#sorry to the person who saw me pouring water out of my trash can over the side of my balcony

[curiosity-killed]

Sometimes being in your twenties is a lot of “I deserve to be treated like the responsible and relatively competent adult I am,” and sometimes being in your twenties is blow drying your kitchen trash can because even after scrubbing it with boiling water, dish soap, and multipurpose cleaner, it still smelled a little funky so you febreezed it but then didn’t want to leave any moisture in there in case it encouraged The Stank and didn’t have a good way of drying it other than your dinky little blow dryer

[terras-domain]

Forever More (Ahn Yujin x Male Reader)

Reader’s POV

  Another stressful day at work. Fuck my body is aching so bad lately. Good thing weekends are near, now just need to kick back and relax at home. “Honey, I hoooome~” I called, waiting for a respond to come back at me. Instead of a shout back at me, I saw an angel’s face beaming at me, an innocent smile reflecting in my pupils. “Baby?” she said, giddily walking towards me and giving a sniff on my body. “IT IS YOUUUUUU” she shouts out her happiness, hugging me tight I couldn’t breathe for a moment. It’s always been something that we do together whenever, whether it’s the first thing in the morning, or I just got home from work. The love of my life, Yujin will always be there for me and giving the brightest of smiles takes the pain away. We’ve been dating for three years and even though we decided not to get married, I’m still the happiest man in the world and content with her.

  “What you up to baby?” I asked, it’s not usual to see Yujin working in the kitchen, not to mention doing it alone. “Awwww c’mon babe, you think I’d forget, did you?” she raised an eyebrow, making a smug face as she sighed. “It’s our third anniversary silly!” With a face that screams “TA-DA” she presented the dining table looking well made, a small flowerpot with indigo-coloured lilies in it with an artificial candle to set the mood. “So, what do you think?” her hands behind her back and tilting her head with the cutest smile one could ever imagine. All I could do was smile and cup her cheeks with my hands, giving her a peck of kiss on her lips. “I love it, my little babyboo.” I smiled back at her, enjoying the moment as we shared a quick romantic moment before a sudden unpleasant smell reeked in the kitchen. “OH FUCK, THE PASTA!!” It felt as if the part where we should be kissing deeply into each other’s mouth suddenly went to a halt, and the overcooked pasta had to ruin the scene.

“Nauurrrr. It’s ruined.” A clear display of disappointment is shown in her pouting face as she looked down at the mushed-up pasta noodles go down the drain, as well as the pot since the stove absolutely baked and burnt the pot as well, leaving us with a spaghetti sauce with no spaghetti to eat with. “I am so sorry baby….I don’t know what to say” crystals starts to form underneath her round puppy like eyes, pouring down as the self-guilt hit her hard. I couldn’t bare watching it and just wiped the tears of her face, gently caressing her face. “Aww don’t say that baby. It’s far from over. We can always improvise, right?” with a gentle smile to convince her, I gave her a big hug as an of comfort. Yujin has always been a sensitive person ever since we dated so it’s not something odd for me to comfort her. “C’mon, I’m sure we have some instant noodles in the shelf. Let’s use it as our noodles, what do you say, Ms. Chef?” I reached into the shelf and grabbed a pack of instant noodles and tossed it to her, seeing a brighter reaction than she was a few minutes ago after the sad story of the fallen noodles. Since our pot is also burnt, we decided to prepare our ‘pasta’ with hot water, doing it the plebian student-ish way despite being grown adults.

 It didn’t take long before our dinner could get started (it really wasn’t, instant noodles literally only take 2 minutes to make). With whatever we had on we sat at the dining table and had a good meal together where we laughed at the incident and had a nice evening to loosen up. It’s great to see Yujin back to her angelic smile again, it’s way better than seeing her all sad and depressed. “Thanks for the quick improvision bae. If you didn’t help in just now, I’d be by the trash can crying right now.” She sighed and took a sip of water from her glass, clearing her throat from the rather dry meal, possibly because the sauce was dry. I could feel the food lacking a lot of things, but who am I to complain, it was made by my only Yujin, and what matters is she made it with all her love. No matter how dried and unseasoned it is I’d still finish it all like a man who hasn’t eaten for weeks. “Umm baby”, Yujin paused me with a soft calling. “Mhm?” I gave a short reply, my mouth filled with the instant noodles topped with Yujin’s dry spaghetti sauce. Yujin could only give out a soft giggle, but it didn’t take long for that to build up until she chuckled and laughed out loud, looking at my face. “What’s wrong?” I asked, which Yujin immediately responded. “You look so adorable what the fuck hahahaha!” she shook her head and reached out to me, grabbing a cloth to wipe a stain of tomato sauce off my face. “Slow down dumbass, food’s not going anywhere.” She shook her head, smirking as a reaction to my attitude.

  As time passes by, we exchanged laughter and conversation kept going and going till one point we just thought it was time to hit to the bed – the best part of having a significant other. As we both laid in bed, I just had to lay on top of Yujin’s soft tummy, feeling her breath moving her body up and down, the warmth forever soothing me. Yujin made a sincere smile while looking down at me, caressing my hair. “It was a tiring day, wasn’t it?” Yujin broke the silence, asking as she hummed a little song as she kept playing around with my scalp, scratching it gently and swirling my hair. I couldn’t say a word, all it there was, was a little nod followed by a little sobbing, tears running down my eyes and flows onto hers. “I just don’t know. I appreciate you so much Yujin. I can’t say that life isn’t as tough as it is.” I sobbed, hugging her tight and before we know it, it was a tight cuddling, each of us holding each other tightly, embracing ourselves in a vulnerable state. “I understand baby, it’s a tough life. And I appreciate you for being strong for me, for us. I’m proud at what you’ve grown into after all this time.” Yujin embraced me, holding my face as I watch those eyes beaming at me as if it’s a ray of hope, her soft fingers wiping my tears off before she gives a soft kiss on the forehead. It felt magical, almost as if a burden was lifted off my body and I felt lighter. Yujin’s soft lips didn’t stop there. Her lips travelled and pecked all over my face, kissing me gently. And whilst that the same three words repeated again and again, almost like it was singed into my ears and stored into my brain. “I love you.” Was all I heard every time her lips crashed landed on my face until they touch my lips. Yujin took her time there, taking as long as she wants to kiss me, and eventually the innocent healing kiss turned sensual, and a touch of romantic lust injected into our bodies.

 Our little make out led one thing to another, and it ends up with me sliding my hands underneath her shirt, grabbing Yujin’s perky breasts as our mouth were practically glued to each other, making out as much as we could. Yujin’s soft moans radiate inside my mouth as we threw each piece of garments the floor, leaving us without a string to cover us up. “Take me babe” Yujin urged me as she pulled me back in to get a good kiss into my mouth. I replied to her kiss as I pinned her on the bed, letting my tongue invade her mouth to play inside her mouth before pulling out. We both breathed heavily, as if we just ran a marathon. But I didn’t care, my face traced down her gorgeous body, before my lips reached her golden triangle. I gave took my time smooching around the area, teasing her as I looked up, her red face flustered from my actions just motivates me more as I kissed and suckled gently on her inner thighs, making Yujin let out a soft moan. “Fuck…. baby please…. don’t just tease me. Please me baby” she pleaded, her adorable puppy eyes begging to be treated right as my lover. I shrugged with a sinful smile as I stood up and aligned my erection to her entrance, my face directly on top of hers. “Ready?” I signalled her, not even letting her grasp a second t reply before my cock penetrates inside her, gaping her walls inch by inch slowly, making Yujin let out a whimper to show her satisfaction. I gave her time to adjust to my size, using the time to return the kiss on the forehead she gave early before my body did its work, moving back and forth inside her.

Yujin’s moans were ecstasy to me. The more her sounds coming out of her pretty mouth, the faster I got. It got to a point I just couldn’t help myself and start to plow her insides, holding her legs up to reach deeper inside her. “Aaah nghhh oh God Yujin you’re as tight as ever fuuuck” I grunted, feeling my cock hitting her cervix as kept my pace fast but still sensual for Yujin to enjoy it. “Ohhh fuck yes baby just like that. Give me all of you please” she moaned as her arms wrapped onto my back, encouraging me to go harder and faster for her. The room that was quiet a moment ago is now filled with moans, whimpers and other lustful noises one could think of. Yujin’s arms on my back abled me to lift her up and make her sit on my cock, letting her do her part of and work for our growing lust. I brushed her hair away from that pretty face to kiss her whilst she rides on me, grinding her body on mine while my cock enjoys the depth and warmth of Yujin’s pussy. The heat in the room just overwhelms each other as we crave to satisfy one another, Yujin grinding on my cock and me thrusting it deeper inside. “God fuuck I love you so much Yujin” I groaned as my cocks harden inside her, making me much more sensitive as Yujin gets tighter, sucking in my member like its refusing to let go. I could barely move or thrust from how tight it is and could just moan from the pleasure Yujin is giving me by grinding on me while bouncing a bit on top of me. Yujin’s scrumptious ass was too good not to touch as I caress them gently, feeling them while Yujin rides me, enjoying each other’s presence as our eyes’ stares into each other, the lust from our moans and the heat of the moment, everything was on point and was just perfect. Yujin pushed me to lay down so she can fully take charge, leaning towards my chest to kiss and suck on my nipples before she starts riding again, this time faster and rougher to the point I was moaning loudly and could barely hold my load any longer. “B-baby, I need to cum….”  I grunted and whimpered, trying so hard not to cum too soon without Yujin’s consent, which in the end she allowed me to by saying, “Then cum for me baby. Give me every ounce of you inside me.” Those words whispered into my ears were like a catalyst to erupt a volcano, making me shoot ropes after ropes of cum inside her. “Nghhhh aaah. Fuuuuck I’m cummiiiing.” I grunted, unloading everything my balls could store into her tight pink pussy and filled her up. Yujin moaned and came together with me, feeling her pussy getting filled up and draining her energy. Didn’t take long before she fell onto me, exhausted and nearly lost consciousness from such an amazing anniversary celebration. I couldn’t help but smile and kissed on her scalp, softly speaking into her ears. “I love you Ahn Yujin, to the moon and back”. Even though I couldn’t see her face that’s is planted on my chest, I just know she was smiling before she responded.

“I love you, forever more”

[spinningwebsandtales]

Imagine Becoming Caine’s Best Friend

Caine X FemReader

Rating: T

Warnings: Reader thinks Caine is dead, mentions of blood, mentions of injuries, and mentions of drinking

Word Count: 826

Part 2: here

Requested by @redz0mbie​

(A/N:) Thank you all for your patience! I’m finally back! It took me a full week to bounce back and I was in pain every single day. I think I’m finally on the downhill slope of recovery after having my wisdom teeth removed. I was excited to see this comment though and I am so glad someone wanted to see the origins as I had a lot of fun trying to think of stuff. I hope this makes the Caine fangirls happy! I still can’t get over the lack of Caine content on Tumblr. But never fear I do have another Caine request that I have to write! Until next time happy reading! ~Countess

The city seemed to be against you as rain continued to pummel your umbrella. Work had been a little harder today and getting out of bed to go had been practically impossible. Now not only did you have to walk to work in the rain, you had to walk back home in the rain. The streetlamps barely lit the dark streets, making it hard for you to avoid scum covered puddles. So now with soaked feet and a less than desirable mood, you were on the verge of just throwing your umbrella in the nearest trash can and just stomp home. You didn’t think your night could get much worse, until you finally looked up to see unfamiliar surroundings. Somehow you had gotten turned around and went down the wrong alley. Your anger dissipated immediately as a sense of fear gripped your heart. There were places a person didn’t just walk down and now you found yourself there at night in the pouring rain.

You were just about to turn around and sprint as fast as you could back to safety when something caught your eye. A foot stuck out from behind stacked trash cans and while your more logical side was screaming for you to leave it be and get the heck out of there, your curiosity was quickly silencing that voice. You couldn’t help the nagging feeling that you should just let it be and act like you never saw a thing, but if it was someone who needed help you weren’t sure if you could ever live with yourself if you ignored it. The sound of rain hitting the pavement made it easier to sneak up to what you hoped wasn’t an abandoned corpse, but you still stepped quietly. Peeking carefully, you spotted a man leaning against the wall. He had blood seeping from his nose and his knuckles were busted open, but thankfully his chest was rising and falling. Not a dead person but a pretty beat up alive one. He groaned moving his head while the nonstop downpour plastered his black hair to his head.

“Are you okay,” you asked gently.

“Go away,” he slurred spitting out bloody water towards the opposite wall.

You should of tucked tail and headed for the hills but you found yourself stooping down close to him. You searched his features as he was quite the handsome man, despite his appearance that could give a soaked rat a run for it’s money. You snorted to yourself at the image before your eyes landed upon his behind the sunglasses. Barely healed cuts on his eyelids made shivers run down your spin.

“Can you see,” you blurted out before smacking a hand over your mouth.

He chuckled darkly trying to stand before sloshing back down in the puddle he was resting in. “Of course I can’t.”

“Sorry,” you apologized. He didn’t even try to acknowledge your apology, nor did he try to make conversation. You couldn’t figure out what was making you stay, but you felt like you needed to. You closed your umbrella, causing his head to turn while he listened.

“What are you doing?” His voice was tense and defensive but you refused to answer. You casually walked the rest of the distance until you were right by his side and then you slid down the wall and took a seat roughly. He heard the splash and the thump of your bottom hitting the pavement. The little of your body heat that remained radiating into his side.

“I’m taking a seat,” you finally answered. “I’ve had a crappy day and so have you. Take it I’m not beat up to a pulp and laying in a dark and rainy alleyway but I still didn’t have a good day.”

He snorted but didn’t move away or make you leave. You opened your umbrella again holding it to where you both could be covered. The silence being pierced by the splatter of rain on the metal trash cans.

“Penny for your thoughts,” your new, not so friendly stranger finally asked.

“Life sucks,” you sighed.

“I’d drink to that,” he laughed moving his head towards you. You could tell he hadn’t been blind for long so the movement didn’t catch you off guard.

“You got a name Mr. Cranky,” you asked.

“Caine,” he replied. “Yours?”

“(Y/N).”

“Want to go get a drink,” Caine asked.

“Think a bar would serve a couple drowned rats,” you laughed.

“I know of a place if you’ll help me walk. I lost my cane.”

You grunted while getting up, ignoring the fact that your clothes were now dirty and soaked. You took Caine’s hand helping him stagger to his feet.

“It’d be my pleasure.”

While your day hadn’t been the best and you never meant to walk down a dangerous alleyway. You couldn’t help but think that your day turned around and this one encounter was not going to be the last with Caine.

[lipstickstainz]

touches - s.r.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader Summary: Spencer doesn’t like to be touched. But what happens, when he gets comfortable around you? Warnings: fluff, Spencer being cute, getting shot but nothing too explicit and oh, and a bucket full of angst Word Count: 4,4k  A/N: hello friends. I have a part two of this in my drafts if you like! I hope you enjoy. gif not mine.

You had heard a lot about the BAU team before joining them.

About the cases, the trust, the bond. It had always been something that had fascinated you. You had experienced some things with your previous team as well, but the BAU was in a whole different league.

Before you had been moved there, you had already familiarized yourself with the teammates. You didn't want to come unprepared to a team that knew each other inside and out. Also, you were a person who put your foot in your mouth quickly.

You were most impressed by Doctor Spencer Reid. You had heard the most about him. He was a genius, with an IQ of 187 and he could read 20,000 words a minute. Not to mention his eidetic memory. You had even read his doctoral dissertations. While you didn't understand everything, they were incredibly interesting and gave you a little insight into the mind of the spectacular Doctor Spencer Reid.

When you first met, you concentrated on not reaching out to him. You merely raised your hand to greet him, which he returned with a smile, and although he tried to hide it, you knew that this small gesture meant a lot to him.

While the other team members put their hand on his shoulder or ruffled his hair, you were almost tensely careful not to touch him. If he should want to, he would make the first move.

It happened some time later, as you stood side by side in the office kitchen. While Spencer poured himself a coffee, you poured hot water into your teacup. You asked him for the sugar that was next to him, and instead of sliding it over to you as you had been doing, he held the dispenser out to you. You reached for it and when your fingers brushed his, it went through you like an electric shock. You suddenly felt warm and your heart beat faster, but Spencer didn't seem to notice. He smiled at you before walking back to his seat. You looked after him.

After that incident, you were both a little more relaxed. While you didn't push it, Spencer didn't seem to mind you handing him files or touching each other briefly when you sat next to each other. After an incident on the plane, even the team noticed.

Spencer was on his way to the trash can when you got up to sit with Emily and Hotch to discuss the current case. You squeezed past each other as the plane made an unexpected swerve. You tried to grab onto the seat next to you, but the sway was too sudden. Before you could fall, Spencer grabbed your arm with one hand and your hip with the other and held you tight. He pulled you straight toward him so you wouldn't land face down on the ground. Even when the plane was back on course, he didn't let go. As you tried to regain control of your irregular breathing from the shock, Spencer looked at you closely. You felt his gaze on you, almost burning into your forehead, but neither said a word. As you broke away from each other and each sat down in your seat, you noticed his gaze still on you. When you looked up, he looked away.

Next came your birthday. Even though you didn't want to celebrate and your real plan was to have food delivered and watch your favorite movie for the hundredth time, the team dragged you to a bar. "Pathetic," Derek had called the plan, and you had punched him affectionately in the shoulder, but by the time he put the first drink in your hand, you had all but forgotten his comment. While some of you sat at a table and the rest enjoyed themselves on the dance floor, you sat at the bar. You did love your team, but on your birthday you didn't want to hear about any cases outside of work. Which couldn't be avoided when you were around each other 24/7.

You sipped your drink, secretly cursing Derek for having so much alcohol in it. You scrunched your nose.

"Did you know that alcohol tastes different when you drink it with a straw?" Spencer asked, sitting down in the empty chair next to you. You turned to him and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "When we ingest something, the aroma molecules go up our nose and we can tell from the start whether it's going to taste good or not. Also, the nose detects different flavors than the tongue. So if you drink the drink with the straw so the glass is farther away from your nose, you'll perceive the taste of the drink differently than it is." Even in the dim light of the bar, you could see how red he was getting. When you didn't answer, he laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I was rambling again."

You took another sip of your drink. "Don't apologize, Spencer. I like that you're so smart. And I like that you're comfortable enough to want to share your knowledge with me," you smiled gently at him. He returned your smile.

"I appreciate you not reaching out to me then, by the way," he confessed, nibbling on the label of his beer bottle. "I don't like shaking hands with strangers, and it makes me uncomfortable when I'm expected to but I don't. So, thanks for that."

"It's okay," you said, but he let go of his bottle and turned to you completely.

"You never pushed me to do this. You waited for me to make the first move on this because it means more to me than it does to you. There aren't many who are that respectful and understanding." He got up from his chair, but left the beer bottle on the counter. He held out his arms. "I haven't wished you a happy birthday yet because I didn't want to do it in front of the team. They'd make a big deal out of it." He gestured for you to give him a hug. He actually wanted to hug you.

"Spencer, you don't have to do this," you said, but before you knew it, he had grabbed your hand and pulled you off the chair, right into his arms.

You had often imagined what a hug from Spencer would be like, especially when you saw him hug JJ or Emily after a hard case. But you had imagined it differently.

He had his arms wrapped around your waist and held you so close that you almost couldn't breathe. You felt his long fingers on your skin, despite your T-shirt and you felt his warm breath on your neck and his curls on your temple. Goosebumps spread over your body and you prayed he didn't notice. "Happy birthday," he whispered in your ear and before you knew it, he placed his lips on your cheek before pulling away from you. Smiling, he reached for his beer and sauntered back over to the table, leaving you standing at the bar. With a pounding heart and fire in your veins. And in that moment, you just thought that work colleagues, or even maybe friends, shouldn't feel that way about each other.

After your birthday, it was no longer an issue for Spencer. Under the table, he'd nudge you with his knee if you weren't paying attention for a second, or he'd put his hand on your shoulder when he looked over you at the computer screen. He also didn't mind if you were so exhausted from a case that you fell asleep by his side on the plane, with your head on his shoulder. You didn't realize it, but JJ had pointed out that Spencer always pulled you a little closer then, resting his cheek against the top of your head. For him, the constant touching was no longer an issue.

For you, it was. Every time his skin brushed yours, you felt warm and your heart skipped a beat. Whether it was at dinner, at a briefing, or just walking by. But it was bearable.

It got bad when he touched you longer. On particularly hard cases, he had taken to looking under the table for your hand and squeezing it twice. It was a gesture of friendship and care. If you held each other, nothing could happen to you. On the plane, you always sat next to each other, playing cards or absorbed in your own thoughts. Spencer, however, got into the habit of putting your legs over one of his if you had to fly for a particularly long time. At first, the team gave you strange looks, which made you uncomfortable, but didn't bother Spencer in the least. So you tried not to let on, which was pretty difficult when you were surrounded by profilers. Flames blazed in your veins at those touches, heat tingled under your skin where he touched you, and when he pulled you into his arms on certain occasions, you almost felt dizzy.

This is not how you should feel about your best friend.

"Thales, Miletus, here's your key," Hotch said, tossing Spencer the room key as the team checked into the hotel. He'd resisted at first the nickname Garcia had picked out for you - classically, after the discoverer of magnetism - but since everyone was using it, even the earnest Hotch had given up on it. "Prentiss, JJ, your room is right next to ours." The two women nodded and the four of them walked down the corridor while Derek was kind enough to take the girls' bags.

You couldn't look after them for long, because Spencer had already grabbed your hand and intertwined his fingers. "Come on. Our room is waiting."

You had never shared a room. You'd either always had your own, or shared one with Emily or JJ, but never with Spencer. You wouldn't mind so much if you weren't into him. Hopefully there were two beds. On opposite walls. Far away from each other.

When Spencer unlocked the door and you entered, you wanted to sink into the floor. Double bed. One blanket. You tried to mentally prepare yourself for the stay by setting your bag down on a chair and stopping in the middle of the room while your best friend inspected it. He didn't seem to notice that you had only one bed and, more importantly, only one blanket. At least, it didn't bother him.

When you returned to the room that evening, you went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. The water was as cold as you could stand it. It was supposed to cool you down and prepare you for the night. It wasn't every day that you shared a bed with your crush. After combing your hair and changing, you slipped under the covers and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible so you wouldn't notice Spencer's presence next to you when he came out of the bathroom.

Your thoughts cheated on you. What if you snuggled up to each other in your sleep at night? Or you would unconsciously snuggle up to him, but he didn't want you to? Then you'd have to get another room tomorrow. And it would get so awkward that you wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Spencer finally as he climbed into bed next to you. Immediately, you felt his warmth. He hadn't taken a cold shower, apparently.

"It's always hard when kids are involved," you answered truthfully. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't what was floating around in your mind either.

"Come here," he said, opening his arms. Hesitantly, you slid closer to him so there was still space between you, but it didn't seem close enough for Spencer. After he turned out the light, he pulled you close enough for you to rest your head on his shoulder and with his free hand, he reached for yours and intertwined your fingers again. Your heart stopped. "We can do this, Y/N. We've done it all so far." You heard his heartbeat beneath you, felt his breath on your hair, and the warmth of his body burned into your skin. "Try to get some sleep. We'll know more tomorrow," he whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead before you fell asleep.

When you woke up in the morning, you felt Spencer behind you. His chest was pressed against your back, his arm was wrapped tightly around your middle, and he had his face buried in your neck. Immediately goosebumps spread all over your body. You tried to pull away from him a little, but he pulled you even closer. Spencer was still asleep, so he didn't notice how he carefully slid his hand under your shirt and how his long fingers danced over your soft skin. You held your breath, afraid to move or give away your racing heartbeat. At one point he pulled his arm back and turned onto his back before lifting his hand and rubbing his eyes. His hair stood out in all directions and he smiled sleepily. You were getting hot.

"Good morning, Y/N." Good morning indeed.

The case took longer than planned, though of course you can't plan a case. After the third night, you had gotten used to sleeping next to Spencer, but the cuddling worried you. The longer you shared that room, the more complicated your feelings became. It was almost unbearable.

Derek, Emily, Spencer and you found the unsub in a remote car yard. While the latter surveyed the building, Derek and you looked around the yard.

"What's going on between you and Reid, anyway?" he asked curiously. You gave him a meaningful look, but he didn't care. "It's come to all of our attention. You guys are inseparable, he has to touch you all the time, and those looks."

"What looks?" you probed, trying to sound as unsuspecting as possible. This time Derek was looking at you. So he had noticed. And if Derek knew, so did the others. Fucking profilers.

"Y/N," he started, and stopped. When you turned to him, he twisted his mouth into a weak smile. It was a very different Derek who stood before you. Not the go-getter who sometimes made fun of Spencer. He seemed genuinely worried, and that made you nervous. "Friends don't look at friends that way."

A loud bang rang through the air and the conversation was all but forgotten. You took cover and communicated via hand signals. Quietly, you moved forward. It wasn't long before you saw a figure running away behind the cars. "We got him," Derek said into the mic, and together you dashed toward the unsub. He ran toward the woods and disappeared. Derek looked at you and nodded. You split up.

Gun drawn, you ran forward. Leaves crunched beneath you, but you tuned that out. You focused on the birds above you, the shadows of the trees, and the gun in your hand. He had to be here somewhere.

You didn't even startle when you felt cold metal against the back of your head. "Don‘t. Move." You took your fingers off the trigger and raised your arms. "Put the gun down. Vest off." Slowly, you bent down and placed both on the ground. The only thing you could think about was that you would hopefully find them later. "Walk.“ With your hands clasped behind your head, you took one step at a time. Derek was nowhere to be seen. You wished you hadn't split up.

He led you to a rundown cabin in the woods that wasn't marked on any map, which is why you couldn't have known about it. He pushed you inside and closed the door behind him, his gun still pointed at you. "If you had wanted to kill me, you would have done it long ago," you gave out, but he didn't go for it. It was a game of fire. You knew the file and what he was capable of.

It was only a few moments before someone kicked open the door and Derek stormed into the cabin, closely followed by Spencer. "Put the gun down and keep your hands off," Derek yelled. Up until then, you hadn't realized that the he had pulled you close and was holding the barrel of his gun right to your temple You only had eyes for Spencer, who was deliberately not looking at you.

You tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't budge. You raised a hand and moved it toward your shoulder, hoping Spencer understood your message. But he wasn't looking at you.

Look at me, Spencer. Come on. Look. At. Me.

His eyes moved from the unsub to your fingers, tapping a spot in your shoulder. You repeated this until he finally looked you in the eye. Then he shook his head, barely perceptibly. Again you tapped the spot. If Spencer shot through your shoulder, he would hit the perpetrator in the torso, and even if the bullet slowed down through you, it would still do enough damage. And you were willing to take the risk.

But Spencer didn't shoot. And time was running out for you. "I trust you," you said, no sound escaping your lips. He gritted his teeth. "I trust you, Spencer. Do it."

And then he shot.

-

"Welcome back, sunshine," Derek grinned, wrapping you in his muscular arms as you entered the office. "We've all missed you."

It had been three months since you had been shot in the field. Spencer had shot you through the shoulder as planned, and you were right. The perpetrator was shot and the rest of the victims were found. So it was almost a happy ending.

Almost. Of course, you had to listen to a few more things from Hotch on the way to the hospital. You were tired of living and he was disappointed and angry, but incredibly relieved that nothing else had happened to you. You could have been the next victim, too.

"All of you?" you prodded, and Emily, who had joined you, screwed up her face.

"He's not back yet. He extended his vacation," she said, putting a hand on your shoulder. "He's not really over it yet."

You hadn't heard from Spencer since the incident. He hadn't visited you at the hospital, called you or been to your home after you were discharged. You were best friends and the fact that you hadn't seen him in three months hurt more than the gunshot wound. The only person Spencer talked to was JJ, but even she couldn't give you any information.

He probably blamed himself, but why? You had wanted him to shoot. It had been your plan. Besides, he had shot so well that you didn't suffer any permanent damage. He shouldn't worry about it.

It was strange to work a case without him. Not having him near you. Not being able to feel his warmth. You tried to reach him, by phone, by letter, but you got no answer. Even though you hadn't spoken in months, he was your best friend and you were starting to get really worried. He had cut off contact with JJ himself.

When you walked into the office one morning, you were almost breathless. Spencer was standing at his desk, leaning against it, and the others were standing around him. But you had no eyes for them. Spencer was back. Your Spencer was back. As you walked toward them, you got a sinking feeling. He looked good. Changed, but good. His hair was a little shorter and he didn't look as pale as usual. He also seemed more confident and self-assured, which unfortunately made him even more attractive.

He didn't see you until you were almost in front of him. He smiled weakly at you before standing up straight. "Y/N," he said, and it felt so good to hear your name come out of his mouth. Immediately, goosebumps spread across your body. You expected him to give you a hug or insist on talking to you in person, because a lot had happened in the time without him, but he didn't. He turned around briefly and pulled something off his office chair. Not something. Someone. "This is my girlfriend, Vicky."

You didn't know what had happened in the last few months. Did you even want to know? Spencer hadn't contacted you in a long time, only to reappear with a girlfriend? You didn't understand the world anymore. The rest of the team must have felt the same way, because as you stood at your regular table in the bar, the couple was the only topic of conversation. In fact, you would have preferred all the murder cases.

"I'll be honest," Penelope said, taking a big gulp of her drink, which took quite a while since she always drank with a straw, "I was hoping you two would get together." She pointed her finger at you and then toward Spencer, who was standing at the bar with Vicky. You saw her run her finger through his hair and had to look away. Didn't she know he didn't like that?

"Hotch and I even bet money on it," Emily confessed, turning back towards the table. Apparently she didn't want to watch them either. "We would have gotten you a nice wedding present from that."

"He looks happy," you said, but you guessed that's not what the others wanted to hear from you. You sat at a table made up mostly of profilers. They knew exactly how you felt about the whole thing.

"Give it a rest," Derek said, putting his arm around your shoulder. Even the overly positive music in the background couldn't lighten your mood. "We all know how you feel about Spencer. And honestly, we thought he would feel the same way about you."

"But he doesn't, so please let it go," you shot back, instantly regretting it. Your friends weren't to blame for the whole situation. It was you. As you dared another look, Vicky pulled Spencer onto the dance floor, which you knew he didn't like either. Didn't she know him at all?

"I don't know what got into him," JJ confessed, sipping her Coke. "Those two don't even fit together." They didn't, but maybe that's why it worked. There was this theory that opposites attract, but you could never have imagined it with Spencer.

When Vicky grabbed Spencer by the tie and pulled him down so she could kiss him, your heart broke. It was different when you just knew two people were doing something. But when you saw it, all hope was lost. Even from a distance, you could see their tongues and you almost threw up.

"That's my sign," you said, pressing a kiss to Penelope's cheek. "See you." They all said goodbye to you and even over that awful music, you could still hear "It must hurt terribly to see him like that" and "I couldn't do that" as you walked.

Outside, the cold night air surprised you. It hit you in the face like a slap, but nothing hurt as much as knowing Spencer was happy without you. He didn’t need you and he didn't want you. That was fine, but that didn't mean you had to go along with it. Since he'd been back, he'd barely spoken to you. On the plane, he had sat at the other end of the room, and he had actually switched rooms at the hotel just so he wouldn't have to be near you. He'd even started shoving files back at you instead of handing them to you, like he'd burn if he touched you.

The lights in Hotch's office were still on when you came into the office. It was just after midnight and you knew he would still be there. When you knocked on his door, he invited you in. "What can I do for you?" He hadn't even had to ask. He knew why you were there. It was written on your forehead. "Are you sure about this? I'll write a recommendation, but only if you really want me to." You nodded silently. "It's because of him, isn't it?" he asked, his usually hard expression softening.

"Yes," you answered curtly. There was nothing to add.

"I'll make some calls. You get a week to pack. I'll call you tomorrow," he said, getting up from his desk. Surprisingly, he pulled you into his arms. "We're all going to miss you terribly, Y/N. And you're welcome here anytime."

It didn't take long for your things to be packed, and it didn't take long for the others to notice the following day. Your desk was empty, the files had been processed, the pictures of you and the team were gone, and your mug with a picture of Spencer and you on it that he had once given you was gone, too.

"Where is she?" asked Emily Derek, who didn't have an answer ready either. They looked around uncertainly and as the rest entered the bullpen, Hotch came out of his office. He looked like he hadn't slept. He walked down the steps and stood in the circle of confused team members. Even Spencer was puzzled.

"Agent Y/L/N left us last night," he began, sounding very composed. The others didn't know how to respond, so they just gave each other confused looks. "She has asked for a transfer and will start there next week. Please refrain from trying to talk her out of it. The transfer has gone through."

It took everyone by great surprise when Spencer dropped his bag and stormed out of the office. He didn't need to explain where he was going. It was obvious. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to call you, but it went straight to voicemail. It wasn't long before he arrived at your complex and shot up the steps to your apartment. He took two steps at a time. He stopped in front of your door and pounded his fist against the wood, hoping you would open the door for him and explain what you were doing. When nothing happened, he dialed the number again. Again and again, until the voice in the phone said to him, this number was no longer in service.

He ran his hand through his hair before sliding down with his back to the door. He put his head between his knees and cursed himself.

You weren't there anymore.

part two

[spice-chan]

Cure Me

King!singledad! Bakugo Katsuki x fem!reader

Prince Matsuki makes an interesting friend. he could have never foretold who she is to his father...

TW: curses, sickness

Thank you so much to @stargazingaloneatnight for sending this lovely request ! I totally got carried away though, so it’s going to have a second part. 

Thanks a lot to @patt-writes-stuff and @reddriot for being amazing beta readers !!

Wordcount: 4.4 K

..........................................

At the ripe age of 18, you were married off to the woodcutter in your village. 

You weren’t enthusiastic about it, but you didn’t dissent. After all, in a small village, all the people of close age were expected to marry eventually. It was either him, the farmer or the butcher. A prince isn’t going to come and sweep you off your feet.

You moved to the isolated cabin near the woods where your husband resided, and you lived there with him for a year. You wouldn’t exactly describe it as harmony, but it was peaceful enough for you to be content. He respected you and you respected him, but you yearned for something more.You yearned for love, for the overwhelming feeling that would envelope you whole, that would elicit shivers from your spine, and down to your very toes. 

But you had to get those foolish fantasies out of your head; after all, your husband was now all you had. Until you didn’t have him anymore. 

His body was found, squashed underneath a large tree that fell the wrong way. 

Guilt and loss reigned in your mind and heart. You wondered, should you have appreciated him more ? Should you have cherished the little moments instead of wishing for something better? 

It was a lonely existence for a while after that, until a red eyed, spikey haired little boy ventured to your isolated abode. 

………

Loneliness was a disease that feasted on your open wounds until they were gaping holes, bleeding and gushing, but you were unable to stitch them back together. Who wants to be lonely, truly? So all Bakugo did was cover the open wounds with his hand, growling protectively as he shielded himself. And he couldn’t stitch together the hole in his chest, even when his hand was stained red as evidence of his pain. 

He thought he loved her. He convinced himself he loved her. The only woman and person who seemingly managed to stand him and understand him. He tried so hard to be good to her. Tried to act better when he saw the gleam of judgement in her eyes. Only to wake up one day with a letter telling him “don’t look for me” and “I’ll be somewhere better. Away from you and that spawn. Good luck with him, though you’ll probably have enough soon and throw him somewhere far, the sound of his cries is annoying.” 

Him. 

She couldn’t bring herself to say her son’s name. 

It’s like he was a disposable piece of trash to her. Katsuki’s teeth gnashed whenever he remembered the way she spoke of her own son, his son. 

“DAD!” screamed a little boy, the carbon copy of his dad, running to his father's lap where he ducked down and hid between them. 

Bakugo growled playfully, bending his back to look at the excitable little boy, who held his finger to his lips. 

“What do you think you’re doing, squirt?” 

“I’m hiding from Shitty Maid.” 

Katsuki quirked his eyebrows at the foul language that came out of his son’s mouth, but his response never made the light of day as a flustered and heaving maid entered the dining chamber, her eyes frantically searching. 

“My king, I’m so sorry ! Have you seen Prince Matsuki come here ?” she questioned breathlessly, the prince having evidently tired her out. 

Bakugo clicked his teeth rather impertinently. “No, you shitty maid, I didn’t see him come here,” he replied and resumed eating, seemingly unperturbed by his son being ‘missing’. 

“Sorry, Your Majesty, I’ll resume my search for him. Sorry to have disturbed you!” she exclaimed before picking her gown and scrambling out. 

Bakugo stared beneath his chair pointedly, his carbon copy only giving doe eyes as a reply. 

“Why are you hiding anyway?!”

Matsuki crawled out from underneath the chair and stood up, dusting his knees. 

“She wants to teach me eti-etiquette or whatever,” Matsuki grumbled. “I’m going out to play with my friends.” 

Etiquette? How useless. Is that what they are teaching his son? 

Bakugo clapped his back, glad to see his son not be a pushover. “Don’t be late, squirt.”

“Ok, dad!” Matsuki jumped and enveloped Katsuki’s muscular frame in a hug with his tiny arms, warming Katsuki’s heart as he ruffled his son’s spiky hair. 

……..

Matsuki couldn’t find his friends. 

He ventured into the woods in search of them, sporting a scowl everyone should be familiar with. His tiny, handsome face scrunched slightly as he looked around the place curiously. His feet padded on, scrunching on crispy fallen leaves in their wake. 

He walked for a while, marking trees as he went along to ensure he didn’t get lost, but eventually, a sugary sweet scent had his tiny legs move faster on their own accord in search of it. The closer he seemingly got, the more powerfully the mouth watering scent assaulted his nose. It smelled cozy on this chilly day, like a warm cup of milk by a warm fire as snow fell outside.

He reached a clearing. The thick, intimidating trees that loomed over him shrunk away until there was none left. 

No trees, but he found a small cabin with a window cracked open. 

He boldly marched up to it, his mouth set in a straight, determined line. A fisted palm knocked once, twice, and thrice on the worn out wood, to ensure that it was heard. 

His nervousness set in when the handle turned and a lady emerged at the threshold. He steeled himself. His daddy told him that if he wanted something, he should work to get it. 

You smiled at him warmly when you spotted him: a young, unfamiliar boy. He looked out of his element, but his strange red eyes stared at you despite how he seemed to be unused to such situations. His eyes reflected the embers of a brave soul. 

“There was a nice smell coming from here,” he admitted, his tiny face scrunching into a scowl that seemed more adorable than anything.

“Well, yes, I baked cookies,” you responded mildly, your voice never too high but quite clear. The boy’s eyes widened, his red hues glistening in child-like excitement.

“Cookies?!”  He jumped, and clutched your gown. 

“Can I have some ?” Puppy dog eyes stared up at you, pleading and cute. You haven’t encountered a child in a long time. You stopped going to the village as often, and eventually, they stopped visiting too. Your mother died after she contracted something, her old body unable to fight it off, and your dad ran off somewhere to ‘adventure’. 

“Sure.” You moved from the threshold. “Come in.” You gestured with your head to your small cottage, a humble place, but a reminder of your lonesome existence. 

He brightened up considerably, his mouth twisting into a sweet smile. He would become such a handsome young man once he grew up. It made you wonder how beautiful his parents must be. 

You pulled a chair for him at the table, and went to put some cookies on a plate for him. 

“YUM. That’s so delicious!” He spoke between mouthfuls, some tiny crumbs flying out of his mouth in his excitement. 

“Thank you, but be careful. You might choke if you speak while chewing sweetie,” you chided him lightly. Matsuki didn’t recognize this tone, it sounded equal parts stern and caring. He nodded and continued munching down. 

“Would you like to drink something? I have some orange juice, and uh, water. I could make tea, but I don’t think kids your age fancy that you rambled, suddenly excited about having someone keep you company for the first time in a while. 

He opened his mouth to answer, but upon remembering your words, he opted to chew for a few more seconds then swallowing his cookies before bellowing out,“Yes! Orange juice.” 

How adorable. 

You poured two glasses of orange juice and joined your little companion, munching on some cookies of your own. Before long, he finished all of them and leaned back on the chair, mouth letting out a sigh and hand patting his stomach as a show of overindulgence. 

“Good?” 

“Yup! You’re a very nice lady. Way nicer than my dummy maid,” he grumbled, you weren’t sure whether to be flattered or concerned, but one thing did grab your attention. 

“Maid ?” 

He nodded, slightly confused at your question. 

“Don’t you have one ?” You quirked an eyebrow and looked around your tiny cottage. Did it look like you have one? 

Oh God, you hoped this boy wasn’t mistaking his mother for a maid. With that in mind, you asked him, however, his face fell in sadness and the fire in his eyes dulled a little. 

“I don’t have a mother. The maids always talk about how sorry they are for me. I hate it. None of them even care about me,” he spoke in a quiet voice, tearing at your heart with his down turned face. 

“But at least I have my daddy,” he spoke up, brightening a little. You smiled at that, reaching towards him and ruffling his fluffy yet spikey blond hair. 

“That’s good. Keep cherishing your father, at least the two of you have each other.” You wiped some crumbs from around his mouth with a napkin, speaking to the boy in a lonesome voice; unintentionally mothering him. 

He smiled and nodded;unintentionally accepting. 

The boy was either mistaking some people in his household for maids, or he was some rich merchant’s son. On that note—

“Did you tell anyone you’re coming here? They might be worried about you,” you asked cautiously, but then your eyes widened as a new wave of worry hit you. 

“Oh my God, what if you got lost? Do you know your way back?” 

You sighed in relief when he nodded, flashing you a smile with his teeth on display, one of them missing from the front, making it all the more endearing. You narrowed your eyes at him, prompting him to elaborate. 

“I always come to play around here with my friends. It’s really close to home!” You oo’d. However, it was now his turn to panic. “Oh no, I forgot all about them !” He looked outside, seeing the sun shining proudly in the centre of the sky. 

“I think I can still catch them,” he declared determinedly, and hopped off his seat. His tiny legs carried him to the door, his pale hand grasping the worn down doorknob, but before twisting it, he turned to you, his smile of youth gracing his face again. 

“See you later, nice lad !”

.……..……

“No way! You wanted to be a pirate? But they’re so nasty!” he exclaimed, scrunching his nose at you in disgust. You shrugged, shoulders slumped. 

“I thought it’d be a fun time. I found it in a book and dreamed that one day, I too can embark on an adventure and find hidden treasures,”you explained with a dreamy, yet nostalgic look in your eyes, akin to one looking back fondly at a long gone memory. It’s been nearly a year since you met the mystery child. You’ve been...noticeably happier. 

His cherry red orbs made your day, along with an innocence that was very hard to maintain in these tough times, although that's probably because his toughness differs from yours. 

He pouted, running a hand through his tamed locks. “Well, why can’t you?” 

He stared up at you expectantly, oblivious to what he was expecting. His red orbs burwith ith the flame of innocenand and didnuldn’t dare blow it out. 

“I don’t know.” 

Even for his young age, he was perceptive. Bbut before he could question your downtrodden face, you stood up, coughing loudly. It went on for a few seconds, and Matsuki watched worriedly as you cupped your hand over your mouth, shoulders shaking from the force. 

After you stopped, you breathed for a few seconds, face flushed and stamina depleted. But again, before he could question anything, you stood up, stretching. The sun hit your face, which looked noticeably paler, but you forced a smile anyway, and held your hand out for Matsuki to grab and follow suit. 

“Let’s go inside, you wanted me to redo your hair, right ?” He grabbed your hand with renewed vigor, hopping off the wood and trekking with you back inside the cottage. 

He said his maid had to slick his hair back because they had guests over and he ‘had to look more presentable’, which you internally scoffed at. His hair was amazing as it was. 

You’d never seen a texture so amazing. It was soft as silk, but it appeared spikey. Like a porcupine or something, looked thorny but had a soft side? 

You brought some water and wet his hair, before drying it with a towel. You could already see some results. You brought a hairbrush and began to hum softly while brushing his semi dry blond locks. 

You towelled it once again, before patting him across the back. Your head felt light, and a light pain began to creep in. You probably need some water. 

“THANK YOU! It was so ugly before.” He pranced about, happy that his hair no longer looked like some ‘sappy extra’. You wonder where the child got those interesting phrases. You stood up to get a glass of water, but the moment you stood up, the world swirled, spinned, and blurred. And then it all faded to black. 

You hit the floor with a loud thump, and Matsuki sprung to his feet and frantically ran to your side. 

His small hands grabbed your arm and shook you, his face growing warm and throat getting clogged up, before tears burst forth. They dampened your sleeves, continuously flowing like a waterfall, but you still remained almost lifeless on the floor. Matsuki was young, helpless, and alone. 

And he did what any young, helpless and crying child would do. 

He ran to the person he loves —his father. 

……………

Bakugou heard the sound of Matsuki running before h, felt the wind, tornado like, as the doors of his room were pushed open in a manner so excitable he’d consider it rather insolent had it not been his own son. 

 His reprimands were stuck in his throat when he saw the flushed face and bloodshot eyes of his shis heart aching at the sight. 

“What’s wongh” he asked softly, the tone rather unusual coming from him. Then again, his son coming to him crying was something very rare.oo., Matsuki took after his  and and he was a very brave and strong boy. Something that Bakugou lamented about, at times. Being his carbon copy wasn’t that much of a blessing when it came to the matters of the heart. 

Matsuki found his dad sitting at his desk, he ran to him and clung to his legs, crying uncontrollably. 

It took Bakugou a second to overcome his awkwardness and emotional constipation. He scooped his son up and sat him on his lap, wiping his tears away. 

“Hey squirt, calm down and tell me what’s wrong. If it’s someone that upset you, God help them-” 

Matsuki tried to halt his hiccups, failing for a few seconds while he hugged his dad, he patted his back comfortingly. 

“Dad, my friend…” he began, but his eyes watered as a fresh batch of tears threatened to burst. 

“What happened to your friend, Matsuki?” 

Matsuki sniffled, wiping his eyes before continuing. 

“So, she’d been sick for a few weeks, but today when I visited her, she fell and wouldn’t wake up,” Matsuk explainedd, clutching into Bakugou tightly. 

Bakugou hummed, nodding solemnly. 

“Can you take me where your friend is?” 

Matsuki nodded, but Katsuki was dubious about the nature of this pursuit. His distrustful nature was shining through.If this ‘friend’ was outside the protective barrier, then Katsuki didn’t know what to really expect. So before leaving his room, he donned his protective amber around his neck, a magical jewel chosen by his dragon when he was younger. All shifters choose an enchanted jewel to guard their existence and warn them of dangers. He made sure to pick up his son’s, looping the necklace around his neck, the jewel dangling and shining. 

He needed to give his son a talk about this. 

…………

They walked in the forest for a while before reaching a small, worn out looking cottage. Bakugou arched a blond eyebrow, more curious than ever. He’d think it was a ploy with more sinister intentions, luring both prince and king but… he’d never seen his son more shook up over someone, they must mean a lot to him. He couldn’t bear to delay this. 

They reached the door, the wood creaking as Bakugo opened it. His ruby eyes started searching for you, and when they caught your figure on the floor, they began gleaming. 

He felt the breath knocked out of him when he saw you, asleep (he hoped) like an angel with your hair looking wild but still adding to your charm like a halo. You looked so soft, so precious, and it felt like his life only began this moment when he caught sight of you. 

His heartbeat was so strong, he could feel it in his very eyes, who were overwhelmed with the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. He had seen plenty of beautiful women, ones he didn’t spare a second glance at, extras, unworthy of his time. But for some reason, the beauty of you rooted him in his spot and halted all rational thoughts. He was only broken out of his reverie when Matsuki shook him. He felt a rush of love, devotion, and ease like he’d never felt before. It all made sense, the sense of loneliness, of being lost when his path is clear in front of him. Of finding every potential romantic partner lukewarm at best. 

“Dad. Can you help her ? I don’t want her to be sick anymore.”

And in that moment, it dawned on him. 

Katsuki found his soulmate, but there’s a chance he might have already lost her. 

He ran to you checking your vitals, and thankfully, everything seemed fine. He put his forehead against yours, cursing when he felt a scalding fever. 

“What happened ?” He picked one of the numerous questions buzzing in his head. 

“Well, she did my hair like I’d asked her, but the moment she stood up, she fell down! I tried waking her up, but she wouldn’t. She’d been coughing a lot the past few weeks too and looking tired,” Matsuki explained clearly, now comforted by having his father share the weight with him. 

Katsuki looked around at the rather shabby place. Fit for a commoner. Not you. 

He was baffled at having a mate. Only the most legendary, wise and favoured dragons did, the dragons that made it to history scriptures. Things no one considered him to be. Things he was succumbing to not being. Things she convinced him he wasn’t. Sure, he could fight deadly wars, bring nations down to their knees, but violence did not warrant a soulmate. 

He scoop you up, closer to his chest. Heyouyou tightly, heart physically hurting at the thought of you being in pain. He just met you, what’s with him ? 

He stood up, nudging his son to leave. 

What a coincidence. An insane, crazy coincidence. 

His son, his only blessing in this shrouded world, was what led him to the one thing nobody thought he’d have. 

“Tell me more on the way.

Matsuki nodded. 

……………

Bakugou laid you on his bed, surrounding you with the softest materials one could ever touch. He pulled a chair besides you, lounging on it as he waited for a healer to arrive. 

You remained unconscious, but it seems like your temperature increased even more. He was so lost in his own thoughts, that he didn’t register that Matsuki walked inside the room until he was addressing him. 

“Is she going to be alright ?” Bakugou didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, then again, he didn’t have the heart to lie to him either. 

“I don’t know.” Somehow saying it out loud hurts even more. 

A knock on the door broke the gloominess. 

“Come in.” 

Hope walked in, in the shape of a short, old lady with medical equipment. 

Recovery Girl inspected you, from temperature to heartbeat. And when done, she sighed. 

“Everything boils down to it being a simple fever, but in that case, she wouldn’t be unconscious,” she explained ambiguously. She took one of your hands, and andr fingertips were icy cold. 

She hummed contemplatively. She brought out a healing crystal, squeezing it in one fist, while she held your hand in the other. The idea was to transfer the healing energy from the crystal to you, only possible through a healing mage. 

However, when nothing seemed to happen, Recovery Girl opened her fist. She found a shattered crystal. 

“Oh my…” 

Bakugou growled, frustration willing up and tipping over. “The fuck!” 

Recovery Girl glared at him. Such language shouldn’t be used in front of a child. 

“Typical healing methods aren’t going to work.” 

Silence reigned over this time, willing the old lady to continue on, both his and his son’s hearts on the edge. 

“I believe she’d been cursed.” 

Bakugou scrunched up his eyebrows at the absurd explanation. Who’d curse you of all people ? He only just discovered your existence!

Yet for some reason, he felt like he’d rather die than let you, the one who could love him for all his flaws, the one who always brought a smile on his son’s face, suffer. 

“How?” The deity up there must be very cruel, to take you away when he just met you. 

“I don’t know, son. There’s a very strong, malevolent energy, enough to break a healing crystal. It’s going to make her body reject anything that could heal it,” she explained solemnly. 

“If you want this young lady healthy and well, we need to take different measures to heal her. Also, do you know who cursed, or where she could have incurred it? That will be very helpful.” 

Bakugou looked at Matsuki, knowing that he himself is clueless. 

“This is the first time I met her. Matsuki seems to have met her a while ago in her tiny ass cottage outside the protective barrier.” She looked like she had some questions, but instead directed her attention to the little Bakugou and asked him what matters most right now. 

“Do you know anyone that might’ve done this? Have you seen her interact with anyone that could possibly be capable of it?” She knew asking a child would likely be more fruitless then not, but she still wished to help you in any way she could. 

Matsuki shook his head. 

“I’ve never even seen her talk with anyone.” This only served to increase Bakugou’s suspensions. Could it be something to do with your affiliation with Matsuki ? And if that was the case, then there’s so many other things he must take into account too, because that would mean that there’s a traitor in their midst, or at least someone that had been tracking Matsuki for… what fucking ever reason. 

He sighed, feeling an ache beginning to form in his head. He touched your arm, wanting to reassure himself that you are alive. 

A gasp rang out from the occupants of the room when you opened your eyes, making them seem glowy when the sunlight reflected off them, giving you an ethereal, angelic radiance. 

The air left his lungs, while blood rushed to his cheeks, making them seem ripe as apples. 

“How is this possible?” 

This shocked him awake, out of his reverie and into reality. 

Recovery Girl glanced at the arm Bakugo was touching, humming to herself with a knowing glint in her old, wise eyes. 

“Well, my king, did you forget? The oldest, most powerful magic that dragons have been gifted::soulmates.” 

Bakugo blushed again, kissing his teeth and glaring at Recovery Girl. 

“What are you babbling on about, old hag?” 

“I believe you know.” 

He glared at the ground, childishly not answering. 

“Um...what’s going on?” A small, feminine voice asked. Bakugou turned to you, melting at the majestic sound of your voice. 

“That’s a good question.” That brat. 

Bakugou tried to stay in contact with you, afraid of making the burst of magic triggered by your bond slipping away. 

“Uh, you lost unconsciousness and Matsuki asked me to help you. Oh, and apparently you were cursed.” Bakugou bluntly spits the facts at you, not thinking ahead for your reaction. 

“A CURSE?” you shouted, coughing after due to hoarseness. The old hag shot Bakugou another glare, before sweetening up and looking at you. 

“We’ll explain after you rest a bit and freshen up, you’d been through quite a bit.” she said, deliberately not divulging any information yet. She didn’t need to be there for the grand explanation. She’d rather not be, actually. 

She stood on her weary legs, leaving the room unnoticed as you admired your surroundings, and as Bakugou admired you. Matsuki’s stare lacked the burn of fascination as he stared at his father grumpily. 

“The fuck you looking at her so weird for?” Matsuki seethed. You gasped and turned to him. 

“Matsuki!” He bristled in frustration, having forgotten how much you hated it when he cursed. 

“Sorry. He was though!” 

Bakugou, throughout the whole thing, glared at his son with blushing cheeks. He wanted to spank some respect into him so bad right now. 

You turned to Bakugo, gaze weighty in the seriousness it’s burdened with. 

“Thanks for helping me, I appreciate it. You’re Matsuki’s father, right? The resemblance is hard to miss. Well, I have a lot of questions, but firstly, what do you mean by cursed?” 

You felt as if a rock was pressed against your chest, gloom overtaking your features as you awaited his answer. Still hopeful that it was a joke, but the ancient dark magic was not to be joked with. 

“Someone cursed you. It’s the cause for your sickness, and it’s slowly sapping the life out of you. You’re only awake because uh...the magic of our bond is more powerful.” Bakugou rushed the last part, his heart beating, squeezing painfully when silence hung in the air after his not so confession. 

You purse your lips, the movement catching Bakugo’s attention, drawing him to your lips. Supple, kissable lips. 

“Our bond?” 

Bakugo nodded. 

“You’re my soulmate, it’s why—probably why Matsuki was so drawn to you.” Bakugo was looking forward to explaining more, before his door was busted open (a common occurrence these days it seems) by a panting soldier, who summoned the strength to salute stiffly. 

“Your majesty, we have received a letter from Celeane Siloh.” 

Well, what a great introduction to the family. 

...............

Kofi

Don’t forget to like and reblog if you enjoyed this !

[strawberrymilkgeorge]

Part Six. Movies and Speedruns

warnings: swearing, many memes word count: 3.8k (not including pictures) (wow okay ash pop off!) 

behind the screen (irl!dream x f!reader) series masterlist ultimate masterlist

A/N: LETS ALL JUST AGREE TO NOT LOOK AT THE DATES ON TWEETS AND STUFF BC SOME CHAPTERS ARE SO SCUFFED WITH DATES!!!! JUST KNOW THIS STORY STARTS MID NOVEMBER!!!!!!!! (in a world where covid doesn’t exist btw)

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**********

Unknowingly and unintentionally, Y/n let out a big sigh as she poured a glass of water.

"What's wrong, Y/n?" Naomi asked gently, coming up behind her and hugging her tightly.

"Peter."

Naomi hummed, a sign that she was waiting for Y/n to lead the conversation so she could follow because if it were up to Naomi, she would immediately start trash-talking Peter and she wasn't sure if that was the vibe right now or not.

Y/n shook her head in disbelief as she jumped up to sit on the counter. "He got so mad when he found out I slept over at Karl's."

"I'm sorry, Y/n. I wish you would just cut him off completely."

"I don't know. I know I should but... part of me wonders if he could ever go back to how he was when I met him. I would probably date that guy again but not who he turned out to be."

Naomi looked horrified. "No. You sound like you're considering hearing him out. No, is that a joke? He's a bad person."

"I'm not," Y/n reassured. "I'm just thinking hypothetically. Probably because I miss having someone..."

"Y/n, you have a ton of thirsty people in your mentions. If you really want someone that bad, just scroll through, land on one and I bet they're a million times better than that sack of burned potatoes."

Y/n rolled her eyes but smiled lightly. "Most of those are jokes."

"Not all of them," she teased.

"I know you're going to tell me anyway so just say it. Who specifically do you think isn't joking?"

"Dream," Naomi sang.

"Okay, crazy." Y/n reached over, staying seated on the counter as she grabbed a bowl from a cabinet on her left. She then leaned all the way right, reaching as far as she could, but couldn't quite grab a cereal box from the top of the refrigerator.

Naomi rolled her eyes as she helped, handing Y/n the box. She even went the extra step to get Y/n a spoon and the milk because she was that nice. "I'm not joking. Neither is he. Karl and I have talked about it and we both agree."

Y/n paused at her friend's words, her hand hovering over the milk that Naomi held out for her. "You guys gossip about my love life?"

Naomi set the milk next to Y/n, tired of holding it out for her. "Of course? Like we don't do that about Karl? Or you and him about me?"

She couldn't argue there.

"Karl says there's a different vibe from Dream when you join calls and I believe it. I mean, I've seen it during streams myself so I can only imagine how much more obviously in love with you he is during private calls.

"That 'vibe' is Karl's delusional mind creating things. He's too scared to talk to cameragirl so he's projecting onto Dream and I."

"Yeah, okay," Naomi agreed sarcastically.

Y/n huffed. "Besides, he's in Florida. I'm in North Carolina, in case you weren't aware."

"So you're saying if you lived in the same state, you'd date him?"

"I didn't say that." She honestly had never thought of it. Sure she liked hanging out with Dream and her stomach got butterflies when he talked directly to her and he made her smile harder than anyone ever had and he—

And she didn't like him like that. She had only officially met the guy like a week and a half ago and she didn't know what he looked like. There was no way you could catch feelings for someone without seeing them.

Naomi's expression fell again. "Distance doesn't matter, anyway."

"I swear if you say something about George I will slap you," she threatened through a smile and Naomi gave her an innocent grin back.

"If you're lonely, get on Tinder, not Peter. Or get on Dream. I have no qualms with that."

"Peter isn't even an option, Naomi." Y/n sighed, ignoring the comment about Dream.  "Also," she swallowed the last of her cereal and set the bowl down with a clank. "I'm gonna tell Peter I don't want to be friends anymore. Dream and George can be added to the list of Peter haters."

"You talked to them about it?"

She nodded. "You know how I have little gossip sessions with George? Well, Dream was there too this time."

"Well, of course Dream would hate Peter. We've established that he likes you."

"No, no, you and Karl delusionally hypothesized that."

Naomi tapped the counter methodically, a sign Y/n knew to signal that she was thinking hard. "Somehow, one day, I'll prove he does."

"Good luck."

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yes," Y/n perked up. "Go pick something, I'll get blankets."

She went to her room, grabbing her favorite cuddling blankets. She started leaving her room when she heard a ding on her open desktop, signaling that she had a call incoming from Discord. Cool timing.

"I'll be just a second, Naomi!" she called across the house before dropping the blankets on her bed and sliding her headset on, answering the call from Dream. "Hi, Dream!" She sat on her chair and tucked her knees to her chest.

"Hi," he greeted sweetly. "How are you doing today?"

"Much better than when we last talked. How are you?"

"Great now that I'm talking to you," he said smoothly. Y/n rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Are you busy?"

"Unfortunately, yes. My roommate and I are about to watch a movie."

"Ooh, what movie?"

"Not sure yet. Any suggestions?"

"Dark Knight. Unless you wanted me to say, like, Tangled or something."

"Yeah, girls' night is exclusively princess movies. Do you know nothing?"

"Apparently," he said with a laugh.

"What's up?"

"Oh, well, I was just gonna see if you wanted to be on call later with me, George, and Sapnap while I stream speedruns, but you're hanging out with your roommate so nevermind."

"Oh," Y/n deflated. "That sounds fun."

"I can push it back if you want to be part of it. If not, that's fine. I just thought it would be cool."

"No, no, no I really do want to, but I don't want you to have to push it back. When were you planning on starting?"

"In about an hour."

"I'll just join later if you're still playing. If that's okay that I come late."

"No. You have to be on time or not at all," he joked. "Of course that's fine," he assured. "And if I'm not playing anymore, you can still join... we usually talk for forever after we play games and it's fun. I would, er, we would love for you to hang out with us."

Y/n couldn't help the large smile on her face from staying even after they hung up and she walked back into the living room with her pile of blankets. She couldn't help it even when Naomi pointed it out and asked why she was so happy.

"Oh, uh, I've been invited to join Dream and them later for a stream."

"That vague answer doesn't warrant the shit-eating grin you have."

Y/n shrugged and cuddled more into her blankets. "What movie did you pick?"

*****

As the end credits rolled across the screen, Y/n yawned and looked over to Naomi in the dark. She was out like a light. Y/n stood up and made sure Naomi was covered in the blanket and she had a pillow. She crept back to her room and slid her headphones on, pulling up Discord where she saw the three boys' names still in a voice call.

She pulled up Twitch on her second monitor and looked for Dream's stream. It was already about an hour in. She clicked on it and her headphones echoed with the sound of George and Sapnap laughing like they said the funniest thing in the world.

"Shut up," Dream muttered. "Guys, what were the coords for the portal? Seriously, come on."

"Nobody tell him," George joked.

"George!"

"Where's Bugsyyyy?" Sapnap whined. "I want her to make fun of you with us."

"Half the stuff we're making fun of him for is about his big fat crush on her so..."

"George!" Dream yelled again. "No, it's not!"

Y/n smiled as she heard that, knowing it was a joke but laughing at the way Dream laughed at the accusation. She knew it wasn't serious or else they wouldn't talk about it on stream. George and Sapnap teased a lot, but certainly, they wouldn't out someone's crush in front of a hundred thousand viewers live.

"Oh!" Sapnap spoke out loud as George laughed loudly, both reading the text at the same time. "Speaking of..."

Dream waited for either of the two boys to elaborate but neither of them offered one. "What happened?"

"Bugsy texted us," George said off-handedly, typing a response to her. "She's coming in a second."

"Oh."

"What do you mean 'oh'?" Sapnap laughed.

"You guys have a groupchat?"

"Aw, jealous?" George asked.

Y/n joined at that moment, the first sentence coming from her Discord instead of Twitch being from Sapnap saying, "Would it make you more jealous to know our group name is Bugsy's Boys?"

"No, Sapnap, that's the one with Karl," George corrected. "The one with just you, me, and her is Bugsy's Boyfriends."

"WhAT?"

"I still don't approve of that, by the way," Y/n commented.

"Bugsy!!" Sapnap giggled happily. "You're finally here!"

"BUGSY!" George cheered.

"Hi guys!" Y/n laughed at the enthusiasm she was greeted with. "Hi, Dream!"

There was a few seconds of silence before, "Dream!!" George yelled right before the death screen appeared on the Twitch tab still opened on Y/n's right screen. "You idiot, what are you doing?! Why did you throw that run??"

She covered her mouth with the hoodie collar and laughed. "Off to a great start, bud."

"NO!" Dream yelled, knocking something, or somethings, off his desk. "Noooo! I didn't throw it, George, I FELL! Oh, that was going to be such a good run."

"What happened? How did you miss that huge ravine?" George asked while laughing. "It was literally right in the open. You didn't even try to use your water bucket."

"I-I was... I was distracted."

"By what? The completely open field with nothing blocking your vision?" Sapnap criticized with a laugh as well.

Y/n giggled to herself before letting her eyes trail to his chat, which was filled with the same accusations and guesses.

user5: BUGSY!

user2: DISTRACTED BY BUGSYS VOICE

user4: imagine saying hi so cutely that you make a man fall into a ravine

user1: are they dumb? obviously bugsy saying hi made his brain short-circut

user6: guys stop it wasn't bc she said hi. it was the g i g g l e

user3: DISTRACTED BY BUGSY!!!!

user8: HI BUGSY

user10: how to kill a man: hire bugsy to giggle and say hi directly to him

Y/n immediately blushed and covered her face again. She really had a habit of hiding even when no one could see her.

"Oh my gosh," Dream groaned, leaving the world and starting a new one. "Oh. My. Gosh. That's so annoying. I was doing so good."

"Oh," Sapnap laughed. "I understand now."

"What? What did I miss?" George asked.

"Just read chat," Sapnap explained. "They have the answer. Dream, your chat is so smart. Thanks for solving the mystery, chat!"

"No, they aren't ri— that isn't true!" Dream defended. "Chat, shut up."

"You sure?" Y/n asked teasingly, watching as his character paused when she started talking. Was she really making him this flustered just by talking? Surely not. He was just playing into the joke. He continued playing without saying anything, which made George and Sapnap laugh more.

The subject eventually changed and the atmosphere quickly became more relaxed and chill. Tonight was not a feral night like George had texted in all caps.

"Hey George," Y/n started, biting on her hoodie string with a smile because she knew Naomi would hear this when she watched the VOD the next day. "My roommate says hello."

"Oh my gosh," he muttered, making her laugh. "Let it go."

"Wow, I guess that's one way to treat your fans..."

"Fine," he sighed. "Tell her I say hello."

"Well, not if you don't mean it," Y/n teased.

"Yeah, George, you sound so unenthusiastic?" Sapnap asked.

"He's just flustered," Dream commented. "It's okay George, you can have feelings."

"Dream, you fell into a ravine because Bugsy said hi."

"Oh, come on! That's not—I just— I missed the jump! That's it!"

"I'm not flustered or unenthusiastic, I'm just tired, okay?" George explained, ignoring Dream, a yawn spilling out of him to prove it.

Y/n smiled. "Well, you could always let me give her your number if you really want..."

"No. If she had Discord you could give her that but not my phone number."

"Wait, really?" Y/n gasped. "Seriously?"

George laughed lightly. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

"YES! Okay, a huge win for the girls. Well, a huge loss for the fangirls but a huge win for the girls of this apartment."

"Oh my gosh," he muttered and she could practically see him rubbing his face in embarrassment.

"I'll send you her hashtag when she makes one so you know who to add back."

"She's going to make an account just to talk to George?" Sapnap giggled.

"Yes, dude!" Y/n defended. "She at least wants to be his friend, let her shoot her shot!"

Dream ended the steam soon after, not being able to focus enough to beat the end on any of his runs. He had streamed for just under two hours so he seemed to be getting tired as well. George went to bed soon after and after 20 minutes of talking with Sapnap and Dream, Sapnap mysteriously disappeared.

Y/n was about to leave as well, not wanting Dream to feel obligated to stay on the call with her when he spoke up.

"Does Naomi actually like George?"

"Yeah, she does."

"Then I want him to accept her love."

Y/n laughed. "How is he with long-distance relationships?"

"Well, he and I do just fine..." Dream joked. "Oh, not what you meant. I don't know, you guys are the ones that talk about each other's love lives apparently."

"You're still bitter about that?"

"Yes!"

"Suck it up," she laughed. "Naomi would do probably anything to date him so I doubt distance is a problem for her."

"George's sleep schedule is completely messed up, so the time difference wouldn't matter too much. And when he comes to America they can meet in person."

"Wait, he's coming to America?" Y/n gasped happily. "When?"

"There's no set date, but yeah eventually. He'll probably just come to Florida but we've all talked about having a huge meetup with a lot of our friends."

"Oh... cool..."

"Bug? You know you'd be invited to that, right?"

"Oh, really?" she smiled.

"Of course. You're part of the group now."

"Sick," she muttered to herself, but he heard.

"Bug, you're one of my favorite people, do you know that?"

She blushed. "Really?"

"Really."

"You barely know me, Dream."

"Yeah, well, I know enough to know that I'm sorta attached to you."

"Attached to me? In what way?"

He suddenly sounded nervous as if his brain caught up with what his mouth was saying. "I don't know, nevermind."

"No, Dream, what do you mean?" her voice was soft and understanding and it made him feel safe.

"I just... I don't know. I care about you a lot. We met only, what, like a week or two ago, and I already worry about you a lot. Playing games doesn't feel the same anymore unless you're playing with us."

"To be fair, we have been tweeting at each other for much longer than a week or two."

"Yeah, that's true. But it's not the same as actually talking to you."

She smiled shyly. "I care about you a lot too, Clay." His name sounded strange as if it suddenly made everything much more serious. "Sorry, that just kinda slipped. I won't call you Clay if you don't want me to—"

"No, it's okay, it, uh, I like hearing you... say it. But, uh, you can call me whatever you want."

She smiled widely at the nervousness in his voice and the hard pounding of her heart. "I've heard from multiple people that you never stop talking about me."

He laughed timidly. "Maybe. Do you talk about me?"

"Ask Karl," she giggled. "My guess is yes." Her stomach felt tingly and her hands shook lightly. Why did she feel like this all of a sudden? It was late, she reasoned. That, or it was because Naomi had planted the seed of curiosity in her mind. Did Dream like her? No... right?

"I'm sorry if my chat was making you uncomfortable at the beginning when I died..."

"Don't worry, I wasn't uncomfortable."

"It was true, by the way," he paused, "what they were saying. Just... in case you were wondering."

Y/n couldn't wipe the smile off her face, which was growing painful at this point. "What, my voice makes your brain short-circut? That was one comment I saw."

Dream laughed. "More like your entire presence, but... yeah I guess so."

How is someone supposed to respond to something like that? The sweetness in his voice almost made her sick but in a good way.

And just like when he named her Minecraft flower something sweet knowing that no one would see it, why was he still playing up the joke when no one was around?

Not knowing what to say, she decided to let him in on a little secret. "If it matters, you're one of my favorite people too."

"It does."

There was a deathly moment of tense silence as if both of them were screaming to say something but neither did.

"Basically, if we do have a meet-up, I'll sue you if you don't come."

Y/n laughed. "My pockets are empty, sir, so... good luck."

He laughed and it was music to her ears.

"Are you not nervous to show everyone your face? Like, if or when we do all get together."

"Not really. Especially not if it's just to our friends. Are you?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Why?"

She sighed. "I'm sure people have me painted in a specific way in their heads and I've seen fanart of me that is way different and way more attractive than I am. I just don't want to let anyone down by not living up to their expectations."

"Bug," Dream said softly, "you couldn't let anyone down."

"You don't know that."

"You can't disappoint real friends or real fans with the way you look."

"To be clear, Dream," she laughed nervously, afraid she would sound conceited, "I don't think I'm ugly. I like the way I look. I'm happy with me. But that doesn't mean I can't still let people down."

"Different than expected doesn't mean disappointing."

His words smacked her in the gut. He was right. Reality and imagination are very different. Neither has to be better or worse than the other. She could look the complete opposite of how someone expects but that doesn't mean they will be either disappointed OR pleased. And why does it matter anyway? If she likes how she looks, who cares what other people think?

"It's also scary to think of getting recognized in public," she admitted. "Being recognized from the start is one thing because it starts off slowly with only a few people knowing your face but if the first time people see your face is when you have millions of fans, the recognition would be overwhelming."

"That's true. I don't think I would mind that much, though."

"Of course not, you're you."

"What does that mean?"

"You like the spotlight."

"I guess. Not all the time."

"Well, what about you?" she asked. "Are you afraid of people knowing what you look like?"

"No. I want to do a face reveal soon but I don't know how I would do it. I want to do it at some kind of event or something but I don't know."

"I need to schedule around when you do it because you'll break the internet. Give us content creators a warning so we can prepare to not get viewers for a week."

Dream laughed. "Oh come on."

"Twitter would just be full of the same picture of you in every single tweet."

"It won't be that big of a deal."

"Something tells me your millions and millions of subs say otherwise."

"Whatever," he said. "As if you wouldn't break the internet too."

"Maybe for a day or two. But you'd break everything for weeks."

"Sure." There was a long pause before Dream softly said, "Karl's lucky."

"How so?"

He didn't speak for a moment, almost like he wasn't prepared for that question because he didn't mean to be heard. "I wish I could know you the way he does."

"You could. He and I knew each other in person first so it's different. You and I could get there eventually."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I trust you a scary amount for someone I met weeks ago."

"I didn't mean to sound like I'm trying to pressure you into showing me your face or telling me your name. I didn't mean like he gets to know what you look like and I don't. I meant, like, I wish we could hang out in person because I prefer that over talking in Discord."

"I get it, Clay. I feel the same way," Y/n said softly. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again.

"Oh, gosh, it's already four."

Y/n's head snapped to look at her clock, which read 3:57am. "Already?" she whispered. "Dang."

As if acknowledging the time changed the atmosphere, it suddenly felt like 4am. Her back ached from her shifting in her chair so much over the last few hours, never being able to find a good position. The house was eerily quiet and all she heard was the low hum of the heater. The house felt stale, not used to its occupants being so alert and awake at that hour.

"I should probably go to bed..."

"Yeah, me too," Dream agreed. His voice sounded tired. "Thanks for joining us, it was really fun with you."

"Thanks for inviting me. Sorry I made you die. Hopefully you'll still let me back again."

"You're always invited to barge into my streams. Actually."

Y/n giggled again and mentally slapped herself for sounding like a little kid. "Well, you too. You can interrupt my streams anytime."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Goodnight, Clay."

"Goodnight, Bug."

**********

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[samwilsonshandsandass]

Don’t decline too many times

Pairing: soft!dark!Steve Rogers x reader

Summary: The local gang leader is always nice to you. But is there an ulterior motive behind it all for his niceness?

Warnings: Alcohol consumption (voluntarily), asks about pregnancy, abduction

Word count: about 3000

A/N: This is my entry for @stargazingfangirl18​ Siri’s 5K Soft Dark Challenge. A big congrats on your milestone and thank you for hosting this challenge, I enjoyed writing for it! I chose general prompt number 5 (“The leader of the local gang doesn’t like it when you tell them no.”) for this. The dividers are made by the awesome @firefly-graphics​

You sat at the bar, a small bowl with olives and peanuts in front of you. You had asked for a caipirinha and shortly after if the bartender, a female redhead, could get you some snacks. She said she could, but she also cautiously probed if you were pregnant. No, you weren’t.

“Well then, I can offer you olives and peanuts.”

You nodded, and now the quite unusual combination of a fruity and sweet drink and olives and peanuts found a home in you. You had your elbows propped up on the bar, back straight and eyes on the bar top. The bowls with the snacks were gone quicker than the drink and the bartender kept both coming. Eating way quicker than drinking helped with that, apparently.

You didn’t know what number drink you were on when you were approached the first time that evening. Although night would be a better term.

“Miss? I- uh- I’d wanted to ask-“ The guy who now sat on the stool next to you stumbled over his words, but not because of alcohol in his system. He didn’t slur, he talked normally.

You saw a tattooed hand clasp the guys’ shoulder. “I don’t think you’re in the right place, buddy. Leave the lady alone.”

“Why would I-“ The guy turned to look at whoever had his hand on his shoulder. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Mr.-“

“Yeah, yeah, I imagine you are. But you’ll be even more sorry if you don’t move now” The other growled and the guy got up so quickly, he almost face planted away from the bar.

“Uhm, thank you? You know, you didn’t have to, he wasn’t bothering me. I could’ve dealt with him” You said to the brown-haired man.

“I know. But this isn’t what this is about.”

“Then what is ‘this’ about?” You were a little irritated.

“You’ll see. Enjoy your night, miss” He gave a small salute and went back into the crowd. You tried looking where he went but quickly lost him, although the bar wasn’t as packed as it could be.

Steve looked over the bar patrons from the mezzanine level of the bar, that housed his private booth that could be seen, and was supposed to be seen, from below but no one ever found the staircase until they were explicitly shown where it was.

His night was going nice, no big problems in the last days, the bar was filled and his new favorite person had just walked in. Alone. She made a beeline for the bar and after a short conversation, got what she wanted from Natasha. She didn’t move much throughout the night and he was happy to just watch her.

Steve sipped on his own drink. He wondered what she drank. He’d have to ask Natasha for that. He took another sip and swallowed harshly. Someone sat next to what would be his. Normally, he’d be lenient with that, especially if the bar was packed almost too full but for one thing, it wasn’t. Secondly, you didn’t seem to want any company tonight. Just to be left alone and drink.

“Buck?” Steve looked up.

“On it.”

A few days later, you were out grocery shopping after work. It had been a long day, full of demands you couldn’t meet or weren’t even supposed to fulfill because they didn’t fall into your department. And right as you could finally leave for the day, your boyfriend Chad had called to let you know he came home to an empty fridge and if you couldn’t pick up some fresh vegetables. But only from that one organic store. And only the freshest produce of the freshest.

How were you supposed to get literal farm-to-table produce when the delivery truck for that particular store only came twice a week and only ever in the morning? You asked and just got an exasperated sigh from Chad. So here you were, paying for the groceries and leaving the store.

You stepped out of the store and almost collided with someone. The person just kept on walking, apparently not even noticing how you wobbled and the bags in your hands almost slipped out of your grasp. Just as you thought everything would tumble and you’d have wasted that money, you felt hands on your elbows, steadying you.

“I got you, don’t worry.”

You didn’t recognize the voice. You turned around and did a double take. You looked up at Steve Rogers, the leader of the city’s gang, just known as “The Commando”.

“Th- thank you. It wouldn’t have been good if I had spilled all this.”

“What would you have spilled?”

“Fresh vegetables for tonight’s dinner.”

“All that just for you?” Steve seemed genuinely curious and confused.

“Oh no. For me and my boyfriend, Chad.”

Steve took the bags from your hands without asking. “Mind if I walk you home? It’s late and these bags look really heavy and that’s not even touching your normal bag.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not, I’m offering.”

“Thank you, but it’s not far, it really isn’t necessary” You declined.

“Alright, well have a nice evening, miss” Steve raised his fingertips to his non-existent hat.

“You too, thanks.”

Several weeks later, you laid on the couch with Chad with some mindless trash tv show playing in the background. He had his arm around you. You looked at him. He didn’t look back at you, but maybe he was just captivated by watching something that didn’t require much thinking after a long work day. Well, you wanted to do something that also didn’t require much thinking. You started kissing up and down his neck until he turned his head.

“What are you doing Y/N?”

“What does it look like?” You grinned.

“I’m too tired right now. Tomorrow?” Chad groaned.

You removed yourself from him and sat up again. “You’ve said that for weeks now! I also have needs and I don’t want to use my vibrator all the time. I want you.”

“Well, I can’t change how tired I am!” He raised his voice, despite or because of his tiredness, you didn’t know.

Shortly after, you went to bed. Unsatisfied and feeling like you had been shunned.

Just a few days later, you were frantically searching for a clean and decent shirt you could wear to work. You really couldn’t show up to work in a graphic tee shirt.

“Chad, where are my clean shirts?” You yelled through the appartement.

“In your wardrobe?! Like always?” He yelled back.

“No, they aren’t! Didn’t you do the laundry?”

“No, why would I?”

“Because it was your turn!”

“Well, I forgot. I’m sorry, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, always sorry” You grumbled so he couldn’t hear and pulled a unicolor long sleeve shirt from the wardrobe. That would have to do.

It was a Saturday and you were in the mall, trying on clothes, maybe you’d buy some shoes. You wanted to treat yourself. Chad was gone for the weekend and you’d had a stressful week at work. You had found so many things you were packed with two or three bags in each hand plus your handbag over your shoulder. This had been an extensive haul and you couldn’t be more happy about your new treasures.

You carried several bags to the entrance to then get on home when you saw the revolving door wasn’t working. You groaned. Awesome. When you entered the mall, they had still worked and of course, today had to be the time you also bought something voluminous that you couldn’t just transfer from one hand to the other to open the door that was still working. While you thought about setting half the bags down and just walking twice or holding the door open with your foot, someone from behind you reached around you and opened it for you.

“Oh. Thank you!” You turned around and saw a familiar face. Steve Rogers.

“You’re welcome.”

He tipped his imaginary hat when you and all your bags were through the door. You turned and could see him still hold open the door with an older lady thanking the “Young man” and walking off.

“Do you want me to walk you to your car?” He offered.

“No, thanks I got it from here.”

Steve tipped his “hat” again and said his goodbye when you went in the direction of the parking lot.

You had reservations at a nice Mexican restaurant with Chad for this Friday evening. There was nothing to celebrate, you had just agreed to go out again, because you could. You were excited for it, an evening with good food, talking, no needing to take care of anything except getting home and a nice evening and then a lazy weekend until the work week started again. Now it was Thursday.

“Chad? Friday is still happening?” You sat at the breakfast table and Chad poured himself a coffee.

“Yeah. Work shouldn’t keep me longer than expected.”

“Alright, we’ll just meet at the restaurant, then.”

Friday came, work went down without any incident and you went straight to the restaurant. Granted, you were a little early, but you’d rather be early than late, which would have been the case if you had gone home beforehand.

“Excuse me? I have a reservation for Y/L/N, for two people. I know I’m a little early, but I thought maybe…” You trailed off.

“My colleague will show you to your table, you can already take a seat and wait for your company. I’ll send them over once they arrive” The receptionist said.

“Thank you” You smiled and followed her colleague.

At the table, you texted your boyfriend. Just a simple “I’m here a little early.” After the waiter brought a water, your phone still didn’t ping with a text. Twenty minutes later, you sent a second text. “Hey, you coming? Our reservation is for this time.” Now would’ve been the time your table was reserved for. No answer. 15 minutes and another text later, there still was no answer.

“Miss, do you want to order an appetizer or wait for your company?”

“I’ll wait for him, if that’s okay.”

“Yes, of course.”

Thirty minutes, another text and another visit from your waiter later, there still was no sign of Chad. Just as you felt tears of rage pricking your eyes, your waiter set a dish of panna cotta with fruits on the side in front of you.

“On the house.”

You smiled gratefully. At least panna cotta would soothe some of the rage you felt.

At home, there was no sign of Chad. You went to bed alone, feeling a storm of different emotions ranging from anger to sadness.

You woke to clanging in the hallway. It sounded like a person stumbling, trying to get back up and failing. That could only be Chad. Especially at this hour. You remembered once, pretty early on in your relationship how he had stumbled in just like this after a night out with his boys when you didn’t want to come with. You had helped him sober up and then you both had spent a nice day in with Chad nursing his hangover.

But this was different. This was your boyfriend, first blatantly ignoring or forgetting your date night (you didn’t know which would be worse), no matter if it went along with a special date or not, and now he didn’t even hide what he had been doing instead.

“Hey babe? Can you- can you help me?” He slurred.

And in that moment, you snapped. Still sitting in bed. You couldn’t do this anymore.

In the hallway, you saw Chad entangled in your and his winter coat. However he managed that.

“No. No, I will not do that” You crossed your arms and looked down at him. “I’m done. This is the last straw.”

“What happened babe?” The confusion was evident on Chad’s face but you couldn’t see if it was from the hangover or just general confusion. And either way, you didn’t care.

“Several things. Over quite some time. But this, this takes the cake. We had a date. We wanted to meet after work at this restaurant we’ve talked about. And you didn’t show up! You didn’t answer any of my texts! It got so bad, the staff there gave me a free dessert! It was humiliating! And don’t you dare tell me you lost your phone; you’re glued to it!” You shook from your anger.

“But you got free dessert!”

How could anyone miss the point so badly? You wondered.

“Go. Go and only come back to get your stuff. Otherwise, just leave me alone.”

You threw on clothes quickly, grabbed your keys, bag and purse and left. Down on the street, you just started to wander around aimlessly. You ducked into a bakery for a to-go breakfast and coffee, you went to the park, to a hole in the wall pizza joint for lunch, just meandering through the city.

Now it was evening. You looked up to actually see where you were and were surprised to see you had walked all the way from the park you had been in during the afternoon to the bar of the city’s main gang.

You remembered all kinds of rumors and stories about the gang, sometimes just about one or two members, even if the story didn’t tie directly in with the gang. But no matter the stories or rumors, they all boiled down to “They’re dangerous, stay away from them and their localities!”.

But the first time you had been in the bar, everything was nice, it had seemed cozy and like you were welcomed even if no one knew you. Hell, the bar lady had asked you if you were pregnant, like she wanted to protect you! And Steve, the actual leader of the gang, had been nothing but nice to you. Offering to help you and still not inserting himself forcefully into situations when you said no.

You entered and looked around. For a bar, it was pretty early and you only saw a few patrons. You went to take a seat at the bar again and greeted the red head with a smile. She smiled back and continued cleaning the glasses. A while later, she got to you.

“Caipirinha, olives and peanuts again? Still not pregnant?”

“Yes and no. And how do you remember what I ordered? That was weeks ago!”

“I’m a barkeeper. Simple as that” She smiled.

“Uh, could you keep them coming? At least for a while?”

“Something happened?”

“I broke up with my boyfriend today. Then wandered around and now I’m here” You shrugged.

“Alright. But I reserve the right to cut you off when I think you had enough.”

“Okay. But you won’t cut off the olives and peanuts?”

She laughed, throwing her head back. “Yes, I’ll keep giving you food.”

You smiled for the first time today. “Deal.”

The rest of the evening went by in a more or less haze of snacks, alcohol and the mix of hurt at your ended relationship but also the rage when you thought of what kind of behaviors of Chad made you end it all.

The barkeeper didn’t cut you off, which probably was related to you basically inhaling olives and peanuts. Hours later, you paid, slipped the redhead a big tip and a big smile and made to get home.

Almost right at the exit, you were stopped when you felt a hand on your elbow. You turned your head to tell whoever touched you off, but slight confusion furrowed your brows. Wasn’t that the guy from when you had been here weeks ago who kept that other guy from (probably) asking you out?

“Can I help you?” You asked.

“Actually, you can. Indirectly at least.”

“What?”

“I’m here to ask you if you’d like to come with me to up there” He nodded his head to the mezzanine level. “to meet someone.” He emphasized the ‘someone’ in a way that made it clear that ‘someone’ was special. In one way or another.

“Why would I?”

“To experience something, you wouldn’t otherwise.”

“No, thank you” You weren’t in the mood for something new. You wanted to mourn and rage at what you left behind and burrow yourself under blankets with pints of ice cream at home.

“Alright. Have a good evening, miss” He tipped his head and went off into the direction of, supposedly, the stairs to the mezzanine level.

You went home. You were surprised to see Chad had actually gotten his stuff out of your appartement. At least one pleasant thing had come out of the morning, in a twisted way. In the living room, you did exactly what you wanted to do. Eating all the ice cream you had in the freezer and basically becoming a blanket burrito.

When you woke, you felt blankets around you and a softly pulsing headache behind your forehead. You opened your eyes and blinked. And blinked. You turned your head. And blinked again. Slowly realization trickled in. Something wasn’t right. You weren’t where you were when you’d went to sleep.

Whatever you laid on was soft and big. You could turn your whole body and roll around. You could move and you could orientate yourself in your body. You looked down and saw you were still in the clothes you had worn to the bar. Right, you didn’t put on pajamas before going to sleep.

Just as you sat up on the bed, you heard a door open. You turned your head and couldn’t believe your eyes.

“Steve?!”

“Just the one.”

“Why?”

“I just want to take care of you. Is that so hard to understand?”

[naalbinder]

phoebe bridgers // elliott smith parallels

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4BEfu6YZ7XbdHFZBXthIpN?si=6bf8fc460eba4d33

E - Riot Coming - “Sat down in jail with this friend of mine/Who'd never close both his eyes/But one was shut all the time/To cover the thing he was scared of”

E - Stupidity Tries “To sail across the sea of trash”

E - Going nowhere - “The old records are sitting on the floor/The ones I can’t put on anymore”

E - Clementine - “Anything to pass the time/And keep that song out of your mind”

P - Smoke Signals - “One of your eyes is always half-shut/Something happened when you were a kid” - “burning trash out on the beach” - “You said that song'll creep you out until you're dead”

E - Miss Misery - (music videos on the same street)

E - Easy way out - “While I watch you making mistakes/I wish you luck I really do” “I heard you found another audience to bore”

E - Looking Over My Shoulder - “Another sick rock ‘n’ roller acting like a dick”

E - Placeholder - “I'm the person you'll never need/The biggest loser on sixteenth street” - “Just like my favourite song/Some pretty words that didn't last that long”

P - Motion Sickness - “I'll be glad that I made it out/And sorry that it all went down like it did” “You said when you met me, you were bored” - “Hey, why do you sing with an English accent?/I guess it's too late to change it now”

E - Some Song - “Help me kill my time cause I'll never be fine”

P - Funeral - “Jesus Christ i'm so blue all the time/And that's just how i feel/Always have and i always will ”

E - Bled White - “Happy and sad come in quick succession/I’m never going to become what you became”

P - Demi Moore - “I got a good feeling/It doesn't happen very often”

E - St Ides Heaven - “With an open container from 7/11”

E - A Fond Farewell - “A fond farewell to a friend”

P - Scott Street - “With an open heart, open container” - “Anyway, don’t be a stranger / don’t be a stranger”

E - Last Call - “And I think I’m all done, you can switch me off safely/While i’m lying here for sleep to overtake me”

E - Roman Candle - “I’m a roman candle/My head is full of flames ”

P - Killer - “But when I’m sick and tired/And when my mind is barely there/When a machine keeps me alive/And I’m losing all my hair/I hope you kiss my rotten head/And pull the plug” - “Tame the fire in you”

E - Georgia Georgia

P - Georgia - “Georgia, Georgia, I love your son”

E - Twilight - “That you are already somebody’s baby”

E - See you later - “Made out of a night train”

E - King’s Crossing - “Instruments shine on a silver tray”

P - Chelsea - “You are somebody’s baby” - “For a chemical imbalance/You sure know how to ride a train” - “With a needle on a tray”

E - Christian Brothers - “No bad dream fucker's gonna boss me around/Christian brothers gonna take him down”

P - Would you rather - “Quarantined in a bad dream/He's half the man and you're twice as tall”

E - Son of Sam - “Son of Sam, son of a doctors love a nurses touch/Acting under orders from above”

P - You Missed My Heart - “A feeling of relief came over my soul/I couldn't take it any longer, and I lost control”

E - Bye - (instrumental)

E - New Monkey (Instrumental)

P - DVD Menu - (instrumental)

E - Coming up roses - “And you're coming up roses everywhere you go/Red roses follow”

E - Rose Parade - “Said, Won't you follow me down to the Rose Parade?”

P - Garden Song “They're gluing roses on a flatbed/You should see it, I mean thousands”

E - Condor Ave - “I don’t know what to do with your clothes or your letters”

E - Baby Britain - “Fights problems with bigger problems/Sees the ocean fall and rise/Counts the waves that somehow didn’t hit her/Water pouring from her eyes/Alcoholic and very bitter”

E - Say Yes - “I'm in love with the world/Through the eyes of a girl/Who's still around the morning after”

E - Seen How Things Are Hard - “You just didn't care/You were off getting drunk instead”

E - The Biggest Lie - "Oh, I just told the biggest lie/ I just told the biggest lie/The biggest lie"

P - Kyoto - “And you wrote me a letter/But I don't have to read it” - “I wanted to see the world/Then I flew over the ocean/And I changed my mind” - “I wanted to see the world/Through your eyes until it happened/Then I changed my mind” - “I'm gonna kill you/If you don't beat me to it” - "Guess I lied/I'm a liar/Who lies/'Cause I'm a liar"

E - Memory Lane - “Your little house on memory lane ”

E - Angel in the Snow - “Angel in the snow/all crushed out on the way you are”

E - Last Call - “And I wanted her to tell me that she would never wake me”

E - New Monkey - “For the millions of fans ignoring the bands”

E - Waltz #2 - “I'm never gonna know you now/But I'm gonna love you anyhow”

E - Amity - “I'm a neon sign and I stay open all the time”

P - Punisher - “The house where you lived with Snow White” - “But never not sweet to the trust funds and punishers” - “What if I told you/I feel like I know you?/But we never met” - “The drugstores are open all night/The only real reason I moved to the east side”

E - Some Song - “Yeah it's halloween tonight and every night”

E - Pitseleh - “I got a joke I've been dying to tell you/A silent kid is looking down the barrel/To make the noise that I kept so quiet”

P - Halloween - “Baby, it's Halloween” - “I hate living by the hospital/The sirens go all night/I used to joke that if they woke you up/Somebody better be dying”

E - Shooting Star - “So bad, so far/You made me sad/Shooting star/You're distant and cold/And a sight to behold/Everybody just sighs”

E - Satellite - “When they call it a lover's moon, the satellite/'Cause it acts just like lovers do, the satellite/A burned-out world you know/Staying up all night/The satellite”

E - Everything Reminds Me of Her - “Why are you staring into outer space, crying?/Just because you came across it and lost it”

P - Chinese Satellite - “Took a tour to see the stars/But they weren't out tonight/So I wished hard on a Chinese satellite” - “Sometimes, when I can't sleep/It's just a matter of time before I'm hearing things” b- “Instead, I look at the sky and I feel nothing/You know I hate to be alone/I want to be wrong”

E - Coast to Coast - “Still you're keeping me around/'Til I finally drag us both down (Gonna drag us both down)”

E - Little one - “The moonlight tonight/Seems to belong to me” - “One more/Little one, I love you”

E - Coming up Roses - “The moon is a sickle cell/It'll kill you in time” “While the moon does its division/You're buried below”

E - Everything Means Nothing to Me - “At attention, looking backward in a pool of water/Wishes with a blue songbird on his shoulder/Who keeps singing over everything”

E - Pretty Mary K (Other Version) - “oh Mary K, I can see your face/down there in the waves, painted and erased/but I know it's just a reflection of the moon”

P - Moon song - (52) “You asked to walk me home/But I had to carry you” - (53) “And if I could give you the moon/I would give you the moon” - (54) “You are sick and you're married/And you might be dying” - (55/56) “And you pushed me in/And now my feet can't touch the bottom of you” “But you're holding me like water in your hands/When you saw the dead little bird”

E - New Disaster - “Everybody is the same in this long no-win game/Where every new blood/Gets time to become resigned” - “Until everyone knows that your smile is just a ghost/The ghost of your smile was seen on a body in the park”

P - Savior Complex - “Baby, you're a vampire/You want blood and I promised” - “All the bad dreams that you hide/Show me yours, I'll show you mine”

E - Oh well, Ok - “If you get a feeling next time you see me/Do me a favor and let me know/Cause it's hard to tell, it's hard to say 'oh well, Ok'”

E - Last Call - “You're a tongueless talker/You don't care what you say”

E - Angel in the Snow - “Only a cold still life/ that fell down here to lay beside you”

P - ICU - (58) “But I feel something when I see you now/I feel something when I see you” - (59) “I hate your mom/I hate it when she opens her mouth/It's amazing to me/How much you can say/When you don't know what you're talking about” - “laying down on the lawn” “if you’re a work of art/I’m standing too close/I can see the brush strokes”

E - Happiness / The Gondola Man - “What I used to be/Will pass away and then you'll see/That all I want now/Is happiness for you and me”

E - Whatever (Folk Song in C) - “Whatever you're doing now would probably suit me fine/If you're all done, like you said you'd be/What are you doing hanging out with me?”

E - Big Ballad of Nothing - “You can do what you want to whenever you want to/You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you”

P - Graceland too - “Said she knows she lived through it to get to this moment” - “Whatever she wants (Whatever you want)”

E - Bottle up and Explode “Bottle up and go/I can make it outside”

E - A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity to be Free - “God knows why my country don't give a fuck” - “Shine on me baby, because it's raining in my heart”

E - Alphabet Town - “Alphabet City is haunted”

P - I Know The End - “There's no place like my room” - “To some America First rap country song” “Driving out into the sun/Let the ultraviolet cover me up”- “I'll find a new place to be from/A haunted house with a picket fence”

[dreamerstreamer]

Like You A Latte

Pairing: barista!Sapnap x gn!reader

Summary: [Coffee Shop!AU] Sapnap usually hates the closing shift, but when one crazy storm sends you barreling into his life, he might just change his mind.

Word Count: 5.4k

A/N: this was requested by a sweet anon who wanted something in a real life setting! i took some creative liberty with the au, but i hope you all enjoy nonetheless!

Sapnap grimaced as he stared out at the café window, his lips curling downward into a frown at the sight of the pouring rain. Driving home is gonna suck, he thought.

With a sigh, he turned back to wiping down the table in front of him, trying to ignore the incessant pitter patter on the roof above him. Screw Clay for ditching him with the closing shift. Sure, he might have that presentation tomorrow morning and Sapnap might have let him leave early, but he still sucked. The closing shift sucked.

It didn’t help that it was pouring buckets outside. No wonder the café was empty—there wasn’t a single soul in their right mind who would be outside at this hour and in this weather.

Except for him, apparently.

He sighed, eyeing the clock on the wall. There was an hour left until he had to close up shop, and he was bored out of his mind. He had already scrolled through all of his feeds and was sick of the music they were playing over the speakers. Usually he had at least one or two customers to chat with if they were in the café, but today there was none.

Looks like I’ll be alone for an hour, then, he thought to himself bitterly, leaning his forehead against the wall. Fun.

It was at that moment that the unmistakable sound of the door chimes echoed through the air, and Sapnap’s eyes went wide.

No way.

He lifted his head, turning to see a silhouetted figure standing in the doorway, their clothes sopping wet as they painted. He winced at the sight. Not even an umbrella would have been able to shield yourself from this kind of rain, but it was still painful to see just how soaked to the bone you would get.

Just then, the figure stepped inside, and his mouth went try at the sight.

One thing stuck out about you, and it wasn’t the fact that you were dripping water on the floor he had just mopped.

You were cute.

He just barely remembered to stop gaping as you approached the counter, brushing back some hair that was stuck to the side of your face. You opened your mouth to speak, but what came out of your mouth startled him.

“How many shots of espresso can you fit into an extra large latte?”

He blinked at you, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

You cleared your throat. “How many shots of espre—?”

“No, no, uh,” he stammered, waving his hand in front of him, “I heard you, it’s just that...” He paused, trying to find the right words. “...why do you want that much caffeine?”

You let out a deep sigh, dragging a hand across your weary face. “Look,” you said, “this paper is due at the crack of dawn, the wifi at my place is out, the library just closed, and I’m either handing it on time or I am going to die trying.”

He raised his eyebrows at you and sucked in a deep breath. “Okay,” he began, “um, an extra large latte, was it?”

You nodded. He turned, grabbing the tallest of the paper cups he had stacked behind him, eyeing it. “Alright,” he mumbled, “that’ll probably fit around... thirty shots of espresso?”

You paused, blinking, and he could practically see the gears turning in your head. “Okay. Okay, cool.” There was a beat of silence, a look of contemplation crossing your features, then you nodded again. “Can you give me like twenty shots, then?”

The words flew from his lips before he could stop them. “What the hell.”

When you only stared at him, he coughed. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to even give someone more than four at once.”

You sighed for what must have been the millionth time as you shoved a hand into your pocket, digging around for a moment before fishing out a wallet. Opening it up, you pulled out a ten dollar bill. “This,” you said, waving the bill in front of him, “will be your tip.”

His jaw dropped, but no sound came out. After a few seconds of tense silence, something desperate shot across your face. “Please,” you said quietly, “for the sake of my paper. I need it.”

Sympathy welled up inside of him at the look on your face. Every college student knew the struggle of handing something in last minute. What kind of person would he be to say no?

“Okay,” he said, grabbing a sharpie from his apron pocket and uncapping it with his thumb, “this is gonna take a bit. Please, take a seat...?” He trailed off, expectantly waiting for your name, his eyes locking onto you.

Your lips curled into a small smile, and he felt something jump in his chest. “[Y/N].” You raised your brows at him. “You do realize I’m the only one in the store, right?”

His cheeks flushed, and he tore his gaze away from yours, fumbling to scribble your name on the cup. “Oh. Um, right. Sorry.” He offered you a sheepish smile. “Force of habit.”

You laughed while you slid your backpack off your shoulder and it sent a tingle up his spine. “Nah, I get it.” As you plopped onto the bar stool seat, your eyes darted to his chest, flashing with recognition. “Thanks, Sapnap.”

He nearly dropped his sharpie, his heart doing a backflip in his rib cage. How did you—? He glanced down, nearly shriveling with relief. Right. I’m wearing a name tag.

Sending one more glance in your direction as you pulled out your laptop, he turned, cracking his knuckles. Twenty shots was going to take more than just a few minutes to brew, and he’d be damned if he didn’t stick to his guns and deliver this absolute monstrosity of an order to you.

A good fifteen minutes later, Sapnap found himself staring down into a pitch black cup. Where the smell of coffee beans was usually even distributed throughout the store, it was now almost entirely concentrated in one cup. With a delicate hand, he oh-so slowly poured in some frothed milk, carefully moving it as a design began to form on the coffee’s surface. A few moments passed in devoted silence, and he pulled away to reveal a perfect milk heart staring back at him.

Indeed, he was holding an extra large latte with twenty shots of espresso. He was half impressed and half horrified by his own creation.

With a small smile, he picked the cup up, sliding it over the counter toward you. “Voilà,” he said, bowing dramatically, “your order is served.”

You looked up from where you were typing on your laptop, blinking blearily at him before recognition set in. A grin tugged at your lips as you picked the cup up. “Oh my god,” you breathed, taking a heavenly sip, “you are such a lifesaver. You have no idea how close I was to passing out just now.”

Sapnap chuckled at your enthusiasm, picking up a rag and walking over to the sink. “I don’t know how you’re going to enjoy drinking that, but I hope you stay conscious.”

You raised your cup up toward him in a silent toast, the mirth in your eyes sending something light and warm dancing across his bones. As you turned back to your paper, he began cleaning up the mess he had made while brewing twenty shots of espresso.

Time passed in a blur as he shifted cups around and wiped down machinery, only sped along by the sound of your frantic typing. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he saw as you raised your now empty coffee cup in your hand and tossed it across the room. In an elegant arc, it landed squarely in the trash can a few feet away.

“Nice throw,” he said, smiling at the satisfied look on your face.

You sent him a thumbs up with a hum, your face looking delightfully warm and much more awake. “Thank you.”

Another moment passed in silence when a realization suddenly hit him. “Wait a second. You finished it? All twenty shots?”

You didn’t even look away from your screen. “Yep.”

His look was one of complete and utter disbelief. “That quickly?”

You deadpanned. “I think the most I’ve slept in the past three days is something like three hours. I’m kind of dying.”

He chuckled. “Understandable.” His lips curled downward as his expression grew serious. “For real though, once this caffeine wears off, I want you to sleep for like, half a day, okay?”

Your fingers faltered in their typing for a moment, and your eyes briefly met his. “You don’t even know me.”

Something in his stomach churned. But I would like to, he wanted to say.

Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest with a teasing look. “Can you really blame me for being concerned? Twenty shots is more than a lot.”

You rolled your eyes at him, but he didn’t miss the way your lips twitched. “Ugh, fine.”

He bit back a laugh. “Fine is good enough for me.”

You returned back to typing, squinting harshly at the glare from your screen as you mouthed some of the words you had written. His eyes darted to the clock once more and blinked in surprise. Was there really only fifteen minutes left until closing? He hoped you could finish in time.

Sapnap turned and bit the inside of his cheek, the cogs in his head churning. I feel like I’m forgetting to do something. An image of the water you had tracked into the café flashed through his mind, and he found himself eyeing the mop and bucket sitting by the corner where he had left it nearly an hour prior.

Do I really want to wipe the floor again? He paused for a long moment. Not really. He thought of the streaky puddle left in your wake one last time, then shook his head. Ah, whatever. George has the opening shift tomorrow—it’s a him problem, now.

A soft yell broke him out of his thoughts. “Hell yeah!”

He lifted his head in time to see you close your laptop screen, a wide grin stretched across your face. “Did you finish?”

You flopped onto the table, letting out a relieved groan. “Yes, finally. I thought I was never going to be done.”

He opened his mouth to respond when your face suddenly scrunched up. Before he could ask if you were okay, you ducked your face into the bend of your elbow, a sneeze escaping your lips. Sapnap’s heart leapt at the sound.

Cute—your sneeze was cute.

His lips quirked up at you as he sent you a worried glance. “You cold?”

You wiped at your nose, shivering a little. “A bit, yeah.” You offered him a lopsided smile. “The rain kind of did a number on me.”

He fiddled with his keys in his pocket, gulping. “I’m, uh, gonna close up in a few minutes. Did you want me to give you a ride back to your place?” He paused for a moment, then quickly added, “I promise I’m not a creep.”

Your laugh made him want to dance. “Oh, yes please.” Suddenly, your smile dimmed, and you curled back a bit. “You—you won’t mind if I get your car a little wet, will you?”

Sapnap stared at you and your dripping clothes, something tugging inside his chest. If it was Clay or George asking, he’d probably kill them if they even attempted to get into his car while soaking wet.

But for some reason, the way you looked at him with your wet hair sticking to your face and a hopeful glimmer in your eyes made his heart skip a beat.

“Not at all.”

“George wanted me to tell you that you suck.”

He turned, feigning an innocent look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Clay sent him an amused look. “Something about a puddle? And that you’re a huge prick for not wiping it up for him.”

Sapnap rolled his eyes. “He’s just being whiny. I was stuck by myself yesterday because you bailed on me.”

Clay gaped at him. “I had a presentation and you literally let me go! That’s a valid reason!”

When Sapnap only gave him a levelled stare in response, he sighed. “I’m here now, okay? I’ll even man cash for you so you can just do the easy clean-up stuff, too.”

Sapnap grumbled but didn’t protest. “C’mon, man.” Clay leaned over to gently prod his shoulder. “I bet you today’s closing shift is better than last night’s!”

He waved a hand dismissively, focusing his attention back on the order he was working on. “Sure, sure.”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Clay was right about one thing—today’s shift was better already. It wasn’t raining like crazy again, and the café wasn’t completely deserted. Well, you were there yesterday, but he had already accepted that the two of you probably wouldn’t interact again. It’s not like you were a regular or something.

He was vaguely aware of the door opening, the chimes tinkling like bells as it swung open and shut. Footsteps approached the counter as he pushed some stray trash into the garbage can, not particularly paying any attention. That was when a familiar voice spoke up.

“Can I get an extra large latte, please?”

Sapnap froze then whipped around, eyes wide as he took in the sight of you standing in front of the cash register. Before Clay could even confirm your order, he blurted out, “[Y/N]? You’re back?”

You grinned at him from the other side of the counter, your wallet in hand. “I like coffee, okay? And you’re not too shabby of a barista.”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “‘Not too shabby’? Rude.”

You giggled, tapping your credit card on the PIN machine. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I did mostly want to say thanks for the other night, since you are pretty great, Sapnap.” Your eyes flashed. “But...”

“...but?” he prompted.

“But,” you said, grinning teasingly, “you might cement yourself as my favourite barista if I maybe got a free snack.”

He raised his eyebrows at you. “A free snack, you say?”

Your smile widened. “Yes, sir.”

Sapnap paused, cocking his head. “I’ll... keep that in mind. Go ahead and grab a seat for the time being though, alright?”

You nodded in assent and slid into the bar stool you had sat in the night prior, pulling out your laptop once more. Once you were out of earshot, Clay leaned over to Sapnap. “You know ‘em?” he asked.

Sapnap couldn’t help but smile a little. “Yeah—[Y/N] is kind of the reason why George thinks I’m a prick, right now.”

“Nah,” he said, “George knows you’re a prick. He just thinks you’re being particularly prick-y today.”

Sapnap playfully pushed him away with a shove. “Screw off.”

Clay didn’t even flinch, only wheezing under his breath as he greeted the next person in line. Sapnap rolled his eyes again as he grabbed an extra large cup from the stack, his hands moving like clockwork as he poured in some freshly brewed espresso and frothed milk. Making a regular latte was infinitely faster than making one with twenty shots, to say the least, and practically no time had passed before he was walking over to your seat.

“One extra large latte for [Y/N],” he said, sliding the cup onto the space next to your laptop with ease, one hand tucked behind his back.

Your face lit up. “Thank y—”

“And,” he suddenly added, pulling his other arm out to reveal a pastry, “one chocolate croissant.” He gave you a sly wink as he held it in front of you. “On the house, as requested.”

Your smile fell. “Oh, wait, no. I was joking. You don’t actually have to—”

“Shh,” he whispered, dangling the croissant in front of your face, “just take it. No one else is going to buy it anyway. Consider this thanks for yesterday’s tip.”

You gingerly took the croissant from his hands, your cheeks growing warm. “Okay, fine.” You held the pastry up to your lips, sinking your teeth in and beginning to chew. Your eyes widened in shock as you swallowed. “Oh, wow. This is really good.”

He placed his hands on his hips triumphantly. “Aren’t you glad you took it, now?”

Sticking your tongue out at him, you took another bite. “Thanks, Sapnap. Seriously, what would I do without you?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, actually be well-rested instead of chugging caffeine?”

“For the record,” you pointed out with a slight glare, “I did sleep for like half the day like you asked me to, but now I’m behind on everything.”

He cocked his brows at you. “So, you’re just sticking around to finish some stuff, again?”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “Yeah—the wifi at my place sucks and my roommate hogs all the bandwidth, plus you guys are open later than the library, soooo.....”

You gestured vaguely, and he nodded in sympathy, crossing his arms over his chest. “Makes sense.”

He could have let the conversation die there, could have just gone back to wiping down the tables and cleaning up after Clay. But instead, he found himself slipping into the seat next to you, curiosity nibbling away at his restraint.

“I don’t think I ever asked,” he said, resting his hand on his chin, “but what are you studying?”

You grinned at him, his ears growing warm as you began telling him about your major. You asked him about his and what he wanted to do after graduation, and it didn’t take long before the two of you slipped into casual conversation, almost as if you were old friends. While he did have to go take some orders every once in a while, he was mostly able to chat with you while the both of you worked. It was nice—spending time with you was nice.

And it seemed like his heart agreed, too.

The ringing of the door chimes made Sapnap raise his head. He opened his mouth to give the official café greeting before closing it, a fond smile overtaking his features. “Hey, cutie.”

You grinned back at him as you strode up to the counter. “Hey, loser.”

He pretended to wince at your words, clutching his chest in mock hurt. “Ouch.”

You stuck your tongue out at him, your lips curling up as you dug a hand into your bag. “Kidding. Can I get a—”

“Extra large latte with a normal number of espresso shots,” he finished expertly, reaching around to push a cup onto the space in front of you. When you didn’t say anything, your wallet balanced delicately in the palm of your hand, he coughed awkwardly. “I know your order.”

You stared at him in utter shock. “You do?”

He pretended that his lungs didn’t feel like they were on fire. “Y-Yeah.”

A smile tugged at your lips, and you opened up your wallet. “I wish I had a memory as good as yours, Sapnap.” You pulled at out a ten dollar bill and slapped it onto the counter, grabbing your coffee with the other. “Thank you so much, and keep the change, okay?” You took a step back, sending him an apologetic look. “I have to get going, but you’re the best.”

He picked up the bill, waggling it in front of his face. “I know.”

You paused, tastefully adding as you turned, “...loser.”

“Hey!”

You laughed at him while you bounded out of the café, and he felt his irritation die in his chest, something blossoming in its stead. “Kidding!”

As the door swung shut behind you, he sighed, a dreamy haze filling his mind. Weeks had passed since you two had first met, and he could feel himself falling harder and harder. He always knew that he wanted to get to know you better, but now that feeling had grown tenfold. There was something so subtle and real about everything you did—about the way you talked and laughed, about the way you pointed and smiled.

He wondered how much more of you he hadn’t seen, and he wondered if you’d show him.

A voice ripped him out of his thoughts. “Are you gonna snap out of it anytime soon?”

He turned, blinking back to reality. “What?”

George stared back at him with paused lips. “Sapnap, you’ve been spaced out for two minutes.”

Clay turned to look at them both. “You look like you just had some big revelation or something. Are you good?”

Sapnap opened his mouth, then closed it, feeling a lump forming in his throat. As much as he ragged on them for being reckless and stupid, Clay and George were his best friends, and they deserved to know what was going on.

Was this going to go poorly? Probably.

But was he going to do it anyways? 

Unfortunately, yes.

“Guys.” He sucked in a deep breath, squeezing his fists by his side as he looked up. “I like [Y/N].”

There was a beat of silence, and Sapnap felt the anxiety well up inside him. They were totally about to flame him, weren’t they?

The two of them shared a look, then Clay turned to him. “We know.”

Sapnap blinked. “You knew?” he said slowly. “Both of you?”

George bobbed his head, cocking a brow at him. “Um, yeah? It’s kind of obvious.”

Sapnap gaped, sputtering. “H-How? In what way?”

George opened his mouth when Clay raised a hand, silencing him as a wide grin stretched across his face. His green eyes brimming with mischief, he sidled up to Sapnap’s side, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Hey, George,” he said, “watch this.”

He leaned close to Sapnap’s ear, and whispered just loud enough for all three of them to hear. “[Y/N].”

Almost instantaneously, Sapnap felt his heartbeat speed up as George’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god. Look at his ears.”

While Clay pulled away and let out a loud wheeze, clutching at his chest, Sapnap’s hands slammed over his ears, hiding them from view. “Do not look at my ears.”

Gasping for air, Clay managed to choke out between shaky breaths, “He’s blushing!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Are—” Wheeze. “—Are too!”

“No—”

“You totally are.”

“George, shut the fu—”

“Alright, ladies, you’re both pretty,” Clay suddenly cut in, clapping his hands. “If you two would stop bickering, then we can actually address the issue at hand, here.”

“Which is that Sapnap is a hopeless simp?” George prompted.

Clay nodded. “Which is that Sapnap is a hopeless simp.”

Sapnap scowled. “I am not hopeless, and I am also not a simp.”

Clay tucked a hand under his chin. “Well, we’re going to make sure you’re not hopeless.” A devilish glint shined in his gaze. “Not for much longer, that is.”

Sapnap swallowed. This couldn’t be good.

“Wait,” George said, furrowing his brows, “what about the simp part?”

Clay blinked. “Oh, no. He can stay that. We’re just going to make him confess.”

Sapnap, who had been staring in stunned silence up until this point, blinked for a moment, then frowned. “Wait a second, you’re going to what?”

Clay leaned forward, patting his shoulder reassuringly. “Trust me, buddy. Everything is going to be just fine.”

With that, Sapnap’s frown only deepened.

Everything was going to be just awful.

Sapnap swallowed anxiously as he slid another cup across the counter toward the pick-up station, George dutifully picking it up as he read out another name. Sapnap had half the mind to realize that they really shouldn’t have let George be the one to read the names, especially when he was so garbage at it, but the other half didn’t particularly care. It was far too preoccupied thinking about one thing and one thing only.

Well, two things actually.

You and his confession.

The plan was simple in theory, at least, but in practice? He had no clue. He’d had it prepared for days now, but he had yet to see you, and he was pretty sure he was slowly going insane.

“Just calm down,” Clay had told him. “Like I said, you’re going to be fine.”

As much as he trusted him, Sapnap didn’t believe him for one second, and he was pretty sure Clay knew it. If he did, he didn’t say anything, but oh boy, could Sapnap see it in his eyes.

Just then, the familiar sound of chimes and footsteps filled the air, and Sapnap felt his anxiety spike.

You were here.

Taking a moment to breathe and calm himself, he casually began to wipe down the counter before him, dragging damp rag across the countertop. At the same time, he felt his heart hopelessly trying not to and failing to skip a beat at the sight of your weary face. “Mornin’, [Y/N],” he greeted.

You didn’t bother to say a greeting back before you flopped into your usual seat, letting out one long groan. “Uuuggghhhh.”

A flicker of fondness filled his heart. “Rough week?” he prompted, his hand slowing down as he wiped away a small stain.

You groaned again in reply, rubbing at your temples. “Oh, you have no idea. My profs have just been unbelievably infuriating, and I feel like I’m constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown.”

He reached over to pat your shoulder, nodding sympathetically. “I get that—sometimes it’s like they forget you have other classes.”

Your head shot up, your face twisted into a pout. “I know right? Like, give me a break!” You slumped forward, your cheek pressed against the table. “I just want to take a nap.”

He smiled fondly at you. God, you are so cute. “Did you want a latte?” he offered. “The usual?”

You paused for a moment, thinking, then shook your head. “Caffeine is only going to make me even more stressed, and I don’t think I can handle anymore.”

He hummed in understanding, then turned. He quickly grabbed something off the shelf behind him before sliding it over the counter to you. “I know it won’t make your week any easier,” he said, “but here. It might make you feel a little better.”

You perked up at that, raising your head to eye the napkin-wrapped item in front of you. Pulling back the soft tissue, your eyes lit up. “A chocolate croissant!”

He turned away with a soft smile. “Your favourite, right?”

You sunk forward, your gaze dazzling in the midday sun. “Because of you.”

He nearly choked on his spit as he whirled, only to see you pulling back the napkin to take a bite. Sometimes, you really spoke without thinking, and it sent his head absolutely spinning.

You sighed as you sunk your teeth into the flaky dough, your eyes fluttering shut. Chewing away as you leisurely swung your legs, you glanced up at him. “Hey,” you murmured, “what time is it, right now?”

“It’s, uh—” His gaze darted to the clock on the other side of the wall. “—ten to eleven.”

Your eyes shot wide open, swallowing the bite you took as your jaw dropped. “Oh, shoot. I’m gonna be late. I have a class at eleven and it’s on the other side of campus.”

Sapnap’s expression mirrored yours. “Oh, shoot,” he parroted.

You nodded as you slid off the seat, scrambling to slid your bag onto your shoulders as you spoke in a hurried frenzy. “Okay I have to get going but thanks so much for the snack Sapnap you’re the best and um I really appreciate it but I, um, I have t—”

“[Y/N],” he said abruptly, and you fell silent, your voice dying in your mouth. His gaze was soft as he gestured to the front of the café. “You’re gonna be late.”

You didn’t waste another second to turn on your heel and scramble to the front. “Thank you!” you called out behind you one last time as you pushed past the entrance and rushed down the busy street.

The moment the door fell shut once more, Sapnap nearly collapsed against the counter, gripping onto the granite for dear life. “Clay,” he said, turning his head to send his best friend a shaky smile full of nothing but anxiety, “I’m gonna die.”

“You are not going to die,” Clay said immediately, walking over to pull Sapnap up from the counter. He clapped him on the shoulder, looking him dead in the eyes. “Like I said, you are going to be just fine. Don’t lose your head over it.”

Sapnap whipped his head up, grabbing his shoulders. “This is probably the worst confession I have ever tried to make in my life,” he said bluntly, his tone clipped with anxiety. “No, wait—this is the worst confession I have ever tried to make in my life.”

Just then, the back room door swung open to reveal a very tired-looking George who sighed with a bag of coffee beans tucked  securely in his arms. “Okay, pack it up, lover boy,” he muttered, tilting his head at Sapnap. “You’re on break, now.”

Sapnap didn’t even bother to come up with a witty retort, simply letting go of Clay’s shoulders with a quiet whine before sliding into the back room, his shoulders slumped over. As he walked past, Clay leaned back against the countertop, a curious grin dancing on his lips. “You think [Y/N] will even see it?”

George grimaced, setting the bag down on the table. “I hope so. Otherwise Sapnap here is going to die of embarrassment, and I am never going hear the end of it.”

From the back, a muffled groan rang out. Clay and George’s eyes met once more as they let out another sigh.

They really, really hoped so.

How you made it to class on time with two whole minutes to spare, you’d never know.

You collapsed into the nearest available seat with a massive sigh, the air rushing out of your lungs all at once. Maybe you should try out for the track team like your roommate keeps telling you to.

With a tired smile, you sat up, pulling out your laptop from your bag and setting your half eaten croissant on the table in front of you. You were just about to open your laptop when a smudge of black on the pristine white of your napkin caught your attention. You narrowed your eyes, lifting up the croissant to see even more of it.

There’s something written on it...?

Curiously, you found yourself unfolding the napkin, gasping at what you saw. A sprawling string of text littered the thin paper, all written in a familiar sharpie ink.

hey, [y/n]—if you’re reading this then thank god that means you actually kept the napkin and didn’t throw it out or something. super long story short, i like hanging out with you and would love to get to know you better, so here’s my number XXX-XXX-XXXX and also i like you a latte and also i like you a lot :)

You snorted, your cheeks burning up with bashful glee. Even though he crossed it out, you could still read the pick-up line he had jotted down. It was so very like him to get embarrassed and scrap it last minute. There was something endearing about it, really.

Cute, you thought to yourself, something warm and hazy wrapping around your heart. You dug your hand into your pocket, slipping out your phone. Very, very cute.

A few minutes later, a notification lit up Sapnap’s phone. Swiping his finger across the screen, he found himself stating at a message from an unknown number. His eyes darted over the words on his screen, widening. A yell suddenly flew from his lips, and George yelped as he nearly poured some espresso on his hand.

“Sapnap,” he hissed, whipping around with a glare, slamming the cup down on the counter, “what the he—”

He fell silent as he saw the wide grin stretched across Sapnap’s face, his eyes practically glowing with joy. Before he could even ask, Sapnap shoved the phone in his face, six words printed across the screen in black text.

i like you a latte, too :)

[wormstacheangel]

reminder I am watching The Nanny and I can't help but write scenes as destiel. So here is my second one. I think this one is a bit more sitcom, especially towards the end :) This is for episode 1x11.

wc: 1.7k

The kids have been having a hard time with the one night they don’t have Dean to tuck them in. Whatever Cas did, the kids would correct him and tell him Dean did it this way or did it that way. He simply couldn’t get it right. Even Claire was missing Dean, showing her fear of losing the one person who finally got her to be less angry at the world.

After finally getting the kids to bed, Cas walks into the kitchen to find Balthazar lounging around in his robe with a drink in one hand and scrolling through movie reviews with the other. Cas stands over his shoulder, trying to read it, but his eyes gaze over, not caring enough but still, he sighs.

“Would you like a drink, sir?” Balthazar sounded exasperated with him already, even if he has only been in the room for less than a minute.

“Please.” Cas fetches a cup and holds it out for Balthazar to pour some whiskey into it. He has been feeling restless all night but can’t pinpoint the reason why. “You know, Mr. Winchester would have loved talking about horrible movies with you.”

“Yes. I know.”

“I wonder how he is.”

“I’m sure he is enjoying his date, sir.” Balthazar takes a sip of his drink as he keeps his eyes on the screen in front of him.

Cas walks over to stand by the kitchen island. He already undid his tie, undid his top four buttons, and he can’t imagine how his hair looked after pacing the living room for a good 20 minutes.

He swirled his drink before downing the whole thing in one gulp.

“Or he can be having a miserable time, sir. The man was a mortician, after all. I don’t think that would fit Mr. Winchester’s happy-go-lucky attitude very well.”

Cas perks up at that, feeling his chest warm-up — probably because of the drink actually— as he stands up straighter with a hopeful grin. “You think so?”

“Have I ever wronged you, sir?”

“You’re right, Balthazar! He would never like that-that depressing man.” Cas smile grows. “Cause you know, the kids, they would miss him very much if he left.”

Balthazar shuts his laptop as he rolls his eyes, “For god’s sake, sir! It’s only the first-!” He looks at Cas’s stunned expression before slowly falling back in his chair, a cheeky smile on his face. “I mean, with all due respect, sir.”

“Yes.” Cas sighs, ignoring the outburst. “I think you’re right. I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”

“Maybe a tad bit, sir.”

A chuckle came out of his mouth as Cas opens the trash can and plucks out the bag to throw it outside. He walks towards the back door as he says, “I didn’t see anything between them anyways. I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

Cas pulls the back door open only to find Dean and his date making out. Leaving Cas standing there stunned and fumbling, not knowing if he should break them apart or close the door.

“I don’t see anything between them either, sir.” Balthazar joked as they both watched Dean press closer to his date. Unaware of their audience. Balthazar was the one to finally close the door, taking the bag of trash away from Cas, as he leads him towards the stairs. “I believe it’s time for you to go to bed, Mr. Novak.”

“Yes. Yes. You’re probably right.” Cas shook his head, hoping to erase that image away like an etch a sketch, but he still saw Dean’s mouth being sucked on. “Goodnight.”

“Night, sir.”

(More Under The Cut)

In the morning, Cas somehow convinced himself—Balthazar was only half-listening to his words anyways— to talk to Dean about the rules of the house. It had to be done. He didn’t want Dean to bring home strange people to his home, where his children lived. He didn’t want to see—or better yet— he didn’t want his kids to see Dean bring people into his room.

What kind of example will that present to them? Not a very good one.

He knocks at the door and quickly gets an answer to come in; Dean never hesitates to have any of the kids in his room. Cas would usually find them all curled up in Dean’s bed watching cartoons on a Sunday morning.

“Good morning, Mr. Winchester.” Cas poked his head into the room first, and that enough stopped him short. Dean looked like he was getting ready to go out.

Dean is dressed in a comfortable-looking robe, no shirt, and he’s assuming no pants by the fact that he can see a peek of his thighs from the slit in the front.

“Morning, Mr. Novak. What can I do for you?” Dean turned back to the mirror, a small smile stretched across his lips as he continued to fix his hair.

“I just wanted to talk about your um—You know we have rules in this house, and I just wanted to make sure you know them.”

“Oh, I think you have me confused with Claire. She’s two doors down.” Dean teased.

“No. No, this is about your date. About you having dates. And-And having…dates.” Cas sighed the last word, unable to get the word he wants out without his whole body warming up. “Anyways,” He cleared his throat. “The rules of the house with me-”

“Oh, with you? Gosh, maybe I should have read the fine print better.” Dean teased, winking at him through his reflection as he ran his hands through his growing hair.

“No. Not like that!”

“Let me get this straight.” Dean turns to face Cas before practically strutting over to Cas, half-dressed in a semi-open robe. Cas eyes struggle not to travel on the man before him. “We are talking about having sex in my room.”

“Well, not-not us. Not we.” Cas nervous gestures between them, noticing his hand hit Dean’s bare chest in the process because they were standing so damn close.

“We already covered that.” Dean winks at him again, making Cas’s heart race. “Don’t worry, Mr. Novak, I won’t do anything to show a bad example for the children.”

“Good.” Cas stuffs his hands in his pockets as he rocks on his heels. “Yes. Good. Okay!”

“Okay.” Dean turns back to the mirror.

“Where are you going anyways?” That sounded way too demanding. “If I may ask?”

“Well, if you must know. I got another date. We’re meeting for lunch.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. Well, I gotta eat.”

“Of course. Well, have fun, Mr. Winchester.”

“Thank you, Mr. Novak. Nice chat.”

Cas makes his way out of the room, bumping on furniture as he went.

Cas walks into the kitchen that same afternoon to find Dean sitting on the kitchen counter, shoveling ice cream into his mouth. Cas quickly rushes over to take the spoon away from him.

“Mr. Winchester! You are lactose intolerant!”

“Well, I deserve a little bit of ice cream after the crap day I had, and the coconut milk one you got me is still frozen solid!”

“Oh,” Cas puts the ice cream away before walking back to him. “Date didn’t go so well this time? Was it the whole creepy mortician life?”

“No,” Dean sighs, watching as Cas runs the Dean-friendly fudge brownie ice cream under some hot water. “Weirdly enough, I was getting used to the idea.”

“Then, what was wrong with him?” Cas hands Dean a spoon, and they both dig into the still hard ice cream, but they can still scape a few bits off. Cas tried not to follow the way Dean’s tongue pokes out and licks at the spoon.

“He was a clown.” Dean sighs, spinning the spoon in his hand before aggressively digging at the pint of ice cream.

“In what way?”

“In a clown way.”

“What-?”

“Red nose! Big shoes! You want me to google it for you?” Cas looks stunned by the outburst. But it clicks; he means an actual fucken clown. He tried not to laugh as Dean let out a defeated sigh. “Sorry. I just thought…I just thought I finally found someone. You know? I’m 30. I should have found someone already.”

“I’m sorry, Dean. But I’m sure you will. You’ll find someone special who won’t honk their nose at you.” Cas bops Dean’s nose, it’s awkward, but Dean still chuckles when he pushes Cas’s hand away.

The atmosphere around them was warm and comforting, something he wishes to drown in. But in a respectable boss-and-employee-who-lives-with-him kind of way. The smile they share fades a little as they look away, and then Dean jumps off the counter with a yawn.

“I’m gonna head to bed now. Goodnight, Mr. Novak.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Winchester.”

And just like that, they are back to professionals.

The following day, Dean is in the room talking to Sam about his dating life.

“You just think the perfect person is gonna knock at your door yelling out ‘there you are! I found you!’”

“Oh, there you are.” Cas walks in, neither Sam nor Dean notices the coincidence, holding out two different ties. “What tie should I wear? Blue or yellow?”

“Blue. Goes great with your eyes.” Dean turns around to tie the tie nicely around Cas’s neck. Sam gave them no attention as it was an action that happens regularly.

When he was done, he fixes Cas’s collar and pats his shoulder before telling him he looks good.

“Thank you, Mr. Winchester.”

Cas walks out of the room while Dean continues to get ready as he talks. “I just want a person who actually respects and values my opinions, not just my pretty face.”

“Ah, sorry to bother you again, Mr. Winchester,” Cas walks back in. “but I do value your opinion. Should I wear the gold cufflinks or the silver?”

“Gold is a classic. But make sure it’s those nice ones Claire picked out for you. She’ll love to see them.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you! That would be great.” Cas walks out of the room with a grateful smile.

Sam is still flipping through Dean’s magazine collection as he sighs, “Yeah, Dean, that’s never going to happen. You should have just dated the damn clown,”

“And what? Never see you again cause you’ll be scared my boyfriend is in full makeup? No, thank you. Now let’s go before we’re late to the damn game.”

[boldlyanxious]

Love in the Time of Taco Trucks

Jasonette July SC 2: fluff

Part of bittersweet ever after

My masterlist

Marinette had been stuck on a series of buses all evening and she was exhausted. Her work day was long and the subway was backed up. The bus should have gotten her back over an hour ago, but she was not the only person who switched to the bus after waiting too long at the subway platform. She was hungry and tired and didn’t want to have to cook when she got home. Luckily she had spied the taco truck down the block so she had a plan for that.

She smiled as she approached Grant, the taco truck guy. She had been there a few times when her tips were good, so she was familiar with him. He was so proud of having called his taco truck Tuesday so it could always be taco Tuesday. He told her that joke every time. She rushed down the block and waved at him when it seemed like he was cleaning up for the evening.

“Please serve me before you close, Grant. I’m desperate,” she begged.

“Long day?” she nodded at him. “I have just enough for one order.”

He looked to his left and made a sad face at her. Marinette looked over. There was a man with a mask approaching.

“Sorry Marinette, I can’t serve you tonight.”

She didn’t even get a chance to protest because Grant had turned and greeted the masked man.

“Good evening, Red Hood.”

“How is it going Grant? Is it too late for tacos?”

“It is never too late for you. I’ll have them right out.”

“Seriously?? This day sucks.”

Marinette felt silly at the rage that filled her but she couldn’t help it. Her whole day was filled with people expecting special treatment and then her commute home was so long and full of more people who had no concern for the inconvenience they caused others. She had been so happy at the simple solution only to be denied when someone else showed up to get special treatment.

She barely felt the first couple drops of rain when she stepped away from the taco truck. But before she was even halfway down the block the water was pouring down on her. She ran for the nearest awning to get out of the deluge. She dug through her bag but she must have left her umbrella at work. She heard footsteps splashing the wet ground behind her and then stopped. She turned when the man’s voice spoke.

“Hey, Marinette?”

She hadn’t expected him to know her name. She wondered what Grant had told him about her. She was trying to place who he was. She didn’t know all the costumed alter egos in Gotham and always felt awkward when others talked about them. Most Gothamites already knew most of them and assumed others would as well. She supposed it was the same way with how it had been in Paris when Hawkmoth had been active.

“Yes?” she said hesitantly.

“Grant said you had been ordering food but he only had enough for one. I had him make it into nachos to spread out the ingredients so that way there would be enough for both or us.”

He handed her a box. She looked up at him when she accepted it.

“Um, thanks. I was really disappointed.”

“Probably how I felt watching you walk away.”

“What??” Marinette looked up at him quickly.

“Can I walk you home? I have an umbrella.”

Marinette nodded. It may not have been the best idea. She found that out more the next day when she mentioned that she had met the Red Hood. Her coworkers wanted to know how she had gotten away and if Batman had come to rescue her. She chose not to give any additional details. He had seemed very sweet walking her home. They had started off in silence but he asked a few questions and worked out that she had a really rough day. He listened to her and wished her a good evening before he left.

---

She was starting to think that Red Hood was planning their meetings. Grant refused to confirm, but it was the third week in a row that he had just happened to show up when she was walking past the taco truck. Each time he insisted on getting her tacos because he had made her think that she would have to go without on a day she really needed them. The first time could have been a chance. The second time it could have been his routine. The third time was definitely suspicious. But now, she looked down the street and Grant was already closed.

It was a shame. Red Hood had surprised her with tacos three weeks in a row and now she was craving them today. Oh well, she had food at home she could make. Somehow tacos always sounded better. Even if they weren’t free courtesy of the notorious crime lord Red Hood.

She was a little surprised when Grant called to her from behind the taco truck. She had thought he was closed up and gone already. She was really surprised when she rounded the corner and saw the set up. There was a blanket laid out and lights strung around. The area was hidden enough that someone would have to look around the truck to see them. That was probably best for a crime lord who may not like to stay out in the open. He was sitting there at ease, waiting for her, with probably enough tacos to feed an army. Marinette couldn’t help the smile at seeing it all.

“What is all this?”

“Tacos.” he said with a laugh.

“Okay, smart guy. Why did you get an entire taco truck worth of tacos today?”

“Sit with me.”

Marinette tucked her legs under herself and sat in front of him on the blanket. He handed her a plate with tacos and picked up one himself. Neither spoke for a few minutes. Marinette followed his lead and started eating. He stopped eating and watched her for a moment.

“I like you,” he said simply.

She almost choked on her taco. She suspected as much since he kept showing up. She didn’t think he was just interested in her thoughts on how to improve fashion to be useful to workers or how to improve the look or the various heroes and villains in the city. But he stated it so clearly and easily that it somehow made it more difficult to take in.

“Oh-uh-aahh. I like you too.”

“Really? You don’t sound so sure.”

“You just came right out and said it. Who does that?”

“Well, I do.” he paused. “So I guess Jason does.”

“Jason?”

“Yes. Jason. Me.”

“You told me your name. Isn’t that like vigilante 101? Keep your identity secret.”

“Probably. But I don’t want to be a secret from you. I want to know you.”

---

It was much easier for Marinette to date Jason than it would have been to date Red Hood. He had managed to keep his identity and personal life away from his home life because of the mask. Even those who knew who he was by given name had no idea where he lived or that he was dating a waitress. Grant knew but he was very loyal to Red Hood. They may have met through the protection racket, but Red Hood had proved he was worth it when the Black Mask had come knocking. Literally.

They had come on a night Grant’s daughter was running the truck for him. She usually only helped out on busy nights and wouldn’t be alone but Grant had been sick and she set up for him. They must have decided that she was easy to convince and went after her when she was there alone. But she refused to pay so they trashed the truck and knocked her around a bit as a means of convincing her. Red Hood had heard the shouts and crashes and saw her land on the ground after being shoved into the door. She had turned the handle to help her escape the onslaught but she broke her leg in the fall. Her lip was already split from being slapped.

Red Hood did not even need to ask what had happened. He saw Black Mask’s goons exit after her and walk up to her menacingly. He waited until they were fully out and focused on tormenting the girl before he attacked them. He never found out if they survived the beat down he gave them. He didn’t even care. He stayed with Kara until her parents were able to come and get her help. Red Hood visited Grant a couple days later. He assured him that his truck would be in business again and covered all the expenses not covered by the business insurance. Property and injury. Grant never complained about the protection money and Jason never paid for another taco.

It was their first time visiting the taco truck together after officially starting dating. Grant didn’t say anything about the boyfriend Marinette showed up with who had the same build as Red Hood. He served them with a smile, not even a wink when he told them their meals were on the house.

He had even taken Marinette’s favorite picture of them. Jason was teasing Marinette as he snatched her last taco. He was putting it up to his mouth but rather than trying to fight with him over it, she lunged at him and bit the other side. The picture was snapped right as they both were appearing to eat the taco. She cheered in triumph for besting him. He laughed and put her taco down before he leaned in and kissed her for the first time.

---

Jason grasped Marinette by the shoulders and kept her upright. He ended up having to leave her for a few minutes to handle something that couldn’t wait. He was incredibly frustrated at the interruption but she just took the bumps in their relationships as they came. It was one of the things he loved about her. She never shamed him when his work interfered with their relationship. She knew he worked hard to make sure that his work wouldn’t interfere but that their decision to keep her hidden from everything in his criminal life would sometimes take precedence over their plans.

She had been perfectly happy to sit and wait. But she had wanted to wait for him to order food. She had a bit of bread with her drink. Jason had left the instruction to keep her happy while he was out back on the call. He found out when he returned that they might have kept her too happy. Her drink was full when he returned but based on the check she had drunk several of the drinks in the time he was away.

She was drunk. She was teetering on the line between tipsy and happy drunk. He liked her like this. Happy and affectionate. He almost decided to just carry her back home but she squealed with delight when she saw the taco truck. She hadn’t had more than a couple pieces of bread and plenty of drinks. He looked over and Grant was waving at them.

Jason smiled down at her while he let Grant fix them the usual. Marinette turned and kissed him while they waited. She usually didn’t like to be overly affectionate in public but when her inhibitions were lower she cared far less about them being noticed. He could see that Grant was trying not to laugh at him as he tried to keep her from doing more than he knew she preferred before they got home. It was much easier once the food was ready. She clapped in excitement to get her tacos. She probably enjoyed the food more than the fancy dinner he had planned.

He watched her sit to eat, not even wanting to wait until they made it home. She looked back up at him and smiled then looked devastated as her taco dumped out onto her tray. He got up to retrieve her a fork. He didn’t think she would even hear his wistful comment in her current state.

“You silly beautiful woman.” He kissed her on the head before he sat back down. “I was supposed to be asking you to marry me right now.”

He was looking at the small box from the fancy restaurant. He just took it with him, planning to remove the ring and come up with a new proposal plan. He glanced back at her. She was looking at him, frozen. It took him a moment to figure out what had made her react like that. Her eyesb were wide but somehow got even wider when he opened the box. A gleaming diamond ring was displayed in the fancy slice of cake.

“You want to marry me?”

“I have never wanted anything more.” he said seriously.

Marinette didn’t even answer. She lunged at him and hugged him. He tried to stop everything from falling but her tray of tacos and the slice of cake hit the ground. He had to hold himself steady to keep her from knocking him to the ground with the force of her enthusiasm. He pushed her hair back from her face and leaned down to kiss her deeply.

“Marry me?” he asked when he pulled away.

“Always.” she said as she leaned to kids him again.

---

It was a small ceremony. Jason had family but he didn't talk to them and Marinette’s situation was even more complicated. They kept the engagement short and invited only a few people. Jason’s idea was to do it behind the taco truck since it seemed to always make an appearance in their lives. But Marinette wanted some place prettier. She found a park with an old stone stair path that came out of the trees and into a clearing. It wasn’t by the seating area in the park but with a few flowers and battery powered fairy lights it turned out perfect.

They did it at dusk when the city was quiet. Darkness had just settled. Jason almost fell over when he saw Marinette walk towards him. She hadn’t let him see anything of the dress ahead of time but he knew she had spend countless hours working on it. A pale gold dress with thousands of tiny rose gold beads sewn on and tiny fairy lights attached to the dress. Her hair was swept up with glittering jewels and curls cascading down her back.

He was the luckiest man alive. Not even because he was alive for the second time. He had her and he was better for it. He couldn’t even bring himself to think of the 'what if they had never met' or he had never followed after her that first night. He wouldn’t have anything in his life if she weren’t smiling at him like she was right now.

Having the taco truck cater for the small wedding was the first decision made after they found the ring in the cake and dirt. Grant had come out to congratulate them and Marinette had happily declared that they had to have tacos at the wedding. It seemed fitting since Grant had been at all the big moments from the beginning of their relationship. He felt like family.

---

Marinette ventured into their living room to see that Jason had already set out coffee and was bringing a tray that presumably had breakfast if the smell was anything to go on. She sat at the breakfast bar and poured coffee into the two mugs he had set out. She paused with the cream halfway tipped toward the coffee when she spotted a familiar logo on a take out box.

“What’s this?” she asked, pointing at the offending box. “Did you get tacos without me?”

He pushed the box towards her with a grin.

“Open it,” he said.

She looked at him skeptically but opened it like he suggested. There were a couple bits of food in the empty box but not the tacos she was hoping he would surprise her with.

“Gee, thanks.” she said, before pushing it into the trash.

The grin melted off his face and he frantically went for the box in the trash. He pulled it out and opened it before flipping it over and checking the bottom. He stuck his finger through a small hole and wiggled it. He dug back into the trash briefly before dropping the box in the can and tearing frantically around the apartment. Marinette was worried at the unexplained reaction as he crawled along the floor and flipped over cushions. She abandoned the coffees on the counter to follow him when he moved towards the bedroom.

“Jay, what’s wrong? I’m not mad about the tacos. I know you were out late and I was already asleep.”

“It was your gift.”

“You got me tacos and they escaped into the apartment?”

“No, I got you a hamster and it escaped in the apartment.”

“A hamster?”

“I know we said anniversary gifts weren’t necessary and that we both prefer spontaneous gifts but it was. I saw it in the window on the way home last night and remembered that you had always wanted a hamster.”

“Maybe the taco box wasn’t the best place for it overnight.”

“I’m not that ridiculous. I put it in the box just a few minutes ago when I heard you waking up.”

He opened the closet and pulled down a box from the high shelf. It was full of all the things they could think to need with a hamster. The hamster case was set up and looked to have a little snuggly area where it had spent the night. The only thing missing was the hamster. They looked all over. It was an exhausting day and they ended up missing their dinner reservation for their 2 year anniversary. They ended up sprawled on the couch snuggling at the end of the day with no sign of the hamster.

Taglist

@jasonette-july-event | @theymakeupfairies | @emjrabbitwolf | @vixen-uchiha | @trythisagainlove | @trippingovermyfeet | @tbehartoo | @adrestar | @zynna | @laurcad123 | @woe-is-me0

[xiaomoxu]

Victor’s Mind Quest: Preference

SPOILER ALERT!!

A date from CN server which hasn’t been released on EN server yet. Might contains some spoiler.

This date is so LONG, so be prepared! XD

🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷 

🍷

The car stopped in front of the familiar white villa, Li Zeyan and I picked up gifts from the trunk and rang the doorbell.

The door was quickly opened, and Li Zeyan's aunt poked her head first.

Aunt: Oops, you guys are finally here!

Li Zeyan: Aunt.

MC: Hello, aunt! I'm bothering again.

Aunt: Don't mind it, come in quickly.

Walking into the living room, a faint fragrance of tea wafted, and news was broadcasted quietly on the TV, everything was exactly the same as in memory.

Aunt: Brother, Zeyan and MC are here!

MC: Happy New Year, Uncle!

Father Li put down the teapot, smiled and nodded at us.

On the eve of the Spring Festival, aunt called and invited Li Zeyan and me to go to the neighboring province for the New Year.

The last time I accidentally celebrated the Chinese New Year at Father Li's house is still vivid. Thinking of this warm memory, this time I carefully selected gifts before setting off.

We exchanged greetings for a while, and while the aunt was going to fill the teapot with water, Father Li got up and called Li Zeyan.

Father Li: Zeyan, help me move something to the balcony.

Li Zeyan: Alright.

Li Zeyan responded and looked at me again. Before he could say anything, aunt took my hand.

Aunt: Go ahead, I will chat with her.

Aunt leaned over to see them walking away, and smiled.

Aunt: Let me take a closer look, I feel that the complexion is much better than last time, have you adjusted it yourself?

MC: Thank you auntie, It’s probably because I ate better recently.

Seeing aunt looking at me with some doubts, I smile embarrassedly.

MC: Li Zeyan cooking is delicious, I eat very well every time...

As soon as I finished speaking, aunt patted the back of my hand and laughed.

Aunt: Don't be polite with him, just let him do more if you like it!

Aunt: So it seems that Zeyan doesn't bully you anymore?

MC: Thanks to him, he used to bully me and now I am not afraid of anything.

Aunt: This child has been like that since he was a child, but if he gets used to it, he is quite cute.

MC: Well, although occasionally the tone is not very good, he never really disliked me.

MC: In fact, most of the time, he took the trouble to help me. The big things and small things in life, he always worry about me.

MC: I always feel at ease with him by my side.

The air was quiet for a few seconds. I subconsciously raised my head to look at aunt and found that she was looking at me with surprise.

I reacted with hindsight, and the temperature on my face immediately rose.

MC: Sorry auntie, did I talking to much?

She was about to say something when there were footsteps behind her. I looked back and met Li Zeyan's gaze.

Li Zeyan: It seems that I interrupted you.

Aunt: No, we're just talking.

Aunt: Brother, don't bothering Zeyan, and let them young people talk.

Aunt winked at me, got up and pushed Father Li away. Li Zeyan walks towards the kitchen naturally, and I stand up

Li Zeyan: Then I will go prepare dinner first.

MC: I'll help!

When we got to the kitchen, Li Zeyan handed me a vegetable.

Li Zeyan: Have a good chat with aunt just now?

MC: Well, I talked about some topics about you.

Li Zeyan: Someone is always flaring his teeth and claws, but now she is talking good things.

My hand washing vegetables shook, and I looked up at him with some guilty feeling.

MC: Did you hear it all?

Li Zeyan: Just a little.

MC: How does it feel to hear such sincere praise?

Li Zeyan: It is indeed an evaluation that only you can give.

Li Zeyan: But most of them are facts, not compliments.

I looked at the faint smile in his eyes, and curled his lips unconvinced.

MC: It seems that I have said too much good things, and you are used to it.

MC: Before, you would be surprised and ask me if I was sincere.

Li Zeyan: Someone’s thoughts are written on her face, of course I can tell.

He glanced at me pointedly, not to mention I know how hot my face is now. But Li Zeyan didn't seem to respond to my words, and he still looked calm.

Perhaps it is because he can always understand my thoughts, even if I occasionally prepare surprises, almost all of them are in his expectation.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that I haven't seen Li Zeyan who would be shy because of me for a long time.

I snorted and shook off the drops of water on the leaves.

Is too unfair if I am the only one who blushes because of him.

A new year and a new start, I must find a way to see the other side of Li Zeyan!

🍷 - At the Balcony before

Father Li: Just put it here.

Father Li: Thank you, Ze Yan.

Li Zeyan: It's okay, your knees aren't in a good condition for moving such a heavy thing.

Li Zeyan: Just call me from now on.

Father Li: This pendant on your key.... is very unique.

Li Zeyan: ....

Father Li: Is it from MC?

Li Zeyan: Yes.

Li Zeyan: She always likes these strange little things.

Father Li: Wouldn't it be nice for her to give you something she like?

Father Li: Actually, I'm calling you over is just to spend the time together.

Father Li: Just now I saw that she had carefully prepared so many souvenirs, must be hard.

Li Zeyan: Since aunt called, she has started choosing gifts, and she feels more caring than her work.

Father Li: Why, you're jealous?

Li Zeyan: Dad.

Father Li: Okay, I won't say anything.

Father Li: Anyway, you must know these things better than us.

Father Li: By the way, didn’t you say that there was a problem with the plumbing at the suburbs house? My contact has repaired it.

Father Li: The house has been vacant for a long time. I will have someone clean it up by the way. You can check it again when you go back.

Li Zeyan, Alright, would like to stay there for a few days?

Father Li: It's more convenient for me to stay here when I can't go away year after year.

Father Li: You take MC, there is good sunshine, quiet, and more comfortable than in the city.

Li Zeyan: Alright.

Father Li: Don't always talk about works.

Li Zeyan: .... I got it.

🍷

After a while, aunt walked in and put the wine and decanter on the bar.

Seeing Li Zeyan was busy cutting vegetables, I took the initiative to take the wine bottle and preparing it.

Aunt watched my movements and leaned into my ear and whispered.

Aunt: You little girl are very skilled!

MC: Learned from Li Zeyan.

Aunt: Do you like to drink?

I subconsciously looked back at Li Zeyan, he didn't seem to pay attention to our conversation.

MC: Actually my drinking capability is not very good. Aunt: It's okay. Let's drink later. Don't be too restrictive during the holidays. MC: But.... Aunt: Don't be afraid of him, this time aunt will covers you.

Aunt patted me, and quickly left the kitchen, leaving only the tiny grunt of soup bubbling in my ears.

I looked at Li Zeyan across the bar and deliberately brought up the topic just now.

MC: Aunt said that we can drink together today.

Li Zeyan: Okay.

MC: I promise to drink only a little bit, it will not be ashamed.

Li Zeyan: Didn't my aunt say to cover you? No need to report to me.

MC: ....

Nothing can escape his ears!

I secretly slandered, and I saw Li Zeyan picking up a few rock candy from a glass jar and adding it to the pot.

There were just a few wine glasses on hand, and I rolled my eyes, ready to try to take this opportunity to win a round.

I picked up a wine glass, poured out a little bit of wine in the decanter, and handed it to Li Zeyan.

MC: Would you like to taste it?

Li Zeyan: You only stay sober for less than five minutes.

MC: Is Mr. Li still can't stand sour alcohol?

Li Zeyan looked at my provocative expression, took the wine glass and shook it.

Li Zeyan: Why? are you afraid that you will be laughed at when you get drunk, and want to get me drunk first?

MC: It's just a little, you will not get drunk.

Li Zeyan looked at me for a while, and drank the wine in the glass.

Seeing him frowning slightly, I took one out of the rock candy can he had just opened, bit it between teeth, stepped on the foot, and put it to his lips.

Li Zeyan: !

Li Zeyan was stunned for a moment. I raised my hand and pushed away his hand holding the cup, and then moved closer to him.

The padded ankles began to sore, but the person in front did not bend over to cooperate with me.

I struggled to maintain the balance under my feet and winked at him threateningly.

Li Zeyan raised his eyebrows and finally bowed his head and approached me.

I raised my head to meet him, but accidentally hit the corner of his lips that wanted to bite the rock candy in desperation, but only a little sugar residue was left between the teeth.

The rock candy fell from among us and fell to the ground with a "pop".

MC: ....

Li Zeyan: .....

We looked at each other for a few seconds, I deliberately ignored the almost burning cheeks, and took a step back with pretending to be calm.

Picking up the rock candy on the ground and throwing it into the trash can, I turned back to the sink, turned my back to Li Zeyan, and ripped up the cabbage wholeheartedly.

Li Zeyan: MC.

Without waiting for Li Zeyan to say anything, I immediately raised my hand behind me to stop him.

MC: You let me calm down, I now-

Before I finished my words, my wrist was suddenly pulled, and a tremendous force pulled me back.

I opened my eyes wide and looked at his face so close to mine.

The warm lips contained my exclaim, and his breath instantly covered me.

My brain went blank, subconsciously trying to push him away

Li Zeyan held me tightly, with one hand behind my waist, making me unable to move for a while.

Li Zeyan: The wine is not good, the sugar is not eaten, you want to run like this?

MC: Wait, uncle and aunt are still in the living room!

Li Zeyan: I thought you remembered this when you bite that rock candy just now.

He almost said this sentence against my lower lip, and then the warmth continued to cover it.

The faint fragrance of the red wine entered my breath, and all the sound in my ears disappeared, leaving only the rumbling heartbeat.

The world seemed to no longer flow, as if no one would know what was happening in this quiet corner.

The little sweetness of rock candy left on the lips and on the tip of the tongue was repeatedly plundered, reminding me of the meaning of this sudden kiss.

His movements are slow and gentle, but I taste a hint of greed.

Until the tip of the tongue starts to tingle slightly, the cool air re-entered between us.

Li Zeyan rubbed my cheek with his palm and suddenly smiled slightly.

Li Zeyan: It seems that your drinking capacity is same as your IQ.

Li Zeyan: Why did you blush after a bite?

The sly tone in my ear made my sanity quickly returned, and I took a step back hastily.

MC: This is not the same thing at all!

MC: ...You, you are a foul!

Li Zeyan: The wicked complain first.

Li Zeyan: Not remember what you have done all of sudden?

MC: Iㅡ

Before I had time to speak out, the sound of my surroundings suddenly reappeared in my ears.

But Li Zeyan still held me in his spare time, waiting for me to finish speaking.

Faced with his visibly shifting gaze, I panted for a long time, and finally didn't say a word.

The awkward confrontation was broken by the sound of footsteps outside the door, and the aunt's voice rang.

Aunt: MC, come and rest for a while!

MC: O... Okay!

I was shocked, and immediately got out of Li Zeyan's arm.

Obviously it was a temporary intention, but I was the only one who was embarrassed, and he was still at ease.

I was a little upset in my heart and beat myself up again for this "overweight" behavior.

Feed rock candy, the plan failed.

🍷

When aunt Wang walked into the kitchen, Li Zeyan was seriously handling the shrimp thread.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, he looked back and said hello to Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang: I heard MC is coming, so I came to help.

Li Zeyan: Thank you. For your hard work this year, and stay here to help during the New Year.

Aunt Wang: Why are you polite? Anyway, I am alone, and it's very lively to stay with your family.

Aunt Wang: And you're good at it, I just give a little help.

Li Zeyan: You flatter me.

Li Zeyan: What I prepare are the dishes that this family loves, and they liked it.

Li Zeyan: Besides, I don't have many chances to come back. I should cook a meal.

Aunt Wang motioned to him in the direction of the living room and whispered

Aunt Wang: I heard that you will come together this time. Your father and your aunt are happier than ever.

Aunt Wang: Your dad also bought a new pot of flowers and put them in the living room.

Li Zeyan: Maybe he wants to grow flowers.

Aunt Wang: But I heard people say that growing flowers at home is helpful for fondness.

Li Zeyan smiled and did not answer Aunt Wang's words.

Aunt Wang: You don't believe it? Look, isn't that good luck is coming?

Aunt Wang said with a smile and pointed at the corner of Li Zeyan's mouth.

Li Zeyan was stunned for a moment and wipe it with back of his hand, and a faint red trace was on the back of his hand.

ㅡIt's a lipstick that has not been wiped off.

Recalling what happened in the kitchen just now, Li Zeyan coughed slightly unnaturally.

Li Zeyan: Aunt Wang, don't tell my dad.

Aunt Wang: Oh it's normal for young people.

Aunt Wang smiled and suddenly lowered her voice.

Aunt Wang: By the way, Zeyan, have you ever cooked for little miss?

Li Zeyan: Have.

Li Zeyan: She is usually busy with work and her own cooking skills are not good, so she takes every chance to come to me.

Aunt Wang: She must like it very much, right?

Li Zeyan smiled lightly.

Li Zeyan: She is not picky eaters, she says everything is delicious.

Li Zeyan: When she's hungry, she may still complain about this and that, and forget everything when she's full.

Li Zeyan: It’s so easy to be satisfied...

The soup on the stove boiled, and the sound of bubbles bursting, interrupting Li Zeyan's unfinished words, and suddenly realizing something.

He turned his head subconsciously and saw Aunt Wang looking at him with a smile.

Li Zeyan: Aunt Wang, Iㅡ

Aunt Wang: It is fine, don't be embarrassed!

Aunt Wang: You are very attentive in everything you do, and she will definitely feel it. That's why you feel satisfied.

Aunt Wang: I don't understand any principle, but I think it is very happy to make food for the people that you care about.

Aunt Wang: If she happens to like to eat too, it is double happiness, dont you agree?

Li Zeyan retracted his gaze and nodded.

Li Zeyan: Well, you're right.

He didn't say anything, and took care of the last shrimp, and then suddenly smiled to himself.

He turned his head and looked in the direction of the living room. A ceramic flowerpot was placed facing the sun, and several small flowers bloomed on the tender green stems and leaves.

Many people hope that important things can have good thoughts. But he knew that even without this thought, he would hold her hand well.

Li Zeyan: Aunt Wang, what flower did my dad buy?

Aunt Wang: It's an orchid, what's wrong?

Li Zeyan: It's nothing.

Li Zeyan: He can keep it if he likes it.

🍷

After dinner, we played mahjong as usual.

After a few rounds, the elders seemed a little sleepy and got up, left the table one after another.

Before going upstairs, Father Li turned around and exhorted a few more words.

Father Li: MC, the guest room has been cleaned up. If you are sleepy, just go there.

MC: Yes, thank you uncle!

Worried about disturbing them, Li Zeyan and I go upstairs to rest as well.

When I came back from washing, I passed by Li Zeyan's room, and a faint light leaked from the open door. He seemed not to sleep yet.

I knocked on the door lightly, opened the door and took a look.

Li Zeyan was sitting on the sofa looking at the tablet computer. He seemed to be passing the time. When he saw me, he got up and put down the tablet.

Li Zeyan: Come in.

Li Zeyan: After drinking tonight, is there anything uncomfortable?

MC: No, today's wine is delicious. Sure enough, the sober time you suggest is the most appropriate.

I closed the door and looked back at his room curiously.

The rooms are neatly organized, but there doesn't seem to be much living traces.

On the desks and bookcases are placed many objects unique to the school days, and there is a skipping rope tied up on the storage box on the side.

All this seems inconsistent with Li Zeyan in front of me, but it makes people feel vaguely traceable.

MC: Li Zeyan, did you live here before?

Li Zeyan: I have always lived in Lianyu City.

Li Zeyan: After my dad moved here, he put my things when I was studying here.

MC: In other words, is this one of your "warehouses"?

Li Zeyan: More or less.

I walked to the desk, looked at the neatly arranged books, and carefully touched the decorations on the table.

MC: It turns out that Mr.Li lived a similar life to me when he was studying.

Li Zeyan: Isn't it obvious?

MC: It’s obvious that we all take the same class, how come we grow up so much difference in the future?

I looked up with a bit of resentment, and saw a few thick dictionaries on the upper shelf of the bookcase.

The red-covered dictionary of idioms was on the outermost side. Suddenly, I came to my spirits, cleared my throat pretentiously, and looked back at Li Zeyan.

MC: Li Zeyan, let me test you.

MC: What is the fourth idiom on page 16 of the idiom dictionary?

Li Zeyan: What are you saying?

MC: Because you love to use idioms when speaking, I once thought that you had memorized the dictionary for you.

Li Zeyan: ....

Li Zeyan's heavy sigh was heard. He did not respond to me, and took me to the sofa to sit down.

MC: What's wrong?

Li Zeyan: Sure enough, you're drunk.

MC: I'm not drunk!

Li Zeyan: All drunks say so.

I looked at him unconvinced.

MC: You drank a lot with uncle during dinner. Are you drunk?

Li Zeyan: No.

MC: All drunks say so.

I used his tone to return this sentence to him intact, and Li Zeyan took a silent glance away from me.

Li Zeyan: If I get drunk, who will take care of you?

MC: Could it be... you haven't slept because you're waiting for me?

Li Zeyan: Just realized?

Li Zeyan:I know you won't go back straight to your room, it is better to leave a door open.

There was a hint of warmth in my heart, I smiled and held Li Zeyan hand.

MC: Are you going to let me stay with you?

Li Zeyan: As long as you don't get drunk, it doesn't matter if you want to stay.

MC: I'm not drunk, how can I be drunk!

MC: And this room is full of your past, I really want to get to know it.

He stared at me, and finally squatted down in compromise, holding my hand back.

Li Zeyan: Come on, what else do you want to know?

I raised my head and looked around, and pointed to a medal standing on the desk.

MC: What is this, what award have you won?

Li Zeyan: Award of Model United Nations General Assembly.

MC: Amazing!

MC: I have heard of this kind of society, it is very difficult to join, even win the award.

Li Zeyan: Thinking about it now, they are all naive proposals, but they are a bit helpful for training thinking.

I curled my lips secretly when I spoke to this kind of academic bully, and pointed at another thing.

MC: What is that dark blue notebook?

Li Zeyan: From the school. It should be the work log of the Student Union.

MC: As expected of Mr. Li, I feel that you have been a leader since childhood.

My eyes continued to wander, and suddenly I saw an unexpected object in the corner. A certain memory in my mind was touched, and I opened my eyes in surprise.

I walked to the glove box in the corner, picked up a leaky football from the inside, and proudly held it in front of Li Zeyan

MC: It seems that you really like playing football, and you still keep it.

Li Zeyan: I just liked it when I was young.

MC: But thanks to this football, I can eat your pudding.

Li Zeyan: You just remember the pudding?

MC: Of course not, I still remember many details!

MC: For example, the look of the sand castle that you kicked, the weather that day, and the water cup under the tree in several colors...

I suddenly thought of something. I squeezed the football into Li Zeyan's hands and held his face in both hands.

MC: However, what I remember most clearly was you who were a little nervous and at a loss.

MC: At that time you were not such a serious Mr. Li.

MC: The height almost as tall as your chest now? Your hair seems to be a little curlier than it is now, and your face is a little fatter.

MC: It's the lovely brother Zeyan! (Zéyán gēgē!)

As I spoke, I made a circle on his face and laughed foolishly. Li Zeyan looked at me silently, without responding in a long time.

The temperature under my palm rose a little, and I approached him with some doubts and saw his pupils shrink for a moment.

MC: Li Zeyan, what's wrong with you?

Li Zeyan seemed to have finally reacted from his shock, took a step back hastily, and threw the football back into the glove box.

Li Zeyan: ... I'm fine.

Li Zeyan: It's late, you should go to bed, and we will be back to Lianyu tomorrow.

MC: Can I sleep on your sofa?

Li Zeyan: No, go back to the room to sleep.

MC: You just said that I can stay...

Li Zeyan: I changed my mind.

I watched him avoiding my gaze, and vaguely understood something, so I turned my back to him on purpose.

MC: You are shameless.

MC: Someone doesn’t often say, “If you want to persuade others, you have to give a reasonable reason.

Li Zeyan: ....

MC: But if you feel embarrassed, I can understand.

Li Zeyan: What am I embarrassed about?

Hearing his awkward tone, I secretly curled my mouth and turned to hold him.

MC: In that case, I will treat it as if you promised to accommodate me once.

I heard slightly heavy breathing, as if he was holding back something.

I turned my head and saw the complex and turbulent emotions in his eyes.

Just for a moment, his embrace entrapped this emotion and shackled me on the bed.

Li Zeyan: You want to stay.

MC: Iㅡ

Li Zeyan: You talk a lot today.

As if chattering to me was unbearable, he lowered his head and held my lips like punishment.

The teeth ran across the corners of my lips, I hummed in pain, Li Zeyan loosened me a little, and pointed his finger on my lips.

Li Zeyan: Shh-

Li Zeyan: My dad sleeps lightly, don't wake him up.

I was stunned for a moment, and then realized that a bedroom was not far away, and my face flushed instantly, covering my mouth and complaining softly.

MC: You, why didn't you say it earlier!

Li Zeyan: Now you know.

I stared at Li Zeyan angrily, but this did not sway what he wanted to do.

He broke off my tense hands, put one hand under the back of my neck, raised my head slightly and then pressed it down again.

This time his movements were lightened a bit, and the tip of his tongue brushed my lips, igniting an uncontrollable swipe and then following his deep into more corners.

Lips were sore and numb, the warm mouth was wet with breathing, and the oxygen seemed to become thin.

The slight dizziness made me subconsciously want to seek support and grabbed his shirt indiscriminately with both hands.

The body was shackled, I passively followed him, and gradually fell into it.

The sound of the clock is still heard. He didn't pause time as calmly as during the day, and at this moment, I didn't care about the world around me.

The menacing lingering crumpled each other's clothes, the pendant between my neck also slid to one side onto the bed, making an undetectable muffled noise.

As a reminder, he finally slowly ended this silent but intense kiss, with his bridge nose pressed lightly on my cheek.

Except for the unresolved breathing, there was no sound in the silent night. We looked at each other in silence for a while, and Li Zeyan suddenly looked away and got up.

Seeing that I was still holding his shirt, he paused, took my hand and gently pulled it off the shirt.

MC: Li Zeyan...

Li Zeyan: Go to sleep now.

MC: ..... What?

Li Zeyan: You sleep here, I'll go to the guest room.

Li Zeyan didn't give me time to react. After speaking, he hurriedly left the room without looking back.

I froze for a while, slowly got up from the bed, and looked at the door in a daze.

I opened my palm and recalled the heat when my palm touched his cheek.

Was he.... shy just now?

Was it because of this kiss? But during the day, he was still quite comfortable in the kitchen.

Although I haven't figured out the reason for the time being, I am still secretly proud.

MC: It turns out that you are still shy.

🍷

The morning sun fell on my face through the car window, and I subconsciously raised my arm.

Last night I couldn't sleep but recall the shy Li Zeyan. The more I think about it, the less sleepy I feel. The sleepiness has accumulated to this day, and I have to sleep on the way back.

Is rare seeing Li Zeyan didn't despise me, and just playing soothing music all the way.

I don't know how long it was driving, the car finally stopped. The warm light on the eyelids disappeared for a moment, and the familiar breath approached me.

Li Zeyan: MC, wake up. We're here.

I lifted my heavy eyelids and looked out the window, only to find that the surrounding scenery was not familiar to me.

A small single-family building is located on a quiet roadside, and a fence at the door encloses a small garden with greenery.

If you look closely, there are almost no leaves and weeds in the garden. It seems that it has just been trimmed.

MC: Where is this? Aren't we going home?

Li Zeyan: I live in my house on the outskirts of the city, and my family will live here when they come to Lianyu City occasionally.

Li Zeyan: My dad asked someone to repair the pipeline a year ago, and by the way, he cleaned it and asked me to take you over to rest for a few days.

Li Zeyan opened the door, and I looked at the room in front of me with some surprise.

The decoration is still simple, but the colors are softer than Li Zeyan's home, and there is a sense of warmth everywhere.

The sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows almost without obstruction, warmly wrapping every corner.

Looking out from the window, the greenery covers the field of vision, and a few undefeated roses dotted it, giving me the illusion of being on vacation.

MC: It's so beautiful. Thank you Uncle and Mr. Li for your hard work.

After I finished speaking, I couldn't help but yawn. Li Zeyan pulled my suitcase and took me to the bedroom.

Li Zeyan: You can wait until your eyelids stop fighting.

Li Zeyan: Go to bed first, call me if something happens.

MC: Alright.

I simply packed up and opened the suitcase, but did not find my pajamas.

I thought back to the situation when I packed my luggage in the morning, but at that time, I hardly had any impression.

MC: I slept in Li Zeyan's room last night...Did he accidentally put the wrong luggage?

Thinking about this, I decided to ask him directly.

MC: Li Zeyan, where are you?

Li Zeyan: Here.

His voice came from behind a door not far away. I stepped forward and pushed open the door in front of me. After seeing the scene inside, I was completely stunned.

In front of me is a walk-in cloakroom that is almost only seen in movies. The clothes are neatly stored in a cabinet surrounded on three sides.

Li Zeyan was standing in front of one of the closets, and his profile was illuminated by the light from the spotlight.

He changed into a loose dressing gown, and his belt was casually tied around his waist.

The soft cloth was attached to him, clearly delineating strong lines.

Before he had time to arrange his collar, the collar was wide open, revealing his large tight muscles, which formed a sharp contrast with the dark morning gown.

The heartbeat speeded up uncontrollably, I stopped where I was a little bewildered, but my eyes were surely stuck to him.

Li Zeyan: What's wrong?

Hearing his voice, I regained my senses a bit, swallowed my saliva and then spoke.

MC: Um. I didn't find my pajamas. Maybe I put it in the wrong suitcase.

Li Zeyan: Let me check my suitcase.

Li Zeyan turned and walked out, and I caught a glimpse of a stack of shirts neatly stacked in the closet.

A thought suddenly came to my mind, I subconsciously stopped Li Zeyan.

MC: Wait!

MC: I, I suddenly remembered that I accidentally soiled my pajamas, can I borrow one from President Li?

Li Zeyan: You won’t sleep well wearing them.

Even though he said that, he rummaged in the closet, picked out a white shirt and handed it to me.

Li Zeyan: This one is a little softer, try if it's comfortable enough.

I took the shirt and compared it quietly to myself. I just placed it on my thigh. The light fabric was slightly transparent.

MC: .... Is it a bit too short?

A touch of heat climbed to the tip of my ears, and I looked at the mirror with some hesitation in my heart.

But when I thought about Li Zeyan's shy look last night, I built my courage and planned to try again.

I hugged the shirt in my hand, turned back and walked out, thanking him.

MC: Then I'll try it. Thanks Mr. Li!

Li Zeyan pulled out a pair of summer shorts from the bottom of the closet, and was about to pass it to the girl behind him, only to find that she had hurried away.

He looked at the direction the girl was leaving, and sighed softly.

Li Zeyan: Not even let people to finish talking.

He simply cleaned up the messy clothes, remembering that the girl hadn't eaten breakfast, and then went back to the bedroom door and knocked gently, plan to ask her if she is hungry.

There was no response from the room, and he opened the door somewhat suspicious.

Li Zeyan: MC.

Li Zeyan: ....!

Although a short time has passed, the girl has fallen asleep holding her pillow, and the shirt she borrowed from him just now is loosely wrapped around her.

She did not cover the quilt and forgot to close the curtains. The sunlight spread across her back, faintly reflecting the lines hidden under the shirt.

He stood on the spot awkwardly, holding the doorknob in a dilemma.

She seemed to be not sleeping well, spit out a few small babbles, and buried her face in the pillow again.

Li Zeyan sighed, walked over lightly, closed the curtains, and covered her with the quilt.

Then he reached out and gently pushed her forehead, lowering his voice to remind her.

Li Zeyan: Don't bury your face in the pillow.

MC: Hmm.. Li Zeyan.

Li Zeyan: Yes?

MC: ...lovely...

Li Zeyan: ....

He looked at her smirk in her sleep, the same expression she had when she said the name last night.

Unspeakable emotions came to his mind again, he immediately got up and left the bedroom, leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

Li Zeyan: Dummy.

When I opened my eyes again, the sky was already dark.

I looked at the tightly covered quilt and rubbed my head with some annoyance.

I wanted to change into a shirt and wait for him, but the bed in the bedroom was so comfortable that I fell asleep after lying down for a while.

I sat up and looked up at the long sleeves.

Probably because of his breath enveloping me, I can sleep so peacefully.

Although a little unwilling, I understand that this is how Li Zeyan expresses his feelings.

MC: Li Zeyan, you are a fool.

I couldn't help but murmured, but my heart was warm

Fragile noises came from the kitchen downstairs. I felt my flat stomach, changed my clothes and ran downstairs.

Li Zeyan turned his head when he heard the sound, still with a familiar expression on his face.

Li Zeyan: Finally woke up, I thought you were going to sleep till tomorrow

MC: How could I miss the dinner you cooked?

MC: But speaking of this, I also want to thank Mr. Li for helping me cover the quilt.

Li Zeyan: You're welcome, I just don't want to turn the vacation into taking care a fool who caught a cold.

I curled my lips secretly, but I got close to him and looked at the food in the pot curiously.

Seeing me poking my head aside, Li Zeyan stuffed the spoon into my hand.

Li Zeyan: Come and help if you want to eat early.

The warm yellow light illuminates this corner, Li Zeyan and I are standing side by side beside the flow desk.

Although the pajama plan has also failed, I am still very satisfied to have a vacation where I can see Li Zeyan as soon as I open my eyes.

I temporarily leave those careful thoughts behind and earnestly enjoy the peaceful time with him.

🍷

After dinner together, I began to wander around the house curiously.

Perhaps it is because in the suburbs, the night is extremely quiet, and there is no large light source when looking out from the window.

I was about to go back to find Li Zeyan, when I heard a "pop" in my ear, and the light in front of me went out for an instant.

MC: What happened?

Li Zeyan: MC!

Li Zeyan's voice sounded not far away, and a beam of silver light quickly lit up in the darkness.

Li Zeyan: Stand still, I'm here.

MC: Alright.

I watched the beam approach, stretched out my hand forward, and was quickly held by the warm palm.

Li Zeyan: It must be a power failure. The line has just been repaired and may be a bit unstable.

MC: Fortunately, we came together, otherwise we would be a little scared in such a big house alone.

Li Zeyan: What's so scary?

MC: Because it's so quiet here, it's dark at night

MC: And most of the plots in the movie that went into the room at midnight to commit crimes started from a sudden power failure.

I just wanted to make a joke, but after I finished speaking, I felt a little nervous and subconsciously hugged Li Zeyan's arm.

MC: Well, we should close the doors and windows, right?

Li Zeyan: I checked it while you were asleep.

Li Zeyan: Someone slept recklessly from day to night, but now she thinks of it and worry.

Thinking back to the shameful experience of falling asleep in bed, I smiled embarrassedly.

MC: I was so sleepy at the time... but Mr.Li is so attentive!

Li Zeyan: Enough with your random thoughts, let's go. Let's take a look for the switch.

I followed Li Zeyan to the gate. He used a flashlight to illuminate the switch on the wall, and the master switch pointed to "OFF".

He closed the switch lightly, and the lights in the room turned on again, and I squinted uncomfortably.

Li Zeyan: Alright, don't be afraid now.

MC: Okay.

Li Zeyan: I will check the electrical appliances again.

MC: Okay.

Li Zeyan: How long do you want to hold like this?

I was stunned for a moment, only to realize that I was still holding his arm.

Li Zeyan looked at me with some amusement. I tried to ignore the heat on my face and hugged him tighter.

MC: That's my intention, I want to go with you.

Li Zeyan: Why, stick to others without drinking today?

MC: It has nothing to do with drinking!

MC: Just in case the power goes off again, I can also help you with the flashlight.

I just made up excuses, Li Zeyan glanced at me, but put the flashlight in my hand.

Li Zeyan: This excuse is stupid, try another one next time.

MC: But you still accepted it.

Li Zeyan: I'm afraid that certain someone wouldn't sleep in the middle of the night and think about it.

MC: This is not something I can control.

MC: But if you are by my side, I have no time to think about other things.

Li Zeyan's movements seemed to pause for a moment. I didn't look up at him, but heard a deep smile came from him.

Li Zeyan: This excuse is good, I accept it.

The overlapping arms made the two of us close together, and the familiar temperature seemed to iron out all the anxiety in my heart.

Being able to stick to him with this confidence is a rare privilege.

When there are only two of us, let me use the privilege a few more times.

🍷

After yesterday's restorative sleep, I finally regained my energy this morning, and Li Zeyan's door was still closed when I got up.

It's rare that I got up earlier than him. I sneaked into the kitchen and pulled out some simple ingredients from the refrigerator to make breakfast, intending to surprise him.

As soon as I put the sandwiches on the table, I saw Li Zeyan buttoning his shirt while walking towards me.

MC: Li Zeyan, Good Morning!

He seemed stunned when he saw me and nodded slightly

Li Zeyan: Morning.

MC: Thank you, Mr. Li, for taking care of me yesterday. I will take care of today breakfast.

MC: You sit and wait for a while, it will be done soon.

I eagerly pulled the chair away, but Li Zeyan didn't sit down, just leaned against the table and watched me busy.

I made up the ice coffee, walked back to the table, and handed one of them to Li Zeyan.

This is the recipe I just learned a few days ago. Let's start with new flavors in the new year!

Li Zeyan looked at me, then glanced at the messy table, and sighed helplessly.

Li Zeyan: It seems you are very familiar no matter where you are...

MC: Hehe, because this is your home. Besides, I am very interested in the places related to you.

MC: The day before yesterday, I met my friend, Xiao Li. Maybe I can meet a different person today.

Xiao Li means Little Li, I'll just use Xiao Li since it sounds cute LOL

Li Zeyan: Then you may be disappointed.

Li Zeyan: I haven't come to this house much, and there is nothing to be curious about.

MC: Then... let's create more memories here!

MC: But in this case...

MC: Whether it is Xiao Li, Mr. Li or ordinary citizen Li Zeyan, can I have them all?

Li Zeyan was silent for a while and walked to me.

Li Zeyan: Don't you want them all? It seems you miss one. Right?

MC: Huh?

I was stunned for a moment. I didn't expect him to be more serious and had to think about his other identities seriously.

MC: Also.... Chef Li?

Li Zeyan: Wrong.

MC: Teacher Li?

Li Zeyan: Wrong

MC: .....It can't be Yan Yan, right?

I spoke carefully, and as expected, I received a merciless glance from Li Zeyan.

He leaned over and stopped me at the table. His narrow eyes looking me tightly.

Li Zeyan: Are you really stupid or pretending to be stupid, you mentioned it the day before yesterday, and you forgot it today?

I blinked and recalled the conversation from that day over and over again.

In addition to visiting his old things in his student days, there seems to be some important details that I have overlooked...

I looked at the face right in front of me, and there was a vaguely blushing face in my mind that night, holding the football I gave him in my hand.

It seemed that a corner of my heart was suddenly lit, and I suddenly realized what he was referring to.

Seems to know the answer, my heartbeat started to speed up somehow. But instead of answering directly, I suddenly wanted to tease him first.

MC: I was drunk that night.

Li Zeyan: Who said she wasn't drunk that night?

MC: Don't all drunks say that?

Li Zeyan: .....

Li Zeyan exhaled slowly, pinching my waist with one hand along his side.

Li Zeyan: Well, since someone chooses to forget, then I will help you remember.

The next second I suddenly felt like my feet were vacant and I was hugged by Li Zeyan.

Before I could react, the slippers slipped off the back of my feetㅡ

He hugged me to the dining table behind me. My skin suddenly touched the marble countertop. I couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

MC: So cold!

I subconsciously curled up to avoid the cold table, Li Zeyan took my ankle and pulled forward.

I almost plunged into his arms and hurriedly stepped on his legs with my feet to control the balance.

I held the glass in my hand, and was about to check whether his clothes were soiled, when a shadow suddenly covered me

Li Zeyan leaned close to me, blocking the sunlight from the skylight behind him.

Li Zeyan: I remember someone said the other day, drinking just a little alcohol will never be ashamed?

MC: I really didn’t drink a lot! It’s just my energy is a bit extra.

Li Zeyan: Well, it seems that I still remember this words.

As if giving a reward, he sent a soft kiss on my forehead.

Li Zeyan: Because the energy is a little bit extra, instead of going to bed, you ran to my room.

MC: I just want to see if you sleep or not.

Li Zeyan: By the way, you also saw all the corners of the room. The beautiful day is to know my past.

I smirked and hid back, Li Zeyan reached out and held my waist.

Li Zeyan: Don't remember this?

MC: I do! You have a lot of books, won a lot of awards, and keep a diary of your work.

Li Zeyan: Anything else?

MC: And also...

I deliberately looked around and my eyes slipped from his face to other places.

Li Zeyan made a move at the back of my waist, and I straightened up immediately and ran into his dissatisfied gaze.

Li Zeyan: Answer the questions.

MC: I, I can't remember!

Li Zeyan: Really? I can give you a hint.

Seeing Li Zeyan get closer and closer, the glass in my hand slipped, and I hurriedly raised my other hand against his chest.

MC: Wait a minute, the coffeeㅡ

Li Zeyan: Then don't move.

He put his arm around my hand holding the glass, I can neither put down the glass nor avoid him.

I raised my head in surprise, and my cheek immediately touched a warm breath.

Li Zeyan: There is a football in the corner of the room.

Li Zeyan: You seem to be particularly interested in it.

The soft lips rubbed the skin of my cheek, and I took a quick breath.

MC: Football? Isn't that what you liked to play when you were young?

Li Zeyan: Hm.

Li Zeyan: The football broke a fool's sand castle, and she cried her nose for a long time.

Li Zeyan: She couldn't coax it well, but when she's mentioned about food, she left the sand castle behind.

Li Zeyan: But it is excusable, because the dummy was only five years old at that time.

He didn't seem to want to say any more, he just looked at me quietly, and his fingers stroked the back of my hand unconsciously.

I don’t know if it’s because my side is wrapped in sunlight, or because I realize I’ve stepped into his trap

I actually feel that every skin that hasn't been touched by him is oozing thin sweat and evaporated into my brain.

I thought I caught a handle that would make him shy, but now I also put myself in it

I deliberately dragged the name that I didn’t want to say, I’m really embarrassed to say it at the moment.

I squeezed his shirt tightly, bite the bullet, and stretched it.

MC: .... and then?

Li Zeyan raised his eyebrows, but was not annoyed, else he took advantage from it and moved the ambiguous kiss to my lips.

Thick eyelashes fell on my cheeks, and all the details about that night burst in my mind in an instant.

Li Zeyan: Then, this is what happened next.

The sun set a bright outline around his body, but fell into the shadow of his forehead, rolling the familiar desires of his eyes.

He held my hand and pulled me towards him, my body shook, and I had to clamp his waist with my knees.

Li Zeyan: Need more hints?

Without waiting for my response, Li Zeyan once again rubbed my lips unhurriedly.

I made a vague protest. He raised his eyelids and glanced at me, but did not stop.

How does this make people answer!

I became angry and raised my head and took a bite to his lower lip. Li Zeyan finally stopped, with a slight smile in his eyes.

Li Zeyan: Learn to bite?

MC: you did this on purpose!

Li Zeyan: You know the answer is still hidden, didn't you also do it on purpose?

Li Zeyan: The best way to deal with an idiot is to give a tooth for a tooth.

MC: ....Li Zeyan, you bad at it!

Li Zeyan smiled lightly, and didn't seem to mind my completely unreasonable accusations.

I looked at his calm look and sighed in frustration.

MC: ... After all this, can't you just be shy?

Li Zeyan: Who do you think I am doing this for?

I was stunned for a moment and saw that he narrowed his smile and looked at me earnestly.

Li Zeyan: I said how you always do strange things these days.

Li Zeyan: Deliberately deceive others to drink, not pretending to be drunk, and have to wear other people's clothes.

Li Zeyan: What's plan do you have?

My brain was in a mess, and I simply said what I was thinking.

MC: Because you are always calm, I also want to try if I can make you shy once.

MC: Although I may often do stupid things, I don't want to be treated as a child by you.

MC: After all, I’m not that five-year-old idiot anymore. I want to see you blushing and thumping heart for me.

I took a look at Li Zeyan, then buried my head on his shoulder a little embarrassedly, and mumbled.

MC: And, you don’t know how cute you are when you are shy.

MC: No one else has seen it, only I will see that side of you.

Li Zeyan was silent for a moment, he sighed slightly.

Li Zeyan: Have you seen who would invest five hundred million for a child?

MC: ....

Li Zeyan: From the first time I saw you, I have never treated you as a child.

Li Zeyan: Calling you a dummy is also because the childish things you do are indeed not suitable for your age.

I lowered my head and hummed slightly.

This person really does not let go of any opportunity to complain about me...

Li Zeyan: Also, the same goes for you.

MC: Huh?

Li Zeyan: You are cute when you do these silly things.

Li Zeyan: However, you don't need to do these as well.

I was stunned to feel the temperature coming from my cheek, but the sound of my heartbeat clearly betrayed my surprise.

I couldn't help but raised the corners of my mouth and straightened up to say something.

MC: Li Zeyanㅡ

Li Zeyan: Wrong answer.

The person in front of me frowned slightly, and I swallowed my saliva carefully. It turned out that this matter hasn't passed yet...

MC: Have you called it so many times when you were a kid?

Li Zeyan: it's different.

Li Zeyan: I want you to answer now.

Li Zeyan: Finally, I give you a chance.

I took a deep breath and was about to speak when I suddenly felt cold in my thighs.

The iced coffee in my hand made the glass frost, and cold water drops on my lap.

I subconsciously wanted to lower my head and wipe, Li Zeyan quickly pinched my chin.

Li Zeyan: Don't be distracted.

MC: I just....

Li Zeyan: Answer me, which Li Zeyan did you miss just now?

Drops of water slip off the skin, leaving a slight itching along the way.

The voice of the person in front of him was low, with a hint of coaxing, like a light rain gradually dripping underneath his heart, and every drop of rain was tickling.

I opened my mouth, my trembling throat almost couldn't control my voice.

MC: Brother Zeyan... (Zéyán gēgē…)

The air seemed to be quiet for a second, then the coffee in my hand was quickly evacuated, colliding with the cup and plate behinds, and Li Zeyan pushed it away.

I almost stared at the person in front of me, but he suddenly avoided my gaze and spoke in a low voice.

Li Zeyan: Close your eyes.

MC: Why?

Li Zeyan: No reason.

He leaned over and kissed my eyes lightly, which forced me to close my eyes obediently.

A generous palm supported the back of my head, and then a very nostalgic kiss dispelled all my doubts.

Even if I can't see his expression at this moment, I can clearly feel his unspoken mood.

That piece of debris that had floated many years ago was finally firmly embedded in the last vacancy, full of joy called "consummation".

I tentatively reached out my hand to find his shoulder and caught his neck.

The overlapping arms are like a lead, burning the entanglement between the lips and teeth to more corners. The scorching breath keeps falling, scorching the warm and cool skin.

The warm palm steadily supported my body, and aroused an unbearable tremor at the touch.

I tried to hold back the warmth that I wanted to overflow between my teeth, and secretly opened my eyes to look at him.

The sun honestly illuminates his reddish face, and a pair of eyes that are always unpredictable are also shining with some simple satisfaction.

I couldn't help but stretched out my hand to stroke his cheek, his eyes met my gaze, unexpectedly showing a trace of helplessness.

Probably didn't expect that I would take the opportunity to take a peek, and Li Zeyan's ears became red.

MC: Haha.

Li Zeyan: What are you laughing at?

MC: It's nothing, I just think your shy look is really cute.

Li Zeyan: ...

Li Zeyan: Your wish came true, happy?

MC: Happy!

Deliberately ignoring Li Zeyan's slightly dissatisfied gaze, I squeezed his cheek lightly, and then actively pressed down the back of his head and pecked at his lips.

This person who has always loved a poker face from childhood is have a warm and soft touch.

My heart was filled with unspeakable tenderness, and I couldn't help but kiss him again.

The voice falling in the ear hides an unexpected tremor, I smiled and let go of him.

MC: Thank you for letting me know you more.

MC: Sure enough, no matter which side of Li Zeyan it is, you’re still my favorite.

Li Zeyan looked at me for a while, then suddenly smiled.

Li Zeyan: Are you telling the truth?

MC: You can tell it all.

Li Zeyan: Indeed.

Li Zeyan: Then let me listen to this truth.

The sun shining from the skylight hung his shadow on me, and slowly overlapped with my shadow in the afterglow.

His fingertips, his palm rubbed against my hot heart, as if he was trying to vain all my thoughts.

Time is stretched infinitely in the lingering breath

And what melted in time was his long and stitched response.

🍷 🍷 🍷 END 🍷 🍷 🍷

I’m sorry if there’s some mistranslation. Kindly tell me if you found some :) thank you for read it~ ^^

Notes from me:

No plan for translating other dates after this

 ─=≡Σ((( つ＞＜)つ

[emperor-palpaminty]

Killing Time

Because nothing can kill a relationship like lies.

A modern AU where crosshair is a hitman and you're his loyal girlfriend who happens to be in the bodyguard business, but neither one of you know the other's careers

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, making oit and allusions to smut, also this is in no way accurate to real life and it's just dramatic, please don't hurt me lol

children you have full permission to run away and not come here, in fact please run away

Very few things phased you. The only things that brought you to your precipice of agitation was burning pasta, your phone charger not working, and showing up to your shift only to realize someone had been killing all your clients.

Who said keeping people alive was easy? No one, that was who, and if anyone said it they were wrong or had no experience working with others whatsoever. Making sure others lived to see their next day was deadly business, for the people that were trying to live, at least.

“Charles!” You barked, feet hitting the floor of the bull pen. “What the hell happened?” You slammed your files on your desk, face warm, head just about collapsing with pressure. Your fingers pressed to your temples, hoping that they would grip it, hold it together. “Burke was alive when I left last night.”

“Doesn't matter now." Your coworker dropped his sandwich onto his desk. "Burke is fucking dead now. As dead as a doorknob." He swallowed his bite. "Luckily, you weren't on shift when it happened, so you aren't gonna catch any fire for it."

"Shit, Charles, a man is dead." You collapsed in your chair, a gentle "oomph" escaping your mouth. Your lips pressed together in agitation and you moaned to yourself. "This is the third one in two months. Sure, I'll get a couple cold bodies, but-"

"But this is a lot." Charles sunk into his own chair, grabbing for his sandwich again.

You stared at him, disbelief coating your gaze. "One is a lot, Charles," You snarled, grabbing at the folder on your desk. "Any leads?"

"Oh, yeah. But they're all at Burke's mansion." Charles tossed the crust of his lunch into the trash can. "I can drive ya."

"No, I'll take my car," You grumbled. You swiped the keys from your desk and stood, stalking back towards the elevator, anger eating away at you.

If one more of your clients- YOUR own clients- got killed, you would have to start pulling full shifts again.

___

Your shoes, practical, did little more than tap against the marble floor as you ducked under the Police tape. You skimmed the scene, frowning, eyes gracing past a particularly nasty chunk of gore on the wall. "Shot from above," You mumbled, glancing at the shattered window.

The mansion was huge. You'd been coming here for nearly a year now to keep an eye on Burke, and it still shocked you when you saw the absolute volume of the home. How much house would one man need, exactly?

In your years as a bodyguard you'd watched out for a lot of people- spoiled celebrities, prideful and arrogant politicians, and a particularly interesting Chef who had an unusual desire to cook everything with some kind of caffeine in it. That was probably your favorite client.

"Excuse me, miss," a voice broke the mumble in the next room, probably of detectives or cops sweeping the house for evidence. "You shouldn't-"

"I was Burke's bodyguard." You tugged your badge out or your pocket, allowing the interrupting police officer to take it and examine it. “You can verify with my assistant, Charles. Make sure you tell him he’s my assistant and not the other way around, though, he can be a dick.”

The cop hesitated, then gave a slight nod. “Well, we’re still cleaning up the scene.” His hands offered your badge back, and you slid it into your back pocket, satisfaction deflating. “You can come by later after it’s clean. Ballistics is running comparisons right now.” He paused and glanced at the shattered window. “Looks like the shot came from the garage. It’s the only side with no motion sensors or alarms.” The cop’s brows raised in interest. “Know why?”

“No.” You said, calmly, turning towards the front door. “I assume I can go there?” You heard no objection as you stepped outside, tugging your sunglasses back on over your eyes. The sun was unforgiving and you gave an involuntary hiss as the bright rays hit your eyes just right to temporarily give your vision black spots. You blinked strongly and hurried towards the garage. 

In truth, Burke had alarms everywhere except the garage because he had so many people and cars coming and going. For any new technology the billionaire was releasing, the man had drugs and other forms of entertainment coming in and out, and it was all stuff that would probably bring him down. That nondisclosure form was still somewhere in the house in some obscure filing cabinet and you really, really, really didn’t feel like having a lawsuit lurking over your shoulders. Life was too good- well, everything outside of people you were being paid to keep alive was good. 

Death really killed the whole “survival” business.

You clamored your way to the roof of the garage, noting the ladder was the same one that the gardener used around the several acres Burke owned. The police had to have put it here- the gardener only came in the mornings.

So who the hell climbed up here without a ladder? Most people didn’t want to put in the effort to scale this freehand or wedge between the wall of the garage and the fence to shimmy up. That someone had to be either very determined to kill Burke, for personal motive or financial motive.

You brushed off you pants and glanced around, looking down at the surface of the roof. Nothing- not even a bullet casing- had been left behind. You frowned and raked a hand through your hair, skimming your scalp as you examined the roof, walking to the edge closest to the window.

You stared in, at the shattered glass, pondering. Burke was heading to bed when he'd been shot, you assumed, so the assassian would have had to know his routine. Your mind ran through possibilities again, but you could come up with none that were motivated personally enough or fit enough to climb without much assistance. You trailed along the surface, frowning, unable to find anything, but paused at a smudge of black paint, small, on the corner of the roof.

____

You turned your car down the street, exhaling softly as you pulled into your driveway.

99. That was what the marks said. Very subtle, meant nothing, unless it was a birth year or graduating class. The cops had come back, irritated, snapped a couple of pictures, and told you off about your wild theories of a fiscally motivated assassian. Apparently, you watched too many scret agent movies, or something like that.

You opened the door of the car and climbed out, frustration making you slam it shut. You inhaled the scent of the yard- clean, fresh cut, and perhaps it could help soothe your anger before you went inside.

After fumbling on your Keychain, you unlocked the door and hurried in, locking it behind you. "Cross?"

A savory aroma wafted from the kitchen, and your mouth watered. Your toes found their way out of your shoes and you hurried to the kitchen, pausing briefly at the doorway.

Cross's lanky figure was leaning over the skillet, stirring something, pale hands moving in expertise across the stove top. "Darling, you're late." He drawled.

You sighed, fully entering the kitchen. "Yeah. Sorry." You leaned up and wrapped your arms around his waist, face pressing against his back. You sighed. The day felt a little less bad now- filled with him. "Work kept me."

"How was work?"

You grunted. "A killer. An absolute killer." The irony was not lost on you, but it was lost to your boyfriend. He thought you were an editor for some book publishing company, because cover was the most important thing. You were one of those people trying to stay alive, after all.

Lies hurt, but it was one of the necessary ones. A little lie.

"Yikes." His hands drew plates to himself. "Mine wasn't much better. Got a few new clients, a few new cases." He sighed. "The Baliff forgot to submit evidence."

You mumbled against his shirt. "Law school really paid off, huh?"

"I'll say." He turned around, adjusting your arms, slowly taking your chin and leaning down to peck you. You always melted at his kisses, knees weak and brain numb, and he seemed to know it every time. You hummed, running your hands up his chest, the irritation for the day pooling to your midsection as your fingers gripped his shirt, your lips pulling in on his.

Cross tugged away gently, and you whined, fingers stubbornly clasped. "Wow, really frustrated today."

"Yes," You mumbled.

His lips pressed towards one of their corners in a half smile, and he picked your head. "Go shower. Then we can eat and I'll take care of you."

You hummed, fingers reluctantly releasing him, and you hurried away to the bathroom. You paused at the dresser, rummaging through, grabbing an especially large t-shirt and hipster underwear. Comfort was more important at the moment.

You climbed into the shower, turning the water to as hot as you could and scrubbing yourself off, humming in pleasure as the day came off you and went down the drain. The floral scent of the soap remained, the purple bad working diligently to rid you of your grime and frustration. Lavender really is a natural relaxant. You sighed and leaned back briefly on the tile, feeling every muscle in you ease at the same time.

After toweling off and getting dressed, your padded to the kitchen where Cross was pouring a your favorite wine. You sighed happily, accepting the glass as he skimmed your fresh-showered body. "Thanks."

"Of course." Cross picked up his own glass, taking a sip, eyes still diligently stripping you on their own. You shivered slightly, setting down your glass and looking up at him. "Dinner's ready," He mumbled, leaning in, pressing a hand to the counter of either side of you, leaving your back to the counter. "But I would much rather start with dessert."

You drew in a breath as he pressed his lips to your neck, drawing out a sigh with his teeth. You wrapped your arms around his neck, humming in agreement, and he scooped you up. Your groaned as he drew your legs around his lips, shifting, the agitating heat pooling back between your legs. "That's a good idea." You mumbled, whimpering as he bucked his hips slightly. "I just showered, though."

"Then we can take another one," He hissed, lips covering yours. "You're so damn intoxicating."

You mumbled something against his lips, unable to get a coherent response out as he dropped you on the bed. You bounced briefly, giggling, and he yanked off his shirt and joined you, climbing over you and hovering. "Come here, sweetheart," His finger traced over your shirt between your breasts, running down to the hem. "Let's end the day on a good note."

You whimpered, neck straining as you leaned up for his kiss, and you felt Cross snarl against you, tugging your surrendered form up closer to him. Your body relaxed again, neck loosening and head back against the pillow as he tugged your own shirt up, eyes gleaming with a primal eagerness that made you swoon, ready to work out the agitation for the day you both had.

[bffsoobin]

Apartment 370

↳everything about your apartment was perfect. Aside from your neighbor. Choi Soobin has become the bane of your existence. You can’t go a single day without looking over your shoulder for your misleadingly handsome neighbor. Just how many petty pranks does he think he can get away with?

➤ enemies to lovers!au, neighbors!au, arguments, petty behavior, swearing, fluff

Word Count: 3,062

Requested?: yes

Warnings: none really other than swearing and Soobin kind of being an ass. I also didn’t proof read or edit this, as per usual.

A/N: To be honest I’m feeling a little unsure about this? I loved the concept and I’m very glad that a lovely follower requested it but I feel like lately all of my writing has started out really well and then just got progressively worse? Like all of the endings I write are just kind of lame? Just a weird insecurity I’ve been encountering lately. So please leave me some feedback on what you think about this!

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:••:•.•

You loved your apartment. It was small, but just right for you to live in. The shower had hot water, your bedroom had a beautiful window for your plants to sit on and the wifi connection was always working well. You even only had to travel up two flights of stairs if your elevator stopped working. There were a lot of pros to living at your complex. But there was one, massive, glaring and obnoxiously loud con. Choi Soobin. When he had moved in next to you, you tried to be nice. You knocked on his door and introduced yourself; making some kind of lame joke about borrowing sugar. 

He didn’t laugh. He just introduced himself back and apologized for not having any sugar. Apologized? Had he really missed the joke that bad? Your delivery had been impeccable. Despite his charming face and annoyingly adorable style, you decided there was no way you could be friends with someone who didn’t understand a classic joke. 

Soobin must have decided there was a reason he didn’t like you either, because just about a week into being neighbors he began to wreak havoc. He played music as loud as it possibly could be at the weirdest times of the day and yelled at his television way too much no matter what he was watching. It seemed like every day you had to storm over and knock on his door to complain. This went on for weeks until he finally agreed to stop when you threatened to involve your burly landlord in the matter. 

For a few days, you enjoyed peace and quiet. You came and went from work without seeing him, took naps in silence and remembered how it felt to cook in your own kitchen without the sound of a twenty something year old man screaming at reruns of Survivor as background music. 

As they say, ignorance is bliss, because little did you know Soobin’s silence was about to erupt into a new, massive volcano of stupidity. One night you woke up around 4 am to the sound of scratching coming from the wall that connected your and Soobin’s bedrooms. You were already annoyed at the fact that you had to be up at 7am to pick up an early shift for your slacking coworker, so you didn’t have it in you to just roll over and go back to bed. You couldn’t have if you wanted to anyway because the scratching noises were only getting more and more persistent. You flung yourself out of bed with a groan. Pets were allowed here, and it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that Soobin had gotten a cat who decided to be a little extra scratchy. 

You poured yourself a glass of water in the kitchen, hoping to clear your mind and sort your thoughts. In the silence of the night, you could hear Soobin’s panicked voice through the thin walls. It sounded like he was on the phone with someone, as you could hear pauses as if he were listening to someone else. What a weird fucking dude, you thought. With eyes still drooping you walked back to your bedroom. The cat would have to be done scratching at the wall by now, right?

Wrong. The same consistent noise that would surely haunt your dreams still persisted. Knowing Soobin was awake gave you enough grounds to throw on a sweatshirt over your sleep clothes and go knock on his door. 

When it swung open, you could see just how distraught he was. His usually fluffy hair was flat and knotted and his eyes were sporting huge dark circles that only made the panic in them amplified. Wait, panic?  

“Y/N, I’m really sorry but you need to leave,” he had the door open just far enough to stick his head and shoulders out, as if he were trying to hide something. 

“No, Soobin. I heard your cat scratching at the wall and it’s annoying the hell out of me. I can’t sleep. Can’t you lock it in the bathroom or something?” His face scrunched in confusion. 

“A cat? I don’t have a cat.” Your insides boiled with hatred at the idea of him trying to lie his way out of this. 

“Listen up Choi. Unless you have a dragon in your bedroom scratching the shit out of the walls, I don’t want to deal with your lies. Just take care of it! I need my beauty sleep and you and your noisy cat aren’t helping at all.” Soobin’s face paled and for a second you thought that you had finally won. And then Soobin said:

“It’s not a cat. It’s a racoon.” 

You almost fell onto your ass right in the hallway. Soobin’s eyes sparked with a type of mirth you never thought such an admittedly gorgeous face could possess. 

“I’m calling the landlord.” You snapped the door shut in his face and turned away.

That had apparently been the final straw for Soobin. The next day when you got back from work, you found a handwritten “RACOON HATER” sign taped to your door. What you found inside was somehow even more unsettling. Your whole living room and kitchen had been essentially trashed. Throw pillows and blankets were thrown haphazardly on the floor, many of your photos and art you had on the walls were switched around or taken down altogether. And the worst of it all; everything was covered in a fine dust of glitter. It was a struggle to find a single surface that wasn’t covered in glitter, really. 

A new type of dislike for Choi Soobin brewed in your stomach. Hatred. Your kitchen counter- also covered in a dust of chunky silver glitter- became the victim of your frustrations as you slammed your hands down. It would cost you so much time and money to get all the glitter out of your living spaces, let alone the fact that you'd inevitably be leaving some behind for the next poor soul to rent this apartment. Gritting your teeth, you went to work with your poor little vacuum. 

You had only managed to clean your coffee table and half of your couch before you heard a series of loud knocks on your door. You grumbled at the idea of having to take a pause in your work but you trudged over to the door anyway. 

To be honest, you had no idea who you were expecting to see behind your apartment door-which you belatedly realized was still decorated with Soobin’s handmade sign- but you didn’t think it would be the man himself. 

Soobin stood in the hallway, picture perfect as always. His face was tan and smooth and free from any possible blemishes. Had he plucked his eyebrows? They were groomed to neat perfection. His tall frame was dwarfed by a fuzzy blue sweatshirt that was easily a size too big. If you had met him by chance on the street, you would have fallen in love in an instant. But you knew better. You knew he was the one who reduced your once lovely apartment into the mess it was now.

“Oh, sorry,” he feigned innocence, “are you busy?” He didn’t even try to hide the smirk that blossomed on his face. A grumble of a curse fell from your lips before you responded. 

“Yeah. Some asshole decided to break into my apartment and spread glitter on everything. So yes, I’m sort of busy,” you laced your voice with enough venom to kill a horse, and it seemed as if Soobin had gotten the message as he shrunk back into the hallway a bit. His mouth opened and shut in rapid succession as he struggled to find the perfect retort. 

“I-” he cut himself off as his soft eyes became hyper focused on a spot on your face. Suddenly you were a new combination of concerned and offended. His hand hesitantly rose toward your face before the softness of his fingertips made contact with your cheek and brushed something away. You held your breath the entire time, unsure if you should be upset or worried or utterly lost in the way his skin felt against yours. The contact was brief but still made your skin burn bright red. When his hand left your cheek, you saw that he had brushed away a piece of glitter that was now resting delicately on his fingertip. 

“Sorry,” he hurried out, “I just wanted to get the glitter off of your face.” His whole demeanor had changed, and you were sure that whatever plan he had in mind when he knocked on your door had vanished. 

“Okay, weirdo,” you tried to ignore the way you were yearning to feel his touch again, “I’m still busy so can you like, go away?” Upon hearing your words he turned away to head for his apartment door with ears as red as you’d ever seen them. 

Although the glitter incident was now months behind you, you still often found pieces in random spots around your home. And Soobin was still a pain in your ass. He had been quiet for close to two weeks after your odd encounter and you were almost convinced that he had changed his ways. You were quickly proven wrong when he conned the man who works the front desk into hiding your mail for a week straight; making you subsequently late to paying some of your bills. 

More recently, a new person had moved into the apartment across the way. The first day you met him, you were busying yourself with taping up Soobin’s door with bright pink duct tape from the outside. Your new neighbor-who you learned to be named Yeonjun- had squatted down right next to you and offered to help tear pieces of the tape. 

You and Yeonjun had become fast friends. He was incredibly charming and willing to lend an ear every time you needed to complain about Soobin. For a while, you were almost able to forget the fact that the devil incarnate lived next door to you. While your work schedules tended to be a little crazy, the two of you managed to talk for at least a few minutes every day. He helped you gain some sanity back within your apartment hallway. 

Despite also being friends with Soobin, Yeonjun never took sides in your little feud; but you were always secretly worried that somehow Soobin would put a bug in his ear. One day, about two months after Yeonjun had moved in, he knocked on your door while you were in the middle of making dinner. You invited him in but he hesitated. 

“I just came to talk to you,” he bit into his bottom lip, “I really like you. But I don’t see us ever being more than friends. I hope you understand.” You scrunched your eyebrows. Where was this coming from? 

“Uh okay? I know that. I don’t like you...like that, Yeonjun. Did you hit your head or something?” You were seriously confused. Yeonjun’s eyes widened comically. 

“Well Soobin said that-“ as soon as the words fell out of his mouth Yeonjun put together the invisible puzzle pieces. His face morphed into extreme regret.  “I’m so sorry. I should have known it was part of your weird prank war. You should have seen how convincing his acting is though, he really had me thinking you had a crush on me.” You scoffed at the idea of Soobin beginning to spread rumors to one of your closest friends just for the hell of it. If Yeonjun hadn’t been mature enough to address it right away, you could have gone through weeks of confusion about why he was avoiding you.

You looked back at your kitchen, catching sight of the steaming bowl of ramen you’d just finished making. Sighing, you shut your door behind you to stand in the hall with Yeonjun. He looked sheepish in your presence as you laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m not mad at you, Yeonjun. I’m going to talk to the bane of my existence,” you gestured toward the door with the shiny ‘370’ plaque. “Just don’t bother calling the landlord if you hear yelling.” As soon as you heard the sound of Yeonjun’s door snapping shut, you laid into Soobin’s door with a heavy knock. As soon as it was opened far enough, you wedged your body inside and subsequently sent Soobin stumbling backwards. 

“How dare you?” You roared, throwing your hands in the air dramatically. “I’m fine with your petty pranks and all the other stupid shit you pull against me because that’s all between the two of us. At least it’s funny and gives me something to think about in my free time. But when you start to involve my friends? That’s way too far. There was no reason to rope Yeonjun into this. He’s your friend too, Choi.” Soobin seemed surprised that you had come in with so much to say right off the bat.

“Y/N it’s really not that big of a deal. I just wanted to see if you actually had the capacity to have a crush on someone. And you’ve been spending so much time with Yeonjun I figured he’d be the perfect person to test my theory with, plus the humiliation factor of him not liking you back would have kept me entertained for days” he sat down on his couch casually, “I guess he had to break it to you that you aren’t as flirty and irresistible as you think you are, huh?” The air crackled with tension as you gawked down at his sprawled form.

“What are you even saying? Yeonjun and I are just friends. And why does it matter to you if I have the capacity for a crush or not? You hate me. If you’re just waiting until I get a boyfriend so that you can come in and ruin it all with your shitty vendetta then you’re much worse of a person than I ever pegged you for!” Tears welled in your eyes but you wiped at them angrily. Out of all the fights and disagreements you’d ever had with Soobin, this was the first one that stirred an odd emotion in the pit of your stomach. You were tired of the back and forth. Soobin seemed oddly alarmed at the formation of your tears as he got up from the comfort of his couch and approached you like a wounded dog. 

“Trust me, I have no grand plan to ruin your life at every turn even though that’s what you think. You spend so much time with Yeonjun, I thought maybe you liked him. I knew he didn’t like you because when I told him that I-” Soobin actually clapped his own giant hand over his mouth as the words hung in the air between you. Anger shot through your mind at the idea that he didn’t even have the guts to relay the entire story. 

“You what? You’re so wrapped up in your own little world but you can’t even finish telling me what you said to someone else? I can’t believe you, honestly,” you turned and made your way toward his door, wanting nothing more than to go home and take a hot shower. Soobin’s hand clasped around your wrist as he gently yanked you away from the exit. His strong grip kept you standing right in front of him and although you struggled against him, there was no use. 

“I told him that I like you.” For a second, you thought that you had misheard him, but he continued. “I told Yeonjun that I like you. And he told me that I should go for it, because he doesn’t see you as more than a friend. But I freaked out so I told him that you liked him. I knew you probably actually didn’t.” 

Your brain was short circuiting at the confession. Choi Soobin, who had complicated your life beyond belief since the day he moved in months ago liked you? 

“But,” your eyebrows drew together as you tried to comprehend it all, “you hate me, Soobin. We have a whole...rivalry! There’s no way you actually have feelings for me. I swear if this is just another prank I’ll shove my hand so far down your throat-“ Soobin threw his hands up in front of his body in a form of defense. 

“No! I don’t hate you, Y/N. I’ve liked you since the day we met. I just thought the pranks and petty stuff was like...our way of hanging out? That’s why I kept doing them. I thought you were having fun with me.” It was ridiculous how much he sounded like a little boy explaining his side of the story to a teacher. It was even more ridiculous that the corner of your brain where you’d stuffed all your feelings for Soobin began to overflow. 

“Haven’t you ever heard that there’s much better ways to tell someone you like them? We could have spent the last 11 months not at each other’s throats if you would have just manned up and found out I like you too.” You saw the exact moment that the words finally processed and his entire face lit up with the recognition. 

A familiar, deeply dimpled smile grew across his face as his skin reddened. He clasped his hands in front of him and swayed back and forth on his feet. Before you could think to stop him, he leaned in close enough that you worried he could hear your heart thumping against your ribs. 

“You like me too?” 

“Yes, Soobin. I like you too. And I would like you even more if you stopped your stupid pranks,” you tapped his nose with your pointer finger twice. He nodded eagerly with his tongue sticking out from between his teeth slightly.

“Deal,” he stuck his hand out to you and you raised an eyebrow to silently ask if he was serious. His hand didn’t waver, so you grasped it firmly and pulled him toward your body until you could wrap him into a tight hug. It was an odd feeling, soaking in Soobin’s scent as he gently rocked the two of you back and forth in his apartment. Odd, but good. Perfect.

[dreamywriterinthedark]

Losing you pt III: Picking up the pieces

Pairing: Spencer x Reader

Category: angst, slight fluff.

Resume: Reader struggles to get over a traumatic experience and isolates themselves. They have an outburst, Spencer finds them in the middle of it and offers a helping hand.

Trigger warnings: death, blood, trauma, anger issues, alcohol (please let me know of something was forgotten)

A/N: I don’t know how I feel about this series. Let me know if you like it or what you would like to see. This is what would’ve happened if Linda Barnes was leader of the team. I’m guessing this is a bit of homage to Elle who deserved better. I would love to hear your feedback and whether you want a fourth part. Thanks <3

You slipped off your blind fold, your calmness was interrupted by the broad figure in front of your eyes. The hooded man slowly made his way towards you.

“Please, don’t kill me!” you screamed at the top of your lungs. He looked at you with such viciousness as if he was planning all the horrendous things he was going to do to you in his head. You rose up panting from another hostile episode slapping the light switch of the lamp on your nightstand.

You were on your bed completely exhausted yet wide awake. You could not allow yourself to sleep because every time you did you woke up in sweats due hallucinations and nightmares. You could not differentiate what was real and what was an illusion anymore. You walked to your kitchen pouring yourself a glass of water, your hands were so shaky you dropped the glass and flenched at the sound. By trying to pick up the pieces you cut your hand, the sight of blood on your hands brought you back to that night when you almost died and your boss hardly bat an eye.

Your vision was getting blurred whether it was your brain making you depersonalise or your tears clouding your view you couldn’t tell. You were uncontrollably sobbing. That’s when it hit you, you needed help. You hated yourself for it, it flet like you were a burden. However, you felt guilt creep in furthermore when you saw your phone light up with all the texts, all the calls you ignored making the team even more worried. You swiped the notification from your 13 missed calls making your phone call Spencer. You felt a rush go through your vein, a rush to abort whatever mission you were on, the rush to flight. The kind of rush that could’ve saved your life.

After two rings you hung up feeling stupid, now wondering if you woke him up for nothing. You slammed your phone on your kitchen counter. The anger levels spiking, overtaking the small amount of rational thoughts in your head. You sighed running your hands through your hair. Completely numb, more and more glass shattered on the floor. Once the energy was in too limited quantity in your body. You grabbed a bottle of wine chugging from it in your bathtub like a child trying to avoid family gatherings. You cried until you were too dehydrated to keep the tears flowing, until your eyes were swollen.

The ring of your doorbell caught your attention. Or was it another cruel hallucination ? You were going to ignore it until you heard it be rung once more. You checked who it was through the lense.

“Shit,” you swore, it was Spencer.

“Open the door, Y/n. I know you’re here.” you rolled your eyes at Spencer’s request your back pressed against the cold steel.

“I’m a mess.” you responded trying to dissuade him to come in.

“Your mess is my mess. I’m your home, remember ?”

You smiled detaching yourself from the door unlocking it. He pressed the handle letting his weight make the door shift open. You were brushing with a broom the glass pieces to the side to allow him to circulate safely in your apartment. He saw the blood on your floor, the bandage on your hand; he solved the puzzle himself. You turned to him, no words were needed, he saw the look in your eyes. He cupped the back of your head with one of his hands and wrapped his arm around your torso carefully, gently as if you were as fragile as fine china. You wrapped your arms around his waist breathing in his scent. He pulled away, both hands at the side of your head.

“I want to be that person you can tell anything to. The good and the bad.”

You looked up at him. “Barnes is considering suspending me because I did not follow his orders. Spencer, I had no choice…” he could hear your heart break in your voice.

“She’s not allowed to do this.” He informed you.

“She’s not ?” He nodded in response.

“She violated protocole in the first place by using governmental fund for a case too personal to him. He got his proof only by putting you in a position of danger when she needed it to act. Like you said you had no other choice. I’ve done it before, I was never reprimanded me.”

“Yeah cause you’re a man. If a man kills a rapist, he’s a hero but if a woman does it, she’s a cold-blooded crazy murderer. Gosh, I miss Emily.”

“Talk about double standards.” Spencer said, “You know, she misses you too, we all do.”

“I doubt it, honestly. I was so determined to get her validation it almost cost me my life. Maybe I should just let her know how I feel.”

“Yeah, you definitely should.”

“But what am I even gonna say to her ? What if she’s right ? What if I’m actually delusional or dangerous ?”

“Hey, hey, Y/n. Slow down.”

“Please talk some sense to me. It’s like I’m going out of my mind!”

“It wasn’t your fault. It was legitimate defence. I saw it, the whole team saw it and has your back.” he reassured you, his face closer to yours.

“Should I write her a-“

“No, you’re not doing anything tonight.” He interrupted you. “Just go take a shower then we can talk about it. Sounds good ?” you nodded to respond to him which he, as usual didn’t mind even after going on an endless monologue.

While you were in the shower, he cleaned up the mess your anger made. Once you were done, you sat down on your matcha green sofa watching the sunrise. “It’s already 4am ?! I’m so sorry for keeping you awake.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m a night owl anyways so it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Did you know that falling asleep late is linked with a high IQ ?” he said making his way to you with two cups of tea.

“Then I must be a genius.” you answered half jokingly. “Oh thank you.” you took hold of the warm but not steamy cup in your hands. You remembered Spencer once telling you that the reason why so many dislike tea is because they think it tastes like dirt, it’s not supposed taste like that, see, if the water is burning hot it’s going to burn the leaves and speed the infusion process making it too concentrated. You turned to look at him, he was already looking.

“Sometimes I wonder how you can put up with me.”

“Because I love you.” He never failed to remind you how much he loves you even especially on your worst days. You explained what had been going on, he debunked and dismantled every question pending in you head, every lie your brain told you. It felt like a weight was lifted off your shoulders. For the first time in a while, you felt safe in your own home. Instead of your alarm clock, the sound of the birds were ringing in you ears. You both agreed to go talk to Barnes to solve whatever the problem was that morning. “I’m not going down without a fight, especially not when it comes to that bitch!” Spencer boldly commented to your surprise. You weren’t healed just yet but at least you got out and socialised. At least you opened up to someone you could trust.

You stepped out of the elevator one hand holding coffee, the other holding your boyfriend’s hand. Everyone walked up to you giving you a hug and greeting you. Penelope was so enthusiastic it was overwhelming.

“Long time no see,” commented Luke. “You too,” you hugged him back.

“What happened to your hand ?” asked JJ.

“I dropped a glass.” you nervously responded, you were telling the truth…at least part of it.

“Welcome back!” said Tara squeezing an embrace as well.

“Oh I don’t know about that just yet.” you said to her.

“We need to talk to Barnes first.” added Spencer.

“Whatever happens, we’re with you, Y/n” said Garcia. The others agreed, it felt good to be supported, so much you regret isolating yourself for so long.

Silence made its way into a conversation that was once filled by joy. You threw your coffee in the trash can before turning your body towards his office. Spencer, resting his hand on your back, asked “Are you ready, darling ?” You took in a deep breath sharply, nodding your head yes without taking your gaze off the door.

[mlqctranslations]

Victor 偏爱 SP Date

Reposted from my instagram account, @mlqc_translations!

Chapter 1

The car stopped in front of the familiar white mansion. Victor and I took the gifts out of the trunk, and then rang the doorbell. The door was soon thrown open, and Victor's aunt appeared. 

Aunt: Ah, you're finally here!

Victor: ...Aunt. MC: Hi aunt! I'm here to disturb again! Aunt: Don't be silly, of course not! Come in, come in! We walked into the living room. The faint smell of tea was in the air, the TV was playing quietly, and everything was the same as I remembered. Aunt: Brother, Victor and MC are here! MC: Hello! Happy New Year! Setting down the teapot, Mr. Li nodded and smiled at us. On the night before spring festival, Victor's aunt had called and invited us to spend the new year at the mansion. The memory of coincidentally spending New Year's at Mr. Li's home was still fresh in my head. Thinking of this warm memory, I had carefully selected appropriate gifts. We chatted for a little while, and then Victor's aunt got up to add more water to the teapot. Mr. Li stood up and called out. Mr.Li: Victor, help me get something from the balcony, will you? Victor: Sure. He agreed, and then looked at me. Before he said anything, Aunt grabbed my hand. Aunt: You can go, I'll chat with her a bit! She moved closer to me, and finally started speaking when the men were out of sight, smiling at me warmly. Aunt: Let me take a look at you. I think your complexion has gotten better. Have you been taking care of yourself? MC: Thanks, but I don't think I did anything special. I think I just ate pretty good these days. I laughed awkwardly when I saw her confused look. MC: Victor is really good at cooking, I always eat a lot...... Victor's aunt patted the back of my hand and started laughing. Aunt: No need to be polite with him, if you like it, tell him to make more! Aunt: Hm...if it's like this...I guess Victor doesn't bully you anymore? MC: Thanks to him always bullying me before, I'm not scared of any kind of work now. Aunt: He was like this since he was a child. His actions always different from what he says and feels. Once you get used to it, though, it's kind of cute! MC: Yeah. Even though sometimes his tone isn't very good, he's never really hated me or disliked me in any way. Actually, a lot of the time, he's helping me tirelessly. The big and small events of daily life, he would always worry for me...... MC: I always feel very safe around him. It was quiet for a few seconds, and I looked up to Victor's aunt instinctively. She was staring at me with a mix of surprise and joy. I realized what I had said, and instantly felt my face heat up and turn red. MC: I'm sorry... I said too much, didn't I...... She was about to say something when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, and locked eyes with Victor. Victor: It looks like I've interrupted you. Aunt: No, no, you came at just the right time! Brother, stop occupying Victor, let the young people speak to each other! Victor's aunt winked at me and stood up, bringing Mr. Li away. Victor walked towards the kitchen, and I followed. Victor: Then I'll take care of supper. MC: I'll help! Once we were in the kitchen, Victor handed me some vegetables. Victor: Did you have fun talking with my aunt? MC: Yeah. We talked about you! Victor: Hm. A certain snappy and grouchy person suddenly starts giving out compliments? I gave a small start, and looked up at him nervously while I was washing the vegetables. MC: Y-You heard? Victor: Just a bit. MC: Then what are your thoughts after hearing such sincere compliments? Victor: Definitely the kind that only you would give. Most of it is just facts, though, so it doesn't really count as a compliment. I looked at the faint smile in his eyes and pouted, unsatisfied. MC: It looks like I've said too many good things about you. You're already used to it. Before, you would be surprised for a bit and ask me if I really mean it. Victor: All your thoughts are written all over your face. Of course I can tell if you mean it or not. He glanced at me, and I knew how red my face must be right now. Still, however, Victor was calm, and didn't seem flustered at all. Perhaps it's because he can tell what I'm thinking. Whenever I prepare some sort of surprise, he can always expect it. ...If I think about it, I haven't seen Victor embarrassed or flustered because of me in a long time. I gave a huff and shook the water droplets off of the vegetables. It's so unfair to have only me blush and my heartbeat to go wild.

A new year, a new start, I want to see a new side of Victor!

Chapter 2

After a while, Victor's aunt walked in and set a bottle of red wine and a decanter on the countertop. Since Victor was cutting up the vegetables. I took the wine and tried to start decanting it. Victor's aunt watched me, her eyes following my movements, and then moved closer to whisper in my ear, "You're very familiar with this!" MC: It was all learned from Victor. Aunt: You like drinking wine? I instinctively turned to look at Victor, but he didn't seem to be listening. MC: Well...actually, I'm not that good with alcohol. I can't drink much. Aunt: That's okay, we'll drink a little less later, then. It's a holiday, you gotta live a little! MC: But... Aunt: Don't worry about him stopping you. This time, I'll cover you! She patted me on the back and left the kitchen. Now, all I could hear was the faint bubbling of the soup on the stove. I leaned against the counter, facing Victor, bringing up what his aunt had said on purpose. MC: She said I can drink wine with you today. Victor: Yeah. MC: I promise I'll just drink a little bit. I won't embarrass you today. Victor: Didn't she say she'll cover you? No need to report to me. MC: ...... Nothing escapes his ears! I furrowed my brows and watched out of the corner of my eye as Victor took out a few pieces of rock sugar from a glass jar and added it to the pot. There were also a few wine glasses nearby. I looked around, ready to seize the chance to get him back. I picked up a wine glass and poured wine from the decanter into it, handing it to Victor. MC: Want to see if it tastes good? Victor: ...You've only decanted it for five minutes. MC: Is CEO Victor afraid of the wine tasting sour? Victor looked at my smirking face and took the wine, swirling it in the glass a few times. Victor: What, are you trying to make me drunk first so you won't be laughed at later when you're drunk? MC: It's just a little. You won't be drunk. Victor studied me for a while but still drank the wine. When I saw him wrinkle his nose, I took a piece of rock sugar from the jar he was using, held onto it with my mouth, and stood on my tip-toes to be able to reach his lips. Victor: ...! He froze, and I pushed away his hand holding the wine glass and moved even closer. My feet began to feel sore, but the man in front of me still didn't bend down and do what I wanted. I tried to maintain my balance with difficulty, and then blinked at Victor aggressively. He raised an eyebrow and finally lowered his head and bent down. I raised my head to meet him, but accidentally bumped into the corner of his mouth instead. I tried to bite down on the piece of sugar, but all that was left in my mouth was a few tiny sugar crumbs. The rock sugar fell and landed on the ground with a small thud. MC: ...... Victor: ...... We stared at each other for a while. I tried to ignore my reddening cheeks, and stepped backwards with an air of forced calmness. I picked up the sugar on the ground and tossed it into the trash, then turned around and returned to the sink, my back turned towards Victor, and started to prepare the lettuce for supper. Victor: MC. Before he could say anything, I instantly raised a hand to stop him. MC: F-First let me calm down, right now I...! Before I even finished my sentence, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me backwards. My eyes widened, and I stared at the man in front of me. His warm lips stopped me from crying out in surprise, and I was suddenly enveloped in his scent. My mind suddenly went blank and I instinctively tried to push him away, but Victor held onto me tightly, one hand at my waist. I couldn't move at all. Victor: The wine wasn't good, I didn't get to eat the sugar, and you want to run away just like that? MC: Wait! Mr. Li and your aunt...they're still in the living room! Victor: I'd have thought you remembered this when you got the sugar. His lips were basically against mine when he said this, and then I felt them over my mouth again. I could smell the faint fragrance of red wine. The sounds in my ears all disappeared, only leaving the sound of my own frantic heartbeats. It was as if the world would no longer moved. No one would know what was happening in this quiet corner. The crumbs of sugar on my lips and the sweetness on my tongue were taken from me by Victor, and I was reminded by the meaning of this sudden kiss. His actions were gentle and slow, but I could taste a hint of greed and possessiveness. I was finally able to breathe in the cool air when my tongue started to feel numb. Victor's hand caressed my cheek tenderly and then he gave a soft laugh. Victor: Looks like your ability with wine and intelligence both didn't improve. You've only tasted a little...but you're already blushing? His voice made me conscious of what was happening, and I quickly stepped back. MC: T-This isn't related to anything like that! You... This is against the rules!! Victor: You were the one who started it, how could you push the blame onto me? Did you forget the things you did so quickly? MC: I- I was going to protest, but then I started to hear the background noise that had once faded away when Victor had kissed me. Victor, however, still held me in his arms, smiling and waiting for me to finish my sentence. Meeting his teasing gaze, I opened my mouth to speak but found I couldn't say anything. The awkward silence was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Aunt: MC, come over here and take a break! MC: Oh, okay! I jumped, surprised, and instantly ducked under Victor's arm, heading towards her. Everything happened so suddenly. Why is it only me who gets flustered? Victor was still calm and collected. I felt a little dejected and told myself not to try something so daring next time. Operation Rock Sugar had failed. When the housekeeper walked into the kitchen, Victor was carefully preparing the shrimp. When he heard the footsteps behind him, he turned around and greeted her. Victor: ...Mrs. Wang. Mrs.Wang: I've come to lend a hand, since the young lady was called away. Victor: Thank you. I appreciate you staying here to help out, even though it's the spring festival. Mrs.Wang: Oh, it's nothing! I'm by myself on New Year's anyways, so I'm quite content with staying here, where everything is so much more lively. I barely help anyways--you cook so much better. Victor: I'm honoured to hear that you like my cooking, but the food you make is loved by the whole family, no matter how you make it. Victor: You know, I don't come home very often, so it's quite natural that I should prepare a meal for them.

The housekeeper motioned in the direction of the living room. Mrs.Wang: When they heard that you were coming with her, your dad and your aunt were overjoyed! Your dad even bought new plants for the living room! Victor: He probably just wants to garden more. Mrs.Wang: Ah, but I've heard that if you keep plants at home, it's good for developing feelings! Victor smiled but didn't answer. Mrs.Wang: You have to believe it! See, didn't something good happen? She laughed and pointed to the corner of Victor's mouth. Victor looked startled and brushed the back of his hand over his mouth. There was a faint red streak on his skin. .....it's the lipstick that hasn't been wiped clean. Victor coughed, looking awkward and self-conscious as he thought back to what had happened before. Victor: ...Mrs. Wang, please don't inform my father of this. Mrs.Wang: Ah, but it's perfectly normal with young people! She smiled and then lowered her voice. Mrs.Wang: Victor, do you usually cook for that young lady? Victor: .....Yeah. She's often busy with work, and she doesn't cook very well, either. She always tries to get her meals from me. Mrs.Wang: Then she must love your cooking! Victor gave a soft laugh. Victor: She isn't very picky. She tells me that everything I make is delicious. When she's hungry, she may complain about this, about that, but she forgets all that when she's full. She really is very easily satisfied... The soup on the stove had started boiling, making loud sounds, and Victor's words were interrupted. He seemed to realize what he had been saying, and instinctively turned to look at the housekeeper. 

She was smiling at him, staring at him wordlessly. Victor: Mrs. Wang, I... Mrs.Wang: It's totally fine, totally okay, no need to be embarrassed! You always put a lot of effort into everything. She can notice that, you know! That's why she's satisfied!

Mrs.Wang: I don't understand any big laws of life, but even I can still tell that making food for someone you love gives great happiness. If that certain someone also enjoys your food, it's double the happiness. Don't you think so? Victor avoided her gaze but nodded his head in agreement. Victor: Yes, you're right. He didn't say anything else, and finished preparing the shrimp. Then, he smiled to himself.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the living room. A porcelain flower pot was faced towards the balcony, a couple of small flowers sprinkled among the green leaves.

Many people want important incidents to have beautiful meaning. Victor, however, knew that, even without that radiant significance, he would hold her hand tightly and never let go. Victor: Mrs. Wang, what kind of flowers did my father buy? Mrs.Wang: Orchids, why? Victor: Nothing. Victor: If he likes it, he can keep it.

Chapter 3

After supper, the four of us started playing mahjong. We played a few rounds, and then the two older people began to feel tired. Before going upstairs, Mr. Li turned to me. Mr.Li: MC, the spare room is ready for you. You can go right over once you feel sleepy. MC: Okay, thank you!

Victor and I were afraid to disturb them by staying up too late, so we both got ready for bed. After washing up, I passed Victor's bedroom. Faint light was shining through the space between the door and the door frame. He didn't seem to be asleep yet. I knocked on the door, and then pushed it open, sticking my head in to see what he was doing. Victor was sitting on the couch, looking at his laptop. When he saw me peek into his room, he shut the laptop and got up. Victor: Come in. You drank wine today. Are you feeling sick or uncomfortable at all? MC: No, I'm fine. Today's wine was great. You were right in deciding how long it should be decanted. I shut the door and looked around his room curiously. The bedroom was neat and tidy, but I couldn't see many traces of anyone living here. The bookshelves and desk contained many books from student times, and there was a jump rope nearby. All of this didn't seem like it would fit with the Victor in front of me, yet it also seemed to somehow make sense. MC: Victor, you used to live here? Victor: I've always lived in Loveland city. When my father moved here, he brought my belongings here as well. MC: So, that means this room is some kind of "storage area" for you? Victor: Basically. I walked over to the desk, looking at the neatly organized books, and carefully touched the supplies on his desk. MC: Who would have thought. The CEO used to have the same life as me when he was a student. Victor: Would it be anything different? MC: We both took the same classes. Why is that you're so much better than me when we're all grown up? I looked away, pouting, and then caught sight of a few thick dictionaries on the shelf. The red cover of an idioms book caught my attention. I felt instantly excited, and turned back towards Victor, clearing my throat. MC: Victor, I'm going to test you. What's the fourth idiom of the sixteenth page of this book? Victor: What are you talking about? MC: You always love to use idioms when you speak, so I've always thought that you memorized this idioms textbook. Victor: ...... Victor sighed, sounding exasperated. He didn't answer me, but forced me to sit down on the couch. MC: ?? Victor: I knew you were drunk. MC: I'm not drunk! Victor: That's what all drunk people say. I looked at him defiantly. MC: You drank a lot with your dad. Are you drunk? Victor: No. MC: That's what all drunk people say. I copied his tone and repeated his words back to him. Victor looked at me in resignation. Victor: If I were drunk, who would take care of the tipsy idiot? MC: ...Wait, you were awake all this time because you were waiting for... me? Victor: You only realized now? I knew you wouldn't go back to your room that easily so I left the door open. My heart felt warm and happy when he said that. I took Victor's hand, laughing softly. MC: Then are you planning to have me stay here? Victor: As long as you don't wreak havoc, sure, I'm fine with that. MC: I'm not drunk, I wouldn't wreak havoc! Plus, this room is filled with your past. I want to get to know it better. He stared at me for a while, and then finally gave in. Victor crouched down and wrapped his fingers around my hand. Victor: Go on, what do you want to know better? I raised my head, looking around the room, and my gaze landed on a medal standing on the desk. MC: What's this? What award did you get? Victor: The allied nations meeting simulation award. MC: Wow, impressive! I've heard of this contest before. Apparently it's already difficult to get in, but you even won! Victor: If I think about it now, I suggested quite a naive plan. It probably helped with training my critical thinking, though. I made a face at his know-it-all comment, but then turned my attention to another object. MC: What's that dark blue folder for? Victor: The school gave it to me. I think it's some sort of student committee note taking folder. MC: As expected of CEO Victor. You were a leader ever since birth...

I continued looking around the room, and I suddenly saw an object in the corner that was out of my expectation. A memory in my mind was suddenly brought to the surface, and I widened my eyes in surprise and joy. I walked over to the box in the corner and fished out a ball, nearly empty of air. I held it up triumphantly to Victor's face. MC: It looks like you really love soccer! You've still kept it until now... Victor: I only liked it when I was really young. MC: But still, it's thanks to this soccer ball that I could eat the pudding you made. Victor: You only remember the pudding? MC: Of course not, I remember many details! For example, the shape of that sandcastle you destroyed...the weather of that day...the colours of the water bottles sitting in a row, under the tree...... I suddenly thought of something, and stuffed the soccer ball into Victor's hands. I brought my hands up to his face, cupping it in my palms. MC: But still, what I remember most clearly is the nervous you, at a loss for what to do. You weren't such a serious Victor back then. Your height was...maybe about up to your chest? Your hair was a little curlier back then, and you were kind of chubby...... MC: You were the adorable big brother Victor! I drew patterns on his face with my fingertips as I spoke, laughing in a silly sort of way. Victor watched me silently, not reacting at all to my words. I felt the temperature under my palms rise, and I moved in closer to stare at him, slightly bewildered. His pupils dilated for a second. MC: Victor? What happened? Victor seemed to realize that he was rooted to the spot and instantly stepped back, tossing the soccer ball back in the box. Victor: ...It's nothing. It's late, you should go sleep. We're returning to Loveland city tomorrow. MC: Then can I sleep on your couch? Victor: No. Go back to your room. MC: But you just said I could stay for the night... Victor: I changed my mind. He was avoiding my gaze. I seemed to understand something, so I turned and faced my back towards him. MC: You're misleading me. You've always said "If you want to convince someone, you need to bring out an appropriate reason." Victor: ...... MC: But if you're feeling too embarrassed, I can understand. Victor: Why would I be embarrassed? When I heard his awkward tone, I smirked sightly and then turned around and grabbed him. MC: If so, then I'll take it that you agreed! I could hear his heavy breathing, and it was as if he were suppressing something and trying to control himself. I turned my head, but then caught sight of the roaring, complicated emotions in his eyes. A second later, I was enveloped in his arms and trapped against the bed. The emotions in his eyes were mixed into the embrace. Victor: You said you wanted to stay. MC: I- Victor: You really talk a lot today. He lowered his head, biting my lip as if it were a punishment for rambling on and on. His teeth glided over my lip and I let out a small noise of pain. He loosened his hold on me and touched my lips with his finger. Victor: Shh. My dad's a light sleeper. Don't wake him up. I stared at him, realizing that the bedrooms weren't far away from each other, and instantly turned red, covering my mouth. MC: W-Why didn't you say that earlier? Victor: Well, now you know. I glared at Victor, but this didn't stop him from doing what he originally had wanted to do. He moved my nervous hands away from my mouth, grasped the back of my neck with one hand, and slightly tilted my head upwards. He leaned down towards me again. This time, his movements were gentle, brushing his tongue over my lips and causing a hot, tingling, irresistible sensation. The feeling seemed to unfurl into every corner of my body. My mouth was slightly aching from his actions. The air seemed to thin around us as our breaths mingled and we breathed in each other's warmth. I felt slightly dizzy, and my hands clutched at his shirt as I subconsciously reached for something to hold onto. My body was trapped, and I was forced to go along with his actions. With every second, however, I sank more into the kiss and followed his lead willingly. I could hear the ticking of the clock. Victor didn't stop time like he had done in the daytime. I didn't have the energy to worry or think about the world around us, anyways. Our movements left our clothes a creased and wrinkled mess, and the necklace at my throat slid to the side, landing on the bed with an almost unnoticeable sound. The small sound seemed to snap him back to reality, and he ended the kiss, nuzzling his nose against my cheek. The sound of our breathing filled the quiet room. We stared at each other for a second, and then suddenly Victor turned his face away, getting off the bed. I was still holding on to the fabric of his shirt. He paused, and then gently pulled my hand off his clothes. MC: Victor...... Victor: ...Go to sleep. MC: What? Victor: You can sleep here. I'll go to the guest room. He didn't give me any time to react, and hurried out of the room without so much as a backwards glance. I froze for a while, and then moved myself into a sitting position, staring at the door. I opened my hand and stared at my palm, thinking back to the warmth I felt when I touched his face. Was he...blushing? Was it because of this kiss? But...he was totally fine with the one we shared in the daytime. Even though I didn't know the exact reason for his embarrassment, I felt a bit triumphant. MC: So. You could be flustered as well.

Chapter 4

The morning sun shone through the car window and I instinctively raised an arm to block the light from my face. I couldn't stop thinking about the embarrassed Victor last night, so I didn't get much sleep. The tiredness and fatigue still remained until today, so I decided to rest on the car ride back home. Oddly enough, Victor didn't say anything about my decision to sleep on the car, and played soft, relaxing music for the ride home. After a period of time, the car finally stopped. The bright sunlight falling over my eyelids was partially covered, and I could smell a familiar scent around me. Victor: MC, wake up. We're here. I lifted my heavy eyelids, still exhausted, and discovered that the surroundings weren't familiar. A cottage was sitting beside the quiet road. A fence ran along the front of the house, tracing out the edge of a garden bursting with life. If you looked carefully, there weren't many weeds or fallen leaves in the garden. It seemed that someone has tended to it recently. MC: Where are we? Aren't we going home? Victor: This is my house on the outskirts of the city. My family stays here when they occasionally visit. 

Victor: My dad had someone come over to fix the plumbing before spring festival. He cleaned this place up a bit while the pipes were being repaired, and told me to bring you over so you could rest here for a few days. Victor opened the front door, and I looked around at the space in wonder. It was in the same neat, minimalist design of Victor's house, but the colours were warmer and the house felt cozier. Sunlight was pouring out of a floor-to-ceiling window, filling every corner with a soft glow. The view beyond the window was filled with lush green colours, a few clusters of multiflora roses appeared occasionally among the plants. MC: It's so beautiful...thanks, Mr. Li and CEO Victor. I yawned again. Victor took my suitcase and led me to the bedroom. Victor: I'll give you the full tour once you're not half asleep. Go rest. Call me if there's anything you need. MC: Okay. I cleaned up the room a little bit, and then opened my suitcase to get my pyjamas, but they were nowhere to be found. I tried to think back to the morning, when I packed my suitcase, but couldn't remember anything, as I was too sleepy to care at that time. MC: I slept in Victor's room last night...did I put my pyjamas in the wrong suitcase? I decided to go and ask him. MC: Victor, where are you? Victor: Over here. His voice came from behind a door close by. I walked over, pushing it open, and then stood there, momentarily stunned. There was a huge walk-in closet with clothes and accessories neatly sorted in the surrounding drawers and wardrobes. Victor was standing in front of one of the closets, the light illuminating the side of his face. He had changed into a loose-fitting robe, the belt tied casually at his waist. The soft fabric was draped over his skin, showing the clear and defined lines of his figure. He hadn't been able to fix his robe yet, and his chest was bare. His strong muscles contrasted to the dark coloured fabric. My heartbeat sped up uncontrollably, and I stood there, not knowing what to do. My eyes were glued to his body. Victor: What's wrong? I realized what I was doing, and swallowed before starting to speak. MC: Um...I can't find my pyjamas. I think it's in the wrong suitcase. Victor: Oh, then I'll go check mine. He turned to walk out, and I caught sight of a stack of neatly folded shirts. An idea popped into my head, and I quickly stopped Victor. MC: Wait! I...I think I remember getting it dirty. Can I borrow something from here? Victor: ...You don't even behave when it's time to sleep. He still searched around in the wardrobe and passed me a white shirt. Victor: This one's soft. Try it on to see if it's comfortable. I took the shirt and compared it to my body. The fabric was slightly see-through, and it stopped at my thighs. ......maybe it's a little too short? I could feel my ears redden, and I stared at the mirror, hesitating. But when I thought of the shy Victor I saw last night, I felt determined and decided to try making him embarrassed again. I walked in the direction of the door, holding the shirt in my arms and turning my head to thank him. MC: Then I'll go try it on, thanks! Victor was rummaging though the closet, bringing out a pair of shorts and wanting to hand it to the person behind him, but then discovered that she had run away. He stared in the direction that the girl had disappeared, and gave a soft sigh. Victor: You never finish listening to what other people have to say.

He cleaned up the mess in the walk-in closet, and then remembered that the girl hadn't had breakfast yet. He went to her room and knocked on the door, waiting to ask her if she was hungry. There was no answer, and he pushed open the door, feeling puzzled. Victor: ...MC? It hadn't been long since she ran out of the walk-in closet, but the girl had already fallen fast asleep, hugging her pillows. The borrowed shirt was draped loosely over her body. She didn't cover herself with a blanket, nor did she shut the curtains. Sunlight shone over her, faintly illuminating her figure hidden under the fabric of the white shirt. He stood by the door awkwardly, not knowing if he should go in or head out. She didn't seem to be in a very deep sleep, mumbling softly, and then buried her head into the pillow. Victor sighed, walking quietly over to the curtains and shutting them. He then gently covered the girl with a blanket. Victor gave her forehead a soft push, lowering his voice and reminding her gently. Victor: Don't bury your face into the pillow. MC: Nnngh......Victor...... Victor: Hmm? MC: ...Cute...... She smiled in her sleep, and he was reminded of the night before, when she had called him "adorable" while smiling sillily. Inexpressible emotion crept up upon him again, and he instantly left the room. Victor leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Victor: What an idiot...

When I opened my eyes again, it was nearly night time. I looked down at the blanket covering my body and rubbed my head.

I was planning to wait for him after changing into the shirt, but the bed was too comfortable and I fell asleep...

I raised my hand, looking at the long sleeve hanging over my arm. I probably only slept well because I was surround by his scent, right? Even though I was a little disappointed, I knew this was Victor's way of expressing his feelings. MC: Victor, I think you're the dummy here. I muttered, but my chest still felt warm and happy. Sounds came from the kitchen downstairs. I changed back into my own clothes and ran down the stairs, my stomach growling with hunger. 

Victor turned his head around when he heard me coming, and he frowned at me, sighing. Victor: You're finally awake. I thought that you would sleep all the way until next morning. MC: How could I miss the meal you prepared? MC: But, speaking of sleep, I express my gratitude to Mr. CEO for covering me with a blanket. Victor: You're welcome. I just didn't want to spend my holiday taking care of an sick idiot. I made a face at him and walked closer to him, curiously examining the food he was making. Seeing that I was hovering near him, he stuffed the soup ladle into my hand. Victor: You need to help if you want to eat sooner. The warm yellow light lit up the kitchen. Victor and I worked side by side at the stove. Even though Operation Pyjamas had failed as well, I felt content to have a holiday where I could always be near Victor. 

I made up my mind, choosing to ignore all my plans about making him embarrassed and decided to just enjoy the peaceful times with Victor.

After supper, I began to wander around the house curiously. 

The darkness seemed much quieter and more serene than the nights in the city. 

I was going to go and find Victor, but there was a sudden snap and the lights went out. MC: What happened? Victor: MC! His voice rang out from not too far away, and a streak of light appeared in the darkness. Victor: Stand there and don't move. I'm coming. I watched the light come closer, and a warm hand grasped my arm. Victor: They just fixed the electricity channels a while ago, so the power is a bit unstable. MC: I'm glad I came with you. Being alone in such a big house would be sort of scary. Victor: What is there to be scared of? MC: It's too quiet here, and it's also really dark...all those horror movies all start with the power going out... I said that as a joke at first, but started getting nervous and held on tightly to Victor's arm. MC: Um...we've closed all the windows, right? Victor: I already checked that when you were sleeping. Victor: A certain someone was sleeping from the morning to the evening with no worries at all. Of course I had to check it myself. I laughed awkwardly, thinking back to how I fell asleep. MC: I was...way too tired. Mr. CEO is always so thorough in his plans! Victor: Leave your strange thoughts behind and follow me. Let's go check on the power switch. I walked over to the front door with Victor. He pointed the flashlight at the main switch, and we could both see that it was pointed to "off." He flicked it on, and the lights in the house lit up one by one. I blinked, adjusting to the brightness. Victor: There. Now there's no need to be scared. Victor: I'll go check on all the electrical appliances. MC: Okay. Victor: ...When are you going to let go? I gave a slight start, realizing that I was still hugging his arm tightly. Victor looked at me, trying not to laugh. I tried to ignore the heat on my face, and held on to his arm even tighter. MC: ...I mean...this means...I want to go along with you. Victor: Huh. Sticking to me even though you aren't drunk? MC: This isn't related to being drunk! MC: It just means... if the power goes out again, I can help you hold the flashlight. I made a random excuse up on the spot, and Victor glanced at me. Still, he put the flashlight into my hand. Victor: That was a dumb excuse. Try a different one next time. MC: But you already agreed... Victor: That was to prevent someone from lying awake at night, thinking of strange thoughts and being too scared to sleep. MC: But that's not something I can control. MC: You're right, though. I have no time to think about those things if I'm around you. Victor seemed to stop moving for a second. I didn't raise my head to look at him, but I heard a low laugh by my ear. Victor: This isn't a bad excuse. I'll accept it. Our entwined arms caused us to be pressed to each other, and the familiar warmth took all my fears and worries away. It was a special kind of privilege to be able to hold on to his arm so tightly. 

When it's just the two of us, I always want to take full advantage of this privilege.

Chapter 5

I finally felt refreshed and awake this morning. When I got up, the door to Victor's room was still closed. It was kind of rare to wake up before him. I snuck into the kitchen and took out a few simple ingredients out of the refrigerator, planning to surprise him with breakfast. The second I set the sandwiches on the table, I saw Victor walking over, buttoning his shirt. MC: Good morning, Victor! He paused when he saw me, and then nodded his head. Victor: Good morning. MC: Thanks for taking care of me yesterday. In exchange, I'm going to make breakfast for you! Take a seat. It'll be ready soon. I pulled out a chair, but he didn't sit down. Instead, Victor just leaned by the table, watching me work. I finished preparing the iced coffee and walked back to the table, handing one cup to him. MC: This is a new recipe I've discovered a few days ago. Let's start off the new year with a new flavour! Victor looked at me, and then glanced at the messy countertop, sighing exasperatedly. Victor: ...You really tend to make yourself at home. MC: Hehe, that's because this is your house. MC: Plus, I'm always very interested in things related to you. I met the "Student Victor" a few days ago. Maybe I can meet another you today as well. Victor: You're going to be disappointed, then. Victor: I don't come to this house very often. There's nothing interesting to learn about here. MC: Then...we can make some new memories here together! ...But if it's like that... MC: Student Victor, CEO Victor, and the normal loveland citizen Victor...can I have them all? Victor was still for a second, and then he walked over to stand in front of me. Victor: Didn't you say you want them all? You're missing one. MC: Huh? I paused, not expecting him to act serious like this, and then carefully thought back to all his other identities. MC: ...and...Chef Victor? Victor: That's not right. MC: Professor Li? Victor: No. MC: ...It's not YanYan, is it? I said cautiously, and received an annoyed glance from him. He leaned towards me, trapping me by the table, his eyes watching me carefully. Victor: Are you really an idiot or just pretending to be? You mentioned it just the day before yesterday. Did you already forget? I blinked, trying to remember the conversations we shared on that day. Other than looking at his belongings from student times, there seemed to be some important detail that I missed... I stared at the face in front of me, and the images of a faintly blushing Victor holding the soccer ball emerged from my memories. It was like some corner of my heart was instantly lit up, and I suddenly realized what he was referring to. My pulse began to speed up. I knew what the answer was, but I decided to first tease him for a bit. MC: I was drunk on that day. Victor: Who was it that insisted they weren't drunk back them? MC: Isn't that what all drunk people say? Victor: ...... Victor let out a long breath. His hand wound around my middle and pinched my waist. Victor: Okay then. Since you have selective memory, I guess I'll help you remember.

The next second, I was lifted into the air. I wasn't able to respond in time, and both my slippers slid off of my feet. He carried me over to the table behind us. My skin touched the marble surface and I cried out. MC: Ah, cold! I instantly tried to move my legs in order to avoid the cold marble table. Victor took advantage of the situation, grabbing my ankle and pulling me forwards suddenly. I instantly toppled into his arms, hastily wrapping my legs around him in order to keep my balance. I held the cup of iced coffee in my hand carefully, trying to check if I had soiled his clothes. 

A shadow suddenly loomed over me, Victor leaned closer to me, blocking the sunshine spilling down from the skylight. Victor: I remember someone saying that they're only going to drink a little bit. They also promised not to embarrass me. MC: ...I really didn't drink much! It was just that...I felt fine while drinking, but I didn't expect to feel the effects so strongly afterwards... Victor: Mm. It seems that you still remember this part. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead like a reward for answering correctly. Victor: Thanks to those after effects, you didn't go to bed, but instead, headed over to my room. MC: I just wanted to know if you were sleeping or not... Victor: And you examined every corner of the room, claiming that you wanted to get to know my past. I gave a nervous laugh and tried to scoot backwards. Victor stopped me by holding on tightly to my waist. Victor: Don't remember this part? MC: I do! You have lots of books, won lots of prizes, and you would diligently take notes in your student committee folder. Victor: And? MC: And... I let my gaze slide away from his face on purpose, avoiding his stare. Victor pinched my waist again, and I instantly straightened up, meeting his eyes. Victor: Answer the question. MC: I, I can't remember anymore! Victor: Oh? Then I can give you a reminder. Victor leaned closer and closer. The glass in my hand slipped, and I instantly raised a hand, pressing against his chest in order to stop him from getting any nearer. MC: Wait, the coffee's gonna spill! Victor: Then hold on to it tightly. He grasped the hand I was using to hold the coffee. I wasn't able to let go of the cup, nor was I able to avoid him. I raised my head in surprise, and I could feel his warm breathing on my face. Victor: There was a soccer ball in the corner of the room. You were especially interested in it. His lips brushed against the skin of my face, and I gave a little gasp of surprise. MC: Soccer ball? Isn't that what you loved to play with when you were young? Victor: Mm hmm. This soccer ball destroyed an idiot's sand castle. She cried for a long time. Victor: She wouldn't be comforted no matter what, but when the topic of food came up, she completely forgot about the castle. Victor: But still, it was understandable, since she was only five years old at the time. He didn't seem to want to say any more. He just looked at me silently, his fingers subconsciously stroking the back of my hand. I didn't know if it was because of the sunlight warming me on one side, or because I realized I was walking slowly into his trap...... ......I felt that every inch of my untouched skin was sweating slightly, overheating my brain. I had originally thought I had caught on to a special detail that would make him blush, but instead, I found myself ensnared in his traps. The name that I tried to avoid saying on purpose was becoming more and more embarrassing to say... My hand tightened around his shirt, and I forced myself to speak. MC: ...And then...? Victor raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem annoyed. He moved his gentle kisses from my forehead over to my lips. His eyelashes brushed against my face, and all the details of that night instantly reappeared in my head. Victor: And then, this is what happened after.

The sunlight outlined his silhouette in brightness, but his eyes lay obscured in the shadows cast by his hair. Victor's eyes were filled with desire. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I wobbled, losing my balance, and had to tighten my knees around his waist in order not to fall over. Victor: Do you still need more reminders? Before I could even answer, his lips were already pressed up against mine. I let out a muffled sound of protest, and he glanced at me but didn't stop his actions. How am I even supposed to answer like this?! I raised my head and bit his bottom lip, irritated. Victor finally stopped and looked down at me with a smile, his eyes gleaming teasingly. Victor: You've learned to bite. MC: You did that on purpose! Victor: You clearly knew the answer but you still hid it. Didn't you do that on purpose as well? Victor: The best way to deal with an idiot is to do the same exact thing back. MC: ...Victor, you've become sly! Victor gave a soft laugh, not seeming to mind my accusations. I looked at his calm expression and muttered under my breath dejectedly. MC: I still can't make you blush, huh... Victor: Who do you think made me act like this? I paused, startled at his sudden question. Victor was no longer smiling, but instead, staring at me seriously and waiting for me to answer. Victor: ...So that's why you've been doing such odd things these days. Victor: Trying to trick me into drinking, pretending to be drunk, insisting on wearing my clothes......you had planned this from the beginning? My mind was a mess, and I blurted out all my thoughts. MC: It's because you're always so calm and collected...I wanted to see if I could make you flustered and embarrassed. MC: I know I do silly things sometimes, but I don't want you to see me as a child. I'm no longer that naive five year old girl. I want to see you blush and turn red because of me. I glanced at Victor, and then buried my head into his shoulder, feeling slightly embarrassed. MC: You don't know how cute you are when you're flustered... MC: And that's a side no one will ever see, except for me. He was silent for a moment, and then let out a sigh. Victor: Have you ever seen anyone invest five billion in a child's company? MC: ...... Victor: Starting from the first time I've met you, I've never once thought of you as a child. I call you an idiot, only because the silly things that you always do...they really don't fit with your age. I lowered my head, giving a small huff of annoyance. This person really never stops insulting me...... Victor: And also, I'll repeat the same thing back to you. MC: Huh? Victor: You're really cute when you do those silly things. Victor: The same goes for when you're not doing anything silly. I stared at Victor, feeling the heat on my face rise. My quickening heart beat gave me away, clearly showing Victor my surprise and happiness at his confession. The corners of my mouth lifted in an uncontrollable smile, and I straightened up. MC: Victo- Victor: Wrong. The man in front of me furrowed his brow, and I swallowed nervously. This topic still wasn't over yet... MC: You've heard me say it so many times when I was young. Still haven't gotten tired of it? Victor: This is different. I want the "you" now to answer. Last chance. I took a deep breath, getting ready to answer, but then felt a sudden chill on my leg. Water droplets had formed on the glass of the iced coffee. The cold drops of water had landed on my thigh. I instinctively tried to look down and wipe it away, but Victor grabbed my chin. Victor: Stop getting distracted. MC: But I'm just- Victor: Answer me. Which Victor did you forget about? A drop of water slipped down my leg, leaving behind a trail of faintly itching skin. The voice of the man in front of me was low. Every word brushed softly against my heart like the gentle touch of raindrops in spring. I opened my mouth, almost unable to control my trembling voice. MC: Brother Victor......

The air was quiet for a second, and then the glass in my hand was whisked away, clinking against the plates behind me. Victor pushed them away, hard. I stared unwaveringly at the man in front of me. He avoided my gaze, opening his mouth and starting to speak in a low voice. Victor: Close your eyes. MC: Why? Victor: No reason. He leaned over to gently kiss my eyelids, and I was forced to close my eyes. His hand supported the back of my head, and then a warm, strong kiss to my lips cleared all the thoughts from my head. Even if I couldn't see his face, I could clearly feel his unspoken feelings. The puzzle piece from long ago had finally been placed into the last empty spot. I reached out, feeling for his shoulders, and then wrapped my arms around his neck. My crossed arms made him lean in closer, and the feeling of our mouths together burned towards every corner of my body. Our hot breaths mixed together, and my skin felt both warm and cold at the same time. His warm palms held on to me, keeping me from falling but also making me shiver from the sensation. I repressed a small cry of surprise, and secretly opened my eyes, looking up at him.

The sunlight shone on his face, revealing his blush, and I could see a kind of simple pleasure in his usually unfathomable eyes. I lifted my arm to cup his face in one hand, and he looked at me, meeting my gaze. For a second, he looked at a loss for what to do. It was probably that he didn't expect me to look at him. Even his ears turned bright red. MC: Pffft... Victor: Why are you laughing? MC: Nothing. I just think you look really cute when you're blushing. Victor: ...... Victor: Your wish was granted. Happy now? MC: Very happy! I ignored his slightly annoyed expression, and gently pinched his cheek, smiling happily. I pressed down his head and gave his lips a small peck. The man in front of me was poker-faced since childhood, but he was also warm and soft to the touch. My heart was filled with an indescribable warmth, and I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him again. Victor: You... The voice in my ears trembled slightly. I let go of Victor, laughing. MC: Thank you for letting me get to know you better. MC: It doesn't matter which side of you I see. You'll always be my favourite. Victor looked at me for a second, and then let out a chuckle. Victor: Are these your true feelings? MC: I thought you always know what I'm thinking. Victor: That's true. Victor: Then, let me hear more of your true feelings. The sun shining through the skylight overhead cast Victor's shadow over me, overlapping with my own behind us. Time seemed to stretch on... And mixed into the passage of time, was his long and affectionate answer.

- End -