#suddenly felt happy and had the urge to document it lol

[fozziefox]

That's all.

[timextoxhajima]

Playlist Feels

*SHORT SERIES

Member: j u y e o n

Genre: drama with chaebol/lawyer juyeon

A/N: I’m investing way too much feelings and emotions into this i might cry when it ends. this chapter is more serious i guess i can’t be writing angst and smut every chapter LOL

Link to other parts: 

I Never Wanna See You Again

Frustrated (light smut)

Love Somebody (light smut)

Play With Fire (smut)

~

“i’m playing with fire.”

all you wanted to do was have breakfast, but you walk out along the hallways of the second floor only to watch an entire crowd of staff members push and pull countless of racks across the living room. 

the female staff member who recognised you from the previous week notices you standing awkwardly behind the wall, struggling to process the crowd at the foot of the stairs. 

you watch her say something to another staff member, before she strolls across the living room and heads up the stairs to greet you.

“i’m going to hope you don’t have any clothes of your own,” she smiles at you, eyes flitting to your neck for a split second and looks at your bare legs. 

“uh--” you stumble on your tongue, having trouble finding any words to say. you completely forget about the marks on your neck, and you were only in his underwear with the large pullover barely covering your rear. 

“i’m gonna get you a robe while you choose your clothes for today and i’ll run you a bath before you have breakfast.”

you watch as she walks away into the bathroom, and again, you wonder why it was so difficult to think of anything to say. you had expected the house staff to be judging you for sleeping with him, but they all seemed so nice and candid, it was a little difficult to believe. 

you just couldn’t get the idea of juyeon being such a kind, relaxed boss out of your head. 

she returns from the bathroom with a robe, the water now running and a rose scent begins to waft through your nose. “here,” she hands you the robe and waits for you to put it on. 

“mr lee wanted you to pick out as many clothes as you wanted, and he wants you to know not to worry about the price.”

you reach the bottom of the stairs with her standing right next to you, and you see at least three racks of clothes surrounding the living room. there were at least two full-body mirrors next to the sofas, and a separate mobile shelf with shoes. 

“uh... do i have to? where are my clothes from yesterday?” your hand unconsciously reaches up to your neck to cover your skin. 

“in the laundry! we’ll get it steamed and ready for you by lunch, but right now, he’s told us he wants to see you in something from any of these racks. he didn’t exactly give us much choice either,” she gives you a look that comforts you, gently patting your arm to encourage you. 

you choose out exactly five different sets of clothes, which included shoes. you suddenly feel like you went on a splurge and your credit card would’ve exceeded by now, judging by the brands the clothes were from. 

you soak yourself in the bathtub, the light from behind you illuminating the white, black and golden surfaces. you couldn’t help but to let your head replay the memories from the night before as the rose scent pulls all the knots in your body apart. 

it felt like you were on vacation, when you were really just... feeding off your boyfriend’s wealth. you felt guilty, and frankly, a little worried that people were going to start thinking you were with him for his money. 

you haven’t done anything for him besides curse at him, take the credit for his workings for the case and sleep in his bed. 

you shake your thoughts away, deciding that it was time for you to get your due breakfast before working on the case. 

you were pushing the last few bites of the strange looking pudding around in the bowl, and the female staff from before was in the dining room with you, arranging the cutlery and utensils away from sight.

“hey, uh--” you call out, looking at her while mrs jung comes out of the kitchen. you wonder why it took you three meals before you notice that you could see into the kitchen. the dining table was right next to a black counter where mrs jung would leave the food right after it was prepared, and the kitchen itself looked extravagant.

“you called?” the female staff lays down the plate and walks over to your side. 

“yeah, uh...” you scratch your temple, slightly pulling on the turtleneck you chose to hide the bruises he left. “you don’t-- happen to think that... i’m with mr lee for his money... do you?”

the female staff blinks in surprise at you, and before she could respond, mrs jung does the honor. 

“oh, my dear, definitely not! you’d be surprised at how good juyeon-nim is at picking out who’s genuine and who isn’t.” you turn and watch mrs jung carry some leftover food back into the kitchen. 

“we were very surprised when he asked you to stay last friday, past the time where the house staff gets off work. he doesn’t like guests over, unless they are his parents... so it was nice to see him bring someone back.”

you let a small laugh escape your lips, feeling the blood rush up to your ears and cheek. 

hold on. 

‘someone’?

“you mean he’s never brought anybody home before?” 

“not willingly, no.” mrs jung responds from the kitchen. “juyeon-nim is only friendly to people he trusts and even then he’s extremely cautious, though sometimes a little dense... but now that we know how comfortable he is with you, and we’re all just happy for him.”

you feel a second wave of embarrassment wash over you, your hand now wrapping around your own neck and pulling up the material to hide any possible marks that were peeking out from under. 

“you don’t have to hide those as long as you’re here. everybody knows what happened,” the female staff member teases you, clearing the plates that you literally licked the crumbs off from before. 

“awh... nooooo,” you whine, hiding your face in your hands. 

the staff member laughs at your embarrassment, encouraging you to finish your dessert before she tells you where his office was. 

you get the door open, and the first thing you notice was the similar L-shaped glass windows like his bedroom had. the desk sat on the right side, with a main leather seat back facing a large shelf. the levels were alternated between files and small, expensive-looking statues and souvenirs. 

right before the glass panels were two single-seaters with a small coffee table between them, and your eyes took awhile to notice the little fridge under the table. 

you log into the computer with ease, surprised that there wasn’t a password required. you remember mrs jung saying that he doesn’t have anybody over, and you figure that nobody else has been in his office anyway. the worry about someone hacking into his files was non-existent. 

your suitcase was already placed by the table, and you wonder when did it get here. did he leave it in here last night? this morning? or did he get a staff member to do it?

the online system was perfectly synced with the system you had in the office, and all you needed to do was log in with your information before your case displays itself on the screen. 

you get to work almost immediately, every now and then looking past the computer screen to look out the large glass windows. 

the clouds were so fluffy against the bright blue sky today, and you couldn’t help but imagine chanhee, eric and sunwoo’s reactions when they notice you didn’t clock in today.

oh. chanhee, eric and sunwoo.

you reach over to your suitcase and pull out your cellphone, noticing the nearly ten missed calls you got from them starting about five minutes before the supposed reporting time. 

chanhee: where the hell are you? its 7.55am!

eric: did she oversleep

chanhee: she doesn’t oversleep

sunwoo: not with that annoying ass alarm she’s got

you smile to yourself, unable to contain your happiness as you scroll down.

chanhee: why do we have to hear about your absence from our manager?

sunwoo: wait

eric: OH MY GOD

sunwoo: mf WAIT

eric: DID THE BOSS TELL OUR MANAGER THAT YOU WEREN’T COMING IN TODAY

sunwoo: DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM AGAIN

chanhee: but he’s in office! 

sunwoo: so? he could’ve just left her at home and came to work to reduce suspicion cause it’ll too obvious if the both of them are absent

eric: unless...

sunwoo: i’m betting on that and OTHER REASONS

eric: i was thinking about other reasons

chanhee: whatever the reason, call us during our lunch break!

eric: yeah we want details

sunwoo: fucking disgusting

you snort to yourself, ready to keep your phone away and finish up the case. 

but the aggressive vibration from your phone stops you just as you laid it down, and you sigh heavily when you see the caller ID. 

“yello,” you put the phone down on the table, keeping it on loudspeaker. 

“why do you sound so glum? i return from a two month trip and this is how you greet me?”

you roll your eyes, laying your hands right at the keyboard. “hi mom, how was your trip to san francisco?”

“oh, it was gorgeous!” she says with a strange accent. must’ve been the american air for two months. “i was pretty sad to leave, but nothing can stop me from coming back to see you!”

“when have you ever needed to see me?” your tone was unenthusiastic, and you resist the urge to hang up altogether. 

“aw, no, honey,” she whines. “are you still mad about last year?”

“just so you know, i’m gonna stay mad for quite a bit, so don’t expect anything different.”

“aw, but you did say you wanted swavroski--”

“yeah, a swavroski ring! not the damn brand!” you huff, burying your face into your hands. your eyes were on the screen, staring at the case document, but all you could hear was the heavy breathing over the phone. 

“i take it that you haven’t signed the contract to claim ownership of the brand.”

“of course i didn’t! i left home so i could build a life for myself. you promised me that you’d leave me and my finances and my life alone. you know i don’t want you or dad’s help but you go ahead and buy a whole jewellery brand?!”

silence. 

“i’m never signing that contract, just so you know. it’s been sitting at home since you had it mailed to me while you ran off to canada.”

“are you still living in that tiny flat by the lake outside of town?”

you pick up a pinch of contempt in her voice. “yeah, what’s so bad about my 'tiny flat’?”

“nothing,” liar. “i just want you to have the best we can afford.”

“again with the ‘we’. how many times do i have to tell you that i don’t want you or dad’s help?”

“but--”

“no,” you snap into the phone, picking it up and hovering your thumb over the hang up button. “i’m gonna go now because i have work to do. don’t call me unless it’s to tell me that someone else already owns swavroski.”

you finally hang up and you throw the phone back into your suitcase, hands on your forehead as you return your attention to the screen. 

needed me? what a load of bullcrap. 

maybe if she didn’t treat you like some kind of trophy when you were younger, you’d believe that she genuinely loved you. 

you were called to lunch when the sun was at its highest, the blinding rays bouncing off windows and the metal from buildings that it heated up the room like a toaster. 

mrs jung’s food never fails to deliver, and the female staff from before struggles to tuck your napkin into your clothes so that the gravy doesn’t fly about. 

you were mindlessly praising the hell out of mrs jung’s pasta when you hear a staff outside the dining room shout. you turn at the sound of the doors swinging open, and you find yourself standing immediately at the sight of a lady who looked like a million bucks. 

“what do you mean he’s in offic--” the lady finally turns her attention from the staff outside the dining room and to you. “and... who are you?”

so much for that lunch phone call to your friends.

you find yourself sitting awkwardly opposite her, carefully watching as she swirls the wine in her glass. you feel her eyes pierce right through you, and your hands reach up to your turtleneck in a bid to pull it upwards.

“there’s no need to hide,” she nearly scolds you, and the harsh tone strikes a chord in you. “i know who you are.”

what?

“you’re the reason why my son’s fiance is in shambles right now.”

his what--

“i’m sorry, who?” you squint your eyes at her, for a split second forgetting that she was the mother of your now-boyfriend.

“he didn’t tell you?” she offers a smile of disbelief. “and here i was thinking he changed for the better.”

“’for the better’? he wanted to leave the country to do charity work, not run away.”

“he was running away from the responsibilities he was born to shoulder. we do enough charity for him to stay,” she leans forward on the table, one palm pressed flat on the surface. 

“but he didn’t even want the damn law fi--”

“mother!” 

the both of you turn to the door of the dining room. every staff member within your line of vision looked like they were scared shitless, which was a strange sight, considering how relaxed and candid they were in the absence of this... crazy lady.

who might be my mother-in-law? ugh. 

“you should’ve told me you’re visiting,” juyeon walks in the doors and the staff members shut them behind him. he grabs a seat next to you, and it visibly stuns his mother. 

“i wouldn’t have bothered if i knew you weren’t even at home,” she watches in slight disgust as juyeon leans into your face and plants a kiss on your cheek. your eyes widen and your heart feels extremely heavy. “care to explain what is going on?”

juyeon carefully sits his suitcase next to his chair as the kitchen staff serves him a glass of wine. you remember the only food that was prepared was only for you and the staff members.

“what’s there to explain? i never said i agreed to marry anybody i was told to.”

you watch anxiously, eyes switching between juyeon, who was calmly sipping on his wine, and his mother, who was so angry that you could almost see the steam escaping from her ears...

“and so you run off and sleep with some random girl?”

ouch.

“will she still be ‘some random girl’ if you knew what she was capable of? she’s closed more cases in six months than i did in a year, mother.”

“i didn’t think a lawyer would let someone leave such savage marks all over her body like this!” she berates you, hand carelessly gesturing to all of you.

“which year did you walk through a portal from? it’s not the 1800s, mother.”

wow, so she blames me and not the one who made these marks?

“girls nowadays.”

you could feel juyeon’s frustration hit the roof, and the atmosphere in the dining hall gets heavier as each second passes in silence. 

“what are you here for, anyway? just to ask me about me dumping my fiance who i never even loved? i don’t even like her face, mother. she’s an incapable princess who does nothing but sit around and gets waited on.”

“forget about that, you’ve gone ahead and spent your weekend breaking off the engagement anyway,” his mother glares at the two of you. 

didn’t he spend his weekend with his family--

“but i do want to know why you’re back in the office.”

juyeon locks his jaw in odd angles, and if you didn’t know it was his mother who was pissing him off, you would’ve thought he was going to throw a punch across the table. 

“what do you mean ‘why i’m back in the office’? doing my job and accepting my responsibilities like you wanted to!” 

“and you didn’t have the decency to at least inform us? we were ready to re-sell it to the bureau director!” 

juyeon sucks in a deep breath and stands up, eyes tightly shut as you watch him collect his feelings. his mother remains relaxed in the seat opposite you, arms tightly crossed over her chest but her face still brimming with anger and dissatisfaction. 

“okay,” he leans downwards, pressing his palms flat against the surface of the table. “if you’re so upset then i assume a contract has already been drawn up, yes?”

his mother doesn’t respond. 

“alright, i’ll contact the bureau director and i’ll explain the situation. it’s you the bureau director has a problem with, anyway. it’ll be easy for me.”

your face was turned to juyeon, but your eyes couldn’t resist the temptation to look at his mother. she had just been outspoken by her son, and you felt so proud of him for standing up for himself. 

his mother finishes the win, visibly angry. she gets up and leaves the dining hall, and when you hear the lift ‘ding’ followed by the sound of its gears shutting its doors, you heaved a sigh of relief.

the entire room relaxes and begins helping to clear the table. juyeon was the only one who looked like he was about to burst from anger and frustration. 

you stand up and wrap your arms around his torso, leaning your chin on his shoulder.

“hey.”

“i’m sorry you had to see that.”

you shake your head, pulling away and hugging his arm instead. 

“i’m sorry that i lied about what i did over the weekend, and i’m sorry i didn’t tell you i was already engaged.”

you let the pain of the realisation sink in for a moment, before giving him a weak smile. “well, it wasn’t really a lie. you said it was something to do with your family... and besides, you broke off the engagement.” you reach over his chest and find his arm to pull him to face you, looking up at him whose eyes were filled with remorse. 

naturally, a shitty feeling swamps you when you lose sight of his prideful, authorial self, so you pull his face down to meet yours and you feel him melt into the kiss. 

“do you need to go back to the office?” you let him go, his hands now resting on your waist.

“yeah,” he sighs apologetically. “i only came back because the lobby called to tell me my mother was here.”

“aw,” you grin in attempt to shake off the tension that was still hanging in the air. “nice to know you came back to save me from your mother.”

a smile appears on his lips, and he pulls you in all so suddenly, planting a soft kiss on your forehead.

“maybe i shouldn’t leave my marks so high up your neck next time.”

you sigh with your lips in smile, pressing your head into his chest as he wraps his arms tightly around you. 

THE NEXT DAY

your arm was linked tightly with juyeon’s as he walks you up the stairs of the grand hotel, the ends of your gown dragging along the marble surface to the restaurant where he would meet the bureau director. 

you couldn’t take your eyes off him, though the simple suit was nothing compared to the dress he had prepared for you within a day’s notice. you reach the restaurant entrance and the lady immediately recognises him, turning to lead you two into the restaurant and in the corner where the private rooms were.

“so just to be clear, ignore your mother and be nice to the bureau director, right?” you giggle as the restaurant staff knocks on the door. 

juyeon laughs and pecks you on your temple. “maybe if you ignore her enough, she’ll start wanting your attention.”

you snicker to yourself, watching the door pull open and the light from inside spills out. 

you trail behind juyeon and look into the room, and your heart stops in your chest.

the world stops revolving around the sun and your breath hitches in your throat, your grip on juyeon’s arm tightening instantly when you see the two people in the room. 

“mother,” juyeon awkwardly starts, only noticing your sudden grip on his arm. 

mother. 

she looks at you with wide, surprised eyes before they dissipate into a wide smile. 

“this is the bureau director, mrs--”

“it’s alright,” she stops juyeon. “i know who she is.”

you gulp and your chest collapses in on itself. 

of all people, THIS bureau director just had to be your mother?

Part 6: Bourbon

[my-autistic-things]

hey! omg i'm so happy I found your post / responce on your diagnosis for autism. i've thought i'm on the spectrum for a while now, i'm diagnosed with ADHD and have always had 'compulsions' that don't fit the criteria of OCD but that dr's have always put under that category UNTIL I read your post. okay I have NEVER had someone mention needing to feel stimuli on both sides of ur body ... "the gotta do the same thing on each side thing that’s super common apparently"as you put it ... (pt 1)

but when I read that today, idek how to describe it. ive honestly never met someone who has that urge and never been able to explain or understand why I do. thnk u so much for sharing that, it seriously did so much for me and connected a lot of dots in my head that I should connect with a dr to get 'tested'. idk if any of this makes proper sense. I did want to ask though if you know what that urge / compulsion is called or if u know of anywhere I can read up about it?! thanks so much (pt 2).

Super sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for so long!  I’m glad my post was so relatable!  I felt the same way until I read others talking about it vaguely and I was like...hEY!  I don’t know what that urge/compulsion is called, but I really wish I knew!  I haven’t come across any documents/research about this specifically, BUT I have read some articles about diagnosing autism that alluded to it.  It’s typically coded as “repetitive behaviors” which for me, means that I touch the side of each finger with my thumb at the same spot over and over again, or do things 8 times.  I don’t have the energy to look more at the DSM rn to find the specific language that it uses when describing essentially what the autistic community refers to as stimming, but that is generally what the DSM is referring to in various ways in that section of the criteria.

I’m going to discuss some stuff here just in case others want to know more/can relate!

On the show Atypical, the character does some things 3 times and it’s never mentioned that he has OCD, just autism, so it seems as though there is fairly wide recognition of having a compulsion to do something X amount of times. When I first watched the show I had an amazing moment of “I do that too!” because I never saw it before outside the context of OCD. After doing whatever fidget/stim thing I do with my right hand, I feel like things are super uneven and desperately need to do it on my left hand.  My brain is just like “gotta do it” and there’s no reason for it.  This got very bad when I was 12-14, which just so happened to be when I was under the most stress; I had just started going to school, I was fairly socially outcast, I realized I was transgender, I came out to my mom and I wasn’t allowed to start my transition, and I was severely depressed.  When I was 14 I started transitioning, changed schools, was super stressed about suddenly having friends and wanting to keep them, and I actually started medication for depression and OCD (which did NOT work and made everything worse and scared my mom into stopping all medication). Anyways, soon after that I started research autism, started college, got my drivers license and had a lot more freedom, fully transitioned, and got diagnosed with autism as well. Learning about sitmming and being under so much less stress allowed me to...not be as stressed lol. 

One of the ways OCD was explained to me (as in, me at 13 telling my therapist I have OCD and him telling me I don’t until I explained how distressing it is I have to do things 8 times), was that you feel like you have to do a specific ritual otherwise something bad will happen. Like there is an actual consequence you can explain.  He asked me what I was scared of happening if I didn’t touch my fingers 8 times and I didn’t have an answer.  For a random example, you need to flick your light switch on and off before leaving it on to scare away a monster under your bed otherwise it might attack you. Or, you’re scared your family is going to die and your brain tells you that if you do a specific ritual they will be safe.

Stimming is more like “this feels good and I will continue to do it until I am satisfied.”  This can be very confusing when it feels compulsory, but I noticed that it only feels compulsory when I actually need to stim and prevent a meltdown/shutdown/in sensory overload. Once I started using stim toys, carrying a tangle around, using a necklace of fidget rings, and being aware I’m autistic and need to stim, my “OCD” started going away.  Still got plenty of social anxiety, but the daily struggles I thought were due to OCD got so so so much better.

I’d just like to note, the main posts I’ve seen talking about needing to do things until it “feels right” or organizing things in a particular way that doesn’t make explainable sense but more until it “looks right” have all been about ADHD. ADHD and autism are so close, I don’t mean to mislead anyone to think about this OCD/stim compulsion whatever this is, is an exclusive autism thing. I was able to identify this as an “autism thing” by looking at the DSM criteria and interpreting the traits related to stimming and finding them directly corresponding with my “OCD” symptoms. But, the “feels right” aspect I have identified as an “ADHD thing” by reading posts made by others with ADHD talking about the same feeling.  So, I’m guessing this is a neurodivergent thing in general that some people experience! Probably more commonly found in autistic people, but I wouldn’t say it’s only an autistic thing.

Feel free to comment if you can relate to this! Or have any more information/want to share your experience!

[teddystrap]

Drama CD: 「オジサマ VS ワカゾウ」２ ～恋はいつも突然に…～

Ojisama: Ichinose Yasunari (CEO, cv: Horiuchi Kenyuu) Wakazou: Ichinose Yuusei (Vice-President, cv: Sakurai Takahiro)

＊敬称略＊

ACT 1: Ichinose Yuusei rushes into his father's office with a shocking news: his younger brother, Minato, has a rumoured love interest in the office. But hearing this, Daddy is surprisingly calm - as it turns out, he has already investigated this rumour, and asked the girl in question to come and have a talk.

Enter *YOU*, confused and worried about why the CEO wants to see you. After introducing themselves, they tell you flat-out that they want you to *reject Minato's advances*. The reason? Minato is going to marry the daughter of a client company and become their future heir. This is his #destiny as the son of the Ichinose family.

You'd think that such arranged marriages should naturally be reserved for the oldest son (Yuusei) first, but see, Yuusei will be the future CEO of Ichinose Corporation itself, so he cannot be the CEO of the other company. (Maybe this guy could learn from Elon Musk and up his productivity. Just stay away from Twitter yo.)

Minato gets a lot of female attention all the time, but mostly from gold-diggers who are after the Ichinose wealth, so Yasunari is surprised to hear that you do not give two flying fucks about their money. They try to make a deal with you, that if you reject Minato, they will transfer you back to the Planning Department or wherever you like.

But! Your noble soul will not stand for such backhanded tactics!!! Although you aren't sure if you like Minato (...that would be a 'no' then...), you still refuse their offer, because they are not considering Minato's wishes in his own marriage prospects. Your reply piques Yasunari's interest. He gives you one day to make your final decision.

Both Yasunari and Yuusei are surprised by your bold honesty in stating your opinion. They decide it's best to give you time first, then later, if you really end up choosing Minato, then they will intervene. #perfectplanlol

When the time comes to give your answer, you say that you... need to postpone your decision some more. _(:3」∠)_. Yuusei is annoyed and threatens to transfer you to another branch, but Yasunari wants to... make you their personal mistress secretary and get to know you better.

Yasunari’s #evilplan is actually to trick you into falling in love with either himself or Yuusei and thus give up Minato. Yasunari thinks you are different from other women, but Yuusei still finds you boringly banal and uninteresting. Yuusei is also worried about this #evilplan, but his father is excited to see who will ’win' your heart.

*

ACT 2: A week after becoming their secretary, you have surprised both Yasunari and Yuusei by being good at your job and hard-working. Admittedly they both thought you were a gold-digging liar in the beginning, but now they have changed their minds. Yasunari in particular thinks you are a rare pure soul and too good for his son Minato lolol.

There's a meeting about business expansion in North America later this afternoon, and Yuusei has sent you to make some coffee before that. But you are taking a suspiciously long time, so he decides to come check up on you. Along the way, he hears a loud crash,... followed by some girls from another department running hurriedly from the break room. He enters to find you with spilled coffee all over your blouse.

(He then proceeds to rip the wet blouse off of your ripe, dripping body and ravage you in a fit of carnal passion... NOT.)

You claim that your hand slipped and spilled leftover coffee on yourself while emptying the pot, but Yuusei is not convinced. He has noticed some petty jealousy coming from a few of the female staff over your new promotion. He asks you to name the culprits, but you refuse, saying that you empathise with them: if you were in their position, you would also feel jealous towards yourself. Yuusei calls you a 「バカお人好し」 and compares you to Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince.

He excuses you from the meeting, and takes you shopping for a new blouse afterwards. (You need to attend some important business deal later that day.) He also tries to buy you a wine-red formal dress (for parties and events), but you decline angrily, because you are an #IndependentWoman à la Destiny's Child circa 2001.

The deal goes through swimmingly, and to thank you for your good work, Yuusei wants to treat you to the French restaurant at the top floor of the hotel. But just then the two of you run into... Yasunari! He has come to interfere with your romantic alone time >:D. You say you are tired, and he asks his chauffeur to take you home. Yuusei is understandbly displeased with this turn of events, and vows to get back at Daddy the next time...

*

ACT 3: The next morning, Yasunari is talking to you when Yuusei barges into the room unannounced. He has come to ask you to prepare the documents, and come with him next week to the business meeting in Kyoto. Hearing this, Yasunari also wants to tag along too, but Yuusei reminds him that he has talks with some new German company next week... XDD

That night after-hours, Yasunari forgot something and comes back to the office to get it. He is surprised to find you still working there by yourself. You are preparing Yuusei's documents, and the girls from the 2nd Sales Department (who are supposed to help you) have dumped all their work on you.

Yasunari low-key disses his son for not factoring in this bullying problem. He himself is well familiar with people's jealousy: when he was starting up Ichinose Corporation, he also encountered jealous people around him who did things to sabotage his work. He apologises for not taking better care of you, and promises to give 2S a stern warning tomorrow.

As with before, you try to stop him, but he explains that he needs to set a good standard for the whole company. You relent, and he helps you to finish up the remaining work, before taking you to one of his regular restaurants for supper.

At the restaurant, who do you guys run into but *Yuusei*, who has just finished meeting with a client. He eagerly joins you at the table, and Yasunari explains the situation with 2S to him. Yuusei mentions the coffee incident, and they both agree that they need to deal with the office bullying before it grows into a bigger problem.

*

ACT 4: On your Kyoto trip, the deal was concluded earlier than expected, and you have a good part of the day free. Since it's your first time in the city, Yuusei suggests to go sight-seeing with you.

You want to visit the music-box museum in Arashiyama, and Yuusei reminisces that when he was a child, his late mother used to have a music box with a dancing ballerina inside. Yasunari kept it away after her death, never to be seen again.

The museum turns out to have giant jukebox and furniture-like music boxes of all kinds, which surprises Yuusei. As you are leaving, you feel a bit lightheaded and almost fall over. Yuusei apologises for overworking you, thanks to the huge load of clients and projects lately. He also asks if you've been in touch with Minato, who is currently giving him and Dad the cold shoulder, because he's resentful that they snatched you away from him lulz.

Then, Yuusei asks if you have made up your mind about Minato, and... confesses his own feelings for you X3. Because you are very much the 'strong, silent type', he feels an urge to protect you and soothe your troubles. It's the first time he has ever felt that way about a girl, since he has been so wrapped up in his work that he hasn't had time for a personal life. But now that he has met you, Ichinose Corporation can go to hell!!!! He will not surrender you to Minato or anyone else.

He suddenly embraces you, and you get embarrassed because you are still out in public. Just then your stomach comes to your rescue and lets out a growl of hunger, causing him to laugh and let go of you. As you go for lunch, he kisses you on the cheek, and tells you not to care about people watching and to look at him *only*. ~~~(*´∀`*)ｷｭﾝ!~~~~

...At the Japanese restaurant, you again run into... Yasunari! (Are you seeing a pattern here??) Turns out he was the one who introduced this place to Yuusei, so he had an idea Yuusei would take you there. Yuusei asks him if he so enjoys foiling his son's romantic dates, and he replies 'of course!' XDDD. And as you sit down to eat, you pour sake for Yasunari first, making Yuusei envious, and he asks you to pour his cup too. Lol @ the competitiveness, I can't. (ﾟｰﾟ)ニヤニヤ

*

ACT 5: It's a three-day weekend!! Yasunari drops by for a surprise visit nice and early in the morning, and he remarks that seeing you in your casual clothes is giving him evil thoughts... XDDDD He drags you into his car, keeping the destination a secret...

... Turns out, he wants to spend the extended break with you in his holiday home in Karuizawa. Except!!! Yuusei is there upon your arrival. *By concidence*, he overheard his father phoning the mansion's butler during the week, and thus decided to invite himself along lolol.

Yuusei suggests that there is horseback-riding and tennis here, depending on your interests. But first, you need to change out of your lounge-pants and put on some makeup because you left in a hurry lol. A fancy lunch awaits, and afterwards Yuusei volunteers to show you around a flower garden nearby.

Yasunari explains that this mansion is special to him, as his late wife used to love coming here. Before her death, she asked him to take his 'special someone' here in the future, too. You are surprised by his words, at which point... #CONFESSIONTIME. He tells you that you are the first to take his heart after his late wife, and he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. He will wait until your return to Tokyo for your reply.

As he plants a kiss on your lips, you blush, and he's all like: 'Damn grrrl u acting all coy when u obvsly want me is making me want u moar.' *Somebody* sure has a high opinion of himself for an ossan. XDDD

ACT 6: After lunch, Yuusei takes you for a *long* walk nearby. He apologises for his father suddenly kidnapping you here #lolol, and reaffirms his feelings for you. In the beginning, he only wanted to trick you into falling in love with him so that you would reject Minato, but after getting to know you, he has fallen for you instead, and now he couldn't give two fucks about the company as long as he can have you.

He asks how you feel about him, and who of the three you will choose: him, Yasunari, or Minato. You reply that you can't answer straight-away, and he plants an understanding kiss (for luck!!) on you and promises to wait.

The disc ends with all three of you back from the trip. Yasunari and Yuusei both make one last bid for your heart before your final decision: 「君を愛している。どうか、私と一緒にずっといてほしい。」

*

(In the cast commentary, the two seiyuu speculate about who you chose. Sakurai Takahiro says you probably chose Minato, and Horiuchi Kenyuu is all like: 'Who is Minato??' LOLOL _(X3」∠)_ #getouttathereossan~~~)

[elizabethyora]

STRIVING TO STUDY ABROAD

Hi hello! I feel the urge to write my thoughts out loud so here it is!

It’s been a while actually ya since i posted on tumblr! Usually i rant on my instagram (second account), but since like i can’t handle the updates on the feed and it made me feel so overwhelmed so i decided to deactivate it for a while.

It has been my dream to do an exchange program... seriously like for ages i’ve been wanting and waiting for the opportunity to come. And at last, this is my last last shot as an undergraduate student to study (academic or cultural) abroad!!!

I have this huge dream to study to TUD. I just felt like it is the right country to study because there won’t be much language barrier problems and Schengen visa ( so i can visit another country while studying LOL) and finally opportunity came!!! The international relation office announced that there is a student exchange program to TUD...

Of course i got sooo excited and thrilled.. but there are so many documents i had to prepare... the most challenging one is of course the motivation video andd also IELTS test. I studied ielts in just like 5 weeks! It was soo hectic but thank God i could manage it well! And for the motivation video it took me like 3 weeks to write, shot the video and edit it. Long story short, i finally got nominated to Delft! I was so happy back then and I immediately tell my friend who studied there about her opinions and how to survive at Delft.

But yeah, you don’t always get what you want... suddenly the office said that I couldn’t be nominated there because they said that Arch ITB don’t have any bilateral agreement with TUD ... i was really devastated!! And a little bit angry... such a dream crusher! But well ok maybe it is not His plan so... i am ( a lil bit) okay with it...

However this day, the day that the registration will be closed,,,,, i just found out that there is a scholarship scheme and my lecturer said that there is an agreement and i actually could be nominated there....

BUT YEAH it was just too late.... i really am very sad.. like i don’t sit there to wait this opportunity to come... i really work hard for this,,,, but the timing was just not right... such another missed opportunity...

This semester and last semester was really hard for me. Like i feel so many obstacles that i have to endure and go through... i learn to let go of the missed opportunity and just move on but day by day still wondering why it doesn’t go as the way i plan..

Anyway... i really am praying for the best,,, i really want to study abroad. Really really want more than anything... i don’t want to have another regret 🥺

——

02.04.21

[hornsbeforehalos]

Whiskey, Sweetheart: Part 3

Pairing: Norman Reedus x OFC, Past JDM x OFC Warnings: RPF, Smut, Language, Breif Violence, Jealousy, Angst, Older man/Younger Woman.

Series Masterlist

Summary: After Jeffrey’s neglect pushed her away and into the arms of his best friend, Norman and Ky have to figure out if their new relationship can withstand not only the aftermath of the unspeakable crime they commited to keep her safe, but the backlash that comes from being co-workers with a very betrayed Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

A/n: This is the Sequel to Anytime, Sweetheart and The Conquests of Norman Reedus. You’ll probably be a bit confused if you haven’t read Conquests yet, though, or at least the Finale, but you could probably figure it out on your own if you don’t want to. But I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to, lol.

A-S Tags, (please let me know if you want to be untagged for this series.)

@elinyaes   @jml509  @jesbakescookies @daddy-kink-confirmed@aquivercactus   @xagateophobiax @sorenmarie87@missghoul18@jdmfanfiction @jeffreydeanneganstrash @through-thesilver-lining@beffyblueeyes @docharleythegeekqueen @make-things-beautiful2@srj1990  @dragongirl420  @reedusteinrambles  @youandyourstupidrope@addiction-survivor25 @fireheartart @redm81 foreveror-never@zombeeemomeee @blacklightguidesnic @jackybehappy@jodiereedus22 @journeyrose

"I just wanted to ask how Jeffrey feels about how close Norman and Kylin have gotten recently." Norman moved his sunglasses that he had had propped up on the brim of his cap back over his eyes, his arms crossing as he shook his head slightly with irritation. Jeffrey leaned forward with a chuckle, his eyes finding Norman's profile as he shook his head as well in amusement before leaning back in his chair and scrubbing his face. "Jesus fucking christ." I mumbled as my grip on Jensen's hand tightened as we watched from our place in the audience. "Tollllldddd youuuuuu." Jensen sang quietly, not moving his mouth out of the firm line it had been secured in. I closed my eyes as I awaited their response, the room almost completely silent as the crowd listened expectantly. "Doen't really matter how I feel anymore, does it, Bubbah?" Jeffrey jabbed with the amused smirk still on his lips, one elbow resting on the table to prop his head up as he peered down the table at Norman again. Norman parted his lips slightly and let his tongue run along the edge of his bottom one for a moment before leaning forward slightly, toward the microphone and popping out a quick, "Nope," before sinking back into his seat. Everyone at the table looked around questioningly, Andy being the only one dumb enough say anything, "I sense trouble in Paradise." "You could say that, yeah, Andy," Jeff snorted in response. "I’m perfectly happy," Norman said nonchalantly, shrugging for emphasis, "Got laid this morning by a hot ass chick, meetin' all these cool people," He held his hand out towards the audience, winking as he looked over at Andrew,"Got your fine ass right here. Ain't no trouble in my paradise, baby." "Next Question," Chris urged on, judging it best to move away from the tense subject. "When do you think Daryl is going to get his revenge against Negan?" Another fan asked, "After Negan gets his revenge on Daryl." Jeffrey butted in sarcastically. "I hope soon, Daryl should get to rock Negan's jaw one more good time just for funsies, I think. Take Lucille as a trophy." Norman snorted, winking down the table towards Jeff. 

"We all know how Norman likes to take things that aren't his." Jeffrey snarked, scrubbing his jaw as he sat back in his chair proud of himself. "Prolly wouldn't be taken if it was taken care of properly." Norman jutted back, unimpressed. "Good God," I breathed, rolling my eyes in my frustration of the events unfolding before me that I had no way of stopping, "This is ridiculous." The rest of the panel went pretty much the same, the other cast members answering questions in between Norman and Jeffrey playing "who's got the bigger dick." By the time the half-hour extravaganza was over, I was so mentally exhausted that all I wanted to do was go back to my hotel room and sleep. Unfortunately, though, Misha and Jensen still had their autographs and Misha had insisted that I help him announce the Gish Winner's trip during it. I was typing along on my laptop, planning the fabulous trip to Hawaii Misha had decided on and contacting the winners when the first group of annoyance came forth. "I heard that she cheated on Jeff with Norman, who does that?" "Jeff's so much hotter than Norman..." "What a whore..." "Who does that? With his best friend?" "I heard she slept with Corey Taylor, too, when she did that video with him...." I rolled my eyes at the whispering women who quickly quieted down the moment they approached Misha. Misha looked at me with sympathetic eyes as he silently signed the documents presented in front of him, not making conversation with the gossiping ninnies like he would any of the other fans. "Just ignore them, Ky." Misha called back to me after a particularly nasty group came through with their scowls and hushed insults, "If we were at one of our cons you know this shit wouldn't fly with me." "I know, Mish, it's fine. SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST ASSHOLES," I replied back, the last sentence loud enough for everyone to hear. "Calm down, Kylin, no need to yell." Jensen scolded without looking at me from his place, but I could hear the teasing in his voice. "Can I go to the greenroom?" I huffed as I looked up to Misha's back, my arms crossed and a pouty look across my face. Misha sighed, but turned around and nodded his head, leaning against the table with his hands on either side of him, "Yeah, girl, go on. Just get everything done, please." "You know I will," I winked with a smile, standing up and gathering my things before basically running behind the curtains. My ass began to vibrate as my message tone went off once I closed the door to the small room designated for Supernatural's cast and crew, the room completely empty and silent. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and flopped down on one of the comfy looking couches, my thumb scrolling my password in as I pulled my computer out with my other hand. NORMSKIE<3: You gettin as much shit as I am? ME: Probably more. Are you at ops or autos? N: Autos rn. Ops next. Where r u? ME: Greenroom, said fuck that mess. I'll be here till Mish & Jen are done with their ops. N: I'll meet u there when I'm done. ME: Mkay. Lemme know when youre otw. N: <3 ME: <3 I kicked my feet up on the couch after kicking my shoes off, my exhaustion setting in as my eyes became heavy from staring at the screen for so long. I finished up what I needed to do to book the arrangements, closed my laptop and grabbed one of the throw blankets littering the couch. It didn't take me too long to doze off. It barely felt like five minutes when suddenly my haziness started to dissipate and low voices were able to be heard. "Uh, is that Ky?" A confused-toned voice came through my drowsiness. "Yeah, man, she's been like this for an hour, she's not waking up," was replied back by the familiar voice I was pressed up against, my cheek humming with the rumble. "She okay?" "Seems like she's exhausted, she's been snoring like a fucking freight train." The vibration sounded again as my eyes opened slightly to find the light bright, urging me to close them again and nuzzle deeper into whatever hole I'd been protected in. "Who are you again?" "Sorry, man, uh, I'm Rob." "Norman," I could feel the jerks from them shaking hands, bringing a groan to my lips as my face buried itself further into Rob's tummy, "Did she fall asleep like that?" "She crawls around in her sleep, man, uh, I came in and we were practicing, she was taking up all the couch so I tried to move her, ha, she ended up like this...."Rob chuckled nervously, moving the guitar that had been blocking the light and lulling me deeper into dreamland a few minutes prior to take a peek at me, "You gonna wake up, sleepy head?" "Meehhhh" I growled in complaint, squinting my eyes. "Kylin?" Norman asked, his body tilting slightly to try to see me at a better angle, there was a small bite to his voice when he spoke again as his eyes took in what he was seeing, "You enjoy your nap?" "Shuddup. Rob's comfy." I groaned as Rob moved the guitar out of his lap and onto the floor before helping me hoist myself up into the sitting position. I could tell my hair was a mess as I attempted to run my fingers through it, looking up to Norm with a small smile. Norman, however, just kinda stared at me with his eyebrow cocked, earning him an eye roll from me. "Norman, Rob Benedict. Rob, Norman Reedus" I gestured back and forth between the two men.

"He already introduced himself, hun." Rob smiled, shaking his head as he nudged me, "I'm gonna go find Rich and see what he's doing. I'll find you later." "Mmmkay, later." I assured as he kissed my cheek before standing up, me scooting over to where he'd been sitting to gather his guitar in my lap as Norman sat down next to me. "That's your ex Rob?" Norman asked, leaning his elbows on his knees. "That's my friend, Rob, who I just so happened to have dated in the past, yes." I looked over to him as I strummed a meaningless chord, my eyebrow quirking up at his attempted accusation. "The one you slept with when you went back to L.A?" "Jesus fucking Christ," I sighed, shaking my head as I strummed again, my fingers playing delicately on the frets, "Is that gonna be a problem?" "Not unless it becomes one." He said easily, his eyebrow still cocked as he leaned back into the couch, his arm draped across the back of it, "You comin' back to Georgia with me?" I rolled my eyes and continued to play, not really paying attention to what I was doing until I felt Norman's hand on my lower back. "I didn't know you played." "Well, now you know."    "I guess there's a lot of stuff I dunno, huh?" "That's the fun part, right?" "Guess so." He chuckled, tugging me into his side as he wrapped both of his arms around me. He leaned down to kiss the top of my hair before leaning his head back against the sofa cushions with his eyes closed. "This is nice." The niceness was short lived as the door was suddenly kicked open, a shouting Rich storming through with his phone in front of his face,  followed by all the other cast members that had recently gotten their lunch break. "KYLIN! KYLIN FUCKING ACKLES! SAY HELLO TO DICK CHAT!" he screamed at me as he shoved the phone in my face, me giving him a sarcastic smile back and flipped him off, burring my face back into Norman's side. "Oh look, it's Daryl fucking Dixon!" Richard beamed as he put the phone down, holding his hand out for Norman to shake "Richard Speight, man, love your stuff." "Thanks, man." Norman rasped before wrapping his arm back around, peering down at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "This is the family, Norm, That's Richard, obviously, and that's Ruth, Bri, Kim, Osric and Adam, they're all apart of the cast." I explained, pointing at each person. Everyone turned to wave 'hello' before returning to whatever they'd been doing, besides Rich, who of course squeezed himself in the couch beside me. "How have you been, lovely?" Rich cooed as he popped my thigh with his hand, his head moving to rest on my shoulder. "Dealing with shit," I huffed lightly, my own cheek moving to rest against Rich's crown, "Can't wait 'till this weekend is over, though." "Yeah, I heard," Rich started, moving his head to sit straight and turn slightly to be able to look at both me and Norman, "Some nasty shit going 'round." "People constantly got somethin' to say." Norman shook his head, bringing the hand that wasn't rested on my arm to his face to gnaw on his fingers, "Shits so fuckin' stupid." "I've been dealing with it since Jeff and I started dating, it's something that comes with the territory, I get it." I explained, sitting up slightly to rest my chin in my hand as my elbow hit my knee, "I'm not gonna let it get to me." "Wouldn't surprise me if it did," Norman mumbled, swiping his fingers across his goatee with annoyance, "Shit's a lot to deal with." "Kylin's dealt with a lot of shit over the years," Rich verified, squeezing my leg again for good measure, "Ain't no stupid fan girls gonna run her away."

"So are you gonna go back to Georgia with me?" Norman asked again as we sat on my hotel bed eating pizza and watching a movie. It was Saturday now, and he was scheduled to fly back the next morning. 

The rest of the events of the convention had been much of the same, snarky remarks between Norman and Jeff mixed with bitchy fan girls spewing hate everywhere they could. I ignored most of it, but I was still happy to be getting away from the public eye for awhile.

"You know I am." I smirked at him, bringing the slice of pizza to my lips. "You ne'er said you were." Norman mumbled back with a mouth full of food. "Why wouldn't I? I don't have anything else better to do then hang out with my sexy boyfriend." I winked sarcastically. "So that's what I am now?" Norman choked, eyebrows raising.

I could feel my face flush red at the realization of the term I'd used, my eyes widening as I held back a cough, "Uhh...."

Norman covered his mouth as he swallowed his food, a grin smirking across his face and crinkling his eyelids, "S' cute." I shook my head, my hands covering my face in embarrassment, "You know how I said a while back that I put my foot in my mouth around you?" "I figured that was just the sexual innuendos" He snorted back. "God, are you there? It's me, Kylin. Just take me down now, yeah?" I mocked, looking up to the sealing and lifting my palms. "Why are you so embarrassed? You know you're my girl." "Yeah, but we never really talked about...titles and stuff." "Well...let's talk about it." He said nonchalantly, taking another bite. I raised my eyebrows in curiosity as I waited to see if he'd continue. "So...." I mumbled after a moment of awkward silence. "I'm not really....good with having a girlfriend, Ky, I'm not gonna lie. It's not easy." "I get that." "It's been a while." "I get that, too."

"I know things are still...difficult with Jeff. I get that you loved him a lot." He gave me a shy smile as he looked up at me from his bangs. "I did. I'm not going to lie to you, it's not as easy for me as I make it out, I guess. It hurts still, ya know? And how he's been acting now....Jesus, hell, I get it if you don't wanna..." "That's not what I'm saying, hun, not at all." He shifted more to where he was cross legged in front of me, "I just don't know what you expect outta me."

I snorted, shaking my head at him as I met his eyes, "I don't expect anything from anyone, Norm. You're one of my closest friends, you're always here for me. That's all I need from you." 

Norman nodded, small smile returning as he grabbed my hands and pulled me closer to him, my face falling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and ran his hands down my back, "I'll do my best." "Good." I smiled. 

I had two days in Georgia with Norman before I had to unceremoniously reattach myself to Misha's hip until Christmas. During those two days though, one of which was going to have to be spent around Jeffrey at the wrap party and of course Norman and I were just thrilled. "We're only staying for dinner, after that we're going to a bar and getting trashed." Norman promised as he walked down the hallway towards the bathroom where I was doing my makeup. He had his tie about halfway tied when he made it to the door and stopped dead in his tracks, "Jesus fucking Christ."

"What?" I asked, looking at his reflection in the mirror. I could see his eyes raking up my frame from the tips of the high-heeled ankle boots I was wearing, up my tights covering my legs to the short skirt that barely reached passed my ass. His eyes visibly darkened as he let his tie fall loose around his neck, forgotten, as he approached me from behind, his hands going to my outer thighs and working their way up. "Seein' you bent over like that....mmmm" He groaned as he pressed himself against me, his terribly hard cock rutting against me through his thin dress pants. His fingers found my hips as he pressed me back over the counter, my blouse riding up my lower back as his hands splayed across my flesh, "So fuckin' hot." "Norman, we're going to be late," I whimpered breathlessly, my eyes closing as wetness pooled between my legs with his touch. "Don't fucking care." He growled as he pushed my shirt up more, exposing my tattooed back to his view that encouraged another growl from him. His fingernails raked across my Boondock Saints tattoo, the pads of his thumbs following by rubbing deep circles into the ink. He dipped his fingers into the waist of my skirt and tights, pulling them quickly down to my knees to expose me to him. "You know how fucking gorgeous you are, Whiskey?" He murmured as he took a step back to enjoy the view of me bent over for him as he unbuckled his his belt and pulled his own pants down enough to pull his aching cock out, shaking his head in disbelief, his eyes never leaving my heat as he languidly stroked himself, "God damn irresistible." His eyes met mine again in the mirror as he stepped back against me, him slicking the swollen head of his dick through my folds before pushing into me with one swift thrust, urging me further against the counter with a grunt. "Fuck," I whimpered, eyes rolling back and sealing shut as his hands gripped my hips to hold me still, the sensation from the stretch of his thickness driving me insane. "Yeah, that's it, girl..." He groaned, biting his lip as he began to pump in and out of me slowly, his focus darting between my reflection in the glass and where our bodies were causing a explicit slapping sound. "Fuck, Norman!" I cried out as he buried himself deeper in me, his fingers leaving baby bruises where they dug into my skin. "Yeah, say my name," He grunted back as he picked up his pace, the sound of our thighs echoing louder. "Normannnn!" I keened as I forced my hand between my own legs, the heel of my hand working my clit as my finger tips brushed back and forth against his balls. "Oh fuck yeah!" He panted as he wound a hand into my hair, gently tugging it to straighten my back against his chest, my fingertips circling puckered bundle of nerves as quickly as I could, "Take it, girl..." "Fuuuuuuhhhhk!" I screamed as my body convulsed against his, my orgasm washing over me in blissful waves of climax. The pulses of my walls against his throbbing cock sent him spiraling with me as her pushed me back against the counter to let himself spill onto the shiny tile floor. "Fuckin' hell." He grunted out as the last of his release dripped from him before he tucked himself back into his pants, "You're gonna kill me." "Not if you kill me first, Reedus," I laughed breathlessly, trying to regain my composure as I pulled my skirt and stockings up correctly, "Can I finish my hair now?" "You can do whatever you want, sweetheart." He chuckled, going back to tying his tie.

"Well look who finally decided to show up!" Andrew beamed as he pulled the giant wooden door open of his Georgia house, smile blistering his face as he engulfed Norman in a hug. "Sorry we're late man...got...busy." "I bet you did, cheeky bastard." Andy teased as he released Norm from his grasp, turning his attention to me and wrapping me up in his arms, "How've you been, my love?" "Getting through it." I said pleasantly, shrugging slightly as we separated. "Well you look amazing, dear, come on, lets get you two fed." he smiled sweetly, his arm still around my shoulder as he lead us into the dining room. Everyone was already there, the entire cast sitting around the large table giggling and laughing, letting out a loud "Heyyyy!" when we finally entered the room. Of course, Jeffrey didn't pay any attention to either of us, just to the brunette who's face I couldn't see linked to his arm. I ignored him anyway as we took our seats at the opposite end of the table, until Norman finally looked over to them and his eyes almost popped out of his head. "Jaxon?" My head immediately whipped around from where I'd been chatting with Lauren at the mention of the name, my eyes coming in contact finally with the woman who had herself draped across Jeffrey as he fed her small little bites of food. She looked to Norman and smiled, almost cockily, twinkling her fingers with a small wave in his direction. "You two know each other?" Andy asked unknowingly. I snorted, rushing to clamp my hand over my mouth to prevent the champagne I'd been attempting to swallow from flying across the table. Norman shot me a warning, unamused glare. "Damn, Jeff," I choked, trying to compose myself again, "Didn't think you were the one to pay for it." Everyone kind of looked around with confusion written all over their faces as Jaxon sat up more in her seat, prying her self away from Jeffrey who was shooting daggers at me with his irise as he spoke, "I paid for you, didn't I?" I snorted again at his poor attempt to jab me, "Honey, you paid me three grand to talk to me, I'm sure you're probably payin' a lot less for a lot more with that one." "Excuse me?" Jaxon sneered, her head recoiling as if she'd been punched as she scrunched her face up. "I'm sorry, did I accidentally speak your name? I didn't think so." I retorted right back. "Jesus Christ," Norman mumbled, scrubbing his lip with his finger tips as he ducked his head down, "Ky, stop." "Uhhhhhh, I am utterly confused right now," Andy said, obviously flustered as his head whipped back and forth from our end of the table to theirs. "Jeffrey thinks he's being cute, but really he's just playing himself." "Sometime it's nice to have someone who actually knows what they're doing, what can I say?" He grinned back, tongue stroking the front of his teeth smugly. It was Norman's turn to snort now as he raised his head back up, "Seriously, dude? Who were you fucking?" Everyone had stayed quiet to see how the argument was going to play out, but once Lauren had decided that it wasn't going to end smoothly, she finally spoke up, "Okay, now, guys, let's put your cocks back in your pants until at least desert. I haven't had enough to drink to deal with the 'Who's fucking who' game just yet." "I think it's time Ky and I go, we got shit to do." "Oh yeah, and what's that Bubbah?" Jeffrey sneered as he watched us stand up with Andy and make our way around the table. "Well, first, I'm going to get 'er in my truck, then possibly get those tights off of her thighs, " Norman started, dark smirk playing on his face as he teased, "Then while we're on the way to the bar so I can get her nice and toasted, my hand's gonna be up her skirt." He wrapped his arms around me after I pulled on my coat and tugged me into his side before looking back to Jeff and Jaxon, "Then, when I get her home, I'mma be buried in between her sexy ass legs for as long as I possibly can." "Shouldn't take too long." "Longer than you," I snorted back as we made our exit. "Sorry about that, guys" Andy apologized as he closed the door behind us. "Don' worry 'bout it, man, we knew he was gonna start shit." "Didn't expect him to bring your favorite prostitute to dinner, though." I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand again as Norman threw me another glare. Andrew attempted to contain his own chuckle but failed, shaking his head as he ran a hand over his beard in amusement, "You know it's just going to be rough with him. He'll get over it." "I don't have to deal with his ass 'till April now, it's her that I'm concerned about." Norman replied, looking down at me with a small hint of sympathy in his eyes. "I'll be fine, you know that." I assured. "He's still a dick." "Yup." I agreed, popping the 'p,' before giving Andy a hug goodbye and climbing into Norman's truck.

The darkness dissipated as a groan emanated through my lips, the sun brightening everything around me as it poured through the window Norman had just opened. "Wake up." Norman's gruff rasp came from somewhere near the devil light. "Where the fuck am I?" I grunted, throwing my arm over my face to shield my eyes. A chuckle came from Norman, where he stood at the edge of the bed, looking just as rough, "Who're you?" "What the fuck happened?" "You don't remember?" he barked a laugh as his eyebrows raised. "Oh lord, that's never a good sign." I whined, rolling my eyes. "You hungover?"

"Like Satan after his fucking birthday dude. Kill me" I groaned, rolling over and stuffing a pillow over my head. "There's Tylenol on the nightstand." Norman advised with a smile. "Grrrr." "You might wanna check your Instagram." "Grrrrr." "We were pretty drunk last night." He chuckled nervously. "Why don't I remember anything?" I mumbled from still under the pillow. "Absinthe may have been involved. And Rumpleminz." "Judas, why?" "I can't remember." He chuckled lightly again. "Fuuuuuuuck" I bitched as I untucked myself from the sheets, swallowing the pills and water as fast as possible before finding my phone and making my way to the bathroom. I did my business while checking my social media. I had hundreds of notifications of comments on multiple pictures Norman and I had been tagged in, all of them involving Norman's tongue being shoved down my throat or us feeding each other more liquor. "Jesus Christ." I grunted as flicked the screen off and went to brush my teeth. "So much for staying low, huh?" Norman teased as I rejoined him in his bedroom, him laying back down on the bed now looking almost just as miserable as me. I crawled into the bed and fell into his side, my head on his outstetched arm as I closed my eyes again. "People are assholes," I mumbled against his skin, nuzzling into his broad shoulder as he wrapped his arm tenderly around my waist. "Shit's prolly about to hit the fan." "You worried?" "Not really so much about me, more for you. People are....intense when it comes to me dating someone. I don't want you to deal with the bullshit of dealing with me." I snorted, rolling my eyes as I looked up at him, "I'm not concerned, Norm." He hummed in response and dug his nose into my hair, rolling over to engulf me into his arms again as we dozed back off to sleep for the next few hours. 

"Come on, get up, Whiskey." Norman chuckled, shaking me lightly. I groaned again, sleep grogging my brain still even though my hang over had dissipated immensely "Whaaat?" "Come on, let's go ridin'." "Riding what?" "Uh, my bike?" He said with a chuckle, my eyes finally open to see his pretty blue irises beaming down at me from the side of the bead, his hand was on my hip where he'd been wiggling me, and his fingertips squeezed the flesh lovingly as he leaned down to kiss me, "Come on, get up, it's pretty outside." I groaned again but did as he said, taking a quick shower before pulling on a pair of worn jeans and a long sleeve shirt with my jacket and sunglasses, piling on the bike with him before he set off towards the Georgia back roads. 

The streets curved and rolled up and down into hills along the pastures before cutting into the giant trees that of the forest. The air was crisp and cool against my face as I clung to Norman’s back, the side of my face pressed against his leather jacket as I hummed in contentment.

I thought about how much I really didn’t care what people said, even if I would have probably thought the same things from outside the situation. I felt safe, secure, and loved with Norman whenever he was near, something that I now that I was truly thinking about it, I didn’t ever really feel completely with Jeffrey. I knew he loved me, he had been there for me for so much, which was what made it even harder for me to comprehend how he acted towards me after the situation with Anthony. Maybe he just couldn’t deal with what we did, or maybe he just didn’t like seeing the monster that Anthony had forced me to become. 

Norman and I hadn’t ever spoken about what all had occurred, but I could tell that he didn’t judge me for it the way that Jeffrey did. The few times that I had talked to Jeff after the incident he had said little short things that stung me, and it fueled my resentment towards him and of course encouraged me to argue. I didn’t feel the need to defend my self or my actions with Norman, and I liked that. 

“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?” He called back, startling me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, it is.” I agreed with a smile, leaning up around him to kiss the small sliver of exposed skin on the back of his neck before returning my face back to its spot against his back. 

We rode around for a few hours before he finally made our way back to the house, shedding our jackets and helmets and shoes at the door before making our way into the kitchen for lunch and drinks.

“What do you want to drink, babe?” I called out as I poured myself a glass of Cabernet that probably didn’t pair very well with the microwave pizza I was melting. 

His breath was on my neck in an instant, startling me since I didn’t know he had entered the room or walked all the way up behind me. He spun my around and pinned me against the cabinet, his eyes dark with lust as they raked over my face and neck.

“I think I need some Whiskey, Sweetheart,” He rasped before plunging his tongue into my mouth.

[stillgeekingout]

iiiiiiit’s time for another chapter of the ultimate aaron milverton crossover fic!

this one got obnoxiously long but bear with me. also, you have to have read part 2 of shannen’s secret santa fic for rachel for parts of it to make sense.

previous: 1 here, 2 here, 3 here, 4 here, 5 here, 6 here

A week after returning to DC, Zoe Lasnammer got a phone call from a girl.

“Hello?”

“Zoe! Is that you?”

It wasn’t Hera-- they hadn’t actually exchanged numbers, and Zoe had decided not to stalk her on facebook (no sense getting a crush on a girl who lived so many states away). So she had put away the pink ladies jacket, a keepsake from an enjoyable weekend and nothing more.

“Sorry, who is this?” Zoe asked. The girl’s voice sounded familiar, but she talked to a lot of people because of work so that didn’t help to narrow anything down.

“It’s me! Violet!”

“Violet…?” She tried to rack her brain for someone she may have talked to recently.

“Violet Hunter! Remember? I saved your life from a bus?”

“Wait--the alien girl?” Zoe couldn’t believe that this girl she barely knew would actually be contacting her two years after their brief meeting.

“I told you I’d call if I was ever in DC again!” Violet sounded excited. “Anyway--”

“How did you get this number?”

“I just moved here with my wife and husband,” Violet went on as if Zoe hadn’t said anything, “and I was thinking we should get lunch or something!” Zoe vaguely remembered the girl telling her something about a proposal in the works. Must’ve worked out, she thought.

“Violet, listen, I… enjoyed meeting you but I don’t know if--”

“How about tomorrow? I’ll meet you on your lunch break. You don’t have to bring the aliens.” And with that, Violet hung up.

Zoe stared at her phone, unsure what exactly had just happened.

------

To: Aaron Milverton

Subject: Checking in

Hey bro, how’s everything going? I haven’t heard from you since the con, I want to know all the awesome stuff you and your chapter are achieving!

-Chad

The email from Chad came almost exactly one month after Aaron realized he had feelings for him. It had been a month of moving forward, of settling into his brand new Orlando B4B chapter, and most importantly, of attempting to distract himself from thoughts of Chad. He had almost started succeeding at it, too, before Chad apparently felt the urge to “check in” with him. Which meant that Chad was thinking about him. Which meant that of course Aaron would have to spend the rest of the day thinking about Chad thinking about him. All that progress, right down the drain.

It wasn’t like he had intended to cut Chad out of his life. But how was he supposed to carry on a friendship with Chad if the whole time he was thinking about how pretty (and unavailable) he was? How would he even go about starting that conversation? Hey dude, sorry I acted so weird before, it’s just that every time I see you or think about you I get all flustered and have to lie down. But it’s cool, what’s up with you? What a disaster.

Now, though, here was Chad breaking the awkward month-long silence. He had cared enough to reach out to Aaron and ask about his life. Even with romantic feelings set aside, Aaron found it reassuring that he hadn’t been imagining Chad wanting to be friends with him beyond just organizing the con. If only he could get over himself and enjoy that friendship for what it was.

He decided to text Kate. Ever since she found out that he hadn’t told her about his correspondence with Chad the first time around, she had been giving him a hard time about keeping secrets from her. Maybe she’d have advice. Either way, it’d make her feel like he was including her.

so chad emailed me

?????????

aaron you can’t just say that and not follow up with details

hellooooo

he just said he wanted to “check in” on my new chapter

idk what to say back

talk to him!!!

ok but. how.

tell him about the chapter you dork

He started typing “why, it’s not like that’ll change his mind about anything” then deleted it. Then he typed “idk if I really want to be friends with him when I’m finally starting to” and stopped again. Starting to what? Get over him? Stop thinking about him? Both of those went out the window as soon as he saw that email. His phone vibrated as he was typing his third attempt.

stop overthinking it bc I know that’s what you’re doing

Aaron smiled.

can’t help it

I know.

I think you’ll regret losing a potential friendship

but idk, if you really don’t think you can handle it maybe just break it off

that makes me sound so fragile lol

um, are you not?

shut up

stop texting me and write the damn email aaron

He sighed and tossed his phone aside.

Chad,

He watched his cursor blink on the screen for several minutes, then closed his email and opened a word document. He had seen enough movies to know never to write an “I’m not actually going to send this” email somewhere it could be sent accidentally.

Chad,

I don’t know if I’m happy to hear from you. I keep telling myself you’re just a crush and I’ll get over it soon, but it feels like more than that sometimes. I’ve had some weird dating experiences in the past… or I guess just the one. I told you a little about my ex-girlfriend (who I usually try not to think about) but what I didn’t tell you is that she was involved in my cousin’s murder, and she was basically using me to investigate him. It’s a long story, but I really liked her and it was hard to move on from that knowing that I never meant anything to her except evidence. So anyway ever since then I’ve just been extra cautious, I guess.

It’s kind of scary to like someone again, and I’m not sure if it makes it worse or better knowing ahead of time that the person in question isn’t going to want to date me. It does make me feel better that you’re not dating anyone, not just rejecting me specifically. I don’t know if I ever stood a chance with you, or if you even like guys, but I selfishly don’t want to have to imagine you with someone else.

That sounds really creepy. I’m sorry. It’s a really good thing I’m not actually going to send this.

Anyway, um, give me some time to decide if I still want to be friends. I do, logically, but we’ll see if I can stop thinking about your eyes and hair and smile and voice every time I’m reminded of you.

Time to write my normal email that I’m actually gonna send.

-Aaron

He closed word and opened his email again, feeling like he had gotten all the hard stuff out of the way.

Chad,

So good to hear from you-- thanks for following up! We’re doing really well here, we just started a beach clean-up project along with a few high schools along the coast that already have cleaning days set in place. Also, B4B is a registered club at UCF now so we’ve teamed up with them for some new initiatives…

He went on to describe everything his chapter had been doing since the con, taking care not to get too personal in case Chad really did just want to check in from a service standpoint. He finished the email with “what about you, how are things on your end? -Aaron” and sent it before he could over analyze it too much.

------

“Zoe! Hey, Zoe!”

Zoe was greeted at the steps of her job by an excitedly waving Violet Hunter. She sighed. She knew Violet’s heart was (probably) in the right place, but she didn’t overly feel like befriending this girl who was convinced that Blair and Alex were aliens (and who had stalked her to the point of finding out her phone number, the location she worked and the time of her lunch break).

“Hey, Violet,” she said. “I guess I won’t bother to ask how you found me.”

“You could,” said Violet proudly. “I did it alone, Sherlock lives here now too but she never helps me with this stuff.”

“Okay?” Zoe didn’t know who Sherlock was, and she didn’t actually want to know how Violet tracked her down.

“So, lunch?” Violet said brightly. “Sorry Eliza and John couldn’t make it, I wanted them to meet you. That’s my wife and husband.”

“Um, right. Hey, congratulations on that,” said Zoe, suddenly feeling very single next to a girl with two spouses.

“Thanks! I still wish we could’ve had Blair’s alien fountain magic for the proposal but I’m mostly just glad I didn’t have to do it.”

“There’s a sandwich place around the corner,” Zoe said, not wanting to talk about Blair with Violet.

“Great!” Violet started walking, and Zoe had to skip a little to catch up.

“So, what brings you to DC?” Zoe asked, figuring if Violet was going to insist on hanging out they might as well get to know each other.

“John and Eliza are working at the Smithsonian. And I’m sort of helping Sherlock.”

“Oh, ok.” She didn’t know where to go from there. She still didn’t know who Sherlock was.

“How are Blair and Alex?” Violet asked, narrowing her eyes. “Are you still their companion?”

“Again, I wouldn’t phrase it like that… but they’re fine.”

“And how does your family feel about you living with aliens?”

“Um, it’s just my mom. And she doesn’t know.”

“Ohhhh,” Violet said, then whispered, “Would she compromise the mission?”

“What? No,” said Zoe. “There is no mission.”

“Riiiiight,” said Violet, and winked. “Ooh, is this it? Yum.” They had reached the sandwich shop.

Zoe made small talk for the rest of lunch, but she was distracted by what Violet had said. It was a bit odd, she realized, that she had been living with Alex and Blair in DC for over two years and her mom still thought they were humans. Zoe had introduced them a couple times when her mom was visiting, but she never let them interact with her for long and she made sure Alex used the same human form every time. Her mom had a hard enough time figuring out “they” pronouns, how would she process the truth about Zoe’s godly friends?

But on the other hand, Zoe was used to telling her mom everything. This was such a big secret, one she had gotten used to keeping, but would she just continue it for the rest of her life? It was bad enough being so far away from her mom. Not being able to share every silly thing her friends said or did without heavily filtering her stories was draining after a while.

Zoe couldn’t believe it had taken a very confused (but well-meaning) conspiracy theorist stalker to make her see sense, but she resolved to tell her mom the truth while she was home for Thanksgiving. And at the end of lunch, she found herself agreeing to meet up with Violet again later that week.

------

Aaron,

Sounds fire! I’m really happy for you that you found a good group of people. We’ve been so blessed throughout this whole thing. I feel completely sure now that Blair is watching over us and that she’s proud of us. You indirectly gave me that knowledge through holding the con, and I continue to be grateful for it.

Anyway, enough about B4B, how are you? How’s Kate? How are your parents and Madison? Do they miss you?

-Chad

Aaron read the email several times. Chad continuing to thank him was silly. He owed Aaron no thanks, considering he had started everything in the first place. None of them would have been able to meet Blair, let alone know who she was, without his dedication. More than that, though, it struck him that Chad remembered not only Kate but his little sister’s name and cared enough to ask about both of them.

This time, he didn’t feel the need to write a fake response.

My family’s doing pretty well, I think. I’m going to visit for Thanksgiving so that should be good. Maybe they miss having me around but honestly Orlando is closer to Jacksonville than Doyle was. Maddie keeps saying she wants to come visit me so she can go to Disney World. I don’t think she gets that it’s not cheaper just because I live here now.

He went on to talk about his parents a little more and how he was sure they would buy Disney tickets for winter break to see the Christmas decorations even though they knew it would be miserable and crowded. Then he told Chad about Kate and her latest endeavors.

I’m really grateful to have her to talk to… it gets a little lonely here sometimes. The other members of my new chapter are really great but I don’t know them too well yet. It does make me miss my SACU group. We still talk a little and I’m always happy to hear from them but it’s just hard not to have that dynamic that I got used to over the past couple years, you know?

Chad’s response:

I know I can’t replace your school friends and I know you can still rely on Kate, but I want you to know I’m here for you too if you need someone else to talk to. I care about you, bro.

It was more than Aaron could handle. He shut his laptop and took deep breaths.

Over the next several weeks, they continued emailing back and forth. Sometimes Aaron confessed his true feelings in his secret word document, other times he texted Kate in frustration, but mostly he savored every time he saw that Chad had replied. He had tried to look at it as an opportunity for friendship, but it was futile. With every email he fell for Chad more and more.

Why did Blair have to encourage Chad’s sworn singledom? Would Chad be interested in something beyond friendly email correspondence if she hadn’t? Would that even matter, considering they didn’t live in the same place? Why couldn’t Aaron move on?

------

“Let’s go over it one more time,” said Zoe, putting her van in park in her mom’s driveway. “You guys don’t say anything until I bring it up. Then Alex will change forms, but only when I’ve said that it’s ok, and then--”

Blair sighed from the passenger seat, absentmindedly fiddling with the necklace she always wore. “Zoe, honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. I told your mother we were gods years ago.”

“And then we’ll explain, but just the basics, and nothing about all those people you vaporized,” Zoe finished, ignoring her. “I don’t want her to think I’m living with serial killers.”

“Alex has never killed anyone, have you Alex?” Blair said, as though cutting it down to only one serial killer was helpful.

“Nope!” Alex said brightly. “Well I mean, unless you count the people in the fire…”

“No bringing up the fire either. No murders, no accidental arson, just two benevolent gods who happen to like living with a human… because she’ll believe that,” Zoe said, doubting her whole plan. “Agh, why didn’t I do this sooner? Now she’s going to know I’ve been lying to her for years.”

“It’s ok,” said Alex. “She’ll understand. And we’re here for you no matter what.”

Zoe took a deep breath, then unbuckled her seat belt. “Okay,” she said, exhaling. “Let’s do this.”

------

Hey bro, would you believe I have a layover in the JAX airport on my way to Miami for Thanksgiving? Made me think of you.Too bad I don’t have enough time to come visit, that would’ve been sweet. But dude, we’ll be in the same city for a few minutes at least. Kind of a nice thought.

-Chad

If he didn’t want to actually kill Aaron, Chad was going to have to stop being so cute. It was too much to deal with.

Chill, Aaron told himself, you’ll be in the slight geographical vicinity of each other for like, half an hour. Big whoop.

He managed to talk himself out of several hastily-concocted reasons to be at the airport on the same day as Chad’s layover; it wasn’t like he would get past TSA without a flight anyway. He attempted (unsuccessfully, for the most part) to push the email out of his mind.

Being home for Thanksgiving was a welcome distraction. Between helping his parents clean the house for guests and hanging out with his little sister, Aaron was almost busy enough to forget about his loneliness and his unrequited crush and all the other things that were bothering him. Key word: almost. He couldn’t help but occasionally remember that he and Chad would be in the same city and not be able to see each other.

On Tuesday morning, he and Madison were watching Moana on the couch when he got an email notification.

Hey dude! Hope your break is going well. Funny story, my second flight is majorly delayed so I’m stuck in Jacksonville until tonight! I don’t know how close you are to the airport or if you have stuff going on with the fam but did you want to get lunch or something? Btw, I’m realizing email probs isn’t the best for making plans- text me if you see this.

And then Chad had given Aaron his number.

The very first thing Aaron did was text Kate a screenshot of the email with many exclamation points. Then he opened a text to Chad and wrote “bro it’s aaron, omw to the airport now :)” Then he took off the smiley face, added an exclamation point, and sent it.

“Hey Maddie, I’ll be back later, okay?” he said, standing up. “I’m going to get lunch with my friend.”

“But you’re gonna miss away away!” Maddie said. “Away away” was what she called the song that the explorers sang in the flashback. Even two years after the movie had come out, she was obsessed with it. Aaron had already heard the soundtrack at least three times the day before.

“We can watch it again when I get back,” he said. “Promise.”

He told his parents he was meeting a friend from B4B who’d had an unexpected layover, then drove to the airport as fast as his law-abiding self would allow. As he was pulling into the pickup/dropoff section of the airport, his phone rang. He answered, not stopping to look who was calling.

“Hello?”

“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”

“Kate, chill,” he said. (Of course it wasn’t Chad.) “We’re going to lunch, it’s not like it’s a date.”

“I maintain my ‘aaaaahhhhh’,” Kate said. “Are you on your way to the airport?”

“Pulling in now, yeah.” He realized he hadn’t texted Chad to tell him where to go.

“Are you gonna eat there? Or are you going somewhere? Did he say anything else? Are you--”

“Kate!” Aaron cut her off. “I don’t know where we’re going. I have to tell him I’m here though, so--”

“Oh of course, I don’t want to hold you up!” But she kept talking anyway. “Aah I can’t believe he’s going to be in your car! Ok well remember every detail, I want the full story when you get home.”

“Obviously,” he said. “But nothing’s going to happen.”

“Mhmmmmm,” Kate said. “Ok, love you.”

“You too. Bye,” he said, and hung up.

Aaron texted Chad to tell him that he was outside and what his car looked like. Then he sat and waited nervously. Since the last time he had seen Chad, his feelings had only grown stronger. It was one thing to reply to emails where he could take time to compose a response. It would be quite another thing to carry on a conversation with Chad in person, something he had failed at every time he had attempted it so far. Not to mention they would be alone in his car.

Just then, he spotted Chad walking towards his car. He was exactly as gorgeous as Aaron remembered, even after being on a plane for several hours.

Be normal, he thought. You guys are friends. He doesn’t have to know about the rest of it.

He got out of the car to help Chad with his luggage, then wished he hadn’t because he felt silly. Not knowing what else to do then, he waved. “Hey, Chad!”

Chad caught sight of him, and his face lit up. “Aaron!” He rushed over to the car, setting down his bags and giving Aaron a standard one-arm frat boy hug, which Aaron tried not to make weird.

“Hey,” Aaron said. “Good to see you, man.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. As they got in the car, Aaron was glad that he was driving so it would be easy to resist looking at Chad too much. He didn’t know what he would do once they got to lunch.

“So, there’s a Chick-Fil-A we could go to, I don’t know what you’re in the mood for,” he said.

“Oh, um, actually I’m a vegetarian now,” said Chad. Of course he was.

“All right… Denny’s?”

“Fire,” said Chad. They drove in silence, which was awkward, but Aaron didn’t know what to say.

They had been seated at the restaurant and still hadn’t said anything. Aaron was wracking his brain for any conversation starter, but Chad talked first.

“Denny’s reminds me of college,” he said. “We had one on campus and we used to go there when we got hungry at 2 AM.”

“Same,” said Aaron. “I guess it’s a staple of the American university system.”

“True that,” said Chad, and the ice was broken. They went on talking throughout the meal as if nothing was strange between them. Aaron tried to enjoy it while he could, and also spent a lot of time looking down at his plate so as not to accidentally stare at Chad’s smile or his eyes. He kept repeating to himself that he and Chad were friends, that Chad wasn’t interested in him romantically, and that it didn’t matter either way because Chad had sworn off dating. He didn’t want to delude himself into thinking that his feelings could be reciprocated. Was an unrequited crush that you knew was doomed from the start better than uncertainty?

“Not to make light of your inconvenience, but I’m really glad you had that delay,” Aaron said when they had finished eating and were waiting on the check. “I’m glad we got to hang out.”

“Me too, bro,” said Chad, and he reached out and put his hand over Aaron’s, which was resting on the table. Aaron suppressed a nervous laugh, willing himself not to meet Chad’s eyes. He couldn’t help it-- he felt a little glimmer of hope bubbling up in the back of his brain.

“Chad…” he started to say, but the waiter showed up with their checks and Chad moved his hand away. Aaron would have left his hand under Chad’s for another hour if he could have. Pathetic.

Chad cleared his throat and blinked several times as if nothing had happened. Aaron hastily changed the subject. They left Denny’s and started heading back to the airport, Aaron wishing for something to fall in the middle of the road and stop them from getting there. He wanted to pass the airport and keep driving all the way up into Georgia and beyond. He never wanted to let Chad leave his car. Who knew when the next time they would see each other would be? But alas, they reached the airport with no problems.

They sat in the parked car for a few long moments. “It’s been really nice seeing you, dude,” Chad finally said.

“Yeah,” said Aaron, looking over at Chad and accidentally meeting his eyes. He thought he felt something shift in that moment, like there was some kind of possibility that maybe his bubble of hope hadn’t been completely unfounded. He leaned towards Chad an infinitesimal amount, and he couldn’t be sure, but he thought that Chad did the same. They stayed that way for another long moment before Chad suddenly cleared his throat again and jerked away.

“Uh, I need to go,” he said. “I don’t want to miss my flight.” He started to get out of the car and reach for his luggage in the backseat.

“Right, right of course,” Aaron said. As Chad said goodbye and walked away, Aaron felt all of his brief optimism leaving with him. Well, he would have a lot to tell Kate.