#so i drew this comfy smooches instead

[r33s3-art-pieces]

They're girlfriends 😤

[overwatch-imagines-hub]

New follower here! :D I love your work! As for a request? I was wondering how Zenyatta, McCree, Reaper, Soldier, and Mercy would be with an artist s/o. They're super shy and don't show off their work often but one day s/o decides to show their partner a drawing they did of them? I hope you have a lovely day/night~!

This is me if anyone wants to date

I’m also pretty sure I’ve done a piece like this in the past? If I find it (probably on my Wattpad because that’s easier to maneuver than Tumblr), I’ll link it!

Sorry for the long wait; school and all. Welcome to the blog (sorry again for the inactivity

Like what I do? Leave me a tip!

~~~

Zenyatta

You drew him while he was working in the sanctuary

It’s a picture from your perspective at one of the smaller of the mismatched dining tables

Zen is helping a group of children gather plates of food, either to eat themselves or to carry back to their families

It takes you a while to decide that you’re going to show him the piece, being shy about your work and all

After a long day of work, Zenyatta comes to you with the notion that he sometimes feels like he’s not doing enough

Even some days the brightest light can dim sometimes and Zenyatta is no exception

It’s then that you decide to buck up and show him your work, hoping to prove to him that his notion is wrong

You don’t expect a whole lot in response but are quickly proven wrong

Zenyatta is touched to point where, if he was human, he’d probably tear up

Not only by the meaning of you showing him but by the fact that you care enough about him to show him your work despite your shyness

He’s also greatly impressed by your work, and tells you so

He wants to keep the piece as a keepsake, to remind him that his work matters even during darker days

If you let him take it, he keeps it pinned to his room’s wall, above his personal indoor meditation area

Traveling, he packs the piece up and carries it as a keepsake

McCree

The piece you drew was of Jesse cleaning his Peacekeeper after getting home from a long mission

It was just a soft, quiet moment and the lighting was great; you couldn’t help yourself

He probably noticed you drawing him not long after you started, resulting in him flashing crooked smiles and locking eyes with you whenever you looked over at him

He also probably finished cleaning his gun before you were done drawing but made the executive decision to keep pretending do so, so you didn’t lose your muse

When you’re pleased with the finished product, you relax

Only to see your gentle cowman trying to peek over despite being on the far side of the room

Of course, he always respects your wishes and never presses if you choose not to show your work

That doesn’t mean, however, he won’t give you puppy eyes every time to try and convince you to do so

This time, you just so happen to be in a good enough mood to not mind, not to mention he’s been practically watching you the entire time when not trying to be your muse

When you get up to show him, he’s very excited

He’s your biggest fan, regardless of how often he gets to see your work

He just loves experiencing what makes you happy with you

Loses his damn mind when he sees the work you did

Genuinely impressed with and excited about your work

He’s just Like That

Wants to hang it somewhere in the house if you’re alright with it

Will definitely try to keep it whether you want him to or not

If you try to take it from him, it will probably result in a wild goose chase around the house

Even if you manage to get it back from him, the next day it will probably end up framed in the living room

Reaper

The piece is of Reaper working in his office late at night

He’s still wearing his uniform and hard at work doing paperwork

You’re tired, bored, and, unless you have a tablet or sketchbook on you, are probably doodling said piece on a napkin or the back of scratch paper

You’re sharing his desk and kinda sleepy, so Gabe’s able to catch a glance of what you’re on occasion

During this time, Gabe has probably suggested once or twice you going home instead of staying up until ungodly hours with him, to no avail

Your sleepiness is what gives you the courage to show him your art

Which he is in awe of, but also flustered by

There’s a very clear sentiment to your work, with the fact that you decided to draw him at all and even decided to show him

Considers better than any photo that has been taken of him, especially in his Reaper uniform

He asks if he can keep it, and if you, in your sleep-induced haze, allow him to, he keeps the original piece hidden away in his desk for when he’s having a day that’s rougher than usual

Lowkey wants to pay you for your efforts and thinks it’s not fair that he gets to have your work without you getting anything in return

But that’s something he’ll talk with you about when you’re not half-asleep

If you let him, Gabe will make a blown up copy of it and use it as his official Talon image

Soldier 76

You thought it would be funny to draw the grumpy, hardworking man in a cute, cartoon-y style

In the image, Jack’s in his uniform and poised to fire at an enemy off the page, very serious despite his current cute stature

You think the finished product is amusing enough to show him

You just kind of track him down, push your piece into his face, and ask him what he thinks

Of course, he loves your art and as someone who doesn’t draw immensely well unless it’s battle plans, he’s impressed

However

“Why is my head so large and why are my arms and legs so tiny?”

When you tell him you thought it’d be fun to draw his grumpy self in a contrasting cute state, a teasing argument breaks out on whether or not he’s actually that grumpy

Mister Soldier “I’m not grumpy; everyone’s just stupid” (AKA “I’m an old man” 76 everybody

Once that settles, he asks if you’re giving it to him or not

If so, he’ll take it and keep it on his at-home office desk

If you prefer to keep it, he tells you that’s fine, compliments your work, and then gives you a smooch on the forehead

If neither of you are busy, you’ll probably hang out and snuggle for a bit too, until Jack’s inevitable workaholic tendencies creep up

Then it’s time to do everything in your power to convince him not to do the thing and stay for more cuddles instead

Mercy

You drew her while the two of you were lounging around on one of her few days off

She’s curled up in the cozy armchair next to the couch, wrapped in a blanket and wearing comfy clothes that she doesn’t usually get to wear

Reading one book from the several stacks of miscellaneous reading materials that sit on almost every flat surface in her humble home

If she wasn’t a literal goddess, you’d probably consider her a goblin among her hoard

Although, a dragon would make sense too

Yes, and dragons are prettier too

Angela’s definitely a beautiful, intimidating, take-no-shit, dragon with a book-hoarding problem

After your weird self-debate, you chuckle and make a mental note to draw your girlfriend as a dragon at some point

Your little giggle catches said girlfriend’s attention and she gives you a questioning quirked-brow and small smile look over the brim of her book’s cover

It’s a quiet moment and neither of you really want to break the silence fully, so you just smile back and shake your head a bit before turning your piece to give her a quick peak

To which Angela’s response is to break the silence and tell you that it’s gorgeous

She also adds that you were probably weren’t laughing at that, then asks if she can see the piece properly

You hand it to her after she saves her place in her book

You get to watch her marvel at it a bit, gently running her fingers over the lines, before telling her about your dragon idea

Angela cackles and warns that you better make her a pretty dragon, to which you promise you will

She mentions that she’d love to see that piece when you’re done as well

Now it’s up to you to chase your shyness away for long enough to show her

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

New Years with Harleen

For the majority of his life Jonathan Crane spent New Years alone. He was fine with this, Jonathan did not like to celebrate things. He didn’t want to watch the ball drop or get drunk on fancy champagne. His only new years resolution, if you could call it that, was to spread more panic and terror than ever before.

Crane was laying low in his farmhouse hideout. The fireplace was cold, in fact the whole house was cold. He couldn’t afford heat and had already used all of his firewood. To compensate and keep warm, Jonathan wore a big itchy sweater that he got as a gift from one of his old colleagues.

He was lounging on his favorite recliner when the doorbell rang. With a sigh, he reluctantly pulled himself out of his comfortable chair and walked towards the door. it was probably Edward, wanting to shove a New Years themed riddle in his face. He always visited at inopportune times like this.

When he opened the door he was not greeted by a man clad in a green question mark suit, but instead a clown princess of crime with a innocent grin on her face.

“Hiya professor, I’m here to wish you a Happy New Years!”

“Go tell someone who cares.”

“Awwhh, don’t be like that Jonny. I think you need some holiday cheer!”

“I need to be left alone.”

“Not on this New Years. Tonight you’re hangin’ out with me!”

She grabbed Jonathan without a second to spare and pulled him into her car. He tried protesting but Harley’s puppy dog eyes proved to be too strong. The ride to her apartment was full of disgruntled mumbling and a handful of frustrated signs. Normally, Jonathan didn’t mind being roped into Harley’s shenanigans, but tonight was different.  He didn’t want to be thrown into a big party, and he was sure that was what she had panned.

Luckily, he would be proven wrong.

When they arrived, Jonathan noticed the lack of cars parked outside and the dim lights coming from the windows. Perhaps this would be a quiet affair. Harley took his hand before he could contemplate any further and she lead him inside.

Her apartment was small, but welcoming, twinkle lights were flickering across the hallway and her Christmas tree was still lit up center stage. To Jonathan’s bewilderment, nobody else was in the apartment, not even Harleen’s closest friend and off and on again partner, Pamela Isley. Was this a set up? Surely someone was about to jump out and yell “Surprise!”

“Harleen, I must ask, why did you invite me here when you could be spending the holiday with someone else? ”

“Well, ya see...I would have spent the holiday with Ivy but she’s buried in her work and I don’ wanna to be a burden when she’s this close to a breakthrough in her research. I get real lonely ‘round this time of year and I thought you might make good company. I know that big parties aren’t your style, but maybe we could just...hang out?”

“I suppose that would be alright.”

Jonathan unfolded his arms and relaxed just slightly, he looked around and spotted a fancy recliner adorned with fluffy pillows. He pointed to it and asked

“Mind if I sit?”

“Get comfy professor, I have peach pie in the oven and some coffee brewing just for you!”

With that, he almost smirked. She knew him well, peach pie was one of his weaknesses, and Harleen’s peach pie is to die for. Jonathan took the pillows and moved them aside before sitting down in a chair far more comfortable than the one he had at home.

“You know that I don’t care for this holiday, right? If I was home right now, I’d be reading”

“Oh, I know Jonny.”

“Then what why did you bring me here?”

“So you wouldn’t be alone. Even grumpy old men like yourself deserve company occasionally. Ya’ might think you’re better off alone, but I know even grinches like yourself need companionship.”

She was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Crane drew a breath and signed. “Alright, when will that pie be ready?” Harleen snickered and snapped her fingers. “Right now!”

She put on some patterned baking mitts and pulled the pie out from the oven. The scent of cooked peaches filled the air. Jonathan’s sense of smell had withered away years ago thanks to his experiments, yet by some miracle he could faintly smell the sweet aroma. It made him feel at home, if only for a moment. Harley planted the pie and handed Jonathan his piece. The two ate quietly, with the occasional pleased purr coming from Jonathan as he slowly savored the dessert.

For the rest of the night, Jonathan and Harley discussed various advances in  psychology, and talked at length about their favorite novels. They could go on for hours, and Jonathan would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying her company.

Time passed and before they knew it it was almost midnight

“Jonny, would it be okay if I counted down the seconds to new year?”

An amused breath came from his mouth “Sure, Harleen.”

She looked at the clock on the wall and began to count.

10...9...8...

Harley stood up and moved closer to Crane. The seconds slowly ticked away as she reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked confused, and Crane had been in this situation before. It didn’t end well, but he hadn’t the time to worry about the past.

7...6...5...4..

“This is my present to you, Professor” 

3...2...1...

Harley leaned in and took his cheeks with her hands, planting a soft yet sweet kiss onto his lips. Jonathan blushed, a feeling he was not used to. His head told him to pull away, but his heart won the argument and he learned into the kiss.

Fireworks went off in the background as the rest of the city celebrated the coming of the new year. He could hear them faintly, but he was more focused on the kiss. Crane slowly parted lips, the feeling of the kiss lingered.

“Why...” Jonathan paused “Harleen, you haven’t kissed me in years”

“Yeah, well I thought it was about time you deserved ‘nother smooch!”

He paused, then smiled genuinely.

“Happy New Year Harleen, and thank you for making it special.”

It truly was remarkable, Crane had only been kissed a handful of times in his lifetime, and he still was not used to the feeling. It made his cold heart feel warm. Harley knew just how to make the grizzly old man melt.

[myspookysunshine]

Purple Haze 1/1

Summary :  Steve always thought the lyrics sounded better his way. Even more so now.

Pairing : Steve Harrington/Jonathan Byers

Rating : Mature

Warnings : Recreational drug use, mid-level sexual content, language

Reposted on AO3 as  dustyirish

Mondegreen (noun) :

 a misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of the lyrics of a song.

Steve caught up to Jonathan in the school parking lot.

"Hey, you have to work?" he asked through the open passenger window.

Jonathan shook his head.

Steve raised a questioning eyebrow.

Jonathan nodded.

Steve opened the door and hopped in.

Jonathan backed out, automatically heading for their spot at the edge of the woods.

Steve couldn't remember when, exactly, it had become a thing.

Nancy had been with Steve. Nancy had tired of Steve. Nancy had dumped Steve. Nancy had snagged Jonathan. That apparently hadn't done it for her, either - he was dropped within the month. The end result of this whirlwind do-si-do had somehow left Steve and Jonathan together to fend for themselves.

Steve didn't mind nearly as much as he thought he would.

The first few times they had just kicked back, talking. Rather, Steve had talked and Jonathan had listened. After awhile, Jonathan had grown comfortable enough to add to the conversation.

Steve hadn't minded that, either. Turned out, Byers was pretty cool. Weird - shit, yes - but cool.

Then had come the next thing. The weed thing. Surprisingly, it had been Jonathan that introduced the idea.

One afternoon he had popped open the glove box, fished around for a moment, then produced a lighter and a fatly-rolled joint. Steve had grinned. Then, as Byers had explained that he'd pilfered it from the stash Hopper kept tucked into a bra in Joyce's underwear drawer, Steve had laughed for five minutes straight.

Even with the addition of pot, Jonathan was still quiet and thoughtful. But definitely more relaxed.

Sometimes he even smiled.

They sat now, finishing off the last of their smoke, listening to one of Byers' endless supply of mix tapes. There had been little movement out of either of them except for a few feeble attempts on Steve's part at air-guitar.

Purple Haze kicked on. Steve lazily mimed the intro then started talking.

"That was really fucking brave, you know?" He had his legs dangling out the passenger window. The top half of his body had been slowing moving downward in increments, threatening to land in Jonathan's lap at any moment.

"Like seriously brave."

Jonathan was tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed. "What? Who?"

Steve flicked the spent roach out onto the gravel. "Hendrix, man."

Jonathan gave a noncommittal grunt.

Gravity finally won out and Steve hit denim, his head coming to rest on Jonathan's thigh. Even a month earlier this would have sent Jonathan bolting upright in shock or fleeing the car altogether. Now, he only sighed and shifted his arm to make room.

"I wouldn't have the nerve. I mean, the nerve to do it, sure, but not to sing about it." Steve realized he was delivering his soliloquy to Jonathan's crotch and flopped onto his back so he was looking at the roof. "It's bad enough now, but back then? Nobody got away with that shit. Except Hendrix. Because he's a god."

Jonathan finally peered down at him, eyes slightly fuzzy. "What are you rambling about?"

Steve tried using hand gestures to get his point across, blearily thinking it would be more eloquent. Or something. He wound up confusing even himself and finally gave up and just said it. "You know - man love!"

Jonathan's eyebrow quirked up. "Oh, I can't wait to hear this explanation."

"What's to explain? It's right there, big as Jimi's balls : 'scuse me while I kiss this guy!"

There was dead silence from Jonathan for a beat, then he began laughing so hard he nearly bucked Steve right off onto the floor.

Witnessing Jonathan Byers having a giggle fit stunned Steve into his own few moments of silence, but he finally recovered enough to glare up at him. "What!? What the hell's so funny?"

"I'm wondering," Jonathan gasped out, trying to regain control of himself. "how many times you've belted out those lyrics in front of other people. And what their reactions were when you did."

Steve scowled. "You saying I'm wrong?"

Jonathan wiped his eyes, one final burble of laughter escaping. "No, I'm saying you're fucking ridiculous. And wrong."

Steve was irritated, but not quite irritated enough to vacate his comfy spot. "Really. Then what is he saying, Mr. Music Master?"

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky."

Steve thought about it, then finally admitted defeat, huffing out a breath. "Huh. Well, that's not what it sounds like. At all."

He reached a hand out, rooting around on the seat for his pack of cigarettes, frowning when he found it empty. "Got another joint?"

Jonathan shook his head. "Not sure you really need one anyway."

They were quiet for awhile, listening to tunes. Jonathan was the one to break the silence.

"One other thing you're wrong about, Harrington. You don't have the nerve to do it."

Steve had been close to nodding off. He crinkled his brow in confusion. "Huh? Do what?"

"Kiss a guy."

Steve raised up on his elbows to look at him. "That a challenge, Byers?"

"It's whatever you want it to be. Doesn't matter what you call it, because you won't do it."

"Bullshit!"

"Uh huh."

"It's not that simple. It's not something you just ... do."

"Whatever you say."

It was smug, it was sure, and Steve was having none of it. "Alright, c'mere." He crooked his finger. "Bend the hell down, man!" he instructed when Jonathan didn't immediately obey.

Jonathan leaned down so his face was a few inches away from Steve's. "Okay, I'm here. Now what?"

"Pucker, motherfucker." Steve's own wit cracked him up for a few seconds, during which Jonathan patiently waited him out.

Steve finally quashed the giggles and put a sincere look on his face. "C'mon, seriously, Byers. Pucker up."

Jonathan shook his head and rolled his eyes but did as told.

Steve ran a sensual finger down the tendon in Jonathan's neck. "You ready for this?" he purred. "Gonna rock your world, baby."

Jonathan muttered a 'Yeah, right' through pursed lips.

Steve inched up, closer, closer ... then veered off at the last second, planting a playful smooch on Jonathan's cheek.

Steve grinned triumphantly up at him. "That what you wanted?"

Jonathan sighed, sat up and lay his head back again. "Not what I wanted, no," he murmured, "but it is exactly what I was expecting."

Steve blinked at the change in tone.

He pulled his legs back into the car and slowly sat up himself, his voice softening. "Hey, man. Look at me." He reached out, aiming for Jonathan's arm. He found his waist instead, but let the hand stay. "Jonathan."

The use of his rarely-used first name caused him to look.

"I was just messing with you."

"You usually are." Jonathan pointed out, glancing back down, hiding under his bangs.

"Yeah, true, but I'm not now," Steve said lowly and leaned in, brushing Jonathan's lips with his own.

He looked into Jonathan's eyes and saw a hint of surprise. And a hint of something else.

It was the something else that drew Steve back in, making full contact this time, closing his eyes and letting himself sink into it. It was slow and gentle at first, with Steve initiating everything, but after a bit Jonathan got with the program and opened to him.

And that was when things went a little insane.

Jonathan's tongue brushed tentatively along Steve's lips, testing the waters. Steve eagerly met it with his own, drawing Jonathan in all the way and sucking.

Jonathan groaned softly and Steve's cock sprung to life, so fast it was dizzying. He made a ridiculously embarrassing noise, something between a whimper and a purr, a noise he couldn't quite believe had come from him. His fingers clenched almost desperately on Jonathan's hips.

Jonathan had one hand on Steve's shoulder. The other was gently cupping the back of his neck. Steve found himself leaning into the touch, liking the warm, comforting weight of it. It was reassuring, somehow. Safe. Sappy, yeah - but that didn't make it any less true.

Jonathan pulled away first. He leaned his forehead against Steve's and laughed breathlessly. "Okay, you win. Challenge fulfilled."

Steve, if anything, was even more breathless. "Yeah, pretty sure that wasn't all about the challenge, dude."

Jonathan made a small noise of agreement that Steve swallowed with his mouth.

If Steve had any doubts about Jonathan being on board for more, they ended when he pulled back for a breather and glanced down. Jonathan's cock was a rigid outline against his jeans. A rigid big outline.

A surge of pure, unexpected want raced through Steve. He doubted he would know what to do with it if he got it, but holy hell, he suddenly wanted it.

"Oh Jesus," he groaned shakily.

He looked up and met dark eyes looking back. Jonathan knew exactly what was going through his mind.

Steve felt a jolt of terror; if things were going to go bad, this would be the moment for it. And one beat-down from Jonathan Byers was enough in a lifetime.

"Oh Jesus," he repeated, with more trepidation.

Jonathan leaned in and kissed him sweetly, first his lower lip then his upper. Steve was vastly relieved as he realized there would be no punching.

The relief then turned to shock as he felt Jonathan's hand nudging under his thigh, encouraging Steve to straddle his lap.

Steve rose up, careful to avoid smacking his tailbone on the steering wheel or his head on the roof, and swung his leg over. He sank down, hardness met hardness, and Jonathan's stilted moan was eclipsed by Steve's strangled keening.

No female Steve had ever been with had made any noise half as girly. There had to be estrogen infused into Hopper's goddamned pot supply.

Had to be.

Jonathan's hips bumped up softly, just once, as if to reassure Steve of future possibilities, then stilled as he started back in on the kissing.

More kissing was good. Steve knew how to do kissing. Although, he had to admit, he had never done kissing quite like this.

Jonathan's hand had found his cheek, and every once in awhile a finger would sneak out and brush along their joined lips, as if Jonathan had to keep checking to make sure it was actually happening.

Steve realized he himself was murmuring indistinctly between kisses, utterances that he seriously hoped weren't some form of endearment, but greatly feared might be.

Steve had thought about kissing another dude once or twice before, and had always imagined it being harsh; a clashing of teeth, a battle for dominance. This ... wasn't that.

Steve couldn't begin to come up with a name for whatever this was.

Jonathan kissed with an intensity that would be frightening if it wasn't so tender. He was entirely focused on the act and seemed to immediately pick up on what felt best for Steve. Pick up on it and then improve on it until Steve was helpless to do anything but whimper for more.

How the hell had Nancy ever thrown this away? Or had Jonathan maybe never shown this side to her? If so, Steve figured they were even - Nancy sure as shit had never heard him sound like a virgin bride being deflowered on her wedding night.

After a bit, Jonathan broke out of the kiss and just kind of hugged Steve, head snugging against his shoulder, one hand slipping underneath the back of Steve's shirt to touch skin.

"Is this okay?" he whispered, unsure.

"You have to ask, after all that?" Steve laughed gently. "Yeah. It's definitely okay."

He realized how rarely Jonathan gave affection, outside of his immediate family. This was him taking a chance on trust, and Steve wasn't about to do anything to make him sorry he had. He slipped his own arms around Jonathan's back and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Better than okay."

Jonathan's hands were spanning Steve's waist, his fingers gently sliding along the skin of Steve's lower back. Steve just stayed quiet and held him, occasionally nuzzling a bit against his cheek.

Here they were again, smack dab in Harlequin romance territory. And Steve decided then and there that he was done worrying about it. If it felt right for both of them, it was right. It's not like anyone else was going to be there to judge.

The motion of Jonathan's hands grew a little firmer, massaging, his fingers dipping towards slightly more dangerous territory.

Steve hummed approval and brought his own hand around, slipping it under Jonathan's Kinks shirt, knuckles lightly teasing along his stomach. "This okay?"

Jonathan nodded against his shoulder then moved his head up. There was a puff of breath at Steve's ear and then a warm, wet tongue dragging along the shell.

Steve let loose with a yelp that would have done Cyndi Lauper proud. "Oh fuck me," he half groaned, half laughed. "Be bop a lu."

Jonathan leaned back slightly to squint at him. "What?"

"Nothing, never mind, just keep up what you're doing." Jonathan sucked an earlobe between his teeth. Steve shivered deliciously. "Forever, please. Forever would be awesome."

Steve knew there was no hope of stopping the ridiculous sounds coming out of his mouth - but he might be able to fix it so that he wasn't the only one making them.

He slid his hand up further, grazing a thumbnail over a nipple, and Jonathan hissed in a shaky breath. Then Steve gave a flick that had Jonathan whimpering, his head dropping back to land on Steve's shoulder.

Jonathan's fingers flexed, the tips finally making it below the back of Steve's waistband, barely brushing along skin.

Steve flicked again, then traced soft circles with the pad of his thumb until Jonathan was gasping.

"You like that?" he murmured into Jonathan's hair.

"Yeah." It came out on a croak. "Jesus. Yeah."

"How about this?" He gave the nipple a gentle pinch.

Jonathan moaned long and low and buried his face against Steve's neck. At the same time his hips stuttered up.

Steve had never lost his boner entirely, but things had dropped safely below critical mass. Now, at the sensation of hardness pressing along his ass, they went screaming back into the red zone. He met Jonathan's movement with a helpless thrust of his own.

Then they were kissing again, hands exploring, rocking smoothly together.

Steve's head was spinning with weed and arousal; he closed his eyes and let himself float with the feeling, knowing Jonathan would be there to keep him from sinking completely.

It was a minor miracle that Steve even heard the sound of approaching tires crunching on gravel.

He blinked his eyes open, listened for another second to make sure he wasn't imagining it, then shot off of Jonathan's lap, slamming his head against the roof in the process. "Shit! Shit, someone's coming!"

Jonathan made a hurried adjustment to his jeans, started the car, paused, then leaned back over to Steve and gave him one last soft kiss.

It was like Jonathan was making a statement, taking time that they didn't have to tell Steve something. And whatever it was, he was clearly more worried about it going unsaid than he was of them being caught.

As Jonathan finally popped the car into reverse and quickly pulled out of the lot, Steve flopped back into the passenger seat, stunned, heart pounding.

He wasn't sure how it had happened.

He wasn't sure precisely how he felt about it.

All he was sure of is that they had just found themselves a whole new thing.

[mintypothos]

BurrMads: Burr being kissed around the neck, soft touches under his sweater, James snuggling into the smol boy's neck and praising him

SORRY! This has been in my inbox for quite a while! I did not forget about it, I just needed a break from daily fic writing! More under readmore

Itwas a long day. It was always a long day, for both of them. Still,even through his own haze of gentle exhaustion- the feeling of aproductive, if challenging, day of work- Aaron recognized the look onJames' face.

“Badday?” Aaron gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile. Usually wellkept together, even in private, James let out a long, quiet sigh ashe dropped his bags on the floor. James' coat dripped as he pulled itoff and hung it on the staircase railing to dry. “I don't recall itraining..?”

“Sprinklerswent off.” James spoke in short, sharp tones as he peeled hissweater off- also very wet.

Aaronconsidered the sight- his boyfriend sad and wet, versus the actionshe could take. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”From any other person, the response would sound rude and hurtful.Aaron knew James by now though. He'd never been one for many words,even compared to Aaron himself.

“Doyou want me to get you some dry clothes?”

Jameslet out a soft sigh this time, shucking out of his dress pants andstanding in a mere shirt and boxers. “No thanks.”

Aaronraised a brow- would James rather stand there in the middle of thekitchen, half dressed?- but then James wasn't just standing there, hewas striding over in quick, purposeful steps. In one quick motion,Aaron found himself with an armful of James. Instinctively, his handsclosed around the slightly smaller body. James tipped his head downuntil wet hair, nearly dripping, rubbed against the side of Aaron'sface. Distantly, Aaron thanked the fact that James preferred a shortcut.

“Wouldyou dry me instead?” The request was mumbled into Aaron's shoulder.He could almost feel James' lips, could definitely feel his breath.Aaron didn't deny a slight shiver, equal parts ticklish and anticipating.

“Sure,but only if we move to the couch.” Aaron conceded, not bothering tohide the smile working its way up his lips. James relented, movingout of the embrace so that he could lead the way, fingers slidingdown Aaron's arms until they rested against hands, gently towingAaron forward.

Jamesgestured slightly, turning his head. It almost looked shy, but Aaronknew better. He sat down first, settling comfortably. Aaron held hisarms open, just slightly. James took the invitation- in this, theydidn't need words.

Hedidn't quite straddle Aaron, but he did take the proffered lap, kneesbent together and curled to the left, on the remainder of the couch.With a soft huff, James relaxed his body, falling against Aaron.There was still a hint of dampness to his shirt, not completely savedby the sweater James has worn overtop. The room was warm though, andboth of them comfy. It wasn't as important.

Theystayed that way for several minutes, perhaps longer. Long enough forAaron to close his eyes, soothed by his partner's steady heartbeat.Then, silently, James shifted. His arms curled tighter, claspingAaron's shoulders in a protective hold.

“Thanks,'ron.” James sighed against Aaron's neck. Aaron nearly jumped, bothfrom the ticklish sensation and the rare use of nickname. “It'sbeen a godawful day.”

“Musthave been,” Aaron said back, bemused. “You don't swear foranything less than total chaos.”

Thisearned a quiet jolt- James, holding back a snort. “Just becausesome people use crude langauge doesn't mean we all have to.”

Itwas a common point, usually made to Hamilton when he occasionallyneedled James. Aaron smiled fondly. “Yeah, I know. We all admireyour high standards of language.”

“False,”This time, James really did snort.

Aaronshrugged. “Well, I admire your high standards of language,anyways.” He felt a sharp breath against his shoulder blade-another successful laugh. Aaron was on a roll, today.

Jameswiggled again, pulling his head back so that he could look at Aarondirectly. Aaron was taken again- even stressed out and obviouslyexhausted, James Madison was a beautiful sight. “Don't say yes justbecause I'm miserable,” James said suddenly, eyes suddenly glancingdown. “but can I go under your sweater, without being reciprocated?I just want to feel you.”

Therequest immediately made Aaron's face heat up. “Uh, okay.” Hereplied. Then, “I mean, I'd like that. Nothing too sexual?”It came out more like a question than intended, but he trusted Jamesto understand.

“Ofcourse.” James agreed immediately, mouth forming into a soft smile.“I'm too tired for that, anyways. Can I kiss you, though?” Aaron nodded,and was rewarded, not with a kiss on the lips as he was expecting,but a gentle peck on the cheek.

Aaron'sarms were around James' hips, originally there to steady him. Now,James carefully moved them up, until Aaron was holding the small ofJames' back. Aaron obliged, settling his arms into the preferredhold. James' smile turned into something more resembling a smirk ashe leaned down again, planting a soft kiss on Aaron's jawbone next.

Slowly,fingers tucked under Aaron's sweater and shirt. Shockingly cold handspressed against the slight fat of his hips. Aaron flinched. “Ah!,”he hissed, “warm those up first!”

“Sorry,”James said, sounding more amused than sorry. Still, the fingersretracted, gripping softly from the outside of the sweater instead.Wedged between the heat of Aaron's form and the back of the couch,they would warm in no time.

Instead,James returned to Aaron's neck. James' soft nose ran gently down thehollow of his throat. Even softer lips, though slightly rough on theoutside from cold-chapped skin, peppered Aaron's collarbone withquiet kisses. There was no sucking; no biting or bruising- justoverwhelming softness, warm like a fleece blanket by the fireplace.Aaron sighed in bliss, feeling himself turn boneless.

Jamescontinued his efforts, layering the other side of Aaron's neck inwarm smooches. His breath tickled against skin, highlighting the tinypinpricks of moisture James left in his wake. “Are my hands warmenough, yet?” James spoke in a hushed voice, slightly above awhisper.

“Idon't know, are they?” Aaron replied, equally quiet. It wasn't thetime for volume. Carefully, he withdrew his hands. Understanding themotion, James drew his back as well, allowing Aaron to clasp themeasily.

Itwas something special, how their hands fit together, almost exactlythe same size and perfectly suited for the other. Neither of them haddone much physical labour in their lives, but James were somehow justa hint rougher, a tiny scar on the right thumb that Aaron had alwaysfound adorable. Aaron pretended to gauge the temperature, folding hisfingers between James' in a tight hold.

“They'lldo,” Aaron finally admitted, grinning at the unimpressed look Jamesshot him with. “If you still want to, anyways.”

“Always,”James scoffed, “Just as long as you're sure?”

“Yes,”Aaron nodded, and then tipped his head up again as James immediatelynestled the side of his head under Aaron's chin. Fingers made theirway down, creeping under the edge of the sweater. Then, they settledsimply against the skin of Aaron's hips.

Jameslet out another sigh, noticeably more content. “You're too good forme.”

Aaron'sheart was already soft, but now it was threatening to puddle. “I'mgetting a free cuddle and I'm not even the one who had a bad day. Icould say the same to you.”

Jameshuffed, nestling his face even further into the front of Aaron'ssweater. “It makes me feel better. You're so good for snuggling.”James paused a moment to move his hands in slow circles, stillwarming Aaron's hips comfortably. “You're good at so many things,but also snuggling.”

Thepraise was ridiculous, and Aaron had to bite his cheek to preventgiggling at it. That didn't make the heat in his chest any less real.“You're good at snuggling, too.”

“No,you're the best. You're so soft. It's nice.” Hands drifted toAaron's small pouch of belly fat, gently caressing before trailingback to Aaron's sides.

Aaron'sgut flipped, in a good way. “I'm glad I make you feel better, evenfrom something as simple as this. I don't feel like I'm doing much.”

“Youalways make me feel better,” James assured, fingers grippingslightly. “Even without this, just being here. But you are verynice to hold, too.”

Aaronwas sure his smile must be ridiculous by now. He couldn't help hisreaction to praise from his boyfriend. “That's good to hear,” hesaid, not bothering to hide the emotional waver. “Still, you'reprobably hungry. Do you want me to make dinner tonight?” It wasostensibly James' turn, but Aaron hardly considered a chore scheduleagainst the effects of a terrible day. James would do the same forhim in an instant.

“Yes,please.” James agreed. “But can we stay like this a bit longer?”

“Ofcourse,” Aaron leaned his cheek against soft, tightly curled hair.The moment wouldn't last forever, but they had nowhere to be. Theywere content.

[ceslatoil]

Pass the Salt

I came up with this story for @fiddleford-appreciation-month after hearing a few people wanted to see more interactions between Fiddleford and his Wife. Enjoy :)

           “Pa, quit sticking yer head out the window before you get hit by a bus.”

           Embarrassed, Fiddleford McGucket suppressed the canine instinct that had come over him and sat back down in the rental car at his son’s command. He couldn’t help it. Though he had regained a great many of his memories, McGucket could not recall the last time he’d ever been to the beach, and as they were traveling down the road towards their seaside destination, he was overcome with excitement. It was a lovely, golden spring day, and the ocean was still and shining as they drove past. There was still a chill in the spring air that would forbid swimming in its waters, but it was beautiful to him all the same.

           Tate, however, had formed his mouth into a solemn gash across his already stony face. He was concentrating on the road, which, thankfully, wasn’t too congested with traffic since it was still the off season, but it’s hard to drive when so much is weighing on the mind.

           “It was awful nice of yer Ma to invite me to Easter dinner,” said McGucket, still bouncing up and down in his seat. He was currently fiddling with the potted lilies he had brought for the occasion. He couldn’t remember if his ex-wife enjoyed flowers or not, but lilies always seemed to brighten up the rooms in his new mansion. How could anyone dislike lilies?

           “Now Pa,” said Tate, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he chose his next words carefully, “I should warn ya before we go in, Mom remarried a couple of years back now—you sure you’re gonna be fine with that?”

           “Aw, Tater Tot,” said McGucket, flashing his snaggletooth smile at his gloomy son, “I don’t mind none; I remarried loads of times after she called it quits on me.”

           “Pa,” said Tate, rolling his eyes as they drew nearer to a secluded house by the beach, “being married to your beard ain’t really being married at all.”

           “I know that,” said the old man playfully, “Why’d ya think yer Ma and me split up in the first place?”

           “Pa!”

           “Tate!”

           “Look—I’m glad you’re in a good mood,” said Tate, who turned up the lane towards the beach house with growing trepidation, “But I still want you to brace yourself, for your own sake.”

           “Yikes, yer makin’ it sound like some big, scary musclehead’s gonna beat me up the second I walk in the door,” said McGucket, who’s knees began to bounce together out of nervous habit. “Is that what yer tellin’ me? That yer Ma got hitched to some muscle-bound lug and he’s gonna beat me up?”

           “I can promise you this, Pa,” said Tate, who in spite of himself was beginning to crack a hesitant, friendly smile as they finally pulled up to the house, “Ma doesn’t have a giant muscle-bound lug who’s going to beat you up.”

           The beach house was painted a cheerful, sunny yellow with sea foam green shutters lining the windows, and a comfortable porch with wicker patio furniture on the deck. Sitting on one of these wicker chairs was a woman, though her hair had turned gray and her face still lined with faint wrinkles, she had a youthful quality about her, from the way she smiled at both Fiddleford and Tate when they got out of the car, to the way she jumped down from the porch and practically tackled Tate into a bear hug.

           “Baby Tate,” she cried; if she’d had the strength she would have picked him up and twirled him around like a baby doll, “So glad you could make it!” When she broke away, she shot McGucket a beaming smile, and grabbed him by the hand, shaking it firmly.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you too, Fiddleford,” she said with a wink, “I’ve heard tons from Tate, and from the Missis of course. Carla McCorkle.”

McGucket squinted at Carla for a moment, as if trying to read very fine print from a long distance, but, after spotting the ring on Carla’s left hand and the sheepish grimace on Tate’s face, the truth hit him all at once and he let out a barking laugh.

“So you’re the big guy who’s gonna beat me up,” said McGucket, now shaking Carla’s hand in earnest.

“Tate, what stories have you been telling your father,” Carla chastised the younger McGucket man, “It’s not nice to fib on Easter, you know!”

“I ain’t told him nothing,” said Tate defensively.

“Well, let’s get you two inside,” said Carla, waving her hand theatrically towards the beach house. “It’s been chilly all week, and dinner should be ready in about an hour. I’ve got some wine and cheese set up in the living room, you two make yourselves comfy while I get your bags.”

 The living room was airy and comfortable, and on the glass coffee table stood a tray of different cheeses, fruits and bread. McGucket grabbed a few handfuls of everything, but a look from Tate told him not to stuff the snacks into his face like he had wanted to initially. It was difficult to control his hunger, the smell of chicken frying wafted in temptingly from the kitchen, and the scent of cinnamon and apple was detected as well. Even if he was a little nervous about meeting his ex wife again after all these years, the promise of good, filling food always makes things a little easier to face.

A fluffy, white cat crept into the room; its wide, squashed in face kept it from achieving true beauty. McGucket knelt down and held out his hand to the tiny creature; she took one look and swatted her paw at him, grazing his hand with her claws.

“Ouch!”

“Lovelace doesn’t take kindly to strangers,” said a voice behind McGucket; he turned to see a woman, her graying brown hair shaggy as always as she scowled at him in that old familiar way he was starting to remember. She wore a dirty apron over her outfit, a heather gray sweater and brown corduroy pants, her arms crossed over her chest as she examined McGucket from across the room, pursing her lips as she did so.

McGucket’s ex-wife was a quiet, secretive sort of person, to the point where I, the narrator, hardly know much about her. I don’t, for example, have a clear idea what her face looks like, having only ever seen a rough sketch of a thirty-year-old photograph of her in Stanford Pines’ third journal. I don’t quite know what her voice sounded like, what perfume she liked to wear, what sort of jokes made her laugh (or, for that matter, if any jokes made her laugh at all), and, I’m embarrassed to admit, I don’t even have a record of her full name. I only know that she was once Mrs. McGucket, and now she’s a Mrs. McCorkle. However, since that name applies to two completely different women in this tale, I have elected to call Mrs. McCorkle-Who-Was-Once-Mrs.-McGucket the much less trying to type “Trudy” instead.

“Well, howdy,” said McGucket, giving his ex a smile she couldn’t return. He got up to scoop her into a tight hug. She had gone stiff in his arms, so he let go early.

“You, ah… you look nice. Pretty house,” said McGucket awkwardly. Trudy said nothing, and merely turned her attention to her son.

“How was the drive,” she asked quietly.

“Easy enough,” said Tate, who shared his mother’s dislike of talking too much. Silence filled the room like heavy smog, and the three McGuckets simply stared at each other, unable to really say anything at all. It was to everyone’s immense relief when Carla came back in holding the potted Easter lilies in her arms.

“Fiddleford, did you bring these?” she asked happily, “They’re beautiful!”

“I grew ‘em in the garden,” said McGucket, the grin returning to his face as he took the lilies from her, “sprouted up once it started getting warmer again. I reckon you’d like to have them!”

He offered the flowers to Trudy, whose scowl only got deeper.

“Lilies,” she explained, “are highly toxic to cats.”

“Oh,” said McGucket, who hadn’t realized this at all. “I’m sorry! Didn’t know ya had a cat when we came to visit! I apologize.”

“You should,” said Trudy, eyeing the flowers resentfully as she bent down to pet her cat, “Even just the pollen could cause Lovelace immense harm if she were to breathe it in or ingest it. Though I guess with all the money you’ve made off of your death robots, I could just send the vet bills to you.”

“Trudy,” hissed Carla, who knew to cut her wife off quickly when she went into these sort of moods, “It was a simple mistake. We’ll just keep the flowers outside; Lovelace is an indoor cat, she won’t even see them.”

Trudy gave them each an unreadable expression.

“I have to get back to fixing dinner,” she said, turning away from them as she did so. “It’ll be up in about an hour.”

With that, she was gone.

 The first five minutes into dinner, no one said a word. Tate was never a very talkative person to begin with, and both Carla and Fidds tucked into their dishes in earnest. Trudy, for her part, only picked at her plate, staring dully at her ex husband as he consumed the meal she’d prepared.

“So,” said Fidds, still chewing on a fried chicken leg, “How’d you two meet?”

“Oh, it was actually just a few years back,” said Carla brightly; she grabbed Trudy’s hand and squeezed it gently as she spoke. “I was in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf off Broadway—I played Martha, just the most fascinatingly devious role—and one night after curtain call, I get back to my dressing room and find a bouquet of roses from a mysterious admirer!”

“What can I say,” Trudy shrugged, a phantom of a smile briefly appearing on her gloomy face, “I always had an eye out for the great performers.”

“Oh? Since when,” said McGucket, puzzled.

“Since always,” huffed Trudy petulantly.

Carla coughed uncomfortably before continuing her story.

“Anyway,” she said, picking at her salad nervously, “I kept getting roses night after night, until one matinee performance I catch her in the act! I ask her out right then and there, I tell her, ‘no way in heck am I accepting roses from a complete stranger,’ and then, one thing lead to another, and here we are today!”

Trudy blushed; she took Carla’s hand and gave it a quick, affectionate smooch.

“And she’s quite a sweetheart when you prod her out of her shell a bit,” said Carla brightly.

“Well ain’t that just lovely,” said Fiddleford, raising his chicken leg in a sort of toast to the happy couple, “I think I should probably start going to plays if I ever wanna meet somebody as special as you!”

Trudy apparently did laugh at this, a cruel, mirthless laugh that sounded like an icicle through the throat.

“…Why’s that funny,” said McGucket quietly.

“…Nothing,” mumbled Trudy, who began to guzzle down her glass of wine.

Tate spoke up, “This salad is fantastic mom, where did you—”

“No, why is that funny,” Fiddleford insisted, his voice uncharacteristically aggressive.

Trudy finished her glass of blood-red wine in one gulp.

“You at a play,” she said disdainfully, “Come on Fiddleford, don’t kid yourself, theater is for the sophisticated and the refined, you’d stick out like a farm hand shopping at Barney’s.”

Fiddleford glared at her from across the table, a look she returned with tundra-like cruelty. He looked down miserably at his plate, unsure if he could enjoy another bite.

“Now, really Trudy,” chastised Carla, “You’ve been married to me long enough to know that sort of snobbery should have no place in the fine arts. Theater should be accessible to everyone, charging the sort of money they do for tickets nowadays is just robbing the common people one of the greatest joys in life.”

Carla patted Fiddleford on the arm affectionately. “You and Tate should come see a show with us while you’re here! I’ve got some good tickets to see Kinky Boots, and I think you’d get a huge kick out of that show.”

“I ain’t much for singing and dancing,” mumbled Tate, who was giving his mother an icy glare.

“Tate, d’you mind passing the salt for me,” said McGucket, not looking up from his plate. Tate took the saltshaker from the middle of the table and handed it to his father, who began to sprinkle it onto his chicken absentmindedly as Carla continued to chatter absentmindedly about other musicals.

“You’re going to over season the chicken,” snapped Trudy suddenly. Ugly silence fell across the table like a crashed jet engine.

Slowly, Fiddleford spoke up, “well dear, you’ll forgive me I hope, but you hardly used any spice when frying up this bird. It just tastes like plain flour, I just thought I’d liven him up with a little salt.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my chicken!” Trudy gritted her teeth together as if she’d like nothing better than to sink them into her ex’s throat, severing an artery.

“Just as there ain’t nothing wrong with me putting a little salt on him. You never were much good at putting spice on things, sweetheart,” said McGucket, sprinkling even more salt onto his plate.

“You’re lucky I even let you eat at all, you filthy bum!” Trudy was standing now; she slammed her fists onto the table violently, rattling the silver wear and glasses upon impact.

“Now really,” said Carla, mortified. “We don’t need to argue like children over dinner—”

“Well,” said McGucket, his voice trembling, “I guess I definitely had worse dinners than this, I did spend thirty years living out on the streets; I don’t know if’n ya ever had to eat garbage out of the can before, it’s really an unforgettable taste!”

“You’re the one who left,” Trudy snarled.

“You told me to go,” McGucket retorted. Faintly, he remembered a difficult conversation in the back of his mind: Think about what sounds better: spending time with your best friend working on a subject you both love, or staying in the suburbs playing house with a wife you have nothing in common with but your son?

“Did I tell you to not write or call for months on end,” Trudy gesticulated wildly at her Ex as she spoke, “Did I tell you not to visit your son?”

“Mom, leave me out of it!” cried Tate, slamming his fist on the table as well.

“Oh,” Trudy continued, not paying a bit of mind to her son at all, “I guess I’m the one who made you send that robot after me when I served you the divorce papers because I was just so done with your—”

“You left me to die on the street!”

Fiddleford had never said this out loud, hadn’t even dared to think it, but had kept this thought buried away in his heart for a long time, hoping it would rot away into nothing. Tate drank from his cup deeply, a guilty glint in his eyes as silence fell over the table again.

Trudy took Carla’s glass of wine and hurled the contents into Fiddleford’s face. He sat there, dripping wet with wine that stained his beard like blood.

“Trudy,” cried Carla, horrified.

“Get out,” hissed Trudy at her ex husband, “Get the hell out of my house right now!”

McGucket scrambled out of the dining room and ran into the night, his eyes stinging from the mixture of wine and tears as he ran.

 We like stories because, like magic wardrobes and hidden portals, they take us to a version of reality we want to exist. A place where the lines between gentle, good hearted people and nasty, cruel people are thick and easy to see, where morals can be cut up and fed to us in easy to digest little bites, where all is well and right by the end, wickedness is defeated and kindness is rewarded as it deserves.

In this story, however, there is no wickedness to be defeated, as nobody in this story is truly wicked. Yes, Trudy McCorkle was cold and hostile to McGucket, and she wasn’t without her own small burden of blame, but she had her reasons and resentments that lead to her unhappiness with her ex-husband, something he would come to agree with in time. Forgiveness is a long process that takes a different amount of time for everyone, and Trudy’s time simply hadn’t arrived.

Fiddleford turned over these angry, mixed up thoughts as he fell into a fitful slumber on the shores of Glass Shard Beach. The moon was as gibbous and milky as a blinded eye in the sky above; it seemed to stare down coldly at Fiddleford as he tried to sleep. He didn’t know why he’d thought visiting his ex-wife was a good idea. He should have just stayed home and not bothered people who didn’t want him in their lives again.

“Pa!”

Tate was running towards him from further down the beach.

“There you are,” said Tate, panting as he sat down next to his father, who had curled into a tight ball in the sand. “Come on, Dad, let’s get out of here.”

“No, it’s fine,” said Fiddleford, obviously not fine at all, “I’ll just stay here in the dirt. You Ma’d be happier if I stayed out of her way.”

“I don’t give a crap about what’d make her happy right now,” snapped Tate, “That was—that was inexcusable. I told her that she ought to be thanking you for saving everyone last year, and that she was acting like a jackass.”

“Tate,” cried Fiddleford, popping out of the sand at this, “Don’t go saying such things to your mother!”

“But she—”

“What we’re arguing about ain’t something we should be dragging you into,” said Fiddleford, “and I’m sorry if that ever got taken out on you, Tater Tot.” He gave his son a hug, squeezing him tight.

“Pa, really, I’m a grown man.”

“Hush, you ain’t too old for hugs.”

“Anyway,” said Tate, pulling away from his dad, “Just… look, Carla’s real upset how everything went down. She wants to make it up for what happened. Did… did you wanna go see a play with us?”

“… You sure I won’t embarrass ya none,” Fiddleford asked quietly.

“I think we got all the embarrassment out of the way tonight,” said Tate, who, alongside his father began to walk down the beach towards the boardwalk. “Come on—if we move now, Carla says we can rush into the theater.”

Real life is often chaotic; but there is some comfort in getting to spend a moment away from that chaos, especially if it’s with the people you care about.

[wastedwishesandhope]

Noche

It was several hours later when Anna woke up. Her bedroom was still filled with darkness but the overflowing light coming from the moon went through the window and the chilly night breeze blowing the curtains to move like a dancing ballerina. She rolled over to her side and there she realized she wasn’t sleeping alone that night. She propped her head on one raise hand, the better to watch Park Jimin as he slept, but otherwise didn’t move. She still felt a bit shaky, and it wasn’t because her muscles had been pushed to their limits, maybe beyond them. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew she’d never be the same again.

She gazed at Jimin’s sleeping face, and a wave of tenderness swept over her, so intense it was more a little terrifying. She suddenly felt the familiar feeling of those nights that she felt so alone and now she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.

His face was glowing from the moonlight that serves as a spotlight to boast his perfect facial features. She loves so much his eyes, his plump lips, and even his cheeks. She smiled to herself while tracing every part of his face through her eyes. She felt calm after she surrenders herself to him. Everything that happened tonight felt so magical. She doesn’t want the morning to come up; she wants to stay like this forever, and ever.

Right after her Dad died, she had never felt so loved by anyone again. Given that her beloved best friend but the outspoken love she receives from this man beside her is truly unexplainable. He made her feel things she had never felt before; she experienced genuine happiness through his smiles, kisses, and hugs, and an opposite anguish during back the days he’s not around. He’s a nightmare but a dream, and even he could kill her, she would still stay spending her last sight with the view of his face. That’s how much she loves him, and now, she’s ready to even fight the whole universe. She got no swords but she’ll use her arms to defend him. She got no power but she’ll use her strength to protect him. He may be a vampire, but to Anna, Park Jimin will always remain her angel.

 She leaned in forward and kissed his lips. She felt him smiled and when she looked down at his face, she saw him smiling still with eyes closed. Park Jimin opened his arms and pulled her closer to him. Anna smiled sheepishly and pressed her nose against his neck. She felt his arms tightened around her naked body and he pressed his lips to her forehead. Soft kisses that made her whole again.

  —   —   —

  A tickling little breathes on his neck woke him up. A warmth flesh sticking on his skin like a sweet honey made him feel he was connected to a plug and charging his most likely dead body from stress and exhaustion. Tender hands placed on his chest and when he touched it, a smiled occurred on his lips realizing she was really there, sleeping soundlessly against his. He opened his eyes and the bright sky sprinkled radiance around them like a magical pixie dust in every fairytale. The sun is up and was shouting to wake the whole world up.

He tilted his head a little bit to place a soft kiss on top of her head. His arms around her shoulder. He tried moving but she shows no sign of waking up. He rubbed her arms gently, savoring the warmth he had been longing since the day he decided to leave her alone and devastated. Till now, it was a huge mistake he had ever done in his whole life. Granted after the day he left Wangbi before, too. But Anna’s case was different.

He carefully removed his arms around her, scared he might wake her up. He gets up and remained seated watching her. He had never felt so close to another human being, so… wrapped up in her.

And so afraid of her.

How could he protect her from the cruelty of this world? How could he keep her safe? He knows he can even fight the billion people who would try to hurt her, but how can he fight the possibilities that he- being a vampire might be the only reason that could hurt her so bad someday. Rest assured that she will always stay with him, no matter what, but until when? He’s scared that she even would sacrifice herself just for the sake of him.

 Park Jimin drew a long breath, leaned down and kissed her cheeks. This is a new day, a new beginning for the two of them. A second chance for their love. He realized he should stop over thinking and just savor the moments he have right on his hands.

Careful not to wake Anna, he slid from the bed and found his shorts and jeans. He would rather have remained in bed with her, watching her sleep and waiting patiently for her so they could make love again. But he needs to start prepping up. He has plans to do.

  —  —  —

  Later, Anna woke up stretching her arms to find him next to her, but her eyes opened when she realized she was alone. He wasn’t there. She gazed around the room trying to recall if what happened last night was just a hallucination or a dream, but then she saw her body naked underneath the blankets. Anna fumbled for the clock on the nightstand and it says 10:30 A.M. She immediately gets up from the bed, she don’t know why but she felt the intense anxiety that he might have gone already. She’s afraid that their sex was only a goodbye sex and he’ll be back to his cold self again. Clutching the blanket up to her chest to cover her naked body, Anna walks across the room and saw a gray oversize shirt hanging on the chair.

 “It’s Jimin’s shirt,” she whispered. She have decided to wear it instead and walked outside to her bedroom. A loud noise of metal clanging from the kitchen caught her attention, and then a sound of something’s being fried, too. She quickly runs to see him flipping a fried egg in the pan. Park Jimin was shirtless with his only pants on. His damped hair must have been said he just got out from the shower. His naked back to her and tone muscles showing every now and then whenever his arm flexes.

She’s silently watching him from the door frame when he spoke.

 “Are you enjoying the view?”

 She almost jumped from her spot when he turned around. She blushed and tried to avoid his eyes.

 “H- How did you know that I’m here?” she asked.

 Jimin chuckles and his smug face made her face reddened more. “Are you seriously asking me that? I know everything the moment you opened your eyes from sleep.”

 Oh yeah, I’ve must have underestimated him, she thought.

 “No, you’re not princess,” he answered. Anna accepted her defeat when she realized this guy knows everything. “You better take a shower. You in nothing but only my shirt is testing my self-control. You better be sure that you don’t want me to undress you again right here and make this kitchen counter your new bed,”

 Bloods rushed to her face, she knows her face must have said how embarrassed she was. She squealed and took off running inside the bedroom to dress herself properly. Park Jimin laughed when she saw how her cheeks turned into a tomato. He just shakes his head as he resumes cooking for breakfast.

 Anna was towel drying her hair when she gets back to the kitchen. She was wearing a comfy extra- large white shirt and gray sweatpants. She saw that he’s still not yet done the cooking. She took a big bite of apple sat on the counter and waited for him.

“If you’re hungry you can help yourself. I’ll be done in a minute, I’m just making sure this well- cooked,” Jimin said without looking at her.

She didn’t respond and just watch his still bare- back like a flawless mannequin body. His broad shoulders and two- little dimples just above his bum makes everything outrageous. It was too late when she realized she was already walking towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him from the back. Obviously, Park Jimin was surprised with morning back- hugs but he most likely felt smiling.

Anna closed her eyes, feeling his warmth flesh against her cheeks. Her lips pouting like a little kid thirsty for attention.

 “What’s with the hug? Hmm..” he asked still busy cooking. She remained silent but he felt her shaking her head against his skin. Park Jimin turned off the stove burner and turned around to face her. Her arms remained on his waist and he untangled few strands of her still messy wet hair.

 “Were you scared?” he asked. Anna looked up at him, watching his angelic face in the morning. “I know you’re scared when you woke up and I wasn’t there beside you.” Jimin kept brushing her hair with his fingers, talking without even glancing at her eyes. Her hair sprinkles every time he combs her hair up to the end like a sprinkler in a garden.

 She took a deep breath. “I just thought you’re just a dream and everything that happened was an illusion.”

Jimin stopped what he was doing and plant a kiss on her forehead before he squishes her cheeks between his palm. He laughed when her lips parted open into a pout. He pressed her face between his hands and thought this probably what it feels like when you’re holding the world.

 “I will never leave you again. I promise, princess. I will never ever be gone again.”

 Anna smiled and tip- toed to kiss his lips. He smooched her lips and laughed giggly when she said, “I don’t know why they call you small, but you seem like a tower whenever I’m with you. I had to tip- toed to kiss you,”

 She yelped when Park Jimin suddenly lifted her up and sat her on the chair. “Lets’ eat, we’ll go somewhere today,”

She frowned. “Where?”

He smiled. “You’ll know once we’re there.”

  —  —  —

  Lee Gikwang smiled happily when he welcomed his parents from their trip vacation to London. He was standing alone in the airport wearing a button- up brown shirt, pants and louis vuitton frontrow sneaker he got as a present from her older sister during his birthday. Her mom immediately hugged him and his Dad just smiled when they saw him at the arrivals.

“You both looked you had a good time,” he said. His mom smoothly touches his son’s face before answering.

“I wish we were with you and your sister.”

 An awkward silence grew between them and her Dad had to clear his throat trying to change the topic.

 “We rushed back home when the executive assistant informed me about the progress of your sister’s case.”

 Lee Gikwang scratches his cheeks, a part of his habit whenever he feels uncomfortable. “Uhhh… yes. We’re getting lead for Hyekyung noona’s case, but you shouldn’t stress yourself about it, trust everything to me. I might be still grasping for information’s but I got colleagues who diligently helped me to seek for justice.”

 His Dad heaved a deep sigh. “You shouldn’t carry the responsibility on your shoulder, Gikwang. We allowed you to switch over to a different field of courses but that doesn’t mean we’re giving you the job to fight for the case. We got lawyers—��

 “Dad I am doing this not because it’s my dream to become a prosecutor, but because this isn’t a regular case. It’s my own sister who’s involved with this and I want to make sure we’ll get justice for her death.”

 Mrs. Lee holds his hands, checking his fingers as what she regularly do as a mother, tracing his skin like you were tracing a word in a dictionary looking for a definition.

 “Up until your noona’s death, she’s still supporting your dreams. I wish she could see you getting that degree. I’m sure she will be so proud of you.”

 He remained silent, trying to suppress the waves of loneliness crawls up inside him and stayed after his sister’s death. Lee Hyekyung is two years older than him but she protected him ever since they were little kids, and she even stands up for him when he was pursuing their parents to allow him to go to the law school.

The day she died, he made a pledge that he will take justice right into his hands. He will fight even if it causes his life

  —  —  —

  They were driving back to the Daegu and up until then, he wasn’t saying what are they gonna do there. She was so confused for the whole trip but she better keep remain silent. She thought that maybe he’s planning to do something and it must stay as a surprise. Anna secretly giggles with the thought and Jimin smiled without looking at her when he heard her composing different scenarios inside her head.

It was before noon when they pulled over in a one- hour parking place on Main Street. She looked around and frowned, but even the most suspicious glance around this extremely small and peaceful town could discern no threat or whatsoever; it was a postcard-perfect image of a small town in South Korea.

 “Now what?” she asked.

 He unfastens his seatbelt and bent sideward to unfasten her too. She remained stayed still waiting for his answer.

 “Come with me,” his only answer.

 They both get off from the car and she gets to see the closer looked of the area. Park Jimin walked up to her and took her hand. He led the way, walking beside Anna along the sidewalk toward the edge of town.

 “Where are we going?” she asked him again. They were walking up a slight hill, and the only thing she could see in this direction was a pretty little church at the top of the hill.

“Jimin, why is it that you have to be here?”

He didn’t answer until they stood before the small church. Then he stopped and looked at her gravely. “We’ve come here because I want you to meet someone.”

Even then, she still didn’t understand. He took her hand again and led her around the church and into the neat graveyard behind it. He led her through the graveyard to the very back, where a big oak tree stood bare-limbed in the cold October air.

There was headstone placed where it would be shaded in summer.

 She almost froze to her spot when she read the names written on the headstones as if a big mystery has uncovered yet she couldn’t find the right emotions she should be feeling. She felt Jimin’s hands tightened against hers but she remained immobile the whole time her eyes pierced onto the grave. She was looking deeply convincing herself that if she looked intently, she would see the face of that someone buried underground.

 The name’s written “BAE WANGBI”

 It was her mother’s name—Wangbi.

 She felt a void covered after a long time inside a deep dark part of her. If she could just see her personally, ask her questions and if given a chance, hug her too. She had never experienced a mother’s love and she always dreaming how it would feel if she met her real- biological mother. Her eyes keep reading back and forth each letter engraved on the stone. Her mother’s birth year and the cause of death—Dies in childbirth.

 She had never read three word sentences which were painful as the words written on this tombstone. She wasn’t there but the thought she gave up her own life to give a chance for a new life of a new human being to see the beauty of this world was too overwhelming. It was too late when she realized there are tears in her eyes already.

How great would it be if she had met her mother at least once?

 She wiped her snot and tears on her eyes then she felt him pulling her closer to hug her so tight. “If you wanted to know better your mom, just look at the mirror and you will see her. It’s as if she was reincarnated through her own child.”

Anna laughed at what he said. “You know this sounds awkward, right?”

He just chuckled and gently caress her hair.

  —  —  —

 Mrs. Kim placed a hot tea on the coffee table while Anna was busy looking at the old photos of her mom together with Mrs. Kim. They looked around mid-twenties and both carry a beautiful face, charming smile and a youthful look. Their beauty could be seen on television and she has no doubt on it. She wonders why does her mom look so pretty but she isn’t? They all said she look after her mom but she don’t feel like as pretty as her.

There was this photo where they were both sitting in the middle of a huge strawberry farm. Her mother was wearing a hat while Mrs. Kim was just covering the blinding sunlight through her hands.

 “I honestly don’t know what to feel. This is so strange,” Mrs. Kim opened.

 Anna looked upon her and Mrs. Kim stare directly at her eyes but then looked away laughing awkwardly. “No wonder why I saw Wangbi in you the very first time we’ve met! At first, I thought I saw a ghost because you look paler than her. I think your skin looks fairer than your mother, and your hair was longer than her. You got her round eyes and smile, even the way you speak was all copied. It’s as if she’s not dead but was just living inside you. Every time I look at you, I remember the good old times we’ve spent together. We grew up together. Taehyung’s grandmother took good care of her since your grandparents died when Wangbi was only a child. She grew up like you, she had never experienced the love of her real mother, but then my mother promised she’ll stay by her side, and I was tagged along. We’re more than friends, more like true siblings. She’s like my sister.”

 Park Jimin took a sipped of tea then put it back on the table.  “I’ve even told her that if she wants to get to know her better, she just needs to look at the mirror.”

 They all laughed.

 “Mrs. Kim…” Anna called.  

 “What is it dear?”

 Anna looked at Jimin before continue speaking to her. “Could you please tell me more about her? I want to know her stories.”

 Mrs. Kim smiled widely. “Of course! You’ll stay overnight here, right? We could spend all night long talking about your mom. I can even start telling you her stories while we’re preparing for dinner. The boys will come over so it’ll be a lot of work.”

 She looked puzzled. “The boys?”

 “I called Taehyung… and I hope you don’t mind but I want you to meet the rest of the group. If that will be okay?” Park Jimin said.

 Mrs. Kim butts in, “You could all stay at the old house, it’s big and I just got it clean last week. You can all sleep in there. Take it as a short vacation from the city.”

  “Wait! Hold on!” Anna interrupted, she looked back at Jimin. “When you said… the boys… the group… you mean the… the…”

 He just nodded.

 Her eyes grow big. “No waaaaaaaay!”

 “Don’t you want to meet them? They’ve been accusing me that I’m dating someone so maybe this will be the good time to tell them about you!”

 She gasped. “I know but what I mean is Park Jimin its Bangtan!”

 “And you haven’t realized that the man sitting in front of you is Bangtan, too?” she chuckled.

“That’s a different case! Ghad imagine how would Deby react if she will find out I spend a night with the Bangtan Boys!”

 Park Jimin just laughed and said. “I bet you will be more surprised if I tell you how starstruck she was that ‘The Bangtan Boys’ picked her up at school saying she just won a special prize and the prize will be spending a night with all of us.”

 Her eyes get bigger.

  —  —  —

  It was past 6 pm when they all heard a van pulling over in front of the house. Anna and Mrs. Kim were busy preparing for their meal when Park Jimin announced the arrival of the group. She immediately removed the plastic bag on her hand she used while making kimchi and rushed over to the gate to see them. She was so excited to see them all as if everything was a dream and that dream includes her best friend Deby.

She hides behind the wall and peeks over to see Jimin helping the boys with their bags. She saw Kim Taehyung first run over to see Soonshim- their dog. She then saw Kim fucking Namjoon and Kim fucking Seokjin. They both went inside and bow to greet Mrs. Kim. She hugged the boys and the rest came over, too. She saw Min fucking Yoongi, Jeon fucking Jungkook and the ball of sunshine Jung fucking Hoseok.

 “This must be a dream,” she squeals. “But where’s Deby?” She noticed. Anna looked around and there she saw her best friend standing behind looking so clueless and just smiling trying to decipher everything. Anna decided to reveal herself and went outside the door. Her best friend’s eyes beamed with happiness when she saw Anna. She quickly runs to hug her neglecting that the boys were just standing around them.

 “What the fuck?! They said I won a special award but I can’t remember joining any special games!!! Did you won too?!” Deby asked almost jumping in front of her friend trying to contain her excitement.

“I was also surprised when I heard that! Jimin just told me recently about it!”

“Oh my... fuck Anna, I sat in between Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung for whole fucking hours and I thought I’ll be dead! C’mon check my pulse rate! I might be dead but just a zombie!” she said freaking out.

“Stop it! You look so stupid! Chill, Deby! Taehyung’s mother is here and this is Kim Taehyung’s hometown.”

 Her eyes got bigger than Anna’s eyes before. She gasped with what she heard and shouted, “I THINK THE FUCK NOT?!”

 Anna immediately covered her mouth and looked around them. Deby felt her face turned red when the boys looked at her and she met Mrs. Kim’s eyes too. She was so embarrassed that all she could do is to cover her face with her hair and bow down. Anna saw how Kim Taehyung laughed secretly and immediately hide it when he saw that he was caught by Anna that he's smiling.

Deby meets Mrs. Kim and greeted her courteously, she even apologized for her words and said she just got too excited.

  —  —  —

  After the dinner, Kim Taehyung led the way to the old house not too far from their house. It was his ancestor’s house and nobody wanted to stay there. It’s already 10 o’clock in the evening. The rocky road was too dark but grateful the moon shines so brightly that they don’t even need a flashlight to light their way.

The whole place looks spooky and Jung Hoseok keeps talking how they should just stay back in the main house. Deby was walking next to Kim Seokjin, secretly waiting for the correct timing she could at least hold the hem of his hoodie because even though she doesn’t want to admit, she feels so scared too.

 “Are we heading to hell? Its year 2017 why didn’t they even put light posts here?” Min Yoongi coolly complained. He was walking next to Jung Hoseok who keeps sticking his side to him making sure if ever something happened, he could hide at the back of the brave Min Yoongi.

“I think there were light’s here before. I saw light posts standing on the sidewalk. Maybe it was all broken.” Kim Namjoon said what he observed.

 “Yeah, we used to have lights here but rumor said the ghosts hate it so they all broke it,” Kim Taehyung said in a serious tone and that sends shiver down their spine.

Anna tightened his hold around Jimin’s arms but then her boyfriend just laughs with what he said. He leaned into Anna’s ears to whisper and said, “Don’t believe him. It was all broken because the storm broke all the electrical wires and the town government hasn’t fixed it yet. He’s basically just scaring Hoseok.”

 Jeon Jungkook suddenly made a noise you heard when things get spooky at night. Jung Hoseok literally jumped off and hold at Min Yoongi’s arms screaming.

 “WHATS THAT?! WHATS THAT SOUNDS?!”

 Jungkook laughed so loud. "It was an owl, haven’t heard of it before?”

 Still, Hoseok keeps his hands on Yoongi’s arms.

 “If you won’t let go in five seconds we’ll make sure to offer you for tonight’s ritual,” Yoongi coldly said.

 Hoseok getting tensed up and his face looks so pale. Anna wants to laugh out loud but she knows better, this isn’t the right time. “You know you can’t do that, right? You’ll lose your lead dancer and one of the main rappers! I got a huge fan base as well so basically, the company’s gross income would go down if ever I’ll be dead!”

Yoongi just shows his smug face. “You know we got Jimin and Jungkook to cover you up. Besides, two rappers in a group are enough. If ever we need three for cypher then we can recruit Taehyung in the team. He had wanted to perform Cypher. Right, Taehyung?”

 They heard the boys laughing but then Taehyung still ride in with the joke. “Of course! I got lots of potentials!”

 Suddenly, Kim Seokjin interrupted.

 “What do you call a bird who drinks too much?”

 Nobody answered but Deby who finds it as a great opportunity.

 “What?” she asked showing interest with the joke.

 “An owlcoholic.”

 Again, nobody laughed.

But Deby.

 Anna literally put her palms on her face because of embarrassment. She knows her best friend better and it was her time to shine.

 The group was able to reach the old house even before thirty minutes since they left the main house. That was a long but fun walk.  The boys put down the bag with snacks in the long table placed at the corner of the house. It was an old- style mansion but looks abandoned. The furniture’s shows extravagance but some of them are too old to work or use. Anna and Deby helped to fix the heaters in the middle of the living room. Namjoon and Taehyung both removed the sofa’s, tables and other furniture at the side of the room to make a space in the middle. They have decided to sleep all in the living room since Mrs. Kim said that the bedroom lights of the house are not working anymore.

They put a huge comforter in the middle with blankets and pillows.

 The maknae started to scare his hyung again. “Hoseokie-Hyung, I heard that Taehyungie-hyung’s great- great grandparents used to pull prank on someone who’s most scared in the group? I heard they can even move their eyes on the paintings and they would stare at you till you pass out.”

“Yah! Jeon Jungkook! You think that’s funny? Do you want me to shove your muscles down your mouth?!” Hoseok shouted back.

 “OMG! HE GOT ABS?!” Deby screamed.

 “We all got abs here. We’re just being demure to show our body in front of the camera,” Taehyung interrupted.

 “Can you show me?” she asked with her eyebrows wiggling. Taehyung looks disgusted while staring at her.

 “Anna, can you give me the mustard?” Namjoon asked.  She nods and walks at the table to get the mustard when Seokjin started throwing puns again.

 “What did the mustard say to his friends at the race?” he asked laughing all by himself.

 Again, nobody bothered to pay attention.

Except for Deby. 

Again.

 “What?” she diligently asked.

 “You better ketchup.” And they both laughed together. Jimin and Yoongi both scratch their heads while listening to both of them laughing in their own world.

 “Noona~ did you bring the chicken?” Jungkook asked Anna.

 “Yes, it’s here. Why? Do you want some?” she asked. Park Jimin opened the Tupperware to show him the chicken that they prepared.

 “Ah, thanks~ yes. I’ll just get the plate. I’m hungry again.” The maknae said and rushed to get plates from the plastic.

 And again, Kim Seokjin has another joke to share.

 “What kind of currency do Chicken use?”

 Min Yoongi answered just above his breath but Deby still heard him. “Why the fuck I have to spend night with these weirdos?”

 Deby’s the loyal one who answered him right away. “What?”

 “Bock Bucks.”

 And they both snorted to laugh. Min Yoongi suddenly walked over to Deby.

 “You know the biggest mistake you've ever done in your life? It's answering his stupid jokes. You basically are letting yourself fall into his trap. Run away before he ruins your life forever with his jokes.”

 Taehyung barged in. “I think Seokjin- hyung finally found someone who will laugh with him even with the stupidest joke.”

 “What’s wrong with my jokes? Maybe Deby has sense when it comes to joking, unlike y’all who killed joy!” Seokjin defends.

 Deby almost peed her pants when her bias called her name.

 “I think he’s just being respectful, hyung,” Hoseok answered.

 Namjoon joined their conversation. “Nah, it’s because I’ve found out Jin- hyung is her main bias. Right?”

 They all looked at her. Deby quickly looked at Anna who shakes her head saying it wasn’t her.

 “It’s obvious! Deby- noona keeps herself beside Jin- hyung all the time!” Jungkook said.

 “Being worldwide handsome doesn't mean anything if I’m not her ultimate bias. Right? You’re just jealous! Go! Find your own fans!” Jin bragged then laughed again.

 Anna yelped when Jimin slipped his arms around her. “I don’t need. I got mine here.”

 Yoongi scrunches his nose. “Y’all are so disgusting.”

 “I better listen to Jin- hyung jokes than Jungkook’s scary stories!” Hoseok said.

 Namjoon and Jimin put all their foods in the middle and they’ve planned out to form a circle to make their conversation interesting as if they’re camping outside. They turned off all the light and sat forming a circle with a dim- yellow lamp in the middle. The foods are in the middle, too. Namjoon sitting next to Seokjin, and Deby’s sitting between him and Taehyung again. Next to Taehyung is Jungkook, then Hoseok and Anna. Next to Anna is Jimin sitting beside Namjoon.

 “Where did you meet her, hyung?” Jungkook asked.

 A blanket wrapped around her to keep her warm and he started the story how they met. Some are true but he, of course, kept some things hidden. Taehyung shows that like the rest of the boys, he doesn’t know anything about Jimin’s dating status.

After all these hours, Deby still was so amused that what happening that night was truly unbelievable. She took pictures with them but then Namjoon asked her not to post it online since it might cause rumor and they don’t want that to happen. She promised she’ll keep it till she died, just like her promised to Taehyung that morning they took a selfie together.

Everything feels surreal for Anna. She’s leaning against Jimin’s shoulder while listening to Namjoon’s stories about their practices and even personal life. It seems like they have never treated them as a fans, but as friends. There are only two of them among the seven boys yet they never feel unsafe with them. She felt like they are just like the common circle of friends out there.

 Min Yoongi gets a sushi to eat when Seokjin speaks again.

 “What did the sushi said to bee, hyung?” He’s laughing even he hasn’t said his joke yet.

 Yoongi aggravated when he looked at him. “Since when did a fucking sushi speaks, Kim Seokjin? C’mon, tell me. When did the sushi start speaking? I’m sorry if I’ll throw honorifics here but when did the sushi talks, Seokjin- hyung?”

 They’re on the floor laughing so hard how Yoongi broke into his joke. The eldest glared at him looking upset like a little child. He was trying to hide his laugh then just turned to the woman sitting on his side.

 “I think I’d rather ask you. What did the sushi said to bee?” he asked Deby.

 Looking so helpless, she just chose to answer for the sake of his losing dignity as the eldest member. “What?”

 “Wasabi!” Then he laughed so loud all by himself again. When Deby was about to laugh too, Taehyung suddenly pulled her to turn her around and she was stunned when he did that. She was now facing him and Seokjin automatically reacted.

 “Yah! What are you doing?! Are you trying to steal my only fan here? Go away!” he said then pulled her too with her arms.

 “Yah! Yah! Yah!” Namjoon spoke in between them. “She’s not a toy! She’s hurting! Deby, you better avoid those two abnormals. They’re no good, they might rip off your arms!”

 Hoseok meddles. “And then they accidentally killed you and of course we’re Bangtan and famous, we’ll hide your dead body and burned it to hide evidence. Then we’ll burn each possible evidences here, too. Then Jiminie will take care of your friend. He’ll drug Anna to make her believe that everything she witnessed was just her imagination.”

 “Yah! Are you planning to kill me?!” Deby yells.

 “Just saying what if’s,” he answered.

 “Want to hear a joke about potassium?” Seokjin once again tried.

 “NO!” they all said in unison except the two ladies.

 “K.”

 It took five seconds before they realized he still managed to pull off his joke and he vigorously laughed all by himself again. By this time, when it says alone, not including his ever-supportive only fan that night.

 “Fuck.” Yoongi muttered.

  —  —  —

 It was already midnight and everyone fell asleep except Jimin and Anna who remained awake after the long conversations they shared before one by one passed out. They’re both lying at the end of the comforter. Jimin at the far-out corner, next is Anna, then Deby, Hoseok who’s hugging tightly the snoring Taehyung. Next to him is Jungkook, then Yoongi, Seokjin and Namjoon.

 “You know, even in my wildest dreams, I’ve never had the thought that I’ll spend a night with y’all boys. I mean that. You made me very happy especially my friend who obviously still in shock whenever she realizes that Bangtan boys are just standing around to her.”

 Anna pressed her lips to his neck while his hands tightened around her frame.

 “If you want we can do this every time we got short breaks,” Jimin suggested.

 “Really?!” she yelped almost getting up to see his face if he’s being serious.

 Anna’s smile widened when he pulled her over on top of him. “It’s going to be interesting, isn’t it?”

 “Oh, yeah,” Jimin said. “That’s one word for it.”

[terrordave1]

Would you believe I spent the better part of last week hiding in New England? It all started back in December when my fellow Terror Dave’s amazing girlfriend, Melissa, unexpectedly reached out to me. For those who read our recent posts from Erie, Pennsylvania, you may recall the purpose of that get-together was to celebrate David Albaugh’s 50th birthday (albeit two months early) since I was unable to make it out to Rhode Island in May.

Or at least that’s what I thought at the time.

Just two weeks after formalizing that trip, Melissa’s message arrived asking for my assistance in throwing him a surprise party. Tracking me down took a bit of work on her part as I was in the midst of a “90 days without Facebook Challenge” and it’s not like she could ask David for my email address. I was truly touched by her efforts as well as the kind words that came with them. “You’re the first person I want to talk to about this as you’re so incredibly special to him,” she wrote. “The way he talks about you is so heartwarming to me, and I seriously doubt he’d consider it a birthday party without you there.”

I was very grateful for her sharing that with me. Best friendships are a rare gift that can be a challenge to maintain even when you don’t live a thousand miles away from each other like we do.  Melissa helped me see that despite the distance, we Terror Daves really have evolved into a family of sorts.

Whoever this new woman was in David’s life, she gave me some much-needed clarity and I, in turn, would give her my full support. With the two co-conspirators officially aligned, it was time to see to it that David got the birthday celebration he deserved.

For the next five months, we hashed out all the details while selecting a theme. “Tarantulas/spiders” seemed a wise choice as David’s been an arachnid enthusiast since childhood and has his own bug site you should definitely check out HERE. It also seemed the perfect way to tie in David’s two main worlds – zoos and Halloween. Speaking of zoos, getting his co-workers at the Roger Williams Park Zoo to RSVP was something of a challenge and would likely have been a complete disaster without the aid of our insider pal, Jason Schoolcraft. Poor Jason, every time Melissa came to me with a concern (which was often considering what needed to be done) I’d usually run straight to him with it. Melissa was determined that David see just how loved he truly is and that we get at least fifty people. At first it seemed like a pipe dream but we’d end up surpassing it.

It seemed surreal when the week finally arrived and we both had knots in our stomachs. There were just so many ways he could accidentally find out and ruin the “surprise” element that we both really wanted him to experience. My anxieties even inspired recurring nightmares of me accidentally falling into Melissa’s cake…

…and let’s talk about that cake, shall we? I can only describe it as sheer spider magic and a pastry worthy of the Food Network Hall of Fame! Unless David is starting to get senile in conjunction with his now officially going “over the hill,” he’d best devote an entire post about this on that aforementioned bug site of his!

My creative contributions revolved around spider centerpieces and a special card I made on a three-fold presentation board. The HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID letters would be created with photos of him and his critters and guests would sign a spider die-cut with a metallic marker that I’d glue on.

Before leaving Chicago I packed up my car with party supplies which probably resembled David’s vehicle when he embarks on one of his “Bug Guy” school presentations…only these spiders were all plastic! I secretly drove out to Rhode Island, arriving several days before the party. During that time Melissa and I met up once to work on things since she had to maintain her normal schedule with David and avoid raising his suspicions (and also work on that fabulous cake). I was totally cool with that arrangement since I had another project going on myself which will all be revealed in the next few posts. Of course, so far as David was concerned, I was still in Chicago. To further the illusion, I took a bunch of photos while working at my Brookfield Zoo the week before and then texted them to him the day of the party so he’d think I just took the shots and was still there working my normal shift. Melissa said she was in awe of my espionage skills and, truth be told,  I was starting to feel like a chunky James Bond myself!

Melissa and I met up at my hotel which had a kitchenette and served as David’s birthday headquarters. We worked on our projects while chatting away and she commented on how alike David and I were; our mannerisms, our machine-gun chuckle, and how we both bought ourselves the exact same MARVEL superheroes wallet the month before. That made me laugh because it reminded me of the year he and I sent each other the same Christmas card. Yes, folks, we Daves are very much alike, I’m just a gayer and more flamboyant version.

My room had a full refrigerator which made it ideal for hiding the cake but, other than that, I couldn’t stand the place. The bed was about as comfy as a rock garden and it had a weird smell that no one seemed to be able to detect but me…that is until David came over after the party and smelled it too. Check off yet another box in the “Daves being similar” department!

But I digress…

Spider cake…awaiting its final molt

As the event drew near I was practically the poster boy for manic depressive behavior. One minute I’d be a nervous wreck and the next overly sentimental and weepy thinking about how happy this was all going to make him. In fact one evening I started blubbering in my car while stuck in Providence traffic (which, believe me, is cause enough for tears). Honestly, you’d think one of my kids was about to get married or something. Emotions were clearly running high.

At 4 o’clock in the morning, the day of the party, I stirred in my sleep and that brief moment where my conscious mind registered what day it was, woke me up so fast you’d swear I’d just had cocaine, coffee, and candy bars! I jumped up and nervously started pacing that stinky hotel room while wishing someone would walk in and shoot me with a tranquilizer dart. I mean, what if some idiot party straggler shows up at the same time he does and gives it all away at the last second? What if he notices familiar cars in the venue’s lot? And, even more importantly, why the hell didn’t I pack any alcohol on this trip?!?

Melissa picked me up and we started getting things ready soon after. With time running out, I summoned Jason over so he could start blowing up the balloons. I’m guessing he’d about had it with our requests as the look on his face after his 40th balloon seemed to suggest him wanting to bonk me over the head with the helium tank!

The guests started arriving around 5:30 pm which was good because it gave me the opportunity to chit chat with them and ease some of the tension.  I was particularly happy to meet one of David’s oldest friends, Meredith, as well as his brother, Steve and his family. I’ve heard so much about these people over the past eight years they honestly didn’t feel like strangers to me at all when we finally had an opportunity to interact.

David showed up promptly at 6 pm and I could tell he was genuinely surprised! I was hoping I’d be the last person he’d see (so I could provide a second surprise) but got confused as to what door he was entering from and ended up being the first instead. Doh! Oh well, our main objective of him being surprised was still a success despite the incredible odds. At the end of the day, that’s all that mattered. All that worrying and pacing had clearly been for nothing though I still needed that damn drink!

Guests prepare for David’s arrival

“SURPRISE!!!!”

Of course, the party itself wasn’t the only shock we had in store for David. We contacted New England horror hostess, Penny Dreadful (who’s no stranger to this site) and she graciously rearranged her schedule to attend. She even performed a special rendition of “Monster Mash” for the birthday boy that was nothing short of amazing!

Melissa also had one of David’s favorite superheroes, Deadpool, show up. He made a grand entrance and then, after hamming it up in typical “merc with the mouth” fashion, asked for David’s autograph!

Melissa enlisted the services of her pals at funfotos2go to capture guest pictures in hilarious ways using a green screen and props! Anyone who knows me knows there are few things I enjoy more than hamming it up for the camera and I thought this really added a whole new dimension to the party! As soon as I scan a few of the finished products they gave me at the party, I’ll add them here so you can see. For now, you have to settle for the green screen versions Meredith took. The only uncomfortable moment was when this nice guy (and fellow Svengoolie fan) Joe Cardillo and I were doing a photo op with David & Melissa. To counter the two love birds, I thought it would be funny if I hugged Joe and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Well, in trying to hold the pose for the camera (which appeared to be having some sort of delay), I ended up smooching that poor man for an awfully long time. In fact, the last time I kissed someone like that I had to buy them dinner first. Worst of all, when the picture came back they somehow missed the whole thing! Thank heavens I’d just brought Joe a freshly signed rubber chicken from Svengoolie or he’d of probably decked me!

After everyone ate their yummy Italian meal (the man does love his pasta) Melissa lit the candles and led everyone in singing “Happy Birthday.” It was the ideal role for her as she can actually sing. Usually at these type of things, it’s like music in a Catholic Church. The Priest always has the worst voice and is the loudest one! Not so here, thanks to this talented songstress!

After everyone sang, David made a wish and blew out the candles!

Then things took on an almost tragic turn as the cake-cutting began. I honestly hated seeing that thing get demolished but, trust me, it tasted as good as it looked.

Even from my distant vantage point in Chicago, I could see that Melissa was the best thing that’s ever happened to my best friend! She also throws a mean party as proven by everyone having the time of their lives! Kudos Melissa! I should also mention that the night’s musical selections were pitch perfect thanks to their DJ, and good friend, Todd Mackalinaw! I heard several people commenting on how awesome he was and they weren’t exaggerating.

The final event was a montage of video testimonials which I’m hoping to turn into a YouTube clip and add to this post later. Melissa is in the process of getting those out to me so David can have a DVD copy as well.

After most of the guests left, we party-planners and contributors all took a nice strong shot while toasting the man of the hour!

After the party, David went back to the horror hotel with me. A couple months prior to my arrival, Melissa convinced him to take the next day (Monday) off so he could “help Joe move.” This was really a ruse as it was so he and I could spend my last day in New England together before beginning my fifteen-hour journey back to Chicago early Tuesday morning. Her going to all the trouble of concocting that story so we could hang out one last time this year really meant a lot! We ended up going to a dinosaur related locale and that story will be featured on my own site Dave’s Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Pit Stops soon!

As for the party, I think it was absolutely befitting of the man it was celebrating. He was surrounded by the people who loved him the most along with plenty of representatives from both his monster and zoo worlds! And so today, May 25th a.k.a. the actual date of his birth, I’d like to wish my fellow Terror Dave and best friend a VERY HAPPY 50th  BIRTHDAY and a fantastic year ahead! I hope whatever you wished for before blowing out the candles comes true.

Although after seeing you and Melissa up there together I’m thinking it already has.

Much Love to you bro!

Dave Fuentes 

Happy 50th Birthday David Albaugh (and the story behind that amazing surprise party)! Would you believe I spent the better part of last week hiding in New England? It all started back in December when my fellow Terror Dave's amazing girlfriend, …