “Well, if it makes you feel better, I think I love you too.”

There was no formal asking out, just from that day on you were his. It still took some time for him to get used to it, not being familiar with how to act in a relationship, but with your help he got the hang of it

He loves when you watch him draw, he’s dubbed you his muse and therefore you being there helps inspire him

Wants to get matching tattoos with you eventually, and you know that if you want any more tattoos he’s gonna be the one to give you them, he might even let you do a tattoo or two for him

He’ll also do all your piercings for you, he’ll dye your hair for you - we love a boyfriend who supports you spicing up your look

Aw but you two dyeing each others hair would be so cute

Your relationship is pretty chill, like you guys only ever hang out at his apartment or go on dates in the middle of the night, sometimes clubbing or sometimes just walking around town, whatever you feel like honestly

You do go back to that one spot by the lake a l o t, you both love it there because it’s just full of memories of each other

When you met his friends you were probably a bit creeped out by them, you’ve never had any bad experiences with them but most of them looked pretty angry. But toga and jin were quick to accept you, and so you got to become friends with them too which was really important to Dabi because his friends are basically his family

When he told you about his dad – not him having to stop you from walking into his dad’s house and beating the shit out of that fucker, despite him very much wanting to watch you do it (he just doesn’t want you to get hurt/have to deal with the consequences of what that could bring – but if you were to bring out them fighting words during the next family dinner he’d definitely be very proud)

You’re welcome to move into his apartment whenever you want, after he’s decided he loves you you could propose and he’d probably say yes honestly- so you moving in isn’t an issue to him just tell him and he’ll help you bring all your stuff over

You might as well honestly, you’re there in most all your free time. You already have clothes in his closet, your school stuff is next to his - it just makes things so much easier

Besides, then you get to be around your hot emo bf even more than you already are, doesn’t that sound fun

[darktypeimagines]

My god man whenever you get the time can you feed the poor? I’m desperately deprived of Avery content and it deeply wounds me :,)

Light NSFW? Avery’s first time with his s/o?

Also gl w/ college lmao; it really do be a bitch lol

Ahhhh sorry you’ve been starving so long. College is INDEED rough, especially graduate school! If you’re still around, I hope you enjoy.

I really do love this dude, wish he was more than just a DLC character... Put under the cut for light content, vanilla flavored (imo). I tried to keep it vague since you did not give much information on your character.

The summer, midday sun beamed down on you, but luckily, it was a rather mild day. A light breeze pulled at your hair. You were in downtown Wyndon, sight seeing with your partner, Avery. You two had been dating for a while now, easing into the comfort of a steady relationship. And while Avery was the one who asked you out, you were the one who usually initiated things, like your first kiss. You weren’t 100% sure, but you felt a good amount of shyness beneath his usual overly confident demeanor.

But, that wasn’t always the case. Today, you rushed up to one of the shops, peering through the glass at something that caught your eye. As you were absorbed in trying to decide whether or not to turn your window shopping into actual shopping, you felt the familiar yet odd sensation of something dragging lightly across your shirt, from your right shoulder to your neck. That feather-light touch could have been mistaken for a caress, but you knew better: No one was there. You shot a glance at Avery, catching him looking in the exact opposite direction, although you could spot a small smirk growing.

You decided it was your turn to surprise him. Doing a sharp 180°, you marched right over to him, grabbed his arm and interlocked it with yours, and guided him to your shared hotel room you were currently booked at.

“Y/N, what exactly are you doing- wait, Y/N-!” He protested. This continued for about a minute, until he apparently realized what direction you were leading him towards. At that point, he got very quiet. Rather unusual for him, you noted.

Avery was the one who had booked the hotel, the most expensive one in the city, The Rose of the Rondelands. When you tried to tell him you wouldn’t mind staying someplace… less expensive... he insisted on booking at “the most elegant offering” in the area. Now, the artificially aged red brick building stood before you, its green neon sign glowing brightly even in the daylight. You went directly through the double doors without stopping.

Neither of you looked particularly “in place” at the hotel; most of the other temporary residents were business people, the rich, and the famous (or the rich AND famous!) A friendly Honedge staff Pokemon greeted you as you entered, and you waved at it and kept walking towards the elevator.

About a minute later, you both got to the room, slightly out of breath, and just… stared at each other for a bit. You both knew why you were here. It was just the… starting, part… that was hard.

And then something slightly devious came to your mind. You told him to do it again, the psychic touch thing he did before when you two were outside. Only this time, you wanted him to go further, you told him.

To say he blushed a “bright pink” would be an understatement. In general, Avery would be awful at poker with how expressive he is, and you could tell he definitely wasn’t expecting your suggestion. But, he regained his composure quickly, and before you could say more, you felt your feet leave the ground and a light blue glow envelop you, and you found yourself levitating across the room, and then gently plopped onto the bed.

As Avery removed a few of his more delicate garments with his back toward you (that hat is expensive, and he JUST isn’t into things getting ripped in the excitement), you felt that light touch again. This time, it was a bit more tingly, almost electric in a way, but not painful, rather, it was pleasant. This time, you felt numerous little trails, almost like the tips of someone’s fingers, gliding across your stomach. They rose, further, across your chest, and pulled your shirt off of you.

He returned to your side, pausing a moment to admire you, then laid down next to you, minus most of his accessories and his glasses. Pulling you into an embrace, he pressed kisses along your neck, but eventually stopped.

“I… may have made a bit of an assumption. I didn’t go too far, did I?” He asked, his head still buried in your neck.

You told him it was perfect. And that you wanted more.

It didn’t take him long to act on that. Not even half a second later, he was atop you, trying to undo your bottoms in the dark. With the curtains drawn and the light off, it wasn’t easy, but eventually, the two of you were skin to skin. Kissing you, one of his hands drifts downwards, gently pushing inside you, and after a few moments, another finger joins it. They gently pull out then in, and you sigh as you feel yourself loosening.

You lose track of time; it could have been five minutes, it could have been five hours. But eventually, Avery removed his hand, and with a bit of help from his psychic abilities, you heard something unzip, and then something flew into his hand. He pumped it, and you heard a gushy sound, and figured out it was lube. You were about to question him as to why he had it. Did his “Future Sight” hint to him that he might need it? Or was it just for his own needs? (A convenient plot device?!) But, the question soon left your mind. After he readied himself, you felt his hand return below, this time, more slippery, to prepare you.

You were impatient; you told him you were ready. Avery worked you for another minute, then apparently agreed with you. Removing his hand, he shifted his body upward to bring you into another kiss. His cock slid against your entrance, hips meeting yours as he teased you. With a thrust, he tried to enter you… and missed. Too high, no, that’s too low... With a laugh, you guide him into you. They make it seem so easy in the movies and books!

Despite the early misses, it was bliss. Once again, you entered that timeless state, only able to focus on him and his movements. He followed your lead; once you started getting impatient and mimicked his thrusts, he picked up the pace, earning a satisfied moan from you.

As his movements became rougher, more erratic and needy, he began to shower you with praise. Except, most of it was nonsensical, your name and moans mixed in between the words. (Normally, you’d think it was cute, but you were a bit busy at the moment) With a breath, he gave you one last, hard thrust and came, then flopped, not particularly gracefully, beside you, exhausted.

“S-sorry,” He said out of breath, “You were just so exquisite- elegant even, I couldn’t hold back any longer.”

You laughed a little and cuddled into him. It was fine, you told him; you were both happy, after all, and that was the point.

Apparently, he had something else in mind. He crawled between your legs, spreading them. It was still too dark to see, but you felt warmth as he slid his tongue across your sex. As he pleasured you, you felt his psychic touch once more, this time circling both nipples. It was hard to describe, but in a way, the feeling reminded you of a vibrator, minus the vibration. Just the tingles, in a sense.

With an arc of your back and a small moan, you climaxed, tensing up. It hadn’t taken long, given how close you were, AND the fact that he was using his abilities again.

Pulling his hair out of the way, Avery rejoined you at your side. Both you laid there in silence for several minutes, enjoying the cool AC and each other’s heartbeats.

“That… was most unexpected,” he said lowly, almost half-asleep.

Not the bad kind of unexpected, right? You tease.

He opens his eyes and smiles warmly at you. “Not at all… I enjoyed every second of it.”

[midnight-in-town]

Hello Midnight! Your cats are so cute, what are their names? Thank you for sharing 💕

Hello Anon! Oh wow, thank you. <3 I’ll tell them, haha! 

I got both from the same benevolent association, which I thank for their highly dedicated work towards all the animals in need, as well as for keeping in touch with the animals’ owners, after adoption.

This below is Rény.

I got her last August, so it’s been almost a year and she’s a year and a few months old (no one is sure of when she’s born exactly, but probably around March 2020). <3 

As you can see, she’s a one-eyed, because of hardcore cat flu when she was a baby living in Guadeloupe’s streets with her mom and brothers. When I first got her after she arrived in Paris’ region and was taken care of by her second foster family, she looked all weak and sickly, having had to take lots of antibiotics after her eye surgery and barely being able to eat.

Because of this, she’s very sensitive when it comes to food and she was very sick last October, until I managed to find what food she could tolerate. 

Now she’s an adult and she’s doing mostly okay. Sometimes her valid eye gets sick, so I have to be extra careful with plants or when she’s playing with the kitten. Also she’s got an eating disorder, because she had trouble being able to eat enough when she was a sick kitten (that’s why she’s so petite), so now she’s constantly scared not to have enough food. 

The other day, as I was checking for when to get her shots done this year, I found some written words by the first foster family that took her in from the streets and gave her that lovely name, saying stuff about how she went through a lot and clearly needed time to get close to humans, but she was super sweet and never aggressive, so they hoped someone would give her a chance and adopt her.

Never had these issues myself, because her two foster families took good care of her and taught her to trust in humans, buuut I’m biased because I’m clearly the only person she currently responds to (she’s very vocal and affectionate). We were very close very fast when I got her, which is super nice, but as long as I’m around, she won’t try to open up to other people or animals (literally ignoring them but following me around everywhere), so I decided to take another cat, to help her socialize. 

That’s how I got Siem, who’s almost 5 months old now, in the pictures below.

2021 is a tough year for benevolent animal associations, at least in France, because the number of mom cats giving birth on the streets is very high. So they ended up with idk how many kittens in need of care, as well as finding owners for them and the moms. 

(In fact, if you who’s reading live in France and are interested in adopting a cat or simply helping these associations, I am following several and all of them are drowning in kitten care, so please don’t hesitate to support them! Also if you ever get a cat or a kitten, please remember it’s important to neuter them when they’re old enough, for their health and to control their high reproductive rate.) 

Anyway, Siem is one of these kittens. Her mama gave birth on the cold streets in February 2021 and the lil family was taken in by people who would take care of them. Mama was very scared of humans at first, but the foster family helped a lot (and she recently got adopted too, I was very happy). 

Back then, I had mentioned to the association that I wanted a cat to help Rény socialize while showing interest in some black cats of the same age (because black animals are less adopted than non-black ones, I’m not even kidding) and they asked me if I wanted to take in a kitten, so that Rény would not feel threatened on her territory, since she used to be a bit harassed by her siblings as a sick kitten.

I went to see Siem’s family and ended up choosing her because she was the smallest & youngest one, with very big eyes and short hair, which I found lovely. I named her after Siem Reap, a beautiful city of Cambodia leading to the Angkor temples that I very much enjoyed exploring.

Needless to say, things did not go well at first between them, haha. I mean, poor Rény looked at me as if I had stabbed her, she was shaking so much when I first brought back the kitten at the end of April. But, in comparison to Rény who was a sick kitten, healthy little Siem lived with 4 siblings, her mom and at least another older cat in her foster family, so she knew by heart what socializing meant and playing games around Rény (in the innocent and silly ways kittens live their life) helped them get along after only a few days.

Now they live peaceful days, playing and sleeping with each other. :)) Side note, but if anything Siem is the one who got wilder by being with Rény, instead of Rény opening up to people who are not me. xDDD 

Cannot tell you how many “it’s a bad idea” opinions I heard though, “because Rény is too difficult so she won’t tolerate it, they won’t get along and you’ll be stuck with a second cat”, so much that I ended keeping it a secret from most people and then I sent photos of them getting along to the ones who stomped all over my confidence. :)))

I honestly think people’s prejudice with cats (being selfish, using you, being too independent to be good pets) stand from never owning one and being bitter that they cannot pet other people’s cats. Then again, as my vet says “how would you react if a random dude you didn’t know hugged you in the subway? ». xDDD Personally I can not do a single thing at home without one of them keeping me company (Siem is sleeping next to me as I am writing this), so I really don’t get people’s weird ideas about cats.

Anyway, they’re very cute and I love them! 

Aaaand, I just realized that you only asked for their names.... but I ended up rambling for ten years, sorry Anon! xDD I guess adopting these cats represent the biggest and most independent decisions I took for myself as an adult so far and I will stand proudly by these choices, which is probably why I had a lot to say about them. 

TL;DR If you read this very long post and are interested in adopting an animal on your own, please do so knowing that they will definitely ask you time, money and a lot of patience (especially kittens++++ they do a lot of stupid things and they need time to learn to understand what you allow and what you don’t). Do not adopt animals if you’re not sure you’ll be able to take care of them properly for many years to come. 

Rény, Siem and I wish you a nice day Anon! Take care!

[absconditum-imaginaerum]

Taeyong | Oversight Words | 5.6k Genre | Fluff, tiny dash of angst. Notes | Female!Reader x NCT Taeyong, Alcohol/inebriation, suggestive material (mention), probably a mess I wrote in two days. Slightly edited. This was going to be 2k and then it wasn’t.  Summary | Taeyong gets a little too drunk and finally reveals the feelings he’s had for you the whole time, but not without some serious oversight on his part.  

Taeyong was a lightweight; everyone knew it, everyone made fun of it, everyone gave him shit for it. But being the sweetheart Taeyong was, he took it in stride, even when he went out with his friends and they constantly told him to slow down, joked about how he’d be blackout drunk in no time, that he probably should drink some water and eat some greasy fried foods. He mostly only went out with his friends to escape the monotony of home, of staring at the bleak white walls of his room or office, to look away from the equally bleak white pages he scribbled over in the middle of the night, the middle of the day, or really any time inspiration struck him. Even though the old man within him craved to be in the quiet, away from the bumping club music and sweaty bodies swaying around him, it was nice to spend some time lounging with some buddies and joke about things other than his alcohol intolerance.

Admittedly, he got uncomfortable any time the relationship conversation came up. Taeyong couldn’t say he was actively looking for a relationship—he actually quite enjoyed his zero commitment alone time—but sometimes he craved the affection for another more extensively than peer support. Even though his friends joked around being playfully affectionate (and he did so right back) he knew there was nothing that could fill the void of that genuine affection. His buddies often tried to use his quickly built courage to try and talk to some people around the club, but he seldom went for it. Would it be apt to call Taeyong picky? Maybe. In all the time he spent being single, he really had time to hone in on exactly what he was looking for, and while that took a little more delving into personalities to really bring to light, he tended to be a pretty good people-reader as well.

But it just so happened that that particular night brought one person who caught his attention and caught it hard. He curiously eyeballed an individual in the next cluster of seats over, sitting with their party, enjoying some drinks and laughing just like he was supposed to be doing. Mindlessly, he continued to sip at his beer, a bit hoppy for his taste (if he had a taste for alcohol; he was a self-proclaimed wine connoisseur) while he admired the features of said individual, perhaps too far off in dreamland to notice the way his friend group had caught him staring and went quiet.  They looked at him suspiciously, a close buddy, Jaehyun, followed his gaze over to your group.  

“Someone catch your fancy, Taeyong?” Jaehyun asked, almost startling the older male. Taeyong blinked hard a couple of times, crash landing back to earth as he looked to the curious eyes of his friend, and then to the other curious eyes of his group.

“Was I staring that hard?” he asked with a laugh, feeling a little embarrassed as the others joked around with him. He tried to get comfortable on the lounge he was seated on, sitting up a little straighter as he tried to bring his attention back to his own company.

But in the back of his mind, he swore he knew you from somewhere. He was already his third beer in and a shot of whiskey, which was one more than he typically had on a night out with the addition of the whiskey that he never partook in, so maybe his judgment was a little skewed. Already feeling a little funny, he chalked it up to the fact that maybe you looked like someone he knew and shook his head a little more to get his thoughts cleared.

You, however, had noticed his occasional glances. Recognizing a majority of his friend group, there was no mistaking it was him. But it was your girl’s night out, and clearly his boy’s night out, so it would be crashing both your parties if you went out of your way to speak to him—not to mention, you also knew of his intolerance and he was probably too gone to really recognize you anyway. You had to laugh at that fact. He always got real rosy in the cheeks and nose, and he got that boyish grin that was too adorable, the one he had on right now.

“Why don’t you go talk to him if you’re going to keep looking?” one of your friends suggested, nudging you in the side.  

You almost scoffed. “He’s a friend of mine. Plus it’s girls night, we agreed no interests, just us,” you said, raising your glass to cheers to your friend group.

“I’ll drink to that,” another chimed in, clinking glasses with the rest of your pals before she grabbed the hand of an unsuspecting friend and dragged her out of the lounge cluster and to the dance floor. You laughed, watching them go, watching the face of the dragged give you a horrified look begging for you to save her, but you gave her a pitiful wave.

“Isn’t that his longtime friend?” one of the boys whispered to the other away from Taeyong’s inattentive ears. Johnny peeked around Jungwoo to scan your group before landing on you, obviously the one that Jungwoo was referring to as the one Taeyong had been eyeballing.  Slowly, he nodded.

“He must already be a little tipsy to not even recognize her; or maybe he does but can’t place it,” he mentioned in return, both of them turning their gaze to Taeyong and Jaehyun who had their attention trained on the previous two.

It was a pretty well-known (or well-assumed) fact that Taeyong pined over you. The two of you had been friends for ages, and Taeyong had to grapple with some feelings that he was fairly certain you didn’t return; or, at the very least, didn’t express that you returned. He always thought you were pretty, smart, witty, funny—the list really could go on, and he had honestly caught himself comparing so many potential matches and interests to you, which ultimately sabotaged his pursuit for a relationship in the first place. He knew it wasn’t healthy, trying to find your duplicate; it ended his search for a significant other in a hurry, and the group partly knew that. They had hoped that if they pushed him hard enough, he would eventually let it go. Eventually, he would, but they weren’t sure it was coming soon enough.

Especially not as he continued to sit there and steal glances at you from the corners of his eyes when he thought his buddies weren’t paying close enough attention, but a tipsy Taeyong wasn’t particularly inconspicuous. He knew he was already on the downslope, he could feel it in the way his head was getting cloudy, and since he was already on the downslope, he continued with his beer, followed by another, and another.

It was hard to tell which bottles were his, and he wasn’t exactly keeping count as he looked across the lounge table that was littered with bottles and shot glasses and rocks glasses. It smelled of alcohol and sweat, of mixed faded colognes that wreaked of a cocktail all by themselves. Taeyong rubbed a hand against his face, to coolness from holding his bottle waking him up a bit.

“You okay, dude?”

Taeyong swung his head over to the origin of the voice—Jaehyun, who hadn’t left his side since they’d arrived. He blinked hard before a glass of cold water was shoved into his hand.

“You’re going a little ham; have some water,” he encouraged, a chuckle punctuating his teasing before he got up to give the older some space. He could tell by looking at his friend, not to mention his mannerisms, that it probably was far too late to save him. And if anyone knew Taeyong, it was Jaehyun. He knew somewhere in there, Taeyong was having a lot of internal battles, and he was sure that seeing you, whether he recognized you or not, wasn’t helping at least a few of those battles.  

Obediently, he sipped his water, noting the cool way it slipped down his throat, the feeling in his mouth, trying any type of mindful exercise to bring himself back to earth. It was hot as hell in there. At least it felt like it, he couldn’t be too sure. Clubs were notoriously toasty, but this was a bit much. He leaned forward to put the water on the table, itching to get outside to get some cool air on his face.

Taeyong stood, a little wobbly, and nearly tripped on the couple of stairs up out of their lounge pit. Jaehyun protested his departure, but he was emphatic that he needed some fresh air and ignored his friend anyway as he stumbled between the crowd of people only clogging his senses even further. Once he finally made it to the front door, he pushed both his hands against the tinted cooled glass to shove it open and all but fall into the night breeze.  

It seemed to sober him up a little bit as he slumped against the brick building, feeling the protruding corners press into his back through his dark button-up. He closed his eyes, tilting his head up to the night sky to let the breeze run over the warmest parts of his neck as he counted his breathing. Never did he do well with being intoxicated, but even less so being this intoxicated. Taeyong hated being impaired, the very thought of not being in full control almost terrified him, and yet here he was, trying to will the alcohol out of his system because even though he was inebriated, he could still tell it was a mistake.

“You good, babe?” a dainty female voice asked him. He was standing right outside the club, so the likelihood of someone seeing him was pretty high. Still, he nodded his head, not even bothering to look at whoever was checking on him— he wasn’t even sure they were talking to him, but he was sure he looked pretty bad.

“Do you need me to call you someone, or a cab?” she prodded.

“No, no, I’m good. Just need some air,” he defended, finally opening his eyes to meet a form that matched the voice. He brought a hand up to his face, trying to cool off his scalding cheeks as he turned back to ignoring her existence, finally able to hear her heels click off into the distance. He lingered outside for a bit longer, giving his cheeks a couple of taps and taking a few steps in either direction, deciding it was still best to water down the alcohol with something else.

So he approached the bar and produced some bills from his pocket to order a coke with a splash of grenadine. The bartender gave him a weird look but produced a dark icy glass garnished with a couple of cherries and an orange wedge. Taeyong shoved the bills across the bar, and collected his glass, just to lay eyes on you once more, sitting right there in front of him at the bar where he’d squeezed in to order.

You were observing him but hadn’t said anything, letting him get his business done first, but he caught your gaze. He looked like a deer caught in headlights for just a moment, watching you look at him with your pretty long lashes and glittered makeup like you were a lion and he was in trouble. Taeyong wasn’t the type to go down like that though.

He bit his lip and pushed a hand through his hair, attempting to salvage some suaveness as his gaze trained on your face. Your lips were glossy and slightly parted as you waited for him to say something, your head tilted amusedly to the side, the curiosity itching within you.

“Hi,” he started, and it widened your shy smile.

“Hi,” you replied.

“How are you?”

It was cute to watch him; you knew you were a bit done up, in a way he’d probably never seen you, only adding to the fact that he was too drunk to recognize you anyway. Even still, the sincerity in his voice you knew well—he was genuine about trying to pick you up.

“I’m well,” you replied gently, “and yourself?” You gestured with your eyes towards his drink, an unusual non-alcoholic order.

He smiled nervously at your gesture, almost missing it, as he lifted his glass a bit with a soft laugh. “I’m a little tipsy; I don’t drink well,” he admitted, the red tinge on his cheeks that was customary when he drank turned a little darker.

“You’ve been finding me all night,” you commented with a light chuckle, turning fully towards him and crossing your right leg over your left, setting your elbow on the bar to flirtatiously rest your chin against it.

“Never was one to be inconspicuous,” he returned, trying to defend himself—he really was that obvious. “Plus I find it hard to look away from someone astoundingly pretty.”

“Do you always remain articulate when you drink?” you teased; he still hadn’t caught on to who you were, and at this point, probably wouldn’t. You didn’t even give him time to reply as you slipped out of your bar chair, grabbed your drink and his hand, and led him patiently through the crowd back to his lounge cluster and his friends who, by the looks on their faces, were getting worried about him.

Gracefully, you slumped onto the lounge next to Taeyong, pulling the hem of your cocktail dress down just a little bit as you placed a hand on his shoulder.  Johnny and Jaehyun watched you closely—the both of them knew you well, and vice versa, but you ignored them for the time being because you were there in the moment for Taeyong.

His cheeks were rosy, nose almost red as a button, and his gaze glazed over you like he wasn’t sure he was even looking at anything, but that boyish grin still tugged at the corner of his lips. Taeyong sloppily pulled the glass of coke up to his mouth to take a deep sip from the straw.

“He found you,” Johnny said, breaking the somewhat awkward silence since it had been a good couple of moments since the both of you sat down and said nothing. Of course, you promptly acknowledged the both of them at that point, mind a little preoccupied with your rather inebriated boy.

“He did find me,” you replied with a chuckle, affectionately looking at Taeyong as you had been doing so most of the night. You tucked some strands of disheveled dark hair behind his ear.

“I think I’m drunk,” he told you, loudly gulping the coke as it forced down his throat.

“You are, sweetheart,” you told him with a laugh. His head lazily swung to you, noting your dress which allowed him the perfect view with the way you were sitting, slightly hung up on his shoulder and his jaw shifted a bit, tongue poking around his mouth before you took his chin to guide his face back up to yours. He eyeballed your glossy lips as he blinked slowly, eventually pulling his gaze up to your eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so drunk.”

“I don’t drink. Er… I can’t drink,” he told you for the second time.

A sweet and endearing smile pulled at your lips as you looked at him. He slumped into the backrest of the lounge, still working on his cool drink. When he’d finished slurping down that coke, you were quick to hand him a glass of water.

“I should probably get him home,” you commented. Half of you offered to take him home because you wanted to make sure he was safe, and probably with someone, meaning with you, at your house. And the other half of you wanted to take him home because you would have a means to get home. Since all of your friends had already called it a night or were nowhere to be found, it would be convenient for the both of you if Taeyong left with you.

“You don’t have to shoulder that responsibility. He came with us—”

“I’m not blaming you, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” you interjected, giving Jaehyun a sweet look. “I don’t have a ride home anyway, and I think maybe someone should look after him. How about it, do you want me to take you home?” you asked, directing your question to Taeyong who was sitting contentedly with the straw of his water perched comfortably between his lips. His eyes shifted over to you, maybe he was sobering up a little bit, and nodded.

“Yes, please,” he responded and dished his empty water cup onto the table in front of him. You held your hand out to him, gesturing for his keys, and he straightened his right leg to dig into his pocket to produce them for you, laying them gingerly in your open palm.  

You stood first, smoothing your dress out, and gave the boys a genuine smile. “Thank you for watching after him,” you said, sincerely, and then waved before cupping your hand against Taeyong’s to lead him back through the sweaty crowd of people, grabbing a to-go cup of water, and through the same front door. You clicked around on the fob, looking for lights to illuminate to indicate his car before making your way to it and gently finessing him into the passenger’s side before finding your way to the driver’s side and shove the key into the ignition to turn.

“Taeyong,” you cooed and his head swung to look at you again.

“You’re pretty,” he blurted, resting his head against his seat’s headrest as his gaze fluttered.

“Thank you,” you said, reaching out to touch against his cheek, “do you know how to get to your home?”

Meekly, he shook his head. He was nothing if not honest when he was drunk, and at least was still there enough to know that he didn’t know. So, you put the car in reverse to pull out from the parking spot to drive home; it wouldn’t be the first, or probably the last time he’d stay the night at your place.

He quietly sipped his water in the passenger’s seat, the radio low and ambient; the gears were turning in his head—he wanted to ask you so many questions like where you were taking him, but he couldn’t quite get the configuration of even that sentence. So, he sat and eyeballed you from the corner of his eyes as you carefully drove to your apartment. You pulled into the covered parking, leaving plenty of room for Taeyong to get out on his own, but he sat buckled for quite some time after you turned the car off.

“Are you tired?” you asked him, noting the time was a little before one in the morning.

He nodded shyly.

“Do you want to go in and go to sleep?” you asked, and again he nodded. He looked like just a boy in that moment, sunken into the seat with the straw of his cup comfortably between his lips as he sheepishly nodded at your questions. Maybe he needed help getting up, so you tugged the keys from the ignition and rounded the car to open his door, then held out a hand for him to take to lift him from the car.

Taeyong all but stumbled into you, his footing not great but you didn’t have difficulties corralling him sturdily back onto him. The blush that hit his cheeks with the way that your fingers laced with his to begin your trek to your apartment door was luckily masked by his current rosiness, and he wouldn’t dare look at you, even as you squeezed his hand in reassurance before coming up to your door. You produced your keys from your jacket pocket and turned the handle to carefully let him in and it didn’t seem like long before he made his way, with your help, into your bedroom with a quick pit-stop to the bathroom.

You tugged the covers of your pristinely made bed back before helping him with his jacket to toss over the Papasan chair in the corner of your room. He watched you intently, especially as you came back face to face with him. His eyes glittered like galaxies captive as he looked into your eyes, his tongue flicking out to moisten his lips for only a second.

And you saw it coming. You saw it coming the whole way and didn’t bother to stop him. His soft lips slanted against yours; gentle, warm, and tender, while his arms dangled lifelessly at his sides. Taeyong’s eyes were closed before his mouth even met yours, and it took a minute for yours to fall closed too, relishing the kiss in a way you didn’t think you ever would. Part of you knew he wouldn’t remember, and you could keep a secret, so it couldn’t hurt. But the way he broke the kiss, the soft sound of parting lips that echoed in the silence of your bedroom, sent a shiver down your spine. Even though it was over, his lips lingered, brushing against yours that had your nerves standing on end. Your eyes fluttered open, noting his were still closed. One of your hands reached forward to touch against his forearm, shielded by the sleeve of his button-up, and only then did he bring an arm forward to wrap around you with the intention of taking things further.

“T,” you uttered. You only ever called him that when he needed to pay close attention, so like clockwork, his eyes opened with a hundred percent attentiveness on what you had to say next as he backed off you a bit. “I’m going to get you a fresh cup of water, by the time I come back, I want you cozy in this bed,” you told him.

He hesitated for a moment as the comprehension kicked in, and then nodded. You turned to head back into your kitchen to get him said cup of water, lingering for a bit to give him enough time to get comfy. And when you returned, he was right where you asked—his clothes in a messy pile on the floor, himself tucked deep under the covers and you could tell by the look on his face that the alcohol was wearing and he was exhausted. The clunk of the Styrofoam to-go cup against your bedside table stirred him just enough to look at you.

“You sleep tight, if you need anything I’ll be in the living room,” you told him, ruffling his already disheveled fringe as you carded them away from his forehead, rummaging through a drawer on your way out of the bedroom and closed the door behind you.  

You grabbed an extra pillow from your linen closet on your way back to the living room, a nice throw blanket already splayed across the back of it, so your primary focus was shimmying out of your cocktail dress to pull the oversized tee you’d grabbed over your body. The couch sunk under your weight as you adjusted the pillow up against the armrest and tugged the throw over your body; you reached over to the lamp to click it off a burrow in for the night.

The sun, begging to push through the slats of your partially cracked blinds, illuminated Taeyong’s bare skin as he laid on his stomach, arms tucked up under the pillow he was laying on with the covers pushed down to the small of his back. He licked his dry lips, a groggy sound of discontent pushing from his body as he stirred to somewhat consciousness as you cracked the door open. Slowly, you crept in, trying to be as noiseless as possible before making your way over to the side of your bed. His water cup was mostly empty, which brought a tinge of a smile to your face. At least he was hydrated.

You pushed your hand over his warm back, still more or less in the same spot you left him, and cooed his name. He turned his head away from you, again, prompting you to climb over him to sit up near the top of the bed and peer down at him.

“Taeyong,” you whispered, “Taeyong, it’s time to get up to eat.”

“I don’t want to,” he grumbled and then winced, his hangover headache in full swing.

“It will make you feel better,” you reminded him, still keeping your voice down to not bother him too much. His eyes cracked open to look at you before closing again, just open long enough to judge the distance it would take to lift himself and plop his head back down on your lap. Your hands immediately threaded through his hair to comb through it.  He let out an exasperated sigh, obviously happy to be in soothing company considering his condition, and to him, little was more soothing than your tender touches anywhere on him.

“What happened?” he asked, “why do I feel like trash?” he almost groaned, adjusting his arms to be more comfortable around your legs.

“Well, you were out at the club last night with your friends, and you got drunk. Like, really drunk.”

“That explains the headache…” he muttered. “So, how did I end up here?”

“I was there; I suppose you don’t remember. My friends left me early and I didn’t have a ride home and I wanted someone to look out after you considering your condition. You couldn’t tell me the way to your new place, so I brought you here,” you said with a laugh, recalling that you sat down on the couch, gave him some water, finessed him to his own car, and drove him to your place without him fully understanding who you were. You essentially kidnapped him.

“I don’t remember anything,” he admitted, which meant he didn’t remember the kiss.

“Then I suppose you don’t remember hitting on me at the bar or calling me pretty about three times,” you reminded him. You could feel the way he tensed up on your lap, his eyes flying open to stare at the covered window across the room from your bed.

“I literally tried to pick you up and you didn’t… say anything??” he asked.

You laughed.  “It was cute! I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“What else don’t I remember?” he asked, almost in agony. He sincerely hoped it didn’t go too far. Hitting on you in the first place was an extreme oversight—the fact that he was too drunk to recognize you or put two and two together was just a blunder.

“Don’t get mad,” you started which piqued his curiosity beyond comprehension. What could you possibly say, the worst-case scenario was—

“We slept together.”

His head shot off your lap and he was upright faster than you could blink.

“We what!”

The panic on his face was so much more than you could ever have imagined. He looked at you wide-eyed, nervous out of his mind. The fact that he didn’t remember anything meant he didn’t remember if proper precautions were taken, which was his primary concern over sleeping with his best friend.

“I’m kidding, Tae!” you exclaimed, reaching out to take both of his arms to calm him down as much as possible. You could almost see his heart racing, almost able to feel the way his blood pumped in such an intense rush. “I brought you home and put you to bed.”

“That’s so not funny!” he complained. “You scared the crap out of me! I thought I was way more responsible than that!”

“Are you calling me irresponsible? After I brought you home?” you questioned, but it was all in more teasing.

“I mean, no! But that’s still not funny!”

“Are you saying you’re put off by the idea of sleeping with me?”

“How do I even answer that?” he asked, blush tinging his cheeks. “I mean, you’re my closest friend. We’re not really in the type of situation that calls for thinking about that? But if I have to answer… I can’t say that I am…”

Now that he seemed a bit calmer, it was time to drop the real bombshell on him. You’d opened up the conversation with that shock tactic. But now you weren’t sure if he’d even believe you.

“Well, that’s good, because you did kiss me.”

Taeyong buffered for a moment, the gears turning in his head to decide if he should believe you or not after you had just fibbed about something so serious.

“What are you trying to do?” he asked. He’d be hard-pressed not to question your motives at this point. “I don’t remember,” he reiterated, looking at you with a knitted brow to display his frustration. His hands were clawing against the comforter, now crumpled on your bed underneath him after scrambling to his knees off your lap.

“I’m not trying to do anything,” you replied tenderly. Having this conversation was welling a handful of feelings deep in your chest, feelings that were pricked at last night when he did kiss you. You swallowed hard, looking at him sternly, trying to relay to him the seriousness of that statement. It was the truth after all.  You weren’t sure how else to tell him; what else was there to say besides telling him in plain language, straight up, unadulterated, no frills or run-around.

You cast your gaze down for a moment looking at the way his knees were tucked under him, before trailing up his bare chest, over the centerline of it, over his collarbones, his slender neck, his sharp jaw to his perfect lips you could still remember were as soft as a cloud against your own, slightly parted, ready to say something.  

He wasn’t ready for you, but you leaned in anyway, gently putting one hand against his leg and the other to his side, deep into the comforter, and tilted your head up to take his soft lips with your own. Taeyong jolted a bit, and it took a solid moment before the feeling really did become familiar. One of his hands took the wrist of yours against his leg. The other slowly finding its way to your jaw, gingerly stroking his fingertips across the cut of it before filing around your ear, cupping against the side of your neck as he finally leaned into you.  

Before too long, you tugged away, feeling your point was made, but he wasn’t ready to let you go. His hand still circled your wrists, so you didn’t depart the kiss too quickly. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth, relishing the taste of your lips for a moment longer before his eyes finally opened.  You drew back to sit on your own legs again, tugging your hand back to place them both in your lap as you looked at him nervously. Maybe he really didn’t remember anyway and now you were in trouble.  The look on his face wasn’t particularly receptive, but sometimes he was difficult to read, especially as his jaw shifted, gaze scanning your face before he made his next move.

“You’re right,” he muttered, leaving you no time to reply as he leaned into you, reaching out to reel you in from behind the back to tug you close to him, slanting his lips back across yours a bit more confidently this time around. One of your hands caught his shoulder to stabilize yourself, especially as he leaned deeper over you, while the other pressed against his warm chest. He continued to lean deeper until your legs shifted out from under you and your back laid against the mattress and he hovered over you, breaking that kiss too, but not without following it up with a couple of tender pecks. Taeyong’s fringe had fallen forward, brushing against your forehead just as your eyes began to open, just to close again as you tilted your chin up to kiss him once more.  

He pulled back far enough you couldn’t reach; for a moment, he just wanted to look at you, to observe your features, your eyes and the way they glittered looking at him, your mouth and the way your tongue was trapped between your teeth just behind your glossy lips.

“You really are beautiful…” he whispered, “and you’re right, the second you kissed me… that’s a sensation I can’t forget.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Pride,” he said, “fear, insecurity, stupidity, the list goes on. Most importantly, I’d give up so much before I gave you up.”

“Dummy,” you replied, teasingly shaking your head.

“Don’t remind me,” he answered, leaning over to dodge your face and hide his slight embarrassment against your neck, absolutely adoring the quiet sigh you tried to hide as he kissed against the crook of your neck before you felt his arms dig under you.

“Make breakfast with me?” he asked, hulling you to an upright position again, mostly across his lap before letting you go. You crawled off the bed and reached over to take his hand, lacing it deep with yours as you tugged him towards the kitchen. A genuine smile crossed both of your faces as he followed you, unable to help the desire to turn you against the kitchen counter and kiss you again through that smile, making up for all the lost time he spent worrying about what could happen instead of just going for it.

[tedesquire]

Hi! Could I please add another request to my list? :D it's based off a Hey Arnold episode in which Bill and the reader are on a week long school vacation and they run into each other at the beach and Bill develops a crush on a pretty girl who befriends him but the reader finds out the girl's only using Bill to win a sandcastle contest in order to be on the show Baywatch. The reader tries to tell Bill but he won't listen and he eventually overhears the girl talking with her boyfriend and tells her off only to win the contest with the reader and they confess their feelings? 💕💕

Summer Lovin’ 

Words: 2554

Warnings: cursing, female pronouns (but no genitalia mentioned and no skin color specified) a bit of angst (fluffy ending though)

Author’s Note: first of all, I fucking love Hey, Arnold! and definitely love Helga G. Pataki with all my heart. She’s a weirdo and I love it. I knew exactly what episode you were talking about. I can't believe you got me to write 13 pages of fanfic for such a specific and niche fandom, but hey, I don’t do this for the fame. I do this for the little bit of serotonin my brain gets when I imagine myself in scenarios with fictional characters because real men are disappointing. (Mod Olivia)

-

You hated Bill. You hated the stupid way his stupid blonde ringlets caught the California sun, the stupid vacant look in his stupid sapphire eyes at almost all times, the stupid fucking sliver of tan skin he exposed with his crop tops that he somehow got away with at school. Not to mention you loathed the stupid fucking grin that he gave to his best friend Ted, the one that proceeded the ridiculous laugh the stupid boy had.

All these things you despised, detested, and loathed with every fiber of your being. Simple annoyances beginning since kindergarten snowballed into a big, white burning ball of hatred for the boy. Hatred that made your cheeks heat up and stomach churn, just as it was doing now.

You had been so excited for Spring Break, your family deciding to travel 5 and a half hours to a beach house in Half Moon Bay. A week of the sun, sea, shopping, seashells, boardwalks, and salt-water taffy, with no Bill to bother you.

 So, naturally, when you had reached the beach after a long day of travel, the sight of Bill sitting on the sand in nothing but a swimsuit, skin glowing with tanning oil, made your heart stutter. Okay, perhaps you didn’t hate him… despise him, detest him, or loathe him entirely. From an outside perspective… some might even say that you were… in love with him. 

Oh God, it was true. You couldn't stop thinking about Bill. He looked like he was sculpted after an angel. A prince charming on a white horse. And what he lacked in academic intelligence he more than made up for with kindness. He always treated you with the utmost respect, while you paid him back in nothing but sarcasm and insults. 

You didn’t know exactly why you were so mean to him. Perhaps it was your nerves trying to stop you from getting overeager and admitting your crush. One day you were going to have to either man up and confess your feelings or get over him but that day didn’t seem to be approaching anytime soon. 

You were intent on pretending he wasn’t here, setting up your own place to sunbathe until you heard your name fall from his lips.

“Y/n!?” Bill walked up behind you, prompting you to turn around to face him. “What are you doing here?”

“Bill.” You stated dryly, “My family and I are staying nearby.”

“No way! My family’s right over there!” He pointed at a nearby beach house, a young woman who you recognized as recently-graduated and newfound wife, Missy Preston making out with Bill’s father on the porch. Ugh.

“Yes way.” You responded dryly. “We’re over there.” You pointed over your shoulder. “Isn’t this a coincidence, my ideal vacation ruined by the one person I didn’t want to see.” You noticed a flicker of disappointment flash in his eyes, but you couldn't stop yourself even if you tried. “Don’t get any weird ideas about getting all chummy with me, trying to hang out or anything. Just because we’re staying at the same beach and all.” You scoffed, causing him to flinch.

“Uh, yeah. Fine with me, y/n.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before walking off. You eyed him, sighing softly. 

“What is the matter with me?” You mumble, setting yourself down on the sand. This would have been the perfect moment to get closer to him if only you didn’t have to open your stupid mouth.

[Bill’s POV]

As Bill walked off, he felt most confused. He could never remember what he did to make you dislike him so much, but tried to get back on your good side. Thankfully, with the sun, sand, and waves surrounding him, Bill couldn’t stay too upset for too long. 

He had decided to finally get in the water, heading towards the crashing shore when he had stepped on something.

Huh. Bill was met with the sight of a brightly colored bucket and shovel. Excellent! There was nothing more resplendent than a nice sand castle. Ted was going to be so jealous when he heard. All he was doing for the week was staying at home watching Deacon. 

Too caught up in his new activity, Bill barely noticed someone approaching him.

“That’s a stellar sandcastle you have there.” Bill’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. Growing up in California he had seen his fair share of tan beach babes, but this one took the cake. A total babe. Talking to me.... Say something, dude!

“Thanks.” Bogus. Thank God Ted wasn’t here to see him blow his shot so odiously.

She pushed her sunglasses down her nose to look over the lenses, her bright eyes meeting his. “My name’s Summer.”

“Bill S. Preston, Esquire.” He puffed up his chest, raking a hand through his hair. 

“Well, Bill S. Preston, Esquire, you seem to be a pretty great artist. That’s the best sandcastle I’ve ever seen.” His dark brows knitted in confusion, looking over her to see if she was teasing him. “I bet you’ll walk away with first prize from the sandcastle competition at the festival thing later this week.”

“Sandcastle competition?”

“Yeah! Whoever wins first place will get a guest appearance on Baywatch! But that’s not until the end of the week. How about, in the meantime, you can show me around the beach? It’s my first time visiting the bay.” Baywatch? That’s only the most triumphant show on television! Ted was going to be so jealous. 

“Sounds most excellent! However, It is also my first time visiting the bay. Perhaps… we could explore the area together?”

“I like the way you think, Bill.” She winked, sitting on the sand next to him, the pair getting comfortable.

“What the hell?” You mumbled, looking over your book to watch Bill cozying up with a stranger. Your heart twisted painfully, swallowing thickly, You had no right to be jealous, he wasn’t your boyfriend, not to mention you were cruel to him in every interaction, but that didn’t stop a bitter taste from forming on your tongue. 

You stood, collecting your things and trekking back to your beach house, the beach having lost its luster.

-

You were so over this vacation. You would have given anything to stay at home. It seemed everywhere you went, Bill and that girl seemed to be infecting the air with their infatuation. 

For the past two days you’ve had to suffer watching the pair on the beach splash each other with sea water, build sand castles, and sunbathe with each other; However, that was nothing compared to today.

You and your family had decided to spend the afternoon on the boardwalk. There you had to endure the couple on the carousel holding hands, feeding each other saltwater taffy, and watching the sunset by the wharf. Most fucking heinous. 

It was early evening, and thankfully, Bill and whatever her name was were nowhere to be seen. You didn’t know if you would vomit or cry every time Bill had given her that award-winning smile, the one you so badly wanted to be the recipient of. 

You didn’t think it could get any worse, until you had leaned against the pier, ears picking up a familiar voice, Bill’s. Your heart fluttered, only to sink back down when you realized he was still with her under the boardwalk, back on the beach. 

“Isn’t this amazing?”

“You are.” You scoffed at Bill’s attempt at flirting, ignoring the tightening of your throat.

“I’m so glad I met you.” She giggled. “I’ve never felt so comfortable with anyone.” 

If it had been any other couple, you might have enjoyed such a romantic conversation. This was all your fault, if you hadn’t been such a bitch to Bill on the first day, perhaps it would have been you and him hanging out at the boardwalk. 

“Can I see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here!” 

“Excellent!” You heard him scat in that ridiculous, high-pitched way he did with Ted when they mimicked a guitar. As he walked off, you smiled, not noticing you were crying until a tear slid down your cheek.

You were such an idiot. If only you were able to act normal for a fucking minute and effectively communicate with Bill about your feelings. You had fucked up, it was too late. 

“Hey!” You had heard her speak again, wondering if Bill had returned.

“Hey, babe.” That was definitely not Bill.

“It’s all going according to plan. I do believe Bill is falling head over heels for me.”

“Well who wouldn’t?” You rolled your eyes, angrily wiping the tears off your cheeks.

“He thinks I really like him. What a moron.” Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What the hell was she talking about?

“If he’s as good as you think he is, we’ll for sure win the contest and end up on Baywatch.” It only took you a second to connect all the dots. This jabroni was clearly her boyfriend, and she was only flirting with Bill to win the stupid castle contest.

You had heard enough, running back to the beach in hopes of finding Bill. 

-

Fuck, all these beach houses looked the same. If Bill hadn’t pointed out which house he was staying at you would have no idea how you would find him.

You knocked on the door, praying you remembered the right house, and that Bill would answer instead of his hormonal parents. 

“Y/n?” Thankfully Bill did answer the door, hair wet from what you assumed to be a recent shower. “How’s it...hanging?” He stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door behind him.

“Hey. I’m sorry about being a dickweed earlier.” He seemed as equally surprised as you were by your apology. “Um, I guess I was just thrown off at your presence… that’s not really an excuse… anyways, the whole reason I’m here is about that girl you were with earlier.”

“Summer? What about her, dude?” Oh my gosh, of course her name was something as pretentious as Summer. 

“Well, I’m not exactly sure how to tell you this, but… She’s using you. I was on the boardwalk, and I had overheard you leaving, and I guess her boyfriend came up to her.. Long story short, she’s going to try and get you to build her a sandcastle to win that festival thing at the end of the week and take the credit so they can win the roles on Baywatch.” You met his eyes, swallowing thickly. “I’m sorry.” 

He stayed quiet, your eyebrows furrowing. 

“That’s heavy. I mean, I’m not stupid. You’re usually most cruel around me, and now you’re acting all...nice? I do not think I’m falling for this one.”

“You don’t believe me?” You couldn’t believe it. “I know I could be less of a bitch to you, but I’ve never lied to you in all the years I’ve known you. You just met her three days ago!”

“Y/n…” He spoke carefully. “I think you were correct when you said we shouldn’t try to hang out just because we’re staying at the same beach.” Your throat tightened, that sour taste returning to your tongue.

“Fine!” You hissed. “I don’t even know why I wasted my breath and time trying to warn you. God, I wish we had never come to this stupid fucking beach!” You ran off his porch into the sand, face burning with shame.

-

Bill couldn’t stop thinking about your interaction yesterday. He was barely paying attention to anything Summer was saying to him. He wished Ted was here. He always knew what to say.

He walked beside her on the boardwalk, eyes glued to the crashing waves, mind replaying the scene over and over again.

“Bill, are you listening?” Bill blinked, turning to face her, cheeks flushing.

“Sorry.”

“I said I’m going to get more sunblock, you’re looking a little pink.”

“Oh, thanks, babe.” He heard her walk off, zoning out again. You had looked so betrayed when he didn’t believe you, but, it couldn't be you were telling the truth. Why would you do something like that? All you seemed to do was glare at him, brush him off, and scoff at his jokes. It was clear he wasn’t your favorite person.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts once more, looking around to see if Summer had come back yet. His eyes caught her figure walking up the beach and he raised his hand to wave, stopping when he saw her wrap her arms around some unknown guy. He was too far away to hear what they were saying but knew what it meant when she had kissed him. Y/n was right. And I was so non-non-non excellent to her.

-

Sweat was dripping from Bill’s brow, his chest heaving as he panted. He could not remember where your house was, even if it was supposedly close to his own. It was the third time he had run up and down the coastline, trying to remember where you had pointed four days ago.

This was ridiculous, he was never going to find you… until Monday, when you both would be at school. But that was days from now!

“Y/n!” He fell to his knees in the sand, trying to catch his breath. 

“Bill?” 

“Y/n!” It was a miracle. He noticed the basket in your hands, having collected odd rocks, seashells and glass while walking along the shore. You had been trying to explore away from your house, hoping not to run into the very man who was looking for you.

“How’s it… hanging?” You asked awkwardly, scanning the area for the female that was usually seen by his side. “Where’s Summer?” He scrambled to stand in front of you.

“Y/n, you were most veracious last evening. Summer had been pursuing me with malicious intent. I caught sight of her embracing her boyfriend and I knew you were speaking the truth. I regret the way I treated you. I should have trusted you.”

“I mean… You had reason to doubt me. It’s not all your fault. Besides, it seemed as if she really liked you. I probably wouldn’t have believed me either.” You coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of your head sheepishly. “Um, to be honest, I really only acted so bogus because I… like you.”

“No way…” He breathed, trying to recall any instance where it seemed you had a crush on him.

“Uh.. yeah. Yes way.” Your cheeks pinked. “But I obviously don’t expect you to return the feeling. I just get really nervous around you so I guess I figured I should treat you like dirt instead of trying to talk to you like a normal person. But I was worried you would think I was too weird, or that I talk too much, or-” You were cut off by a pair of lips. It was so foolish… and so Bill. 

“What about Summer?” You asked once he had pulled away.

“What about her?” It was just like Bill to not stay too upset for too long. 

His gaze was burning, his lips curling into that perfect, knee-melting, pearly smile. That smile you couldn’t stand. That smile that you couldn’t believe was finally directed at you.

[jisungsmochi]

rest your love - lee haechan

don’t worry!! i didn’t forget about this series hehe,, i personally really liked this one!! i’m probably going to try and write more often!

anyways pls enjoy,, i’ll link my masterlist for the other parts of this series (nct dream as ‘the vamps’ songs)

word count: 2.2k 

summary: “when the world gets loud, baby you can rest your love on me”

haechan never understood why people liked to be chased. he thought that all he needed to do was ask someone out and boom, a beautiful relationship. until he befriends you, and learns that sometimes people just need a shoulder to lean on, before they can rest their love on someone.

//

I see you move, so I do understand

Why you get attention?

I hear you talk, but I don't comprehend

Why I get no mention?

“it’s physically impossible to dislike me, i’m just a catch” haechan brags while walking to his first college class, his friends, renjun and jaemin trailing behind him.

“just because everyone liked you in high school, doesn’t mean people will in college. it’s a completely different ball game” renjun rolled his eyes at how overly optimistic and delusional his friend was being.

“ah let him live, he’ll find out soon enough” jaemin chuckles softly as he and renjun wave to haechan,  scurrying off to their own lectures.

haechan shrugs, not taking in any of his friends words. he stumbled into the classroom, scanning for an empty seat. he quickly made his way to a spare desk, pulling out all his materials. just as the tutor walked into the room, his eyes met those of, who he believed, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. you flaunted your way to the last empty seat, which happened to be next to the awfully cheery boy, smiling at you.

you weren’t having the best day, immediately regretting your choice of a desk mate. as soon as you sat down, haechan was a blabbering mess. he shot questions left and right at you, despite the fact you barely responded to any of them. you just assumed he wanted to make friends fast, or he was just a chatterbox. “so how are you doing on this fine day?” he mutters to you, but received a stern glare in response. you tilted your head to the front of the room, zoning in on your tutor. haechan would lie if he said he didn’t feel slightly deflated. usually he had no problem making conversation with strangers. but you were so cold, so uninterested, it really hurt his ego. maybe renjun was right, not everyone would like him. but haechan was an unbelievably stubborn optimist. he was going to befriend you, no matter how long it took.

//

And you know, you know where to find me

Yeah, you know where to go when you're looking for love

And you know, you know where I'm hiding

Yeah, you know

it had been over three weeks since haechan first met you and you still wouldn’t budge. you only spoke to him during group tasks, other than that you continued to ignore his advances. haechan got the message loud and clear that you weren’t going to pay him attention. it took a toll on his own self confidence, until renjun gave him a stern talking to,

“god don’t let her get to your head, dude!! she’s awful for not wanting to be friends with you”

haechan pouted, “but she’s so pretty, i can’t just ignore her”

at that moment, he received a notification on his phone.

y/n: is this haechan? i think you took my notes by accident

his eyes widened, how did you even get his facebook account?

he scrambled around his room, looking into his backpack and surely enough, there were your notes, prettily written up.

haechan: hello! i do have your notes, i can meet you somewhere to hand it back? maybe the cafe? we can get something to eat!

renjun was now peering over haechan’s shoulder, too invested in this interaction.

y/n: no it’s fine, just give it to me next class, thanks

after reading your message, renjun bursted out laughing.

“dude that’s brutal, she’s something else” haechan fiddled with his phone, glaring at the other boy. he clicked on your profile, sending you a friend request as he scrolled through your posts. he saw that your friends had wished you a happy birthday, almost a year ago. he then realised it was in a few days...

“i have the perfect plan to get her to notice me” haechan smirks, renjun rolling his eyes,

“you’re ridiculous”

//

it was a friday afternoon, when haechan stumbled into class. you looked over at him, expecting some type of greeting, but you didn’t hear a peep from the boy.

strange, you thought to yourself.

as you were preparing for the lesson, haechan pulled something out of his bag. you looked over, noticing a small pink box now placed on your side of the table. you raised your eyebrow at him, in which he whispered,

“happy birthday, y/n”

your face froze. how did he know it was your birthday?

you looked back at the small box, slowly moving your hands to open it. to your surprise, there was a red velvet cupcake, decorated with a ton of rainbow sprinkles. there was a tiny picket that said:

“happy birthday, cutie!”

you couldn’t hide your smile, which only made haechan swoon even more. you weren’t the type to make a big deal out of your birthday, but this gesture from haechan truly made your day. you bit your lip softly, eyes meeting his.

“t-thankyou, haechan. i really appreciate this” you smiled at him softly, not caring that you were now on speaking terms with him.

“anything for you, y/n” he cheerfully responded, turning his attention to the front of the room.

maybe lee haechan was worth letting in...

//

the days following, haechan would spam you with random texts throughout the day. initially you would have been annoyed, but after his generous birthday gift, you started to enjoy his company. although you wouldn’t say it to his face, you silently appreciated him.

“how is my beautiful, y/n doing?” he smirked as he walked with you after class. he’d always compliment you, each time making you gush inside.

“i’m alright, have a ton of homework to do though” you sigh, thinking back to the stack of work you had on your desk.

“oh poor thing! do you want to copy my work? i have it here right now i ca-“

“no, haechan, it’s okay. if i need help, i’ll just...call you or something” you paused, looking over at the boy whose eyes just lit up like a christmas tree.

“of course you can call me! call me anytime you want!” he exclaimed. you shake your head softly at him as you both continued walking.

once haechan met up with renjun and jaemin again, he couldn’t stop gushing about you.

“...and then she said i could call her! well she said she’d call me, but same thing” he explained your interaction to his two friends as they were eating at a local diner.

“so romantic” renjun sarcastically comments, causing jaemin to elbow him slightly.

“i think it’s a good step! i mean atleast she’s talking to you now” jaemin chimed in, feeding into his friend’s cheerful nature.

“yeah! i have a lot of hope for us” haechan smiles to himself, in which jaemin and renjun looked over at eachother before rolling their eyes.

you did end up calling haechan that night, as you were stuck on the very last question of the homework.

“y/n, it’s hard to explain, let me just send you my answer” haechan insisted,

“no, i feel guilty” you sigh, placing down your pen.

“it’s really okay, i want to help you” you bit your lip, eventually giving in.

“okay fine, but i’ll owe you something in return” you agree, hoping whatever he wanted wouldn’t be too bad.

“hmmm how about going to the movies with me this weekend? i know you wanted to see the new zombie one that just came out” he suggested. although you were shocked he was practically asking you on a date, were more shocked he remembered you talking about this movie.

“do you really think that is proportionate to what you’re doing for me?” you roll your eyes playfully, finding his advances quite endearing.

“yep!! take it or leave it” you hesitated for a moment, what’s the worst that could happen?

“okay fine, you have yourself a deal” you replied. haechan quickly put himself on mute (or so he thought), letting out a loud ‘YES!’, before returning to the call. you had heard everything, softly chuckling to yourself.

he was pretty cute.

//

That when the stars go out, you can rest your love on me

And when the world gets loud, baby, you can rest your love on me

“that ending was terrible” you pouted as you left the cinema with haechan.

“it wasn’t so bad, it could have been worse” he shrugged, leading you to the next location.

“hm i guess so, by the way, where are we going anyway?” you questioned, walking alongside him, observing your surroundings.

“this cool burger place i found online, here i’ll show you some photos” he pulled out his phone, swiping through the photos. you nodded along, agreeing to let him lead the way.

“y/n? is that you?” you heard a deep voice call, you head shot up, so did haechan’s.

“who’s that?” your mouth went dry. your body froze up. why was he here? why did he have to call out to you?

“oh my god it is you! long time no see” the mysterious boy approached the pair of you, completely disregarding haechan’s existence. he noticed how uncomfortable you were, eyes flickering between the boy and you. he placed his arm loosely around your back, the other boy’s eyes following in suit.

“oh i see, you’re dating someone. dang, i guess i missed my shot. he doesn’t seem like your type” the boy scoffed, arms folded as he stared you both down.

“w-we have to go” you finally bring yourself to mutter, pulling haechan along with you.

“y/n who was that?” haechan kept repeating, which only made you want to cry.

“he’s my ex, okay? just take me home” you sniffled, haechan immediately became concerned. he didn’t ask any further questions, driving you straight back to your place.

as he reached your house, he looked over at you, tears brimming your eyes.

“i-i’m sorry that our day was cut short. i was really enjoying myself. my ex and i ended on pretty bad terms and i would just like some time alone right now, i hope you understand” you sniffled, which made haechan’s heart ache.

“you don’t have to apologise. you know where to find me if you need me. i’ll be waiting for you to open up to me one day, y/n. however long it takes” he assures you, leaving you with a warm feeling in your stomach. you just nodded back at him, making your way into your house.

haechan sat in his car for a while, wishing he could take away all your pain.

//

you invited haechan to meet you at the local park. with no further questions, he rushed out of his room, eager to see you again. you waited patiently on the small bench, swinging your legs back and forth. you heard heavy footsteps approach, your eyes meeting those of the boy who radiated happiness.

“are you alright?” haechan starts as he takes a seat next to you, leaving a small gap between you both.

“y-yeah, i’m ready to tell you everything” you began,

“he and i ‘dated’ two years ago. i say ‘dated’ because well, i thought we were, but turns out he was just another player and i was just another pawn in his little game. it was my first relationship too, messed me up pretty bad. that’s why i tend to keep to myself, not really letting others in too much. he made me feel like every guy who gave me attention just wanted me for their own selfish needs” you sigh, eyes avoiding haechan’s. he wanted to hold your hand, but opted not to.

“he’s an asshole, you didn’t deserve that. i-i could treat you so much better i promise-“

“haechan, c-can we just slow things down?” you finally made eye contact with him, his face contorting into a confused expression.

“i know you like me, and i would be lying if i said i didn’t have a slight interest in you too. but i don’t think i’m ready for a relationship yet” you admit, worried for his reaction. but to your surprise, he didn’t feel sad or dejected at all. instead he smiled widely at you, leaning in closer.

“i’ll go as slow as you want. you can rest your love on me, whenever you need. i’m just glad to hear you like me too” he batted his eyelids, making you softly chuckle.

“thankyou” you whispered to him, moving closer so that your shoulders touched. the rest of the day was filled with random activities from the arcade, to a bike ride along the park’s trail and finally dinner. haechan came to realise that being with somebody wasn’t black and white. there was a grey area that lied in between. he didn’t care how long he needed to wait, all he knew was that he finally got you to like him. and that was enough to make him the happiest man alive.

[darth-does-stuff]

triggers: cursing, assholes, helicopter parents, mentions of being a ‘gifted kid’, losing someone mention/implication, dying mention/implication, public being stressful, tell me if i need to add anything please!!

“Hey, Pat, why do you act so differently when doing the superhero gig?” Virgil asked casually, hanging upside down off the couch. His eyes widened as he realized what he said and quickly added, “Only if you wanna answer, of course.” He coughed awkwardly, staring resolutely up at the ceiling.

Patton snorted softly, leaning back in the armchair. “‘S alright, Vee. I’m fine with answering,” he moved around slightly as he tried to get comfortable before sighing. “The reason I act so bubbly and cheerful when in the costume is, 1, because of the fucking mayor. Dude’s a prick who believes that if you aren’t happy, you can’t possibly be a superhero. If you don’t act happy, let the mask slip for even a second, he threatens to boot you from the city and reveal your identity, the asshole,” he rolled his eyes, muttering some colorful things under his breath. 

“Anyways, besides the insolent mayor, the public just expects us to act like that. For Roman, it isn’t as much of a problem, considering he’s sort of just naturally like that. But even for him, it gets straining and tiring after a while. The public pushes that expectation of being bright and peppy and charming to a whole new, unobtainable, and frankly unhealthy level,” Patton explained, leaning his head against his fist. “But yeah, I guess. Hope that explains it.”

 The two vigilantes sat there as they pondered that for a moment before Virgil spoke up softly, but with no less feeling in his voice, “Why do the corrupt people always have to be the ones that have power?”

Logan snorted contemptuously, “Normal people don’t need that power. They’re usually content with their lot in life, at least the ones that aren’t too affected by dumbass decisions. But corrupt people? If they get even the slightest taste of power, hell, they don’t even need to have gotten that, they’ll claw their way to the top, to those positions of power. Because they’re determined enough to make it there, because they won’t let anyone get in their way. And we’re the ones that have to deal with the collateral damage from them and their decisions.” 

“It’s such a shame,” Roman said quietly, picking fuzz off the carpet. “People might have actual happy lives if it weren’t for these—these monsters,” his fist clenched, the knuckles going white as he experienced a wave of strong emotions.

Patton gave a mirthless laugh, “That’s offensive to monsters. The fuckers are so much worse.” 

Logan stared directly at the ground, already knowing what question was going to come next. His phone was blowing up, going through different games apps and games as his powers went slightly haywire. He took a deep breath just as the question came.

“Hey, Logan…if you don’t mind me asking…why do you also act so different in the mask? I mean, you’re much more…” Roman struggled to find the correct word, “humorous when you’re not in the costume. I’m just kinda wondering if it’s for sort of similar reasons as Pat’s?” 

Logan let out a deep sigh, staring at the ground for a moment before looking up, leaning back up against the wall. “I don’t mind. It’s kind of complicated I guess. There’s just a lot of layers to it,” he said quietly, his phone finally turning off. “As a kid, my mom and dad were essentially helicopter parents. I was their first kid and they were so worried they’d mess up somehow. They didn’t let me play with the other kids that much, didn’t let me put up posters in my room or decorate it, made me focus on my studies and school.

At around 12, they finally relaxed. I had a 4 year old brother by then and my baby sister had been born a month ago. I was free to do so much more suddenly. But…I didn’t. Because I was scared. I stuck to what I knew, my studies and my books. I was pegged as ‘the gifted kid’. And, y’know what? I could live with that. I could deal with being whispered about, ‘Oh, he’s that smart kid right?’ ‘Yeah, it’s kinda freaky how he knows so much,’” he mimicked the students' whispering voices. 

“Just as long as I was taken seriously, as long as I wasn’t a joke, I could live with it. But during…I think it was around either  senior year in high school or freshman year in college, I realized that I…didn’t want that. I wanted to joke around, I wanted to relax, I wanted to unwind, I wanted to finally be myself. But there was always that part of me that did want to be taken seriously and that translated to my superhero persona, I guess. And being a vigilante, I had to work doubly hard to be taken seriously. People always seemed to be aware that I wasn’t a superhero, always assuming that I failed to become one, when in reality it was my choice. But they just assumed that being a vigilante was somehow inferior to being a superhero, as if they couldn’t accept that, hey! News flash, they might even be equals!” he did sarcastic jazz hands before letting his arms fall limply to his sides, his head falling back onto the wall.  

“I just…I had to be taken seriously, y’know? Else people might not listen to me and I could…” he swallowed. “I could lose them,” he whispered hoarsely. Virgil stiffened slightly at the last sentence, before consciously making his muscles relax. The two vigilantes shared a small glance before Logan resumed talking. 

“But when I’m out of the suit, I don’t need to worry about that stuff. I can just…be myself. I don’t need to worry about being listened to, being considered a joke, because there’s not many real consequences with that. Nobody’s gonna literally die if they don’t follow my instructions. Sure, I might get a little annoyed, but ultimately I can just flip them off and move on,” he shrugged slightly, just a small lift of the shoulders. 

The two superheroes' mouths formed in silent ‘O’. “Damn,” Roman whispered, his hand still at his side as the fuzz lay forgotten on the carpet. 

Patton chuckled mirthlessly, resting his cheek on his fist. “Guess this city’s really fucked up, huh?” he asked tiredly, the bags under his eyes obvious. 

Virgil’s mouth quirked upwards at the corners, “And that’s why we’re here.”

authors notes: gotta love them one shots ghdshadsfjsa. this one shot basically just explains the distinction between their superhero/vigilante personas and their actual personalities and the reasons behind them.

[taetaespeaches]

“The displeasure was mine.”

hoseok x reader (or oc) genre: fluff word count: 1.8K

a/n: Hi lovelies! This is Hobi and Petal/reader’s first meeting and well Petal is not impressed. But also, she’s intrigued. And secretly fond. But mostly annoyed. And Hobi is just happy and fond and he enjoys teasing her and yeah, it’s fluff but also idk what it is. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading! :)) 

IT was just a comment. Or a question rather. It shouldn’t have set you off the way it did, but the way it was asked, with complete lack of knowledge of who you really were and a total misunderstanding of your personality, it was… annoying.

Maybe it was also the way in which he asked the question. Stringing the words together through that sunshine grin he’d been flashing to everyone since he arrived.

More likely than not, it had everything to do with the fact that you had a shitty day and weren’t in the mood for partying, but had promised your friend that you would make an appearance, and was instantly reminded of that the second you tried to back out from coming. That was probably to blame.

But this man, irksomely handsome and optimistic, and for some reason on a mission to cheer you up, just had to ask you the question that was now grating on you as you mustered a tight smile in response to his bright one.

“Why are you so serious?”

That was it. That was all he asked.

You stared at the man for a total of three seconds before giving him the tiniest forced smile, knowing full well it relayed your annoyance.

“Do I know you?” You finally asked, the man’s eyes widening as he slowly shook his head.

“I believe this is the first time we’re meeting,” he replied, a bit more nervous than his initial question to you. He sat on the arm of the sofa that was perpendicular to the loveseat you were seated on.

“Right,” you nodded a couple times. “So why are you asking me about my mood as if we’ve met before?”

The handsome man simply stared at you for a split second before his smile widened once more, his almond-shaped eyes turning to crescents with his unflinching cheerfulness. “Well, I’m Hoseok,” he told you, holding a hand out to shake.

Scoffing at him, you looked down at his hand before meeting his gaze again. However, you noticed the knowing expression on his face as he took in the slight curve up on your lips that unwelcomingly appeared on your own face.

“Hoseok,” you repeated. “You’re the idol.” You had heard about the man before through your mutual friend who went to school with Hoseok. He cocked his head at you in excitement that you’d heard of him before. “You have an idol look,” you noted, the man giggling at the comment. Why did his laugh have to be so cute?

“What does that mean?” He asked curiously, the smile still planted on his features, not quite as wide but equally as bright.

“Handsome,” you shrugged, watching how that smile morphed into a boastful one as he shot you an arrogant look. Oh jesus.

“You think I’m handsome?” He asked, raising his eyebrows slightly, relishing in the compliment.

Looking at him with a judging expression, you looked away from him to scan the rest of the room. “Looks aren’t everything.”

As he chuckled in amusement you rolled your eyes, looking back to him. The annoyance you felt toward the man probably had nothing to do with Hoseok himself and everything to do with your poor mood, but suddenly it felt like your heart was pounding against your chest out of irritation. It had to be irritation.

However, despite the bothersome presence of the dude who seemed to be the actual embodiment of the sun, you found that your eyes were drawn to him. Before he approached you from across the party, you’d been watching him conversate with the other partygoers. It seemed like there was a spotlight that followed him across the room.

You had watched how he made the rounds, chatting with anyone and everyone, making it his goal to evoke laughter from them all. His bright enthusiasm appeared to be an act of service, as he tried to leave each individual happier than when the conversation first started. He seemed to get a high from entertaining the party. Like he wanted people to like him, or felt like it was his duty to provide cheer everywhere he went.

“Are you at least going to tell me your name so I know who had the complete displeasure of meeting me?” He joked, the comment nearly earning a genuine chuckle from you, but you held it back, instead just letting your mouth spread into a smile. “Ah, she smiles.”

“Occasionally,” you joked back. “Displeasure, I like that,” you added before telling him your name. “And yes, the displeasure is mine,” you smirked. Looking down at his hand, you realized he was still holding it out for you to shake, the smallest of breathy laughs leaving you. “Wow, you are persistent.”

“I’ll just leave it there, no pressure,” he told you, and you couldn’t help but smile a little longer.

“What’s your stage name, Idol Hoseok?” You suddenly asked, not even sure why you asked the question. Why did you care?

Twitching his head to the side quickly, he smiled at you. “You know,” he started, “I’m more than just an idol.” Though the words were said in a lighthearted tone, it felt as though they were cloaking a sentiment that may have touched on a bit of the man’s vulnerability. In fact, the overall cheerful demeanor, as genuine as it appeared, also seemed to be a mask or a shield of some sort, keeping people at a distance from the man underneath. As annoying as he was, he was intriguing.

“Mhmm, of course,” you told him dismissively.

Letting out a light chuckle, he shook his head. “J-Hope. That’s my stage name,” he told you.

“Oh, fitting,” you told him genuinely, completely understanding the name. Anyone who met Hoseok for even a few seconds surely understood why ‘hope’ was part of his stage name.

“Yeah?” He asked, acting just the slightest bit cocky once again. “Are you feeling more hopeful right now?”

“Mmm,” you hummed in feigned thought. “I’m hopeful this conversation might end soon. Does that count?”

Again, the man had the audacity to flash you that literal sunshine of a smile. “Well, hope is hope,” he told you through the smile. The comment once again had you letting out a small breathy laugh as you fought a smile, nodding at him. “Did you know that you are a very pleasant person to be around?” he asked teasingly.

“Yeah, it’s actually one of my stronger qualities,” you told him sarcastically.

“It must be right up there with friendly and approachable,” he joked back, making you once again have to hold back a laugh.

“Exactly,” you nodded. “That’s usually how people describe me.” Hoseok stared at you for a moment with a… fond smile. Why did he appear fond?  

“I’m sure,” he said simply, giving you a small smile. “You know you’re allowed to have fun at these things, right?”

“Who said I’m not having fun?” You questioned while cocking your head to the side.

“Well, your face,” he told you through a small smile.

“Ok, but like I pointed out already, you don’t even know me,” you reminded the man, his eyes immediately widening in panic.

“No, I-”

“You can think whatever you want about me, Hoseok,” you interrupted his scrambling for an explanation for his comments. You’d heard all the comments before about you being stuck up or moody or boring, Hoseok wouldn’t be the first or last to person to have that opinion of you. He was just one of the first who actively tried to cheer you up, and for some reason, the endearing sentiment of that action was angering.

“I don’t have an opinion-”

“Also, I don’t need you to try to cheer me up,” you added, glaring at the man. “I’m quite content in all my moodiness.”

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended-”

“No, don’t apologize,” you shook your head. “It’s fine, I just think you and I don’t really complement each other very well,” you told him bluntly, the man’s eyes widening in surprise.

“Well, maybe I beg to differ,” he commented, you letting an annoyed smile toy on your lips as his mouth curved into a smirk, almost as if he was accepting a challenge.

Pulling your eyebrows together in confusion at his expression, you stood up to leave the party you didn’t want to attend in the first place. “Thanks for the frustrating but slightly entertaining conversation, Hoseok,” you prepared to bid him farewell. Reaching your hand out, Hoseok giggled at the gesture, placing his own hand in yours. He squeezed your hand, the feeling of his warm soft hand against your own causing your heart to race once again. Um, what the fuck?

“Nice to meet you,” he told you with that infuriating smile that you couldn’t look away from.

“The displeasure was mine,” you replied, the man laughing once again, his mouth wide open as he let the amusement flow through him freely. Annoying. And definitely not just because it was way too cute for someone you were supposed to be irritated by.  Pulling your hand from his, you took a step away from him before meeting his gaze again. “Maybe if I’m unlucky enough I’ll see you around again,” you smirked.

You were met with his smile once again, as cheerful as ever. It seemed as though he knew he could get under your skin by being overly bubbly in your presence when you were throwing nothing but insults and unpleasantries.

“Already looking forward to it,” he teased, you rolling your eyes before finally walking away.

Hoseok watched as you crossed the room, walking up to your friend and telling her something, probably letting her know you were heading out.

He observed you as you smiled brightly at the mutual friend, adorably scrunching your nose as you giggled at something she said. A feeling of affection as well as a jealousy settled in his chest. You were stunning, cute, and surprisingly warm, but he wanted that directed toward him.

Scanning the room one last time as the friend talked to you, Hoseok smiled and gave you an arrogant head nod when your eyes landed on him. Blinking a couple times at him with a judging expression, you looked away from him, Hoseok chuckling to himself on the arm rest.

Continuing to stare at you, unable to look away, he watched as you hugged the friend and made your way to the front door. Just as Hoseok was about to look away from you to direct his attention to the partygoers who all seemed a bit less interesting after meeting you, you surprised him by looking back one more time.

With your eyes locked on one another’s, Hoseok gave you a small genuine smile as you resisted the urge to smile back. And with that, you left the apartment, but you stayed firmly in Hoseok’s mind.

And he didn’t think you’d ever leave.

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 9

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 9: Decisions and Hesitations

“You really want to do this, you really want to try and race me?” Mei asks as she sees MK roll up in the restaurant scooter.

“I’m in it to win it!” He cockily said, “and besides I always wanted to try out one of these races, my new powers are gonna seriously help me!”

“So are we!” They see an orange and blue demon with their own car as they posed ontop of it.

“Yin!”

“And Gin!”

“You don’t even know the track!” The pro racer yelled out as she leaned in closer to him.

“I got Monkey King powers! I think I will be fine!”

“It doesn’t work like that!”

Needless to say, both demons were ignored, but the next demon wasn’t as he revved up his engine.

“Quiet peasants! I’m trying to get in the zone!” Red Son called out as he kept his eye on the track in front of him.

“Oh hey Red! I didn’t know you were participating!” MK smiled and gave a wave.

“Well the prize is a worthwhile venture to be acquired,” he huffed out.

“Well I hope you boys will like the taste of my fumes when I leave you both in the dust!” She grinned savagely.

“Please, you will be the one tasting my dust!” The Monkie kid shot back.

“You want to bet on it!”

“Oh yeah! The usual?”

“You know it, you want to join in hot head?” She asked the prince.

“As if I would want to participate in your frivolous competition,” he rolled his eyes.

“Awww, it sounds like you scared,” she began to mock him.

“What!” A burst of flame emerged.

“Chicken! Bawk! Bawk! Bawk!” MK flapped his arms as he did that.

“Red Son is no coward! What is the bet!” He hissed out as steam emitted from his mouth.

“Loser has to treat the other to an all you can eat ice cream!” MK quickly shouted.

“Deal!”

“And it looks like things are heating up down in the tracks!” Yin stated as he and his brothers entered the commenter podium.

“And on a totally unrelated note, we're the new commentators,” Jin added as he grabbed the mic.

“I really shouldn’t be surprised something like this would happen,” MK sighed as he quickly put his seatbelt on.

“And to spice things up we’ve gone ahead and altered the race track!”

“WHAT!” Not only the trio, but every racer shouted out as they saw the now new and updated version of the track on the screen.

“Here’s your start and here’s your finish, get there anyway you like!” Yin said as she pointed to multiple areas.

“Fuck me!” One of the racers screamed out as he slammed his head against the wheel.

“Well there goes all of my plans!” Another angrily said in a red car as she honked her horn violently.

“I’m gonna kill them,” a calm voice said as they gripped the wheel.

“This is fine,” someone’s eye twitches violently, “this is perfectly fine.”

“On your marks!”

“Hold on!” Mei cried out as she tried to figure out if that really just happened.

“Get set!”

“Wait what!?” Red Son blanched as he looked at the commentator sector, more specifically the twin demons, as if he wanted to climb up there and rip both their mouths off.

“Go!” They echoed together as only MK began to drive off as he had no previous experience with racing, so he wasn’t weighed down on the dangers, uncertainties, and screwups that can occur with not having the road memorized.

“See you at the finish line!”

“Oh hell no!” Mei revved her engine and began to chase after him.

“Get back here!” Red Son did the same as he quickly followed and soon enough everyone joined in as well.

“I still can’t believe that they weren’t real,” MK grumbled as he licked his ice cream.

“I still can’t believe the both of you thought it was real,” Mei smirked as she pointed her spoon at them.

“In hindsight, I should have never thought that the peaches of immortality would ever be a prize in a mortal sport,” Red Son grumbled as he bit into his cone. “Every demon, creature, and mortal alike would be flocking at the chance of immortality if it was real.”

“Well jokes on the both of you, cause now I can savor my free delicious goodness,” she held up her cup.

“You don’t have to rub it in,” the boy groaned.

“Yeah, I do. I mean, who was saying that they only needed the great Monkey King powers to win?” She put her finger to her chin, “Oh right! It was you!”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Well since you got me my wonderful prize, your apology has been accepted. Just try not to be dumb next time.”

“All I can do is try!”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have won!” The flame demon half glared at MK.

“To be fair, how was I supposed to know that I crashed into you when I fell out of the sky!” He threw his hands up. “I was just trying to get ahead!”

“Well now my vehicle is in ruins because of you!”

“You're not the only one, Pigsy is gonna kill me once I get back,” he smacked his head on the table.

“Don’t you have Monkey King powers?” She pointed out.

“Huh?” MK tilted his head as the demon's eyes widened in realization as he smacked his face.

“You could have fixed it!” He roared out.

“Oh right!” He had totally forgotten that he could do that, “I am soo doing that after we eat.”

Red Son grabbed him by his collar and brought him close until they were nose to nose, “I have spent countless months making and fine tuning my car to my tastes and you, noodle boy, have ruined that in less than a second. You will fix my car now.”

“Oor I can do that,” he quickly grabbed his staff and went outside as the two follow.

“Don’t worry,” Mei patted the demon's shoulder, “I know exactly your pain. Love him, but he almost lost a hand after he managed to bust my engine.”

“I said I was sorry!” He called out as both vehicles reverted back to their original state with a few missing pieces here and there.

“Tell that to my motor!”

Red Son inspected his car and nodded his head, “still some parts missing, but an adequate patch up job nonetheless. I will bring it back to its former glory when I bring it back home.”

“Your welcome,” the Monkie kid smiled.

“You're the one who broke it in the first place!”

“Point,” he then walked a little way closer, “soo I guess this means you're gonna head home now.” He said a bit sadly, he liked hanging out with Red, he is one of the few, besides Mei, who can match his level of energy. So it was always a bummer whenever he had to head back to his crummy family, he had heard how parents talked to him and needless to say, he did not like it.

The demon side eyed his friend's words and huffed, “I can do whatever I want, you have no authority over me.” He marched back inside with his head held high.

Both MK and Mei's eyes slightly widened at this, but they both shared grins as they quickly followed him back inside the shop.

“So question, is water wet?” She couldn’t help herself.

“By the-of course it is wet!” He looked so lost at the random question.

“Nope it’s not,” MK stood firm in his belief, he knew what Mei was doing, but he was not about to let this go.

“Of course it is noodle boy! If water makes other materials wet then by default the water is wet!”

“Key word ‘other materials’ the water itself is not wet.”

“That makes no sense, of course it is!”

“It makes perfect sense!”

“Do you have a brain or is it hiding under all that stupidity?!”

“I will not back down from this, water is not wet!”

“In what world!”

Mei happily sat back and enjoyed the chaos she just unfolded.

“Nice job MK,” Monkey King complimented his protege when he saw him master the reverse strike. “You are getting quite the hang of this.”

“Thanks!” He smiled as he swung his staff back to his side.

“You're learning faster than I have ever anticipated, are you learning from another teacher behind my back?” He narrowed his eyes teasingly though it still held a hint of seriousness as he was curious about how he knew some of those moves.

“No!” He immediately said, but he backtracked moments later, “well yeah, but not like that! It’s just that my Dad has been teaching me some fighting moves for the past couple of years.”

“Lighten up,” he jokingly ruffled his head, “I’m just teasing you. Though I seriously have to meet your old man sooner or later, he seems like a pretty cool dude if he’s teaching you all this.”

“Of-,” he cut himself off as he realized what he was about to do. His dear ol Dad, the medicine monkey who has a grumpy temper, the biggest worrier he has ever met, was Macaque, the same monkey who tried to kill the Monkey King and the rest of the gang, albeit under a huge misunderstanding.

He cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to meet his Dad again.

While he doesn’t think that Monkey King will go off the rails and try to exterminate him on sight, he rather not take the chance either way. But, as much as he hates to admit it, there will always be the possibility that the two will meet sooner or later.

“Maybe later,” he nervously said as he scratched the back of his neck. “But how about teaching me something else, likkke a certain 72 transformation technique.” He really wanted to learn this out of all the moves.

The monkey sage merely quirked his eyebrow at his student's blatant tell, but he let it slide…for now. “Oh ho ho, now why should I teach you that?”

“But why not?”

“But why?” He shot back.

“But, but, but it would be so cool!” It really would be so cool, transforming into all those different kinds of animals, but he does have to admit that he does have a certain animal that he is leaning towards.

“It is definitely a cool move,” he agreed as he balanced on his tail, “but you don’t have to learn that at the moment.”

“Oh come on, when will I be ready,” he huffed out.

“When I say you are,” he poked the middle of his forehead then playfully snagged his violet bandana off his head and began to run away.

“Hey! Give that back!” He began to chase the monkey as they traverse up the mountain.

“Here’s your next lesson,” he tied the bandana to his left arm as he was standing on top of a large boulder. “We will be focusing on your stamina next, you seem to have a lot, but I want to test out how long you can go for.”

“Oh I can go on for a long time!” He cockily stated as he had already climbed up halfway to him, “so you better give me back my bandana when I catch you!”

“Good luck with that,” he shot back with the same arrogance as he hopped over to a tree that was quite a distance away. He silently watched his protege leaped from the rock to the tree closest to it, then he saw him stumble a bit with the different texture as he climbed on, but this is when he became a bit confused as he saw him sit down on one of the tree branches and proceeded to take his shoes and socks off. “What are you doing?” He muttered out.

Then he saw MK begin to climb once more and, he noted, that he actually began to have an easier time with climbing and swinging from tree to tree. “Well, I’ll be.”

It was only when MK got closer did he ask, “so it seems that I have underestimated your climbing skills, is this what your Dad also taught you?”

“Kinda,” he brightly said as he kept on climbing, “I was raised in the Plum Blossom Forest, I might as well have been born in there! I think that I have climbed every tree imaginable that was in that forest.”

“The Plum Blossom Forest,” the Monkey King mused. He knew of it, it had popped up a couple of centuries back, but he really never had a chance to check it out before. “Sounds interesting, I didn’t know humans were living there,” he subtly asked.

“There isn’t,” MK automatically said, not understanding the sage question.

“Oh? Is that so? So you visit often,” he curiously asked as he moved to a different treetop.

“Stop moving! But, no I live there, I thought I already told you that,” MK huffed as he moved over to the next tree.

“No, you said nothing of sorts,” he mocked back, “but if there is no human there, then how about you and your Dad?”

“Well I am the only human, my Dad’s not,” he momentarily stopped mid climb as he just realized what he admitted, but continued to climb. “He’s a demon.”

“A demon, that is something you don’t hear every day,” he teased. He has nothing against interspecies relationships, but he does have to admit that there aren't many couples like that out there. Prejudice is a right bitch at times no matter how much the eras may go past. “Your parents must really have a strong relationship with each other.”

As MK was about to say something an idea began to form in his head as he calmly switched tracks and said, “Nah, it’s just my Dad. He adopted me after he found me in the rain out in the alley after I got lost.” While he doesn’t want the two to meet again, he can admit to himself that there will always be a possibility that it will happen, so why not let the Monkey King see his Macaque in a better light.

His eyes widened as he heard this, but other than that, his entire form stayed the same, “Well that was nice of him,” was all he said.

MK only felt a bit bad about trying to manipulate the great Monkey King, but he kinda doesn’t want his Dad to be turned into utter paste if they ever meet again. So he will use every trick in the book he learns from both him and Mei and makes sure that when this all blows up in his face then at least he will have some resemblance of a bomb shelter to shield them from the blast.

So like he said, he only felt a bit bad.

“Yep! He’s been raising me ever since then!” He cheerily added as he eyed a certain monkey keeping his poor bandana hostage.

Wukong opted to stay quiet at this as he let the rest of the implications fall over him on his student situation. Though he did move back to the mountain once he got too close once again.

“Oh come on!”

“Seriously, why does this Forest even have faeries?!” Red Son yelled out as he finally found his way to the treehouse.

“Hello to you too,” MK grinned as he saw him and Mei walk towards him. “I didn’t know you two were coming together.”

“We weren’t,” Mei grumbled in irritation, “but some faeries decided that this is the time that they wanted to be devious, so I was stuck there for three hours!”

“I was in there for two before I saw biker girl,” the demon added as he stomped over to the tree. “If we didn’t spot each other, I was about to set fire to everything around me just so I can finally come here.”

“Agreed,” she growled out. This wasn’t her first time dealing with those half pint brats and she knows it won’t be her last. “Even Baba was laughing at us.”

“If I didn’t respect her so much I would be furious with her,” Red grumbled. He had met the divine creature on multiple occasions as he has always felt like an ant in her eyes whenever they meet. It was both infuriating and fascinating at the same time.

“At least they didn’t try to make deals with you,” MK tried to look on the bright side, only to get twin glares.

“I know better than to even play nice with a murderous being that is not even the size of my pinky! Mei doesn’t fuck with that kind of trickery, I like my soul thank you very much.”

“The faeries of this forest don’t do deals,” both humans looked at him in confusion, “I know, weird, but apparently Macaque told me some time ago when I first mentioned them that he and the Queen of the colony made a deal that they can stay in his forest as long as they don’t attempt to harm anyone that wanders in.” Now when he first heard this he was more than a little skeptical. Faeries, especially Woodland Faeries, are known for tricking their prey into a deal that usually ends with them losing their soul. Just because they look cute and innocent, doesn’t mean that they aren’t cold, manipulative little bastards stuffed with wiggly cruelty. He should know, he and his family have met with several of their kinds in his travels and even his parents refuse to have anything to do with those cretins.

“But they can still do shit like this,” she pointed out.

“Unfortunately yes,” he grumbled and he couldn’t help but add, “and I would have been able to maneuver my way through this if you didn’t insist on going your own way.”

“Me?” She marched up to him and pointed a finger at his chest, “You were the one getting all high and mighty and strutting around the forest like your hot shit! I was just following you fancy pants.”

“Ridiculous! You were the one saying ‘Don’t worry I know this forest like the back of my hand’ but apparently, you don’t know it as much as you hoped,” he slapped her hand away.

“Guys,” MK tried to butt in, but it was no use as their argument grew louder.

“Oh ho ho! Look who's talking Mr. ‘This is hardly a hassle for someone like me!’ But I guess someone like you ain’t worth the title you own!”

“Mei no,” the boy looked towards her.

“Not. Worth. My. Title?!” His head flickered in fury as steam began to come out.

“Red please,” MK practically was begging at this point.

He almost seemed to listen…almost as he calmly retorted “That says a lot a little coming from you little miss princess.”

“Goddamnit,” he sighed as he quickly stepped back as Mei tackled Red Son as she screamed.

“I am no fucking Princess! I am a goddamn Queen!”

The two began to brawl wildly across the area and the more Mei punched Red in the face and Red kneed her in the stomach, more and more bruises began to form.

“Honestly I’m shocked that this didn’t happen sooner,” he admitted as he sat back and watched their fight.

Then when both Dragon successor and Bull prince managed to throw each other away from one another, one brought out a glowing viridian sword in hand and the other lit up his fist in all its blaze of glory.

“Shit!” MK shouted as he began to sprint towards them with staff in hand.

Mei rushed towards Red Son with frustration in her eyes and he charged her with irritation on his own and just before their attacks hit one another a certain staff blocked their way and the trio attack let out a devastating roar.

BOOOM!

They all were pushed back by a tidal wave of heat and air but managed to stay on their feet.

“Okay I wasn't expecting that!” MK was the first one to say as he got his bearings. “A little boom, yes, but not whatever that was.”

“I hate to admit it, but I agree with you noodle boy,” Red Son said as he lowered his arms and looked down at their crater.

“You’re telling me,” Mei looked impressed by their miniature destruction as she looked around the area, “we managed to cause quite a bit of-FUCK!”

“What?!” Both boys whipped towards Mei, who looked oddly terrified as she pointed towards the tree line. They followed her finger and what they saw made them match her own face as standing at what used to be a beautiful grove of Plum Blossoms, was now a charred pile of ash.

“Nononono!” MK rushed over as he tried to examine the charred ground. “I thought I blocked it!”

“Well I think you redirect it!” Mei said in a panic as well, she knew very well just how much the trees meant to Macaque and now they had all done and fucked them up.

“How?!”

“Magic does strange things,” was all Red Son could mutter as he looked down at his destruction. He has never known why these trees were so important, after all this whole forest has an abundance of these, but during his multiple visits here he has gotten small snippets from both Macaque unruly friends and the creatures that dwell here of how important these trees mean to the Six Eared monkey. So, he tries his best to neither harm nor burn down a tree when he visits, despite not knowing why. Now he has thrown that all in the trash as he sees he has ruined something of importance to him.

“Now is not the time?!” MK panicked screamed as he tried to pick up the ash, but it just fell through his fingers. “This is so bad.”

“Are you guys okay?!” They all stiffen and quickly turn to see both Macaque and Ahmed leap towards them with worry on their faces. The monkey continued, “I heard screaming and an explosion.”

They all rushed in front as they tried, and failed, to cover their mess.

“We’re perfectly fine,” Mei grinned wide, “nothing is wrong.”

“She is correct,” Red Son nervously smiled, “everything is quite fine.”

“Yep,” MK didn’t look his Dad in the eyes, “we didn’t do anything bad.”

Both biker and demon elbowed him.

Ahmed and Macaque both looked at each other questioningly.

“Okay, what are you guys hiding?” He crossed his arms and looked to them, more specifically his son.

MK couldn’t help but look up and saw his Dad questioning look and he caved in faster than a house on fire as he wailed. “I’M SO SORRY!”

Mei and Red Son flinched as well as their shoulders dropped down in shame.

“Hey hey,” the monkey kneeled in front of his son as the lion gave a comforting pat on the other two shoulders. “Whatever happened, I’m sure it’s not too bad.”

“No, we fucked up real bad,” she whimpered out with her head lowered. “I am really sorry.”

“No words of apologies can amount to my failure,” the demon lowered his head as well.

“Seriously what happened?” He tried to ask but got only silence and tears in reply.

Ahmed did a quick scan around and he snorted as he saw what was behind them, “I think they're referring to the charred pile of ash behind them.”

The kids all stiffen as they watched Macaque see their destruction and it was only a moment of tense silence that had passed as they all awaited the inevitable yelling, but it wasn’t the one they were anticipating as he started to chuckle.

“Pffffftt, I’m gonna take a guess and say this was you guy’s creation,” he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Yessss?” She drew out the ‘s’ in confusion, “me and Red got in an argument and, well-”

“We fought and then MK stepped in to stop us, but it made it worse and then that happened,” he waved over their mess. “You don’t look mad?”

“Cause I’m not.”

“Really?!” They all shouted as MK continued, “but you told us just how much these trees meant to you and how you grew them yourself and you're telling us that it’s okay?!”

“Yep,” he popped the ‘p’ as he said that.

“But, but why!?”

“Look kiddos, I know both you and gale watched Ahmed and I fight some time ago right,” he said.

“Yeah?” Both humans agreed.

“So you know that we may have gotten more than a little wild with our fight and some things got utterly wrecked.”

“What’s the point of this?”

“I think what he’s trying to say is that during our fight, we destroyed an abundance of Plum trees,” Ahmed stepped in.

“…you know you did, didn’t you,” Mei mused out.

“Oh,” MK blinked as he did remember the clearing getting trashed to the point where it was almost unrecognizable to its previous state. “I suddenly feel like an idiot.”

“You're not the only one.”

“What fight?” Red curiously asked as Mei gave him a quick rundown.

“It’s the thought that counts starlight,” he smirked as he ruffled his son's hair.

“Sure, but I still feel bad,” he mumbled as he kicked a rock.

“Hmm well how bout this,” he grabbed the trio's attention, “to pay me back, all three of you are gonna plant a plant in that spot.”

“Like another Plum Tree or-” the monkey demon cut her off.

“Any plant you want, heck you can even plant daffodils. Those suckers can grow practically anywhere, but you guys will be the ones to take care of your plant. Deal.”

“Deal,” they all nodded.

“Alright but before we do that,” he brings out some bags and gloves, “how bout we clean up your mess.”

“Okay!/Let's do this!/This area will look even better than before!” MK, Mei, and Red Son all shouted as they grabbed the materials and began to clean up.

“I just noticed,” MK said as he put on his gloves with a mischievous grin, as he looked towards Red, “you said my name!”

He blushed as he remembered, but turned away, “no I didn’t.”

Mei matched her brother's grin, “you totally did!”

“It was the slip of the tongue!”

“Awww, you're finally warming up to us!”

“Shut your lying mouth!”

Both monkey and lion shared an amused look as they watched two humans and a demon, one side playfully argue and the other in complete denial, go at it.

It was not until a few weeks later did the once charred spot began to reform back in its former glory, but instead of Plum blossom saplings in its place there was a patch of Protea seeds grown by a Dragon girl, some Lotus buds planted by a Bull prince, and a section of Magnolia saplings nurtured by a Monkey successor.

“One day, you have to tell me how you make these noodles,” Macaque said as he quietly slurped down the rest of the food.

“Trade secret simian,” Pigsy chuckled as he wiped down his counter. “But I might let my lips loose a little if you tell me how you make your Dim Sum dumplings.”

“That can be arranged,” he grinned as he put down his empty bowl, “so, how have you and Tang been doing?”

The pig demon groaned as he stopped himself from slamming his head on the counter, “did Mei put you up to this?”

“Yep,” he unashamedly said.

“Of course she did,” he grumbled, “well tell her that there is nothing there.”

“But you want something to be there,” he pointed his dark green sparkly nail at him. Breezy got him, Comet, and Spitfire to do some nail time and he can say it didn’t turn out so bad. He knows MK was proudly showing off his violet nails against Mei’s bright green ones, even Red was admiring his own sparkly black ones. He even had his long mane of fur braided by them and it goes to show that you can learn new things about someone, he didn’t know little spitfire could braid hair. Apparently, the little prince said he learned it after Daiyu had dragged him off one day to meet some of her siblings, let it be known that he has a weakness towards wide eyed baby birds.

“No I don’t,” he huffed.

He raised an eyebrow.

Pigsy threw up his hands in defeat, “okay fine! Yes! I do like Tang in more than a friend way, happy now.”

“Ecstatic,” he deadpanned as he took a sip of his drink, “so why haven’t you said anything to him? And don’t give me that BS of not wanting to lose your friendship with him.”

“But it is!” He gripped the counter tight for a moment before exhaling, “look, I’ve been through so many crushes and puppy love throughout my life, hell take Spider Queen for one.”

“I think that was more of a lapse of judgment,” he patted the stool next to him.

“Whatever you call it, but for Tang I…I don’t think I ever fell for someone this hard before,” he sighed as he sat down next to the monkey. “I know it’s not a crush, I’ve known him too long and I know him for too long to be something as simple as a crush.”

“So what is it then?”

“I don’t know,” he moaned out as he covered his face with his hands.

“You do,” Pigsy peeked out from between his fingers as he looked at the monkey. “But you just don’t want to say it out loud.”

“Say what?”

“That you love him,” he bluntly stated.

“I do not-”

“So you don’t love the way he smiles?”

“Wha-no I do, but that doesn’t mean-” Pigsy admitted and tried to deny, but was cut off again.

“You don’t like how he looks into your eyes?”

“…his eyes are pretty, but that still-”

“What about how he talks on and on about all that history?”

“Oh fuck off about that!” He lets off a low growl to him, “the man is passionate about what he loves, and goddamnit it’s amazing watching him go on and on about it because he reveres even the smallest of rumors as a treasure no matter how weird they may be! So you can’t sit here and tell me that someone like him doesn’t ignite a spark within your soul as you look deep within him and can’t help but marvel at just how beautiful he is!”

Macaque raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

Pigsy's whole body stilled as he realized what he said, then he firmly said, “but that doesn’t mean that I love him?”

“Why not?”

“Why not? For fuck sake I have never taken Tang out on a date nor do I even know if he even sees me as anything more than an annoying friend,” he slumped down on the counter.

“You don’t have to be dating to be in love,” Pigsy lifted his head to look at Macaque, but the monkey was steadfastly looking forward. “Love cannot be defined in such a small category, there are so many ways that someone can love another without dating. Sometimes it’s when you laughing along with one of their stupid jokes and you realize that there is something there. Sometimes it is loud and boisterous and even when the other is annoying, you can’t help but still want to stay by their side no matter what. Sometimes it’s the quiet times where you are with them and then it clicks that you want something more, that there is something more. It’s that moment, when you're curled up next to them with the sun high in the sky, you know that you love them.”

There was a silence in the air as both demons knew what was implied, but neither had the guts to say anything.

“Macaque,” the pig demon put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Love is not so biased to one category,” the monkey demon continued as if nothing happened, “it cannot be contained in just one. So, I’ll ask again, do you love Tang?”

“…I didn’t even realize when I fell hard until I was listening to him talk about some underwater temple and I just couldn’t stop staring at just how beautiful he was at that moment. He was hella annoyed when he found out I wasn’t even paying to him, but that was then I realized I truly did love him,” Pigsy softly chuckled as he put his hand down.

“You did?” His head shot up at the familiar voice and he turned around to the front of the door to see Sandy, MK, and Mei all surrounding the voice, which made his heart drop as he saw Tang.

“How much did you hear?!”

“Ever since the little crush bit,” Mei smiled widely.

“Mei!”

“We heard it all,” MK joined in.

“MK!”

“It was really sweet Pigsy,” Sandy cooed.

“Sandy!” The pig demon didn’t know who to yell at first and instead turned to the monkey, “Macaque! You knew?!”

“Well I did say I was helping Mei with her plan,” he shrugged with a smirk.

Before Pigsy could lay it on him, he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder and his attention was brought back to a wide eyed historian.

“So is it true?” He asked with something the pig demon didn’t recognize, “did you really mean that?”

It was at that moment when he really wanted to just say it was all one big misunderstanding and maybe, he would be able to salvage the tender relationship he still had with Tang, but when he looked into his eyes he knew that he couldn’t lie to him, not now. “Yeah, I do. I love you and I know this is out of the blue, but I…oh.” He cut himself off as two arms encircled his neck and hugged him as tight as he could. “Uhhhh?”

“We could have been doing this so much sooner,” he heard a small chuckle coming from Tang.

“Done what?” His brain hadn’t had time to properly comprehend what was happening at the moment.

Tang then leaned back to put his own forehead on his head, “I realized I love you a few years back when I saw you cooking dinner back at your apartment, you just looked so content at that moment, just smiling as you sang so badly to that song-”

“Never was a good singer,” he couldn’t help but say as his heart beat faster in his ears.

“ThatI just couldn’t help myself from falling in love with you,” his eyes twinkled.

“You don’t say…” he whispered as he drew the human in closer, “it seems we’re a pair of idiots.”

“You're not wrong there,” Tang agreed as he gave a small kiss on the demon's forehead.

His face blushed a fierce red as he mustered up his own courage and kissed the back of the historian hand that was entwined with his.

Tang's smile also grew brighter as he hauled Pigsy up closer to him and placed a kiss right dab on his lips. It wasn’t until elated cheers that the two released each other from the other lips, though they still didn’t let go of the other as throughout the exchange their arms wrapped around the other.

“Woohoo!” MK cheered as he leaped in the air.

“Freenoddleshipping for the win!” Mei pumped her fist in the air.

“It’s about time,” Macaque smirked as his tail swished behind him.

“I am so happy for you guys!” Sandy wailed as he picked both his friends up in a giant hug.

“Sandy! You're kinda crushing us over here!”

“And there goes my bones.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m just so happy for you guys!!”

“Sandy!”

“Operation Lovebird is a success!” The twenty year old grinned as she lobbed her arm around MK's shoulder. “I told you it would work, we just needed the right guy or the right monkey.”

“None of you knows subtly unless it hits you on the head,” the monkey demon said.

“You're not wrong!”

“Speaking of love,” the ponytailed boy walked up to his Dad, “it seemed that something was going on in that speech of yours?”

“Yeahh,” Mei slid up to him, “it seemed like you were talking about someone? Who is it?”

“It’s no one,” he slightly shook his head as he had a nostalgic look on his face, “just an old flame.”

The two shared a surprised, but curious look.

“Now how bout the three of us say our congratulations to the lovebirds for finally getting their head out of their asses before Sandy cuts off their circulation,” he grinned as he ruffled their heads.

“Yeah!/ I am so gonna hold this over both of their heads for a long time,” both monkey and dragon successor grinned as they followed their Dad. Though that little conversation did not leave their mind in the slightest as it was only shifted to the side for now. If the monkey simply thought that they were gonna let it go like that then he has another thing coming.

‘We’re gonna look into this?’ MK’s eyes said as it sideglanced Mei.

‘Duh, like hell we’re gonna let it go.’ Mei agreed with a slight narrow of her eyes.

They had to develop some kind of method to sneak past Macaque and his six ears, else they would have never been able to catch him by surprise.

He did not like this. This technically doesn’t go against the deal they made with Macaque, but he does not like this in the slightest.

‘Why does he have this? Why couldn’t any other mortal or demon have the skeleton key?’ Red Son silently thought as he snuck into MK’s room. ‘Why does it have to be ones I’m acquainted with?’

His eyes widened as he saw, lying precariously on the nightstand, was the skeleton key. ‘Why did it have to go to MK of all people?! Wait? Why the hell did you leave such a dangerous object out in the open?!’ He wanted to scream the last part out, but he held it in instead as he looked towards the key.

He then reached out to grab it, only to stop and retreat a few steps back then he worked up the courage to go back and grab it only for his hand to stop once more and he let out a frustrated groan as he pulled his hair.

‘Damn it! It’s right there and all I need to do is grab it and get out! But I made a deal with Macaque, but this technically doesn’t go against the deal as I’m not physically attacking him, but this still feels wrong!’ He angrily huffed out as he paced the room in agitation as he tried to work himself back up, but then he deflated as he walked to the window.

‘But I can’t do that to him, to them. I can’t,’ he opened the window with his head lowered as he was about to jump out, but then he froze as a prominent thought drilled out.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

He lowered his foot that was about to go out the window.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

He let go of the hand that was on the window.

‘Mother and Father will be disappointed with me.’

With that he rushed over to the key, quickly snatched it up, and placed it in his pocket as if it burned as he leaped out of the window and leaped from rooftop to rooftop.

‘I’m sorry MK, but I can’t have Father and Mother disappointed with me.’ Was his final thought as he moved further and further away from his friend's apartment.

[ineffablebooklover]

Oh goodness, I'm terrible at writing prompts, hmm......

Are you familiar with D&D/Pathfinder/tabletop RPG's in general? I'd love to see The Crows rolling up characters and playing a one-shot. I can't decide if I'd rather Kaz or Jesper be the GM. Both sound horribly great. 😆

Otherwise, in a very un-original but beloved AU, I'd love to see HP Drarry and Romione + SoC Kanej, Wesper, and Helnik in some kind of Coffee Shop setting (I owned my own shop for the better part of a decade, so I love those).

And Matthias always being alive, please, if you do either of these. ;)

And I don't care about fic length; whatever you feel inspired to do!

💜

The Crow Cafe Coffee Shop AU~ with the Crows, Ronmione, and Drarry

authors note: I got a bit carried away with the idea, and I added some plot. There’s going to be multiple parts to this (yay!) so I guess keep in tune!

Part 1. Kaz’s Crow Cafe

There is a cafe, down some streets in Downtown Ketterdam’s Stave, run by a boy and his friends. There, you can find stories, romance, and most importantly, a decent cup of coffee.

“Not for my coffee, you podge,” Kaz scoffed, slapping away Jesper’s offer of sugar with a glove-clad hand. “I’m just saying sugar prices are getting higher. We need to compensate for this fact.”

Kaz waited for questions, looking around the table. No one said anything. Kaz looked directly at Jesper, who sighed, taking back the sugar and dumping it in his own coffee.

“And how do you want us to do that?”

It was a chilly Saturday morning in early-September, and Kaz was giving his Saturday morning pre-opening briefing.

“Kaz, people come here for the low coffee prices. We can’t hike the prices really high,” Inej added. Jesper nodded, grabbing another packet of sugar.

Kaz sighed. “I know. I’m working on it. Just thought I’d let you two know.”

“Don't mind if I do,” Jesper cut in, pouring the sugar in his overly-caffeinated drink, “but shouldn’t good old Mr. Haskell be thinking about this instead of us?”

Kaz sipped his coffee, shrugging. “‘Old Mr. Haskell’, as you say Jesper, is old and inert.” Kaz sent a glance Inej’s way. “He won’t be doing much about it.”

Jesper just chugged his coffee, bouncing up and ready to start the day.

“Jesper, was it wise to take in that much sugar and caffeine?” Inej inquired as Jesper bounced around the shop.

“Probably, not,” Jesper grinned, flipping the sign to ‘Open’ as a few early-risers started to form a line in front of the Cafe.

A girl with tied back light brown hair entered the cafe first, a stack of textbooks and notebooks in her arms. She ordered a coffee and a pastry, and started working at a table.

She was followed by a tall, burly, blond male who Kaz was sure he’d seen before. Trailing him was Nina, a girl Kaz knew from previous jobs he had done with her to help keep up the profits. Next to the composed blond dude, Nina looked dead tired.

“Why do we even have to get up this early?” Nina whined.

“I have to do things later today and Sunday, this is a good time to work on the project,” the blond replied.

Nina groaned. “Good for you. I was going to get my beauty sleep.”

“Well you get to have a beautiful coffee instead,” Jesper said cheerfully. “Good morning, Nina! What will it be for you and your…” Jesper looked the blonde up and down. “...this hunk of a man, here?”

Nina smirked tiredly. “Yeah, that’s my hunk of a man to you,” she pointed a lazy finger at Jesper.

The blond huffed. “So impudent and improper. My name is Matthias. I will have a black coffee.”

Jesper typed it into his screen quickly. “And no cream, no sugar, nothing sweet?”

Matthias shook his head.

“Anyways, I’ll have a mocha, like 10 shots of coffee and lots of creamer,” Nina cut in.

Jespers slender fingers flew across the board. “Okay so that’s one coffee as bitter as Kaz’s soul, and a mocha with 4 shots of espresso and half of it basically milk. Is that all for today?”

Nina scanned the pastry rack and ordered two chocolate chip muffins. The two sat down, getting stuff out for a project.

Meanwhile, Inej bounced around in her athletic wear, preparing coffees. She finished one for the girl named Hermione, grabbed the apple strudel she wanted, and headed over.

“Hermione?”

Hermione turned, and greeted Inej with a smile. “Thank you. I’ll take those.”

Inej noticed the bigger table Hermione had chosen, and tilted her head. “Are you waiting for someone?”

Hermione nodded. “Yes, my friends. They’re supposed to be here in about an hour, I’m just catching up on studying before they come. Is that alright with…” Hermione stared into the distance, where Kaz stood ominously staring at Inej.

“Oh he… he’s alright.,” Inej lifted a hand to wave at Kaz, who noticed and looked away. “That’s Kaz for you,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Pardon?” Hermione asked.

Inej just laughed nervously, brushing it off. “Enjoy your breakfast!” Inej went back to making coffee behind the counter watching Jesper chat up customers left and right. Inej was glad for his enthusiasm so early in the morning, she never liked taking Saturday morning shifts at 6AM, especially if they had meetings at 5:45.

“How’s it going Jesper?” Inej asked while preparing another cup. Jesper nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Holy- oh Inej. Oh Inej don’t sneak up on me like that. Besides that, I’m doing fine!”

Inej nodded and disappeared behind towers of cups and spouts of coffee. She prepared Nina’s things and brought it over. The two seemed to be arguing.

“I’m just saying- ooh, food!” Nina gasped, sitting up straight for the first time that morning. Inej smiled, placing the coffee and muffins down on the table. Matthias just watched her, arms crossed.

“Enjoy the food,” Inej smiled, then went back to the counter.

Kaz watched her silently from the side, then, noticing the line, straightened his gloves and walked over to help make coffee. They went through orders silently, Inej doing all of the walking, but they enjoyed each other's company. Inej and Kaz would work on an order or two, Kaz would place his finished ones on a counter for Inej to take. While Inej was gone, Kaz would get started on the next thing, and so on.

Eventually, Kaz went into the back and disappeared for a while, leaving Inej with the coffee work.

By this time, Hermione’s friends had come, and their study group looked like they were having a great time, though only ⅓ of them seemed to actually be doing any studying.

By 8, Inej and Jesper switched spots. Inej found that Jesper still loved people-watching, even behind the counter. Or... was he looking for someone?

Her suspicions were correct when a boy walked in, with ruddy, orange-brown curls. Jesper leaned into her, pointing him out. “I think he’s starting to be a consistent customer. At least on weekends. Have you seen him around school?”

Inej had in fact seen him around school. His name was Wylan and he was in Kaz’s math class, and in her Art and Gym class. During lunch, he was usually just drawing something or doing math homework by himself.

Inej nodded, then went back to a customer, leaving Jesper to speculate by himself.

When the boy with golden-brown curls stepped up, she asked what he wanted.

He looked up at the board for less than a second, then back to Inej. “I’ll have an iced coffee. With the cream.” Inej nodded and punched it into the computer.

“Your name?” She asked.

“Wylan,” Wylan smiled. Inej pretended to punch it in as if she hadn’t already.

“And… if you want, the Crow Cafe is thinking of starting a sort of rewards club for regular members. There’s more info up on the board, but all we need is your number,” Inej added effortlessly.

Wylan looked up at the board and back to Inej. “Uh… sure,” he said tentatively. He gave her his number and she pretended to type it in, instead writing it down on a piece of paper after he left the counter. She then looked up at the board to confirm her suspicions. There was nothing about a rewards club. So he can’t read, and yet he still pretends…

She tucked that information away, smirking as she slid the paper into Jesper’s back pocket.

Everything was going pretty smoothly (besides Nina and Matthias’ constant bickering) until the door opened and in walked the most pretentiously blond man Inej and seen, with an even blonder son.

_end of part 1_ thanks for reading, and for the commission!

next commission: Sleeping Beauty AU :)