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streetlight11 · 3 years ago

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Her Promise

Summary: It wasn’t a secret that you have disliked Sangyeon since you were in diapers. He was your mother’s best friend’s son. Though he was born just 27 days after you, it seems like he was a lot older than you in terms of his maturity. You don’t understand why the bad blood between you two. Until one day, you had been arranged for a marriage with him so suddenly.

Theme: arranged marriage au, enemies to lovers

Genre: angst, sad, fluff

Warnings: mentions of leukaemia, death, alcohol, swearing

WC: 10k

Pairing: Lee Sangyeon x Fem!Reader

a/n: Hello! This plot just randomly came to mind. It's kind of sad and a little angsty but you'll get through reading it. I promise! also, the words in italics is a flashback :)

Your family has been a close family friend to the Lee’s family and that was because your mother and Mrs Lee were best friends since high school. Also the reason why you were only 27 days older than Mr and Mrs Lee’s only son. However, not everyone has a happy friendship. In this case, it was you and the said son. His name was Lee Sangyeon and it was pretty obvious that you two could never get along since you were in diapers.

Despite your mothers being best friends and have been for the past 30 years, give or take. It’s no wonder that when they were pregnant with the both of you, they kept fighting with each other over small silly things when they barely got past even the slightest of arguments throughout their friendship.

And yet, it seems like luck was never on your side to begin with because throughout your whole education life up till today, he always ends up in your school or at least the school that you chose specifically hoping to be as far from him as possible.

It always baffles you how he would be the first person you spot amongst the crowd during the first day of school.

Did he do all these on purpose?

Why would he go to this extent just to annoy you if you both hated each other?

Maybe he didn’t in fact do this on purpose, but still, what are the odds that you end up in the same campus amongst the hundreds of schools available? That was a mystery you never plan on solving.

It was a bright Tuesday afternoon, students were scattered all over the large campus of Hangang University. You had just parked your car in a free space, exiting your vehicle before proceeding to lock it and walk towards the Computer Science building. You were halfway through the parking lot when someone suddenly swung an arm over your shoulder.

“Good morning my favourite person in the world!” Lisa giggled to your left as Rosie appeared on your right with her usual beaming smile that could melt hearts with just a glance.

“Hey girls, you’re early” You asked with a soft chuckle knowing Lisa was always late for class.

“Yeah, I wanted to leave my apartment now like I always do but Rosie begged me to drive her today because her baby is in the workshop.” Lisa huffs, only for the blonde girl on your right to defend herself.

“Hey, at least we got here on time. You’re welcome.”

With that, Lisa stuck out her tongue at Rosie, earning a laugh from you. The three of you continued to walk to the CS building, only to find Jennie and Jisoo chatting by the lockers while Jennie scavenged through her locker.

“Ew, is it just me or is the barbeque chicken a little dry today?” Jisoo scowls as she drops the chicken leg back onto her plate.

“No, I agree. It’s foul.” Lisa’s face contorts in disgust before you speak up.

“Do you guys want my salmon instead? I'm kind of full already.” You said, only to find them staring at you in concern. They began asking you if you were feeling okay and if you needed any medication of any sorts. To which you shook your head and just told them you were already full from the breakfast your mother made for you before she left for work with your dad.

Lisa and Jisoo ended up sharing your salmon piece, making you smile. At least your food wouldn’t be wasted, you thought.

A few hours later, your classes for the day were finally over. All you know is that your bed has been waiting for your arrival since the minute you left for school. You left class slightly later, telling the girls you had something to discuss with your lecturer regarding the assignment.

You told them to just head home first and not wait for you.

Almost 20 minutes later, you finally left the lecture room to head towards the parking lot where you had parked your car earlier. Your mind was clouded with the assignment requirements as you scrolled through the soft copy of the assignment through your email, too caught up in your thoughts to notice the group of boys walking down the hall.

That wasn’t until your shoulder roughly collided against someone’s back. It sent your whole body to stumble back from the impact. You were about to apologize when you heard a snicker coming from whoever it was.

So you glanced up and lord behold, it was just the person you were looking for…

Not really.

“Can you pay attention to where you walk? It’s not that hard to use your eyes.” Sangyeon’s voice was monotonous yet a pitch higher than others, just like his ego.

“That’s because you’re in my way, Lee.” You said sarcastically as you walked past him, not forgetting to purposely bump into his arm. He let out a scoff under his breath, fiery glare burning a prominent hole into the back of your head.

God, you can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Him included.

A few days later, it was finally a Friday. You heard words going around campus saying that one of the seniors in the school’s football team was having a frat party at his place tonight. He invited everyone in the football team, and people that he knew. Turns out he also told his teammates to bring whoever they wanted whether he knows them or not.

Lucky for you (or maybe not), Rosie’s boyfriend happens to be one of the football players. If you remember correctly, his name is Yunhyeong.

And so you already know where this is going.

Hence, the reason why you were now standing right outside the house where the party was held.

No doubt the house was a beautiful landed property at the hills that overlooked the city, it still didn’t give you complete comfort knowing that you would be surrounded by drunk young adults who have no care in the world once the alcohol takes over their system.

Sure you sometimes go to these parties but you weren’t really that type of girl. It’s always an unpleasant surprise to others who aren't your girls, when you decline their offers of alcohol saying you don’t drink.

Though there were instances where you’d have some people still insisting on giving you a drink, you rejected them firmly whether they liked it or not.

And today was no different.

One moment, you were talking to your friends. Another moment, and you were suddenly left alone by the kitchen island. Isolating yourself from the countless intoxicated bodies, dancing freely without a single care in the world.

It suddenly dawned on you that you were indeed alone, with no other individual that you recognize in that huge house. Your friends were scattered around the main living area, each of them either with their significant other or just randomly hooking up with someone. Using alcohol as an excuse to be brave and approach someone at a party like this.

You sighed, reaching into your back pocket to fish for your phone. You were so close to texting them you wanted to head home first, when a deep voice broke your little bubble of thoughts.

“Hey… Y/N right?” The handsome boy asked as he smiled down at you softly.

He clearly didn’t seem too drunk, nor was he completely sober like you.

“Yeah… you are?” You asked, hoping you didn’t sound like a bitch.

“I’m Changkyun. I see your friends have left you so I thought maybe you’d want some company?”

Well, at least he’s being considerate enough.

“About that… I was actually about to-” As you were talking, your eyes were searching the room for at least one of the girls. But instead, your gaze was locked on a specific individual who was leaning against the staircase railings just staring at you with a subtle frown on his face, making your voice halt in your throat.

It was Sangyeon.

You should’ve known he would be there tonight. He’s the freaking midfielder in Hangang U’s soccer team for goodness sake!

For some reason, the moment you met his eyes, it was as though you got sucked into a black hole with no way to escape. That wasn’t until the warm touch on your arm made you jolt away and soon turned back to Changkyun who was now staring at you with worry.

“Hey? You okay? What’s wrong?” He asked, hoping he didn’t scare you away by that simple touch.

“Y-Yeah… Sorry Changkyun, but I think I’m gonna head home. See you around.” You gave him a sincere smile before turning to leave after he said his goodbye.

There is no way you’re gonna stay there any longer. It’s not like you were drunk or anything. Not like you’d expected him to show up in black leather pants, dark grey button down shirt tucked in, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hair parted close to the middle to frame his face and show his forehead, attractively. And definitely not like you felt as though your stomach was doing a flip in your abdomen after seeing him there physically.

Right?

No. You still hate him. He’s just a walking nuisance in your life. You don’t feel anything for him. Maybe he needs to stop appearing in your line of vision every 5 minutes.

It’s been two weeks since that frat party in which you had texted your friends saying you were already at home. Of course you didn’t get a response immediately but they still replied to you the next morning, telling you they were safe and they were glad that you were too.

It was a rainy Wednesday afternoon where students were all stuck on campus with nowhere to go. You were just seated at a wooden table alone with your laptop and scattered notes on the surface when the ray of sunlight that was previously shining down on you, got blocked by a figure.

You glanced up and not surprisingly, it was Sangyeon. He was alone. For once. He was always with his friends, so you wondered why he chose to walk around alone today.

“What?” You asked nonchalantly before looking back down at your laptop.

You heard a scoff from him only for him to speak up, “Did your parents tell you?”

You got confused as you looked back up to him and blinked, incredulously at what he just asked you.

“Tell me what?” You asked. He wasn’t sure if he was faking it or not but he figured with how genuinely confused you look, it was quite clear you weren’t pretending to not know what he was referring to.

“My parents are coming over to your home this weekend to discuss ‘something serious’. I’m not going. I’m not about to sit there and listen to what the ‘something serious’ is, let alone sit there trapped and stare at you the whole night.” Sangyeon said blankly as he burned holes in your head.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you there anyway.” You scoffed, only for him to push himself off the table and smoothed down his shirt.

Sangyeon left without saying anything else, watching as he turned his head as though in search of his friends. However, the minute you looked back down at your laptop, it seems like you missed the way he glanced at you subtly before turning back in front.

That same day, you went home to find your parents in the living room. Your father was watching the news on the flat screen tv while your mother was just watering the potted plants on the shelves.

The minute you stepped into the living room, your father turned to you and smiled brightly, “Oh, sweetie you’re back. We wanted to tell you that Mr and Mrs-” but before he could finish, you did it for him, stunning them in the process.

“-Lee are coming over this weekend to discuss ‘something serious’... I know.”

With that, your mother and father glanced at each other before a smile appeared on their faces again. You already knew what they were about to ask so you beat them to it.

“Sangyeon told me… So what’s so serious that they wanna come over here and talk about it?” You asked, not knowing what to expect but all you got was silence.

“We have to wait till everyone’s there.”

“Not everyone’s gonna be there…” You said.

“What do you mean?” Your mother asked.

“Sangyeon said he’s not coming. He doesn't want to.”

“B-But, he has to be there. It’s important.”

“What’s so important that he has to be there for?” Your voice laced with annoyance at the thought of having to sit in a room with him for minutes too long. Your parents got quiet before your mother spoke up again but for some reason, her voice sounded weak.

“You’ll know on Saturday.” She gave you a weak smile. Too weak to the point that she almost looks… pale?

Why is she pale?

But your mind was too jumbled up with what the main topic for this said family dinner would revolve around. Hence, why you were now sprinting up the steps and to your room. You didn’t want to think about it anymore. You just hoped the weekend passes by before you know it.

Saturday came in a flash and to say you were ready for whatever family gathering this was, is definitely a lie. You were curious. You were desperate to know just what important business is there to discuss with you and Sangyeon. Despite knowing he won’t be there for whatever this meeting is about, it still rendered you curious on just how important this said matter is.

You were told to look presentable even though you’ll just be at home. So you pulled out the nicest outfit you could find and just opted for a simple blouse and your denim jeans.

Once you were done getting ready, you left your room only to hear your mother calling out to you from downstairs, “Y/N sweetie, the Lee’s are here!”

You made your way down the marbled steps, ready to greet the elder couple when your eyes fell on their son who clearly said he wasn’t going to be here. But of course, it looked like he had been forced against his own will to be here and you were right.

“Oh! My sweet Y/N! It’s been so long. How are you my dear?” Mrs Lee asked as you broke your gaze from Sangyeon only to smile happily when you looked at his parents.

“Hello Mr and Mrs Lee. I’m doing well despite my crazy uni life. I hope you’re both well and healthy!” You said as Mrs Lee hugged you warmly like how she had been doing since you were young.

After greeting them, the 6 of you began walking to your dining room. You then turned to Sangyeon who was walking beside you, only to ask out of curiosity, “Didn’t you say you weren’t gonna come?”

With that, he turns to you and shoots daggers at you through his glare but it does nothing to scare you away.

“Do I look like I wanna be here?”

“Clearly.” You said, just to get on his nerves and it did.

“Fuck you.”

“I’d gladly fuck myself too.”

Sangyeon frowns at your comment despite knowing it was sarcastic. But he still found it amusing that it came out from your mouth. Sure you’ve cursed him a lot of times when you fought with him, but this was a different thing.

All of you finally sat down in the dining room, you helped your mother set the table.

A few minutes went by and everyone was just chatting amongst one another. Well, more specifically the elders while you and Sangyeon simply sat there across each other in silence. You were absentmindedly picking on your food, suddenly losing appetite.

All you wanted was for them to start discussing the very important business. Which is why your patience has run thin, making you blurt out the question that has been floating in your head since Wednesday.

“What’s the important thing you called me and Sangyeon here for?”

The room fell silent as you kept your eyes on your plate of untouched food. Completely ignoring the way Sangyeon had his eyes trained on you. After what felt like hours, your mother finally announced it.

It made your heart stop for a moment.

“We have decided to marry you off with Sangyeon.”

That was the last thing you ever wanted to hear from them. Never did you expect it to be this. Why were they doing this to you? Of course you know you’re single and not dating anyone but still… How could they?

“What?!” Both you and Sangyeon said in unison.

Tension filled the air, thick in its wake. You couldn’t look elsewhere except for your mother who had announced the news.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” You mumbled under your breath as Sangyeon got up, letting the chair drag painfully across the wooden floor. His mother grabbed his wrist to stop him but he roughly yanked his wrist from her and simply replied with his firm answer, “There’s no way I’m marrying her. I’m out.”

Sangyeon stormed out and you were so tempted to do the same but all you could do was glare at your parents in disbelief.

“Sweetie-” Your mom began but you were quick to interject.

“No! That’s not happening! Mom, you know we hate each other! How can you ask me to marry him when I don’t even love him?!” Your voice was raised as you stood up from your seat. Blood boils in your veins, heart pounding rapidly in your chest out of pure anger. You wanted nothing more but to scream.

You turned in your heels to leave but your mother caught your hands when you were about to reach the stairs. You pulled your hand from her grip, throwing your arm behind your back from the force.

“Sweetie please, listen to me-”

“No mom! I’m not marrying him and that’s final!” You yelled, too furious to even notice the way your mom had clutched her chest as her breathing started to become shallow.

Before you knew it, your mother collapsed to the ground but you were quick to catch her body right when she was about to crash onto the hard wooden floor.

“Mom!” You gasped as your dad and both of Sangyeon’s parents rushed over to where you were.

Mr Lee called the ambulance in which they came just 10 minutes later, carrying your mother’s unconscious body onto the stretcher and bringing her into the ambulance. Your father followed her in the vehicle while Mr Lee offered you a ride there.

Hours passed and you were waiting patiently outside the ER when a doctor came out. Your dad rushed over so you could only guess that she was the one who attended to your mom.

“Doctor, how’s my wife?”

“Your wife’s still under constant checks but so far, her heart is beating stably. However, it seems that her abnormal white blood cells have rapidly multiplied since her last check up.” The doctor said, making you frown.

“White blood cells? What’s going on? What’s wrong with my mother?” You asked desperately, still not sure of what’s going on.

“Your mother was diagnosed with Leukaemia stage 2 but from what I saw today, I believe it’s now up to stage 4.” The doctor announced, making you even more confused.

“What?” You whispered as you stared at your dad, hoping that it’s not true. But all you got was a disheartened smile that broke you into a million pieces.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You whispered to him sadly, upset that they’ve been keeping this a secret from you.

“I’m sorry baby, but your mother told me not to. She… She didn’t want you to get worried.” He replied.

You don’t understand. You knowing about this was better than keeping it hidden from you. If you had known about this sooner, you wouldn’t have shouted at her. Instead, you would have taken extra care of her. You would have given her more love than what she gave you. And you wouldn’t have to stand here, right now, hoping for your mother’s safety and health.

You slumped onto one of the chairs, staring into space as your father rubbed soft circles into your back to calm you down.

Three days passed and you have been visiting your mother at the hospital diligently after your classes. You stayed till night time, allowing your dad to fetch you from the hospital after he also came by to visit your mom.

You were currently alone in the room with your mom as your dad went out to buy dinner for all three of you.

She was just lying there sleeping peacefully after having a deep conversation with her about some things, her eyes now closed, breathing consistent, chest heaving up and down according to her oxygen intake.

You were just about to doze off when the heart rate monitor suddenly began beeping rapidly. It caused you to panic as you ran out of the room to call for the nurses.

When you came back, your mother was shaking on the hospital bed. Tears started streaming down your face as you found yourself curled up in the corner just watching the hospital staff do whatever is necessary to help your mother.

You didn’t notice your dad who had just come back, only to rush to you after putting the food down on the desk. It was when he cupped your face, that you finally realized his presence.

He pulled you against him as you couldn’t tear your eyes off your mother’s figure, shaking violently on the bed.

It was as though someone had dropped a bomb just a few feet away, a deafening silence pierced your ear drums followed by the single beep sound that was continuous without a pause. The sound soon became a mere ring in your ears.

You slowly brought your line of sight towards the heart rate monitor beside your mother’s bed and that’s when you saw it. The painful straight line with no spikes going up or down.

That’s when you knew, she was gone.

No. This can’t be real. This is just a dream. Wake up Y/N. Pinch yourself. Slap yourself. Do whatever it is to wake yourself up from this nightmare!

And yet, you’re still there in your dad’s arms listening to the nurse who wrote down the words you never hoped to hear.

“Patient is Jeong Hyemin. Time of death, 2143hrs.”

All the more you cried harder against your father’s chest. You were broken. Completely and utterly broken. Your mother left you before you could even say goodbye. She left before you could even tell her that you love her unconditionally even though you told her that everyday.

As much as your heart hurts, you knew you had to accept it. You knew you had to be strong for your mother. And that was exactly what you did.

The next whole week, you didn’t come to school. You emailed your lecturers personally and told them about your loss. They all sent you their well wishes for you and your dad, to which they excused you from school to attend your mother’s funeral. It broke you but you couldn’t collapse just then.

Your mother would want you to be happy, to continue living a wonderful life, with or without her. And that’s exactly what you were gonna do.

The next two weeks came as a blur and you were dreading for the day to finally arrive. You couldn’t bring yourself to look in the mirror and see what you looked like. Because at that very moment, you were in an item of clothing where you never thought you would wear anytime soon.

It was a wedding dress. Your wedding dress. It has finally come to this.

Your makeup stylist did a few touch ups to your eyeshadow whilst another lady adjusted the bow on your waist that separates your laced top with your beautiful silk gown that drops to the floor elegantly behind you.

If you were being honest, you had hoped for this very day to come when you would walk down the aisle with your arm linked with your dad’s while your mother stood at the front row, watching you proudly. Witnessing you entering a new life with your chosen partner whom you’d love with all your heart.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case for you and it hurts you. But you kept telling yourself the same thing over and over again.

“I have to stay strong.”

That was the last thing you mumbled to yourself as you left the bride’s room, only to head towards the outdoor wedding ceremony where your parents had already booked an incredibly beautiful mansion located at the highest hills of the city.

It was a small ceremony with only your family and his, and very close relatives of both sides but that was it. None of your friends were there but you already told them about today.

Little did you know, his friends knew about it too.

You were approaching the outdoor garden where everyone was waiting for you when all of a sudden, your emotions started swirling in you.

A tear rolled down your cheek the minute you saw your dad standing at the doorway which leads you directly down the aisle. Your dad gave you a soft smile before cupping your face and kissing your forehead. He wiped the tear away with his thumb as he whispered, “You look so beautiful, sweetheart. I’m sure your mother would be so happy to see you like this.”

With that, you had to force your tears back, swallowing them as you nodded before linking your arm with his.

The song started playing and soon, both of you began to walk down the aisle. The first thing you saw was Sangyeon standing at the foot of the platform. He was wearing a navy blue tuxedo, looking quite handsome if you were being completely honest.

But the frown on his face was evident enough for you to know that he didn’t like this as much as you didn’t like this either.

Once you were standing just two feet away, you turned to your dad who kissed you again on the forehead before putting your hand in Sangyeon’s outstretched ones. After your dad left your side, Sangyeon guided you up the steps carefully.

His touch was soft, almost as if he wasn’t touching you at all. Minutes went by and right after you’ve both said your vows, it was time for the exchange of rings and sealing the deal with a kiss but of course, neither of you agreed to it. So when you were officially announced as husband and wife, you both looked at each other with a familiarity in your eyes which screamed “I hate all of this”.

Sangyeon lets out a soft groan before planting a chaste kiss to your temple, pulling away as soon as he kisses.

Both of you walked back down the aisle and once you were in the mansion, it took you less than a second to walk away from him and make your way straight to the bride’s makeup room.

Sangyeon didn’t bother to call for you as he too made his way to the common room, wanting to be as far away from you as possible. He hated every single minute of this. He never wanted this. But he was being forced to. And he doesn’t even know why.

When he heard from his parents that you accepted the arranged marriage, it baffled him.

You were both so adamant on rejecting this whole fiasco during that night of the dinner so what changed your mind?

That was a question he could never solve.

Days became weeks and you had moved into the new home that his parents and yours bought for Sangyeon and you to live in. It was a beautiful one story home that had 3 bedrooms, one study room, one living room and a backyard complete with a swimming pool. You were thankful for the home but you didn’t think it was necessary considering the state that you and Sangyeon were being put in.

Nevertheless, you didn’t want to disappoint the elders. Hence the reason why you moved in with Sangyeon without a single argument with your dad and in-laws.

Unfortunately, the fact that you two were now living under the same roof, it was quite expected of you to end up fighting over the smallest little things. If being within radius of each other on campus brought unnecessary snickers and curses to one another, living under the same roof only heightened those said things by 80%.

There wasn’t a day where you could walk around the house peacefully unless the other wasn't home.

It has been 8 weeks since you lived there with him. Despite the constant fights and heated arguments that the two of you often get into, none of it leads to the other doing unfaithful things behind each other’s back.

Before the marriage, it was quite clear that you weren’t in any sort of relationship with anyone nor were you the kind to sleep around with strangers you just met at a club or parties. Whereas, Sangyeon on the other hand was completely that, except he too was single. He tends to sleep around with girls he met at a party or the clubs he went to.

But never did he actually pursue any of his one night stands because he simply didn’t feel that way for them.

However, when he got married to you despite being against it, he made a promise to himself that he should not do all those things to you even if he doesn’t love you. Because he knows that it’s wrong and that he despises people who cheat on their partners.

For that, he told himself not to be that monster.

And he didn’t. Thankfully.

But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t storm out of the house after an argument just to get fresh air and be away from you at that very moment.

This goes both ways as sometimes, you would do the same if you couldn’t stand being in radius of him.

But tonight was different.

You were just washing the dishes when the front door opened to reveal a very drained Sangyeon who had just gotten back from the gym.

He strolled through down the hallway with his duffle bag strap resting on his right shoulder, the wet patches on his grey tank top sticking to his torso, black track shorts resting on his hips. His hair was slicked back from being drenched in sweat.

You spared him a quick glance over your shoulder before you turned back to the dirty dishes. Unfortunately for you, he caught you glancing just in time.

He walked past you to go to the fridge after putting his bag down on the floor, opening it and immediately grabbing the bottle of iced water sitting there patiently for him to take it. He downed half the bottle in less than 5 seconds, only to hear him let out a satisfied sigh right after.

You remained quiet as he looked at you for a moment, a small part of him wanted to ask you if you’ve eaten but a bigger part of him, more so his ego, was telling him to walk away.

For some reason, he decided to go with the former. Something he hasn’t been doing all these years.

“Had your dinner yet?” He asked, making you turn off the tap after setting down the clean dish onto the rack above your head before turning to him with a slight confusion on your face.

“Mhm. You?”

“Not yet.” He said as he leaned his hip against the counter top.

“What do you feel like eating?” You asked, wiping your hands dry with the towel hanging off the hook on the wall.

“I kind of have the feel for kimchi fried rice… I’ll just make do with what is there in the fridge. No worries.” Sangyeon said with a soft smile on his face before he left to take a long shower. Something he always did when he had a lot going on in his mind.

The minute he left, you stared at his descending back for a minute before turning back with a confused frown on your face.

Sangyeon was in the shower for almost 20 minutes. Taking a warm bath to calm his tensed muscles due to the intense workout he did with Juyeon and Hyunjae earlier. After his stress relieving bath, Sangyeon changed into a pair of sweatpants and his oversized shirt he normally uses to sleep.

He towel dried his hair, leaving it in an utter mess on his head with no care whatsoever.

He simply brushed through his wet locks with his fingers haphazardly before leaving his bedroom toilet. Sangyeon and you weren’t sharing bedrooms. It was just a mutual agreement right from the first night together.

You took the master bedroom in this house while he took the second bedroom.

Sangyeon was just walking down the hall, scratching the back of his head randomly when he caught a strong whiff of something delicious filling his nostrils.

“What the?” He whispered to himself as he cautiously made his way closer to the end of the hall. The minute he made a right turn, that’s when he saw you scooping out the contents of the pan into a clean plate. To his surprise, it was the exact dish he told you he was planning to cook earlier.

He finally stepped out of the shadows, only to startle you.

You flinched but that was it.

“Hey… I figured you’d be too tired to cook so I made it for you. Just leave the plate in the sink after you’re done. I’ll wash it later.” You pressed your lips into a small little smile before placing the dish on the kitchen island together with a spoon.

Right when you were about to leave the kitchen, his voice stopped you from walking any further only to hear him whisper a soft “thank you” to you.

You gave him a nod and soon left.

Sangyeon stares at your descending back before you disappear from his trail of sight, only to then tilt his head in amusement at your sudden kind act. For some reason, he found himself smiling as he took a mouthful of your delicious fried rice.

Another 3 weeks went by and you had just gotten back from your night study session with Lisa and Jennie, only to find Sangyeon slumped on the couch. He had his face buried in his hands as he looked like he hadn’t slept for days.

You frowned as you locked the door and soon went over to stand behind the long couch, diagonally from the couch he was sitting at.

“Rough day?” You asked quietly, but all you got was silence so you tried again.

“Have you eaten?”

Silence.

“Do you want anything to eat?”

Silence.

“Sangyeon, even if you hate me, at least say yes or no so I can-” And that’s when he bursts.

“Shut the fuck up!” Sangyeon yelled as he glared at you. His nostrils flared upon every heavy breath he took. You were stunned by his harsh tone, clearly not wanting any argument when you first asked the question.

“Excuse me?” You asked with a tone that was pretty obvious to anyone that you were clearly offended by his words.

“Didn’t you hear me?! I said shut the fuck up!” Sangyeon stood tall, his face red as you could only imagine he was stressed about something. A scoff left your lips, feeling the anger seeping through your skin with every word he said to you.

“Why? Why do you want me to shut the fuck up so badly?!” You asked as you stared at him with mixed emotions.

“God, you’re so fucking annoying!” Sangyeon growled as he began to storm off but you stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

“Answer my fucking question, Lee Sangyeon! I was just being nice and caring about your well being and all I got was to shut up? You’re a fucking asshole you know that?” You said, your words filled with venom as he gritted his teeth, jaw clenching tight.

“Who taught you to be such a brat? Your mother?” Sangyeon accidentally blurted that out of sheer anger. Your grip around his wrist left and the next thing he knew, your eyes were glossy from the tears threatening to fall.

“Don’t bring my mother into this.” You warned but he was still fuming with anger.

“Why? Why can’t I?! She’s the only reason why we’re in this stupid marriage anyway!”

You didn’t know what ran through your mind but the minute those words left his mouth, you couldn’t help but swing your hand onto his cheek. This shocked him to a certain extent as he simply glared at you but never did anything to hurt you physically.

“Do you know why I accepted the marriage proposal? Do you wanna know why I decided to walk down that fucking aisle and have myself being called as your official wife?! Well here’s the reason why. I promised my mom I would.” You paused as he remained quiet. You could almost see the cogs turning in his brain as though trying to process your words.

“My mom died wanting me to marry you. She told me she wanted to see me walk down the aisle one day and into your arms. Until now, I don’t understand why she specifically wants it to be you, but that’s what she wanted. So I promised her that she would be there for when that day comes. But she left me before she could even witness that for herself. She left before I could even say goodbye. It broke me. It fucking broke me Sangyeon! That’s why I chose to accept the proposal even when…”

You stopped for a moment, not realizing that you had been crying until you tasted salty tears on your lips.

“...even when I didn’t love you. I did it because I made a promise to her. I don’t want to let her down, Sangyeon.... I never wanted any of this to happen. And I know you feel the same so I’m sorry.” Those were the last things you said to him before going to your bedroom and locking yourself in there.

Sangyeon was left standing there, feeling completely shitty with what he said to you earlier. He never meant to hurt your feelings. He should’ve known better not to mention your mom but he only said that out of pure anger.

He knows it’s his fault but his ego was too high for him to simply give in to his mistake.

He was about to just brush this off when he heard the door click and soon, you were seen leaving your bedroom with a cross body purse on you. You didn’t give him the chance to speak as you just left the house with a soft slam of your front door. He watched as you took your white mini cooper and drove out of the driveway.

“Sweetie, why don’t you want to accept the proposal?” Your mother asked weakly as you sat on the chair beside her hospital bed.

“Mom, you know I don’t love him. We’ve been fighting since we were kids. I don’t see why I should marry someone who I don’t love.”

“Oh sweetie, you can only learn to love by loving.”

“Mom, that’s just fairy tale talk.”

“Do you wanna know something?” She asked as you stared at her quietly while you caressed the back of her hand with your thumbs as he took this silence to continue.

“Your father and I weren’t on good terms too when we first met each other. We always fought in high school and it went on for quite a while until Mrs Lee set me up on this blind date and it was with your father. At first we found it ridiculous, but after that first date, I realized that maybe your father wasn’t as bad as I thought. And so, we started to slowly understand the process of loving someone and soon enough, we fell in love. Love doesn’t always come to you directly. Sometimes, you need to find it yourself.”

She paused, studying your facial expressions carefully to make sure you weren’t angry or about to burst at her for the next thing she was planning to say.

“Can you promise me something sweetie?”

“Anything… Anything at all mom.” You said with a glint of hope in your eyes.

“Can you promise me that you’ll marry Mrs Lee’s son? I don’t care when. Just… as long as it’s him. Even if I’m not around anymore...”

“Mom-”

“Please? For me?”

Your heart broke hearing her pleading voice. You don’t understand why she was so persistent in you marrying him but for now, you couldn’t bear to say no. You couldn’t bear to break her heart. So, with a heavy heart, you chose your mother’s happiness before yours.

“Okay mom… I promise. But you have to promise me too that you’ll be fine and that you’ll come back to me and dad, okay?”

“I promise, sweetheart. I love you so much.” She said.

“I love you too mom.”

That night when you came back to your old house, your dad greeted you at the door with a shocked look on his face. He asked you why you were there at such a late time so you explained to him that you got into a big fight with Sangyeon and that you wanted to stay there for the next few days. Of course your father was happy that he would finally have someone in the house with him, but he was also worried that Sangyeon would be concerned over you.

You told him not to tell Sangyeon anything and that you wanted time away from him for now, in which your dad just nodded understandingly. The next few days, you spent your days diligently avoiding Sangyeon as much as you can despite being in the same campus. Lucky for you, he had very different schedules than you.

Which means, better chance for you to avoid him and not accidentally bump into him on campus grounds. And so far, your plan is working.

It’s been at least 3 weeks since you last went home to your shared place with him and you were starting to run low on your clothing supply back at your old house. Which means, you probably had no choice but to go back there now.

In all honesty, you weren’t mad at him anymore.

You were just too stubborn to face him after that argument. But it looks like you have no other choice now.

Hence, the reason why you were currently standing outside your doorstep at 8pm, noticing the vehicles parked outside your gates. By the looks of it, those probably belonged to his friends. And you were right. Because the minute you unlocked the door, you were immediately greeted by the chattering and laughter coming from the living room.

You walked in further, carefully after taking off your shoes and placing them in the shoe rack. Right when you had just made it by the end of the hallway and the living room was in full view, that’s where you saw the 6 figures scattered around the room.

The TV was playing a movie while the coffee table was filled with boxes of pizzas and other snacks for them to munch on.

Before you could speak up, two of them noticed your presence, making the blonde haired one to say hi, “Oh, hi Y/N.”

With that, the rest of them finally turned around upon hearing their friend greet you. Sangyeon, who was standing right in front of the TV, checking the cables, whipped his head around only to lock eyes with you. He froze in his spot, unsure if this was real considering you’ve been avoiding him like a plague the past 3 weeks.

“Y/N…” Was the only thing he managed to whisper under his breath as you awkwardly chuckled, hoping you didn’t create an unsettling atmosphere for them.

“Hey…” You whispered as he carefully made his way to you. The moment he was standing right in front of you, neither of you spoke. Both of you are afraid of saying the wrong thing which could potentially lead to another argument. But Sangyeon was smart enough to know not to make unnecessary comments to you after what happened the last time. So instead, he opted for an apology.

“Listen, about that night… I- I’m really sorry… I didn’t... I didn’t know.”

You could only give him a small smile that he could clearly see was weak and almost drained as you spoke up, “It’s okay. Anyways… I think I’m gonna rest.”

He simply nodded, resisting the urge to pull you into a hug and tell you how sorry he was for treating you like crap all these while. These past 3 weeks have made him realise that he wasn’t the nicest of people to you, that he said a lot of things that had definitely hurt you in the past, that he has been nothing but mean to you.

Upon hearing your bedroom door close, Sangyeon lets out a defeated sigh before walking back to his friends who then asked him if everything was okay. After he told them that everything was indeed okay, he plopped back down on the couch but it seemed to worry his friends seeing how sad Sangyeon looked at the moment.

Whenever he was with them, he has always been the goofy, savage, often picking on the others to get a reaction out of them, kind of guy. They’ve never properly seen this softer side of him.

It’s been nearly an hour since you came home and yet, he hasn’t caught a single glimpse of you anywhere. He got worried for you, not knowing whether you’ve eaten or not. So he decided to check on you. He got up from the ground to excuse himself, telling them to just continue what they were doing.

When he arrived at your supposedly shared bedroom, he found you seated on the window couch just staring into the night sky. However, before he could even knock on the door and push it wider, he heard soft sobs from you that gradually grew louder. He stayed by the door and unintentionally listened to your whispers.

“I miss you mum… I’m sorry if I couldn’t live up to my promise just like you wanted me to. I know I’m not the best wife to him, but I’m trying… I’m trying… for you. I wish you were still here beside me. To guide me on how to be a good wife. To love someone without feeling trapped. To love someone the way you and dad loves me. I’m so sorry mum… I’m so truly sorry…”

Sangyeon’s heart shattered into a million pieces for you. That’s when he realized that his feelings for you had changed. That all he wanted to do right at this very moment was to protect you. You were broken, fragile and yet, he’s been treating you horribly all these while.

He couldn’t take it any longer. With that being said, he carefully and quietly made his way to you. Not making a sound as you had your head buried in your knees, cries getting louder the closer he came to you. However, when you felt his soft hands caress the sides of your arms, you looked up. Your eyes glistened under the moonlight, your cheeks soaked with your freshly falling tears.

At that moment, you looked so vulnerable.

So when he pulled you into his embrace, you easily let him. Burying your face into his chest as he gently rubs circles onto your back, caressing your head comfortingly.

After a few seconds of silence, you finally whispered against his chest. Just loud enough for him to hear, but soft enough that nobody standing outside the door could hear.

“I miss her Sangyeon…”

Sangyeon wasn’t sure how to respond to your confession but he tried as best as he could to make you feel better.

“And I know that she misses you too. But it’s okay, she will always be with you. You’ll be okay… I promise.” He whispered and almost immediately, you pulled back as he frowned in confusion.

“You shouldn’t promise me anything…” You said, your tears slowly getting lesser and lesser by the minute.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the last time someone made me a promise, they promised me that they’ll be okay and that they’ll never leave me… And yet she did...” Your voice hushed. He could tell that that was your trauma. Making promises.

He felt a tear threatening to roll down his cheek but he managed to hold back. Sangyeon softly reached up to cup your face and caress your cheeks with both thumbs before he spoke up, “I’m sorry she did. I’m sorry that promise got broken. But it’s not her fault. You know it wasn’t. So let me make a promise to you now and this time, it won’t be broken.”

With that being said, you cried even harder as he just pulled you against his chest almost cradling you like a child. After almost 20 minutes in the room, he finally let go of your fragile figure and asked if you wanted to eat.

You told him you weren’t hungry and that you just wanted to rest. Sangyeon nodded, bringing you to the bed as he carefully tucked you in to make you cosy. He was about to leave you alone when you grabbed his wrists. Sangyeon turned around with such a soft gaze on you, it nearly melted you.

“Where are you going?” You asked with a soft voice, almost shy. Sangyeon found it so endearing that he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“I’m gonna go back to the boys and maybe call it a night early.” He smiled, to which you felt his other hand come to wrap its fingers around your extended wrist, gently pulling it away before caressing the back of your wrist with his thumb.

“Can you come back after… please?” You whispered as you saw him smile again before putting your hand down on the mattress softly.

“I will.”

Soon enough, Sangyeon left you in the room to rest for a bit while he went back to his friends and relayed the message to them. Thankfully, the boys were very understanding. They told Sangyeon to send their well wishes to you in which he definitely would. After they left, Sangyeon went ahead and cleared the leftover trash.

Silently thanking the boys for cleaning most of the mess up before he even came back into the living room. He was almost done cleaning, not forgetting to brush his teeth before going back to your room only to find you already asleep with your back facing the door.

Sangyeon couldn’t help but smile as he closed the door behind him and soon made his way quietly to the other side of the room.

He carefully pulled the duvet up, climbing into bed after putting the duvet back down.

He very gently lifted your head up to let his right arm slide under your neck as a pillow, proceeding to pull your body closer against his chest. Once you were both in a comfortable position, he gently wrapped his other hand around your waist. Caressing your side in a comforting manner.

“Goodnight Y/N.” He whispered as he soon drifted off into slumber.

Ever since then, both of you had stopped the constant arguments. You weren’t always annoyed by every little thing the other did. In school, when you’d accidentally bump into one another, either one would smile and acknowledge the other. Some people who witnessed this, found it strange but your close friends didn’t.

It’s been a good 4 months since you’d reconciled with Sangyeon. Though there were disagreements at times, those arguments would however, be resolved as quickly as it came.

But one thing’s for sure, is that during the past 4 months, you and Sangyeon had slowly found yourselves falling for each other. Neither of you said it out loud, but apparently those around you could visibly tell. Especially your friends.

It was a Thursday afternoon, you and the girls were just walking to the lunch hall when Lisa spotted Sangyeon and his friends just walking down the main building. It seems like they were heading towards the lunch hall as well. With that being said, Lisa called out to Sangyeon’s name, causing him and the rest to turn.

The minute Sangyeon’s eyes locked on Lisa’s and then on you, his gaze softened as you saw the corner of his lips curving upwards into a cute smirk.

They stopped walking to let you girls catch up and once you did, Lisa immediately went to Juyeon and began talking to him casually. The other girls went to walk with the rest while you came to a quick stop beside Sangyeon before you continued walking with the others ahead of you.

“How was class?” He asked, his arm accidentally brushing against yours as you walked further down the building.

“Horrible. Can you believe he wants us to submit 10 codes by the end of this week? I swear that man wants me dead.” You groaned in annoyance, only to hear him chuckle. But what he said next, caught you by surprise.

“But I don’t want you dead.”

With that, you turned to him as a small smile appeared on your face despite the frown you had. Both of you walked in silence, just basking in the conversations of your friends when you felt a soft tickling feeling on your fingers.

You glanced down to see that his hand was playfully brushing against your fingers, making you look up to catch him already staring at you.

Sangyeon smiled at you innocently, not sure if he wanted to say anything else until he felt you slide your hand into his, lacing your fingers with his easily. Now it was his turn to look down and then back up at you. All he did was chuckle, a sound you could definitely get used to.

A week passed and it was finally the weekend. You and Sangyeon didn’t have anything planned for the day.

Or at least you thought.

You were just lounging on the couch on a beautiful Saturday evening when Sangyeon came over to plop down beside you with a cheeky smile on his face.

“You’re oddly happy? What’s going on?” You asked with a raise of your eyebrow.

“I have a surprise for you but you have to go get ready okay?”

“Get ready? It’s already 7 o’clock. Where can we go?” You asked but all you got was a soft whine from him telling you to just do it. You opted to listen as he reminded you to wear prettily. You weren’t sure where you were going so you didn’t want to either overdress or underdress.

So you opted for simple denim skinny jeans, a baby blue sleeveless top, a white long knit cardigan and a pair of beige chunky heeled sandals.

When you left your shared bedroom to go to the living room, you were surprised to see him dressed handsomely in his black skinny jeans, a white button down shirt with the first few buttons undone, along with a navy blue bomber jacket. You saw him look at your outfit from head to toe, only for him to smirk playfully at you.

“Damn, who knew my wife could look this beautiful?” Sangyeon teased, making you giggle.

“Sangyeon, I literally wear jeans everyday.”

“Exactly.”

When you realized what he was trying to say, you soon found yourself blushing as you walked over to him and gently slapped his chest with your hand. Urging him to go before you slapped that cute smirk off his face.

Sangyeon couldn’t help but laugh but nonetheless left the house in his matte black Bentley. You watched as he drove down the street, bringing you to a part of the city where you don’t remember going to before in your life. The car ride was filled with jokes and laughter coming from both of you. He distracted you too much to the point where you didn’t even notice you were already at the location he wanted to bring you.

You looked out the window and that’s when you realize, “Is this an outdoor cinema?” You gasped when you saw the open field with a large screen at the centre, along with the endless rows of couples seated on their own blankets with snacks and drinks of their preferences.

“Sangyeon… This is…” You were speechless and he could see.

He chuckled as he just stared at you with such endearment in his eyes. Some people would just call it love.

“It’s wonderful.” You finally got to finish your sentence, turning to him with a smile.

“I’m glad you think so. Now let’s go! The movie’s about to start.”

Two hours had passed and you were now a few minutes in of the second movie. You noticed some couples were starting to get comfortable on their blankets. You were starting to get tired just sitting up straight and Sangyeon noticed your subtle shifts, desperate to find a comfortable sitting position.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah. I’m okay, just a little tired from sitting up.” You explained with a bashful little smile. Just then, Sangyeon thought of an idea that was completely beyond your imagination.

Hence, when he patted the space in between his legs, you glanced down and then back at him who was seen smiling softly to you. None of it was making you feel creeped out. In fact, you felt safe and that you could trust him. After all, he was your husband anyways. Of course you trust him.

“Come here.” He said as he stared at you calmly. He wasn’t sure if you were entirely up for this but before he could take his words back, that’s when he saw you carefully crawling towards the space he patted earlier.

Once you were seated in front of him, Sangyeon scooted forward a little before he slid his arms around your waist.

He soon pulled you against his chest, before he whispered in your ear, “Comfortable?”

You turned your head to look at him but instead got slightly flustered by the close proximity that led you to feeling his lips accidentally brush against your own. You got quiet for a moment, praying that he didn’t hear the way your heart was pounding against your chest.

You couldn’t trust your voice so you opted for a soft hum to answer his question. The next few minutes, you found yourself getting more and more comfortable in his arms, putting your hands on top of his forearms as you unconsciously caressed his skin in a calming manner. All the while, Sangyeon was behind you, completely distracted from the movie in front of him.

Instead, his mind was fuzzy with how close you were to him at that very moment. This was something he never thought would happen back when he was still young.

But now that he was here with you, just cuddling at an outdoor movie theatre, he couldn’t help but want more of this. Sangyeon found himself smiling as he couldn’t help but give your sides a gentle squeeze, telling you that he was there with you and that he would never leave you.

Thankfully, you got the silent message.

Because right after he did that, you turned your head to look at him. His eyes held the galaxy. You found yourself getting lost in his eyes.

Both of you were silent but it wasn’t awkward. You didn’t know what came over you but a sense of confidence washes over you. With that being said, you carefully leaned forward to close the gap and soon pressed your lips on his.

To say he was taken aback slightly, is definitely an understatement.

But it took him less than 3 seconds to finally move his lips against yours in a smooth rhythm. You brought your right hand up to gently cup his face as you kissed him.

Sangyeon tightens his hold on you, pulling away from the kiss only to look into your eyes with such adoration. He wasn’t sure if now was the right time to express his feelings for you, but he thought, what was there to lose. So with that thinking, Sangyeon took a small breath before he uttered the 3 words he never thought he’d say to you but he did. And every single word he said at that moment, was as sincere as ever.

“I love you.”

You couldn’t help but smile softly at him before you kissed him again in a longing kiss before pulling away and replying to him with the exact emotions you felt for him genuinely.

“I love you too, Sangyeon.”

~~~

#the boyz scenarios #the boyz imagines #the boyz x reader #the boyz sangyeon #lee sangyeon #tbz scenarios #tbz imagines #tbz x reader #sangyeon x reader #tbz sangyeon scenarios #the boyz sangyeon scenarios #tbz sangyeon fluff #tbz sangyeon angst

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dykeninthdoctor · 4 years ago

Text

“ironhusbands, pre relationship, focusing on them in their first year of college and being like rhodey really realizing how young tony is” and “sweater sharing”

“Have you heard–“

“Did you see–“

“He went to Rob’s party–“

The whispers are carried to him on the wind, full of rumors, sometimes lies, sometimes truths.

Jim doesn’t care. He knows Tony Stark–the heir to the Stark empire, son of the legend, Howard Stark–is on campus, but he doesn’t care.

There’s no reason for him to.

The kid is 16, apparently, a prodigy for his age, which Jim could’ve guessed, and he gives zero shits about his education.

Jim hasn’t heard anything about the kid going to classes; only about parties, and girls, and sometimes, the whispers mention boys, too. They call Stark a charmer, a slut, a flirt, and worse.

Maybe Jim cares a little bit.

Stark is 16, and he already has a reputation, one that scares Jim.

“Oh my God, did you see how much he drank last night?” a girl says, eyes wide in a mockery of surprise.

“He never seems like he’s drunk, though,” her friend says.

Jim frowns.

“Maybe it runs in the family,” the first girl teases, and then they’re both laughing, walking in the other direction.

Jim frowns harder.

He goes to a party the next chance he gets.

Stark is there, in the center of it all, holding court like a prince standing on the backs of his adoring subjects. He’s sprawled across a sofa, legs draped across the lap of a girl whose hand is resting on the inside of his thigh, head in the lap of another girl whose lips are staining marks of red across his jaw.

Stark’s eyes are glazed, the smile he wears is taped on, and Jim realizes with a sinking feeling that it’s all a mask. A mask hastily built, a mask with cracks that Stark uses alcohol to fill, so that no one can see the emotions behind it.

Jim doesn’t know how, or why, but he can.

“A toast,” Stark slurs, raising the plastic cup in his hand, “To dear ol’ dad, who sent me to this lovely institution.”

A cheer goes up around the room.

Stark drinks.

Jim’s moving before he realizes, shoving his way past people, fighting to get to Stark, snapping sharply, “C’mon, Tony, let’s go.”

To his surprise, and fear, Stark gets up and takes his hand without second thought. Jim tries not to think about why.

When he takes Stark outside, the kid–because God, he’s just a kid–looks up at him with a raised brow and a smirk made of plaster. “We’re gonna do it outside? You’re into exhibitionist shit, huh?”

And then he’s on his knees in front of Jim, and Jim’s trying not to throw up.

“No–shit, no, please stand up, Stark–“

“What?”

It’s the confusion in his voice that finally does it, and Jim’s retching into the bushes that line the house behind them, coughing up bile.

He hears the clumsy motions of Stark getting to his feet, feels a small but calloused hand on his back, sees Stark’s face–eyes wide, lips parted in a small o, the face of a kid–and then throws up more bile onto the leaves.

“I’m sorry?” Stark offers quietly, and it’s so different from the brassy, loud, slurred voice of the prince Jim saw only minutes ago.

“How old are you?” Jim asks. It’s not what he meant to say, but as Stark’s eyes go a little wider, he knows he needs to know the answer, because it’s not 16.

“I’m almost 15.”

Jim tries not to throw up again.

He takes Stark back to his dorm, with its single bed and tiny cork board with pictures of Momma Robbie and Jeanie tacked up, with the single poster of a galaxy taped to his wall and the precarious stack of textbooks on his desk.

Stark drowns in his clothes, the knitted sweatshirt hanging off his shoulder, revealing a collarbone littered with hickeys, the sweatpants hanging low on his hips, showing bruises the shape of fingers pressed into tan skin.

“Why?”

The question rings out in the silent room.

“Why what?”

“Why are you being…like this?”

“Because you need this,” Jim says.

Stark just looks at him, his chest rising and falling with exaggerated slow breaths, his eyes blinking slowly, his hands clenched in fists at his sides.

“C’mon, get in bed.”

When Stark doesn’t move, Jim freezes.

“No, Stark–not like that. I’m not gonna do anything with you–to you. We’re not doing anything. You deserve a safe place to sleep. I’m gonna do homework, okay?”

“Okay,” Stark says quietly.

When he falls asleep, curled around the only pillow in Jim’s bed, he looks even younger.

Jim makes himself a promise.

A promise to protect Stark.

The next day, when he wakes up with his face pressed to the pages of his physics textbook, and his bed rumpled but empty, he realizes protection is not what Stark wants.

Too bad, Jim thinks. Too fucking bad.

It’s harder than he thinks to find Stark; even if the kid doesn’t attend classes, there aren’t parties during the day.

The whispers don’t tell him anything, and today, they’re about him.

“He went home with him, just like that–“

“Have you see him around before?”

“Stark just listened to him–“

Jim ignores them.

He goes to his classes, he takes notes, he tries to focus.

He also thinks about where Stark might be hiding.

He doesn’t have to think too hard; Stark’s sitting in his dorm when he gets back after his 5:00 lecture.

The door was locked, but Stark didn’t seem to have any difficulty with that.

“Hi,” Stark says.

“What the fuck,” Jim says back.

Stark shrugs. “You were nice to me. What do you want for it? Money? A reputation boost? We can pretend to fuck, if you don’t want to for real, just so that people think you got some.”

“What do I want for it?” Jim repeats.

“Yeah, payment.”

“I don’t want anything.”

“C’mon, everyone wants something,” Stark says, and the way his eyes avoid Jim’s, despite his casual pose and even more casual tone, tells Jim that he’s scared.

“I don’t want anything, Stark.”

It’s a lie; he wants to know who hurt Stark, he wants to give Stark a hug, he wants to protect Stark.

He also wants Stark to let him out of choice, rather than obligation.

“Okay,” Stark says.

Okay, Jim thinks.

What he says is, “You can stay while I do my homework, if you want.”

“I talk a lot,” Stark tells him. “I’ll bother you.”

“I have a little sister, you can’t be worse than her.”

“Oh.”

So Stark stays.

“What’s your name?”

“Jim.”

“Oh, that won’t do at all. What’s the rest of it?”

“James Rupert Rhodes?”

“Rupert?”

“Don’t start with me, Stark–“

“Tony. My name’s Tony.”

“And my name’s Jim.”

“Not anymore, it’s not. You’re Rhodey now.”

“What are you doing?”

“Physics.”

“No shit, Sherlock, I meant the equation. You calculated wrong.”

“I did not.”

“Put it in the calculator, it’s not 6.78, it’s 6.57.”

“You did that in your head?”

“I’m not just a pretty face.”

“How old’s your sister?”

“She’s 10, but she’s 7 in that picture.”

“That’s your mom?”

“Yeah, I took that picture of them at the lake near our house.”

“She…she looks nice.”

“She’d like you.”

“What’s your major?”

“Aerospace Engineering, so yeah, I’m a rocket scientist.”

“Damn, how’d you know what I was gonna say?”

“You’re predictable, Tones.”

“Tones?”

“Well, if you’re allowed to give me a nickname, shouldn’t the favor be returned?”

“I…yeah.”

So Jim becomes Rhodey, and Stark becomes Tony, and sometimes Tones.

Rhodey realizes a few months in that Tony doesn’t need protection.

Tony knows how to protect himself, with a sharp quip or an even sharper smile.

What Tony needs is love.

So Rhodey makes a new promise.

After Rhodey has to drag Tony out of another party, after slurred words become quiet apologies, after Tony falls asleep in his bed again, Rhodey calls his momma.

She tells him to bring Tony home for Christmas break.

In Rhodey’s eyes, Tony’s never looked more alive than when Momma Robbie convinced him to play Scrabble with her and Jeanie.

“That boy needs love, James,” Momma Robbie tells him, a mug of tea cradled in her hands.

“I know, momma.”

“You gonna make sure he gets it?”

“Pretty sure I already am.”

When the clock strikes twelve on New Years, Tony tries to kiss him.

They’re on the roof, the stars above them reflecting in Tony’s eyes, and Tony tries to kiss him.

“No, Tones,” Rhodey says softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I love you.”

“Just not like that?”

Tony’s voice is broken glass, slowly tearing Rhodey’s heart to pieces.

The lie is a knife to the chest.

“Just not like that.”

Tony nods quietly.

They don’t share a bed that night.

When they get back from break, after a silent car ride, Tony asks suddenly, “Wanna see my workshop?”

It would’ve been simpler to ask if Rhodey wanted to see his heart.

There’s no other to answer to give than yes.

It’s a beautiful mess of chaos, the only description befitting the place where Tony breathes life into wires and gears and lines of numbers.

Rhodey doesn’t know what to say other than, “Thank you, Tones.”

Tony hugs him for an hour, and then spends three more showing him each idea, and then uses another two to get lost in a new project.

Rhodey realizes that this is where Tony truly comes alive.

He’s a kid in a candy store, a bird taking flight, a genius at work.

And he’s beautiful.

The knife, the lie, digs harder into Rhodey’s chest.

Tony has bad weeks, and worse weeks, where Rhodey doesn’t see him for days, but it’s okay.

It’s okay, because Tony always comes back.

Rhodey learns about Howard during a bad week, and about Jarvis on a good one.

He learns about Maria on a good week, and about Ana on a bad one.

Tony brings him pieces, and Rhodey starts to build the puzzle.

Some pieces are missing, and will probably always be missing, but it’s okay.

Rhodey will love him no matter what.

And slowly, Tony is starting to believe that. Rhodey can see it in his eyes, in the way his mask comes off, in the way the cracks become windows for Rhodey to look through.

The summer is long. Tony calls him some weeks, emails other weeks, doesn’t talk at all for most of them.

The worst part is not knowing if he’s okay.

But Rhodey takes what he can get, and gives as much as Tony will take.

When they get back to school, there are fresh bruises on Tony’s arms. Rhodey gives him a new sweater from Momma Robbie and Tony wears it like its armor.

They get a dorm together, officially, and most nights, Tony ends up in Rhodey’s bed, in Rhodey’s arms.

Watching him wake up is the best part of Rhodey’s day.

It’s hard, to keep lying, but Tony’s still just a kid, and Rhodey won’t be another person to use him.

So he loves him in the ways he can, and it’s enough, because it has to be.

The whispers are constant, always talking about them, but this time, Rhodey truly doesn’t care.

He knows better than the lies they spread.

“Rhodey–Rhodey, wake up,” Tony whispers against his chest.

Rhodey grunts. “‘m sleeping.”

“It’s raining.”

“So?”

“I wanna go outside.”

It’s the look in his eyes that does it, the wonder. Rhodey’s on his feet before he even realizes it. “Okay, Tones.”

They dance in the rain on the roof, and Tony laughs, and Rhodey looks at him, and sees nothing but happiness, and feels nothing but love.

Rhodey kisses Tony on his 18th birthday.

Maybe it’s wrong, but the way Tony laughs against his lips and twines his arms around his neck is nothing but right.

“I thought–“

“I lied, genius, I had to,” Rhodey whispers, ready to let go, but Tony just holds him tighter.

“Thank you.”

“For lying?”

“For loving me the way I needed.”

#uhhhh yeah this was WAY longer than i expected but.#tony being so so so young and rhodey REALIZING that? yeah. i went fucking rabid with this prompt oops #anyway i'm pretty proud of this :D #tony stark #james rhodey rhodes #iron man #war machine #rhodeytony #ironhusbands #ironhusbands drabble #tony stark drabble #i hATE tagging #mcu #marvel #aven.writing

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thathopelessromantic · 3 years ago

Text

Reckless Good (1/?)

Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Fic Rating: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto/Midoriya Izuku

Note: Part of the @tododekubigbang for 2021! I'm super excited to share this AU with everyone. And please check out the awesome compaion art from @cryptidcatgod for chapter six!

Todoroki Shouto had accepted his fate as a public figure when he became a pro-hero, but there are some parts of his private life he would like to stay private. When he gets invited to be a speaker in a college lecture series, he goes to the meeting with one goal: to give the coordinator a piece of his mind and finally put an end to people hounding him for information about his family.

The last thing he expects is the curious, and quirkless, hero- and quirk-study professor, Midoriya Izuku, who has no interest in his family's history, and, somehow, even more ties to the hero industry than Shouto. Intrigued by the professor, Shouto tentatively agrees to the lecture series, unknowingly intertwining their futures.

But the more Todoroki sees of Midoriya, the more questions he has. When a villain attack leaves them living together until the culprits are apprehended, maybe he'll finally get some answers.

AO3: (x)

Dear Pro-Hero Entropy,

On behalf of Musutafu University, I would like to cordially invite you to be a speaker in our first annual Hero Talks series. We anticipate university students, as well as members of the public from all walks of life, will be interested in hearing from 10 different pro-heroes, over the course of ten-weeks between September and November, as they discuss their experience in the hero industry, the details of their jobs, and the unique quirks they’ve encountered or that helped them in becoming the heroes of today.

I would be extremely grateful if you were willing to share your expertise and be a part of the series. You would be an excellent addition to our program, and our line-up of great heroes that already includes current number one, Pro-Hero Lemillion, the Permeation Hero, and the well-respected, Youthful Heroine Recovery Girl.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you!

“I think you should do it.”

Shouto pauses with his cup half-way to his mouth as the silence that had fallen over them is finally broken. Momo primly takes a sip of her tea, pointedly avoiding his astonished look.

“…What?”

Momo clears her throat, placing her teacup back on the table and sitting up, somehow, straighter in her chair. Despite the fact that they are in her home, she looks decidedly more uncomfortable than he feels, even by the bizarre direction of their conversation. “I think you should do it. I think it would be a good opportunity for you, Shouto.”

“Have you met me?” he asks incredulously. “There’s nothing ‘good’ about anything that includes me and talking.”

His phone, with the offending email still pulled up on the darkening screen, sits on the table between them. He doesn’t realize he is glaring at it until Momo plucks it up and away from his line of sight. Waking up the screen, she reads over the email again. He doesn’t know why she bothers – they must have poured over it together at least three or four times when he first arrived, dumbfounded by yet another invitation and nearly laughing over the ridiculous concept of him giving a talk on a college campus.

“It’s not like you would have to wing it, it’s still only April now, so the series won’t be taking place until the second term. You would have time to come up with a topic, write a speech, prepare.”

“No one wants to listen to me read from a piece of paper for an hour,” he replies drolly. “And I don’t have anything to talk about that long, anyways.”

It is her turn to stare at him incredulously from across the table. He resists the urge to squirm under the disbelieving look. Finally, Momo sighs, returning his phone to the table.

“I think you underestimate what people would be willing to listen to,” she clears her throat. “You have a unique perspective on the hero industry that very few have, or get to hear about-”

“Because my dad was a dick?”

“Due to being raised by a hero," she continues on, as if he hadn't spoken. "And not just any hero, but someone who was the number two hero for a very long time, and even briefly the number one hero. Very few heroes nowadays have children, and even fewer have children who go on to follow in their footsteps. You’re a legacy.”

“I’m the only one of any of Endeavor’s kids to become a hero. If they wanted to hear about hero family legacies, they should have contacted Iida.”

Momo sighs, rubbing her temples. He’s noticed her doing that around him with increasing frequency these days. “Well I believe they did, actually. And he agreed.”

Shouto leans back in his seat. “Then he can talk all about being a legacy. What would they need to hear from me for?”

Momo is quiet for a very long time. “…Well-”

“No.”

“You brought it up.”

“Not seriously. I’m not going to talk about that.”

“It was just a suggestion. You, your family, have kept things remarkably quiet after it all went down, and I understand wanting to protect your privacy, considering it really is none of their business, but people are always going to have questions. It’s been years since the trial and the media still asks you every year. At least this way, if you talked about it, you could control the narrative.”

Shouto looks away. The setting sun is just out of sight from the dining room window, but it paints the neighbor’s house and the trees along the road a warm orange. The anniversary of the trial, of his father’s fall from grace in the public eye was just a few weeks away, still looming over him, even years after the fact. He has no interest in ‘controlling the narrative.’ He’d rather not think about it at all, actually. But just like every year before, as the date grew closer, the media got more frantic, more invasive.

You would think after more than ten years of radio silence from the Todoroki family they would finally get discouraged, and yet…

Sensing he wasn’t interested in pursuing this topic of conversation any longer, Momo changes tactics, carefully pulling his thoughts from a dangerous spiral. “Or you could have a meeting with the person who invited you. See what topic they had in mind for you.”

Shouto glances at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Well they didn’t just mass invite heroes, the invitations have only gone out to a select few. I’m assuming the coordinator had some idea of what they thought those particular heroes would talk about.” There is a quiet click of her nails against the glass table top as she picks up his phone once more. “You could set up a meeting with him and see what he had in mind. If the topic is something you’re comfortable talking about, wonderful. If not, you can decline the invitation, and all you’ve wasted is an afternoon.”

Something clicks in his head and Shouto sits up again, an idea brewing. He turns his attention back to her. “I still don’t want to give a talk,”

“Shouto-”

“But you have a point. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

Momo smiles, but her brows shoot up, a clear indication of her surprise at – and her suspicion over – his quick surrender. “I’m…a little shocked you agree.”

“Well you’d just keep bothering me about it if I didn’t at least talk to him, wouldn’t you?” She glares at him but doesn’t refute the accusation. “But isn’t it just the dean of the school that sent the emails? He’s probably not the sole coordinator.”

“No,” She shakes her head, handing his phone back over. “It says here he’s a professor.”

Midoriya Izuku, Ph.D.

Professor of Hero and Quirk Studies

Musutafu University

[email protected]

It takes two days after his talk with Momo for Shouto to get around to even opening the professor’s response to his request for a meeting.

Kyouka watches him suspiciously from where she’s draped over his office chair as he paces in front of his desk. “What’s wrong with you?”

She takes an obnoxious sip of her coffee. The smell has permeated the entire room and it makes something in his stomach curl with longing, but his doctor made it explicitly clear that he was to take an extended break from the drink after letting it serve as breakfast, lunch, and dinner a few too many days in a row. Something more painful than longing – perhaps an ulcer he may or may not have given himself from his liquid diet – twists his stomach.

“Why are you even here?”

Kyouka sighs at his question, her head lolling back as she sinks deeper into the chair. He’s not totally sure what she’s doing. He knows for a fact those chairs aren’t comfortable. His best attempt to keep people from staying in his office longer than absolutely necessary.

“Kyouka?”

She takes another sip of her coffee. He has absolutely no idea how she doesn’t spill it all over herself in that position.

“Momo asked me to talk to you.”

He stops pacing long enough to determine that she’s telling the truth. “…Why?”

“Because she doesn’t think you’ve emailed the professor back about that hero series yet.”

He glances at his computer. At the unread email blinking at the top of his inbox, taunting him. “I’m not saying she’s right…but why does she want you to talk to me about it?”

She swings her legs off the arm of the chair to sit up right and glare at him. “I resent the insinuation that I am not a great candidate for making you get your shit together. But,” she stands up, dropping her cup onto his desk and crossing her arms. Her expression is fierce, but he recognizes the barely-there flush high on her cheeks and the nervous twitch of her earphone jacks. “I was also invited to be a part of the series.”

Shouto stops, sinking into his desk chair. Invitations like this were usually a pain for him. For one, he hated public speaking �� or even extended conversations. As one of the top students at U.A., however, and as the son of a well-known hero, he had been getting requests for talks and interviews and special features for years. Most of which he usually ignored, knowing what it was they wanted him to talk about. But he knows an invitation like this can be special. Especially for someone like Kyouka, who doesn’t have particularly strong connections with the hero industry, even after graduating U.A. Her parents’ reputation and her internship with Present Mic made her more of a celebrity in the music industry than a well-known hero, despite all the great work she did.

“Kyouka,” he says quietly, earnestly, so that she pays attention to him. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she replies with a small smile, before her expression changes again. “But shut up, Todoroki. That’s not the point. Momo thinks you’ll be dragging your feet over getting back to the professor. But when she told me about how quickly you agreed, I got a feeling there was something else going on.” She braces her hands on his desk and leans into his personal space, jacks floating threateningly close to his throat. “You were gonna set up that meeting, and then just give him a hard time, weren’t you?”

Shouto freezes, caught. “Uh…”

It’s not exactly an admission, but Kyouka throws her head back and laughs, anyways. “I knew it. We’ve all been waiting for when you finally got fed up and picked a victim. I’m honestly surprised it’s taken this long.”

Shouto doesn’t mean for the quiet, astonished chuckle to slip out, but he supposes if it’s Kyouka, it’s alright. There’s a devilish glint in her eyes as she drops back into her chair.

“So,” she asks. “What are you waiting for?”

“You’re really not going to stop me?”

“We’re public figures, the media has never been interested in respecting our privacy, but we’ve all spent years watching you get hounded over your parents’ divorce and your father’s trial. If this is just another asshole trying to get a scoop, or recognition for finally getting you to spill, he deserves it. Everyone would agree. Well…Tenya and Momo might frown at your approach, but I still think they’d support the general idea. And well,” she shrugs. “If he is just an asshole, all the better for the rest of us to know now so we don’t support what he’s trying to do.”

He hesitates, mouse hovering over the professor’s email. “Are you sure?”

She scowls, though there isn’t any heat behind it. “If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t say it.” She comes around the desk to stand behind him. “Now hurry up, I have a patrol to get to.”

Reaching down, she opens the email before he can react.

Thank you so much for your interest! Of course we can meet to discuss the details of the series more. Below are my office hours when I will be on the Musutafu University campus. If you are not available for any of those times, please let me know when would work best for you and we can plan a meeting then.

Kyouka leans over his shoulder to read the email.

“Tuesday’s your day off next week, right?”

Shouto rolls his eyes but opens a new draft to reply.

Kyouka grins. “Good boy. I will report your excellent behavior to Momo.” She ruffles his hair before heading for the door, grabbing her coffee cup off his desk as she goes.

“Fuck off.”

She tosses her head back and laughs again. “Give ‘em hell.”

They make plans to meet in a few days, when Shouto has some time off, and the professor forwards his office room number and three different maps of campus “just in case.” Which Shouto found ridiculous….at the time.

Now he’s here, and has been wandering around for God knows how long. It takes approximately ten minutes for Shouto to admit he’s lost, and another five minutes for him to get frustrated over still being lost. He wasn’t sure what to expect of the university campus, but, clearly, he did not prepare enough in advance. The large, sprawling buildings remind him of U.A.’s campus, but rather than extra training grounds, the spaces between are grassy plots filled with students relaxing under the shade of trees or soaking up the sun on blankets. Instead of practicing hand-to-hand, the students sit in clusters pouring over textbooks or typing away on laptops. And they, of course, all appear perfectly at home amongst the labyrinth of lecture halls.

The paved plaza in the middle of all the activity hosts a large fountain and a statue of a man with large, curling horns coming from his temples that Shouto assumes has some kind of importance to the school, but that he doesn’t recognize.

He forwent his hero-suit for jeans, a button-up, and a leather jacket – in addition to sunglasses, a mask, and a baseball cap. The clothing seemed to blend in well enough with the other students, if not a tad understated, but his distinct hair and scar are not so easily hidden and soon enough he notices students staring, following his movements back and forth across campus or whispering amongst themselves.

Eventually, a few brave students manage to catch him as he is trying to reorient himself. Again.

“Um, excuse me, are you pro-hero Entropy?” a girl asks. Two friends flank her, staring with wide eyes.

Caught, he pulls down his mask. “Ah, yes. Hello.”

“Oh my gosh! Hi-Hello, I’m wow…I’m sorry to bother you, but it’s really great to meet you!”

“Are you here about the Hero Talks series!?” one of her friends asks suddenly, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth after the loud outburst.

Well…they aren’t wrong, and maybe they can help him. “It’s…something like that.” He agrees carefully.

The three light up with smiles, two of them jumping up and down in excitement.

“Dr. Midoriya is going to be so excited, oh my gosh!”

“You know the professor?”

All three nod excitedly. “We’re all in his Intro to Combat Analysis lecture! He’s been gushing about this series since he got permission last semester!” the third student finally chimes in.

Perfect. “Do you know where I could find his office? I’m supposed to be meeting with him, but I’ve gotten a little turned around.”

The three jump to help direct him to the right building, gushing all the while over the professor and his classes. By the time they finally part ways, Shouto feels a little guilty about his plan to give the professor a piece of his mind over the whole thing and misleading them about his intention to join the series. They were nice girls after all.

Someone bumps into him before he reaches the building, sending him stumbling off the sidewalk.

“I’m so sorry,” a bright voice calls, gently pulling Shouto back onto the pavement. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you alright?”

Large, bright green eyes behind thin, wire-framed glasses give him a quick once-over, as if looking for injuries. The man meets his gaze through his sunglasses for a moment before glancing down at his wrist watch again. Somehow, he feels even more dazed meeting the man’s eyes than simply being booted off the sidewalk.

“…yes I’m fine, thank you.”

The man gives him a dazzling smile, flashing one dimple and further accentuating the smattering of freckles over his cheeks. “Good, good. Sorry again.” With a quick bow, the man is on his way again and headed into the building before them. The same building Shouto was headed.

Shaking off the strange feeling left behind, he waits a few moments, so as not to appear as if he was following the bright-eyed man, and goes inside. Along the wall there are signs directing visitors to particular room numbers or restrooms, and a bulletin board nearly as long as the wall is tall, full of posters advertising events happening around campus, and Musutafu, as well as ads looking for roommates or a reminder about signing up for a study abroad program. Right in the corner, as if attached as an after-thought, or a secret, there’s a small, handwritten flyer declaring the First Annual Hero Talks series could be counted as credits for Quirk or Hero Study students looking for an independent study if they met with Dr. Mirdoriya before the end of the term. Shouto almost takes the flyer before he realizes, realistically, that the students who might be interested in such a thing would probably benefit from it more than his brief curiosity needed to be sated.

Turning from the wall, he sets out for the stairs. The students instructed him to take the staircase on the far end of the east hall (the closest to the professor’s office, supposedly), to the third floor, where the professor’s office would be the third door on the left.

Midoriya Izuku is written clearly on a small sign hanging outside of the office. A small box sits under it, stuffed full of papers and folders that Shouto assumes are from students. The professor’s half-open door is covered in colorful posters and stickers – including, Shouto realizes, another copy of the flyer about the series and a poster of him, Pro-Hero Entropy, from his debut year. He looks away from his younger self and knocks on the door.

“Dr. Midoriya?” he calls, poking his head into the office.

The first thing he notices is that the hero-memorabilia on the door has absolutely nothing on what’s inside the office. More posters cover the entire front of the professor’s desk, and from the looks of it the top of his computer. Mixed between dozens of books on the shelves and filing cabinets filling two of the four walls are hero-figurines and framed pictures of heroes or preserved comic books. Even more posters and framed pictures cover the rest of the walls.

The second thing he notices, is that the broad-shouldered man dropping a beat-up, leather satchel to the ground besides the desk, is the same man who ran into him outside.

Dr. Midoriya whirls around, greeting him with another 100-watt smile. “Ah yes! Hello- oh! It’s you.”

“Ah, yes.” Shouto shuffles a little further into the office, he pulls his mask down under his chin and takes his sunglasses off, tucking them into the collar of his shirt. After a second's thought, he pulls off his cap as well, shoving the bill into his back pocket.

Dr. Midoriya’s jaw drops, his eyes comically wide, for approximately three seconds, before he comes back into himself, steeling his expression. His hands flutter nervously around his head for a moment and then he smiles again.

“Entropy! Welcome! I’m so sorry I did not recognize you before. Please, come in. Take a seat. Did you find your way through campus alright?”

Shouto gives a small bow, mumbling a thank you, as he comes further into the office to sit in one of the two small chairs before the desk. A poster of some of his old classmates is hung at knee-level, and even on paper, Momo's serious expression is judging him. Kyouka is egging him on.

Dr. Midoriya still stands behind his desk, staring at Shouto like he’s not sure what to make of him sitting in his office.

“Uh…Dr. Midoriya?”

The professor snaps back to life. “Yes! Sorry, sorry,” he sits down finally, pulling off his glasses and putting them to the side. “Welcome, again, to Musutafu University. And thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to consider our series! I really can’t tell you how thrilled I was to get your email.”

Shouto shifts in his seat. The professor talks with his hands, and every movement seems to pull the beige-colored cardigan he’s wearing even tighter around his biceps. Shouto isn’t usually one to speculate about others’ quirks unless in a fight, but he wonders now if the professor has some kind of strength-augmenting quirk – and if he does, how adept is he at using it if Shouto pisses him off? The potential of getting his ass kicked has never stopped Shouto before, but he can already hear the lecture he’d get from Momo, and probably Fuyumi, if he made the news for destroying a college building in a fight with a civilian professor.

Honestly, the property damage would probably be the least of their worries if he starts fighting with civilians.

“I know you don’t normally work with the media or make non-heroic work public appearances so I figured it was a long shot for you to even consider being a part of the series, but I really think you would make an amazing feature.”

Shouto shifts in his seat. Here it comes, he thinks. He really should have prepared what exactly he was going to say more, but he figured it would just come to him in the moment. Now, for some reason, he’s nervous. As if he would accidentally agree or something else equally absurd.

How this sweater had contained the man’s arms so far was a miracle, honestly.

“…but quirks are mutating, or rather evolving, at an astonishing rate. Every generation we see quirks getting stronger than those of previous generations but more and more we are now seeing children with quirks that have little to no relation to their parent’s quirks, or a manifestation of some kind of combination of quirks. You gained attention early on for being one of the first heroes, or even hero-in-training, to have multiple quirks.

“Now that it’s becoming more common, hearing first hand from someone who has had to learn how to control and gain mastery over two separate quirks would be invaluable information, especially for many quirk-study students who will be working with parents and children who are going through this for the first time, and for those who may have some form of a combination quirk but did not have the benefit of a hero-course education that could teach them proper control.”

Wait…what?

“What?”

Dr. Midoriya startles, glancing between Shouto and something unseen in the air around him. “Oh…” he winces. “I’m sorry. Was I mumbling again? I apologize, sometimes my brain works faster than my mouth and I get carried away, where did I…never mind, I’ll start again…slower. So, when quirks first appeared-”

Shouto holds up a hand to stop the professor and his jaw snaps shut with an audible click. “You want me to talk about my quirk?”

“…Yes?”

“Not…my family?”

Dr. Midoriya lowers his arms to the top of his desk, folding his hands together. Shouto thinks it might be the first time he has seen him completely still since they first ran into each other outside.

Now that they’re closer, and his hands aren’t moving, Shouto can also see surprisingly large scars running over the professor’s fingers and onto the backs of his hands. Those definitely don’t look like something you would get as a teacher. At least not as a normal, non-hero course teacher.

“Do you want to talk about your family?”

He shifts awkwardly in his seat. The professor’s serious attention directed all at him is suddenly unnerving somehow. “Well, no, I don’t.”

Dr. Midoriya nods, once. “Okay.” A pause. “Honestly, I was surprised to even hear you ask, I hadn’t considered broaching the topic for something like this.”

“You didn’t?” he asks incredulously.

Dr. Midoriya pins him with an expression he can’t interpret but inexplicably reminds him of Aizawa back in high school when he was frustrated with students or a lesson or even a fellow teacher. Especially All Might.

“Entropy, you have made it very clear in the past that you have no interest in talking about what happened to your family publicly. And that is your right. No one is owed anything about your personal life. If you suddenly decided you wanted to talk about what happened, and you wanted to use the Hero Talks series as your platform, you would be more than welcome to do so. Honestly, the publicity from that one lecture alone would probably be enough to guarantee the university allowing this series again in the future. But that is not why I asked you to be a part of it. You want to keep your private affairs private, and I respect that. I picked heroes who I knew the public would be interested in hearing from, but also who would have the most helpful information to offer to the students who are studying these topics, and, frankly, they would learn far more hearing about your quirk than your…homelife.”

“I…I wouldn’t know what to talk about.” Shouto admits awkwardly.

Dr. Midoriya smiles softly. “That’s okay. I can give you some general topics to consider, or more specific questions to think about as main points if that would be more helpful. Let me see…” he turns around in his chair, shifting to the side, and Shouto can see the shelves just under the view of the desk are stuffed full of identical notebooks, each with a carefully penned number on the binding. The professor pulls one out and flips through it. Almost every page is crammed with scrawling handwriting, some written sideways or upside down, squeezed into every blank space he could find. The slightly-less busy pages have drawings of heroes or costumes or diagrams Shouto can’t interpret from the quick, upside-down glance he gets of them.

From his seat Shouto could see there were, at least, two shelves of these notebooks. Were they all like that?

Finally, the professor finds what he’s looking for with a satisfied hum. He sets the notebook on the desk, turning it so Shouto can see. The page is marginally less chaotic than others he saw. At the top, in surprisingly neat handwriting and underlined three times, it reads: Questions for Multiple-Quirk Usage (Entropy).

The rest of the page is made up of dozens of questions about his quirk. Some, Shouto imagines, are just general questions for anyone with multiple quirks to consider (Do you activate both quirks the same way? Can you use them both simultaneously?) and get progressively tailored to questions about his quirk, like if there are places he can’t use one quirk or the other and the temperature ranges of his fire and ice, if particular environmental factors affect his ability to use either of them.

“Uh…”

Dr. Midoriya scratches the back of his head sheepishly. He hides a nervous laugh with a cough before taking the notebook back and closing it. The light isn’t strong in the office, but Shouto is positive the professor is blushing.

“Of course, if a list of topics or questions is something you would be interested in, I can provide you with a neater – and shorter – list. This was just a-a demonstration that there is a lot to consider when it comes to multiple quirks. Of course, not all of that would be relevant for a lecture, and admittedly some are just personal curiosities, but…anyways,” he clears his throat. “I’m assuming if you came here thinking I was going to ask about your family…you don’t actually want to be a part of the series.”

Shouto crosses his arms over his chest, sitting back in his chair. Does he want to be a part of a public lecture series? No. But now he is undeniably curious about this professor and how the hell his brain works.

“Do you have a notebook page like that for every hero?”

“Every hero? That would be impossible…well maybe not impossible-” Shouto raises a brow and the professor bites his tongue. “Maybe…most Japanese heroes since…early Silver Age and well-known international heroes? And any American heroes who would have overlapped with All Might’s time either learning or working in America.”

“How long have you been making those?”

He looks down a little wistfully at the question, thumbing gently at the corner of the page. “I was probably four or five when I started my first one,” he admits with a quiet laugh. “None that are here are quite that old, though.”

Shouto has…so many questions.

There’s a quiet buzz of the professor’s phone going off. He excuses himself for a moment and pulls the cell out of his pocket. His case has the design of All Might’s Golden Age costume.

“I’m sorry, Entropy, I have another meeting and I teach a class after so I can’t talk much longer today.”

“I should be getting going anyways.” Shouto says, standing up and Dr. Midoriya shoots out of his chair.

“Right, yes, of course. I’m sorry we probably took up more of your time than you meant to. Thank you for coming in, it was an honor to speak with you.”

Shouto feels like “honor” is a bit much, he didn’t really even say much at all, and he came here with rather rude intentions but, he doesn’t really know how to argue with the professor’s enthusiasm.

His brain and his good sense, and the small bit of self-preservation he has left, all tell him to keep going, to accept the professor’s gracious dismissal and move on, but he finds himself hesitating in the doorway anyways.

“Uh…Entropy? Is everything alright?” Dr. Midoriya asks, looking at him curiously.

Oh hell.

“If you send me the list, of topics…I’ll think about it.”

Dr. Midoriya’s entire being lights up. “Really?”

Oh, he was really going to regret this.

“…Yes.”

“Thank you! I will forward it to you right away!” He drops into a bow so deep, so quickly, he slams his head into the top of the desk.

Both of them freeze at the resounding crack that echoes in the small room. Shouto takes a step back into the office, already reaching for the professor.

“Are you alright?”

Dr. Midoriya straightens, looking a little dazed but mostly just embarrassed. There’s a bright red mark on his forehead. “Oh my God.” He whispers.

Shouto is surprised, and a little ashamed, by how hard it is to keep himself from laughing at the horrified expression. “Dr. Midoriya, are you-”

The desk gives a sudden, heaving creak and tips sideways. The two watch helplessly as the desk collapses, sending the clutter on top flying across the floor.

Dr. Midoriya makes a strangled noise, covering his face with his hands. “Not again.”

Again?

There are rushed footsteps outside and a young woman with six eyes and lavender hair piled in a high bun peeks her head in through the half-open door. “Dr. Midoriya, did you break something again?”

“I’m sorry Kobayashi.” He bows his head again, though not nearly as low this time, and keeps his face covered.

Kobayashi tuts disapprovingly. “I’ll call for another,” she says, already turning on her heel to leave.

“Thank you, Kobayashi.”

Shouto bends down to gather some of the papers that scattered around his feet. Dr. Midoriya lowers his hands, immediately stumbling over the mess when he sees Shouto cleaning.

“Please Entropy, thank you, but that’s not necessary.”

“It’s fine,” he waves off the worries. “Where would you like these things?”

“Uh,” Dr. Midoriya looks around the office for a moment. “Here, thank you.” Taking the papers from him he makes a neat pile on his un-damaged desk chair.

It’s quick work for the two of them to straighten up the rest of the room, though the professor takes a moment to mourn his cracked eyeglasses, and then again when he realizes some of the posters were damaged by the desk’s fall.

“Thank you again, Entropy. I’m so sorry about all the trouble.”

“It’s…fine.” Shouto says dumbly. “Well I should…go, now.”

“Yes, of course! I’m sorry about taking up even more of your time. Thank you for coming in.”

Before Shouto can reply, two new people arrive, knocking once before they shuffle into the office. Shouto moves further into the room, out of the way, as they collect the broken desk and carry it out of the room.

For a moment, they stand in silence, Shouto coming up with about a hundred more questions about the professor, while Dr. Midoriya stands nearby, twisting his hands together in embarrassment. Finally, his common-sense kicks in enough that after another short good-bye, Shouto manages to walk himself out of the office and down the stairs without doing anything else stupid or impulsive.

He passes someone on his way to the doors, so focused on getting out of the building that he doesn’t notice until they call his name.

He recognizes the wild purple hair and slouched stance of the man approaching him, but nearly dismisses the similarities on principle.

“Shinso? Since when do you come out while the sun’s still up?” He asks.

Ignoring the jab, Shinso pulls off a pair of sunglasses and looks him up and down. Despite also being a part of U.A.’s hero course in high school, Shinso promptly went underground after graduation and has been working in the shadows long enough that only some other pros and hardcore hero-fans are able to recognize him out of costume. “What are you doing here?”

“I was…I had a meeting with a professor,” he admits.

Shouto doesn’t know Shinso well, but he swears he looks surprised by the admission.

And then he laughs. “I can’t believe he actually did it. Good for him.”

Shouto isn’t totally sure he heard him correctly, but when he asks, Shinso makes an expression he can’t figure out and changes the subject.

“I’ll see you later, Todoroki.” He says with a wave.

Shouto waves back, unsure of what to make of the interaction, and watches as Shinso disappears up the same stairs he just descended.

Shoving the strange interaction out of his head, he pushes open the doors and steps outside.

Then he calls Kyouka.

She picks up after two rings. “Did you make him cry?”

He can hear Momo scold her from the background.

“No, but I think I fucked up.”

Kyouka is quiet for a moment but based on the noise he hears in the background, he thinks she’s moving further away from Momo. When she speaks again, her voice is quieter. “Fucked up how? Like news crews are coming to report the damage and you might be going to jail for beating up an old, civilian professor-fucked up?”

Faintly, Shouto wonders what it says about him that both he and Kyouka assumed the worst-case scenario for this meeting was him fighting with a civilian.

“No, fucked up like…I didn’t tell him ‘no’?”

#bnha #mha #tddk #tododeku #tododeku big bang 2021 #midoriya izuku #todoroki shouto #fic #rita writes #6.17.21 #fic: reckless good

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lovelyirony · 5 years ago

Note

Hhhhhhnggggg I thought of something and I think you can make it beautiful. "Being your father is more important to me than being their friend."

thank you!

If you had told Tony Stark that he would be a father figure some day, he would’ve laughed in your face. Because Tony Stark is not a figure for anything besides perhaps business or alcoholism.

But then Iron Man.

But then Avengers.

But then...everything.

The first time he really considers himself a father figure is when he gets emailed from Harley who starts it off with “why is your email embarrassingly easy to hack? Anyway I want to ask you about this robot thing. I’m not saying I’m building it but if I would be doing so what would I need.”

Tony emails back:

“When you hack into my email all of my employees who work in the encryption networks get an alert and put you on the ‘watch-for-this’ list. Basically all about employment. Anyway, suppose you are building this (and you are, because you’re a punk)...you need some copper wiring and I’ll send you the other stuff.”

Harley and Tony pull up a sort of correspondence over email. And then Harley demands to have his number because “no one uses email anymore except for clothing companies, and you are not supplying me with any good deals on shirts.”

(Tony absolutely does deny that he loves this kid when Rhodey catches them talking on the phone.)

He also says he’s just providing a learning opportunity when Harley and his sister get to come to New York for a summer.

“It’s because you like kids,” Rhodey says. “And you like Harley because he’s as much of a little shit as you are.”

“False, he’s even more so. He built a potato gun and aimed it at me the first time we met.”

“And you probably made some wise-ass remark about him or what have you. I wanna meet him.”

Harley is an asshole.

(Tony’s glad to have him.)

His sister is sweet. Lily likes to learn about the world and the different connections between countries. Tony has no doubt that she has a career with the UN and makes sure to subtly get her books about political science and cool historical events.

They don’t mention the distinct lack of the Avengers, at least until they’re at the dinner table and Tony’s picking at broccoli.

“So, when are you going to recruit new members?” Harley asks, looking directly at him. He’s one of the few people in Tony’s life that can look at him directly now. He’s never shied away from that, and he can appreciate it.

“Why would I recruit new members?”

“We still need the Avengers. Besides, maybe you can find someone who doesn’t have as lame a costume as Captain America.”

Tony snorts, taking his plate to the sink.

“I’ll think about it.”

He thinks long and he thinks hard that night. Tony’s not an idiot when it comes to the team’s whereabouts. They need somewhere where they are untouchable by anyone.

And where better than a country with a long reputation of being a total recluse?

He’ll have to ask King T’Challa if they also put coffee grounds down the sink.

But they do need a team. And he remembers in the letter that Steve sent that he said that the Avengers were perhaps more of a family for Tony than for Steve.

Yeah. It shows. Shows by the way Natasha, Clint, and Wanda all left with him. Shows how they’re family because no one’s there for Tony when he’s gasping for air from Steve’s shield crashing down on his chest, cracking.

(He said that the shield didn’t belong to Steve. He wasn’t wrong. That shield doesn’t belong to Steve, because it’s not a belonging. It’s simply...Steve.)

So. Family. Tony needs to find a new one. Or just new teammates.

He talks to Rhodey, who agrees to be an overseer or who shows up.

Rhodey asks about Spider-Man.

“He’s on reserves only,” Tony says. “I can’t have him get hurt.”

Peter’s a great kid. One of the best there is, most likely. (Just don’t ever ask Tony to say that out loud.)

And he’s been itching to test out some new micro-fabric that has to do with defensive techniques that Tony’s been toying with, and this is the perfect time to introduce Peter to Harley.

Harley’s soft, worn t-shirts contrast with the bright, punny shirts that Peter almost always wears. Peter talks a mile a minute while Harley really only says what he has to.

At first, Tony isn’t sure if they’re going to get along. Harley’s not one for enthusiastic, jumpy people and hates going into New York City for literally anything.

(“You’re supposed to come for dinner! We’re only eating with Pepper!”

“I literally do not care. I saw a rat and I saw a person who was wearing neon orange. I am not dealing with this.”)

But Peter is surprisingly savage when he wants to be, and they bond over roasting Tony within an inch of his life.

“I literally cannot believe you,” Tony says. “You go from stuttering to roasting me over my shoe choice.”

“Mr. Stark, those are quite possibly the ugliest shoes you could wear to this event,” Peter stresses. “You’re wearing a suit and bright orange shoes.”

“Yes! It’s called being unique.”

“It’s called ‘you’re about to get roasted by every magazine and social media account’,” Harley answers, not even looking up from his project. “Change your shoes.”

“I’m Iron Man. I can handle a little fashion roasting.”

“Yeah but you should have better taste,” Harley deadpans. “Go with the silver shoes. They’re not terrible.” Tony pouts but changes into the shoes.

Harley and Peter send him both an article about “the unique, amazingly quirky style of one Tony Stark,” with captions that mean the same thing: told you so.

It’s sad when Harley has to go back home with Lily. Tony promises them that they can spend every summer upstate if their mother is okay with it. Lily gives him a friendship bracelet before they fly and no, Tony does not Cry Actual Buckets.

Peter’s summer is about to end, and Tony’s getting on him about last minute AP homework.

“What do you mean you didn’t have time to finish up your AP History diorama? You spent all of last weekend googling military conspiracy theories! You have had time!”

“Okay, that’s fair, but still--”

Tony sends Harley and Lily care packages and letters. They send him back letters about the school day, what’s going on in the community, and Lily tends to “tell on” her brother about his own projects.

“She didn’t have to tell you I was building a flying motorbike,” Harley whines. “Or that I couldn’t modulate it.”

“Yeah, but she knows that you need someone to bounce ideas off of. So you could’ve easily talked to Peter or myself.”

(The motorbike works and Tony has to plead with Harley not to use it to get to New York.

“Feasibly if I could up the speed, Lily and I could be there in six hours so--”

“Don’t you dare!”)

Peter drops by all the time to check in on the progress of the new Avengers. They’ve contacted one of Rhodey’s “friends,” Carol Danvers.

“A woman that cool? Simply could not have been ‘just’ a friend,” Tony says, smiling. “We’ll ask her about it later.”

“Nope, you and your freaky Spider-Son are not asking Danvers shit,” Rhodey says.

“He’s not my son.”

“He might as well be, sweetheart. He’s already copying your penchant for graphic shirts and being horrible at lying.”

“I’m not horrible at it.”

“Yes you are,” Rhodey answers. “For example. Tell me a lie. Tell me that you hate Peter.”

“Why would I ever tell that lie?”

“Because you can’t. Next question. When are you going to lecture him about not stealing leftovers?”

Tony laughs.

In all honesty, life has been going great. In Tony’s personal life, he and Pepper are going back to better terms friendship-wise. Harley is coming up for Christmas and Peter’s been planning Secret Santa with everyone who lives at the base.

And then they hear word of a return.

Rhodey wants to take...drastic measures.

“We are not sending them to the moon,” Pepper says, rolling her eyes.

“Why not?”

“A waste of money, Jim. Honestly.”

“True point.”

Tony freezes when he realizes that he won’t be there in time to see them because he’s picking Harley and Lily up.

“You take Peter with you, we’ll meet them, Rhodey says, smiling. “Nothing like a classic New York welcome, right?”

“You are not yelling ‘fuck you’ with a bullhorn,” Tony responds, trying to hide a laugh. “I better not hear that you made international news.”

“Then don’t turn on your TV.”

Harley and Lily have already heard the news. Harley’s digging through his suitcase in the middle of the airport, and Tony has to flash a smile and a guilty look to a security guard in order for the TSA to lay off.

“What are you doing, nerd?” Tony asks.

“Trying to make a slingshot that has a bit more bite to it. You think we can pick up loose concrete rocks on the way to the base?” Harley asks.

“No, we are not doing that. What I am doing is dropping you off at Peter’s house until I can get them somewhere to stay.”

“You don’t owe them anything,” Lily remarks. “They broke international border rules and technically should be under government jurisdiction. You don’t have to give them a space.”

“And yet I’m the only one good at containing,” Tony sighs. “Look, I’m sorry that this won’t be the ideal--”

“Peter’s not at his house,” Harley answers, frowning at his phone. “Something about barricades?”

“Oh my god,” Tony groans. “Rhodey got him. Well, in the car. How good are both of you at immediately ducking and rolling out of a car?”

“We can still be there for you,” Harley says, annoyed. “I have a stun gun that could take down a tyrannosaurus rex.”

“You can’t substantiate that with concrete evidence,” Lily argues.

“I theorize that Rogers has to be weaker than a T-Rex, so I think it’s gonna be effective,” Harley responds. “Let me try it out, Tony? Please?”

“No,” Tony says, but adds, “maybe in a week.”

Peter is waiting inside and lights up when he sees Harley and Lily.

“Good, the holidays can really begin,” Peter jokes. “We even have the questionable side of the family in for a visit.”

“For now,” Rhodey says, scowling. “Tony, please tell me they won’t be here for the holidays. We were supposed to pull out the decorations today.”

“I’ll figure something out,” Tony says wearily. “Have the delegates been contacted?”

“Marya and Joseph are on their way to deal with re-homing issues and family connections. They should be tied up with legal and personal aspects all day.”

“Good,” Tony says. “But I do need to go greet them.”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Rhodey says, serious expression. “I can deal with them.”

“You shouldn’t have to. And besides, it’ll be better coming from me. Being here for you all is more important than trying to be their friend.”

Harley, Peter, and Lily give him a hug.

“Don’t stay too long,” Peter says. “I made a Christmas Roulette Playlist.”

“Why is it roulette?”

“One Halloween song and at least one opera song. Whoever can name the song first wins the privilege of opening the first ornament for the tree.”

“Wait up for me,” Tony says, grinning.

It’s hard to face people you used to know.

But Tony has a family to get back to.

#tony stark #rhodey #pepper potts #iron fam #anyways tony's living his best life adn harley's an asshole #harley keener #peter parker #also mcu never gave harley's sister a name so i named her lily because i love her #lovelyirony writes

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wedreamedlove · 5 years ago

Photo

[Confessing Voice]

"Under the glimmering lights I was only watching your radiance. I'll place everything I wish to tell you in this song."

This is doing a rerun on the ENG server so what better time to post a translation on it than now? Maybe it'll encourage people to get the card. But I'm also curious about what people feel regarding the differences between the versions.

Does the Asian version seem more quiet with charged undertones while the English version is more physical? It reminds me of reviews I've read about different actors' takes on the Phantom of the Opera lol.

NOTE: This is the JP version with CN subbed lines because I needed to keep the literary reference with the song he sings.

[True Love Date]

I was meticulously checking the first broadcast of Miracle Finder for the New Year in the editing room.

It was an important broadcast related to our sponsors and our ratings this year. I looked over the show's contents with especially strict eyes.

Editing Staff: We've edited this 12 times already...

Everyone's line of sight gathered on me. They were waiting for me to give the OK.

MC: I think it's good this time. We're done with this!

Cheers rose. Looking at everyone who worked hard through consecutive all-nighters I felt bad.

MC: Good job everyone. I'll be generous with the project rewards so look forward to that!

Editing Staff: President, the person we need to thank the most is Professor Xu Mo.

I showed a confused expression.

Editing Staff: I secretly contacted Professor Xu Mo when we kept on redoing this. He gave me a lot of advice even though he was busy...

I looked at my phone screen in surprise. Two weeks earlier---

~~~

His face crossed my mind when I was troubled over this current project.

My hand moved on its own to call Xu Mo. It started to become a habit to contact him whenever I had problems.

Xu Mo picked up after several rings.

MC: Xu Mo? Are you busy right now? There's something I'd like to ask you...

Static crackled from the other side of the call. After a while, I heard Xu Mo's voice.

Xu Mo: I'm sorry but lately... I've been busy.

His tone was calm but also distant. It wasn't from exhaustion. I felt a coldness from somewhere.

MC: Don't worry. It wasn't anything serious, so...

Xu Mo: Mm. If it's nothing then I'm going to end the call.

MC: Okay...

Xu Mo didn't say anything further. That was more than enough to make me feel the distance between us.

MC: Wait!

MC: Um... you might be busy, but take care of yourself. Bye bye.

Just when I thought there was rough breathing it suddenly fell quiet. Hearing a monotone beeping, I came back to myself. Xu Mo had already ended the call.

MC: Did he hear my last words...?

Looking at the ended call I was struck by a strange feeling.

Maybe I was thinking too much? His words and speech was cold like never before.

MC: What am I thinking? Xu Mo is just busy...

Although I tried telling myself that I couldn't help but feel uneasy somewhere.

I shook my head and drove away my negative emotions. I relied too much on him. This time I needed to solve things by myself.

Editing Staff: ---President, President? Are the credits good like this?

I returned to the present after being lost in my thoughts. The words "Program Supervisor: Xu Mo" on the credits roll jumped into my eyes.

MC: W-what sort of advice did Professor Xu Mo give? Um... how did you get him to help? When was that?

Editing Staff: It was about 2 days ago. We were editing until 4AM but still had to redo everything... It was when you fell asleep on the sofa.

Editing Staff: After I called Professor Xu Mo, he asked me what happened to you, and I replied you were sleeping on the sofa.

Editing Staff: Then he ended the call saying he was busy. But the next morning an email arrived with detailed advice...

Editing Staff: The strange thing is that he wrote for me not to let you know. But you've found out already, so it's fine, right?

I wondered why Xu Mo helped when he had refused once.

(Why did he say not to let me know? Is there a problem if I know about it...?)

I also didn't understand the reason for Xu Mo's sudden coldness.

For a while there were no replies to my texts and his lectures were on break too. It was like he was distancing himself from me on purpose.

My heart clenched when I thought this.

Editing Staff: President, why don't we invite Professor Xu Mo to our New Year's party this time? He looked like he enjoyed our year-end party a few days ago and he helped us out this time too...

I said this while looking at the New Year's party notice I sent to everyone.

MC: He... seems to be busy, so he might not come.

Editing Staff: But he came to the year-end party even though he was busy, right...?

I hurried out of the editing room as if ending the topic.

On the day of the New Year's party, I came with everyone in the company to a newly opened high-class karaoke box in Lianyu City.

It was an elegant, modern, and spacious reserved room. A white grand piano and guitar were placed in front of the karaoke machine, and beside that was a small stage.

I checked my phone's text messages over and over again. A message from 3 days ago remained there.

Text: Xu Mo, my company's going to have a New Year's party at Petrichor 3 days later. If you'd like, why don't you come?

Text: You looked like you enjoyed singing at the year-end party a while ago, so I thought I'd invite you this time too. But if you're busy then please don't hesitate to refuse.

Even though the message was definitely sent there was no response. I sighed with worry and disappointment.

Yue Yue: President, why have you been staring constantly at your phone? Work is done for today!

Yue Yue quickly stole my phone, randomly touching the screen, and then placed it in front of herself.

MC: Hey, my phone...

I stretched out my hand but Yue Yue pushed a set of cards to me.

Yue Yue: You don't sing, right? Then let's play cards!

The company members around us gathered in interest. I had no choice but to pass the time playing cards with everyone.

Xu Mo's house---

The phone rang and a message arrived. It was from [NAME].

Xu Mo hesitated slightly and then picked up the phone. However, the message was just numbers and letters and he didn't understand what she wrote.

What was this? Xu Mo's expression became severe.

He searched on the internet and tried various methods but he couldn't decipher it. He felt a sense of frustration.

He wondered why she had sent this message.

Was she angry at being treated coldly? Or was it a demand for a reply to her New Year's party invitation...?

Xu Mo dialed her phone from his landline. However, only an automated voice saying "This phone has been turned off" came.

Xu Mo: What is wrong with me?

Xu Mo: When did I start caring about these conventions?

For a while, Xu Mo stared at the message which came from the girl 3 days ago. It was written with her usual detailed and kind words.

At the beginning, his objective was just to get close to her. But the closer he got the more he was drawn to her for some reason.

Xu Mo: Didn't I already decide to leave her life?

Why did he help her again even though he refused her once? Why was his heart unsettled from this incomprehensible message?

The intense pain in Xu Mo's heart insistently told him the reason. That over there was an answer he couldn't escape even if he desperately averted his eyes.

The moment the door to the karaoke room opened Xu Mo faintly understood the answer.

That he couldn't leave her.

~~~

MC: Xu Mo! You came?

Her clear eyes widened roundly and she looked at him. The person reflected in those eyes was him alone.

Xu Mo suddenly placed a hand on his chest. A thin thread was tightly squeezing his heart.

He sighed.

Forget it, he would be foolish once more with this foolish girl.

Xu Mo entered the room and sat beside her naturally.

MC: Weren't you busy?

MC: Erm, nevermind. You didn't reply so I didn't think you'd come.

Even under the dim lights he could clearly see her emotions.

There was joy and doubt.

He swallowed back the words he was about to say and softly stroked her hair.

Xu Mo: Sorry. I couldn't get through to your phone so I came here.

MC: You couldn't get through?

She looked down and searched the top of the sofa before showing him the phone, biting her lip awkwardly.

MC: I accidentally turned it off...

Xu Mo smiled lightly with some exasperation. Light and shadow were jumbled together in his eyes.

Xu Mo: Silly.

She gave a pure laugh and then, covering her face, her eyes darted around.

MC: Were you worried about me?

Xu Mo: Yes.

Xu Mo approached her and nodded without hesitation.

Yue Yue: Huh? It's Professor Xu Mo? President, you should have told us if the professor was coming.

MC: Uh... that's because...

Xu Mo: I heard everyone was having a New Year's party so I came without an invitation. I'm not interrupting, am I?

Yue Yue: No way. I was moved when I heard you singing at the year-end party. Everyone wants to hear it again!

Yue Yue said this and then ran back to the stage again to sing enthusiastically with Anna.

Xu Mo: Why aren't you singing together with them?

MC: Huh? I... don't sing much.

Xu Mo: I know. But I'd like to hear it.

My face turned red at Xu Mo's unexpected words.

MC: You're planning on teasing me again, aren't you...

The corners of Xu Mo's lips rose and then he sighed.

Xu Mo: It's true I was worried about you. It's also true that I want to hear you sing.

Xu Mo: Everything is true.

His casual words resounded in my heart more than any other noise in the room.

Yue Yue started singing a sad love song with Anna who was still on the stage.

Anna: Did you really throw away those glittering days...

Yue Yue: I had many dreams in those long nights. Don't remember me. One day you will also know pain...

Xu Mo looked at the words showing on the screen. The flickering light was reflected in his eyes.

The lively karaoke party on top of the stage repeated and, below the stage, everyone else amused themselves with games.

Seeing that Xu Mo had come everyone persistently invited him to join their game.

Gu Meng: Next is the improved version of Spin the Bottle! Whoever this beer bottle points to has to answer everyone's question. If they can't answer with the truth then as penalty they need to drink all this alcohol!

When Gu Meng clapped her hands the editing staff carried over a tray with five cups of whiskey.

Colleagues: This is overdoing it!

Looking at the lined up drinks, I became worried. I would get drunk from just one cup, so if I drank them all I might collapse.

That reminded me, I hadn't seen Xu Mo drink before. I looked at him inquisitively.

Xu Mo nodded and patted the back of my hand.

The beer bottle began to spin and then pointed at Gu Meng.

Yue Yue: Do you have someone you like?

Yue Yue, who had joined the circle at one point, began the questions. At that first question... everyone's eyes gathered on Gu Meng.

Gu Meng glared lightly at Yue Yue and then reluctantly nodded.

Cheers rose. Gu Meng spun the bottle as if trying to avenge herself. This time the bottle pointed at Xu Mo and stopped.

Yue Yue: Professor Xu Mo, is there someone you like in this room?

Gu Meng: How about trying another question?

Yue Yue: That's why I said "in this room"!

Xu Mo smiled and nodded decisively.

Xu Mo: There is.

That answer was so surprisingly clear that the area became quiet. After that cheers exploded and Gu Meng whistled.

My heart was already racing the second Yue Yue asked that question.

The person Xu Mo liked was in this room... My ears turned red and my mind went blank.

I unconsciously brought my hand back but Xu Mo grabbed it firmly.

Xu Mo: Why is your face red?

MC: Erm, uh... it's because of the drinks!

Xu Mo: But... it doesn't seem like you've drank anything yet.

MC: Umm, it's because it's hot then?

Looking at me as my voice gradually became smaller, Xu Mo chuckled beside my ear.

Yue Yue: Okay, next is Professor Xu Mo again!

The beer bottle pointed at Xu Mo again and stopped. This time Gu Meng restrained Yue Yue and asked a question.

Gu Meng: Who is the person you said you liked?

Everyone held their breath and stared at Xu Mo.

My heart wouldn't stop pounding. I looked down and reflexively pulled back the hand that was held by Xu Mo.

Xu Mo smiled, as if he understood something, and drained the drinks one after another.

Everyone was a bit disappointed and began to spin the bottle again.

I secretly glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He looked drunk and even his ears were red.

MC: Xu Mo, are you okay?

He nodded his head and brought his lips to my ear. His hot breath and the smell of alcohol drifted around me and it felt ticklish.

Xu Mo: I'm fine, although... you still owe me an answer.

MC: I...

I was at a loss for an answer and, at last after panicking, I fell silent. I just concentrated on touching my hair and hiding my discomposure.

Maybe it was because of the drinks or maybe the atmosphere of the place, but Xu Mo became talkative and his eyes were hazy.

Yue Yue: It's finally the president's turn!

Yue Yue and Gu Meng exchanged looks and then came up to me together.

Gu Meng: Who's the person important to you? Please be specific.

MC: How come I'm the only one who has to be "specific"?

Yue Yue: You have to keep to the rules. It's useless to try and run!

The person most important to me--- I looked at Xu Mo shyly and then breathed in deeply.

MC: That person showed me a world I didn't know about until now.

MC: He's warm but not oppressive. He's calm but not melancholic. He's a person that's like a clear sky and a deep fog.

MC: He also notices the slightest change in my feelings and taught me the laws of this world.

MC: Whenever I'm lost he leads me forward with a gentleness that surrounds me.

I sunk into my memories and continued to talk by myself, not noticing how beside me Xu Mo placed his glass down, furrowed his brows, and bit his lip...

MC: He is... a very, very important person to me.

Finished talking about my heart, I gave a deep sigh.

Colleague A: For the president to talk so passionately means that "man" isn't here, right? If he was here, then you wouldn't say this, huh~.

Yue Yue: I wanna know who it is!

MC: Hey now! Enough with the chatter, let's move on...

Everyone unanimously guessed at the "man" I talked about. Xu Mo remained silent and raised his glass, taking a mouthful of his drink.

Despite the game resuming Xu Mo seemed strange somewhere. It was like his cheer up to now had disappeared.

MC: Maybe he's drunk? He drank a lot earlier...

MC: I've never seen him drunk. I'm sure it'd be cute.

I stood in front of the sink, thinking about how he'd look drunk, and giggled.

~~~

The moment I stepped out into the hall to return to the room my arm was suddenly grabbed by someone. I was held against a sturdy chest with a force I couldn't fight against.

I was dumbfounded. The scent of summer grass and the smell of faint alcohol surrounded me.

When I came back to myself I was held tightly to Xu Mo. My back was against the wall and one of my arms was caught by him.

MC: Xu Mo...

My heart raced and I didn't know what to do.

Xu Mo looked at me with empty eyes.

Xu Mo: Is that person so important to you?

MC: Huh?

Xu Mo: Tell me. Who is that person?

Xu Mo suddenly came close, speaking in a censuring tone.

(Hold on. Didn't he hear me talk? Or... did he misunderstand?)

I looked up at Xu Mo. Complicated emotions that seemed about to overflow even now were being restrained desperately in his eyes.

MC: You've got it wrong...

Xu Mo: Tell me...

Xu Mo came even closer. The scorching heat of his presence enveloped my surroundings.

It was the first time I saw him with such a scary look. It was so surprising I had no idea what to do. I stared into his eyes and said this.

MC: It's you.

MC: ... The "man" I was talking about is you, Xu Mo. You're my important person.

Xu Mo's eyes became dazed for a second. The smell of alcohol disappeared.

MC: I was talking about you. But... it looks like I caused a misunderstanding...

Xu Mo regained his calm and quietly released my arm.

Xu Mo: I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?

MC: A little...

Xu Mo looked down and rubbed gently at my arm. I couldn't see his expression but his warmth reached up to my ears.

When we returned to the room everyone was still excited. My heart raced just from remembering what happened earlier.

Pressing on my chest, I told myself to "calm down". Then, so that he wouldn't drink any more alcohol, I secretly pulled his glass in front of me.

Yue Yue: President, you never sing, right? How about singing 1 song today at least?

Yue Yue held out the mic to me.

MC: Erm! I'll pass...

I looked at Xu Mo and nervously declined.

It wasn't that I was bad at singing. It was just that I wasn't prepared to sing in front of Xu Mo.

Yue Yue: If the president won't sing then I'll have Professor Xu Mo sing!

Hearing that, everyone became even more enthusiastic.

Xu Mo, who was looking at me, nodded. I also wanted to hear him sing.

He gave a soft smile and, holding a glass, went to the stage.

It was at that time that I finally noticed him wearing a black turtleneck and dark purple scarf.

The speckled lights shone on him and how he had a hand casually placed in his pocket. A languid and alluring atmosphere was brought out.

Xu Mo set his glass down. Then, after thinking a little, he came to me and nonchalantly took my hand and returned directly to the stage again.

He wasn't using a strong force, but there was a sense of pressure that brooked no refusal.

Before I knew it, he slotted his body against mine and placed his chin on my shoulder. The aroma of the alcohol mixed with a refreshing fragrance which was like grasslands after the rains stopped.

Xu Mo: What would you like to sing?

MC: ... Do I have to sing?

Xu Mo: I want to hear you sing.

MC: You won't be shocked after hearing my singing, right?

I raised my head and said this, pursing my lips.

Xu Mo: Then... why don't we try it?

His mouth came close to my ear and he said this in a low voice. I nodded in a dazed manner with a mind gone hazy from the alcohol.

Xu Mo operated the karaoke machine and a mellow melody rang out.

His palm covered my hand. It was a large hand which seemed to cover my hand and the mic together.

Something like a weak current seemed to run through my entire body from his dry palm...

His eyes stared straight at me... straight into the depths of my heart.

Something like a decision was reflected in those eyes.

Xu Mo: When I fall in love, it will be forever.

It was a low enrapturing voice, like a late autumn wind or the swelling night ocean. He sang with his heart in it.

That voice knocked on the door to my heart.

Memories came into my mind one after another.

The first time we met and his beautiful face under a dazzling light. The time we met in a movie theatre at midnight. That golden-colored picnic. That rainbow after the rain lifted...

All those memories rode on that singing voice and slowly flowed throughout the sparkling room.

MC: And the moment---

MC: I can feel that you feel that way too---

As we sang we came even closer together and our hands continued to remain touching.

From the beginning until the end, Xu Mo looked at me with a constant smile and eyes that held expectation.

Xu Mo: It turns out a song can be this short.

The song ended and we got off the stage.

MC: Xu Mo, you really do sing well!

Xu Mo's lips curved and he said this with mischievous eyes.

Xu Mo: Oh? Can I believe... the words of a little liar?

MC: Huh, what do you mean?

Xu Mo: I was actually looking forward to your shocking singing.

I remembered how I said earlier "You won't be shocked after hearing my singing, right?" and my face turned red.

MC: Who asked you to believe in that...

Xu Mo: Then what else have you tricked me on?

Xu Mo flicked my forehead with a finger.

MC: Um... before I said you didn't have to come if you were busy, but to be honest I really wanted you to come.

I looked at Xu Mo and, while thinking this and that, spoke awkwardly.

Xu Mo was surprised. Flickering light surged up violently in his eyes and I saw him swallow, Adam's apple bobbing.

MC: What's wrong?

He gave a long sigh and then spoke in a voice even lower than earlier.

Xu Mo: I won't do that anymore.

He looked apologetically at me.

Xu Mo: Why won't you ask if I've ever tricked you?

I blinked.

MC: Um... of course I know that you've tricked me.

Xu Mo: For example?

MC: You were clearly drunk earlier even though you said you weren't drunk. Even more, you misunderstood me...

Looking at her grumble, Xu Mo was a bit surprised and he laughed quietly. Then he drew in the glass beside his hand and drank a mouthful.

His mind was hazy. Her smile and the spotted lights swayed in front of his eyes.

He thought about how he was surely drunk. But that was fine. Being drunk was better.

The music could continue, the drinks could continue.

That way he could tell himself this. That he was taken in by this atmosphere and the alcohol. And that's what these gentle feelings and hesitation resulted from.

Xu Mo raised his glass and drained it all at once.

~~~

DATE DIARY

Everyone worked really hard for the first show of the new year. Finally, after it took shape, I learned that Xu Mo helped. I thought he had refused to though... Why?

On that day, if I remember correctly, I asked for Xu Mo's help but he refused me coldly. Why did he help me again at the critical moment? I don't really understand Xu Mo.

I thought Xu Mo wouldn't come to the New Year's party but he came on the day of. He said he became worried because I didn't answer my phone. During a game of Spin the Bottle, Xu Mo confessed for the first time that he had a person he liked.

I also talked about the person most important to me. But, because Xu Mo was drunk, he seemed to misunderstand that. I'm someone who rarely sings in front of others but for some reason I ended up in a duet with Xu Mo. There was joy in his eyes.

#mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mlqc xu mo #mlqc lucien #my translations

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slothgiirl · 4 years ago

Text

shadowplay part 14

You’re going to miss LA. You think to yourself as you hoist your bag out the uber, considerably heavier than when you arrived a little under a week ago.

“I’ve got it love,” Alex grins, not waiting for your response, before taking the bag right out of your hands, clad in a jacket like the sun wasn’t shining high in the sky.

“I had it.”

“Yeah well,” he smiles, taking a moment to plant a kiss against your lips, “I’ve got it.”

You roll your eyes, leading the way into the airport, but can’t help the smile that grows on your lips. The warmth in your chest has nothing todo with the california sun, leaving you bubbly as fuck, the same way you’ve felt this whole week with Alex.

Even rock stars have to wait their turn to grab their tickets before having to go through the very unsexy security.

Standing in line, the airports ac cranked up like crazy, you’re glad to be wearing one of Alex’s jackets. “ feel like a glorified coat hanger,” you tell him, “just here to keep your jacket from being ruined during the flight.”

Alex chuckles, “but you're much better company.”

“True,” you giggle, “can’t say the same for you though. It’s no fun getting tipsy while you're holding your own like a proper james bond.” Thinking back on the many drinking games you'd taken part of during the last week. Zack had been a surprising lightweight.

“Well-,”

Whatever he was about to say is lost. The sound of cameras clicking, a flash temporarily blinding your eyes. As a man urgently says, “Alex is this your new girlfriend!”

A camera clicks again.

“Alex! Look over here,” the man cries out.

You wish you had Alex's sunglass wearing habit, as you blink rapidly, trying to recover from the blinding flashes suddenly assaulting you.

One man becomes two becomes three. All jockeying for his attention. “Alex are you working on the new album!”

“Sweetheart, look over here!”

“Is she your new girlfriend!”

“When's the new album out!”

The people around you, who moments ago hadn't cared, look over, whispering under their breath. You don't know how celebrities like Kim Kardashian can deal with the media circus that surrounds their lives constantly you think as you try and ignore the flashes continuing to go off. Ignoring them like you would the pointed looks of your profs as you struggled to stay awake during seven in the morning lectures.

Alex, sensing your unease, slips his hand into yours, squeezing your hand in his tightly as he pulls you along up to the self check-ins.

It's easier to block them out when you're busy concentrating on printing your tickets.

“I swear my passport was just here,” you mutter. Your purse wasn't even that big. How could it have gotten lost.

Alex smirks, unable to help himself as he teases you, “should've given your passport to me love.”

You snort. “My passport picture should be kept between me and this unfortunate machine.” You had tried to bleach your hair blonde, but had only achieved a horrid orange color that you'd dyed back to black the next day.

You pull out the elusive passport, but Alex nabs it from your hands before you can scan it into the machine.

He looks down with a ridiculously sappy smile, “you look beautiful as ever.”

“Oh you're so full of shit,” you snipe back.

Alex chuckles, the machine finally printing your tickets, before leaning in and kissing you again, taking you bottom lip between his lips, for just a moment too long for such a public place.

You flush crimson, but can't make yourself look away from Alex; the man you've grown so fond of.

He'd never been this open and at ease of PDA back when you had been faking a relationship for his benefit. It makes you really wonder how his friends had bought it.

A crease forms between his brows, “don't mind the paps love. ‘s better if you just ignore ‘em.” There's a certain stiffness to his shoulders that hadn't been there moments ago too.

The paps bother him too. You're surprised he isn't used to it. Then again, he hadn't even spared them so much as a glance.

Understanding dawns on you, he was worried about how you'd react now that you'd both just decided to start dating. Alex doesn't want them to put you off.

You shake your head as you both make your way to TSA, Alex still holding your hand, keeping you close to him. “I was just thinking how I'd be a terrible paparazzi. They'd send me out to chase Britney Spears and I'd be like but what if she doesn't want to be bothered right now.”

He laughs as you step on the escalator up and leave the paps behind.

You're in the cab back from the airport as your phone buzzes, finally off from airplane mode. Ten different texts from your mum asking if you landed okay. All the work emails you put off in the states. And Sam sent you a million screenshots of you and Alex in the airport earlier with the text: i'm now celebrity adjacent and i WILL name drop.

You laugh, having expected nothing less from her.

“What,” Alex asks lazily, cigarette in hand, both the cabs windows down.

“Just Sam being Sam.” You reply.

He nods, becoming incredibly serious, too serious to be sincere, “she's your Matthew.”

“Well you're not wrong.” Sam was that close to you. “We're going house hunting tomorrow...later today. I hate jet lag.”

Alex grins. “Why don't you just move in with me,” he says simply, as though it's not a loaded question. As though it's really that easy.

Sending you through eighty five degrees of: you haven't told your parents, they're going to freak, you just started dating, too fast, you're parents were going to absolutely murder him because everyone in your family had been convinced you were going to die an old spinster by now.

“We just started dating,” you say instead.

Alex shoots you a puzzled look. “Technically it's been six months.”

“Stick to being clever in writing Alex,” you reply. “this has been on my to do list for a year now.” You have been saving up money and building credit for ages now.

“Okay so maybe it's been a week,” he shrugs, flicking the cigarette ash into the street, “but it feels like forever.”

You snort, your cheeks heating up all over again. You hadn't felt this happy with a man in ages. “Nice try but the answer’s still no.”

“Can I at least come with,” he pouts.

“No,” you laugh, “Sams going to want all the gossip as soon as I see her. Who else is going to tell her that Breanna really thinks rice crackers and peanut butter are a snack!”

“Don't be so hard on her.”

“You didn't have any either,” you counter. “I can understand someone eating healthy, I dunno if I've ever made a dress larger than a size 6, but I draw the line at trying to pretend kale chips taste good.”

“I hate peanut butter,” he answers, the laugh clear in his voice. “sticks to the roof of my mouth.”

“She also told me about this app that fakes plastic surgery for editing,” you add, “made me feel like an old woman. Only just discovered filters.” You really didn't use instagram for much more than following some writers and designers you admire.

“She hogged you all week,” Alex groans at the memory. Breanna telling you where to squat so her legs would look longer, her camera in your hands.

“It was fun. She's a hell of a hiker,” you admit. She'd been able to walk and talk easily, lugging around her camera with her, while the boys jammed out back at the cabin.

“Miles won't walk more than a block before whining. Ya sure I can’t go with you and Sam? I've gotten very used to having you around all the time”

“You can help me move in,” you tease.

“Oi!”

You lean in close to his ear, “promise I'll make it worth your time,” you practically purr, barely managing to keep from laughing.

Alex's cigarette falls out of his hand.

He turns to you fully, his hand cupping your cheek, a glint in his eye as the sun sets over London, “I'll hold you too it.”

You beat Alex to the bags, having learned by now that he wasn't about to let you pay. Which was for the best. But you could at the very least carry your own bag up the stairs to your flat.

“I've got it,” you shut him down, keeping a hand outstretched, so he doesn't just take the bag from your hand.

“Alright alright,” Alex laughs, following you up to your flat.

You were glad that he was staying. You had also gotten used to waking up to him every morning. To making out in bed first thing. Or lounging around on your phone as Alex tuned his guitar.

It had been that way for a while if you were being honest with yourself.

Alex had carved out a place in your life long before he'd kissed you and told you he loved you.

Saying you had only been dating for a week meant nothing when you were already sure of the depth of your feelings for him.

“ ‘s it alright if I stay over,” Alex asks softly, leaning against the door while you search for your keys, looking just as hopeful and earnest as he had so long ago when drunk, when he'd tried to kiss you then.

You stick the key in the door, before turning to meet the warmth of his brown eyes, and kissing him for all the times you'd wanted to before: kissing him just because you can. You can't imagine ever being sick of the feel of his lips against yours. “Stay as long as you like.”

The door clicks open.

“All that's good,” Alex smiles, “I already ordered breakfast… ‘fink it's closer to lunch by now.”

“Oh thank god,” you reply, abandoning your bag next to the door and sinking into your sofa, stretching out all the kinks in your neck from having sat on a plane for the last nine hours. “I was just thinking how I was going to have to run to the grocery store.”

“We can go after.” Alex says, kicking off his shoes, and laying down next to you.

You giggle, scooting over as much as you can do there's room. Both of you are slight, so it's not hard to curl up on the sofa without feeling squished together. You relax against Alex, happy to waste your last hours of vacation with him.

#Alex Turner #alex turner fanfic #alex turner imagine #alex turner x reader #Shadowplay #we in the last few rounds now

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ddagent · 5 years ago

Note

Love the podcast prompt fill! If you decide to continue on with this one, this reader would be happy!!

Thank you so much! I am overwhelmed by the response to the podcast verse, so much so that I had to write a sequel! Prompt #91, here we go!

B: You are listening to The Bear and the Poorly Written Maiden. This podcast contains strong language, violence, and explicit sexual content.

J: The complete opposite of Brienne’s undergraduate degree.

(rustling sound)

B: Really? We’re barely ten seconds in and already you’re picking on me.

J: Fine, fine, I’ll be nice. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to The Bear and the Poorly Written Maiden. And good evening to you, Bee. How’s your week been?

B: I saw you this morning for breakfast.

J: I know, but the listeners don’t know that. Also, you should say that you saw me earlier today. Saying you saw me for breakfast will make people think we’re sleeping together.

B: Oh please, like anyone would think we would be sleeping together.

J: It’s a podcast, Bee, they don’t know what either of us look like. Not that there’s…not that there’s anything wrong with how you look. You look…fine.

B: I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.

J: Aren’t you going to say something nice about me?

B: You’re a lot less annoying than when we first met.

(laughter)

J: I honestly thought you were going to kill me that first week.

B: Well Cat…I mean, Cee, our head of department and my doctoral adviser, told me I was better off waiting for you to drop out, or move to a less rigorous study program.

J: Nice to know she had faith in me from the very first day.

B: (shocked gasp) You…you…okay, listeners, Jay and I have known each other for five years now, and I have just managed to reach a point where we can have a conversation without him insulting me. The first week, nay the first day, he turned up in the lecture hall and every time I went to raise my hand he would jump in and answer the question first. He had to be the centre of attention. At one point, Cee actually told you to sit the fuck down.

J: I’d had private tutors all my life; I didn’t know any better.

B: That’s your answer for everything. (pause) We should probably get back to the podcast. Do you want to do all the housekeeping? I know you enjoy the sound of your own voice.

J: You’re so rude to me. Everyone thinks you’re as pure as the Maiden, but you’re got a mean streak in you.

B: Because you’re rude to me first!

J: That’s your answer for everything. (Bee gasps) Anyway, as we’ve said, this is The Bear and the Poorly Written Maiden. We read bad historical fiction and analyse it against our considerable knowledge in the field. We are both descendants of Goldenhand the Just and The Blue Knight, a popular topic in historical fiction and the real focus of this podcast. You can catch up with previous episodes wherever you get your podcasts, and you can send us questions or topics for future episodes at [email protected].

B: And we really do welcome your comments and questions. So far the only people who have emailed us are the Dornish restaurant down the road giving us coupons, and my Dad who wanted to say he overheard someone say he listens to the podcast, and wanted to congratulate us on our success.

J: Thank you, Papa Bee, we appreciate the support. And the ginger biscuits you sent last week, they were delicious.

B: I wouldn’t know, Dad, Jay ate them all.

J: And in the worst segue way of all time—

B: —don’t you dare.

J: We’re currently reading Pools of Blue, by Alys Morrow. Last chapter involved Ser Blue going to Goldenhand’s chambers, where he proceeded to…go down on her, before Goldenhand made the historically inaccurate error of claiming Ser Blue’s maidenhead before their hands were tied by a septon. The following chapter is entitled The Rising Sun, which will be read today by Bee.

B: Do I have to?

J: We agreed; we switch off chapters. Come on, Bee. I have faith in you.

B: Fine. (clears throat) Goldenhand awoke beside his beloved. Creamy rays of sunlight sprung through the open window, bathing he and Blue in a halo of warmth. The cerulean sheets were crumpled and stained and kicked to the far foot of the bed. Both of them lay naked across the feather mattress, and Blue’s lithe form—right I’ve got to stop it there, because I think we’re heading into historical inaccuracy and we’re barely a paragraph in.

J: Morrow’s describing Ser Blue as lithe.

B: The complete opposite of every description there is of Ser Blue.

J: Keep reading, maybe it’s a typo. We’ve found seven already in this book.

B: Alright. Both of them lay naked across the feather mattress, and Blue’s lithe form was open to his heady gaze. Her legs were long and supple; her skin like the cream expressed from the teat of a cow. I really hate you for making me read this.

J: Come on. Keep reading, let me get the colour chart.

B: The blonde patch of hair between her legs was damp, as if covered by morning dew. Goldenhand was tempted to place his hand there, see if his sweetling was as wet as how she had gushed the night before. She had soaked the sheets, covered his golden fingers in her thick juices.

(Jay sniggers)

B: Stop laughing. Her hips were slender, her waist so small he could wrap an entire arm around it. That’s not right. From all the reading I’ve done on my ancestor, she was my height, my build. She’s not some dainty little maiden.

J: Even in the fight scene with the pirates, Goldenhand ultimately finished the job after her botched rescue attempt. And, canonically, Ser Blue was the better fighter after Goldenhand, well, lost his hand.

B: Canonically the better fighter, you don’t need the caveat.

(Jay laughs)

J: He was knighted at sixteen. Ser Blue wasn’t—

B: —you cannot compare the privilege of a teenage boy in one of the nine great houses to a teenage girl in a minor noble house! And she was a gifted fighter, better than he was. In the single fight—

J: —you always do this, you always bring up the bridge. He was in chains, he’d been a prisoner for years. And we have no corroboration of that fight other than the ramblings of one of Lord Bolton’s men, and as a story passed down through the generations. There is no physical proof.

B: Well, is there anything we can agree on?

J: That this book is terrible, and honestly, I can’t listen to another word of it.

B: Agreed. Put it on the list?

J: On the list.

B: Well, we’ve made the executive decision to put The Pools of Blue by Alys Morrow on our ‘Inaccurate and Awful’ list a full 227 pages earlier than planned.

J: Thank the Gods. So, what’s next?

#braime #jaime x brienne #mine: paragraph prompts #ship: braime #anonymous #fic: podcast verse

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eldri-sv · 4 years ago

Text

10 - Shinsou

Kaori Shinsou has always been fascinated by people's minds. She is one of the best students in her Criminal Psychology course at U.A. and - being the lucky girl she is - her professor is not only one handsome dude, but is also working on the case of the serial killer Stain - a case that has been going on for years. As she is about to become Professor Aizawa's TA during the next term, a lot of other interesting cases start popping up all over the country... AU, OC x Aizawa

Trigger warnings: insomnia, drugs, ignoring medical advice, parents being absent, insomnia

(possibly incomplete, if you’d like something added, please let me know)

I fear that I am ordinary just like everyone

(The Smashing Pumpkins - Muzzle)

It had taken Kaori Shinsou a long time and a lot of guilt tripping her parents to let her go home from the hospital. She just really didn't want to spend the whole night there, when she could get the same rest at home. At least in theory. She knew she wouldn't be able to get much sleep at either place, but at least she could chat to Hitoshi at home. Or she could work on her papers for uni.

But she'd be damned if she didn't show up to her lectures at university. She wasn't going to try and catch up on days of work on her own, hell no. In her mind, it didn't make much of a difference whether she was at home writing assignments and going over less than perfect lecture notes - since she really only trusted her own - or whether she was sitting in university, high on painkillers.

The thing that struck Kaori as interesting was how the painkillers in addition to the concussion made her really sleepy. Usually she could barely ever sleep, but now it seemed like her body was just so exhausted from everything that it was shutting down. She had barely made it through her first lecture in the morning. After that she had an hour-long nap in the library.

Right now she had her Criminal Psychology classes. She was wondering whether she should even bother turning up for them. Kaori was sure they hadn't found a replacement for Mr. Aizawa yet and there was no way that he was back. But then again, there was no text or email about the class being cancelled, so she figured it would be better to make her way over there. If no one turned up for the class, she could still have a nap in the classroom. Maybe she should have stayed home after all...

While she was walking towards the classroom she checked her phone. There were a few messages there, one from Hitoshi, one from her mum and another one from Uehara. She opened the messages with a yawn. Hitoshi had sent her a link to an online ad. When Kaori clicked on it, it led her to someone giving away kittens. Kaori looked through the pictures with a growing smile on her face.

She clicked out of her browser to return to the message. God, her brain felt like molasses. Was this what it felt like to take that cough syrup with codeine? Hitoshi had to take it once and he said he has had the best sleep in his entire life while on it.

>>Are you going to get one of those? They look extremely cute. 10/10, would approve.<< Kaori answered the message. She checked the second message Hitoshi had sent her.

>>How are you feeling? If you collapse and I have to explain to mum and dad why you were at school and not at home, I won't be your friend anymore.<<

>>I'm fine, Toshi. I'm tired af. I just had a nap for like an hour in the library, it was great. Sleeping is amazing, Toshi, why don't we do it more often?<< she replied. When she read over it again, she noticed it sounded a little weird, but she couldn't really be bothered. She had probably taken way too many painkillers at this point, but at least her head wasn't hurting anymore.

She checked the next message that she had gotten from her mother: >>Hey, sweetie, how are you doing? I hope you get a lot of rest and can catch up easily on your school work. Don't do too much! Love you.<<

>>I'm fine, mum! Got a good bit of rest just earlier. Don't worry about any assignments for my courses, I'm sure I'll be able to catch up quickly. Love you, too.<< Kaori replied. She grinned a little, as she sent the text. Her parents were blissfully unaware of her being at university. They'd never find out anyway, unless something went terribly wrong. Or if Hitoshi spilled the beans, but he wouldn't do that. Kaori knew him well enough to be sure of that.

Her parents were never home, anyway. Why did they even care how she was doing? They were both doctors at the hospital, which meant they worked long hours and did shifts all the time. It was a rare occasion for Kaori and Hitoshi to have a meal with both their parents. And when one of them was home, they were usually busy doing some other stuff. They had gotten used to it. And after all, they still had each other. Kaori often thought she wouldn't be as close to Hitoshi, if her parents weren't at work all the time. She effectively raised the boy, since she was 8 years old.

While she was trying to get to Uehara's message, she suddenly bumped into something. Or rather someone. Kaori stumbled backwards and looked up from her phone confusedly. Who the hell would be bumping into her? There was no way they could have not seen her, especially since she had a fat bandage on her head.

"Shinsou? What the hell are you doing here?" the man that had ran into her said. His face was completely covered in bandages and he had both arms in a cast. He had long black hair and... oh shit. That was Mr. Aizawa.

"Uh... I'm going to class...?" Kaori answered. She slapped herself internally for how dumb she must be sounding right now. It's the painkillers, she kept reminding herself. If I say anything too dumb I can always blame the painkillers. She looked up into her professor's eyes. He did not look happy.

"You should be at home and getting some rest." he told her. Kaori couldn't help but burst out laughing. She should be home and getting some rest? Did he look at himself, all bandaged up and whatnot?

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I think you should be getting more rest than me." she replied. How did they even let him leave the hospital that early? Kaori was sure, she heard Hitoshi say that he had to have surgery and all. How the hell was he even walking after all that? How was he doing anything?

"I'm fine. There are more important things than my wellbeing." Aizawa said. Kaori would have guessed that he had a very stoic look on his face, but she couldn't really see it, due to the bandages. And it kinda annoyed her, because Aizawa had a really damn nice face and it was a shame she couldn't see it right now...

"Damn, Mr. Aizawa, I wish I was as motivated about my assignments as you are about my education." she replied with a smug grin on her face.

"I wish you were that motivated about your assignments, too. You seem out of it, Shinsou, are you sure you're okay?" he asked. It almost looked like there was a trace of concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. I just... I took a lot of painkillers. I don't have a headache, though, so that's good." Kaori answered. Aizawa nodded.

"Well, if you start feeling bad during class, don't worry about it. You can leave at any point, I'll know why. Now, we're already late..." he said. Kaori nodded enthusiastically and followed Aizawa to the class room.

He wasn't really walking, he was sort of limping, while trying to keep his balance with his two arms. Kaori wondered how he even managed to get dressed like that. Probably a girlfriend. Or a wife. Was Mr. Aizawa married? Kaori glanced down at his hands, but even if there had been a ring, she wouldn't have seen it with the casts. Damnit. She knew this would be in her head until she found out.

While she was following Aizawa towards the classroom, she decided to check on her texts again. There was that text from Uehara she didn't get a chance to have a look at and Shinsou had probably replied already. Her mum wouldn't have time to reply to any texts anyway.

>>Girl, I heard you've been seen on campus today. Shouldn't you be in hospital with Aizawa? Lowkey jealous of you about that, by the way. I wish I was in the same hospital as my hot professor.<<

Kaori blushed as she read that message. She looked up at Aizawa in front of her. God, Uehara had no idea how hard she was crushing on him right now. She always thought he was really handsome and all, but since the whole thing at the Rescue Training Facility, she was just seriously into him.

Uehara could never know, however. She wouldn't keep quiet about it and Kaori really didn't want things to be weird. Especially when she was supposed to be his TA next term. She had no idea how she would pull that off now. Uehara would definitely find out at some stage. The whole thing wouldn't be pretty.

She looked at her other messages. It was only Hitoshi who had answered her. He had replied to her message about the cats first: >>I still have to get mum and dad's okay, but I'm working on it. This household needs more cats urgently.<<

>>We don't sleep because we're fucking insomniacs, and sorry to break it to you, but you can't stay on painkillers forever.<<

>>Yeah, whatever. See you at lunch?<<

"Ahem..." Kaori heard Aizawa say. She quickly looked up and put her phone away. He was standing in front of the classroom door.

"Uh... Sir?" she asked, not sure what he was trying to say. He glared at the door and let out an exasperated sigh.

"It's really difficult to open doors with these casts... could you maybe...?" he answered and nodded towards the door.

"Oh! Of course, Sir." Kaori quickly replied and got the door for him. She really was being a dense idiot today.

#inside your mind #aizawa #aizawa x oc #aizawa fanfiction #shouta aizawa #shota aizawa #shinso #hitoshi shinso #quirklessau #drugs #injuries #fanfiction

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jungshookz · 5 years ago

Note

Ramenboy!tae who works at a lil ramen joint and ur dragged there by Jungkook who loves to abuse Tae’s employee discount and wow they have a competition — eat this massive bowl of ramen in ten minutes and get free ramen for a month and u cannot lose to this heathen known as Jungkook and now u’ve made an awful first impression on Tae and ur mortified but he’s just impressed~ and high key thinks ur cute and now Jungkook needs to play matchmaker in the most disastrous way possible (cue chaos) 🔥anon

→ pairing: kim taehyung x reader

→ genre: nonidol!au, ramenboy!tae, comedy, tiny pinch of fluff, jungkook is an idiot and you might be one too because you just ate a gigantic bowl of ramen

→ wordcount: 3.8k

→ note: i’m sorry this took so lonG! u sent this in a while ago but i saved it in my notes because it’s.,, so cute,., this is less about taehyung and more about kook and y/n competing with each other lol!!!! my stomach exploded just thinking about eating five pounds worth of ramen idk how y/n did it

(gif isn’t mine!) (also i was ecstAtic when i found this gif!!!! how pErfeCt)

this has quite possibly been one of the worst weeks in your entire life

you don’t know how it’s happened but on every single day of the week something has gone wrong for you

monday - your alarm didn’t go off so you accidentally skipped two veRy important lectures that were crucial for the finals

tuesday - your alarm diD go off but when you got to your first class (on time!) you didn’t realise that your prof sent out an email in the morning saying that there was a room switch for the day and the room was in a building located all the way on the oTHER end of campus so you basically missed out on half that lecture

wednesday - you have a big gap between classes on wednesdays so usually you just hang out and study in the library buT when you got there someone had taken your favourite spot so you were forced to go to the really, really quiet study area (no one’s allowed to make a peep otherwise ya get the booT) and when you stepped in you stumbled over someone’s laptop charger that was plugged into the wall and literally fell the floor in less than a millisecond with a big SMAK and everyone in that room looked like they wanted to rip your head off (especially the owner of the laptop charger)

thursday - you ordered a chocolate almond milk and banana smoothie because you wanted to treat yourself but somehow they fucked up your order and it tasted like they threw oranges into your smoothie instead of bananas and by the time you decided you wanted to go back and demAnd that they fix your order the line was like a hundred feet long so you were forced to throw out your $10 smoothie

friday - todAY,., you got your grades back for your midterms and uh.,,. all i’m going to say is u might want to spend a little more time studying and a little less time on tumblr

whatever

you’re just glad it’s finally friday because you are going to hibernate in your room over the weekend to recover from everything

you were going to head straight back to the apartment after classes today but jungkook insisted that you guys hang out today!!! even though you basically see each other every day!!!!

unfortunately you’re just not in the mood to do anything because you’re grumpy and tired

also it’s that time of the month

so like

you really reALLY aren’t in the mood to do anything

but of course

because it’s jungkook

he didn’t give you a choice (he dropped to his knees and literally just started sCREAMING until you said you would hang out with him and then he hopped back up onto his feet and was like heehee oki!! let’s go, friend!!!! as he wasn’t just screeching a lung out in the middle of the schoolyard a second ago)

and this is where he decides to take you

a dinky ramen joint in the city

“why couldn’t we just have gone to watch a movie?” you groan and flop your head back “also we had lunch like two hours ago-“

“and your point is??” jungkook scoffs as he flips through the menu

“if we eat now it’s going to ruin our appetite for dinner and thaT’s going to throw everything off course- hey quit iT” jungkook reaches back blindly to whack your face gently to shut you up

ur a great person and he likes u a lot but you need to relax ur asshole sometimes (he literally said that to you within the first week of knowing you and when you gawked and responded with ‘my asshole is SO relaxed and loOSE right now!!!!!!’ in the middle of the cafeteria he knew that this friendship was meant to be)

“listen, i was craving ramen and i always come here because i know one of the guys who works here so i always get a discount…” jungkook trails off as he continues looking through the menu “okay, i know what i want!”

“okay give me a second to- woAh-“ jungkook drags you into the restaurant before you get a chance to look at the options

this place is a lot bigger than it looks

spacious booths on both sides with obscenely red leather seats

square tables scattered around the place

it seems like it’s doing pretty well in terms of business because almost all of the tables are full

“jungkook!” both you and kook turn at the source of the sound

who is

who is tHAT

floppy, soft brown hair peeking out from behind a red bandana

a little blue apron wrapped around his tapered waist

a stained white v-neck (it looks vEry good on him and usually u hate v-necks on guys)

and his smile is very.,,. boxy?

your eyes widen when he approaches you two

you immediately duck behind jungkook and pray to god that you look somewhat presentable

you look down at your outfit

okay

jeans and a cute little flowery blouse

okay!!! not bad!!! hopefully your eyeliner hasn’t moved from your eyes to your chin tho

“hey, man!” they do one of those bro-hug things and he gives jungkook a couple pats on the pack

jesus

even his hand is hot

“table for one, as per usual?”

oh my god

and that voiCE?

silky smooth is the only way to describe it

“i actually brought someone with me this time! this is y/n.” jungkook points behind him and you poke your head out a little

taehyung tilts his head to get a better look at you and he offers you a warm smile

your heart skips a beat and you feel your cheeks grow warm

“ah, so this is a date?”

“taehyung, please.” jungkook scoffs and pauses “…my standards are higher.”

“hEy-“ you scowl and smack his arm before moving out from behind jungkook

you turn to face taehyung and you smile shyly “hi”

he sticks his hand out for you to shake and you take it graciously

he gives you a firm shake

“hi! i’m taehyung but you can call me tae if you’d like. any friend of jungkook’s is a friend of mine!” he grins and grabs two menus from the front before leading you guys to a booth in the back

you slide in on one side and jungkook slides in on the other side

taehyung hands each of you a menu

“i’ll be back with some water and to take your orders in a couple minutes!”

“okay, thank you!” you chirp and let your eyes linger for a couple seconds as taehyung walks off to wait on another table

jungkook narrows his eyes at you for a brief second

interesting

veRy interesting

“ah, let’s see what’s good…” jungkook hums and opens up the menu while stroking his chin

what a dork

“you literally jusT checked out the menu outside-“

“hey. look at this!” jungkook pulls a flyer out of the menu before flipping it over to show you

he wiggles his eyebrows

you squint and lean forward to read the small text

you should’ve brought your reading glasses with u

“the big bowl challenge… finish a five pound bowl of ramen in ten minutes and get free ramen for a month-“ your eyes widen and you pull away as if jungkook just zaPPed you “are you insane?! five pounds???”

“it wouldn’t hurt to try!!! if you finish the bowl, it’s free!!! and free ramen for a month?!” jungkook points to the flyer again

“well, you go ahead and enjoy filling yourself up, i’m just going to get a normal sized bowl of ramen.” you scoff and shake your head as you flip through the menu

their new spicy ramen looks pretty good

you might go for that one

ooH and it comes with a side of dumplings for $2 extra

“you just don’t wanna do it because you know you’re going to lose.” jungkook sighs and leans back against the booth and casually flips through his menu

you drop your menu and gawk at him “wha- lose?? trust me, if we were to compete, you would be the loser here.”

“all bark, no bite…”

you clench your jaw in frustration and let out a huff

jungkook knows how competitive you are and he knows exactly which buttons to press to get you to fall for his tricks every single time

he’s so sneAKy

“c’mon, let’s do it together! i know how to make things more interesting. not only will we be racing against the clock - we will also be racing against each other.”

huh

that doEs make things more interesting

“what happens if i beat you?” you raise a brow and put the menu down

your spicy ramen and dumplings can wait for next time

“mm… i’ll buy you smoothies for a week. and if i win, you have to do my laundry for a week.”

oh groSS

you don’t want to do jungkook’s laundry

he has spiderman boxers with holes in them n stinky socks

but those smoothies are expensive

and really yummy

are you reALLY going to force yourself to consume a five pound bowl of ramen just to shove it in jungkook’s face

also,…,., do you really want taehyung to sEE you consume a five pound bowl of ramen

“-and i will be partaking in your ramen competition.” you snap out of it when you realise jungkook’s already ordering for you guys “and we’re alsO going to compete against each other to see who can finish their bowl the fastest!”

you can’t really change your mind now

you’re not a coWARD

you sit up a little straighter before propping your chin up on your palm and reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind ur ear

hopefully u look cute under this dim lighting

“oh, really?” taehyung looks between the both of you before scribbling it down on his soup-stained notepad “my money’s on y/n.”

“you’re a traitor.” jungkook responds immediately and slaps his menu shut “y/n’s going down and she’s going to do my laundry for a week.”

taehyung gasps lightly before shaking his head and tuning to look at you “god y/n.,., you better win because one time jungkook left a pair of socks at my place and i swear to god i was this close to moving out because of the stench… i don’t want anyone having to go through the pain of-”

“okAY okay don’t u have a job to do???” jungkook scowls and hands his menu to tae and you do the same

“i will return shortly with two monstrous bowls of ramen!” taehyung chirps and heads off towards the kitchen

you let out a little sigh before leaning back against the booth

jungkook clears his throat

“what… was that?”

“what are you talking about?”

“y’know, the-“ jungkook starts giggling like a maniac and reaches up to pretend to tuck hair behind his ears over and over again “that!”

“i have no idea what you’re talking about. also, just out of curiousity-“ you take a small sip of water, “how do you know taehyung?”

jungkook pokes his tongue into his cheek before leaning back and crossing his arms

“why do you ask?”

“i told u it was out of curiosity” you respond innocently and shrug

“we’re in the same literature class. he’s a pretty nice guy!” jungkook nods before going quiet “.,,.,.he’s also a pretty single guy.”

you give him a pointed look “don’t do that.”

“what?? you were curious and i answered your question!”

“i’m terminating this conversation.” you roll your eyes and cross your arms

jungkook hums and leans over to check out the little boxes of extra toppings on the side

pretty standard stuff

extra green onion.,.some ginger.,,. salt, pepper, chilli powder

“you ever think about how long it takes for people to shred green onion into these thin little-“

“how long have you known him for?”

jungkook’s shoulders droop

obviously this conversation has been resurrected from your termination

“ah… almost a year?” he shrugs and peeks into the little pot of shredded green onions

you gawk at him and lean forward

“…and you didn’t think to introduce me to him until now-“

“i thought you weren’t interested.” jungkook slaps the ceramic lid back onto the pot

“i’m just making conversation”

“i juSt tried to make conversation about green onions and you completely shut that down-“

“also, going back to my point, i never even asked you if he was single or not, all i asked you was how-“

“but if you were to ask me if he was single or not then i would respond with, yes, y/n, taehyung is very single and i’m sure-“

“alrighty, here we go!” you immediately shut up and give jungkook a warning look when taehyung appears at your table carrying two trays propped up on his shoulders

you swallow thickly when you see his biceps flex slightly

.,,.yes.

Yes To All Of That.

taehyung sets your bowl down in front of you carefully as to not have any soup splash out-

oh god

this bowl is.,., it’s a loT bigger than you thought it would be

there are like four boiled eggs in here

a tiny mountain of shredded green onion

six pieces of seaweed

ten thin slices of pork

you reach up and tie your hair up into a ponytail

ya gotta put the hair up when it’s time to get down n dirty

“get ready to lose, y/l/n” jungkook grins and rubs his hands together in anticipation

“in your wildest dreams, jeon.” you snap back immediately and pick your chopsticks up

“since you guys are competing, i brought two timers for you“ taehyung plops two little clocks down in between the two of you and you make sure to smile politely at him before looking back at your bowl

you don’t mean to brush him off but you’re tryINg to figure out the most strategic way to finish a bowl of ramen this big

and so it goes

the next ten minutes of your life will be the most important ten minutes in your entire life

here’s your game plan:

eat aLL the toppings first to get them out of the way

just go hAM on the slurping

use your chopsticks to really shovel and paCK the noodles into your mouth

if necessary don’t even chew!!!! just swALLOW

and then at the end chug down the broth because by the time you finish the noodles the broth will have cooled down a little bit

jungkook’s game plan is just to eat and enjoy himself

he doesn’t care whether he beats you or not

he just wants to see you shovelling food into your mouth like a maniac in front of his friend that he’s pretty sure you’re vERy attracted to

evil??? only a little bit

>:-)

“alright, you two ready?” taehyung keeps his fingers hovered over the start button on each timer “in 3, 2, 1… go!”

you immediately slurp up a giaNT spoonful of noodles and regret that decision almost instantly because hOT HOT HOT

it doesn’t matter

you gotta do whatever it takes to win

whATEVER it takes babY

okay jungkook was originally going to just enjoy himself but his competitive streak has officially kicked in so now he’s slurping up the noodles just as quickly as you are

side note

the broth is actually really good

and the eggs are cooked to perfection

and the noodles are also cooked to perfection

perfEctly chewy and perfectly slurpable

you definitely see yourself coming back here and it’s noT just because that taehyung boy is cute okay

speaking of taehyung

he is vEry impressed with your progress so far

most of the people he’s seen do this challenge have struggled a bit at the start but you seem to be doing just fine

jungkook’s noodles keep slipping from his chopsticks and taehyung laughs lightly when some of the broth splashes onto his face

he wonders why jungkook’s never mentioned his cute friend that he’s realising he might be slightly attracted to even though he literally only knows your name

u cute

u real cute

“you’re eating like an animAL-“

“says the one shovelling noodles into her mouth!”

“at least i-“

you and kook simultaneously bicker anD eat and taehyung snorts when you threaten to shove a spoonful of chilli powder uP his- [statement redacted]

you pause for a split second when you see jungkook literally swaLLow half an egg

good god

wat dat mouf do

swallow half a boiled egg apparently

“tiME” you smack your hand against your timer and wipe your mouth with the back of your hand because you feel yourself dribbling a little bit

let’s see

nine minutes and thirty eight seconds

not bad!! for a FIVE pound bowl of ramen

jungkook slurps up the last of his serving and whacks the timer

nine minutes and fifty two seconds

oOh

close call

jungkook drops his chopsticks into the bow and pats his chest a couple times before wincing in discomfort “the noodles are stiLL going down the hatch”

“alright, that’s ti- oh.” taehyung rounds the corner and hits the side button on his watch “you’re both done!”

“yep, we’re both done..” you smile weakly

you don’t know if you can ever eat another bowl of ramen again

you don’t know if you can look at boiled eggs the same way without imagining one sliding down jungkook’s throat

“congratulations, you two!” taehyung peeks into both of your bowls to make sure there’s nothing left “you’re both the noodle champions!” he stacks your bowls together and picks them up “i’ll be back with your prize t-shirts!!”

great.,,. you’re both nooDle champions.,,. but at what coST

o god

and taehyung just witnessed you inhale a five pound serving of ramen

his first memory of you.,,.is seeing you shovel like five pieces of pork into your mouth while glaring at jungkook

ahHHHH

aT WHAT COST

“i think i’m pregnant.” you groan and lie down on your back

you sit up a little to look at kook “and i think it’s yours.”

jungkook glances back over at you “if it’s a boy, we name it ramen. if it’s a girl, we name it ramena.” he slouches back against the booth and stares into space “i have something to tell you too”

“what”

“i’m definitely pregnant and it’s definitely yours.” he rubs a hand over his bloated tummy and lets out a louD belch and you groan quietly

“you’re repulsive”

“i’m carrying your child, how dare you speak to a pregnant man like that?” jungkook sits up quickly but immediately regrets it

he lets out another belch and you whine before throwing a balled up napkin at him

god

u can smell it from here

“oh, god. the baby’s coming.”

“if you puke it all out you’re immediately disqualified-“

“i don’t caRE the bABY’S COMING-“ jungkook slides out of the booth and you can’t help but laugh at the sight of him sprinting to the washroom

you stop laughing when you feel the ramen coming up a little bit but you swallow it down because there’s no way you’re losing after that baTTle

“where’s kook?” you jump and immediately sit up

you point to the washroom “he’s about to give birth to a ramen baby through his mouth”

“…huh” taehyung kisses his teeth “well, do you want your picture up on the wall?” he shakes the polaroid camera and your eyes widen in mild panic

heCk no you don’t want your picture up on the wall

“oh, god no. i do not want anyone knowing that i ate a five pound bowl of ramen in less than ten minutes.” you snort and shake your head

taehyung laughs lightly before pointing to himself “but i know that you ate a five pound bowl of ramen in less than ten minutes.”

“mm, that’s true.” you purse your lips before sticking your pinky out “pinky promise you won’t tell?”

taehyung grins and sets the camera down so that he can wrap his pinky around yours

he stands up a little straighter and clears his throat

“i promise,” he presses a hand to his chest, “i, kim taehyung, will not tell anyone that you, y/n y/l/n, successfully consumed a five pound bowl of ramen in less than ten minutes-“

“good-“

“iF-“

“…if?” your brows knit together in confusion

if whAT

“if you give me your number.”

huh

you have to admit that was kind of smooth

and unexpected

but a nice kind of unexpected

you snort and feel the apples of your cheeks growing warm

you clear your own throat before sliding out of the booth and getting up

taehyung stands up straighter as you press your own hand to your chest “i, y/n y/l/n, will happily give you, kim taehyung my number if you don’t tell anyone that i successfully consumed a five pound bowl of ramen in less than ten minutes.”

keep in mind the two of you still have your pinkies locked together

taehyung nods firmly and lets go of your hand

“your country thanks you.” he salutes and you can’t help but giggle when his right eye drops in a wink

you feel your heart go all warm and gushy

and it’s noT from the heartburn

:-)

okay wait

it might be a little from the heartburn

help me help you make your wishes come tru (aka send me a request)

drabble tag

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squirrelly831 · 4 years ago

Text

Making Up With Mom [Yongguk and Himchan]

This follows the Child Makes Mom Cry.

Enjoy

Yongguk

Ever since the argument between Catherine and her mom, Stephanie, three days ago there was a heavy tension when they were together. Stephanie couldn’t stop questioning herself as a parent and what she was doing. She wondered if she was wrong being a daycare owner. If she wasn’t doing the best she could as a mom.

When Catherine would enter a room, Stephanie would stiffen as she felt a wave of anxiety. She’d stop what she was doing in the room and leave. She knew it was childish, but she didn’t know what to say and she couldn’t take the tension. It was suffocating. However, what she didn’t know was the defeated look her daughter had each time her mom left her alone.

“Dad...”

Yongguk looked up from his computer with dark eye bags under his eyes. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at the time before he turned his attention to his daughter, “It’s late Catie, you should be asleep.”

Catherine entered Yongguk’s home office, “I know... it’s just... Mom still won’t talk to me.”

Yongguk pushed back his spinning chair to face her, “Well, baby... what you said--”

Catherine’s eyes instantly watered, “Did I break mom?” She choked on her voice, “Did I make mom hate me for being a terrible daughter? I didn’t mean what I said and I don’t know why I said it to her.” She sniffled as she wiped her tears with her sweater cuff. “I love mom and I don’t want her to not love me anymore. But she wo--” Her bottom lip quivered as she broke into sobs. Yongguk got up from his seat as he took his daughter into his arms.

Stephanie woke to the echoing cries of her daughter and shot from her bed. She headed towards the sounds to her husband’s office. Stephanie entered to see Catherine in her dad’s arms distraught and broken. “Catie” she rushed to her daughter’s aide fearing something bad happened. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Catherine’s shoulders quivered as she pulled her face from her dad’s shirt, “I’m sorry. Don’t hate me. I didn’t mean it I swear.” Yongguk loosened his grip on Catherine as Stephanie reached out to hug her. Stephanie knelt in front of Catherine who in seconds just collapsed in her mom’s warmth. “I love you. You are an amazing mom. I don’t hate you. I don’t want a different mom.”

Stephanie ran her fingers in her daughter’s hair as she kept her own tears at bay. “Shh, it’s okay” her voice was low and even. “I don’t hate you my love. I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” She kissed her daughter’s hair as she tried to calm her down.

The next morning, Stephanie woke to the smell of breakfast being made and slowly sat up in bed. She looked to her side to see her husband gone.Stephanie got out of bed and headed to the kitchen. She peeked inside to see Yongguk standing over their daughter as she flipped a pancake.

“I did it!” Catherine squealed as she looked up at her dad.

He rubbed her head in approval, “You did. Good job!”

Stephanie leaned against the archway and smiled at the two. “Morning” she greeted.

The two jumped in surprise. Catherine groaned, “You ruined the surprise, mom!”

Stephanie chuckled as she pushed herself off the archway, “I’m sorry, love. But it smelled divine, so I had to see what was going on.” She approached her little family and pressed a kiss on her husband’s lips then a kiss on her daughter’s head. She peeked over and noticed the sloppily made heart shaped pancake in the skillet. “That looks delicious. Maybe we should have a fruit salad with it?”

Catherine’s eyes lit up, “That sounds good! Why didn’t you think of that, dad?” She nudged him.

Yongguk stepped back defensively, “There’s a reason your mom’s the brains in this family.” He went for the fruits while Stephanie assisted their daughter with the rest of the pancakes. He couldn’t help but glance back at the two women in his life with a gummy smile plastered on his face.

Himchan

It was the day after the argument between Miranda and her son, Seungwon. Eunhae bounced down the stairs with her ponytail swishing behind her. She took a turn to head into the kitchen to see only Seungwon sitting at the island with a grumpy look on his face. Her morning smile fell as she looked around the kitchen, “Where’s mom?”

Seungwon let out a grunt, “She’s late apparently. No breakfast” he rolled his eyes.

Himchan rushed into the kitchen as he attempted to fix his tie, “Morning guys, mom isn’t feeling too great today, so you’ll have to fend for yourselves.” He paused as he stared his son down. He shook his head and looked to his daughter, “Mom told me to take you to school today, hun. You got everything?” Eunhae grinned widely and nodded. Himchan gave her a smile back before he headed out to the car.

Eunhae turned to Seungwon with an angry look, “It’s your fault mom isn’t okay. I hope you know that, prick.” She retrieved her bag and threw it over her shoulder then headed out the door.

It wasn’t until noon when Miranda made her way out of the bedroom. Miranda hated the idea that she was hiding from her son, but she was. She didn’t know how to approach him after the day before. Miranda headed down to the kitchen to make lunch for the two of them when she heard the sound of pots and pans clashing about. The sound made her jump, as she approached the archway to the kitchen.

Seungwon put a baking dish and pan on the surface of the oven before he leaned over the cookbook. “Enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish? What is a 9 x 13?”

“The x between the two numbers mean 9 by 13″ Miranda replied startling her son. He turned his head back to her and she awkwardly waved at him. “What are you trying to make?”

His face reddened as he looked back to the cookbook, “I got hungry and wanted enchiladas...”

Miranda’s lips tilted upward as she looked at her son’s back. “I can make some if--”

“No, I’ll make them myself” he said suddenly. “Just--Just go do something else... please.”

“Okay... Call if you need to” she went to the living room, pulled out her laptop, and began working on work emails and projects. Not noticing her son peeking into the room with a sad look.

40 minutes later, Seungwon appeared before his mom with a plate of enchiladas and Mexican rice. “Here you go” his voice was small as he waited for her to take it.

Miranda shut her laptop and let out a girlish squeal, “Ah! It looks so good!” She took the plate and cut up the enchiladas. With a quick blow on it, Miranda bite. Her eyes lit up as she looked at her son and let out a groan of approval. After swallowing the enchilada, she grinned, “You did perfect! Which recipe did you use?”

“Aunt Monica sent me the family recipe on the phone...” He sat on the sofa across from her, but didn’t take a bite as he stared at his food. His jaw clenched as he tried to force himself to talk.

Miranda noticed the shift in her son, “Wha--”

“I don’t know why I get so angry” Seungwon spilled. He took a sharp breath, “I get so angry with the smallest things. I want to hit things and I know it’s not normal. I know it’s wrong, but it feels so right, mom. And what I did yesterday, I was pissed at myself. I’m not like Eunhae. Her grades are perfect, everyone likes her. I’m a dumbahhhh--” he stumbled on the word knowing his mom was against cursing-- “I’m an idiot. I don’t understand school. I don’t have a goal in life. I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going.” His eyes waters, “I know I’m not normal. I know I’m worthless, but I don’t want to be given up on... I’m sorry for yesterday. I am so so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you--I wouldNEVERhurtyoumom” his words meshed together as he cried.

Miranda set down her plate as she rushed to her son and sat beside him. She pulled him to her in a hug as her hand petted his hair, “You are my son, baby. You’re not worthless or stupid.” She kissed his head, “You don’t need to compare yourself to Eunhae. I know you’re sorry, I mean you made this amazing lunch. I didn’t even know you could cook this well! I should have you help me make dinner more often.” Seungwon let out a weak laugh. “Being weak, isn’t bad. Showing weakness doesn’t make you pathetic. You’re hurting and I don’t know why. You don’t have to tell me why either if you don’t want to, but you have to know deep down something is wrong. We can take you to counseling, have a third party listen and give you advice. Maybe get you into kick boxing to release your tension, but we can’t let you lash out on others.”

Seungwon nodded silently before he spoke again, “I’ll try counseling, but please not Aunt Katelyn. That’s just awkward.”

“Deal!”

That night, Himchan and Eunhae arrived home to hear Miranda shouting in French. They two rushed in to see Miranda and Seungwon in front of the tv playing Mario Party.

Seungwon let out a loud laugh as he watched his mom, “You suck at this game, mom!”

“But really, is it me that sucks or the game that sucks...”

“It’s totally yo--” Seungwon’s smile fell as he looked back to see his sister and dad behind them.

Miranda looked up from the game to see what caught Seungwon’s attention. “Ah, you guys are home! Perfect. Dinner should be ready soon. Seungwon made it! Go get ready. Let’s play another round after dinner, Wonwon. I swear I’ll beat you next time.” She stood up and rubbed her son’s hair before she headed to the kitchen pecking her husband’s lips and patting her daughter’s cheek in the process. Eunhae followed after her mom leaving Himchan and Seungwon alone.

Seungwon awkwardly stood prepared for another lecture from his dad for being on a video game. Himchan approached him and patted his shoulder, “Your mom is terrible at video games, right?” Seungwon was caught off guard with his comment. “Even when we were dating, I tried to get her into video games, but she kept accidentally killing me in the games.”

“I can see that” Seungwon chucked. “She crashed her own car three times then made me crash.”

Himchan nodded, “Sounds about right. Go get ready for dinner, we can all play later, okay?”

“Yea!” Seungwon grinned as he hurried out the room. He paused at the archway, “Also, I’m sorry for yesterday. I was out of line.” Himchan said nothing as he gave his son a nod before Seungwon headed to the bathroom.

Part II || Part III

Credit to gif owners

Written & revamped by Squirrelly831

♕ REQUEST

☮ B.A.P MASTERLIST

∞ ULTIMATE MASTERLIST

#b.a.p.#bap #bap reactions #b.a.p reactions #Yongguk #yongguk reactions #yongguk scenarios #himchan #himchan reactions #himchan scenarios #kpop #kpop reactions #kpop scenarios

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hhunjins · 6 years ago

Text

Pairing: Seungmin x gender neutral reader (past Minho x reader/Felix x reader)

Genre: college!au, mostly fluff with slight angst (or the other way around, aslkjafd I’m bad at this)

Word Count: ~3,500

Warnings: None

Note: Using the American school system because it’s the only one I understand oops

Summary: With all of the everchanging things surrounding your life, you need at least one thing to be stagnant.

Seungmin comes like a rainbow at the end of a storm and, maybe, he can become that one thing.

Honestly, you don’t even know why you’re mad.

Maybe it’s the unfairness of it all and how wronged you feel. Or maybe it’s an accumulation of a lot of things and he tipped you over the edge. Whatever it was, you are upset, and you aren’t going to back down this time.

In some ways, Minho is right. It’s been nearly two years. There should be more than there is now. Your friends always tease you about how you two look like you’ve been only dating for a few months. Hand holding, hugs, the occasional peck on the cheek. Never more. So he’s right to want more.

But is that all there is in a relationship? Physical contact? PDA? For you, it wasn’t, and Minho knows that too.

There have been so many arguments about this very topic, but even if he says, “fine,” you know that he doesn’t really mean it. Every time he looks at you with guilt written all over his features and apologizes for pushing too far, it feels real until it isn’t.

You’re sick of the apologies. You’re sick of trying to accommodate when you really aren’t ready.

Minho texts you again, your phone screen lighting up with his name. No matter how much you stare at it, you can’t find it within you to reply.

It feels weird to walk into the campus coffee shop without Minho by your side. He always went with you for your daily coffee fix. But now he isn’t, and you can’t help but think that there’s yet one more thing gone wrong. You order your vanilla latte and scroll through Instagram on your phone while you wait.

Minho’s deleted all the pictures of you on his account. You’re surprised he hasn’t unfollowed and blocked you, but maybe this is better than nothing. He was a good friend before he was your boyfriend, and this might mean there’s a chance you could mend any loose ends.

Your name is called and you quickly exit the app before you start to overthink. You have a lecture to go to and any lingering thoughts about your ex-boyfriend isn’t going to fare well.

The coffee tastes bitterer than usual, even with the ample amount of sugar inside.

There is a boy who sits next to you in your psychology lecture. He’s your seatmate, has been since the beginning of the semester. He’s a sweet thing, always smiles and makes small talk before your professor walks into the hall and drones on for the next hour and a half. You’ve even exchanged numbers so you can help each other on assignments. It’s nice to have someone to send you notes when you’re too drained to make it to class, and you’re glad that he’s dependable. Seungmin saves you a seat whenever he comes earlier than you. He’s waiting for you today, earbuds plugged in and playing some game on his phone. He looks up when you arrive and takes his backpack off the seat so you can sit.

“Morning,” he greets.

You give him a smile. “Hi, Seungmin.”

“Are you okay? You look down.”

Your face scrunches up as you balance the cup of coffee in one hand and try to unzip your backpack with the other. He ends up taking the cup from your hands so you don’t spill. “Kind of TMI, but I just broke up with my boyfriend yesterday. It’s not really a good time.”

“Oh…Sorry for asking.” Seungmin looks so upset that you rush to reassure him.

“It’s really fine. It was coming anyway.”

He doesn’t look comforted at all.

“Let’s talk about something else.” You take your coffee back and hold it in both hands. “Did you start your paper?”

Seungmin groans, arms stretching out above him. “I have one sentence for my introduction and it’s not even that good.”

You let out a small laugh. “Want to work on it together?”

He checks through his schedule and then says, “After class on Thursday?”

You nod. “Sounds good. Campus coffee shop?”

He grins. “Okay.”

“Mom, I’m not coming back.”

“Why not? We all miss you here. You haven’t even talked to your brother or step-father in months.”

“I’m not coming back, and that’s that. I like it here, and so I’m staying,” you argue. You can hear her huff indignantly over the phone and mutter something about you being an ungrateful brat. “I have things to do, so I’m hanging up now.”

“Y/n, at least come back for Christmas.”

“I’ll think about it, but no promises.”

“That’s what you said last–”

“Bye,” you cut her off and end the call. She immediately tries to call you back, but you reject the call and turn your ringer off. From across the table, you see Seungmin glance over the top of his laptop, but he pretends like he didn’t hear anything. You’re sure he could though, even with his earbuds. You have a habit of getting heated when you talk to your family.

“Everything okay?” he asks, eyes not straying from his screen.

“My mom wants me back home for the holidays, but I’m really not feeling it.”

Seungmin nods in understanding. “Ah. They’re overbearing?”

You shrug. “I don’t have a good relationship with my mom, and ever since she got remarried, it’s been rough.” You pause. “Sorry, that was a lot. I didn’t mean to dump it on you.”

“It’s fine.” Seungmin gives you a reassuring smile, eyes curving into half moons, and you feel your stomach do a flip. He turns his computer around. “Hey, can you read this and tell me what you think?”

You skim through his introduction. “You could probably do without this sentence, but otherwise, it’s good. Your thesis is perfect.”

“Wow, the perks of having an English major as a seatmate.” He’s looking at you in awe, and you can’t help but laugh a little. “You’re amazing.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to be doing with it, but thanks.” You push his laptop back to him, eyes lingering a bit too long on the way his hair falls over his eyes.

It’s 2:13 a.m. and you’re working on your psychology paper out of pure boredom, when your phone lights up with a text. You glance over to see who it is and are surprised to see that it’s Seungmin.

“I hope you’re awake, or at least that your phone is on silent if you’re not since I didn’t mean to wake you up. But could you read my psych paper and give me feedback? Also is there another day we can meet up? I’ll pay for coffee since you’re the one doing me the favor even this is supposed to be a mutual thing.” He sends a sad face with the text.

You bite your lower lip to stifle the smile that’s starting to bloom on your lips. When you open the message, he immediately sends, “Please tell me you were awake.”

“I was awake,” you send back. “And yes, send it to my email. Does Tuesday after class sound okay? Also, it’s nothing!!”

Seungmin takes a while to respond, but he sends you a smiley face and a simple, “yes.”

You aren’t sure when it started. Maybe it was after your parents had their divorce and your father walked out of your life without even sparing a glance at the six-year-old child clinging onto his pant leg. Maybe it was seeing your mother fall completely in love with another man like she was never married in the first place. Maybe it was watching them get married because she had a little one on the way. Maybe it was the way your half-brother got all the love from both parents that you never did.

At one point, you found yourself disgusted by the displays of affection in movies and television. It was worse at school, because everyone had a crush, and everyone was dating someone, and you were just…there.

You had tried it out once in middle school. Felix was nice and funny, and it was okay until the annual school dance rolled around. His hand on your waist felt out of place, but it was bearable. It was when everyone starting chanting for you two to kiss and he leaned in that you felt yourself freezing up. You had broken up with him a few weeks later, because you felt too uncomfortable with him afterwards. It wasn’t his fault, and you made sure he knew. You’re still friends with him, but you only ever interact on social media. Sometimes, he comes to you for relationship advice, though you’re not sure why. It’s probably because you were his first girlfriend and that holds some sort of sentiment.

Minho came around during college, after you moved across the country because home never felt like home. You were more mature, more understanding of what you wanted and what you didn’t. He was the older boyfriend every girl dreamed of: sweet, patient, caring, and not to mention very easy on the eyes. Minho was the first person you befriended, and he eventually turned into something more. He was perfect, but it was his experience and your lack of that made you fall apart. He was ready for more while you just wanted something steady to hold onto.

Maybe it’s just you.

Tuesday comes fast. You don’t have a coffee in your hands since you’re going after class with Seungmin anyway, but that means you’re grumpier than usual.

Seungmin’s smile makes you feel a little better, but you’ve been thinking so much over the weekend that you’re tired of looking at the male population.

“Are you okay? The week barely started, y/n,” he laughs.

“It’s been a rough weekend,” you mumble. “And I didn’t get coffee.”

“Are you sure you can sit through ninety minutes of lecture without caffeine?” He’s teasing you, you can tell by the lilting tone in his voice. Suddenly, he gets serious. “But if you’re not feeling it, we don’t have to meet up today.”

You shake your head. “I think I just need coffee. Please wake me up if I fall asleep though.”

Seungmin doesn’t. You only realize you fell asleep after lecture when he taps your shoulder and offers, once again, to cancel working together. “You didn’t wake me up!”

“I already sent you the notes. Besides, you look like you needed the sleep.”

Huffing, you pack up your unopened notebook. “We should work on the essay though. If you could read mine over, that would be great.”

“Of course.”

All of the thinking over the weekend has made you realize that you’re thankful for the space Seungmin puts between the two of you when you walk. When you walked on this same path with Minho, he always had his arm slung around your shoulder or his fingers were intertwined with yours. Seungmin holds the door open for you and gives you a cheeky grin that makes you suddenly jolt with the realization that this is Seungmin, not Minho. Minho isn’t with you anymore. However, when you enter, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans fills you up and the thoughts disappear.

“Grab a table, I’ll order for you. Medium vanilla latte?”

“Yeah.” You fish through your pocket for money and pull out a five-dollar bill that he refuses to take. “I’m not letting you pay!”

“This is an apology for not waking you up during lecture.” Seungmin sticks his tongue out at you and dashes off before you can say another word.

Your stomach does a weird turn.

“How is it that our papers are literally about the same thing but yours sounds so much better than mine?” Seungmin groans.

You hide a smile behind your drink and shrug. “Writing comes naturally. It doesn’t really matter the subject, I just like it.”

“I’m jealous.” Seungmin runs his hands through his hair but doesn’t let go of the strands when he reaches the ends. “I can do everything but write.”

“I’m really bad at math, if that makes you feel any better.” Your eyes drift across the coffee shop, surveying the décor and layout of the place. You’ve been here so many times, but never took the time to really appreciate the ambiance. Seungmin is refocused on his paper, so you begin to day dream. You look outside, looking into the main quad area and the clumps of people sitting in the grass. Your eyes travel a bit further and stop on a group of familiar guys as they walk past the window.

It’s too late to break eye contact. You’ve stared for too long. Your fingers tighten around the cup of coffee and you let out a soft gasp that has Seungmin glancing up.

“Y/n?”

Minho looks at you, then at Seungmin, and then back to you. His expression doesn’t give away what he’s thinking, but you’re sure there’s hurt written somewhere in his eyes. Then, he clenches his jaw and looks away, lips curling up into a smile directed at his friends.

Seungmin follows your gaze and finds who you are staring at. Connecting the dots, he lightly kicks your leg under the table to grab your attention. You’re still staring, even though Minho is long gone. “Hey. Do you want to talk to me about it?”

You sigh and shake your head. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s something. But if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to. But know that I’m here if you need me to be.” Seungmin nods earnestly and smiles.

The sparkles in his eyes are beautiful.

Love was never an easy thing. You didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t something that you welcomed so easily. It was easy to walk out and that uncertainty made you uneasy. But when in love, it was harder to keep the balance. What did you want that your partner didn’t? Where was the line drawn? How much did you have to give up to keep the peace, to continue being happy?

You weren’t sure. You didn’t have good enough experiences with it to ever figure it out.

But with the way Seungmin never probes too far and gives you the space you need, you may or may not be falling in love with him.

“I can’t believe I got 90% on this. A whole month of work has paid off.” Seungmin kisses his paper and holds it up to the sky. “I owe you my grade.”

You laugh at his silliness. “There’s still the final, Seungmin.”

“But this solidified my grade.” He has a big grin on his face that makes you smile too. “I’ll buy you coffee?”

“I already had one before class. It’s okay.”

Seungmin hesitates for a moment. “Then what about lunch?”

Of course you run into Minho. It’s even more awkward this time because you’re both in the middle of a conversation when you make eye contact and somehow you both seem to stop talking at the same time. You’re trying to overlook the fact that the girl he’s with is playing with his fingers on the tabletop. The chances of you running into him like this are one in a million, but you’ve been awfully lucky with awkward encounters recently.

The smile on Minho’s face slips off faster than you can blink. He looks over at Seungmin again, gaze lingering longer than before, and then back to you with an unreadable expression. The girl turns to look to see what caught his attention and she gives you a questioning look.

You feel a nudge on your shoulder. “Let’s go somewhere else, this place is really crowded today.” Seungmin forces a laugh. There are plenty of empty tables right in your field of vision, but you’re thankful he’s trying. “Come on.”

Once you’re outside, you let out a breath you didn’t think you were holding, and you pause to close your eyes for a moment. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood to eat anymore, Seungmin.”

Seungmin contemplates for a moment, looking back at the restaurant and then at you. “Let’s talk about it instead. You have a lot pent up, don’t you? You can tell me.”

Seungmin’s eyes are warm like the coffee you love so much, and his smile is like the sun that lights up your day.

You hate yourself for thinking how Seungmin fills in all the empty spots that Minho left.

“People show love differently. For you, it’s with emotions rather than with physical touch, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” Seungmin chews on his fry thoughtfully. “My mom showed me she loved me by cutting up fruits for me when I was studying. My dad showed me love by telling me he was proud of me. People seem to think that kissing and sex is the only way you show someone you love them, but it really isn’t.”

You spin your straw in your soda. “I guess it’s the pressure of society telling me that it is.”

Seungmin dips his fry into his little ketchup cup. “Well, you don’t always have to listen to it.” When he sees that you’re still unsure about yourself, he scoots closer to the table. “Hey. There’s nothing wrong with you being hesitant to do all those things. You have your boundaries and your partner should respect that. They should understand. If they don’t, they aren’t worth it.”

“I don’t know, Seungmin. I just feel like I owe it to him for being with me so long. We spent two years together. That’s a long time.”

“Y/n.” Seungmin’s voice sounds so firm you look up in surprise. “You don’t owe anyone anything.”

Your heart skips a beat.

Finals creeps up on you and hits you in the face. You’re normally on top of it all, but with all the emotional turmoil you’ve been experiencing and another awkward encounter with Minho and his new girlfriend that you had to get over, you’re not ready. Seungmin, the ever-reliable seat mate, sends you his annotated study guide and the link to his online flash cards.

“Good luck. Hopefully I’ll see you in another class,” Seungmin whispers as the test is passed out.

You give him a small smile. “Good luck.”

With all the help he gave you, the test is relatively easy, but you spend extra time going over your answers to make sure. Seungmin finishes before you and gives you a wink when he walks past you and out of the hall. You hand in the final a few minutes after he does and leave, feeling lighter. What you’re not expecting is him waiting at the door.

“Woah, I thought you left,” you say.

“I was going to, but I came back.”

“Did you forget something?”

Seungmin hesitates, face contorting into a weird expression for a moment and then into a thin smile. “Would you like to go on a date with me, y/n?”

Your housemates have left to go home during the semester break. You’re determined not to fly thousands of miles and be stuck in a house where you feel like you don’t belong.

Last year, Minho stayed over and was glued to your side every moment of the day. He slept on the couch because you didn’t want him sleeping on your bed and he complained about it the entire time. You went through the entire break with guilt pooling in your stomach and annoyance pulsing through your veins. The argument that followed that almost separated you two.

This year, Seungmin shows up around noon after you’ve woken up and leaves after dinner. There’s a pillow between your legs whenever you curl up on the couch together to watch a movie. He texts you and asks if you want to call and sends you pictures of cats instead of hearts, though you know they mean the same thing.

Seungmin holds you steady, keeps you grounded and secure in the world that’s constantly changing. He’s up until the ungodly hours of the night, and ready to reply to whatever random thought you have on your mind. You’re not so sure what makes him different from the other two, but when he raises his hand for a high-five after something good happens instead of his arms for a hug, you feel your insides twist in a good way.

It’s the subtle things that made you fall for him. Like the way he smiles and offers to listen without forcing you into anything. And the way he never invades your personal bubble until you nod when he cocks his head to the side as his way of asking. And the way he makes you feel comfortable in your own skin, like you’re not being pressured into holding his hand, or hugging him, or kissing him.

Seungmin has made you feel like you belong, like you’re not some weird freak that doesn’t like being touched by their significant other. He has made you feel accepted and has made you accept yourself – that’s the biggest thing.

Maybe that’s why you’ve been going steady for the past year.

#seungmin #kim seungmin #stray kids seungmin #stray kids #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagine #seungmin scenario #seungmin imagine #fluff #some angst

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melodyalanaroster · 6 years ago

Photo

Messages and Curiosities

Alana had not shown up for class in nearly a week. Nora was sent from the Black Tower with a note stating that she was sick and would be staying home and keeping correspondence for her classes strictly in email.

Rayan Zaidi had spoken to Alana casually on a handful of occasions. At the beach, they established that it was okay for them to call each other by their normal names. She had even notified him why she preferred to be called “Alana” over “Melody” around campus. But he was still curious to know more about her...

One night, as he’s walking out of the Art Building, Rayan checked his phone and noticed a message from Alana’s email, and a conversation began.

“What did I miss in class today?”

“Just a lecture on Oscar Wilde.”

“Ah, so nothing that applies to me.”

“Apparently. How are you feeling?”

“Better. I should be coming back to class next week... But I’ve lost my voice.”

“Don’t you just have a common cold?”

“Yes, but my immune system isn’t the best... And every time I get a cold, I lose my voice.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, my mother isn’t the only one who gets sick easily.”

“You don’t talk about your mother... May I ask why?”

“Every time the topic of my mother gets brought up, and people are forced to think of me as “Melody Roster” rather than “The Grim Reaper” or “Alana”, I get pitied or underestimated.... I hate that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Melody Roster is expected to be Lynne’s responsible, docile, elegant, daughter. That is what has been forced upon me by mom’s fans, and the rest of society. But, ever since mom got sick, especially now that she’s better, when people realize precisely who I am in that form, they pity me because I was the one who gave up everything to go make sure she wasn’t alone.”

“I had no idea.”

“You wouldn’t. You read mom’s books, you know I’m both “Melody Roster” and “The Grim Reaper”... But, while you do look at me with curiosity in your eyes, you don’t look at me with pity or fear.”

“I see no reason to. You are a fascinating young woman. You don’t talk much at all, and when you do, its only to a very select few.”

“I have my reasons behind that.”

“May I ask what those are?”

“Take the people you know that are around me... The ones you spend the most time with... Leigh, Rosalaya and Melody. I have great disdain for the girls and a neutral feeling towards Leigh.”

“Why?”

“I’ve always been better friends with Leigh’s brother, Lysander. Leigh has always been either “Lysander’s brother” or “Rosa’s boyfriend” to me. We don’t talk much. Rosalaya used to be one of my best friends... And, well, you saw what happened at the beach when I slapped her.... That was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. As for Melody.... I’ve given her enough rope to hang herself with multiple times over the time we’ve known each other and she’s hung herself ten fold.”

“And the others that you talk to?”

“Care to specify?”

“That rock star?”

“Cas? He’s part of the old High School group. He and I are friends.”

“That woman who runs around dressed up as a fairy?”

“That’s my aunt, Agatha. She’s my mom’s little sister. I can always talk to her.”

“What about that blonde boy who is constantly causing trouble? You talk to him a lot.”

“Nathaniel is a special circumstance. I enjoy talking to him for many reasons.”

“Special circumstance?”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told the Director a couple of weeks ago... My dealings with Nathaniel Jacott is my business. Please don’t pry on that note.”

“My apologies.”

“Did you know? Because of our handful of conversations, there is a rumor that you and I are together?”

“There are a lot of rumors surrounding you. Why are you bringing this one up?”

“Because this one has been brought to my attention by various people and I feel the need to address it.”

“I am aware that this rumor has been circling around the campus...”

“Are you interested in me?”

“You do realize its wrong to ask your professor that.”

“You do realize that, while you are my professor, I outrank you by society’s standards because of my R.D.R rank. So, in fact, it’s perfectly okay for me to ask you that.”

“Alana...”

“Don’t make me ask again, Rayan. I hate repeating myself.”

“It would be better for me to discuss my feelings in person.”

“That, dear sir, would only emphasize the rumors.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because, the only place I can properly communicate with people is the Tower. Unless you’d like my response strictly by text while you talk to me. So, inviting you to into my home while you discuss your feelings for me would emphasize the rumors simply because someone always has their eyes on the Tower. Its widely known that I’m the only student at Anteros who lives there. So, everyone knows that you’d be there to see me. So, please, answer my question.”

“With what you are, how would emphasis on the rumors cause trouble?”

“While I am a high ranking person in society, whose organization funds Anteros’ Engineering program, I am still your student. I am still ten years younger than you. A professor being interested in me doesn’t affect me, personally. In fact, sparking people’s curiosity is expected. I don’t even have to be around to do that. But it does affect you. You are not allowed to show interest in your students, in that form. You know that, you’ve been made aware of that on multiple occasions. You could still, very well, lose your job.”

“And if I am interested in you?”

“For multiple reasons, I’ll have to turn you down.”

“May I inquire as to those reasons?”

“Rayan, while I do find you fascinating and physically attractive... I cannot be with you. I’m sure, by now, you’ve heard the rumor “The Grim Reaper broke her own heart to protect the one she loves most.”, right?”

“I’ve heard it multiple times, yes.”

“My enemies have been neutralized. I intend to restore my heart.”

“So, it’s true.”

“Yes.”

“May I ask, who it is?”

“You already have the answer to that. All you have to do is let your powers of observation guide you.”

“Do you think they’ll accept you back?”

“After traversing through the dimensions of demons, all I can do is hope they will.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then I am doomed to walk through this world alone. For I can love no one else.”

“Alana, you know that’s not true. You’re still young.”

“Rayan, I have loved him for years. Much longer than I’ve even been “The Grim Reaper”. I have fought, bled, and nearly died on multiple occasions to get to the point where I have the freedom to even try to get him back. I am not going down without one hell of a fight.”

“I’ll admit, I do envy him. But if he hasn’t come back to you yet, he must be blind. Women like you don’t appear every day.”

“He’s tortured, not blind. Don’t insult him. And I am the only woman of my kind.”

“I didn’t mean to insult him. I meant that if I were in his position, and you came to me, I’d take you back immediately.”

“Would you? An ex breaks up with you for a reason that you can’t possibly believe because that person would never fall in with a crowd like that, only to come back about four and a half years later with a skyscraper full of proof of what they were doing and that they weren’t lying to you... You’d take them back so easily?”

“Logically, I would.”

“You and I both know logic and reason don’t entirely apply when it comes to matters of the heart.”

“You’re right. But I have a point.”

“A lot has happened to him and me in the last four and a half years. I have to walk through Hell again to reach him.”

“And you’re willing to do so?”

“He’s worth it.”

“I really do envy him.”

Alana’s eyes had begun to get heavy. She checked the time and noticed it was getting late.

“Well, sir, it was nice talking to you this evening... But I’ve grown tired and I really should get some rest.”

“It’s always a pleasure talking with you, Alana. Goodnight and sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight Rayan.”

During the conversation, Rayan had managed to walk to his apartment. He opened the door, took off his blazer and vest, grabbed a glass and a bottle of brandy, poured himself a drink, sat down in the armchair by the window, stared at the Black Tower, took a sip of his drink and thought for a minute. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he sighed.

“That Jacott boy had better realize what he has before him.”

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pinkevilbobdoesthings · 6 years ago

Text

Okay, gang, here it is the sixth and final chapter of “I Ship It”. After this, there's just the epilogue. I hope you all like this. This chapter takes some interesting twists and turns.

For this chapter, I recommend listening to Capable by The Wild Reeds and Best Girl by Trocadero while reading it.

Caleb blocked Jester’s number. It hurt but not as much as having to ignore her phone number when she kept calling and texting him begging to talk to her and to think it over. Luckily she did not have Nott’s number.

He made sure that the last weekend he had with Nott was a good one. They spent the whole weekend and Caleb even ate Nott’s cooking. She thought that everything they did was for Caleb’s sake to make him not worry about the coming Tuesday, but really he was leaving her something good to remember. Caleb was going to hurt her so much and this was going to be the closest thing he had to an apology for her. Maybe after he was gone, he could send Jester Nott’s number. The two would probably be good friends for each other.

Part of Caleb was tempted to try calling Dean de Rolo, but who knew what the Dean really wanted. It could have been a worse trap than Ikithon. Even if what the Dean said was true, his help was probably too little too late.

Tuesday started like any other day which didn’t feel fair. It should have started with an air of dread so palpable that all creatures could feel it. Instead it was a sunny spring morning. On his bed, Caleb left instructions on how to take care of Frumpkin. There was no way Ikithon was going to let him keep the cat. He also left a note to destroy all of his old files and records that he never had the courage to get rid of.

Keeping his eyes closed on the subway train, Caleb focused on breathing. When he stepped off the train, he saw Jester. “CALEB!” she shouted.

He just stared at her. “What are you doing here?”

“You really didn’t think that I was going to leave you alone today did you?” she asked with a little pout. “Somebody has to keep you safe.”

“It’s pointless,” Caleb said. “There’s no stopping him.”

“You escaped him once. Now let’s go.” Jester offered her hand to Caleb and he took it tentatively. She held it firmly and led the way to the university. It felt juvenile, but it also felt safe in a strange way.

Caleb just focused on the feel of her hand. It was real and Ikithon was not in front of him yet, so it was not time to panic. Jester filled the quiet with talk. Not about anything in particular just talking. Her chatter washed over Caleb and drowned out his frantic thoughts.

“So where do we need to go to first? Oh, do I get to see your office?” Jester asked cheerfully like it was a completely normal day.

Caleb shook his head. “No, I have class first thing today at the Suul building, but first, the water closet.”

“Water closet? Ohhhh, you mean the toilet,” Jester said much too loudly. “Caleb, are you a nervous pooper?” she asked conspiratorially.

Caleb could feel his face turn bright red. “That’s none of your business.” Jester just giggled as he entered the restroom.

He quickly took care of his business and washed his hands. Someone else turned the water off for him. “Thank yo-” His voice died off as he saw who it was.

“Not a problem. I’m just glad I was able to catch you alone,” Trent Ikithon said with all too slick of a smile.

***************

Jester bounced up and down on the balls of her feet waiting for Caleb to leave the bathroom. After ten minutes, she gave up on waiting and barged into the men’s bathroom. “Caleb! Did your hand get caught in the potty?!” But there was no one in the bathroom. She checked all the stalls, but she was the only one in there. Too late, she noticed that there was a second exit for the bathroom. “Oh no.”

Did Caleb ditch her or did something happen to him? He had already told her where his first class was, so if he was trying to ditch her, he was not doing a very good job of it. Jester ran all the way to the Suul building and burst into the first classroom she saw. “Professor Widogast’s classroom?!” But the room was empty. The next five classrooms were just as luckless with either empty classrooms or interrupted classes or in one case a tutoring session (though she thinks the one on one tutoring session might have actually been an illicit tryst).

“Excuse me, are you looking for Professor Widogast?” asked the biggest, buffest goth chick Jester had ever seen. The goth chick was definitely Beau’s type.

“Yeah, I was supposed to help him today and we got separated and he told me the building his class was in but not the class number,” Jester explained.

The goth chick nodded. “I’ve got his class next. You can tag along if you’d like.”

“Thanks!”

There were a couple of students already in the classroom, but no sign of Caleb. The classroom slowly filled, but Caleb never showed up.

“It’s been 15 minutes, should we leave now?”

“Last week when he missed class, he sent an email,” one girl said. “Did anybody get a message from him?” There was a chorus of nos.

Jester’s stomach sank. Ikithon’s lecture started in 45 minutes. That gave her time to prepare. Maybe Jester’s hunch was wrong and Caleb was nowhere near his old mentor, but Jester had a feeling that if she found Ikithon, she’d find Caleb too. And if she was wrong, she could still keep an eye on Ikithon.

If Ikithon had Caleb already, he probably would’ve seen Jester too, and while her outfit was super cute, it was also super easy to spot. She went to the school book store and grabbed the most nondescript school sweatshirt and sweatpants she could find and also a boring beanie to cover her hair. Jester rented a locker and stored her backpack and clothes in it. “Let’s do this,” she whispered to herself.

She thought it was going to be a super sneaky operation, but it was actually really easy to just walk in and get a front row seat. It was a little disappointing. Jester sat there alternating between bored and nervous. Five minutes before the lecture more students filed in and then the seats up front for faculty and other important people started to filled up too.

Finally, Ikithon came in and behind him a subdued Caleb. Caleb never looked up once instead focusing on the two feet in front of him. Ikithon, from what Jester could tell, was being charming and hitting it off with all the important professors and department heads. The whole time Ikithon had an arm around Caleb’s shoulders.

Soon, everyone sat down and the lecture started. Jester tried to focus on it, but it was just so boring. It was about the impact of relationships in general and the importance of choosing those relationships wisely. When Ikithon mentioned Subject K, Jester bolted up ram straight and listened carefully. She couldn’t help but notice how Caleb gripped the knees of his pants and turned an ashy pale color. Ikithon went on about the healing powers of a good mentor relationship and Jester wanted to jump up and call him out, but that would’ve done nothing to help Caleb. Fortunately the lecture ended soon after that. Students were invited to ask questions during a short Q & A, but after three half hearted questions it became quickly apparent that no one else was interested enough to ask anything.

As Ikithon stepped down from the stage, Jester approached. She had no clue what she was going to do or say, but she had to do something. “Um, Professor Ikithon, do you know whatever happened to Subject K? Is he alright now?”

Ikithon looked down with disdain for a moment but as a dean got closer to him he turned back on the charm. He was once again accompanied by Caleb who stared at the ground. “Unfortunately, I believe he has fallen into a bad crowd and has found himself in trouble again, but he has graciously agreed to allow me to once again study his journey through life. I afraid he may fall further than he had previously and I can only hope he comes to his senses in time.”

Jester’s hand formed into a fist, but she stopped herself from punching Ikithon. “Oh, I hope so too. What do you think, Caleb?”

Caleb looked up for the first time and let out a soft gasp. “Jester?”

*****

Ikithon was right. He was always right and Caleb was always wrong. It was the first lesson Caleb learned under Ikithon’s guidance and one he should not have forgotten. Caleb was stupid to think that he could make it out in the world alone. Who did he have? Nott. And all he was doing was enabling her drinking and kleptomania. She was better off without him. Everyone was. Really, Caleb was lucky that Professor Ikithon was willing to take him back. The words were thick and cloying and made it hard to breathe, but they were true.

But then Jester’s words broke through them. “Jester?” Caleb was certain that Jester was just going to think that he ditched her and that she wouldn’t try to find him again. Yet there she was in what he could only assume was her attempt at a disguise, and she smiled at Caleb brightly even though he was the worst. “What-”

“I’m sorry, but my assistant and I must be going.” Ikithon wrapped an arm around Caleb’s shoulders and dug his fingers into Caleb’s arm.

“Oh, right, sorry, but I had Professor Widogast’s class this morning and he wasn’t there, so I need to talk to him about my paper that’s due next week and it’s super important,” Jester said.

“You can send him an email,” Ikithon said, “but I should be warning you that he may be joining us back at Soltryce University very soon.”

Jester’s eyes widened. “Caleb? Is that true?”

Caleb looked away not daring to see her disappointment and remained quiet.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” Ikithon said pulling Caleb along.

Jester grabbed a hold of Caleb’s hand and managed to pull him away from Ikithon. “I, I don’t think he wants to go with you,” she said stepping between them. Caleb’s heart stopped for a moment seeing her being so bold. He didn’t deserve her, but he was thankful for her.

“Don’t put words in his mouth,” Ikithon said. “We have a plane to catch.”

Jester trembled in front of Caleb, but she didn’t back down. “But, he likes it here and you’re being a bully.”

Ikithon huffed impatiently. “Caleb, we don’t have time for this foolishness. Come along.”

“Caleb,” Jester said softly. “You don’t have to go.”

“Yes, he does,” Ikithon said.

“Excuse me,” a familiar posh voice said. It was Dean de Rolo. “Can one of you explain to me what is going on here?”

Ikithon put back on his charming smile. “I was just explaining to this young woman that my assistant and I need to leave now.”

“Um, I just really needed to talk to Professor Widogast and I don’t think he wants to leave,” Jester said.

Dean de Rolo looked at Caleb. “And what do you say?”

Caleb wanted more than anything to stay, but it was beyond his or Jester’s power. It felt cruel to throw away her bravery like that though. Maybe he could write her one last story, something that could make sense of it all and explain why it was impossible for him to stay(Ikithon would probably forbid Caleb’s fanfictions, but he hoped to steal away and write just one more first). Then he looked over at Dean de Rolo. There was no telling if the Dean really meant what he said about helping, but he might be Caleb’s closest thing to a chance. “I’m Subject K.” Caleb��s voice sounded small even in his own ears, so he repeated himself willing his voice to grow. “I’m Subject K!”

Dean de Rolo took a startled step back. “That was unexpected.”

“You don’t reallythink we’d believe that, do you?” Ikithon asked with a sneer.

Jester grabbed Caleb’s hand and squeezed it softly. “The files and unaltered videos in my apartment should be proof enough,” Caleb said his voice soft and weak again. Ikithon recorded many of their interviews, and when showing them, he used a voice distorter and blurred out the face. Caleb was the one to do that work though and he kept all the original copies.

Dean de Rolo smiled smugly at Ikithon. “I believe you should be going now without your assistant. And don’t worry you’ll be hearing from us soon.” Ikithon sputtered for a moment. “Do I need to call security?” the Dean asked all too smoothly.

Ikithon left with a huff.

“Now,” the Dean said turning his attention back to Caleb, “I amuse you’ll be wanting to press charges. Am I correct in assuming that Ikithon was the first mentor?”

“There was only one mentor, and yes, it was Ikithon,” Caleb said. “I can’t press charges. There’s probably not enough to justify it.”

“You’d be surprise. My wife, the shrudest lawyer you will ever find, has been looking into this for months and believes you may have a solid case. He may not get a lot of jail time for it, but it will ruin his career. His tenure will be forfeit!” The dean cleared his throat and continued. “You’ll, of course, need to have a psychiatric evaluation and if you chose, I believe Dr. Trickfoot would be more than willing to continue to work with you for a discounted price. This will all be up to you thought.”

Caleb frowned and stared at the ground. “Why are you doing all this? You don’t know me or Professor Ikithon.” He looked up at the Dean. “What are you getting out of getting me justice?”

“You got me there. I barely care about Trent Ikithon. His associates, Professor Briarwood and Dr. Ripley, on the other hand I care deeply about, and if I take one out, the rest will shortly crumble. Ikithon was just the easiest target. I’m sorry, but your justice is merely stepping stone for my vengeance,” the Dean said, but he didn’t look embarrassed for being caught.

Caleb nodded. “That’s acceptable, but I need to think about it. It’s a lot to take in.”

“Of course,” Dean de Rolo said softly. “Here’s my card again and my wife’s as well. Please let us know your decision by next week.” He left Jester and Caleb alone.

Caleb could feel himself shaking next to Jester. “Let’s sit down,” she said. Gently, she led him down to a chair.

“You’re amazing,” Caleb said.

Jester shook her head. “No, I’m not. I froze up when it came to Ikithon. I knew I should have said something that would have destroyed him, but I had nothing.”

“But that didn’t stop you,” Caleb said. “Even though you had nothing you still stood up for me even after I’ve treated you so poorly this week.”

“Well, that’s what friends are for, you know.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone other than Nott, so I guess I forgot.” Now he had two friends that would fight monsters for him. “Wait, are we still friends?”

Jester giggled and it lifted his heart. “Of course we are, silly. Nothing’s going to change that. Even when you’re all freaked out and paranoid.”

“Thank you.” Caleb looked down at his hands. “Can I tell you something? A couple of things, I mean. Serious things.”

“You can tell me anything you want,” Jester said grabbing his hands.

Caleb took a deep breath. “Alright. Jester, I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings, i think.” Jester took in a soft gasp. “I’m not done yet. I’d want nothing more than to love you, but I’m not ready yet for a romantic relationship. I wish I was, but you saw what I was like this last week. I can’t have anyone deal with that. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” She still held onto his hands. “I have feelings for you too, but I think understand. You still need to heal.”

“Ja.” It hurt to admit it. It felt like he was a failure at something that was supposed to be natural. “I’m going to try therapy. Maybe that Dr. Trickfoot.”

Jester nodded. “That’s good. Um, how do you know if you’re ready for a relationship?”

“I don’t know. I just know that I’m not yet.”

Jester let go of his hand and drew her knees up to her chest. “Would it be silly for me to admit that I don’t think I’m quite ready either? That I might have a little more growing up to do?”

Caleb shook his head. “No, I think that’ a pretty mature thing to do. And I think you might be more grown up than people give you credit for. Oh, but I’m not trying to rush you.”

“Thanks. I just mean I don’t really even know who I am yet and I think there’s more stuff for me to figure out before rushing through love and stuff.”

Caleb looked over at her and was disappointed that she didn’t realize how amazing she was. “Well, I think you were my hero today.”

“I was? But that old guy was the one who stopped Ikithon, not me,” Jester said.

“But he wouldn’t have been there if you hadn’t raised that fuss,” Caleb said, “and I wouldn’t have the nerve to speak if you weren’t there with me. So, you saved me.”

Jester’s face turned bright red. “Thanks. And I think I might have an idea for that assignment now. So what are we going to do about us?”

“What do you mean?” Caleb asked.

“Well, if we both really like each other, but we’re not ready yet, what are we going to do?” Jester asked. She grabbed his hand again. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Caleb frowned. He couldn’t handle losing her either. “We can stay friends. If you want to.”

“I do want to. Is it okay if I wait for you to be ready?”

“It might take me a long time,” Caleb admitted. “Months at least, maybe even years. Are you willing to wait that long?”

“For now I am. Is that enough?” Jester asked.

“Ja, that’s enough for me.”

****

The next week found a painting of Jester in a showcase. She was dressed in pink armor with a shield that had a silly face painted on it and she held a giant paint brush like a sword. Behind her stood someone that almost looked like Caleb who she was protecting. Jester got a B on it, but Nott and Caleb both really liked it so it evened out.

That week also found Jester sitting next to Caleb as he nervously stared at his phone. “You can do it,” she said encouragingly.

He nodded, but continued to just stare at it.

“Do you need me to call?”

Caleb shook his head. “No, I have to do it myself.” He took a deep breath and entered in the phone number. “Hello, Dean de Rolo? I’d like to press charges against Trent Ikithon.”

_______________________

Notes:

So, um, yeah, I was super nervous about the love confession since it has them deciding that it wasn't right for them to date which might not be satisfying for some of you, but honestly Caleb in canon and in this verse needs to heal more before dating. But that's what the epilogue is for.

I would love to hear what people think of this chapter.

Also, I've updated the spotify playlist and played with the order of songs. You can find the playlist in my I Ship It tag.

#widojest #critical role fan fiction #pinkevilbob writes #i hope all like it #i might be a little nervous about this chapter and hope it's a satsifying end #i ship it

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