#so many deadline n projects

[yukierree]

I knew the month of November was going to be though but I didn’t expect it to start so soon

[dustofthedailylife]

A Gift For You

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Pairing: Alhaitham, Cyno, Heizou x (gn!) Reader

Summary: They plan to give you something for White Day (Info: White Day is the counterpart to Valentine's Day where you usually get the person who got you something, something in return.)

Tags: Fluff, best friends to lovers, pining, mild cursing, very slight angst for Heizou and Cyno at first but also not really, they have good intentions haha!

A/N: This is my White Day gift for @feeblescholarmyass! I hope you like it :3

ALHAITHAM

Two knocks on the door of your office snapped you out of your work-induced haze. 

You’ve been working non-stop on this project for the Akademiya for months now and have only been allowing yourself breaks to eat or sleep. Well, to be fair, sleep was negligible too, seeing as you only got around three hours of it per night for a couple of weeks now. 

What didn’t help was that you just couldn’t get a hold of a super rare edition of a book that was practically essential for this paper. However, the physical copy was lost to the void of the library as it was never returned. And since the Akasha terminal no longer worked you also couldn’t fall back on that.

“Come in.” you answer, rubbing your eyes quickly in a futile attempt to make yourself look less tired. But deep down you knew there was nothing that could hide the deep purple eye bags you’d been carrying around like a designer accessory the past couple of weeks.

You continued to read through one of the many books on your desk as the door was opened quietly and you heard long strides approach your desk.

“Are you seriously still working on this?” a familiar voice asked reprimandingly.

You looked up into the face of Alhaitham who looked down at you in a less than amused and almost accusatory way. You genuinely didn’t have time for this now, as much as you would rather spend every free minute you had with him instead.

“Well yes, I am. Things have been going slower than I had planned and the deadline is breathing down my neck.” you sighed burying your head into the book you had been skimming through prior. “What did you want?”

“You are going to take a break.” Alhaitham remarks. This wasn’t a plea, he was leaving no room for protest. He snatched the book out of your hand and placed it on a table out of your reach.

“Hey! Alhaitham! You can’t do that. I need to finish this.”

“Yes, I can. And I will.” he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “When was the last time you ate?”

Well, damn. There was nothing you could hide from him, was there? He always saw right through you. Always had. One of the perks of being friends with a genius, you thought to yourself. And your silence following his question seemed to confirm his suspicions once again.

“Come on. Let’s go to the Tavern, I’ll treat you to lunch.”

You knew there was no point in resisting so you tagged along and unsurprisingly as always, he was right. Getting out of your cramped office and breathing in some fresh air was balm for your soul.

You sat down outside of the Tavern, both ordering a meal and talking about some recent research you both were interested in. Well, it was mostly just you ranting about your project and the sheer stress the lack of one certain book was causing you, but he listened to everything attentively. 

You once again came to realize what an incredibly calming effect talking to him had on you. Despite how fast your heart started drumming inside of your chest every single time without fail. You suspected that he likely would never be interested in you beyond the friendly relationship you had with him and you didn’t mean to destroy what you both had by laying your feelings for him bare. So you simply kept them locked within your heart and simply basked in his presence whenever you could.

“Oh, since we’re on the topic. I bought something the other day. This is for you.” Alhaitham suddenly pulled a book out of his bag and slid it across the table. You only had to glance at the cover briefly before you realized what it was and your eyes became as wide as saucers.

“Th-this is… the super rare copy of Ancient Nomad Language and Symbolism! How did you–?”

You were awestruck. You had no idea how he managed to get his hands on a copy. It was as if this book had vanished from the face of the earth. Aside from the fact that you could no longer buy it either or just for an extremely inflated price. How in the world did he get his hands on this?

“Let’s just say, I have my methods.” he replied with a hint of a smug smile painted across his lips.

“How much did you pay for this? I promise I’m going to pay it back–”

“No need.” he shook his head to deny your offer. “Consider it a gift.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy this makes me.” you blurt out, almost brought to tears by this act of kindness. With this, your project was saved, and after so long you could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Well, in fact, I do. Considering that you didn’t shut up about this book for the better half of a month now and everyone you spoke to knew how much you wanted it.” he stated factually.

“Hey! No need to get all snarky with me now, when I just want to express my gratitude!” you chuckle and playfully roll your eyes, prompting him to smile smugly in a barely noticeable way once more.

“It was my pleasure. Besides, today is White Day, so it was only logical to get you something.” he remarks and he continued to drink his coffee entirely unbothered as if he didn’t just insinuate the most unbelievable thing you had ever heard. He surely misunderstood something here, right?

“Uhh–” you pause. “You know what this day is for right?”

“Naturally.”

You felt like your heart was about to jump right out of your chest any second. What did he mean naturally?! Was what you deemed impossible actually true and…

“Do you… like me?” you whisper, too scared and unable to speak any louder because it felt like all air had been knocked out of your lungs.

“Looks like you’ve finally caught on as well. I thought you’d never realize.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you think I repeatedly asked you out for lunch or dinner? Or why do you think I keep returning your books for you if you’re very capable of doing so yourself? Amongst other things.” he enumerated.

“Well yes, but that’s what friends do.” you retorted confusedly.

“Then let me spell it out for you.”

He put his cup down on the table and leaned forward. He stared deeply into your eyes before ushering three words you’ve always, deep down, longed to hear from his lips.

“I love you.”

CYNO

Three Matra ringing on your door at 10 in the morning was not what you had expected to see today, but here you were nonetheless. They had arrived just as you were about to head to the Akademiya for work but effectually canceled all plans you had made.

“Good morning?” you questioningly asked, raising an eyebrow at them. “Can I help you?”

“We would like to ask you to accompany us back to the Akademiya.”, they plainly stated, signaling you to follow them.

You quickly grabbed your keys and tracked behind them with unease pooling at the pit of your stomach and a violently beating heart. 

What could the Matra possibly want from you? Did you conduct some illegal research? Did someone turn you in for plagiarism to save their own skin? Or did it have something to do with academic funds? As far as you were aware, the answers to all of these questions were no.

You didn't commit any serious academic offense to your knowledge and never planned to do so in the first place. But being called in by the Matra always had something to do with that, so naturally, you had a very bad feeling about this and couldn’t help but desperately try to find the answer to it in your head before you’d arrive.

You knew your best and long-time friend Cyno, was the General Mahamatra but even he wouldn’t show mercy if you seriously screwed something up. You knew he didn’t take academic offenses lightly - it didn’t matter who it was who committed them. He dealt out punishment equally.

The way to the office seemed like it was taking forever and many people along the way to the Akademiya threw you pitiful glances and were whispering as you were escorted by the Matra.

Once you arrived at your destination you were led into the General Mahamatra’s office. The Matra who had escorted you were bowing their head down once before they left you and Cyno, who was standing behind his desk, alone.

“There you are!” he stated, sounding surprisingly cheerful. Well, at least compared to usual anyway. He certainly didn’t seem sinister or as if he was out for your head.

He walked around his desk and came to a halt just in front of you. You slightly twitched as he put one hand on your shoulder and looked right into your eyes. This entire situation was odd, to say the least.

What didn’t help was that the warmth that radiated off his hand on your shoulder was entirely distracting to you right now and made the blood rush to your cheeks and your heart skitter in your chest.

“U-uhhh…” you stammered, unsure what to say or do.

“Do you still remember the special animated Genius Invokation card of Tighnari you got me last month?”

What? Was something wrong with it?

“Uhm… yes, of course, I do.” you reply, uncertain as to where this was leading.

He nodded as his lips curved into a small smile. “Follow me.”

You trailed behind him out of the Akademiya and along the streets towards the outskirts of Sumeru city. You remained silent the entire way, intimidated and unsure about his intentions. You couldn’t help but wonder where he was taking you and whether he was intending to exercise his judgment where no one was able to bear witness to it.

He came to a halt next to a small, run-down house at the border of the city and leaned against the fence there, crossing his arms over his chest and gazing below himself. You cautiously came to a halt as well, making sure you maintained some distance from him.

“So… w-what did I do?” you carefully inquired.

“Well,” Cyno cleared his throat as if he was struggling to find the right words. He stepped a little closer to you once again, taking your slightly trembling hands in his. “You stole something.”

“What? I did n–”

“You stole my heart.” he interrupted both your words and ability to form clear thoughts.

You parted your lips with the intention to say something but every word seemed to have died in your throat. You knew he was one to often speak cryptically so you were uncertain about the true meaning behind his words.

“What?”

He took a deep breath as if he was preparing to say something impacting before pointing toward the fence he had been leaning on with a dead-serious face.

“I fence-y you!”

At this point, you couldn’t help but chuckle. The hilarity of this entire situation was unbelievable. Not only did he have you worried sick he also chose to confess to you after years of pining with some stupid pun.

“Did you seriously lead me here just because there is a fence here?”

“Curses. I feared you would not understand… see fence-y sounds like fancy which means I–”

You quickly pulled him in by his neck and pressed your lips softly against his, successfully stopping him from explaining his joke. The feeling of his lips on yours was something you had dreamed of for so long. When he slung his arms around your waist the endorphins rushing through your bloodstream made your head swim and you felt as if your heart was about to burst out of your chest. You wondered if he felt the same.

“That was supposed to be my gift to you,” he remarked with a smile, leaning his forehead against yours. “but you beat me to it.”

You playfully punched his chest with a chuckle. “Idiot. You have no idea how much you had me scared to death with this entire scheme of yours. I fence-y you, too”

“Allow me to make it up to you again. Do you like raisins?”

You questioningly raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was up to this time.

“No? How about a date, then?”

Someone seriously needed to remind you again why you fell for this guy.

HEIZOU

You were walking through the streets of Hanamizaka to run some errands when you bumped into your long-time friend aka. the best detective in town. Or maybe even in the entirety of Inazuma.

“Would you look who it is!” you perceived the familiar voice coming from your right.

You turned your head only to spot the familiar tuft of auburn locks and the pair of mischievous green eyes that always made their owner look like he was up to no good.

“Heizou!” you cheered, hugging him tightly.

“It’s a good thing I run into you actually. I’m onto something and you’re just the person who could help me out.” he remarked.

“Oh, is that so?” you asked stemming your hands on your hips proudly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Indeed.”

“So, what do you need from me, Mr. Detective?” you tease.

“Alright. So, as you may or may not know it’s White Day. I’m looking for a present for someone since I’m going on a date, and I want to get something for them.” he explained. 

You had to try your hardest to not drop your smile. It almost faltered just now, but you couldn’t let your disappointment show. He didn’t know you had feelings for him, so to him, you were still nothing more than his best friend. Obviously, he would come to you with something like this. It’s also on you for not telling him about your feelings for him, too.

As much as your heart ached while thinking about it, you simply had to try to be a supportive friend in this situation. Even if it would most likely prove to be a challenge. Both for your heart and also to hide your dislike about this from him, since he was generally very perceptive. It was in the job description after all and he was one of the best in his field.

“So what do you say?” he interrupted your train of thought. “Will you help me?”

“Sure!” you agree, faking a smile. 

You followed him through the streets of Inazuma City walking past several restaurants and storefronts continually catching yourself getting lost in your own thoughts while he was talking. 

Your mind was way too occupied with reproaching yourself for not opening up about your feelings. Would you still be able to look him in the eyes when you soon saw him with someone else by his side? Or would you be strong enough to still be as close to him as you are now, despite your aching heart? These were questions the future you would have to eventually find answers to, but for now, you decided you should focus on helping him.

“Which restaurant would be a good option for a dinner date?” he pondered tapping his chin with his index finger.

“Well, I do like Uyuu Restaurant just across the bridge from here. But then again, it tends to be rather crowded on holidays. So maybe Kiminami Restaurant instead? And quite honestly, the food is also better there in my opinion.” you advised.

“I see. Great!” Heizou cheered writing some things down in his notebook.

“So…” he began again after he was done taking notes. “Now for the present. I have no clue what to get them, yet.”

“Well, what a lousy detective you are if you can’t even sneakily ask them about what they would want.” you teased.

He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest, acting playfully offended at your remark.

“Hey now! No need to get personal! Besides, that would only be the last resort! Anyway, hypothetically speaking. Imagine I’d get you something for White Day. What present would you want?”

For Archon’s sake, did he really have to have you imagine that? Getting a present from him on White Day would be a dream come true so he could practically get you anything and you would be head over heels for him all over again. But naturally, you couldn’t just outright say that.

“I don’t think this should be about what I would want. You should consider what they could want instead.”

“Hmm. I see your point. I could just ask them directly, I suppose?” he proposed tapping his chin as if deep in thought.

“No numbnuts! That’s not something you just ask them. It’s supposed to be a surprise, you know?”

“But then it may be even more important if you could give me an idea knowing what you would want. To gather some… inspiration, basically. I have to consider all possibilities after all.” he lightly bumped his finger on your forehead and smirked slyly. “So what would you want… jewelry? books? something to decorate your home with perhaps? Or maybe–”

“I fear I may not be of much help. I genuinely wouldn’t know what I would want.” you quickly interrupted.

Aside from wishing to be the object of affection of the man in front of you. But it was probably better if you buried that hope alongside your feelings for him once and for all.

What you were dying to say to him for a long time, had died in your throat the moment he told you he was going on a date. And as much as you honestly wanted to help him with this, you couldn’t recommend him something in good faith when it made your heart painfully throb the way it did right now.

“Hmmm.” he pondered looking at the ground with crossed arms. “That’s a shame, I’d immediately know what I’d want.”

“Oh? And what would that be, Detective?” you replied cheekily, quickly trying to distract yourself from the aching feeling in your chest.

“You.”

“What?” you falter.

“Do you happen to be free later?”

“Y-you–?”, you stammered.

“I set you up? Hmm, I suppose you could say I did. Sorry about that, but I had to find something out first.” he hummed, leaning in a little closer with a smug smile before whispering in your ear. “And I’m pretty sure I connected all the dots by now, did I not, sweetheart?”

Do not repost, copy, translate or edit - © dustofthedailylife || reblogs, comments, and asks about Genshin or my fics are always greatly appreciated and motivate me! Maple dividers are mine - do not copy.

[skrrts]

just like that (oneshot)

✧ gn!reader x mingi & gn!reader & ex!yunho ✧ all three are university students close to graduation ✧ genre: non-idol, slice of life, exes to friends, friends to lovers, first kiss ✧ word count: 6,9k ✧ warnings: food/eating, woosan joke

You first met Yunho and his best friend at university, and when you and Yunho started dating, the three of you soon became inseparable. Even after the breakup, things didn't really change, but lately, Mingi seems a little more clumsy around you, and Yunho is quite eager to encourage some time alone between the two of you.

a/n: i just wanted to write something soft for this trope without any tension. just 3 silly university students trusting and supporting one another. also, i noticed that best!friend yunho is something i really like writing, he's just the best but don't worry, he might find love in the strangest of places himself.

Summer — the time for weeks of freedom without worrying about project deadlines and exams, or a chance to make some money to make your final year more memorable. It seemed strange how quickly time had flown by. Before you knew it, only two semesters remained until graduation. One year before you were expected to have it all figured out, with the rest of your life ahead and the comfortable years behind you.

You didn’t see it that way, no matter how much your parents urged you to plan for the next decade when you weren’t even ready to part with this very moment. University had been a wild time, not only because you switched majors, made many new friends, and had your first boyfriend. It was a time for you to just be, shaking off the awkwardness of high school and becoming your own person far from home.

It wasn’t an easy time, but looking back now, you were thankful for the experiences and the special people now in your life — one of them being Jeong Yunho.

It had been a cliché start: the cute boy sitting near you in the local library. You exchanged little glances that later turned into small, silly notes left in the books when one of you went to buy a bottle of water or pick up another book. Your first date was a walk through the park with milkshakes in hand, sharing stories about childhood, books, and nature.

You had never been in love before — not really. Sure, there were those high school relationships that didn’t last longer than a few weeks and were only meant to fit in. Everyone dated someone, so you had to as well.

Yunho made you feel what love was supposed to for the first time: he was always there without asking you to give up your free time. He helped you with projects and studying while ensuring you took breaks you’d have otherwise skipped. He even taught you how to properly take photos, with small weekend trips to nearby places.

More than once, the two of you were accompanied by Mingi, Yunho’s childhood and best friend. The two of them were always together if he wasn’t with you, and the deep level of trust between them was something you admired.

Yunho was always there, not only to support Mingi in the same ways he did with you but also as a mental aid during moments when someone who seemed as confident as Mingi struggled a little.

You loved spending time with both of them: Yunho, who was gentle and quick to understand, and Mingi, who was reckless and curious, always up for some nonsense but yearning for a bit of attention. It wasn’t rare for the two of you to tug him into the middle when watching Netflix horror movies because it was a little too intense, or he had a bad day. All of that felt natural, and within the year and a half you dated, people got used to the sight of the couple and the best friend showing up together at almost all events.

The day Yunho and you broke up, most people couldn’t believe it. In their eyes, there had never been any indicator of struggle or conflict because there was none. Nobody but the two of you understood it. When you were honest with yourselves, you quickly realized that after some time, you felt more like friends than lovers.

Sometimes, crushes were fleeting, and it seemed you made a better match as friends rather than lovers. Because it was a mutual agreement, nothing really changed, except for the absence of handholding and kisses. In fact, the friendship may have grown even stronger.

Unlike you, Mingi and Yunho didn’t live in a dorm but rented a small apartment about half an hour off campus. It was located in a building with a small convenience store and owned by a sweet lady who always complimented Yunho for his good manners. It was small; the two shared one bedroom, and there was only so much space, but you loved how comfortable and homely it felt with all the little details unique to the best friends, unlike a dorm with its limitations.

A small breeze from the window made the heat of the day a little more bearable. Mingi was quietly playing a playlist he made the other day while browsing on his phone, the gentle typing of Yunho’s keyboard added to the sound while you were simply hanging with your head forward off the couch, playing with your outdated Nintendo DS. It was difficult to tell whether you were too sentimentally connected to all those old games or refused to invest so much in a Switch. Maybe you were still waiting for your parents to change their minds about you being too old to play and gift you one for a special occasion.

“Did you read Hongjoong’s email about the graduation hoodies?” Yunho’s voice disturbed the silence and made you look up, a small sigh escaping as Link was overrun by evil little mushrooms.

It seemed like a good excuse to sit up, brushing back your hair as you opened the bottle to take the last few gulps of water, regretting you didn’t buy another one before coming upstairs.

“The design is really cool, a little flashy, but that makes sense considering how an art major designed them,” you hummed, remembering the unique design and choice of colors. Hongjoong graduated recently, but he had taken it upon himself to help the next round come up with a unique piece of clothing they’d always have to remember their time as students.

“Isn’t it a little too early?” Mingi muttered. “I mean, it’s still an entire year and quite a bit of money. I get it’s like a unique piece, never to be reproduced, but what if one of us doesn’t make it? Maybe we have to take another semester because we failed all important exams!”

Yunho frowned but there was a small smile on his lips: “Mingi, except for the one class you didn’t care for and which isn’t even required for your graduation, your grades have been really good and stable in the past two semesters. There’s no reason why you wouldn’t graduate with us.”

You pushed yourself up, walking over to his bed, tilting your head: “Exactly, there is no way we would let you fail any of them anyway, idiot. Did you forget? We all agreed once we were done, no matter what our families said, we’d go on this road trip together for one month!”

You grinned, arms crossed as you spoke of it fondly, the tickling sensation of excitement rushing through your body as you thought about it. Yunho came up with the idea when you planned one of your little weekend trips together, how it would be a sweet treat after all the work and stress this last year would bring. Maybe it was also a proper way to say goodbye to this part of your life.

You hadn’t decided yet, but there was a consideration of maybe moving abroad for a little, to see the world. Then, you couldn’t deny the idea of moving to the same city as your two friends and remaining close to your family was just as good.

“How could I forget? You forced me to practice setting up tents with you the other day,” he stuck out his tongue, leading you to grin.

“Well, that was part of the project and you said you’d help me in return for making that PowerPoint for you. Also, it’s a mandatory skill to know how to set up a tent. Think of all the times you will need it: road trips, music festivals, maybe you will be an uncle and your nephew wants to go camping in the garden.”

Yunho chuckled: “Y/N isn’t wrong. Now, how about the three of us worry a little less? Just make the order with the size and number you want. Hongjoong will leave for Tokyo soon and it makes sense he wants to get this done before, especially since production takes several months anyway.”

The tallest closed his notebook and stood up, stretching carefully. For a moment, he glanced over at the two of you like there was something else he wanted to say, but his eyes lingered on Mingi’s face, noticing how it was a little redder than usual and how his gaze was a little too long at you.

But you didn’t notice because you were busy rambling ahead, trying to encourage Mingi and reminding him how you believed in him. There was no way one of you would be left behind; you’d graduate together.

“Hey, Y/N. Mingi and I wanted to binge-watch this show together, you know the one we saw in the trailer? Want to join us?” Yunho asked casually, already busy collecting his laundry. As neat as he was with everything else, the home of the two boys was a bit of a mess at times, hinting they often spent little time there and left in a rush.

You blinked, turning around to him, index finger tapping against your cheek as you tried to recall what show he was talking about. Shared movie nights were quite common and there were too many releases to keep track of all of them. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. You had no other plans and the heat wasn’t too inviting to forcefully spend the evening outside either.

“Sure, sounds good. Do you want me to bring anything?” you stretched a little and started to shove your stuff back into your backpack. If you were going for a movie night, you’d likely stay over and it was nicer to wash up before and get some other things.

Yunho seemed to think about it: “Hm, I believe we have everything we need and besides, we live above a convenience store. But maybe you could pick up dinner on the way? I’d make an order at our usual place and you just have to pick it up.”

As always, Yunho had everything planned and you nodded: “Sure thing! Sounds like we are set up for the night. Then, I will head back to the dorm for a little while, take a shower, and pick up some clothes. I also have to call my mom; she wanted to tell me about this wedding.”

Mingi rolled over to sit up: “My mom likes to do that too and then she asks me what I think about it, and here I am, just struggling to decide over a hoodie.”

The three of you chuckled, and you pulled the bag over your shoulder, placing the sunglasses on your nose: “I will be going then.”

Yunho stopped, flashing you one of his kind smiles: “Walk safely then. Mingi will accompany you to the crossroad. Looking forward to tonight.”

“I will? Why?” Mingi asked now, looking confused at his best friend who threw a dirty shirt at him, making the younger jump and let out a soft, embarrassed noise.

“Ewh! WHY?” His cheeks were flushed red and it was kind of cute how his grown-out hair looked a little messy with the glasses slipped down on his nose.

“Because we need new washing powder thanks to a certain somebody never bothering to get any after using the last of it for his laundry,” Yunho called out, a small grin on his lips as he threw the last piece of clothing in a basket.

Mingi didn’t seem too convinced, almost like he was trying to figure out just what his best friend was up to, but he gave in with a deep sigh, shoulders hanging down a little. “All right, I shall go and melt out there. If I do not come back, you know why.”

You couldn’t hide the soft laugh as you watched the two of them banter like that: “I will wait outside then, take your time. See you later, Yuyu.”

It was a nickname you had given him when the two of you dated but it had become such a habit, you just kept using it even after the breakup several months ago but he didn't mind it. Mingi seemed a little lost when he pulled on his sneakers and grabbed a jacket, only to remember it was hot outside and he wouldn’t need it.

When he joined you, he was trying to fix his hair but gave up on it the moment a small blow of wind faked some refreshment. “Can’t believe that guy kicked me out just for some washing powder,” he mumbled.

“You know him, he just likes to be prepared for everything,” you gave him a playful shove. After that, the two of you walked in silence for a little while.

With Mingi, that was never a bad thing as you learned quickly how he either was lost in his own thoughts, sometimes daydreaming, or there were days when he couldn’t stop talking, where his thoughts seemed to be as busy as those of an artist and his urge to share was sweet. You liked to listen to his thoughts, although you did not always manage to follow all of them. Regarding your career paths, you picked something more practical and straightforward like Yunho.

“Hey, Y/N,” he only quickly glanced at you before pretending that something on the way had caught his attention.

“Hm?” you looked over at him, head tilted in curiosity, paying attention to how his hand was gently rubbing the back of his neck, words suddenly not coming easily anymore.

“Did you ever regret breaking up with Yunho?” the question was rushed now like he was scared he wouldn’t ask it otherwise, but it certainly wasn’t one you’d have expected.

Back then, Yunho had a long conversation with Mingi, he told you that. The younger was surprised but also worried: the older was his best friend and naturally, he should be supportive of him, but there was also you now, somebody important to him. He was scared to lose that bond and the fun time you shared. Yunho had explained everything, promised you’d be fine, and you had done the same. Still, there were times when it seemed Mingi was worried, or at least, you picked it up as such.

You shook your head slowly: “No. I think it was for the best, you know? I really liked having Yunho as my boyfriend but now, looking at how things went after we broke up, I think we were both right because it barely feels any different. That shows me we have been perfect friends for one another more than lovers.”

Mingi seemed to consider your answer before speaking again: “So it would be fine with you if Yu starts to date again?”

The number of questions was a little unusual but you knew how much Mingi struggled now that the final year was approaching. The idea of things changing was always hard for him once he was comfortable with a situation. Something like that was what Yunho warned you about right at the beginning, that you should tell him if you’d get overwhelmed by Mingi seeking comfort at times. You never were.

“Well, of course not. We are friends and I want him to be happy. Sure, I worry a little about how the next partner feels. I know we are more the exception, it is rare for exes to be able to be such good friends and even for those who are, their partners can have that level of distrust.”

It had come to your mind but you decided not to worry about something you’d not have any control over. You stretched your arms comfortably up in the air: “It’s Yuyu, I am sure he will find somebody that’s like him and you don’t have to worry about it.”

Mingi nodded and it seemed, while there was a hint of uncertainty on his handsome features, he could live with the answer.

When the store Mingi was aiming for slowly appeared, it seemed as if something changed and he was walking a little behind you. By now, you were checking your phone for the earliest bus in the morning since you promised to visit another friend nearby.

“So… I am not that bad looking, am I?”

Mingi’s question took you by surprise once more, but this time, you found yourself blinking, a hint of red accompanying it as you turned around and he was looking at you.

Song Mingi was too often overlooked because in lectures, he liked to dress comfortably with oversized shirts and comfy jeans, his hair often a mess unlike all the times the three of you went out to bars or clubs. Then, gazes turned around for the tall and handsome student with his plump lips and the way the tight tank tops complimented his body, and his hair styled back let you see his face properly.

Mingi always said he didn’t have one-night stands or dates because he needed somebody who loved both. In fact, it had been a drunk confession on a weekend when Yunho visited his family it had just been the two of you, a joke of yours that he should get laid going wrong.

“Of course not,” you leaned forward, giving him a proper look up and down, thinking it surely was okay with the two of you being friends.

“You are hot, you have so many unique features: your lips, those little moles, and the way your eyes sparkle when you get excited.”

Mingi’s face openly brightened up and he was about to say something when a loud noise interrupted the two of you.

“Y/NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN,” Wooyoung screamed, an arm curled around San’s thin waist when the two stopped on their motorbike. The two of you often ended up working on projects together as for some reason, you shared almost half of your lectures with Wooyoung.

“What’s up, Jung?”

You joked and he pulled the helmet up, grinning.

“We are throwing a party tonight, wanna come? You can bring your two boyfriends.” Wooyoung teased, resulting in you rolling your eyes, he loved to pull the joke.

“Funny for you to say when everyone assumes you and your best friends are a little more on the benefit side.”

San gave his best friend a shove who struggled not to fall off and rolled his eyes dramatically: “You two really do not have any humor. Anyway, sincere invitation. Lots of people will come so if you change your mind, just text me.” He held onto San again and they disappeared down the road.

“Weirdo,” you laughed and looked back at Mingi. He was staring at you before awkwardly rubbing a hand over his neck: “Ah, I should get that stuff for the washing machine. I’ll see you later for the movies.”

You smiled, not thinking too much about it: “I will hurry to get ready, see you soon!”

Mingi nodded, more to himself than to you, and you could see him stumble, almost falling over one of the outdoor baskets as he cursed and disappeared inside. He always had been a little clumsy but recently it started to pile up a bit. It was kind of cute.

“I bought four packages. If that isn’t enough for at least three months…” Mingi blurted out as he unlocked the door and stepped inside, but stopped when he saw Yunho all dressed up and ready to leave. He dropped the bag with the boxes and blinked, pointing over his shoulder.

“Why do you look like that?”

His best friend looked up, smiling. “Ah! My brother just gave me a call, asking if I could come over and help him with some stuff. We haven’t really seen each other in weeks, and with summer just starting, I figured it would be okay.”

“But Y/N is coming over for the TV series soon, and I was excited for us to do it together.” Disappointment was written all over Mingi’s face now, but his best friend managed to hide how that expression always made feel him a little guilty.

“I promise, we will do it next time. We still have all summer and an entire year to meet up like that all the time. I already ordered the food and it’s paid for. You always still have an empty stomach by the time we are done, so just eat my portion too and make sure to brush your teeth properly afterward.”

The younger made a face. “Hey, I’m not an elementary kid anymore!” Yunho was always there, looking out for him, and there were times when Mingi was scared of what it would be like once he was supposed to be a proper adult, all on his own, living in an apartment without him. Not that he could admit it — he was in his early 20s and everyone suddenly wanted him to act on it, have it all figured out, and be proper.

Yunho stopped and stood in front of his best friend. They were almost equal in height, but the light-haired one eventually outgrew Mingi by an inch or two.

“I will always worry about you because you think too much and care too little about yourself,” Yunho smiled fondly at him, ruffling through his best friend’s hair, which elicited another displeased noise from Mingi, who was confused about what was going on.

“Do you still have the plushie? The one Hongjoong made for his school project when we were in our first year?” Yunho suddenly asked.

Mingi blinked before turning around and walking over to his small part of the wardrobe. He went down on his knees, pulling down one of the storage boxes until he found the yellow duck. Honestly, he had asked for a chicken when Hongjoong said he had to sew animals and would gift them each after receiving a grade. When Mingi had seen the duck for the first time, he pouted, and since then, Yunho wouldn’t stop teasing him about how they looked alike, so he ended up hiding it.

“This one?” he lifted it up, showing it to Yunho, and his best friend nodded.

“Mhm, you should gift it to Y/N. It would fit perfectly with the rest of the plushie collection.”

That was right — you collected plushies. It was cute because it wasn’t something Mingi expected when he first met you riding on a skateboard while reading a thriller novel the day Yunho introduced you to each other.

“Why would Y/N want a plushie that looks like me?” Mingi asked. Yunho pulled his bag over and was already at the door, smiling back over his shoulder at the younger.

“Because Y/N thinks you are cute, that’s why,” he winked. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your evening together.”

Mingi blinked in confusion, still standing there before looking at the duck plushie in his hand, frowning.

“Y/N does?”

“Yuyu just left to visit his brother?” you frowned, a little surprised by the news when you arrived. It seemed unlike Yunho to just vanish like that; he never failed to inform everyone about it when he was to leave for some time, especially if you intended to meet up. Then, when it came to his brother and family, he was always super caring, something that everyone liked and respected about him.

You kicked off your sneakers and walked to the small kitchen corner. The shower had been welcoming, and you changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt, leaving your more comfortable clothes for sleeping in your bag. It wasn’t the first time you stayed over ‘just as a friend’; the couch was just as comfortable as any bed to you.

“Mhm, he was in a rush when I came back,” Mingi sighed. “He said we have all summer, so we will do it next time. I… should have called you. Sorry, then you could have rescheduled.”

You looked over to him, and your gazes met. His face started to heat up, and he tried to distract himself by fixing his glasses once more, leading you to smile.

“Nonsense, we can do this too. I do not mind, and I told you, there is not much else I have planned for the night. We can be evil and punish Yunho by spoiling the entire season for him, speaking about all the details once he’s back,” you joked to cheer him up a little and were pleased to see that he was grinning.

“I like the sound of that!”

You nodded and turned around, taking out plates to place the takeaway food inside, preferring to have it look a little prettier than eating out of the white containers. Meanwhile, Mingi started to add more pillows on his bed, along with blankets, and he turned off the bigger lights, replacing them with soft fairy lights. He had the bigger of the two beds, and with that, you were all used to sitting inside to watch on the TV hanging on the opposite wall.

When you turned around, you couldn’t deny he was obviously putting extra effort in today. Next to the extra blankets, he also added some flowers in a vase, and there was a chicken plushie that looked an awful lot like Mingi.

“I… since you ditched that cool party with Wooyoung and San… I thought it could be nice, pretending like we did something extra cool as well,” he muttered, biting down on his lower lip as if he was waiting for you to laugh at him.

Oh, Mingi, when would he finally start to see just how charming and amazing he was?

“Who would want to go to a boring party where everyone just gets drunk when you can have an amazing home cinema with good food and cute company?” you winked and walked over.

Without Yunho, it was your turn to try and cheer Mingi up, so you carefully sat down on the left side of the plushie.

“Now, you did not introduce me to your friend yet. Ah, if I’d have known, I’d have put a little more effort into my appearance.”

Mingi carefully took one of the plates and joined you, looking at it and then back at you.

“Uhm, a name? This is… Bbyongming. Hongjoong gifted him to me; he made him for some project back when we were juniors. He’s a…”

“Cute chicken. I love chickens!”

Now he pointed at the plushie again. “You did notice it was a chicken?! I always told everyone, but they say it looks like a duck.”

Mingi had to force himself to sit down; he almost spilled some of the food over the edge of his plate, but he looked at you, who was eagerly nodding.

“Tsk, I have no idea why anyone would think this is a duck. It is obviously a chicken and very cute. Looks a little bit like you.” You laughed softly and shoved some of the noodles inside your mouth just because you were embarrassed for having said just that.

For some reason, though, Mingi’s smile grew, and he was finally relaxing.

“I think so too!”

The both of you took care not to lean on the small chicken when you started with the series while eating the takeaway. You made a quiet note to thank Yunho for the meal later, even though he wasn’t here to share it with you.

To your surprise, the show was much better than expected, and while the first episode was quite a slow burn, you soon found yourself enjoying the plot and were invested in it, and so was Mingi. Everyone else likely would just glare at you for being so excited about it. There were hisses when something annoying happened and little gasps when the story took unexpected turns. A shiver over the scarier moments.

Yuyu sometimes joked how you reminded him of Mingi at times, during the very first dates you two went on, and there certainly were days when you couldn’t deny it.

As the hours went by, the two of you ended up moving closer together. Maybe it was Mingi being used to sitting between his two closest friends, who both wouldn’t mind it at all, or maybe you leaned in without thinking about it. The little chicken was sitting on your lap at this point; you played with its big head, squishing it to deal with your excitement about the plot.

It wasn’t until the screen darkened a little and asked if you were still watching that the two of you realized how many hours must have passed and how close you were sitting to each other now.

Mingi had taken off his glasses, his dark eyes looking curiously at you while there was still a soft blush on his cheeks now that he was so close. There were little details you never paid attention to before, and your heart was doing one or two awkward jumps in your chest as his arm tightened a little around your shoulder.

It was careful, scared you might withdraw any moment, but you just found yourself staring up at him, losing the hold around the plushie just a little. Slowly, Mingi was leaning closer to you so that his breath tickled your skin and his long lashes were about to close when suddenly, somebody was pushing the doorbell, and the two of you jumped up like the main characters in a horror movie.

“What the fuck?!” Mingi hissed and cleared his throat. You were rubbing your neck, unable to hide how your face was a little flushed, and there was an anticipation for something you didn’t see coming.

“I wonder who it is?” you mumbled, just to say anything, and Mingi was quick to put on his glasses and turned on some lights. The doorbell rang again.

“Should I get the baseball bat?” he asked, looking at you. At first, you weren’t sure if he was serious, but then, considering how you just watched a show where in one episode, they got robbed during something similar, you couldn’t entirely blame him.

“How about I get the bat, and you answer the door?” you suggested. At this point, you couldn’t entirely hide your smile; you knew how silly and dumb this was, but somehow, it was something you enjoyed. With Mingi, there was always room for something unexpected.

You walked over and carefully opened Yunho’s wardrobe. By the time the bell rang once more, you found his baseball bat. Your ex was quite a passionate baseball player, who gave up playing only after high school graduation due to a minor injury, but he didn’t want to risk it.

“Ready if you are!” You positioned yourself behind the door, exhaling as Mingi finally opened it to see who was ringing constantly that late. The building their apartment was in had seen its best years long ago, the lights dim and the environment not too inviting to be outside at a late hour, even during the summer months when most other streets were buzzing, but convenience stores had the downside of also attracting all kinds of figures to buy snacks or alcohol at a late hour.

Jongho rushed inside. “What took you so long? I was standing there for almost ten minutes.”

The man stopped, looking from Mingi, who was dealing with the realization he just let somebody get in so easily, to you, behind the door with a baseball bat up in the air. The youngest student was frowning, judging you quite obviously as he pointed an index finger from Mingi to you.

“I am not sure if this small apartment is cut out to play indoor baseball.”

You blushed, trying to look all cool and casual, relaxing on the bed. “Oh yeah, I mean. We thought you were Yunho who came back from his brother and wanted to just give him a small jumpscare,” you lied.

“You three are a weird trio, you know? But I guess that means Yunho isn’t here then? Dammit, I need the keys to the club room. It can’t be helped… I’ll be going then. Sorry for the interruption,” Jongho glanced over the bed and the fairy lights.

“Very sorry… didn’t know I’d run into a date. Anyway, see you around.”

There was no room to say anything; he already rushed out, and gone he was. Mingi and you were blinking at each other as he forced himself to finally move, locking the door and clearing his throat: “That was something…”

It was too late; now that somebody said the word, you couldn’t unsee it. How soft everything was, the way Mingi was acting around you recently, and Yunho’s odd behavior, just leaving the two of you like that.

As you stood there in silence, he was likely slowly starting to overthink because he carefully took the baseball bat from you and then started to wave with his hands.

“Ah… look, you don’t have to listen to… I mean, it is… we can just be friends.”

The last word was whispered, and you could hear the defeat in Mingi’s voice.

“I will start cleaning up…”

Finally, your legs moved, and you hugged him from behind. “No, leave it like that! I like it,” you whispered, and you felt him tense but very slowly turning his head around to look at you.

Idiot, how could he think that you’d not maybe consider liking him that way? How could you not? He wasn’t just handsome, a little strange, and entirely endearing, but somebody you trusted and always felt comfortable with.

Your heart was beating loudly, also with the question of why you thought this would be different from Yunho, how you could be certain you just had the bad habit of liking your friends a little too much?

Maybe it was because you really just were too alike, so it took you forever to notice the small differences.

“Do you maybe want to sit down again?” Mingi finally mumbled, and you nodded. He took your hand and turned off the lights as you went back to his bed. He was sitting down and, for a moment, hesitated.

“We could… do you maybe want to relax a little?”

Another nod followed, and the two of you stood there like awkward high schoolers who came along to prom when you finally crawled back on the bed and carefully relaxed against his shoulder. His long arms instantly curled around your body and kept you warm as he turned the show back on, but this time, you were far too distracted to really pay attention.

Mingi was feeling the same because he was looking down at you here and then until you noticed that at this point, you literally just were staring at him. You liked how he blushed, how it was so easy to read what he was thinking and feeling in a moment like that.

“You are pretty,” he whispered but forced himself for his eyes to remain on you, leading you to smile. “So are you, well, handsome.” There were just too many words in this year and age, but any would be fine with you, and there were even more you could think of that suited him.

“Would it be okay if I kiss you?” he finally asked, swallowing hard.

You nodded softly, and his big hands carefully rested against your cheeks. You turned around slowly so he could reach you better and pushed yourself up just a little.

This was by far not your first kiss, but every first kiss with a new person always felt like one. Mingi seemed shy as he breathed carefully against you and slowly tilted his head to lean in.

His plump lips were just as soft as you imagined, and one of your arms curled around his neck as you allowed your eyes to close.

The kiss was far from perfect: curiosity and tension mixed up, but it was just the way it should be. You were a little more eager than Mingi, encouraging him to deepen it more, and for a second, his hand clung a little to your hair.

Eventually, your lips broke apart, and he exhaled, grinning: “I think I finally understand why you all like kissing so much.”

Your face turned into a surprised expression: “Wait… this was your first kiss?”

Mingi smiled a little sheepishly: “I guess… always wanted it to be special, but I feel like I told you that before, Y/N.”

Now you were the one more nervous than confident, but Mingi laughed and hugged you gently. For a while, you sat there just like this.

It seemed a little strange that just maybe, you needed up until now to realize that you might have developed a crush on one of your closest friends and the very best of your ex, but like always, Yunho had known best.

Idiot. He really was a league of his own.

Mingi yawned a little: “Mh. I promise next time… I’ll ask you out properly. Like, you will know what it is… if you want that.”

You chuckled: “I admit, thinking of it now, surprise dates aren’t so bad, but yes, I’d like that. You look tired. We should get some sleep.”

You knew you should change and freshen up a little, but you were comfortable like that and didn’t want to leave.

“Do you want to cuddle, maybe?” Mingi asked again, and you winked: “You figured me out!”

He chuckled again and started to remove all objects from the bed so the two of you could get in together but stopped as he lifted up the plushie.

“Uhm… for you. Your personal Mingi… just make sure you do not like him better than me,” he pouted a little but then laughed, offering him shyly to you.

Your hands gently reached out before holding him up, close to Mingi’s face. “Twins, absolutely.”

You hugged him tightly: “I will treasure him, thank you.”

The taller nodded and slipped inside the bed first before you carefully followed, and his arms curled around you, pressing a small kiss on your hair. In return, you pulled his glasses off his nose and put them aside.

“Sweet dreams, Y/N,” he whispered. You exhaled and dared to snuggle a little closer against him. “Good night, Mingi.”

In theory, all was perfect, if not for the two of you being cowards watching scary shows without a mindful Yunho to remind you it wasn’t real.

“Should we maybe turn on the TV?” Mingi asked into the darkness, and you nodded.

“Anime?”

“Gotcha!” He leaned over, turning the TV on, and you curled up against him, snuggled up like that, watching a random show until the two of you fell asleep.

Looking back, university life and student years, they really had been wild, but there wasn’t even a moment you’d regret.

A few years later…

“How’s Y/N doing?” Yunho asked as he scanned through the wardrobe.

“Same as always, went skating with some other friends, but we will meet soon. We’re looking at an apartment today,” Mingi grinned as he finally settled on a white shirt. It was a little too big, but people kept saying he looked good in it, something about being "boyfriend-coded."

“Sounds like you two are finally making that last step. If anything, I’m a bit surprised it took you so long to move in together. I mean, no offense, but you’ve literally been living together since graduation, just staying at each other's place frequently.”

Mingi chuckled into the phone: “I’d ask how you know if you didn’t live across the hall from me. Though, it’s rare to see you these days with your insane workload. Don’t forget to take a break now and then.”

Yunho was nervous; it had been a while since he had felt that way. Somehow, everyone thought he was super confident with dating, but he wouldn’t say it came easy to him.

“Enough about us, though. You met your date at that midnight bus? It sounds dangerous to take a bus after 11:00 PM all alone.”

Yunho blushed, thinking about it: “Something like that. We waited for that bus together for quite some time, a few weeks, but I was too nervous. I was even googling how to approach a stranger on a bus the night we finally talked. Anyway, we meet in an hour, and I need to look my best…”

His best friend laughed: “Remember that plushie Hongjoong made of you first year of university?”

Yunho rolled his eyes, grinning: “Are you telling me now I should gift it to my date?”

Mingi hummed: “Well, it worked for me; it’s worth a try. Not that I am worried, if somebody manages to make you THAT nervous, I’m sure this person is pretty cool. Make sure to introduce us, yeah? OK, gotta go, see you later.”

Yunho ended the call. He changed into the outfit, moving left to right before exhaling deeply, placing his right hand cutely against his cheek, and looking in the mirror. Gringe.

Then he sighed, shaking his head: “Please, this is not how you do it…”

He grabbed his bag and headed to the door, but then he made a few steps back. The plushie was sitting on the small armchair in his bedroom. Yunho stared at it before he opened a shelf and pulled out some gift bag.

He carefully placed it inside before finally leaving to go to this very important date. He couldn’t wait to meet this special person again.

[achelouise]

my love, my muse —kaveh

fandom: genshin

pairing: kaveh x reader!

a/n: i just realized i hadn’t written for kaveh, which is a crime against humanity. also kaveh x muse!reader brainrot sjzjjwjzjqjjajajajh (also switching formats, iiiiiii have no idea what im doing, can you tell)

— student!kaveh, who, even though loathed and respected his project partner to bits, would rather die than ever try to draw him for an assignment. “don’t even think about it,” he hisses, just as alhaitham quirks an unimpressed eyebrow. he understands that he has many friends and acquaintances that are willing to pose for him, but a small voice in the back of his head needles at him- telling him that no, we cannot create art with them as our muse. and to him, nothing is more important than making sure every single artwork he produces is with the utmost sincerity.

— student!kaveh, whose resolve crumbles bit after bit as the deadline creeps up, with no model to look for in sight, and is starting to think perhaps he should turn to his volunteering friends after all. he cannot compromise his diligence for his passion as a scholar, and so he heads to pupsa café, hoping to buy some coffee to prepare for his all-nighter that night.

—student!kaveh, who doesn’t even realize he’s pouting until he hears a cheery, unfamiliar voice bring it up- and he tilts his head up to find that he spilled all the coffee in his mouth onto his shirt (much to your alarm).

“you,” he gurgles, “you’re the muse i’ve been looking for!”

“excuse me?”

— perhaps he was a bit sleep-deprived, which explained his lack of inhibition, but student!kaveh latches onto you like a moth to a flame, stars swirling in his eyes. are you a student of the akademiya? which darshan are you from? which nation were you from to bless you with such beautiful eyes? could you be his muse? he asks them all, because he has to know.

— student!kaveh, who only later apologizes for his overbearing first-impression, while swearing up and down he wasn’t like that usually, and explaining his current predicament. perhaps you pitied him, or found him quite charming- whichever it was, you accepted his proposal to be his muse in exchange for some funds, much to his delight.

“thank you, thank you, oh, thank you! my assignment won’t be so lifeless after all!”

— student!kaveh, who arranges a time and place for you at his dorm with a sense of bravery he has absolutely no idea where he picked up from. when you come in with the most random set of outfit he’s ever seen, he chooses to hold back his tongue over your enthusiastic participation.

“sit tight!” he says, holding comically large canvas whose shadow swallowed up the whole room, “relax, and do whatever your heart tells you to do.”

— student!kaveh, who usually simply sketches things out of pure photographic memory, starts simple and structured for once. where would the chair go? where would you sit? would you look too stretched out if the table properties next to you weren’t matching? where should he exaggerate? how would the chandelier be hanging to get the perfect lighting? how would the painting behind you affect the composition?

— student!kaveh, who usually lets his hand dance on his canvas, plans everything out this time, and lets his mind flourish under the guidance of your radiant beauty. your soft smile, your relaxed posture, and your twinkling eyes lets him have fun- and he finds joy in drawing backgrounds, especially the furniture, for once- to emphasize the way you pose.

— student!kaveh, who drinks an ungodly amount of coffee every night and lets his sheer will do the rest, stops by in the kitchen to make you some snacks. he worries for you; “are you alright? is this posture tiring you? do you want water? i can get some for you. do you want some snacks, too? we can take a break. i don’t have much here, but i can always make a quick trip to the market.”

— student!kaveh, who finds joy in conversation with you while he works. you seem to harbor a decent amount of knowledge fitting for a scholar. if you talk about other subjects, kaveh’s more than willing to listen. if you enjoy studying architecture, that’s fine too! whatever the topic is, you both seem to have an endless stream of opinions and discussions to open up about, and watching your mouth run off on any particular topic brings him much satisfaction. it is always fascinating to understand another person deeply interested in a subject.

— student!kaveh, who starts to explore other color schemes in order to find the perfect one for you. your radiance is something that should be brought out and emphasized on his canvas, something future generations can look at and admire. maybe a bit of pink for the shadow? how about purple to shade your hair instead of gray? would yellow compliment your shoes? he thinks of them all, dabbling in this and that, until his palette blooms in different smears of colors.

— student!kaveh, who is willing to go on a rant to explain how you were the perfect muse, how your smile made his hand itch to draw it out, how your eyes crinkled and held the weight of your soul, how- oh. did he say muse? would you like to be? kaveh doesn’t mind in the slightest if you could continue to. in fact, how about he treats you to a nice meal tonight? the sun is setting, anyway, and it’ll be his way of saying thank you. (please say yes.)

— student!kaveh, who, after half an hour of deliberation on whether parting his bangs in a certain angle would make him look more presentable or not, shows up that night at the venue with a small sketchbook in his hands, telling you not to worry about it. every time your lips turn a certain way, or when the light hits your hand just right, he frantically sketches it down underneath the table, much to your confusion.

“did you enjoy the meal? hm? that? oh, it’s nothing. please, go on. you said something about how your friend could aether-edit?”

it was a pleasant time, despite him constantly dodging your questions on what in teyvat’s name he’s doing, and believing the constant rush he feels inside his head whenever you laugh is perfectly normal. you’re his muse, aren’t you? it’s only natural.

(and if the dinner spreads any rumors- well, kaveh thinks it’s normal to feel giddy, too.)

— student!kaveh, who, when looking at his graded paper days later, is pleased to know it is graded with high praise. the professor even commented on how he is finally starting to get a firm grasp on studying basic anatomy of architecture. (hmph. he thinks he was pretty good at anatomy up until then as well, but okay.) good- he’s put a lot of effort into that painting.

— student!kaveh, who insists on thanking you for the high grade again, the next time you run into each other- only this time with a bouquet of flowers, and a blush on his face.

[deantfwinchester]

Hands

Pairing: No-Outbreak!AU, Joel x Teacher!Reader as usual (let's just assume these No-Outbreak Joels are all the same couple tbh), established relationship

Summary: Friday nights are reserved for sweatpants and relaxation, of course. But when Joel's work week leaves his hands a bit worse for wear, the night may need to include a break for a little extra attention.

Warnings: extreme fluff once again. expect it at this point. i'm a one-trick pony, i fear.

A/N: finally got around to putting one of my many bulleted notes-app idea fics into paragraph form again! Will we get another one before the year's out? It's anyone's guess! -_-

——————

Friday nights are your favorites. No dinner to cook or rattling rolodex of tasks to come in the next twelve hours give you both a little room to breathe — to gently unwind from yourselves and into one another. It’s typically quiet, and when it isn’t, the volume is born of laughter from games or stories the three of you share.

Joel comes home from an exceptionally long week. You know he’s been on site every day—the whole team has—working longer and longer hours to wrap up the latest project before the client’s deadline. You’re pleased to hear his keys rattle in the door not long after five o’clock, and relieved because the air’s rapidly cooling earlier each night. Daylight Savings time is coming to an end, and today he barely beat the sunset getting home. 

You know the hour means little, however, and are less than astonished at the weary grin he bears on catching sight of you and Sarah on the couch when he walks in the room. She’s already got her purse on her shoulder, eager to head out when her friends arrive, and she’s excitedly recounting the events of the trailer for the movie they’ll be catching tonight. He stands idly in the doorway for a moment, just listening to the two of you chat. You make brief eye contact and smile back, assuring you know he’s there. Neither of you wants to interrupt her avid storytelling.  

“Well don’t you sound excited?” he says when she pauses to catch her breath. You both turn to greet him, and he moves more quickly toward you as you attempt to rise, gesturing to you to remain seated. He’ll come to you both.

He plants a kiss on top of Sarah’s head before leaning down to kiss you as he does each night. You place a hand on his chest and pause when he pulls back to get a good look at his face. You see the fatigue in his droopy-eyed smile, but can’t say anything to him. You already know it’s mirrored in your own expression.

The doorbell rings before either of you can speak again, and Sarah jumps up to head out the door. You wish her a good night, and he follows her to the door, checking for a familiar parent in the driver’s seat and seeing her off. You see him hand her some cash to go with his reminder to make good decisions, and he hugs her. You can’t help but giggle when she takes it with a wide smile.

He turns to you laughing when he sees she’s in the car, and shuts the door.

“What?” he asks, brow furrowed in confusion, but amused at the sound of your laughter.

“Smart girl. I gave her a 20 before you got home,” you grin back at him. He stills in understanding and rolls his eyes. 

“You couldn’t tell me that two minutes ago?” he asks you in mock exasperation.

“But it’s so much funnier this way!” you add, giggling again. You both know he’s wrapped completely around her finger, though she so innocently does not. It’s one of the first things you noticed about him. One of the first reasons you fell in love. 

He shakes his head fondly, and places a hand on his stomach, which begins to grumble softly at him. You raise your eyebrows and meet his gaze. “Any thoughts on dinner?” he asks, and you grin back at him in amusement.

“Handled. Pizza’s already on the way,” you respond and he feigns relief. 

“You’re brilliant.” he says, walking up and grabbing your hand on the back of the couch. You run your thumb in little circles on the back of his hand and give it a light squeeze.

“Duh. Now go get changed! It’s do-nothing time starting now,” you respond, patting the top of his hand in encouragement.

“You read my mind,” he says, leaning down for another quick peck before heading off into the bedroom to change out of his work clothes. Naturally, you’ve been in sweats for over an hour now, shedding your own outfit immediately, peeling the school day from your skin. The unspoken uniform for these Friday nights is extremely specific.

The pizza arrives before Joel can even return from the bedroom in a feat of incredible timing. You’re gathering plates and filling glasses with ice when he emerges ready for the night. He moves forward to help you grab the dinner, but you shoo him away to the couch. 

“Nope, I got this. You sit,” you say, lightly shoving his chest away. You leave no room for argument. He grumbles a bit and raises his hands, backing away to the living room. You follow behind him with the pizza and plates, and return once more for the drinks before settling next to him on the couch. He sits on one end, and you sit in the middle, leaving little room between you.

You lean forward, putting pizza on one plate you pass to Joel before grabbing your own, then settle back against the cushion, both sinking in so comfortably a nearly audible sigh fills the room. The comfort in this relief is palpable, and the decompressing can begin. You grab the remote and put on the series you’ve been binging together recently, more for background noise than anything else. 

A few slices and sitcom episodes deep, you’ve set your plates down on the coffee table. With your bellies comfortably full, you’ve somehow slumped deeper, though Joel into the couch and you into his side. His arm is draped over the back of the couch behind you, and you’re nearly laying on him, head propped against his shoulder. 

You hold his free hand in both of yours and absently play with his fingers for a second when you notice the aggressive wear this week has lent his hands. They’re a raw, angry red at the knuckles; his nails are cracked in some places and peeling in others. Moving your fingers gently down toward his wrist, you focus more directly on the state of his, catching sight of a few hangnails and stretched cuticles that can’t be comfortable. He looks down as you begin to worry them beneath the soft pads of your own fingers, and you meet his gaze, brows furrowed as you look between his face and hands. 

“Keep doing that, please,” he says with a sigh before closing his eyes, “I wait all day to feel your hands on mine. They’re so soft.” He lifts your hand to his lips before pressing a feather-light kiss to your knuckles. He loves the delicate, reverent way you play with his hands, like they’re small, fragile things in need of tender attention. You take his hand once again into both of yours and gently rub it between them, looking back up at him, concerned. 

“How do yours feel? They look like they’re hurting you,” you gnaw a bit at your bottom lip in thought, and he tries to assuage your worry.

“I’m alright, darlin’. Nothing worse than I’m used to,” he says. He knows from your deepening frown that you’re less than satisfied with this response.

You couldn’t care less if he’s used to it, he shouldn’t be. You know the protective callouses forged there don’t mean those hands are unfeeling in the slightest.

“Wait there. I’ll be right back,” you say, rising from his side and hastening to the bedroom. It’s his turn to frown now, both in confusion and at the sudden draft that’s appeared at his side.

You return not a minute later with a small tote around your wrist, and hands filled with half the manicure items you own. You sit down next to him and unpack, laying clippers, files, cuticle oil, and two different hand creams — a lotion he’s seen you use regularly, and a jar that must be a new addition — on the coffee table in front of you, along with the selected polishes and remover you had in the tote bag. You’ve been meaning to do your nails, anyway. 

Joel looks incredulously at you, unsure where this is going. Not that he’s a stranger to nail polish — he raised a little girl on his own long enough to have worn the rainbow on his fingers, but tonight? 

“Sorry, no color for you today, honey. Certainly not before these are healed,” you say. He’d chip half your handiwork away by Monday afternoon anyway the way he’s been working lately. Facing him, you cross your legs on the couch and smile, holding your hand out expectantly for his. He raises his eyebrows at you, but places his palm gently in your own. 

You grab the clippers and get to work on the hangnails first. Any peeling skin or cuticle right there at the nail you clip as gently as possible, making note of the reddened and slightly swollen areas at the base of his nail from which they protrude. Those will need careful attention at the end. He doesn’t squirm or react in any way, but you know they’re more sensitive than he’s letting on. 

Next, you clip back any breakages and unevenness in the nails themselves. You’d never find Joel Miller with dirty hands — he gets them clean as soon as he gets home, but all the scrubbing it takes to keep them that way takes its toll. A little trim at their length might help reduce the need for so much each day upon his return. 

After clipping, you grab his first hand again and rest it gently in the palm of your left while your right files steadily to even any rough edges left behind and prevent further injury. It won’t take much, but you’re sure to get them smooth so they won’t catch on anything or bother him later on. 

The cuticle oil is next. He looks at it questioningly, clearly a bit skeptical, only having seen it a few times when you or Sarah used it. He’s never ventured so far himself. While you brush it gently onto each of his nails, you explain its purpose. 

“This’ll just help your nails get a little stronger. It’ll get them hydrated a bit, keep ‘em  from peeling so much when your hands get dry. It’s kinda crazy how much better this stuff is for your nails than even water is. Water’ll make the peeling worse, actually. Weird, huh?”

He just nods along, listening to you, content to learn something new as always. Finger by finger, you massage the oil into his nail and nail bed. After the first round you go back through to massage again, both to make sure no oily feeling is left behind, and to prolong the rapidly concluding process. He could use the attention, anyway.

Finally, you pick up the jar he identified as a new addition: a canister of a hand repair cream labeled for “Healing of dry or cracked skin.”

“Never seen that one before,” he says, reading the label, “What d’ya need this for? Your hands are never dry! I think they’ve been soft every time I’ve held 'em since the day I met ya,” he smiles at you, and you bashfully brush off the compliment. 

“I don’t need it. I use the other one,” you say with finality, opening the jar and pulling the first of his hands into yours. You don’t grab a large dollop of the stuff. You don’t want him to feel a disconcerting weight, grease, or stickiness from this unfamiliar formula, so you get a little and begin. You add a bit more each time you reach a new spot on his knuckles, palms, wrists. 

You take your time, gently massaging into those roughened, tender hands far more than a simple healing salve. He understands why you have the jar now, looking at you knowingly, and you smile back. No words need be exchanged.

Once you’ve finished the last finger and the last stroke on his hands, you squeeze the one in your own, then pat it gently with your other, “There. Gotta feel better now, yeah?”

Joel stares at you like he just watched you reach up and place the moon in the sky, if for no reason other than to light his path. 

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Thank you sweetheart,” he says, squeezing your hand back and smiling reverently at you. You blush beneath his gaze and look away, unsure what to do with the admiration rolling off of him in waves. You lean back against the couch, file in hand as you start going at your own nails. 

“Good. Don’t let 'em go that long again, either. Where they start hurtin’ ya? Maybe we oughta make this a weekly thing. Manicure night? Been needing someone to do my right hand,” you grin, wiggling the corresponding fingers at him. He smiles back at you, then reaches over and pulls you toward his side, back to your original position laying against him, head resting once again on his shoulder.

“Sounds like a plan,” he says fondly into your hair, planting a kiss to your head in the process. You get comfortable once more, foregoing any plans to do your own nails tonight. You both know those “manicure nights” will be for him — and you’ve got Sarah to do your right hand already, when you do hers.

You grab the same free hand once again and admire your work, then lace your fingers between his own, and rest your twined hands on his leg. You’re satisfied knowing the hand behind you on the couch is comfortable now, healing from the week’s toils and melting into the comforting haze of the early autumn evening.

[katz-chow]

hii! If ur requests are open can i ask for konig x reader where the reader only enters military to run away from their horrible life. And konig is like a father figure or something

a/n: what a fun twist from my deadbeatdad!konig fic. anyway... more angst, 100% self projected

you started off purely as a security guard under konig’s chain of command. after a series of you fending off your post to no end, making it hard for people to even go near your jurisdiction, you ranked up. and up again. year after year you continued to make rank and year after year konig gave you a side glance whenever the two of you saw each other.

you didn’t think much of it until you had to directly work under him. he had put you in charge of a mission, a guard’s mission. under your command, it was so successful that he had to reward you somehow, without the need to actually talk to you that is.

you found a letter in your gear locker one day, an envelope signed with your name on it. your brows furrowed, no one sent you letters these days. you opened it and out came a gift card and a note “excellent work. -colonel ‘konig’”

some gasped and teased you, knowing not many people can get even a second glance by the man. your heart swells up and a sense of pride spawns in you.

from then on, you try to get closer to him, asking him simple questions that you always knew the answer for. staying by his side. requesting if he could help you with a certain skill.

you started to look at him for any signs of approval, you started coming into his office and dropping off paperwork way before the deadline and he gives you a thumbs up. you bring him a snack whenever you noticed he’s not there at chow.

but you don’t know how he feels about you, but it must be tolerant right? he’s willingly guiding you and helping you out…right? so why do you feel so anxious as you walk to his office after he requested to see you?

your chest tightens a lump in your throat forms as you knock on the door to his office. he opens the door and stands to the side to let you in. you stand in front of his desk as he sits across from you.

“why must you always see me for meaningless things?” he starts off with, but wasting any time. his hood is on and you stand still, not wanting to give him any further reasons to hate you.

“i don’t understand, sir.” your breath voles out trembling and uncertain, as if your lungs were scared to breathe as to not piss him off.

“i don’t have time to watch your training personally. bother someone else. you are not the only one i have to watch over. i’m not your parent,” he says simply as he looks back down at his paperwork, one of his hand shooing you off.

you scramble as your chest tightens, tears threatening to spill. you close the door to his office and hurriedly make way to your barracks, wiping your tears away angrily.

fathers are the worst, found or by blood.

master list | letter box | main directory

stop by the letter box...

[xoxoamyas]

`` I love you ,,

rating : fluff/comfort, pet names used on reader [ darling, love, and doll ]

wilbur x gn!reader [ use of you/yours, no use of y/n ]

☆ . you've been overworking yourself, and wilbur has taken notice. he finally gets you to take that well-deserved and needed break. <3

note : i'm in a tiny bit of a writers block, so i decided to give something out of my depths a try [ i'm more experienced in angst ]. anyhow, i hope you enjoy it! any pointers at all are also appreciated, i love to hear them :]

masterlist [ ☆ ]

⋆˙⟡

“Hello, darling.” You're greeted by that soft, mushy tone Wilbur uses whenever he's in a mood. His arms loosely wrapped around your shoulders from behind as you sat on a computer chair, having been working away at editing something for your own projects.

“You haven't left the office in some time.” Wilbur rested his chin along the top of your head, successful in getting you to finally relax back into the seat and effectively a fair amount back into him.

“Hardly call this an office.” You give a light huff, not needing to glance around the room to mentally know how barren it still was. You hadn't had time between keeping up with your own projects and paid-for products for others to decorate the barren room. At most, it had a beanbag in one of the corners and a singular photo of you and Wilbur from one of your dates. One photo, and you had so many ready to be printed. You just needed the time to actually do it.

“I know, love.” He's trying to be understanding, giving a soft sound between a hum and general acknowledgement.

The moment sits for a good moment, and it just feels nice. It makes your mind go blank, not worrying over whatever deadlines were approaching, almost completely forgetting about what projects could and couldn't wait.

Wilbur quietly says your name, drawing your attention and thoughts completely to him. A nice, fairly relaxing feeling washing over you. Realizing just how heavily stressing you had yourself for the past few days. He's quick to grasp your dominant hand into his when you go to reach for the mouse to your computer again.

“Take a break, please. A real break, love.” You can hear the concern lightly lacing into his tone. Wilbur moves a bit, instead to slightly kneel beside you, your hand still held in his yet in an easy grasp that you can pull away from. You wouldn't have pulled away no matter what.

“I just need to save the progress,” you try to explain, ignoring the wave of nervousness that hits. The realization you were about to put your much necessary work down to take a break. Something you convinced yourself you didn't need no matter how much you truly did.

You can practically feel Wilbur's eyes flicker over you, likely seeing through whatever calmness you were visibly projecting. He removes his hand from yours, replacing the touch by letting his hand cup around your shoulder. On his way to standing completely, he presses a kiss to your temple. Seeing the application close a moment later, showing the homescreen of a picture you took and held sentimental value to.

You take his hand in yours again when he offers it, standing and instantly moving in. Wrapping your arms around his torso, and yeah, you've missed this. Wilbur's arms move in an automatic manner, efficiently pulling you closer to him as you press your face into his shirt. Just breathing him in for a few seconds, basking in the warmth he had all the same.

It stays like that, the two of you in a much needed embrace that had you both melting against one another.

“Bed?” Wilbur is the first to break the peaceful silence. It's definitely a welcome break of the quiet. Realizing just how much you've missed hearing his voice, feeling the way his chest moved as he breathed, listening to the way his heart beat when you pressed your ear against his chest..

When you finally nod at his question, having gotten carried away with that last point, he surprises you by suddenly wrapping his hands along the back of your thighs. Taking that as your signal and slightly jumping up for him so he can pick you up easier. Legs slightly curled along the sides of his waist, your arms moving to wrap around his neck. He uses both of his hands to support your bottom, making sure you were both good before he made his way out of the office.

You just mostly rest your cheek on top of his shoulder, feeling almost like you could fall asleep. Though, from past experience, you knew your legs would hate you if you did that.

Wilbur has to remove one of his hands a couple of times for doors, but you're mostly supported the entire time. He taps the bedroom door shut with his foot before moving towards the bed. Pressing one knee into it before letting you go through your theatrics and dramatics. He chuckles fondly as you groan when your back hits the comfortable mattress. Proceeding to give a sound of complaint as you stretch your limbs out over and off the side of the bed. You think bones that weren't supposed to pop popped, but that would be an issue for future you.

“What are you doing?” You queried with pure curiosity, watching as Wilbur moved himself off of the bed. Continuing to lay there, content in taking up the entire space as if you were a cat.

“Can't exactly sleep in jeans, darling.” There's a hint of amusement as Wilbur speaks. Laughing the slightest bit when you give a soft and long “ooohh” in return. “Work on getting comfortable, doll.” He partially motions towards the sheets you were laying on top of.

Any other day, you'd make some witty comeback, maybe a suggestive comment on him changing in front of you. You just don't have the energy for it at the moment, though. Mentally committing the moment to memory so you can be a little extra next time to make up for lack-thereof this time.

By the time Wilbur's finally in some comfortable pyjama pants, which were Grinch themed, you were under the covers and practically almost lights out just laying there. You feel him crawl into the bed, giving a content hum and moving on your side to face him, instantly hinting at not wanting to spoon.

“Hi darling.” Wilbur had a small yet sweet smile on his face, pulling you close by wrapping his arms around your waist. Both of you let your legs intertwine and tangle together as much as possible. You wrap your arms around his torso once more, happy to be holding him as he holds you.

“Hi sweetheart.” You hum right back, watching as he can't hold back the smile tugging into a borderline grin. Always one to be happy over the reciprocation of pet names. You loved watching him get all happy and giggly over it.

“Okay, okay. Try and get some sleep, love.” Wilbur moves, pressing a kiss to your nose. Having fully expected a more proper kiss, you pout at him, promptly making kissy lips at him. It just gets him to let out a light yet amused laugh, finally moving and pressing a soft, loving, and fulfilling kiss to your lips.

When he pulls away, you tuck your head right under his chin. Relaxing and enjoying the warmth that was provided inside and out.

“Hey, Wil?” You make sure your voice is a soft whisper.

“Yeah?” Wilbur moved one of his hands to trace light patterns along your back using his fingers, the action soothing.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[httpdwaekki]

bad day | s.c.

summary: you messed up at work, leading to an anxiety filled, draining day but luckily your beautiful boy is there to make it all better.

wc: 1.7k

warnings: not proofread, lots too many of pet names, nudity (nothing sexual), mentions of anxiety and dissociation, pure fluff. lmk if i missed any.

a/n: v self indulgent because i fucked up at work a few days ago and have been anxious and need some good ole binnie fluff in my life. i haven't written in a while so feedback is always appreciated. love u, drink ur water, take ur medicine and remember ur loved <3

*lowercase intended*

my library

(pictures not mine! credits to owner)

to say you were having a bad day would be an understatement. you were tired, you were grumpy, and didn’t feel good. but it all came crumbling down the moment you realized you had missed an important deadline for work. you misread the date for an important project, which meant you had to send in it yesterday and not today.

you were defeated. you wanted to go home and curl up into a soft blanket and shut the world out. but unfortunately you had to finish out an anxiety riddled work day, waiting for your boss to come in and berate you. luckily that never came but it didn’t stop the side comments from your coworkers, about how much of a headache you’ve caused. you finished your work day but the anxiety never left.

you’ve never driven home faster, just wanting to shower and cuddle with your boyfriend and forget about your day. as you opened the door to your apartment, you kicked off your shoes, threw down your work bag and leaned against the door, letting out a sigh of relief.

“jagiya?” you had to keep your tears at bay, just hearing his voice after the day you’d had, made you crumble. you make your way to the living room where you find your boyfriend in sweats and a t-shirt, hair in its natural, slightly disheveled state and glasses, slightly slipping off his nose. 

you couldn’t stop the pout from forming before dropping yourself next to him, shoving your upper body into him. “yah! jagi, what’s wrong?” he asks, confused by your sudden move and mood. you just shake your head, burying yourself further into him. he understands immediately, wrapping his arms around you, kissing your head.

“okay, jagi, okay, it’s okay.” he whispered, rubbing soothing circles on your back. you two sit like this for a while, him whispering sweet nothings, pressing kisses anywhere he could reach. once he felt you relax a bit,  he pressed a long kiss to your hair before pulling back a bit. “bunny?” he moves his hand to the nape of your neck. “can you look at me for a second please?”

you sniffle before wiping your eyes, moving so you were sitting in front of him on his lap, legs resting on either side of him. his hands drop to your waist, rubbing soothing circles on your hips with his thumbs. you start playing with the hem of his shirt, just collecting your thoughts.

“what’s going on, hm?” he taps your chin lightly, “ what’s got my jagi so upset?” you sigh, finally glancing up to meet his eyes. “i just had a really bad day.” you mumbled, fiddling with the hem of his shirt once more. “oh, bunny.” he coos, placing his hand on your cheek, wiping a stray tear because gently caressing the soft skin.

“do you wanna talk about it?” he asked softly. you shook your head, “i just want cuddles and maybe a nap.” he nodded, “okay sweet girl. come on then.” he slowly scoots to the edge, “ wrap your legs around me, sweet girl.” he whispered, tapping your thighs. you wrapped your legs around his torso, before wrapping your arms around his neck, shoving your face in his neck.

“good job baby, you ready?” he asks, placing his hands under your thighs. you nod against him, tighten your limbs wrapped around him. he effortlessly stands up, adjusting slightly before making way to your shared bedroom.

once in the room, he gently lays you on the bed. “i’m gonna get you something comfy to wear, okay baby?” you nod, reluctantly letting go of him. you grab a blanket, hugging it, waiting for his return.

minutes pass, you feel yourself dissociate before your beautiful boy appears in front of you with shorts and your (his) favorite hoodie. he places the articles on the bed before sitting in front of you, placing a gentle hand on your cheek. snapping you back to reality, looking at him, a small smile forming on his face. “hi my baby.” he whispers, thumb gently caressing your cheek. your eyes soften looking back at him, “hi.” you mumbled back.

“i’m gonna help you get changed, okay?” you nodded, gently grabbing the hand on your cheek, kissing the palm, a token of your gratitude. he smiles, rubbing your cheek, kissing your forehead, standing up.

“i’m gonna take off your shirt. okay?” you nod, putting your hands up. he grabs the hem of your shirt, bringing it up and over your head. “do you want me to take your bra off too, baby?” you nod, reaching behind to undo the clasp. he grabs the straps, pulling it from your body, giving each shoulder a peck.

“my beautiful girl.” he mumbled, kissing your cheek before grabbing the hoodie, slipping it over your head, letting you slip your arms through the sleeves. “do you want shorts or no?” he asked holding them for you to see. you pondered for a second before shaking your head no. he nodded, putting the shorts back on the bed, before lightly tapping your thigh, “stand up for me bunny.” you stand up, pulling the sleeves over your hands.

changbin makes quick work of unbuttoning and unzipping your itchy jeans, leaning down to pull them down gently. you place your sleeve covered hands on his shoulders to stable yourself as you step out of the uncomfortable material. he lays the jeans to the side for him to deal with later.

he places a soft kiss on each thigh on his way back up. he reaches behind you, moving the soft blankets, to give you space to slip under them. “come on, jagiya.” he says softly, watching you make home under the covers. he pulls the covers up to your chin, tucking you in before placing a callused hand on your cheek, stroking it a few times before placing a loving kiss on your forehead.

you let out a sigh of relief, feeling the anxiety leaving your body little by little. he pulls away, grabbing the shorts and your work clothes from the day, making his way to your closet, throwing the clothes in the laundry baskets and placing the shorts back in their place.

he walks back over to his side of the bed, repeating the same process with the blankets before pulling you into his chest. you relax into his chest as he wraps his arms around you, placing a kiss on the top of your head. you place a soft kiss over his heart, as a silent thank you for taking care of you.

“i don’t know what happened,” he starts softly, rubbing soothing circles on your back. “but whatever it was, i hope you know how proud i am of you and love you no matter what. you put your all into what you do and i know you and i know you’re beating yourself about it but please don’t” he pauses.

“ i know it’s easier said than done but fuck baby, i hate seeing you tear yourself down. you work so hard, and you never give yourself a break and it breaks my heart.” you feel the familiar lump begin to form once more. you shake your head before covering your face with your hands, before shoving it back into his chest.

“i just feel so stupid and defeated.” you cried. you feel him tightened his arms around you, one arm around you back, the other cradling the back of your neck. “baby you’re not stupid, please never say that again.” he places a kiss on your hair. “you’re the smartest, most intelligent person i’ve ever met.”

you shook your head, pulling away slightly, before taking a breath. “what’s going on, what happened today?” he asked softly, wiping your tears. “i fucked up.” you whispered. “i thought i had another day for my project but it was due yesterday.” you explained, playing with strings of your hoodie. “my boss is upset, everyone’s mad at me, they keep making side comments about how i’ve caused a headache and it’s all too much.” you roll onto your back, looking up at the ceiling, trying to stop your tears.

“baby.” you don’t move, scared of what he’s gonna say next. “baby, look at me.” you turn head to face him, tears glistening on your eyelashes. “ you are not stupid. you are human and you made an honest mistake, okay?.” he paused, waiting for you to respond.

you nodded. “and you know what, fuck your coworkers and your boss, they’re all bitch made and complain about the stupidest things anyway.” you giggled, covering your face once more..

“shut up, bin.” you laughed. “no no no, i just got you smiling again, don’t hide from me.” he joked, grabbing your hands, revealing your smiling, tear-stained face. “there she is.” he cooed. you blushed looking up at him, suddenly tugging im down to you. “yah!” he exclaimed, giggling with you.

you hugged him tight, his arms coming to do the same. you shove your face into his neck, staying there for a moment before placing a kiss there. “thank you, bubba,” you murmured into his skin. “i don’t know what i’d do without you.” squeezing him one more time before feeling him pull away.

you let him go, arms resting on his biceps, looking at each other for a moment. he then starting smothering your face in kisses causing you to giggle once more. “binnie! oh my god, please.” you say laughing pushing him back. 

“okay okay, i’m sorry i just wanted to hear you laugh again.’ he conceded.”but seriously, you never have to thank me for that, it’s what i’m here for, okay?” you smiled and nodded. “good, now naptime for my favorite sleepy girl.” he said before giving you a kiss followed by a loud “muah!” laying down, pulling you into him again. 

you settle against his chest once more, feeling lighter and tired. “i love you so much my sweet, smart girl, never forget that.” you blush, kissing his heart once more. “i love you too binnie, more than you know..” a light smile, gracing your face once more as you feel yourself falling into dreamland, in the arms of your favorite boy.

a/n: ngl i got lost in the sauce and it was taking too long to finish this so i kinda rushed the ending but i'll try to revisit it when i proofread it to improve it :)

[justlemmeadoreyou]

Vexed

Summary:(this ask) Hey, I absolutely adore your work. Could you write about like a burned out reader who doesn't feel like doing her work and needs encouragement? Been having a bad few months lately. <3

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: mentions of crying, tooth rotting fluff

masterlist | ask box(requests are open!)

“Fuck!” you wanted to yell that, but ended up saying it with a gritted face. Your co-worker Theo was passing by, and seemed vaguely interested in your misery.

“What’s wrong, Y/N? You look…tired?” he remarked.

“I am tired. So fucking tired” you slumped down in your seat, slowly sliding down more and more into it.

“You could take a break”

“Break? That’s what you’re suggesting? You know how many deadlines and pile-ups we have, right?” you raised your eyebrows, too annoyed at him already.

“I know that Y/n. I’m quite burnt out myself. But if you take a break, things will be a bit better.”

“I don’t have time for a fucking break, Theo” you put your right palm on your head, which was throbbing from stress.

"Look, I get that you're stressed, but you don't have to take it out on me. Maybe if you focused on the work instead of yelling at everyone, you wouldn't be in this mess."

“Oh thank you, Theo! I was so desperately in need of a lecture from you, aren’t I? Just go away!” you yelled again, and he got pissed off, and left.

You couldn’t stand being there anymore. The atmosphere was so frustrating. Everyone clammed up in a small space, running around, doing their work. It shouldn’t be frustrating per-se, but you were. You had been working without rest for the past 40 hours, and there were so many projects and reports lined up, you wanted to scream. And cry too, maybe?

Gathering up your stuff from your table, some files, your laptop and stationary, you decided you would do this at home. After you had had “a break”.

Driving to your house was miserable too, every signal seemed so much longer than it actually was. Every speeding car that made you slam your brakes hard made you want to get out of the car and yell and curse them. It was so vexing.

Pulling up to your house, you parked the car in the garage, and got out. You left your stuff in your car, deciding to take it out later when you actually felt like working.

You lived with your boyfriend, Harry. You had been in a relationship for more than a year, and had just moved in a few months ago.

Everything about him was great. He was so loving, you loved him so much. He took care of you, you cooked and baked together. After a long day of work for the both of you, he would be there for you, holding you and comforting you, telling you that everything will be alright.

You missed him so much. You wished he would come home early.

As soon as you entered, the dark house resembled the state of your mind, all blank and foggy, unclear with no idea where to go. You decided to take a shower and cry.

You walked to your shared  bedroom, stripping off your clothes one by one. As soon as you entered your bathroom, you threw everything away, opened your hair and turned the water on, standing below it.

As the water cascaded down, you couldn't hold back the tears any longer. The day's challenges, the pressure, the relentless tide of responsibilities—it all spilled out in the form of silent sobs. Alone in the shower, you let the water wash away the stress, if only for a moment.

Tears streamed down your face, flowing away with the water into the drain. It all felt so meaningless in the moment. Your job, the never-ending work, the deadlines, the piled up spreadsheets, the tension, the stress. It was eating you alive.

Little did you know, Harry had come back soon too. He parked his range rover, and saw your car too. He became happy that you were home soon, and you would get to spend some more time together.

As soon as he reached the door, he found out that it wasn’t locked. He panicked, thinking that someone must have barged in.

“Y/N?” he screamed at the top of his voice, opening the door and locking it. Inside, all the lights were out, and it got more and more mysterious.

He yelled your name, searching for you in the kitchen, in the living room, in the backyard, everywhere. Finally, he climbed up the stairs and went to your bedroom.

There, he saw some of your clothes lying on the floor, and heard the shower. He quickly jogged, and barged in.

He saw you standing under the shower, cold water pouring down. Your back was turned to him, shoulders quivering with each silent sob.

You had had a bad day.

You turned around to look at him, and just stared at him for a second. You turned back around, trying to stop your crying.

“Lovie, you okay?” he asked in a very soft voice, already inside the shower and closing the door behind him.

You sniffled, trying to compose yourself. "Yeah, just needed a moment. It's been a day."

“Sure, love. Mind if I join?”

You nodded silently. You both knew how much you needed his presence, him, in this moment.

He quietly stripped down behind you, and walked in, closing the shower curtain.

As soon as he was near, you quickly turned around, hugging him. Your sobs and tears flew freely, without a care in the world. Harry held you tightly, rubbing your back, trying to calm you down.

"It's okay, lovie. It's all okay. Shh," he reassured, gently patting your back, allowing you to cry as much as needed. He was present now, and he wouldn't let you go through this alone.

After a few moments, your tears had stopped, and there were only sobs coming out of your mouth. You pulled yourself from his embrace, looking into his bright green eyes with swollen ones.

“I’m sorry, I’m too much sometimes” you tried to pull off of him, wanting to give him space if he wanted.

“No, please don’t say that. You’re never too much.”

“It’s just that-there’s so so much work, Harry. So much workload piled up, and I don’t want to do anything. I just want to burn everything away and sleep. “

“It’s okay. You’ll be okay. Understand? There’s no need to blame yourselves. You’re so good at your job. You’ll figure it out. I know you will.” He kissed your forehead gently, and you sheepishly smiled.

“Thank you, Harry. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, love. Now, how long have you been standing under this ice-cold water?”

“Long enough”

“Alright, let’s get out before we get sick”

He walked across the shower and brought you a warm, fluffy towel, softly wrapping it around you. You were shivering now, and he looked at you with disbelief.

“I’m sorry! I just wanted to cool off.” You pouted cutely, and his frown immediately went away.

“Can’t get angry at my cute bunny, can I?”

You smiled, and you both walked out of the shower. He dried you off outside, picking up fresh pajamas to wear.

“Tell you what. I’ll bake you some cookies. With that new frosting we bought. And some coffee too?”

“No. Hot chocolate”

“Sure, love. You can find a movie for us to watch till I make you food.”

“But I want to be with you” you walked over to him, clinging to his body like a koala bear.

“Okay, love. You can sit on the island and I’ll feed you cookie dough.”

“And chocolates”

“And chocolates.”

“And kisses too?”

“So many kisses for you, my love”

a/n: to the anon who requested this, i hope you liked it. sorry for the daly, and i really hop you're alright, love! you can talk to me whenever you want

lovely divider by @cafekitsune

i hope you like this! please don't hate me

here's my ko-fi if you feel generous

requests and feedback is welcome and much appreciated!!

>>>

general taglist:

@freedomfireflies @gurugirl @thechaoticjoy @styleslover-1994 @gem1712 @ellaorchard @bxbyysstuff @opheliaofficial07 @rafaaoli @tchlamqtsgf @the-mouse27 @indierockgirrl @vrittivsanghavi @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @drewrry @babyiamperfectforyou @me-undiscovered @tbsloneely @whoreonmondays @kathb59 @avalentina @kittenhere @speedywritingharrystylesjudge @mypolicemanharryyy @theendx888

let me know if you want to be added, removed

.

[sadnightforus]

YOU MIGHT BE SLEEPING  (LJY)

biker boyfriend!juyeon x gn!reader

SYNOPSIS: In an attempt to surprise you for the 500 days anniversary, he took you on a ride to his favorite places that are far away from the city, after various complaints from you that you found nothing to do in Seoul. 

WORD COUNT: 3.9K

WARNINGS: none… we reached this point guys (besides the mentioning of Eric being a super rich guy that’s all). too much fluff *insert the crying waterfall emoji because normal emoji does not cut it* 

A/N: don’t know if y’all know this but I was inspired by that one particular fanmade video. the og concept was supposed to have a bad boy vibe but he looks too good in that middle pic so I have to comply with this one instead. so cute, I’m kicking my feet fr. also omg full on fluffy soft fic from me??? I Will Die. 😭😭😭

ALSO THIS IS THE FANMADE VID. 

reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated!

You’re bored of Seoul. 

 Don’t get it wrong, you don’t hate the city at all. But Seoul always has something going on. The streets look amazing during the day and night and there’s modern technology everywhere. Everything seems so fancy and lavish. You’re proud of how far the world has come. 

 Even though it’s incredibly hard to earn a quiet time for yourself since it’s a really busy city and if you want complete silence, you have to block out their own voices. It’s hard to ignore the presence of others when there are loud noises and so many people at once. 

 However, for you, it’s also the city of love.

 You met Juyeon when you both first enrolled into the same college and happened to closely share a semester together due to the duo group work your professor was making you do (and the deadline was well over 2 weeks). Those 2 weeks were blissful, you used to think he was a bit cold and even more so, a bit too full of himself, since he is immediately dubbed as ‘the dancing prince’ and he hangs out with the popular crowd. But your first impressions didn’t matter because he was incredibly nice and polite, and was so helpful when helping you with the project too, be it ideas or just offering to take places in completing the work. And you both ended up getting an A due to the outstanding efforts you put into your work, which you have to thank your amazing partner for. 

 And after the project ended, he still keeps in contact with you, insisting that you’re quite an interesting individual to know and hope to develop a further friendship. A total lie from him because he later admitted that when you both got into a relationship with the saying that by then, he already liked you and he just wanted to see if he has a chance with you. 

 Now back to the present. 

 It’s Saturday and you both are on a semester break. You live with your roommate/coworker and she’s off to work already, leaving you alone in this apartment as it’s your day off today. You were cleaning up your room and wiping off the dust off the furniture when suddenly you received a phone call. You look at your caller ID and you can’t help but smile when you see who it is. 

 So you pick up, pausing your cleaning process so you can talk to him just a little bit. 

“Hi, my pretty baby.” 

 That name never fails to flatter you and make your heart jump out of your chest. 

“Hey there, pretty boy.” 

 You think you do a pretty job concealing your flustered face and tone (rightfully, sue him for reducing you into a mushy lover). Otherwise, you would’ve been so embarrassed if he knew he had done irreversible damage to you. 

“You don’t have any plans for anything today, right?” 

“Why? You wanna take me to one of Eric’s father’s fancy restaurants?” 

“Great idea, actually.” He laughs, humoring you along. It’s no secret that Juyeon loves spoiling you. He had a hard exterior, according to all of your friends and you yourself. But when you guys began dating, they were subjected to the PDA between you two and their opinions on him quickly changed because just who is this guy? And plus, he also likes to take you on a new adventure. 

 Somehow, it makes you feel like a naïve teenage girl who’s dating a bad boy and you always wanted to ask him if he is truly one (even if you know he works part-time as a barista for his parents’ café shop). It’s hard to believe that someone as perfect as him can possibly exist. It’s unbelievable. 

“I was wondering if you’d like to join me for today's exploring.” He shyly explains and you can feel his shy smile tugs through his tone. What have you done in your past life to get a guy like him wrapped around your finger? Whatever you were doing, you’ve done it right. 

“If it’s Seoul, I’ve practically walked through every shady alleyway. It’s no fun.” You whine, your wet cloth cleaning off the dust is long forgotten amidst the phone call between you and your lover. 

“It’s not Seoul. I wanna take you somewhere else.” He keeps it vague and you suspect that he has a surprise for you. 

“Okay, let me clean myself up a bit.” You exclaim, putting down the wet cloth and hanging it up to dry from your bedroom (in your defense, it’s not dirty at all. You have a habit of wiping off your dust often and you definitely don’t have enough time in your hand to clean it right now). 

“Can you pick me up in an hour and a half?” You ask him, strutting around in your room to go to your bathroom to freshen yourself up. 

“You can still show up in sweats and I’d still think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” He says, means every single word of it because he thinks you’re pretty. So goddamn pretty he loses his mind over you and he doesn’t believe that he’s the one who gets to have you all the time. 

“Lee Juyeon, shut up. I think I stink. Do you honestly like it when I’m sweating like a dog?” You make a gagging face while you’re putting on your cleansing foam. 

“The sweats can’t wipe away your beauty.” His reply makes you want to bang your head into the wall so bad. 

 God, he’s such a romantic. 

“I’m showering. You can save that sappiness when you pick me up later.” You furiously blush, trying to get him to end the call so you can get ready to go wherever he leads you to. 

“I’ll see you later then, baby.” 

 And the line is disconnected. 

 You sulk a bit before putting your device back as you snap back to reality. But you’re also beyond excited where he will take you to today. 

 So you divert your attention back onto getting ready and hoping that the new things you’ve been wanting to try out will work. 

“You look absolutely breathtaking.” Is the first thing Juyeon says after he comes to pick you up. 

 You decide to wear a black big cozy jacket, combined with black jeans and white shirt, which goes with his similar casual wear that he chooses. 

 There’s a spark in his eyes as he scams your whole body. A boyish smile yet so much of a shyness ticks behind that expression. He hands you a helmet, to which you still remember that the particular item is a gift from his dad who bought motorcycle tools equipment as a present for his 19th birthday and that includes the helmet you’re holding in your hand. You check to see if it has been unlocked yet. Once you see that it does, you quickly put it on your head, adjusting it properly before locking it and you gently hop onto the vehicle, excited for the ride.

“Are you ready?” He asks, wanting to make sure that you’re seating yourself comfortably before the motorcycle takes off.

“I’m all done.”

 And you hear the engine takes off, as the vehicle takes both of you far away from your place.

 The air feels fresher than usual, the atmosphere and the feelings remind you of the old Hong Kong movies you used to watch with your friends as a teenager. You always dream of doing something wild and adventurous to feel the essence of the ‘neon & loneliness’— something that has been used to precisely describe those types of movies. And now it’s like you’re living your dreams out. 

 If it’s a dream then you don’t want to wake up from it. 

 His soft woody cologne that radiates from his body all makes you feel like everything is in a daze and you’re the main protagonist of those films that you always loved. How did you get so lucky? 

 The motor is being driven further away from the city and you’ve crossed numerous luxurious stores and fancy places as you hold on tight to your lover. You’ve seen different kinds of people today; the sad, the happy, the singles, the couples, the divorced, the kids, teenagers, adults and you think you might’ve driven past celebrities by accident too. 

 Your eyes are trained to watch the road and take your worries off the daily life you’re experiencing today. You think though, instead, it’s making you realize something very precious about life. 

 People can be in a state of anything, regardless of their age. And they’re diverse, they have something to tell. Behind every person, there’s a story that is waiting for a person to uncover those. Uncover the deepest, best and worst parts of themselves. 

 You think you’re lucky that your boyfriend is the most gentle and caring person who always brings out the best part of yourself. Never once had you ever felt as if you were held back or restricted from good opportunities. He always encourages you to chase after your dream, while he steadily works towards his goal. 

 The short breeze through the city now has long escaped. You both are going somewhere unfamiliar, although you’re not sure how exactly familiar he is with where he plans to take you. However, you know better than to doubt him when he is quite literally the very same person with a really great taste in everything.

 Your thoughts do eventually come to a stop as he drives to a gas station and by that time, it’s around 3 and a half in the afternoon. The vehicle’s engine is no longer running after he shuts the power off and you know it’s time you get off the bike.

“I’d like to fill in the tank please.” Is what he says. His honey voice, ever so softly, makes you wonder how people aren’t falling for him already. The staff comes to him immediately and helps fill in the gas as per request. 

“Do you want to buy something?” He turns to ask you. “Or do you need to use the bathroom?”

“Not really.” You respond as you shake your head.

 You both stand while waiting for them to pump the gas and calculate the bill. And when you both are done, he gears up the vehicle to signal that the adventure is nowhere done. You hop on it, excited to see what will be waiting for you.

 You both leave the place, 

 Your boyfriend’s scent soon lures you to sleep, with you being barely able to open your eyes. It hasn’t been that long that you fall asleep together with him, but you both are somehow always away with the college assignments and personal workloads that are being dumped on you. Having him really close for the first time in 3 weeks does nothing but really makes you want to rest up.

 And you think to yourself, hmm, screw that. He’ll wake me up when we arrive at the place.

 Then you lay your head and close eyes as you feel yourself drifting further away to the dreamland that has been long awaited for you.

 You woke up once you felt like you were being carried.

 You didn’t register it until you felt the abnormality of the said body pillow that you’ve been resting on start moving up and going even gradually higher. It’s only then that you open your eyes, consciousness not fully hitting you yet as your exhaustion keeps luring you to the dreamland. However, since you don’t have such a habit of sleeping when you are being moved around, you try your very best to open your eyes and pray that the sunlight will hit your eyes, although it’s unlikely as the sky beams with the color of soft orange and yellow, like a beautiful fire in flames.

“Ju-”

“Shh, baby. Just sleep.” He shushes you, continuing to give you a piggyback ride. You immediately protest and almost go feral and also, almost cause a disturbance to him too.

“I’m wide awake, you can put me down and I can walk.” 

“Nice try, but no.” He chuckles and you can already imagine the most annoying yet such a beautifully crafted boyish grin plastered all over his face. He’s lovely– that’s just who he is.

“But where are you taking me?” You ask, eyes now can’t close on their own as your sleepiness already wears off from talking earlier.

“You’ll see.”

 And several minutes later, you both reach a part of a town that you’re sure has never been here before. He seems to be lost, with the way he hesitates to take a step further as he walks. 

“But Ju…” You whine. “Can’t you tell where you’re going?” You plead for him to give an answer, you so badly wanted to know what place he will show you this time. 

“Nuh uh.” He shakes his head a bit, still insisting on being mysterious and vague with the direction you’re heading. 

“But will you put me down? It’s uncomfortable being carried when I’m like, awake.” You complain and he finally gives in, sighing as he puts you down and you almost stumble forward and fall as the gravity feels new to you and if your boyfriend wasn’t there to catch you at all, you’d certainly slip by now. 

“Thank you.” You mumble out. 

“You good to go?” He asks, offering you his hand to hold as you busk in a new, unfamiliar place together. His eyes sparkle up, light of hope and love, so much adoration stores up in a gaze of his that belongs to a person that you’re proud to call him yours. 

 You’re losing track of yourself with the way you keep looking at him without a word, like a dumbfounded teenager that has no idea what they should do when they harbor romantic feelings towards their crush. But he lets you, until you gulp down to wet your throat and proceed with the next thing you’re going to say. 

“Yes.” You have a dopey smile on your face. “I can’t wait.”

 And you both take one step, two steps and more steps forward. Until you get inside the mysterious building. 

 Your boyfriend is not a man of many words, but his actions are always sincere. When he speaks, he always expresses his love for you. 

 You can even say that in almost two years of your relationship, you never have to doubt his feelings for you. That’s just how transparent he is. You don’t think you can find a greater love than him.

 With more steps further, you make it past the door and you see many abstract arts and paintings being hung, scattered all across the wall. Each frame and piece, colorfully coming together to make a piece of stories that is waiting to be told. The lines that piece it together, asymmetrically perfect in a way that it never seems to be out of place, although if you separate it, it wouldn’t make much sense to the naked eyes that only saw the remaining pieces and never get the chance to witness the beauty of the completion and harmony that lies in the form of crafts that you see with your own eyes. 

 Similarly, that’s how you feel about your boyfriend. 

 Not many people know him and you always had the impression that he was rather cold and closed off. That’s how he appears to the outsiders. The description of him from fellow classmates and his friends are drastically different because they never get to fully see what he is like as a person. 

 A person who is full of love to give to others, the one who dotes on others and is full of adventures. 

 Life with him is never boring, he brings a new kind of joy in your life. The kind of excitement that is dangerous, but you’ll let him lead you to go anywhere, even if it’s a thousand miles away. You trust him to keep you safe because never once had you been harmed or run into dangers.

 He instructs you to stand in front of him, you do so without a question. He pulls out a silky fabric and you already know what he wants to do– blindfolds you for the surprise. You let him as he carefully wraps the material around your eyes in a gentle manner to ensure that it doesn’t hurt you.

“Hold my hand and follow me.” He speaks to you softly and you nod your head. “I want to show you something.”

In a sight of darkness that is hard to break from, you let him guide you. He’s your light amongst all of this and you know he’ll never let you slip or stray away. With careful steps forwarding on the stairs and going up, further and further and then the floor feels smoother without the anxiety of reckoning,  it only takes a bit to finally realize you’re past the staircase.

 You feel like time freezes and you’re not sure how much time has passed by, although you think it’s not that much. It’s by far, the most anticipated thing for you. 

 Then you hold his hand tighter as he takes you in this unfamiliar place.

 You’re not the only one with so much adoration for your significant other. Your boyfriend is no different from you. 

 For Juyeon, being with you makes him feel like he’s in heaven. There’s no greater feeling than your presence around. 

 You heal a broken part of him that he didn’t know existed until you become the most cherished and frequent presence in his life, which is no doubt, loneliness.

 You’re calming, intelligent and intriguing. You’re an open book, but also, a mystery that he wants to keep uncover. He can lose himself in just studying about you and he wouldn’t care. You’re that someone to him who he trusts, with all of his life.

 When he inherited a motorcycle as a present from his parents in 11th grade, he usually rode it everywhere alone, even when he had friends. He discovered many fascinating locations, hearing every kind of life story from strangers whom he met on the road when he did his little exploring and witnessed people going through many stages of life. He used to watch people flirting and he wished that he had someone else to share his perspective and sightseeing with.

 You came along unexpectedly and stole his heart away. He can barely imagine a life without you now. The things you do to his heart is unhealthy. You’re the sole reason that his burning passion for life doesn’t become something he deeply despises. 

 The once cold seat of the motorcycle is now replaced by the warmth of you. And he wouldn’t want to have it in any other way. 

 He has seen many beautiful things that calm and heal his soul, but none of it were you.

 He thought beauty lies in the empty roads of complete darkness, or constellations and stars in the sky. But it’s clearly you, who is a Venus personified. 

 He’s in love and he’s not hiding it. 

 Which is why he wants to show you this view.

 By stopping in his track as he has reach the final destination, he reaches to slowly the blindfold off your eyes, all while tells you to still your eyes closed and only open under his command. 

 Both of you walk further and further away, with the help of Juyeon who guides you in the desired direction. Cold breeze hits you and you realize now that you’re most likely on the balcony and not in the secured walls of this building. 

“Open your eyes, baby.” 

 You let the light penetrate your vision as the skin that covers your seeing splits apart. 

 The view is breathtaking. 

 The sky turns into a light beat of deep orange, pale blue, deep pink and purple. You see the simplicity, the complexity and something so lively. 

 You see how the sky slowly turns itself into a pitch black, as the colors start to beautifully blend themselves, creating an unforgettable view that spreads through all across the universe from your own eyes. The wind blows slowly, as if to celebrate the magic of your shared happiness with him, which makes the moment even more unreal. 

 The lights that hang from there only intensifies its beauty. 

 You see polaroids of you both together being decorated, some you weren’t aware that the pictures were being taken. There are books and a table for dining that are put together like high end restaurants and you have no doubt that it wasn’t just a one day of work at all. 

“Happy 500 days anniversary.” He tells you, hand gently caressing you. “This house originally belonged to my grandpa. He has since passed it down to me.” He states so ever so softly and you’re shell shocked. 

“He told me that if I find someone special, I should bring them here. Because this house witnesses how my grandma and grandpa love each other and everyday is always special to them. For a long time, I didn’t understand what he meant because the idea of a lover that exists in a lonely person’s story doesn’t make sense. But I met you, my special person. I want this house to witness our love, too.” 

 You have tears brimming in your eyes as you listen to him speak further, all while his gaze lovingly settles on you and his thumbs wipe your tears. 

“I didn’t know what love was until I met you. When you’re away, I miss you. When you’re sleeping, I wish you’re awake so I can tell you some jokes that make you laugh.” 

“Me too.” You lose yourself into the warm brown eyes of his. “When I think about you, all my sadness disappears. It’s cliché, I know. But.. I think I’m so lucky to have you.” You choke on your own silent sob as he presses light kisses onto your lips.

“I’m so lucky to have you too.” He says truthfully. “I never believe in destiny, but I think we’re destined to love each other.” 

 And under the now moonlight that slowly shines onto you both, he cups your face and kisses you with all his might, as fireworks go off in the sky, as if to be a witness of this beautiful love story. 

 You don’t care for any of that as he whispers ‘I love you’ and you whisper one back too.

COPYRIGHTED BY SADNIGHTFORUS, 2023

[ilyuu-archive]

on the edge.

exams, projects, deadlines - as of late, it’s all that takes your time. stress starts anew; fears find your cracks; a tomorrow dauntingly looms. not if he has anything to say about it. (or he tries to comfort you from your studies.)

ft. albedo, alhaitham & tighnari.

warnings : hurt/comfort, angst, mentions of crying (alhaitham, tighnari), did i mention comfort? lmk if i missed anything!

a/n : eueu some (read: most) of the dialogue here are occ so i do apologize for that,,,

albedo.

“take a rest.”

it’s all he says to you, his voice, methodical, soft, breaking the silence of the night that was slowly, yet surely, starting to get to you. the words in front of you is making no sense whatsoever - no matter how many times you try to take it in, no matter how many times your eyes roam over it again and again, its meaning escapes you.

and it only fuels the fire of stress in you.

you dig your fingers into your hair, biting into your scalp, as you lie your head on the sheets before you. untidy, lost, there’s no saving the lack of composure of it and yourself.

it’s the possibility of you not making the cut, the expectations that those around you and yourself had held that seemed almost too lofty at this moment. maybe at some point, just maybe, but that point is not now. that whatever you could remember is the only saving grace of you passing anything, the capability of talent.

“you have to. i’m well aware that these deadlines are to be met sooner than later, and that it is vital to your performance.” his hand holds yours from behind, and the act lets him lean into you, his chest pressed against your back - the warmth that you didn’t notice was missing came altogether. “but it isn’t worth you losing yourself bit by bit to it.”

“it isn’t. you taught me as much, and i’d like to return the favor if at all possible.” his fingers locks with yours. “as you were with me, i’d like to be there for as long with you; and as you were the one who pulled me once i’ve fallen too far, i’d do the same.”

alhaitham.

a tip of a pencil scratching against paper, rustling, and sighs that held a burden heavier than it should is all there is for a few hours. that’s you. along with the faint sounds of pages turning to the next accompanying it. that’s alhaitham. and every then and so, his eyes strays from the words to you. and every time, you look worse for wear.

he’s aware of the weight that comes along with the intent of perfection, or at the very least, making past by the threshold of passing, around this time. the pressure of strong hopes to not disappoint those around you, let alone yourself, and drag down into a spiral of incompetence.

though, that said, it seems he’s too late to try and prevent that - he sighs and shuts the book to a close. next thing he knows, he’s at your side, head atop of yours. he feels you flinch a bit and it was enough for him to huff.

and he closes his eyes. and he feels you slowly crumble underneath him, bit by bit. your taut nerves dwindle and unravel itself with each soft breath he releases and takes in; he reminds you, once again, of his presence. and you all but indulge yourself in him as a breather, feeling yourself far and farther from the reaches of your mind.

“there’s no need to push yourself,” and his voice carries that affinity he holds for you. it’s almost enough for your tears to threaten to fall. “the moment you start to doubt yourself in these matters is a sign that you need to resign for some time.”

“and,” he places a small peck on your head, “you are no exception.”

tighnari.

a click. the lights flicker on and, lo and behold, you. you wince at the wave of sudden light, and as you find yourself adjusting to it, you hear a sigh not too far off from your side. all you see is him, tighnari, as he leans against a wall - he pinches the bridge of his nose (and its then can you note the telltale signs of concern all over him.)

his eyes takes in the mess of the last few hours and there only lives documents, notes, folders of anything you had that may or may not had helped you a step closer to an acceptable grade. in spite of it, they weigh much more than any paper should, whether as a reminder, or as information that wasn’t known to you in the first place.

and it starts to heave on you and your lifestyle as of late.

when you blink, he’s right beside you, and his hand has already gone to cup your cheek. the pad of his thumb, a bit callous, rough, yet all too familiar, circles aimlessly as he traces the small things about you - a haze of exhaustion in your eyes, bags, and the dried remains of tears. you subtly lean into his touch, eyes closed.

“take a break,” he says, “and that’s not a recommendation.”

“and don’t even tell me you can’t. i’ve heard better excuses than that - no one’s asking you to be pushed to the edge, no one’s asking you to break. but what i am asking you to do is to take a step back before another forward or else there’s no other step to take in the first place.”

and he smiles. a bit exhausted, a bit annoyed with you, eyes slightly furrowed, but a smile nonetheless. “so? or are you more interested in another lecture from me?”

general taglist (open!) : @zuyoo, @starz222, @haliyamori, @taokives, @tartaglia-apologist, @aimynx, @angelkazusstuff, @doumalove, @kpop-and-otome . . .

[ourcraftspace]

Y'all, im so proud of this one. Idc the pics aren't great, the finished item wasn't so perfect either. But I had so much fun making this one. Story of the piece first, then pattern info below

This project has tons of meaning to me n I figured I'd share the story here.

I made this project for a friend who also crafts. We chat regularly about our crafts and she often makes art for me and everyone in my apartment. We have some creative overlap, but not a ton. Historically, I've not been so great at crafting for others and hadn't made anything for her yet.

In any case, we chat with each other about crafts we see that we are excited about or think the other may be excited about. One day when she was over, we were chatting crafts again and she mentioned she was seeing lots of temperature blankets in her feed n wondered if I'd ever thought about making one.

Truth be told, I'd never made one for myself and couldn't see myself wanting to make one. I let her know this as well. Not for any particular reason, just never felt the need to. It was a pretty casual conversation and we moved onto other topics.

Fast forward a bit and we are chatting again and she lets me know her partner had proposed. She said yes and they had set a date for two years in the future for a special date for them.

It clicked maybe a month later that this time frame, their engagement period, would be perfect for a temperature blanket. I had doubts at first if I wanted to make it, but started getting thoughts on how to work it all out. The only thing I had for certain was fall pallet for the colors as it's their favorite season. I talked it over with some other friends who also know her, and after many many many reassurances, I decided to go for it.

Honest, this is the most I'd ever planned for any project. I researched types of temperature blankets, typical temperature ranges for our area, how to divide the time frame and temperature range, I swear, it's a whole spreadsheet with many tabs of research and planning. In the end, I decided on 9 colors with about 7°F increments where each chevron represents the average temperature for one week of their engagement. I also made a knitted scale (not pictured) of the colors in order from coldest to warmest and wrote on the card for the gift how the scale lines up to actual temperatures just so she and her family could look back and get more info from it if they ever wanted.

It was helpful to tell myself during the process that she would never see it coming as I'd previously mentioned I wasn't interested in making one. And if she didn't know I was working on it, I could ditch it at any point if it wasn't turning out.

I managed to keep the whole project a secret as I worked on it. Making sure I got advance warning when she would come over so I could make sure it was hidden away, sometimes even just making decoy projects to keep her off the trail. She would definitely suspect something if I all the sudden stopped talking about crafts. It was honestly incredible as it expanded my ability to work on multiple projects at once, which I was definitely not so comfy with when I first started crafting.

As common for gift projects, there was a clock and oh gosh was it a race! I barely had it blocked before I wanted to give it to her (yeah, I know the deadline was only enforced by me), but I wanted to give it to her as an additional wedding gift. I ended up being able to gift it to her at the rehearsal dinner, so really just in time!

I'm so happy with how it turned out, and had so much fun playing with the process and planning for this project. I definitely learned a lot and would have done a few things different if I could go back, but overall I'm super proud of it 😊

Pattern is Frankie Brown's Ten Stitch Zigzag

[writingsofanomnivore]

Moonlit hearts- Tsukishima Kei x Reader

never thought I'd write for him out of everyone. I like his character but don't see him as someone I'd be with. This piece is based on a poem I've written. I've added it too. I hope it fits him.

Fluff. It has mentions of reader writing? calluses? I've made a suga,bokuto, kuroo trio. they fit well together.

You wonder how you found yourself here, on a balcony with him. Your journal is splayed out, a pencil between your fingers, half-scribbled words before you as you look at the moon.

It's almost like there are two moons in front of you. One is shining in the sky, and the other shines too, right here, eyes concentrated and eyebrows furrowed, deep into a book. You wonder what has him so engrossed. Has he always been like this? So calm and serene? Or did you never notice this side of him?

The white light highlights his face, casting an ethereal glow. His glasses sit atop his nose, and you can see an indent from years of wearing them. The bags under his eyes are visible through the frames, the result of late nights spent on university projects and work deadlines. You almost remember the days—being in the same class through high school, sharing some classes at university too, and then ending up with the same group of friends. The same friends because of whom you’re here. There is distinct chatter coming from the ground—the hyena-like cackle of Kuroo and Bokuto’s laugh, Suga joining in, forming an unexpected chaotic trio.

But right now, everything is a blur. You’re surrounded by a haven. Your figures cast huge shadows on the concrete floor, resembling one of the dinosaurs you saw in one of his many books. A halo surrounds him, and you feel like a peasant graced by his presence.

After considerable staring, you had to get back to your poem. Words spilled from your pencil tip, filling the page, because, today- your muse sat in front of you. You didn't even need to think of words. It felt like you were writing something you always had in you, just not something you had paid attention to.

You were so engrossed in it that you didn’t notice someone looking at you, as if you were the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. His eyes softened, a smile spread on his face without his control. His heart could have leapt out of his rib cage if it were possible. The sounds of his friends are in the background, but he is here with you, in a little corner, doing his thing while you do yours. Everything feels so domestic. He wishes this could last forever. It takes every fiber in his body not to lunge out of the chair and catch you in his arms, or hold your hand while his thumb rubs over every callus, every cut on your fingers. There are times he wants to tell you to stop complaining about the bumps on your fingers from gripping your pen so hard. His fingers itch to hold your hand and maybe get your eyes checked because how do you not find them beautiful? The outcome of your words, your answers, your sleepless nights learning and studying—all which have brought you here. He wonders how long he can hold this secret. How long must he pretend you don’t have his heart captured? How long should he pretend you don’t have him wrapped around your tiny finger? How many sleepless nights, blushes disguised, must he suffer before it bursts open? Right now, all these thoughts race in his head, turning this previously peaceful, serene night into the complete opposite.

As these thoughts plague his mind, he makes a decision to finally say something. Little does he know, the person sitting opposite him is on the same page, if not the same line. Finally, daring to look up, his eyes—surprisingly—meet yours, as if there’s something you want to say. But today, he has his mind set. He will not let this moment go. It’s either now or never.

“Y/N, I wanted to—”

“Tsukishima, I had something to discuss—”

Both sentences are said at the same time. Your cheeks heat up, and you can see a blush cover his face. Right now, you’ve never felt more embarrassed. What could he possibly want to say? You are not ready to discuss the newest book he read, as much as you love to read—not now. No, not after you’ve built up your courage to finally say something about your poor heart.

His mind is just in the same state, if not more frazzled. Do you want to move to where everyone else is sitting? Maybe you’re bored here. Are you missing out on their fun?

Before either of you could begin, a voice calls out, “Tsukki! Y/N! Where are you two cooped up?? We’re cutting the cake—hurry up, come on. Bokuto has waited long enough. Come on.”

Yamaguchi comes into view, bursting this little bubble you created.

At this moment, you’ve never hated cake as much as you do now. Why? Sparing Tsukishima a sad glance, your eyes meet again. You agree while he grumbles something you cannot hear. As you get up, you wonder what he wanted to say. But more than that, you wonder what could have happened if you had told him the truth. Would your little heart still be intact? Or shattered into a million pieces?

The Poem behind this-

Is my handwriting legible? I've been told it's not. Maybe I'll type it later

[daemour]

banner by @nixiecreates

Pairing: Hongjoong x f!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

WC: 1009

Summary: You're oblivious to Hongjoong's advances. So he decides to tell you in the most obvious way he can

This took....way too long to write lol. it was supposed to come out like a week ago but I never finished it. atp tho, i just wanna get a fic out for u guys lol so no beta we die like men

-

Hongjoong doesn’t know exactly when he started falling in love with you. And to be honest, he doesn’t want to pinpoint the moment either. That’s just not his style at all. He’s happy loving you without any of the theatrics. You haven’t caught onto his feelings, and Hongjoong is totally okay with that. He wants to see where this will lead naturally, so he does nothing but flirt…rather badly. And yet, you are still oh-so blind. Some days, he even questions if you do it on purpose.

Okay, maybe it bothers Hongjoong just a little bit. How much more obvious does he have to be? He wrote you a goddamn song!

“Seonghwa, I’m going to go mad,” Hongjoong complains to his best friend. “How is (Y/N) so dense?”

Unbothered, Seonghwa continues rearranging his mug cupboard. “Maybe you should talk to her,” he suggests, but Hongjoong physically cringes at the thought.

“Talk to her?” he repeats and Seonghwa sighs, finally turning around to face Hongjoong with a look of exasperation apparent.

“You said it yourself, Joong. (Y/N)’s totally oblivious to your…honestly quite embarrassingadvances. Either you tell her how you feel, or you don’t and just continue wallowing.”

Hongjoong huffs. “Stop being logical,” he grumbles but Seonghwa just smiles and returns to his task.

To be honest, Hongjoong might just follow Seonghwa’s advice. He’s a patient man…but not that patient. He values your friendship but knows that if he leaves it be he’s going to grow to resent himself and even you.

“Seonghwa.”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish!” Hongjoong whines. “I just need your help with one thing!”

One of his mugs slams down on the counter. “Why am I friends with you? Fine, what do you want from me?”

Hongjoong beams. “I owe you! Okay, so I need you to help me convince this old lady to let me on her roof.”

Seonghwa is unimpressed. “Can I go back on my word?”

-

When Hongjoong called you to meet him on your apartment rooftop, you had many questions. One of them was how he even got access to the roof, but that was not too much of a worry. He always knew how to charm people and your landlady was no exception.

“Joong, you better have a good explanation,” you start to playfully scold him but stop dead in your tracks at the sight before you. Flowers, far too many of them decorated…everything. It looked like a flower shop and you were stunned at the sight of it. In the centre of it all stood your very best friend.

“Surprise?” His words come out carefully and you can’t help but smile at his obvious nervousness.

“What is all this?” You can’t keep the wonder out of your voice.

Hongjoong smiles gently. “So…you’re kind of an idiot,” he proclaims, the (not so) baseless accusation making your mouth drop open.

“What?” you question, voice hardening.

Hongjoong backtracks, as he should. “Wait– that didn’t come out properly. I mean…you’re kinda blind?”

You stare at him. “For someone supposedly really good with words, you’re sure doing a shit job, Kim Hongjoong.” The corners of his lips pull down into a slight pout and you can’t hide your smile anymore. As much fun as it is to tease him, you know he didn’t mean it in that way. “What really is it, Joongie?”

Hongjoong is nervous, uncharacteristically so. You’ve seen him like this before, when he was best man at Wooyoung’s wedding and when he was working on important projects with a looming deadline, but never to this extent. “(Y/N), I have an important question.”

You frown, taking a few steps closer. “What is it?”

He takes a deep breath before looking at you with such softness in his eyes. “I’m in love with you.”

His words hit you like a truck. “You’re in love with me?” you can’t help but repeat his words although he doesn’t mind.

“Yes.” Hongjoong smiles crookedly, his eyes focused on you. “It was a slow process, I will admit. It took me a long time to untangle whether I was just…extra fond of you or if I was in love. In the end, are those two that different?”

You can’t help the smile making its way onto your face. “I suppose not.”

“And when I finally figured it out, I tried to tell you. Honestly, half the stuff I did was so damn embarrassing. But you just never noticed.”

You blink. “That was you trying to flirt?”

Hongjoong blinks, once, twice. “What?”

“What?” You stare back.

“You didn’t know I was flirting?” Hongjoong’s voice rises in pitch. “It was so obvious! I wrote you a song!”

He’s panicking and now so are you. “Which song? Every time you showed me a song all you did was ask my opinion! How was I supposed to know they were for me?”

“It was labelled your name, (Y/N)!” Hongjoong takes another deep breath as he sees that the conversation is not going the way he wanted it to. “Look, despite all that, I just figured you should know.”

You smile gently, and Hongjoong braces himself for the worst. “Well, thank you for letting me know that you’re falling for me too.”

Hongjoong’s brows scrunch at how you phrased that sentence…and then his mouth drops. “Too?” His voice cracks and you giggle, taking a step towards him.

“You heard me right, Joongie. You’re not the only one in love with their friend.”

Hongjoong can’t help his eyes tearing up, he really can’t. He wouldn’t say he’s an emotional guy per se but in this moment it seems all right to let it all out. “I’m glad,” he manages to choke out as he smiles back. “Can I kiss you?”

The question is sudden, but welcome judging from the shine in your eyes. “Please do,” you whisper, and Hongjoong moves to close the gap between you two. As his eyes close, he can’t help but think to himself that this is the life he wants to have forever.

[lixzey]

Our Own Place

A week had passed, and  Timmy and I spent that week getting to know each other. I quickly realized that Timmy was different from the other boys.

He was very charming, a little bit shy, smart and creative. I liked being around him, he made me laugh, always making sure I was happy. Plus, he was always willing to help me in math, he was a pro at math.

I always find myself staring at him in class, trying to hide a blush when he looked my way. 

As the days passed Timothée and I grew inseperable, always sitting next to each other in all of our classes and hanging out every free time. 

This week, I was partnered with Timothée for a project in Science. Mr. Singh literally partnered me with my best friend, well maybe it's too 'early' to call him my best friend but who cares, right? 

“Do you wanna take a break, Y/n?” He asked, closing the book in his hands. Me and Timmy are in he library, studying our asses off for the presentation project Mr. Singh assigned. 

“No, I'm alright. We need to finish this, we can't miss the deadline or we'll lose points in this project.” I sighed, putting the book down in my lap. 

“Come on, Y/n/n, your eyes are going to fall out if you don't take a break.” Timothée insisted, taking the book from my lap. “Come on, let's go somewhere. Pauline said the rooftop garden is beautiful, wanna check it out?” He asked as he tugged on my arm. Pauline is Timothée's older sister, who is three years older than me and Timmy, and is absolutely amazing. 

I raised my eyebrows at him, “Rooftop? Ugh, we'd have to climb up too many stairs.” I rolled my eyes at him, “The escalators are broken, you know.”

“Come on, Y/n, don't be a party pooper, let's go!” He chuckled as he tidied up the table. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the library. Timothée led me up the stairs, I hadn't explored the school that much so I didn't know this area. Pauline is a senior, so I guess she told Timmy?  

“How many damn floors does this school have?!” I complained as I trugded up the stairs. 

“Just one more, Y/n.“ Timothée chuckled, “Just a few more steps, Y/n.“ He assured with a gentle smile then offered his hand, “Okay.” I huffed and held his hand. After what felt like twenty minutes-which was only a few seconds, we reached the top. 

“It's beautiful.” I said in awe, admiring the view.

“I know. You glad I brought you up here?” He smirked. 

“It's breathtaking. Why didn't you drag me up here earlier?”

“Pauline just told me three days ago, and well, I thought you wouldn't like it.” He shrugged, “No one really comes up here. I mean I can understand them, it's quite the climb.” He chuckled.

“Oh, so it's kinda like our own private place.” I chuckled. 

“Something like that. Our own escape from the busy crowd.” He smiled. 

We sat down on a bench, around it was a small garden with flowers and potted plants. “Our own place.” I sighed happily as I sat down with Timmy. 

“Do you have a marker, Y/n?” He asked. 

I rummaged through my bag for a marker and gave it to him. He bent down and started to write on the bench, “This is officially ours.” 

timmy and y/n

Our nicknames marked on the hard stone bench. A start of something new, a memory I'll keep forever.

[oreharuuu]

To be One (2)

Summary: Continuing to play even after creepy events was worth meeting the boys...right?

Warnings: creepy description

A/N: yooo pt. 2, if y'all want to be in the tag list for this series only leave a comment yeahh

Tag: @atinytinaa @hoeranghae1117

Waking up to the sound of your alarm was not a good thing. Especially to hear on a Saturday. Kicking your covers away, you turned off your phone before flopping back to your bed, sighing happily as you stretched your arms and legs.

It was a sunny day outside, weirdly enough there's not much car honking out the road. Your apartment seemingly in quiet bliss as you decided to have breakfast.

Glancing back at the computer, you didn't have any time to actually open and play the game because of work. Your boss assigned you to a project with potential big clients that could boost the company, sadly enough the team you're working with has only five members including you. So you all had to work your ass off to make deadlines meet.

Thankfully you finished the project yesterday, so the team decided to go out and have some drinks till midnight. You declined wanting to sleep early and stay on your bed since there's no work tomorrow, but of course you had to forgot to turn off your alarm.

Humming as you eat your cereal, you decided to play the game again before doing some chores. You and Yeri texted back and forth about the game, her explaining some of the system while you gave her feedbacks about the game.

"How long has it been?" You hummed as you turned on the computer, swirling around your chair as you stare at the blank wall in your room. "Almost a week, huh? Didn't feel like it honestly," You huffed as you finally clicked on the game, the familiar cutesy theme song starting to play. You hum along with the tune, starting where you left off.

Day two.

It's morning and the game tells you to hurry up to class, making you play little mini games again as you collect more coins and items to boost your relationship. Yeri told you the coins didn't really work as of right now, but the items did! So you debated on who you should try it on.

Seeing the many areas of the school from the little map, you noticed a grey area. When you clicked on it, nothing happened. So you brush it off as an unfinished area of the school.

A cutscene started to play, reading through the bottom text tells you that you're meeting another potential love interest. Two boys appeared, making you hum in appreciation as you look at them. One of the boy has silver hair, being significantly taller than the other one. But the shorter one did have a more powerful aura, making you more interested as to who they are.

"What do we have here? You must be the new student, (name)?"

The shorter one asked, making you smile before you picked a reply.

"Ah, how do I know? I'm Hongjoong, this is Seonghwa. We're both in the student council so it's given we know who the new student is."

You snorted. "Of course you're both in the student council." They're basically the walking stereotypes of the uptight and tough students, with perfect uniforms and the way they're confidently speaking to you. Or well, your character.

"Now, now, Hongjoong. Don't scare the new student away with your words. We should be welcoming towards them."

Seonghwa chided the other boy, making you smile in amusement before replying.

"It's nice to meet you, (name). We hope your stay here so far has been well. We don't want to seem very strict, but please remember to wear your name badge."

You clicked through, reading the text and enjoying how their voice sounds. You didn't skip any dialogue, wanting to hear their voices play through the speaker.

"If you have any problems, please don't hesitate to talk to me or Seonghwa. Or you could find any of our friends here."

A tutorial popped up, showing you where to find the boys if you want to meet them on the small map. Usually these are for increasing your bonds with the boy so you could encounter secret routes and endings.

Hongjoong — Student Council room and garden

Seonghwa — Student Council room and library

Yunho — Art room and garden

Yeosang — Music room and library

San — Gym and dance room

Mingi — Art room and Music room

Wooyoung — Dance room and garden

Jongho — Music room and gym

"Some of them I haven't really met," You mumbled. You're hoping today you could see all of them, so you could devise a plan on who you should increase your relationship with. Almost all of them are short interactions, so you're still holding on to the items in your inventory.

"Please, don't be a stranger. We'll always welcome you with open arms."

You swooned at Seonghwa's words, noticing how soft he looks with his smile as both of the characters said goodbye to you. Before they left, you notice two hearts popped up at the top of their heads.

8%

You tilted your head at the numbers. Surely that must be a glitch, right? You've never met any of them, why did the numbers go so high? Even Yeosang only had 2% when you first met him. Wait, did San even had this thing popping up?

"Must be another glitch, I'll tell Yeri later."

After that, you're just minding your own business, playing mini games and talking with other characters to learn more of the lore and before you knew it another cutscene started to play. You squint your eyes in confusion before it widens as Hwayoung, you're so called enemy appears with her gang. You giggle a little at how cliche Hwayoung is acting as the typical bully, mocking you only from your physical appearance and not actually doing anything.

You clicked through the interaction whilst not focusing, wanting to pass through the interaction as fast as possible. You notice how red Hwayoung face has gone, making you giggle a little. But what she said next made your heart stop for a second as your finger hovered above your mouse.

"I know you're not paying attention to me! And—And I know you've missed classes for the past few days now! You're the new student and you're already setting a bad example for our academy!"

You slowly inched away from your computer. "Wha—what the actual fuck?"

Past few days? Did you not playing the game actually counts as a day in the game? The game literally started where you left off, how did Hwayoung know about you not playing it?

The game glitches out again making you groan in frustration, but you soon turned quiet as suddenly a figure appeared right next to Hwayoung. It's the boy with red hair, you remembered when he appeared with San from the first day. You glanced back at Hwayoung, flinching at how pale she was. Eyes wide as sweat appeared on her forehead. You gasped when you notice how she's staring right at you.

"Hwayoung, that's not very nice is it?"

You brushed your arms as goosebumps started to rise, not liking how...unnerving his tone was.

"Get away from her. Go back to wherever you came from before I—I call the teacher on you."

The red hair boy threatened, but you notice how Hwayoung's character changed from scared to relieved. Soon she's gone in an instant and the boy with red hair take center stage as he smiled at you.

"I'm sorry this is how our first meeting actually goes. I was hoping for a more romantic setting like in the gardens."

His words supposed to make you swoon at how romantic it sounded, but you're only confused as to what he said. First time? You've met him before! He appeared suddenly and went missing in an instant with San. Does that not count as meeting them? Well a glitch appeared and made them disappear so you guess it's not counted in the game.

You slowly relaxed when nothing bad happened, actually enjoying your interaction with the now named boy, called Wooyoung. From his voice and dialogue alone you know he likes to make trouble, but you found yourself endeared by his personality.

"Sorry, I have dance class in a few minutes. Will—Uh, do you want to meet up with me later? Hangout maybe or just walk around?"

You held back a giggle at how shy he suddenly sounds, picking the option to agree with him. His face lights up instantly, promising that you'll both have a good time when you meet up. You notice the heart popping up again and you sighed at the percentage shown.

17%

"How is that even possible? That's more than the ones I've meet!" You groaned but you didn't mind it no more, already making a mental note to tell Yeri about the heart glitch later. It's weird how high the percentage is, you wonder what possible routes or secret endings you'll have when you reach 100%.

Thinking back, you hum as you tried to remember who you've met before. "I haven't met Mingi, Jongho, and...Yunho." Well you kinda did, with the whole eye situation. But you guess it's probably not counted just like your encounter with Wooyoung. You sighed before checking your phone, noticing that a few hours has passed and you haven't taken a shower nor do chores.

You left the game still playing, your screen showing you the empty classroom where Wooyoung has already left. You stretched before making your way out of the room, already making a list on what chores to start first after showering.

Cleaning your fridge, doing the laundry, and doing many more things made you forget about the game in the meantime; too focused on working while you're watching your favorite TV series. Pausing every now and then to watch the TV, you laughed softly at what's happening with the main character.

A small static noise made you pause, glancing back at your room and staying silent to hear what's going on. Soon the static noise turned loud enough to make your ears hurt, wincing in pain as you run back to your room. When you're there, oddly enough the static was gone. You quickly checked your computer to see if anything is wrong but everything's fine. You glanced towards your computer screen and jumped in shock when you saw two boys standing there silently.

You squinted your eyes when you noticed no text appearing on the bottom, letting out a noise of confusion when a deep voice spoke through your speaker.

"Hi! We noticed you staying alone at this classroom. Are you okay? You've been staying here for quite a while."

Your body tensed as the tall boy asked you something so innocent, yet it's making you cower in fear about what he just asked. You waited for an option to show up, but none appeared. You waited for a few seconds before it finally showed up, sighing in relief before picking an option. Well what you assume the safe option.

You didn't want any weird glitches to happen.

"Well, you must be the new student. My name is Mingi, this is Jongho."

Mingi, the taller boy introduced himself and the boy besides him, smiling widely making his eyes disappear. You notice the height difference quickly, but you know the shorter one, Jongho, has more muscles beneath his uniform.

You thought Jongho would speak or introduce himself, but the bottom text only displayed nothing before Mingi talked again.

"Aish, don't be so shy! Don't worry about Jongho here, he's just shy about meeting new people."

You let out a small smile as you noticed Jongho's character blushed a flaming red, before Jongho promptly denied what Mingi said.

"I'm not shy. I was just...you know what? Nevermind. I'm Jongho, it's nice to finally put a face on the girl who's being talked all around school."

You hum, settling down on your chair before playing the game for a few minutes. You've cleaned enough for the past few hours, you'll play just a little bit more. Maybe after you finished day two then you'll eat lunch.

You cooed at how cute Jongho is, Mingi making you giggle at how enthusiastic he is; almost like Wooyoung. You really can't choose only one boy, you liked all of them! And even though you haven't met Yunho properly, you already know he's also going to be your favorite.

"Anyway, have you met everyone? Almost all of my friends already talked about meeting you in person."

"Ah, Mingi, I think Yunho hasn't properly met her."

"Oh yeah! Yunho told us that—"

You frowned when Mingi went silent, noticing the game froze with glitches showing every now and then. The seemingly cheery tune also stopped, making you sit in tense silence as you waited for any of them to talk again.

"—He's been pouty ever since! You should meet him, (name)! Maybe that'll cheer him up."

Seems like his dialogue has been cut. You pursed your lips before picking an option, weirdly enough there's an option appearing on the last second. You looked closely and noticed its different from the other ones, this one with a pink color themed.

"Oh! Is this a special encounter?" You smile before picking the option, noticing how Mingi and Jongho smiled widely.

"Great! Just go to the art room on the third floor, I think he's finishing a project there. Don't say me or Jongho set you up, okay? He'll whine about it to us."

"Before we leave, do you want to have lunch with us tomorrow? We're busy helping San with...a problem around our school."

You quickly agree, wanting to boost your relationship with both of the boys. Once again, two hearts popped up at the top of their heads.

13%

It didn't even faze you about the weird percentage, already thinking it's the weird glitch of the game. Both of the boys said goodbye, making the scene change from the classroom to a door in front of you. Not even a second later, Yunho opened the door, his shocked face making you laugh out loud.

"Huh? Uh—(name)! Hi? Um, what are you doing here?"

You smiled at how flustered Yunho was, looking for an option. But none appeared, only a small blank box. You gasped when you realized you're actually able to type out your response to him.

"Holy shit? This so cool!"

Because of this new system, you've already forgotten about the glitches and weird interactions you had. You didn't even think about how the characters can actually respond to whatever you say, too busy thinking about what reply you should say.

You leaned back to think about what to type to Yunho, remembering what Mingi said earlier.

I have no classes right now, so I wanted to use the art room. You're Yunho, right? |

"Oh! Yeah, I'm Yunho. Sorry, come inside. I'm actually working on a project too."

Soon you're inside the art room, noticing a canvas propped up near the window but you can't really see what he's drawing.

"Sorry, it's a bit messy here. But there's an empty space there if you want. Not a lot of people actually use this room, so it's been my private area for a while."

That's alright! I've been wanting to meet you actually. I noticed we haven't met properly yet |

"There. Not too suspicious, right?" You mumbled.

Yunho's face blushed more, smiling softly before he replied back.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry I've been avoiding you. I've actually wanted to introduce myself to you after Yeosang told me about the new student. But...let's just say I got nervous."

You continued to have a conversation with Yunho, like actually have a conversation because you can actually type out what you wanted to say. It's really fascinating how fast Yunho replied to what you say, because usually even AI would take a few seconds to reply back. Yeri must be a genius in the making for this game.

You didn't even notice how long you've talked to Yunho, only stopping when your stomach grumbled loudly. You pause your typing, debating on how you should stop this interaction.

Sorry, Yunho. But I have something to do. I really had a great time with you, even though we both didn't really get any work done |

Yunho didn't reply to you at first, his face blank of emotions and only his default face shown on the screen. You anxiously bite your lip as a another sound came from your stomach, and as if Yunho heard it; he went back to his usual smile.

"Ah, no worries! I had a great time with you too, so please come whenever you want to this room to work or hangout with me."

Yeah, that would be awesome! Thanks for today, Yunho |

With that, you left the art room with a warm feeling on your chest. You didn't even notice your smiling widely as you're clicking to the dorm icon, humming happily to yourself as the game loads.

Your happiness soon disappeared when you notice a lurking figure in front of you at the dark corridor. "Oh come on! Another scary scene in this place, again?!" You whined as you tried to hide between your hands before clicking away.

You sighed when Hwayoung appeared, but it didn't appease your worry when you notice the look on her face.

She looks fine, nothing weird happened. But her face looks deathly pale, eyes wide with her pupils shrunken as if she's going crazy.

Maybe she is going crazy.

"You—"

"Don't—dangerous—them."

You listened closely to what she's saying, hearing how her words are always cut off at specific times.

"P̶l̶e̵a̶s̸e̴—̵a̵w̵a̸y̵—̶n̸o̶ ̵m̴o̵r̴e̷"

"What the fuck? What the actual fuck!" You hissed when the text are becoming more disoriented. Not only that her voice was becoming more scary, gasping out the words as she sounds breathless.

Almost like she's choking.

"N̶̘̊ő̵̞ẗ̴̮—̶͖̃t̵͌ͅh̸̬̋è̷͉y̷͇̔—̸̘͛ẁ̵͙i̵̮͂l̸̜̎l̷̜͝—̵̠̽g̴̳̿o̶̖̾n̸̯̎e̶͎̚"

"T̶̢̛̼̮̪̙͉̫͚͛͐̏̂̔̋͂̋͝ḩ̸̻͚͇̞͚̜̲̘͈̎̄͐̒̂̈͛͋̃͜͜͝e̵͎͔̮͕̠̯͍̙͖̤͍̎̽̐̌̔̿̐͛̂̕ÿ̵̠́͋͐̓—̴̡̢̱͙̠̗̯̠͕͂͊̽́͗́̉̆͜͜͝͝à̶̢͈̬̺̻̦̜̯̔͆̿̈́̐͝͝l̴̢̝̟̘͔̮̜̦͒̑̊i̶̹̭͇̙̹̠̝͍͈̤̺͈͒͌͂̒͂͌v̶̨̬̙̤͔̤̗̮̹͕̤̅̇ͅé̷̤̮̮̰̰͙̏͌—̸̺̺̦͈͉̙̭̗̮̑̑̓̋̈̏̄̐̂̕c̷̨͚̭̯̥̉ą̸̯̯̝͔̰̖͍̃͛̇̀̄̏u̵̹͗̊͂̎̽̾͋̑g̷̡̨̣̮͖̰͇̠̓̎̚ͅͅḩ̸͍̣̳̮̭̼̯͖̎̉͒͜t̵̯͈́͆̌͊̈́̉̇͝—̵̮͖̍m̸̩̥̻̘̑a̶͈̟̣̽́͌́̂̓̏̿̑n̸̦̤̋̃͘"

"Ỉ̸̧͖̹͇͈͕̥̀̂̈́̾̔̓̋̎͝—̵̛̲̪̲̬̻̃̍͂̑̋̿̄̋̇͛̓̽͂͋̒͐̅͝n̷̡̛̰̯̠͈̦͚̣͋́͂̋͐̄͐̅̈̽̌̊̉͑͆̒͘͝o̶̥͆̑͌̔̑̆̌̇̐̈́͐́̂̅͒͒̈́͝͝͝—̴̛̪͈͎͎̣̳̳̮̺̪̪̰͚̔̑̇̚ͅd̴̡̛̛͚̭̯̺̟͉̥̯͍͍͑͋̋̂͛̈́̆̋̒͋̇̊͌̏̏̚͝͝ͅͅĩ̵̲͓̤̣͊͋̑ȩ̷̧̢̘̰̮̻̻̰̞̪͚͉̦͚̖̳̀̈́͆̏́̿̏͆̓̈́̇̍̀̚̕͜͠͝ͅ!̵̢͇̖̻̖̼̠̘͚̠̬̭̂̓̉̏̽͊͜͠ ̶̦̳̂͗̆̿́"

"H̸̡̧̨̡̧̨͖͉̪͚͓̬̲͙͉̩̟̼͍̩̬̗̤͇̪̘̝̩̠̘͕͙͙͕͎̪̓͌͑̅̔́̄͐̌̿͐̃͌̔̅̎̃̅͊̆͋̋̕̕̚͜͝E̷̢̥͖͖͙̱̹̩̙̲̭̳̟͍̮̞̖̭̮̺̠̪͙̮̮͔̗̹̯̪̯̪̽̀̉̆͊̈́́̒͛̀̄̀̅̈̉̍͒̐͝͝Ļ̴̧̛̮̬̮̲̬͕̗͇͙̰͓̘͍͚̻̹͖̱̯̯́̓̂̅͌͛̇͛̀͑̎͗͑͊͒̀͋̿̌̉̽̾̒͐̽̈́͐̀͒̀͘̕̕̚͝͝͝ͅṔ̸̢̡͓̙͖̼̦̣͚̦̙͔̠͎̳̬͓̤̳̮̱̬̜̤̦̥̫̭̗̜̓́̀͐͜ͅ ̴̛̗̣͌̓̓̎͌͑̒́̑͌͒͘͝M̷̞̗͙̬̎̿͐́́̌̓̈́̄͂̕̕͝��̠̤͖̝̫̩E̸̢̢̜̼̲̞̜̺̞̲̖͓̞̱̥̘͍̝̲͚̱̞͍̣̯̰̗̙̥̅͗̓̀͛͐͊̀̐́̽̋͒̀͊́́͗͊̂̔̋̈́̾͌̀́̾̃̌̇͊̎͘͘͜͠͝ͅͅ!̶̡̨͚̲͕̞̹̘̗͇͔̣̓͋̃̒̇̊͑̐̋̆͋ ̷̖͈̫̞̯̖̱̱̐̒̉͐̊̀͋̋̾̈̈́͂͘͝͠͝"

P̸̡̡͓͎̥͍̝̻͙̙̞̥̤͓̠̗̭͎̺͕͍̗͙̭̗̱̫͔͙̬̤͕̥̜̯̈̒͂̇̃̃̄̃́͐͌̎͂͊̓͊̒́̉́̐̓̈́̑͌̎͑́̚̚͜͝͝L̸̢̧͖̯͉̣͎̗̰̩̙̙̖̯͓̻͈̣̜̞̲̭̻͕̤͙̯̱̩̈́͗̉̀̿̈́̓̇͊͐̓͒͗̅͜͝͝͝ͅė̸̢̨̨̨̛̛͈̥̣̗̼̳̺̝̯̲̼̥̲̮̠̥̥̩̙͇̣͚̮̺̤̝̪̈́̂́̆̎̓̈́̇̀̆̑́̊͛͆̊̈́̈̿͠ͅȀ̵͔͓S̶͈͍̤͊̂́̀̂̂͊̍̈́͋͝͠͠ȩ̷̨̢͕̼̪̺̪̼̪̞̖̦̪̘̣̤̝̭̘͋̎̂̍̈́̔̒̽̈̍͗̂͒̽̽̌͘̕͜!̵̨̬͎̝̪̮̟̬͇̯̇̽̈́̃̚ ̴͔̳͔̜̼̦͙̙̘̰͕̤͔͚̹̩̥͙̲̯͚̺̭͉̭̄̏̃̇͑̉͋̍̉̔̕͜͝

You covered your ears as the yelling grew louder, your ears ringing in pain as you scream when you notice Hwayoung's face contorted into something not human. Her face stretched out, eyes white as blood slowly drips from her mouth. You held back tears as Hwayoung turned into something more demonic, not an ounce of herself left as her pained screams made way through your speaker. The sounds of screaming and the still playing theme music was something out of your worst nightmare at how fucked up it was.

After what it felt like forever, the room turned silent as only your breathing was heard. You opened your eyes, slowly dropping your hands from your ears before glancing up. Hwayoung was still there but she's smiling. Not a threatening smile, a soft one.

"Hey, (name). Sorry to interrupt you this late at night. But I wanted to apologize for my actions, I know—"

"Nope, nope. Fuck you and fuck this game," You hissed as you pressed the shortcut on your keyboard to quickly exit the game, not caring if the game already saved your progress or not. When the game's starting screen appeared, you quickly exited the game and stared at the game icon for a long time, debating on what you should do next.

That's not some fucking glitch, well you thought it wasn't. It's too out of place for it to be programmed into an otome game, the glitches from previous encounters were not as extreme, yet they still unnerved you.

This one....was your last straw.

Grabbing your phone, you quickly texted Yeri to meet up. You didn't try to sound suspicious or letting the tense atmosphere bleed through the text. You hope Yeri would reply soon, glancing bact at your computers with wary eyes before shutting it down.