#thank you for the ask & for giving me an excuse to yap! hopefully this is interesting to read

[uriekukistan]

Hope your day or night is going well!! ✨

Okay, top five Megumi lines/scenes?

ahhh thank you i hope yours is as well!! and thank you for the ask!!

im in the car rn so some of these i couldn’t track down the specific chapter/page bc i dont wanna use all my data :’)

1 - “i’m not like itadori, i have no problem earning 100 points for myself.” or something along that line

one of the things that fascinates me the most about megumi is the way he places value on lives, and this line is just so cool to me. he’d said before this that he saves people unequally, but this shows just how far that goes. he’ll kill anywhere from 20-100 random people so tsumiki and itadori, the two people he cares about and thinks are worth saving more than anyone else, don’t have to get their hands dirty, and their lives hold more value to him than others. it’s also so interesting to me because of the way megumi doesn’t consider himself a good person like tsumiki or itadori, and therefore doesn’t really see himself as worth saving, so it’s just a necessary burden he has to carry as the “bad” person for those two. also add that in w this line, and im on the floor

2 - his battle vs sukuna at the detention facility/“i’m not a hero, i’m a jujutsu sorcerer”

another moment where we get an insight into his ideas on good/bad people and who deserves saving, can you tell i love this aspect of his character? i mean, he’s about to sacrifice himself for itadori to live (hopefully), even though he literally met the guy two weeks ago, because he thinks he’s a good person who deserves saving. it’s the first insight we get into megumi’s thought process, and this was really the moment that made me start paying attention to him more. i also love how he kept a softer expression on his face and didn’t cry until after itadori died, like he didnt want itadori to feel sad or guilty in his final moments im SICK also the fact that he took the name-tag to that guys mom even though he didnt have an interest in saving him, like he was paying a respect to itadori….ugh…anyway yeah i love dissecting the way he values life.

3 - “so start by saving me, itadori”

see as an itafushist of course this had to make the list like this whole chapter has me on the floor but anyway aside from that, i love thinking about this scene because the words he’s saying seem so contrary to how he thinks? like he’s asking to be saved but he doesn’t think he’s worth saving? so it needs an extra layer of consideration. i feel like he really said this more to motivate yuuji (and save tsumiki) than actually wanting to be saved himself. plus the “it’s our fault, don’t be selfish and give up all alone” aaahhahahsj i just love this moment i feel like it shows his character very well….when the idgafer actually very much gaf….

4 - his first domain expansion

hellooo this was so sick and cool and badass of him like i dont think there’s anything i need to say for this. huge character development moment for him too. add this with the simple domain he had in dagon’s domain + the part in the culling games arc where he literally hides himself in the shadows……he’s crazy powerful and i dont wanna hear anything abt it! if u were traumatized like that you’d be curled up on the floor too

5 - “if you die, i’ll kill you” both times

again as an itafushist i couldnt not include this….of course there’s implications for megumi’s character as well but i feel like there’s only so much i can talk about his moral code in one post yk? but yeah i think it just shows how much the people he cares about matter to him

also bonus i love just any culling games megumi, his determination to save tsumiki and make it so itadori doesnt have to kill anyone makes him grow so much as a character and as a sorcerer, i love it sm

thank u for the ask! any excuse to yap about megumi 🤞

[yourmcu]

102

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x reader

Summary:

Songfic based on ‘102′ by the 1975. Moments when Natasha’s really in love with you.

A/n: listen to that song here, it’s good

Word count: 2,442

Warnings: fluff. pining. angst. angst. one sided relationship. r’s an idiot

Well, we’re here We’re at the common again

To put it simply, Natasha’s in love with you. It’s been a while now and she’s positive about her feelings. She’s not even in denial of it.

Natasha loves everything about you especially those little things and how you can make her day a thousand times better just by being around. Only realizing it a few years after you became a full time Avenger, you’re still unaware even though you’ve got this wonderful friendship with her.

Friendship, she sighs. She thought she could do anything, unfortunately admitting her stupid feelings isn’t one of them. She’d be risking the friendship and bond you two have, or, you could admit that you felt the same and everyone’ll be happy.

However, the thing is, you don’t.

“I like the way that your face looks when I’m arguing with you”.

She finds you adorable even if it's just the dumbest thing ever.

"Nat!" You whine, flailing your hands at your sides like a child. "I called shotgun!"

"I got here first, didn't I?"

"Children, better hurry it up or we'll miss the premiere." Tony gets in the driver's seat.

Natasha sticks her tongue out and crosses her legs to get comfortable, teasing you. The way your eyebrows furrow and your lips turn into a pout, sometimes you'd flail your arms or cross them is so adorable to her.

"Nat," you drag out, crawling in to sit on her lap and attempt to push her out. You don't think of it much because you're frustrated. "Come on, Nat!"

"There's room for both of us here, this is fine." She smirks, wrapping her arms around your waist making you jolt. You're ticklish like that.

Natasha teasing you is the norm for the team so they barely react, so normal that Tony just goes ahead and drives while you're still on the redhead's lap.

"Stop! We're gonna get pulled over!"

"Eh, they owe us an unpayable debt, remember?"

Even if the matter's more serious, she couldn't help but feel soft for you. Every time.

Inside you were freaking out. It was when the Avengers were handed the Sokovia Accords. They were all your friends and to see them split in two sides was - crazy. You remained undecided, but you knew if you didn't sign you'd probably be behind bars.

Both sides made valid points. After Steve abruptly left you were with Natasha most of the time. She tried her best to persuade you that signing was the best option for the team.

"You know I'm not one with politics, I just don't trust them, Nat," you sigh, gently taking her hand to fiddle with. "But - but then again, we've done enough collateral damage through the years."

Natasha nods. "you know I'm with you no matter what happens, right?"

You nod as well and offer a thankful smile. She truly is your bestest friend.

"Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path," she continues. "Staying together is more important than how we stay together."

Her hand now intertwines with yours. But she gently removes hers, that's way too... weird. You can't just do that, Romanoff.

She mentally sighs in relief since it doesn’t look like you noticed. You remain silent, deep in thought, but you snap out of it when she gets up.

"I'm making a quick stop to London then I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. You're welcome to join me."

And so when, when we all grow old I hope this song will remind you that I’m not half as bad As what you’ve been told

Here we are, sort of like your origin story on how you met the Avengers.

Steve introduced you to the team when you've settled, healed, and able to control your pyrokinesis. You were thankful for them saving you from the HYDRA base because unlike the others, the experiments they ran on you were forced.

As Natasha first laid her eyes on you, that cliché moment in movies where in the character's surroundings seem to slow down and the only thing you're focused on is that one particular person-

She didn't believe in that shit. She would scoff and roll her eyes whenever she saw a scene like that.

But it happened to her. She hated it and would've accused you for taking her breath away.

"Yeah. Natasha Romanoff." She curtly extends a hand for you to shake and you smile at her, taking it.

And for a while she ignores you while simultaneously looking you up behind your back.

Why would someone like you, a genuine and beautiful ray of sunshine, want anything to do with someone like Natasha?

She's terrified of the thought of what your reaction would be if you realize what she'd done in the past. Ah, her past, something she isn’t proud of.

You finally confront her one day, hating how you seem to get a long with everyone just fine except her.

Your real reaction being, "we've all done something really bad that we regret. I mean, look at me, I was treated like a weapon for a quarter of my life and I can produce fire anytime, which I didn't ask for - sorry, I guess what I'm saying is, I don't think you're a bad person Natasha. You're here, aren't you? Saving people's lives? You're a better version of yourself, you're changing and if you ask me that's what really matters. Now, can we get some coffee?"

Natasha's been in love with you ever since.

And when I knock at a hundred and two, And I see your pajamas I can’t stop smiling at you

Natasha heard soft knocks outside her door one night. To be honest she'd be most likely to ignore the harsh and hard knocks, so she got up and made her way to open the door.

There you stood in your pajamas. You hate the matching ones, just like the pair you had on that night. But you also hate mismatching them. Natasha wouldn't admit to think that you look nice in them though. "Hi," you manage to say, avoiding looking her directly in the eyes since you already doubt she'd let you stay just this once. "I... uh, m'sorry for waking you up, Nat-"

While you find the words to say Natasha just observes - that's creepy - admires - she looks, she looks. You're clearly dying inside, probably regretting you knocked, the way you prefer looking at anything but her as you try and get words out, and how you fiddled with the hem of your shirt.

"God, you know what? Never mind, I... I'm sorry for waking you up."

Before you could walk away Natasha opens her door wider, her face displaying full concern. "Hey, what happened?"

"It's nothing serious, I was just-"

"As your friend, I'm here for you no matter what," she wonders what'd it be like if it’s more than that. "Plus, I won't be able to go back to sleep either if you end up not telling me." She offers you a smile.

You sigh, looking her in the eye for the first time that night. "Had a nightmare. It was one of those kinds where I had no idea if I was gonna wake up from it - it was just - I feel like if I went back to sleep I'd see it again, you know?" You exhale, frowning.

She's glad you chose to show your vulnerable side to her, it just goes to show that you trust her that much, feeling like you could tell her anything.

You bite your lip, looking away. "I'm being such a baby about it, sorry-"

"Y/N," she states. "Stop apologizing and come here,"

Natasha motions you inside her room and almost immediately you latch yourself onto her, hugging her as you near the bed. It must've been bad, you seem shaken up about it.

You sigh in relief when Natasha pulls the covers over both of you, enveloping you into warmness.

Natasha lies beside you with her elbow propped up to look at you. "Do you... want to talk about it? Or I can put on a movie if you'd like."

You shake your head slightly, scooting near her. "I'm all good now."

Natasha's heart skips a beat, knowing that she's the one making you feel at ease, calm. She smiles and nods, turning to turn off the lamp.

Friends can cuddle, right? She wonders. She wants to wrap an arm around you more than anything but she feels that would be some sort of violation. So she hopes that the closeness of your bodies would be enough, for now. Hopefully.

I said “well I, I like the cut of your jib,”, “I like the way that your face looks when you're yapping on about him,”

Even though you were being affectionate with Natasha sometimes, you never returned her feelings.

Only a total asshole would hang around with someone often and do something that would cross that barrier, giving signs and subtle hints that you liked her, at least that’s what it looked like to Natasha but it ended up actually didn’t. Were you really the one to blame though? You have no idea Natasha likes you more than a friend.

Which lead you to making a very poor choice of opening up about someone you liked, to the one who liked you.

Natasha’s heart was racing when you mentioned you liked someone and planned to take them on a date, but you decided to go to her for advice first. 

It was a fifty-fifty chance for her, really.

“I mean, she is very mysterious,” you thought while running your thumb across your bottom lip. “Wanda.”

From there, Natasha just tried to ignore the sudden ache in her chest, pulling herself together in your presence. Of course it wasn’t her, you would never like someone like her. Plus, it was expected. You and Wanda shared a few more things in common than Natasha.

Noticing that the redhead hasn’t spoken a word, you continue. “I’d like to get to know her better but... you’ve known her longer than me, right, Nat? I want her to be comfortable if I ever get to go out with her.”

She tried to swallow the lump on her throat subtly, avoiding your eyes. She wanted nothing more than to walk away, out of anybody’s sight so no one could see her mercilessly destroy anything in her sight.

“You don’t need to,” she finally replies. “You could watch her favorite sitcoms together and you’ll win her over.”

“Sitcoms?”

“She likes them.”

You pout, pondering about the idea further while Natasha sighs to herself.

And after you excuse yourself to talk to the young witch, Natasha wastes no time to head to her floor to have some well deserved alone time to herself and mope, telling herself that she doesn’t and never will deserve someone like you.

But on this shirt I found your smell I just sat there for ages Contemplating what to do with myself

You and Natasha are both lucky to have each other on the team. The both of you are a match made in heaven on the battlefield, you have each other's backs.

"So... that went well," you state, referring to the mission, putting your hands on your hips as Natasha packs her stuff to get ready to leave for the next day. You bite the inside of your cheek, cursing yourself for packing lightly. "Can I borrow a shirt?"

Natasha just finished showering, now in the process of doing her usual routines before going to bed. She grabs a shirt from her closet and pulls it on.

She sighs exhaustedly, running her fingers through her hair. The fact that the shirt she put on was the same one you borrowed from her that day doesn’t click immediately.

But when it does,

"Fuck."

Natasha told herself to slowly move on because a more-than-friends relationship with you is not happening.

Well, not that she's ever told you directly that she's in love with you, but she can take a hint. You clearly aren’t interested.

And now she sits there alone with a shirt that fucking smells like you, her favorite person. At that moment she wants to just march over to your room and confess.

Trying to move on isn’t a good look on her, key word: trying to.

You’re something else. No one's made her feel this way before.

I called you up at a hundred and two, We just sat there for ages Talking about that boy who was getting on to you

You just might be the most oblivious idiot ever.

Because after your first, second date with Wanda you still failed to notice the changes in Natasha’s mood. You should know, you considered her your best friend, but being with Wanda became your priority ever since you pulled off impressing her on the first date.

Instead of letting you be, Natasha had to call you. At the time you were on your break, taking time off out of the compound. She just wanted some sort of closure at least, wasn’t even sure if that’s what to call it considering you both would still be friends, but she needed it.

“Hey, I won’t take up too much of your time,” she starts, but you immediately bombard her with what happened with your day with Wanda.

Natasha bites her lip as you do, every little thing you mentioned that she could only imagine doing with you sends her heart throbbing. But at the same time she’s happy for you. She simply loved seeing you happy. 

“I couldn’t have managed to do any of it let alone talk to Wanda without your help. Thanks, Nat,” she smiles sadly at your words, completely scrapping the thought of confessing her feelings to you. Maybe it didn’t matter anymore. “We should hang out when I get back. I miss you.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t, I... I’m being sent off for a mission soon,” she blinks back the tears and she could’ve sworn the ache she felt just got worse. Before she could utter another word, you sigh.

“Oh. I’ll see you when you get back, then?”

“I guess.”

When the call ends she goes to her messages to type out the things she’s been dying to say. She’ll be gone when you get back, she won’t have to face you once you’ve read it. After everything I still love you. It’s been too long, you deserve to know.

[laurenairay]

Happy Early Birthday!! I think you should do blurb #7 for Fred, #11 for Skinny and/or #5 for Rig :) But those are just the vibes I get. I love your writing for them!

Thanks for requesting this one, anon! I’ve been on a real Big Rig kick lately, so I hope you enjoy this! 

Tagging @texanstarslove @danglesnipecelly @tippedbykreider @princessphilly because you guys put him on my mind this week with all that thirsting. This is not thirsty in the slightest...but oh well!

“You win, happy?”

*

Another day, another long shift. You groaned when your knees creaked as you stood up out of your car, more than ready to collapse in bed already. It had been a long day. A long week. Hell, it had been a long year. Locking the car, you shook out your stiff limbs before heading into your apartment building. One good thing about paying for an apartment you could only just about afford was the security of the building, the solidness of the electrics and plumbing…that at least kept any extra costs down. The peace of having an apartment all to yourself helped too.

Because sometimes all you needed after a long day of work was the peace and quiet of your own space. Not that you didn’t try to make time for your friends – you did when you could. And of course, you were friendly with a few of your neighbours too, always chatting and catching up where you could. It was a good situation. Not an amazing one, sure – but maybe one day. For now, this was good. It worked. Just about.

As you reached your floor, stepping out of the elevator, you almost crashed into a human wall. Speaking of friendly neighbours…

“Hey, Jamie, sorry about that,” you laughed, side-stepping out of his way.

He just waved his hand to dismiss the apology, letting the elevator doors close and move on, making you smile. Jamie Oleksiak, your neighbour three doors down, super sweet and always ready to lend a hand with anything you needed. One of the only people in your life that had seen you at your lowest points, the times when you were most exhausted. One of the only people that always asked, and genuinely too, about how you were doing. The fact that he was built like a tree and had the face of an angel was just a bonus.

“Hey, I’m just heading out to grab some food with some friends – did you want to join us?” he asked hopefully.

As sweet as that offer was…

“I literally just finished work – maybe another time? All I want to do right now is sleep, sorry,” you said, shaking your head.

“Damn, you worked overtime again?” he winced.

“Gotta get that money somehow,” you shrugged, smiling wryly.

“But like…”

He trailed off, grimacing, sending a sour note through your body. Was he really judging you right now? Sure, you worked long hard hours and had the tiniest apartment in the block…but seriously?

Jamie saw the unimpressed look on your face and winced again.

“I didn’t mean anything bad. It’s just…you can’t keep doing this to yourself,” he sighed.

“What, working? Working to keep a roof above my head?”

Jamie pursed his lips, clearly not happy with your sharp tone. “Working yourself to the bone. When was the last time you didn’t take an overtime shift, hm? When was the last time you actually took time to yourself?”

You laughed, bitterly, shaking your head. Like he would ever be able to understand.

“Jamie I don’t have time for this, I-”

“You never have time!” he retorted, cutting you off mid-sentence.

And that was it, you were done.

“You win, happy? Yes, I’m fucking exhausted. Yes, I wish I could sack it all off and just vegetate on my couch for a whole weekend. But I can’t, Jamie. I have bills to pay, work to do, food to put on my plate, rent to cover. I know you have more money that sense, but I don’t,”

Okay, that was mean. You didn’t mean that. He was a good guy, you knew that.

Jamie flinched back like you’d slapped him, forehead creasing with hurt. “That’s not fair,” he murmured, “I’d give you all the money you needed if you even let me,”

You groaned, tilting your head back as you closed your eyes briefly.

“That’s so not the point, Jamie. You’re missing the entire point. I work to survive, that’s literally all I can do. I don’t have any other choice,” you sighed.

“So that’s it? I just get to watch you work yourself into an early grave?” he scowled.

“No-one said you had to watch,” you shot back.

Because fuck him for judging you.

But Jamie shook his head, laughing shortly, eyes shining with a fire than made you swallow heavily.

“No, no-one did say I had to. I choose to be your friend, to have you in my life, because you’re an amazing person. You’re caring, and sweet, and you put everyone before yourself. Even when Mrs Kramer’s dog is yapping at all hours of the night or the Dane twins are being little shits. But there’s only so long you can go on like this before you break down. You can’t keep going on like this,”

The sadness in his voice, true heartbreaking sadness, made a lump rise in your throat and tears spring to your eyes. You knew he was right. There always was a breaking point, a stage someone would get to before they couldn’t carry on anymore. You’d seen it in so many people…and you knew he was right, that you would get there too. But what could you do?

“I don’t know what I can do, Jamie. I don’t have much of a choice,” you murmured.

Jamie stepped closer towards you, hands coming to rest on your shoulders, the warmth comforting and strong.

“Let me help you,” he said firmly.

“Jamie…” you sighed.

But he just shook his head, smiling. “Let me help you, at least with the little things? Like, cancel your Netflix subscription and use my account. That’ll save you at least a bit of gas money for your travel to work. And let me put you on my grocery delivery service. That’ll save you money and the hours after work that you can use to relax a little more,”

You swallowed heavily, looking away from the intensity of his gaze. It was too much. His generosity was far too much.

“I can’t, that’s too much,” you said shakily.

“It really isn’t,” he replied firmly, making you look up at him again, “You’re my friend and I can’t bear to see you suffering when I can help,”

Then he broke off, tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip, as if he was nervous. What was he nervous about?

“I…I care about you. So much. I just want to help you where I know I can. I want to see you smile again,”

Your breath caught in your throat at the look in his eyes, so genuine and warm and…something else you couldn’t put a finger on.

“I…”

“Please say yes?” he asked.

The hope in his eyes made your stomach fill with traitorous butterflies, and you knew you were done for. He really had won.

“Okay,”

“Okay?” he grinned.

“Okay. But if you’re paying for the groceries then I’m going to cook for the two of us at least once a week, when you’re not away on a roadtrip,” you said firmly.

Because if you could do something to gain back some dignity, then you absolutely would.

But that look was back in Jamie’s eyes, the one you couldn’t identify, and it made your heart beat a little faster. No, not the time.

“Alright, that sounds good to me. Any excuse to spend more time with you,” he said, smiling softly.

You bit your bottom lip to hide your smile. Now really wasn’t the time.

“I’d better go. But I’ll talk to you soon?” you said, trying to keep your cool.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll call you to sort out details, yeah?” he said, that beautiful smile still in place.

You just nodded, smiling back at him as he pressed the button for the elevator, before walking quickly towards your apartment. Your head was spinning at the events of the last 5 minutes, barely able to comprehend what you’d just agreed to, but as you opened your front door and looked back down the corridor, you spotted Jamie still looking at you. He grinned, sending a wink your way, before he stepped in the elevator out of sight. You felt your cheeks heat up with warmth and you couldn’t help but laugh under your breath as you walked into your apartment, kicking the door shut behind you. This was not how you had expected your day to end up, not in the slightest. And you knew that there was only more to come, at least where Jamie was involved.

[abused-virgil-oneshots]

Patton’s Perfect Family- Chapter 14- New Additions to the Family

Masterpost

TW: cursing, talk of punishments, talk of kidnapping, crying, pleading

written with @wittlevirgilsanders

NINE MONTHS LATER~

Remus carefully stapled his brother’s poster to a electrical pole, then continues walking. He finally ends up at the mall, where he sees someone standing with posters.

“Uhh, excuse me, have you seen my brother, Roman? He’s been missing for a year now.” He shows the person Roman’s picture and they frown.

“Sorry. Have you seen this kid? He’s…He’s been missing for a year now too. He’s going to be fourteen in two months.”

Remus peered at the picture, then shook his head. “No, sorry.”

The kid looked nice enough, shaggy black hair and greyish blue eyes, he didn’t look like the type to run away.

Remus hoped the same thing for this kid he hoped for his brother everyday.

I hope he’s not dead.

Remus continued into the mall, occasionally stopping to show people Roman’s poster.

“Have you seen my brother?” He asks one particularilly nice look man, who was standing outside of a hair salon, a small bag in his hands.

Patton pursed his lips, forcing a smile. “Can’t say I have hunny!” He chirps, “Sorry.”

“It’s…It’s fine…” Remus mutters dejectedly, handing Patton one of the posters. “Take it? Just in case you see him? My name and number is on the poster.”

He leaves, heading back outside to start the walk home, and Patton glares down at the poster.

“Remus, huh?” He muses, starting to head towards the pet store. “Well, Remus it seems to me like you’re going to be a big problem.”

Patton pushes the thought out of his head for the moment, he had things to get for Virgil. The hair dye was going to be saved for his birthday, all the purple streaks in Virgil’s hair had been growing out as the months passed, and now his hair was back to being full black, something that Virgil despised.

So occasionally Patton would get more purple hair dye for him, occasionally visiting Kai as the poor kid and his parents confided to Patton about how much they missed Virgil.

This time though, Patton would be saving the hair dye for Virgil’s birthday, only seven weeks away.

As the year with his family had slowly passed, Virgil began having nightmares more frequently, despite the nightlight being used religiously.

So, the obvious solution, was to get Virgil a puppy.

It seemed smart to Patton, it was a reward in itself, the puppy could sleep with Virgil and help comfort him, and the whole family could play with it.

So, Patton peered into each cage carefully, he had to get just the right puppy, and he finally noticed a small Shiba Inu playfully tossing and grabbing a tennis ball.

“Awww!” Patton squeals, “Look at you!”

“Do you want to hold her?” One of the employees asks, walking over and wiping her hands off on a wet paper towel.

“Yes please.” Patton nods.

The worker unlocks the door and opens the puppy’s cage, taking her out to Patton and placing her in his arms.

The puppy wriggles around slightly, yapping happily and licking Patton’s chin.

“Do you like her?” The worker asks hopefully. Patton nods.

“I’d like to adopt this puppy please."

"Of course.” The worker goes over to the cash register and Patton hands her five hundred notes.

As a second thought, he buys a collar for the puppy, more for show than anything, then begins the drive back home.

Once back in the safety of his house, Patton lets all his anger out, smashing a few plates and breaking a vase.

The puppy whines in confusion from her crate, and there’s a faint knocking from what was now Logan and Patton’s private room.

“Patton?” Logan’s quiet voice creeps under the door, a slight nervous tinge to his voice. “Is there something wrong?”

Patton takes out his key and unlocks the door, opening it and fuming.

“Pa-Patton?” Logan stutters nervously. “What’s…What’s wrong?”

“Remus, is wrong.” Patton growls.

“Re-Remus, who’s that?” Logan asks, feigning confusion.

Roman had told him all about his brother coming to save them before they learned about the cameras.

“Don’t fuck with me, Logan, I know you know about Remus!” Patton yells, “Just tell me how to fix it!”

“I-I…” Logan rasps and his eyes water. “I don-…”

“Of course you do Logan!” Patton pats Logan’s shoulder harshly, making him flinch. “You’re the smartest person I know, so you know how to fix this! Now tell me!”

Logan lets out a broken sob and hides his face in his hands. “I don’t know, I don’t know!” He repeats.

“Well do you need some time to think?” Patton seethes, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the box.

“No, no, no, no, no! Patton, please, please don’t put me in there! I don’t know! Please!” Logan wails, pulling against Patton.

Not that that did much.

Patton turns to look at him, his eyebrow raised. “Then give me an answer, Lo. That’s all I want darling, just an answer, you can give that to me, right?”

As Patton spoke his grip on Logan loosened and he danced his fingertips up and down Logan’s arms.

“I just want to keep my family safe, Lolo…My family…Hmm…” Patton pauses in thought and suddenly brightens, “He’ll just have to join our family!”

“What?” Logan’s eyes grow wide and Patton plants a sweet kiss on his lips.

“Thanks for helping me Logie!” Patton chirps, guiding Logan back into his room and locking the door.

“Patton wait!” Logan pleads through the door, but he was reasoning with air.

Patton was already gone.

Words: 925

Taglist

@jasondeanstwin

@kai-the-person

@the-insanelycoolmylesoliver

@no-no-no-no-6

@samuel-the-gay

@ginnyfox617

@imliterallyvirgilandlogan

@supbitchss

@bat-boye

@avocados26

@anxietea-and-insanitea

@yay-gay-ships

@the-office-cat

@fluffyspirits–butclueless

[demonicpiano]

Three-Fourths the Way There

RusEng + Magic Trio School AU!

You can read it on my AO3!

~

Rating: General/K+

(Safe enough to read at work!)

Words: >6K

Status: Complete, One-shot

Summary: There’s a new rule that school clubs need to have four members to a club, minimum. The Magic Club only has three. Cue panic.

~

"Don't look now, but that Russian kid is staring again."

Arthur turned his head. In the seat beside him, Vlad smacked a hand to his face, "I said don't look! Oh, great! He's probably going to curse you now and eat your parents!"

"Wow, he'll curse me and eat my parents?" Arthur made sure that his friend saw him roll his eyes. "Remind me to give my mum a call after class."

The last third of their trio glanced over his shoulder from a desk ahead as Vlad whisper-yelled, "What do you think happened to his ma and pa?"

"That's dark." Lukas launched a wad of paper, which bounced off the side of Vladimir's head. "You should be studying."

"Look around." The chatter of teenagers said it all, "Nobody's working. I bet the teacher is playing solitaire."

"Lukas is right. Sitting here and gossiping like a bunch of old ladies won't help us study." Arthur opened his textbook with a promise to his companions, "We have plenty of time for that during ritual."

"Honey or lemon this time?" Lukas asked.

"Lemon. Demons don't like the texture of sweet things."

Across the classroom, a lone Ivan smiled.

~.~

Not only was he the spokesperson of the Magic Club and go-to exorcist when the girls believed a spirit was haunting the gym locker room (the trick was to get the ghosts to leave willingly), Hetalia Academy's best and most prestigious was exemplified in the perfect form of Arthur Kirkland, head of the student body in Council. He was the first to arrive and last one to leave, as always, with notes on the ready to whip the other members into focus. Of course, he did not forget to hide the chalk so Yao and Alfred would not host doodle-contests that would end in a decisive victory.

Absolutely perfect...at least, he would say so.

Not long after Arthur settled, the door to the otherwise empty classroom opened, and he automatically straightened. Maybe today's Student Council wouldn't begin forty minutes late. A hulking figure slowed before the cluster of desks pushed together in a cheap meeting strategy, "Good afternoon, President."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, "I told you that you do not have to call me that." Ivan simply smiled, like he always seemed to do. "Take a seat. Hopefully the others will come soon."

"Thank you." Ivan settled, and began fiddling with something inside his bookbag. It stayed quiet. Neither of them were ones to make an empty room particularly interesting, but silence did not always need to be filled especially after a chatter-filled day of teachers and students. At least Ivan knew that...as much as Arthur could find himself to be at ease with him. Not only did the big guy stare from across the classroom during first period, he often giggled to himself as if he had many devious secrets. The fairies would shudder upon his arrival and promptly flee. Strange, but Arthur would take whatever damn peace and quiet he could get over-

The door swung open with a squawk of hinges and words, "...it was a shitstorm-supernova, man. I told him to lay off the milk, but-OH-HEY-ARTIE-HOW-ARE-YOU-DOING?!"

Arthur tried not to flinch too much as a gobble-gooked, French-accented chuckle poured salt in the wound of his bleeding eardrums. "The party is here!"

"That's me by the way!" Alfred announced with the World's Widest Grin. Sometimes it reached impossible places. He bounced past Ivan, gave him a smack on the head, and noisily dropped himself and his bookbag beside Arthur. Francis took Arthur's other side, reeking of a bath of perfume. No escape; it was either French or American. Damn it all, Arthur should have taken the other seat and risk sitting beside Ivan or Yao. Speaking of whom, the last (but certainly not least) shuffled in and plopped himself beside Ivan with a sigh.

"We're all here," Arthur said right away in order to curb stomp any potential conversations or distractions. "We'll get started right away. Phone's down and off, and as always, save your complaints until I'm finished." He grabbed a few sheets from his collection, snapped his folder shut, and began to distribute. "As you know, our annual dance is still some months away, but it is our duty as Student Council to get these flyers set up and sent out as soon as possible. I made these example sheets—Ivan, get off your phone, please—so we can hopefully come up with a design."

"Not on my phone."

"Nobody stares at their lap and smiles like that."

"I do."

"Nobody asked you, Francis."

"He's knitting," Yao said. Ivan snapped his hands over his lap and looked up as if he were caught halfway into the biscuit jar.

Before Arthur could say anything, before he could think to say anything, Alfred leaped from his seat with a shrill, "Are you really knitting! Isn't that something old ladies do?!"

"I..."

Arthur yanked the back of Alfred's jacket to get his behind in his seat again, "Sit down, would you? And knitting is not just for old ladies. It is a very calming and intricate hobby that can be used for a variety of reasons and-" Ivan was staring again. Smiling. Arthur gulped, ending much more weakly, "but you should leave it for a different time."

"Okie-dokie."

"Old lady!" Alfred sang.

"Shut it," Arthur warned. "Back on track here."

Work unwillingly completed was better than no work completed. As long as those ungrateful little—oops, the lovely student body—appreciated Arthur's efforts, then all would be just peachy. Besides, it wasn't the Student Council he looked forward to most, but the Magic Club was not until after school tomorrow. Once a week was always so close, yet so far. They had the design for the flyers completely planned and even began discussing a bake-sale in spring by the time Alfred leaped from his chair, "It's four o'clock! Time to go!"

"What is burning his ass?" Yao wondered. Arthur simply shook his head as everyone around him snatched their belongings and peeled out of the room as quickly as humanly possible. He gathered the scattered plans to tuck them safely into their folder with much more care than anybody else would give-

A paper poked his arm. Oh, Ivan was still there, holding one Arthur must have overlooked. "Oh, thanks-"

"Can I walk with you to the bus?"

"Excuse me, what?"

Ivan ducked his head.

"I suppose."

"Thank you."

Arthur gave a side-eye before taking himself and his bag out of the classroom. He walked fast and with purpose, though Ivan easily kept pace with long legs. Neither said anything, which was a bit odd. Then again, he was a bit of an odd fellow. Not many friends. Not really any friends. Large. Hulking. Thick arms. Uh, keeps to himself. Typical odd kid, yeah.

"How is your magic club?"

"Magic Club? It's...all right." A warning glance. Ivan kept his eyes forward. "Why?"

"All right? Did you find somebody yet?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you not hear? There was an email." Ivan stopped in the middle of the hall and pointed to a ginormous bulletin board a little ways away. "Every Club needs to have at least four members now or else it will be disbanded!"

"What?!" Arthur sent a sharp look over his shoulder, hoping for Ivan's sake that was just a cruel joke. He stormed across the linoleum floors, pouring over every letter and announcement (and a stray note saying that so-and-so smelled like mushrooms?) until he caught the bright yellow sheet that read, 'AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB UPDATE.' So on and so forth, '...effective the first day of the new semester, January 4. If you have any questions, please speak to a guidance counselor or send an email at...' "No..." Arthur cursed the paper. The paper did not respond. A heart could not handle to be abandoned like this so quickly and suddenly. Him. Lukas. Vlad. The chopping block called for their necks.

Ivan let out a thoughtful noise beside Arthur, scaring the nerves out of him again. Arthur almost told him to stop sneaking on him like that, but found himself unwilling to open his mouth. The Magic Club was unlike the others; it did not thrive off crowds and attention. It can, and has been, thriving with secrecy and rumors whispered through the halls. Three people was enough. It has been enough. It always should have been enough-

"So you have not found fourth member yet?"

"No. Not yet." Arthur resisted the urge to look to Ivan's face. What if it was a tease, a laugh hidden behind sweet words? What if it was full of hope? An unspoken yet obvious question? He couldn't bear it. Not now. Not so soon. "I have to go."

"Ah, did I say something bad?"

"No, Ivan, not you. I need to get home." Quickly, over his shoulder, Arthur called, "Goodbye."

"Okay, uh, bye-bye!"

Arthur stormed out of the school. Each step would be a threat to leave the earth to shatter if he didn't want to be so quick. He threw himself onto his bus and fell into a seat with a huff. Everything had fractured and fallen apart so quickly. Now, he had the entire ride home to stew in the dark thoughts swirling through his mind.

~.~

Nobody welcomed Arthur home, and he did not care nor have the time to care. It was straight to his bedroom, door locked, and books unceremoniously deposited on his desk. He immediately opened his laptop, then his chat window between him, Lukas, and Vlad to start a call. The application droned. His reflection scowled at himself. It didn't make the drones drone faster.

"Arthur? What's up?"

"Lukas, I-" Something made a string of obnoxious noise from the other end.

"Sorry-" Yap, yap, yap-

"Hana! Shush!"

"I'll just go upstairs."

"No, no," Arthur said, "if I called at a bad time...I should wait until Vlad gets on anyway-"

Bloop.

"Talking about me?"

Arthur slapped his hands to his desk, "The Magic Club needs to find another member or we're getting disbanded."

"Wait, what?!"

"There was some letter from the principal. Hold on, I didn't check my email yet today." Arthur sought to do that. "Apparently, it has something to do with funding or whatever excuse they're using, but all clubs have to have at least four or more members starting the new semester."

Vlad squawked in offense.

"Check your email! It says it all there."

Lukas' voice was a quiet storm, tight with concern, "The new semester? That's less than two months away."

"Still, that will give us a decent amount of time. We can ask around to see who can join."

"Hey, Lukas," Vlad said, "what about your lil' bro?"

"He's in grade 8. Doesn't even go to the school yet."

"Oh. Sucks."

"Hm."

Arthur worried the inside of his cheek. As noisy as it was, life was mundane, scheduled and predictable. Sometimes. Nothing extraordinary besides the occasional demon got loose or a ghoul haunted the west wing's urinals...until this dropped a wrench onto his foot. Adapt or die. What the most awful of ultimatums.

"Yo, Art?"

"Yes?"

"You thinking of anybody?"

"I'm thinking," he promised. Perhaps too much. "I...I need to go. I just wanted to tell the both of you, and I have homework..."

"It's all right," Lukas said. "I have dinner soon. Vlad and I will talk a little bit more until then."

"Yeah, Arthur. Take care."

"Right then. Thanks. I'll see the both of you tomorrow." Arthur dropped out of the call, staring at his friends' profile pictures still indicating they were live and chatting for a moment too long to be healthy before closing the lid of his laptop. Him. Lukas. Vlad.

Emil was too young. Arthur's brothers had graduated, save one, but Peter was still in primary, and besides, he wouldn't invite the little twerp anyway. Francis? He may have had the taste for finer things in life, but that was for anything he could get a sense on, and unfortunately, that excluded the supernatural. He was already in several other clubs anyway. Alfred? Hmm, he pissed himself over a ghost story in the seventh grade. Perhaps not. Maybe Yao? He only had Cooking, as far as Arthur knew, and they had a few fine talks about Chinese superstitions. Maybe. Then there was...Ivan. A complete mystery, really. Did he ask about the fourth spot in the Magic Club because of interest, or to simply be nosy? Arthur walked off before Ivan could make any of this known. Not many dared to approach the 'school gremlin' (yes, he was well aware of the whispers), let alone ask to walk with him out of the school without asking for something in return.

Arthur tipped his head back and pinched his eyes. He had too much pouring itself onto his lap out of the blue like this. After another, more final sigh, he leaned to pull his homework from his bag. Essays and questions were an excuse to put his mind somewhere else.

~.~

"Sadiq."

"He's already in the Cooking Club."

"So is Yao, and you asked him."

Arthur tossed up his hands from the lunch table. As soon as they walked into the building, the Trio set a mission to scour and take in any potential recruits. It was an ultimate failure. Most of the finest potential candidates were already claimed, already asked and not interested, or too superstitious to dabble in the Dark Arts. Cowards. Rinse, lower standards, repeat. The rest of the student body laughed, gave them weird looks and/or asked, "Magic Club? What's that?"

Sigh.

To think all of this was to get new bodies inside the classroom, to see if they were even capable of joining said club!

"This is highly ineffective," Arthur announced. "Going student to student is slow at best."

Vlad nodded solemnly, "I accidentally asked Timo twice."

Lukas gave him a funny glance. "You asked Timo? You know he lives two doors down from me, right?"

"Maybe. No. I don't know! All of these kids are blond and look the same."

Arthur contemplated allowing himself to have a sob to two. Or ten. Lukas said, "I'll go to the main office after lunch. Maybe I can ask them to make an announcement for anyone to meet us in our spot."

"You would do that? For us?"

"For the Club, too."

"You don't have to do it alone. Arthur and I can come with!"

"It's okay. I have a study period next. I can afford it. Don't miss class."

Vlad and Arthur grabbed Lukas' hands, reeling and praising, "You're our last hope!"

~.~

After a few minutes of Calculus, an announcement dinged overhead, "If anyone is interested in joining the Magic Club, please meet in Room 23A after school. Again, if anyone is interested in joining the Magic Club..."

Arthur kept his eyes toward his worksheet. Chairs squeaked as bodies turned and whispered. Just a few more hours until then. He will know—and finally accept—at that point that they were doomed, and lay his wand to rest.

~.~

"We can summon a demon."

"Vlad, that's your answer for everything."

"Oh, come on! We can have it pretend it's a part of the student body. We're magic. We can make up some paperwork."

"I suppose you're fine with selling your soul in exchange for services, then?"

They sat, seats pulled close together and slouching under the heavy atmosphere. Nobody came. It was just the three of them. As it always was, and apparently, as it always will be.

"I'm sorry," Lukas spoke up, "I should have told the lady to have more pizzazz for the announcement."

"Don't go blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault, Lukas. You did well, and we thank you for it."

"Yeah," Vlad said, "you did great." Then, "Maybe we should've ordered pizza."

Arthur pointed out, "We would only get people in here for the free pizza. Besides, who would pay for it?" He stuck his elbows on his knees and cupped his face with his palms. "Maybe it's better this way. Nobody is pretending to listen to us when there is nobody to listen."

"We should have ordered pizza anyway. I'm hungry."

Someone's stomach gurgled. Arthur and Lukas pricked their eyebrows at one another. Lukas straightened from his slump, "It could help with the mood. Unless you want to sit here and sulk instead?"

"Just for a while longer," Arthur promised. "Then we can get something to eat."

Just for a while longer, they waited. "We can still hang out," Vlad offered. "We can do séances at my house."

"True, but we won't have the funding from the school."

Lukas gave a limp shrug, almost dropping into a puddle on the floor if he slumped further into his chair. "Could always meet for movie-night at my place."

"Ooh," Vlad had just a smidge enthusiasm more than Arthur could muster, "Movie-night."

Someone knocked on the door. Three heads snapped up, eyes wide and glancing to one another as if to ask, "Who could it be?" A creak, and a pale head of hair breached their precious space. Arthur's heart leaped for some reason, and he wondered if it was hope or dread.

"That's..." Vlad started, and he didn't leap for joy.

Ivan smiled like he always did, closed-mouth and tight. He quietly shut the door and asked, "Magic Club?"

Lukas and Vlad simultaneously straightened in their seats with their faces reminiscent of stone. Arthur tried to be the same, though deep down inside, he believed it would come to this. Braginsky was their last stand against eternal end. If that was the case, perhaps fate brought him here. The fairies, as they already have cried and fled, may have not agreed, but how bad could a man that kept to himself, knew how to knit, and blushed so easily be? Not that knitting was an excellent judge of character...

"Yes, that's right." Arthur rose from his seat, finding himself to smile anyway as their newcomer wrung his hands together in a nervous fit. Although he knew the answer, he had to ask out of propriety, "What brings you here?"

"I heard the announcement." Ivan tipped his head. "Unless you already filled your forth spot? I do not see anybody else."

"Err, no, we...we haven't found anybody else. Yet."

"Hey!" Vlad hissed, "Don't try to tell me...the Braginsky kid?"

Lukas sang under his breath, "He's gonna eat your parents..."

"You haven't?" Ivan was much too happy about that. "That is good!"

"Not really," Arthur said.

"I mean, it is good because...I would like to ask...ah..."

Vlad kept chanting most quietly, "He's gonna eat your parents. He's gonna eat your parents-"

"Go on," Arthur urged. This or doom, he reminded himself. Well, unless Braginsky planned on bringing doom. He better not.

"I would like my sister to join your club."

Vlad stopped chanting. Lukas stared. Arthur blurted, "Your sister? Why isn't she here, then?"

"She is, uh, not good with people."

"So you want to pawn her on us instead?!"

"Vlad," Arthur warned. Vlad slumped against his chair, more haunted if anything.

"No, no!" Ivan shook his hands like he pleaded for his life, which was unnecessary so far, "It is so she can make friends! It would be good for her."

Lukas asked, "Would it be good for us, too?"

"You're considering it?" Arthur was a tad surprised. Lukas had an irritated air about him. Though it did not appear to be any different from his neutral expression, he knew. Oh, Arthur knew.

Vlad tossed his hands up, then down to his lap with a sigh. "I mean...I guess. It's not like anybody else is waltzing in here." Louder, to Ivan, "So what does your sister do?"

"Hm?"

"This is a Magic Club," Arthur said. "If you...your sister is interested in joining us, she must be and prove herself to be supernaturally inclined."

"Oh, yes! She can talk to ghosts!"

"She can?"

"Well, she mumbles to the air a lot..."

Vlad echoed, "She mumbles to the air."

Lukas made a small, "Hm." The seriously? was understood.

Arthur tried to grin and bear the threat of curses against his back, "We have another meeting next week. Same exact day, same exact time. If you think your sister has what it takes to be in our Club, by then all means-"

Unbridled joy bloomed across Ivan's face, turning his cheeks completely pink and squishable. Not that Arthur wanted to squish them. It was just that they looked squishable.

"Hold...hold on!" Vlad said, "What grade is this girl in?"

"Nine."

"A NINTH GRADER?! Arthur-"

"It's just to see!" Arthur insisted, all the while avoiding Ivan's steady eye. "Just this once. It's the nice thing to do after all."

Lukas and Vlad shared another glance. Lukas said, "I thought you didn't care about being nice."

"Excuse me?! Who said!"

They simultaneously looked away.

"So that is a yes?" Ivan asked. Gasped. Clapped excitedly without getting an answer, "I hope you give her a chance! It would be the nice thing to do after all!"

Arthur sputtered, "You-!"

"Goodbye!"

"Oi!"

The door shut.

Arthur cursed under his breath. The source of his ire was gone; why did he feel so worked up? This or doom.

"His sister, huh?" Lukas wondered aloud.

Vlad stuck an elbow into Arthur's side, catching a soft spot, "Told you that guy was weird. He stared at you the whole time like you were something to eat."

That was Ivan's something-to-eat face? What a gentle devourer he must be, then. Arthur cleared his throat and batted Vlad away, "Don't worry about it. The whole family is weird."

Lukas said, "Not the oldest."

Vlad, "That you know of."

"Hm."

Perhaps there was still hope for the Magic Club.

~.~

Surprisingly, one week passed quickly. The weekend helped, since those always swallow as much time as possible when one was not looking. Keeping oneself busy helped, too.

Early in the week, the student council meeting was mildly successful. It was a bit too chatter-filled for Arthur's liking, but he supposed with all the hard work they accomplished the last meeting, he didn't have to take the chalk sticks from Alfred and Yao when they snuffed their hiding spot from the top drawer in the teacher's desk. At least not right away.

Why Alfred snooped in there, nobody knows.

"Everyone get seated, put your phones and knitting supplies away. We may be ahead, but that doesn't mean we can completely slack off."

Whatever was in the water, Arthur urged it to make a home there because everyone was attentive, or at least calm enough not to make fools of themselves. At four on the dot, Alfred sprung from his seat, rallying the others and Arthur let him go with no dissent...even if it was right in the middle of his sentence.

Just one more day to go. In twenty four hours-

"Arthur."

That time Arthur jumped. He kept his eyes on the papers that Yao made no move to help gather, "Yes, Ivan?"

"Can we walk to the after-school bus together, Arthur? Please?"

Yao looked up in surprise, but thankfully didn't say anything as he took his bag, one of the papers, and hurried out of the room. Arthur opened his mouth, floundering as his face began to feel warm, but words were difficult at the wrongest of times.

An arm drooped over his shoulders as the stench of overly-floral perfume breached his nostrils. Francis fake-wailed, "Oh, Arthur, but I thought we always walk to the after-school bus together!"

"Ugh, Francis, get off of me!" was a lot easier to say. Arthur made a show to brush invisible germs off of his blazer, which made Ivan giggle. "And no, we don't."

Francis rolled his eyes, "I see now! Ivan is your favorite! You rather walk with him than me! Hmph!" A side-glare turned with a smile as he spun away. Arthur swore there was a wink in there. Bastard. "Good day to the both of you. Good day!"

"Fantastic," Arthur made sure to say as dryly as humanly possible. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

So they did. They left the classroom, turned off the lights, and closed the door. Walked down the halls. Walked out of the building. Really, nothing interesting. To think Ivan asked so eagerly. Arthur felt his mouth pull down as the autumn air sent a slight chill across his face.

"You're my favorite, too."

The bottom of Arthur's sole scratched the sidewalk as he abruptly stopped. After hours meant nobody was around. The rest of the Student Council already boarded the bus. It wasn't a mistake on the ears.

Still, Arthur asked, "Excuse me?"

Ivan looked downright terrified. "Ah, um, excused?"

"I appreciate the sentiment, but kissing arse is not going to get your sister into the Magic Club any faster."

"No, I...! I wasn't..." A flinch, "I'm sorry. Goodbye!"

"Wha...oi!" Arthur called after Ivan's clumsily retreating backside. "The bus is this way! What in the world?"

He stepped onto the bus, ignored a, "Artie! Sit with meeeeee!" and sat in his own seat as far from Francis and Yao, who bickered about...rice cooking methods?

"Huh. Guess he doesn't want to be bothered." Alfred unashamedly announced, "Whatever! I just put that stuff in the microwave! Ha-ha-ha!"

Yao blanched. "Ai-yah! That's your answer for everything!"

"Ha-ha! I wish!"

Arthur turned his eye just in time to see Francis put the back of his hand against his forehead and slump in his seat. Ivan would be in the far back, where he sat now, smiling and knitting as the others bickered. Such a strange guy.

~.~

Arthur's bewilderment slowly steamed to irritation throughout the rest of the night, ending to a boil as he scowled at the fairy-lights above his bed. He had been thoroughly warned of the quiet kids, mostly from snickers and back-sided gossip that he would roll his eyes, but many legends had a grain of truth within them. Ivan's truth was that he did not even bother to pretend he wasn't shying up to Arthur to get his sister into the Magic Club! That he wasn't pretending to not pawn her off so he wouldn't have to deal with her for at least an hour a week! What an awful, awful older brother! He gave his duvet a tough yank at the thought of other awful older brothers, and thus sparred a downward spiral of grumbling, hard-fought battles in his head, and a bad night's sleep.

When he woke, his first thought was to rue the entire day before it started, most importantly, the Magic Club's meeting after school. His phone buzzed no more than 17 minutes after he pulled himself out of bed, and he saw a message from Vlad; "Bring a spoon you don't care about."

Arthur let out a sigh at the breakfast table. It was too early to make his stomach start to work, but he wouldn't start the day without black tea. A few giggles circled his head as he felt the little hands of fairies gently tug at the unmanageable clumps of bedhead. Whatever would happen that day, his friends would still be there. If not for another meeting, then movie-night and some pizza.

~.~

Before first period, Arthur stopped at the library to pick up a pass to spend his study hall there with books and peace and quiet instead of a classroom full of yappy teenagers. Why call it a 'study hall' when studying isn't a building-wide requirement to some teachers, he didn't know.

The line was rather long, most likely full of students who procrastinate on homework and scrambled for a time to do it before their classes. Arthur crossed his arms and quietly tapped his foot, not out of patience, just for something to do. The thought of Ivan knitting, long but deft fingers effortlessly and neatly looping the thread popped in his mind, and he tossed his hands down to his sides with a huffy sigh. Some heads turned to stare, but they meant nothing.

"...'scuse me. Arthur."

Arthur didn't jump this time. He turned his head to nobody else but Ivan's direction, who of course was right there, right at that time, in the same line. His own visage must have spilled the thoughts bubbling over the edge of his mind and Ivan quickly ducked his head toward the carpet.

"Good morning," he still tried. "How are you feeling?"

"As fine as a Tuesday morning allows."

"Ah."

"The line is moving."

"Are you getting pass?"

"What else would I be in for?"

Ivan smiled, crinkling his eyes, "Books, silly!"

Right. Arthur walked into that one. "Yes, I'm getting a pass."

"What period?"

"Fourth."

"Oh." They didn't share a study period. "That is okay. We can walk to first period together, yes?"

"Ivan." Arthur took a long inhale through his nose. Out. "I would highly appreciate it if you would stop trying to...do whatever it is you are doing to try to win our favor on your sister's behalf. Whether or not she gets in is up to her abilities-"

"My sister?" Ivan echoed. He let out a little laugh, "Oh, no, no, I do not worry for Natalya."

"What. Then why did you come to the Club room last week for her?"

Ivan didn't answer until he signed his name on the pass-sheet and stepped from the counter with a little gesture, "I wanted to know how you three would react. What your faces look like when you first think of my dear sister." He tipped his head, breaking into a cheeky grin again, "Yes, that exact face you have right now."

"Young man," the librarian prompted when Arthur stood in front of the counter without signing his name. He took care of that, received his pass, and stepped out of line to wander away from the other students...all with Ivan trailing beside him.

"A-and?" Arthur cleared his throat, forcing himself to look into Ivan's face. "Did you get what you want? We're giving her a chance."

Ivan leaned forward in the slightest, but it was a mountain shifting onto Arthur. "No. Not yet."

"Well," Arthur grunted out, "until then." He turned on his heel.

"Are we going to walk together? We share class."

"I have to go to my locker!" Arthur lied, and hurried as quickly as possible out of the library, but the drowsy hoard of teenagers was the worst of impediments. Ivan's eyes iced the back of his neck.

~.~

Ivan didn't stare during first period. Lukas and Vlad didn't notice, otherwise they would have started to snicker and talk about how their parents would inevitably be eaten. Arthur noticed, only because it was weird for him to not stare as it would be for somebody else to do so. No, Ivan occupied himself by staring down his lap—knitting. Anyone else, and the teacher would have given them the what-for already. Arthur found himself momentarily wondering what he was making so intensely, but immediately told that part of his mind to keep quiet and pay attention to the teacher.

Even during lunch, the Magic Trio ate in stony silence. Perhaps the thin wire separating all of them from utter doom had left them just as concerned as Arthur. Concerned, because he was not nervous or anything for any reason or from anyone.

The only conversation they had all day besides a dreary good morning was Vlad stopping Arthur in the hall to seventh period, "Hey, do you have your spoon?"

Arthur quickly nodded, unable to say more with the crowd of students pushing their way to their next class.

His stomach tied itself into a tough ball. Last period. Arthur did something he loathed to make a habit; clock watch. Instead of excitement at the end of the day approaching as slow as possible, it was like watching the blade dangle over his neck. When the bell finally—finally—droned, he already had all his books packed up and was one of the first out the door. He even got ahead of the brainless dismissal hoard and almost bumped into Lukas on the way to their room. They gave one another a nod before Arthur let his friend inside first.

Vlad followed soon after, closing the door with his backside and let himself have a short but loud sigh. They all shared it. They wordlessly fetched their cloaks, tomes, and battery-operated candles because the school deemed normal candles a 'fire-hazard' and matches 'weapons of great-potential destruction,' so dollar-store tea-lights had to do for ambiance. Cloaks on. Vlad rushed to the front of the room. Lights off. They drew close in a circle and raised their hands. Quiet. Calm. They thought of the spirits watching over them, and released a collective exhale.

"It's lovely," Lukas said, and it truly was.

A knock on the door. Three robes brushed one another, bundling in their tight knit, and faced their soft intrusion. The door opened. "Go on," a voice murmured. Two newcomers shuffled inside, one much smaller than the other. The family resemblance was uncanny, starting with the platinum locks on top of their heads. Ivan glimpsed over the trio and urged his little sister forward. She stared with impassive eyes.

"Welcome," Arthur started. "Welcome to the Magic Club."

The girl kept staring.

"May we have your name?"

"No, but you will call me Natalya."

Based on the light noises of delighted shock along his sides, Arthur thought the same thing; Quick girl!

"Very well. This is Vlad and Lukas," gesturing accordingly, "and I am Arthur." With a subtle shot of eyes to Ivan, "Thank you for being here, again. Would you join us?"

"Depends. What do you do?"

"We commune with the fair folk."

"I can do that in my backyard."

"Uh. We also take commissions to curse people."

Natalya started to look thoughtful.

Vlad said, "It goes both ways. We don't just take in anybody. You have to prove yourself worthy to carry the secrets of the Magic Club."

"Okay."

Eyes to Arthur. He reached into his pocket. Thus comes the truest test, "You have to bend this spoon."

~.~

"She didn't break a sweat!"

"Ninth-grade girls are terrifying."

"I'll see you two tomorrow."

Arthur left the Club room with more spring in his step than he entered. Tomorrow morning, he would drop off Natalya's inauguration papers to the Main Office. By next week, she will have her first official Magic Club Meeting. Nobody has joined since they all did when they were ninth graders! They had to plan and make it special. Goodness, Arthur hadn't felt this hopeful about the future since the third installment to his favorite book series was announced and that was a little over two months ago!

"Oh, Arthur!" A voice sang down the hall.

Arthur abruptly stopped and felt stupid about it. A happy hum and footsteps came closer, but he didn't turn. He made Ivan do the work of stepping around, and gave the giant a tilt of the head, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"We go home together on bus Mondays, but we can do the same today, yes?"

"I would say so, since we're all going that way."

Arthur must have not responded as enthusiastically as Ivan would hoped, so he goaded while they walked, "This is very good news. My sister has friends now, and your Magic Club will not go away."

Oh, they and Natalya were friends now? Arthur wouldn't complain; anybody that befriended the spirits was fine in his spell books. He glanced up Ivan from the corner of his eye. "Yes. So everything is said and done now. We can go back to living our lives as we were."

The side of Ivan's mouth curled up, "With a little more this time."

Arthur let out a huff, wondering how he could say, 'You can stop pretending to be friendly with me now that you have what you want,' without sounding like an utter toad.

A hand gently set on his shoulder, "Arthur, wait."

Ivan stopped and pulled something out of his blazer's pocket. "It is getting cold." He held a small bundle of dark green fabric. Knitting. "You should keep yourself warm."

"I can't take those."

"Do you not like them?"

"I do," Arthur said quickly, and he really did. "The stitching is impeccable and the colors blend in very well together. You worked on these for that entire time; I couldn't just take them from you."

Ivan pulled closer, tipping his head down and spoke lowly to Arthur's ear, "I made these for you, Arthur. I am giving them to you. They will not yours to take, but mine to give." Arthur shifted enough to catch Ivan's eye, giving a hard stare as much as he took one. "My sister is in Magic Club now, so you cannot say I am doing this to...'kiss ass,' okay?"

"So you are doing this because you want to do it? Just because? Because you are so..." Arthur made sure to stand straight as possible, meeting him half-way, "Nice and caring and charitable and kind? Do you know how strange that is? How strange do you make yourself out to be?"

"That is funny, Arthur. You call me strange but here you are. A ferocious, wild little creature."

"You're dastardly. I'm onto you."

"You are 'onto' me? I am just trying to give you gloves."

"Is that really all you're doing, though?"

Ivan gave the bundle in his hand an urging bob, sweet and wanting yet mysterious as always. "You decide."

Arthur found himself smiling like a fool.

[bonebreakjack]

Winter Warmth

Knuckles doesn't like the cold, he grew up on tropical island for cry out loud!

But maybe winter ain't all bad.

Genre:friendship

Rating: G

Knuckles let out a sneeze as he shivered in his thick scarf, he didn't like visiting everyone during winter he was always sleepy, cold, and freakin wet! But Amy invited everyone over to her house for Christmas this year and even he for all his responsibility ....can't deny eating his friend’s food around this time of year, especially when she's offering.

Plus Chaos and Tikal insisted he go take a break.

(As well as bring some back for them. Sneaky gluttons, how does a ghost and being made of water even eat?)

Amy always made a lot of food around this time to give and help them through their semi hibernations. It was hard being hibernating mammals, your body ached with the ancient need to stuff yourself till you pop and sleep until you started to see flowers again.

Very annoying when you have to guard an ancient sacred relic with the power to destroy the world 24/7. That does not even mention the water deity of destruction that lived within it.

Their bodies may have evolved the automatic knockout out but they still are slower, sleepier, and much heavier than any other part of the year. It was amazing Eggman didn't attack them more often during this time when their at their weakest but he guesses not even Eggman likes working in this hellish cold.

Hearing voices he moved his head and nearly stopped cold at the crowd that was surrounding Amy's house pushing and shoving at each other. Feeling his hackles rise he let anger burn him warm. If these assholes came to start trouble he will give them a reason to start it!

Stomping his way over Knuckles was going to start laying into them when and even louder high pitched voice did it for him.

"I. SAID. GET IN LINE!!!"

Like obedient and scared school children the people got into a neat in orderly line(even if there was an almost stampede quality to it in an effort to quickly do as they were told.)

Knuckles raised a brow as he saw Amy having come outside her house armed with her hammer huffing pissed off and annoyed. She had her apron and bandana on covered in all sorts of food stains.

"You all are going to wait for your turn! You didn't want to wait for the deliveries? Well then unfortunately you're gonna have to wait in line like proper people." Resting her hammer on her shoulder she turned to Knuckles looking ready to go into another row before she stopped realizing who it was. Squealing, she made the ever so feared weapon disappear to hug him.

"Knuckles! You're early." She pulled him into the house and Knuckles tried to ignore the glares of death as he was allowed entry into the house. He was feeling petty and stuck his tongue out at them not helping their ire.

"Sorry, for that, after the whole thing with the Resistance, a lot of people were left without jobs. So I made this program to help get food around this year to those who can't afford it." Amy took him into the kitchen and he had to blink a couple a time to take in what he was seeing.

Food, so much FOOD. 

Miss Vanilla was currently manning the stove and giving people directions like she was a head chef in a restaurant, not a movement out of place as she cooked and fluttered around to check everyone's progress. Beside her, and Knuckle’s was guessing is her assistant Shadow who was cutting the meats and veggies at lightning speed.

Cream, Chocola, and Cheese were doing the wrapping of aluminum and plastic to keep the food warm before fitting them in the bags already stuffed to the brim. The back door was open for some reason and just as Knuckles was going to bring a voice to his question a familiar blue blur came in and at least half the bags were gone.

At a much slower pace Silver and Big came to take the rest thus starting the process all over again.

"I was cooking but there were too many orders for my area and everyone was already here so I asked them for help. But the deliverers were having trouble with directions so i was delegated to calling and directing the deliveries instead and that fuss outside isn't helping." Amy huffed and rubbed her head as the familiar rustling of unhappy people outside made Knuckles narrow his eyes before it turned into a smirk.

It seems Amy went overboard with trying to help again and is getting stressed. That's a big no in Knuckles book especially at this time of the year where everyone is supposed to be slowing down and resting more. Even on the others, he can see the tiredness seeping into the bodies not wanting to fight nature’s call. 

Amy had enough delivery dogs, and he doesn't think his cooking skills will be much help since Vanilla and Shadow seemed to be a well-oiled machine.

So that leaves only one thing to do to help ease his friend’s burden.

"Hey! Knuckles where are you going?"Amy called out to him as he marched back to the front door.

"I'm going to remind the people outside about *manners*. You already got your army working overtime, I can help by reducing the noise level." Knuckles cracked his namesakes but was stopped as something warm was thrown on his head. He took it into his hand and realized it was a thick warm pink jacket, he turned to Amy confused.

She just smiled gratefully and Knuckles felt happy as he already saw some tension leave her.

"I don't know why you don't get yourself a jacket. It was way too cold to have just a scarf. Take mine and don't be too persuasive now."

They both laughed as he put it on, giving her a salute as he closed the door behind him. The crowd from before were already yapping their complaints but they stopped cold at Knuckles glare.

"Listen here you bunch of ungrateful brats, they are working very hard in there to get you all fed. And behaving like jerks won't help you get it any faster. So, you’re going to sit here, shut up, and behave."

Someone in the middle of the line let out a disrespectful PFFFT before sticking their head out. A kind of turtle teenager who gave Knuckles an unimpressed look.

"Oooo, I'm so scared-"He shut up very quickly as Knuckles got into his face.

"You will be if you keep causing trouble."

A loud swallow and the teenager was shaking in his spot, and for extra measure Knuckles glared at the rest of them before nodding in satisfaction as the now cowed group. Going back to the front he played guard as everyone inside got work in a much more peaceful environment. Slowly but surely the people diminished as they got their promised food and apologies were given without Knuckles needing to do anything. 

A tap to his shoulder woke him up and he looked around to see it was already dark and somehow he had fallen asleep at the door. 

"Hey come inside we're all done Mr. Guardian." Knuckles shivered slowly as Amy took him in and lead him to the living room. Inside there were a lot more people than there was earlier, it made him chuckle a bit as he realized Amy really did put EVERYONE to work today. Guess they earned their winter foods today.

Vanilla was on the couch and while her posture was as perfect as ever she looked ready to slouch and take a nap. Young Cream curled into her mother with her Cheese and Chocola in her lap. Gemeral stood next to them not looking fazed but would occasionally pat Cream on the head. Vector sitting next to her with Espio resting against him knocked out and Charmy splayed across his lap. 

Shadow was in the corner of the eyes closed and arms crossed leaning on Omega who had found the only space that didn't have anything breakable near him. Rogue had lost all her decorum and rested shamelessly on top of his metal head letting soft snores.

Big the cat was on the recliner and Froggy rested on his stomach. Even Sonic was asleep with a blanket thrown over him and Tails as they slept. Silver took the other couch and that’s where Amy led him to lay down and dropped a blanket on him.

"Here everyone is staying here tonight and we're going to work together to make our winter meals tomorrow."She said softly as she gave him a pillow and Knuckles didn't realize how tired he was until his head hit it. The warmth and companionship in the room was making him sleepy.

"Thanks for the help Knuckles."

"No problem Amy, now you got to sleep too you ever relentless meddler."

"Meddler; he calls me." It got him a tired giggle but he finally heard the girl leave to rest as she had thrown blankets on everyone.  He was happy he was able to help even a little bit, hopefully, he can help more than just guard tomorrow. 

As much as he hated winter, this is one benefit he will give it. An excuse to see his friends more often. Yes, he had Tikal and Chaos now, but Tikal was an ancient ghost who hasn't been in touch with the modern world for a long time and Chaos....well was Chaos. It felt lonely up there sometimes even if he did prefer his privacy and space.

It was good to see everyone, checking in on them and seeing how they were. He may not be able to verbally admit it but he had grown close with this strange group of misfits who somehow become friends from saving the world over and over.

He hated winter but Knuckles can admit it’s not all bad.

[wwounu]

The second the doorbell rings, you hide away your surprise, sock-sliding to the door in excitement. You open the door, displaying the young man holding some sunflowers in hand, which was a little unexpected.

He grins once meeting eyes with you, satisfied with your response. He holds out the bundle of bright yellow flowers to you, “I had time to visit the shop to greet your employee. You’re right, she’s super sweet… What are you waiting for? It’s yours Blossom.”

Tilting the flowers, you accept it into your arms, smiling down at the fresh scent, bubbling with joy as you hold his hand and tug him inside. A yelp comes out of his mouth at the sudden move which you found incredibly cute.

“I love the flowers so much. Thanks.” You thank, soon pointing to the coat hanger. “Sorry I rushed you inside, you can remove your coat and shoes while I put these in a vase.”

And the two of you part for a few seconds before sitting back down on the carpet and Seokmin looks at his tattoo on his arm, before looking back at you.

“I have to get used to seeing you with that tattoo on you.” Chuckles Seokmin. “You’re going to regret it.”

You too, look at your bicep, showing a similar sunflower tattoo you’ve seen before, almost identical. You can still imagines Seokmin’s bewildered face when you requested for another matching tattoo (of course, it was a tattooist’s nightmare).

“Not too sure about that. I don’t feel regret at all quite frankly.”

“That’s what they all say…” The male side comments, throwing a dirty look at you before he laughs, joining with your sound. “So! What’s this surprise you have for me?”

“Yes, the surprise!” You clap happily, holding Seokmin’s hands and letting his palms cover his eyes. “You have to keep them shut tight, okay?”

You’re convinced by the other’s nod, leaving him promptly before waddling and fetching your surprise, waddling back by the sound of your footsteps. Sitting, Seokmin hears you press a kiss on whatever you’ve gotten him before you place the object on his lap carefully.

“Now open your eyes.”

Peeling his hands away, he opens his eyes one by one, taking small peeps. But with one peep, his eyes fly open, lips spreading into a wide, unbelievable smile.

“A dog — You got a pup?!”

“I got you a pup Seok’.”

His smile fails to fade away, picking up the australian shepherd and cradling it in his arms instantly, cooing at the size. As expected, he begins to talk to the animal and touches their noses together.

“Hello! I’m Seokmin, it’s very nice to meet you!”

You can’t contain your laugher and so you laugh, adoring the scene play out. Seokmin puts the puppy down, but she sticks by his side as the male magically whips out some treats. Before you would ask, he already answered your question with the dog walking rounds he did this morning, which made perfectly strange sense.

“She really likes you, hm?”

“It’s the food,” Seokmin states, “and my undying charm.”

“Oh please…”

“But…” Seokmin begins to frown, gently petting her head, “I can’t keep her in the dorm.”

“That’s okay! She’ll be staying with me, so we can take a shared responsibility.”

“’Shared responsibi’- Oh we’re at that stage? Oh my god, we’re at that stage aren’t we—“

“Stage? What stage?”

“This!” He picks up the puppy to his lap, raising her arms as she curiously looks up at his chin. “This is like — Having to look after a child stage.”

You stare, speechless, suddenly shuffling to the man and trapping his head into your chest, hugging him but avoiding to crush the puppy. “Maybe it is. I think we can handle it. Besides, my grandparents need a guardian to look after the house since I’m growing up.”

“Gotcha- Hey I thought you didn’t like dogs!”

Releasing him from the hug, you stay on your knees as your finger nuzzles the puppy’s chin. “Well maybe they aren’t so bad… However I get jumpy when she gets excited.”

“Adorable.”

“Me or the dog?”

“You. As well as this beauty!” He holds her up and you meet face to face with your puppy, her pink tongue poking out. When he settles her back on his lap, Seokmin gulps, staring at you. “Blossom, if we’re at this stage, then does it mean…”

He can’t finish his sentence, but you know exactly what he’s saying. Getting down to eye level, you look at him too. ‘He’s looking at my lips’ you think.

“I’m fine with it if you are.”

“Okay… I think — Yeah, I can do this… How do we do this?”

“Just do whatever,” You chuckle, talking in the same confused tone he has as he carefully leans in.

Softly, your lips meet — fully this time — and like last time, you smile into the kiss. There was some awkwardness as you both didn’t know what to do, so you stayed the way you were until you part the kiss to catch your breath.

“Screwed that up, didn’t I?” Seokmin laughs.

“We can always try again.” You suggest, pulling him in for another kiss, more natural than the first but the innocence remaining. Your stomach kept turning inside and out — was this what it was like to get butterflies?

Partway into the kiss, Seokmin begins to giggle, and you obviously follow, giggling before ghosting pecks around his lips as you cup his face.

It was going perfectly well until you were stopped by high-pitched yaps, directing your attention to your puppy panting enthusiastically. You and the male smile at the sight as she jumps into your lap and you cup her face too. “Hi baby, you okay?” The pup is pressed a kiss on the head by you — Seokmin thinks he might die from such a scene.

But it finally got to his attention — “What’s her name?”

“Oh right-“ Looking back at him, you awkwardly smile. “I’m not that good with names… And I thought it was fair for us to choose a name since it’s a shared duty now…”

As you and the puppy both look at Seokmin with the identical wide eyes (again, he thinks he could die peacefully right there and then), he points a finger on his chin to storm ideas.

“Spring. She suits that name.”

Peeking at Spring, your lips curl. “Yeah. It’s perfect.”

Seokmin draws nearer to Spring and clicks his tongue before feeding her treats. “Who’s a good girl? You are!” The pup barks in joy, jumping in your arms and Seokmin looks up, stretching himself so he can plant a kiss at your jaw before Spring grabs his attention again.

Everything felt like a dream. Seokmin, Spring, the brightness of the room and joy lingering. It was insane to call this your reality; you never wanted it to come to a stop.

“I guess Spring gives you another excuse to see me now.”

“Can’t my excuse be how hopelessly I’m in love with you?”

OPPOSITES ATTRACT PART SEVENTEEN (FINAL) — Tattoo Artist!Seokmin x Florist!Reader

this is it, seok’s au has come to a nice end.... its quicker than i expected! and im super emotional (as i always am) with his au ending... its over! what do i do now?!?!?! the biggest highlight was the reveal of him being the tattoo artist, i thought it was gonna fail and be expected but apparently not so!! im glad about that... oh lord reminiscing makes me fall deeper into the pit of saddness gah keags stop!!! i wanna thank everyone for reading as always and that youre up for MINGYU’S au, which is why i rushed in posting the teaser just last night because i didnt reveal who he was yet hehe~ anyway im not sure when i’ll post his au but hopefully it’ll be soon. for now im still working on my mafia au so i’ll update that from time to time, and i have my dumb reblogs which are a thing too so hehe yeah.... thank you again nd take care~~~ | Drummer!Mingyu

one • two • three • four • five • six • seven • eight • nine • ten • eleven • twelve • thirteen • fourteen • fourteen ½ • fifteen • sixteen • seventeen

masterlist

[syrahnbloodfeather]

The Dagger in the Dark Pt 1: Two Captains, One Carriage

At last once the sun had risen high enough over the woodlands to the east, and the Amber Glade had stirred from their beds, Syrahn was ready to face the great houses. She hadn’t slept a wink since she sent Lady Kaevia that letter; the threat of assassins looming around every corner and hiding behind every blade of grass kept her emotionally drained and physically exhausted. But the whispers hadn’t haunted her since the sun came up, giving her a blissful rest from the voices at the edge of her thoughts. Syrahn stood up straight and took all the time she needed before stepping out into the glaring sunlight to get to the truth of all this.

Immediately she noticed the foreign armor of her guardsmen. They were clad in the darkest armor she had ever seen, wielding longswords with a deep blood-like crimson, and shields that looked like they were carved straight out of obsidian; she could only imagine their suffering in this hellish heat, but she didn’t dwell on such thoughts for long. Most of them knelt the moment they noticed her presence, with just a single guard opening the door to her carriage. Fear of them not being her guardsmen at all and cutting her down once she got close enough made her reluctant to approach. “First stop, my Lady?” One of them asked, helping to put her mind at ease; she could recognize Sven Skyfire any day, even when he’s hidden in that ghastly armor.

“House Greyshade.” Syrahn offered him a relieved smile before gripping the front of her dress while she lowered her head and stepped into her carriage.

“Ah, the perfect thing to see first thing in the morning!” Another familiar voice called out to her, this time from within the carriage. Her subtle smile vanished the instant she recognized Lord Zaetan Bladewhisper and Lord Victus Sunpath sitting on either side of each other. “Well what are you waiting for? Hop in my Lady!”

Syrahn froze stiff. “What are you two doing in my carriage?!” Zaetan and Victus exchanged confused glances at such a strange question.

“It's usually customary for the Guard Captains to accompany the Glade Queen, is it not?” The tone in Zaetan’s voice seemed harmlessly playful, but it annoyed her all the same.

“My Guard Captain can't defend me very well inside my carriage,” Syrahn started while she felt heat rising to the surface of her face. “I didn't authorize either of you to assume his position either… and I definitely don't need two captains!”

“You did suggest someone from my house would be willing to do the job.” Zaetan calmly explained; Syrahn clenched her jaw and pursed her lips together at that realization. She remembered saying something along those lines yesterday afternoon. “Your new Honorguard is more than capable of fending off any threats now that they're properly equipped too, as a token of my family's goodwill.”

“Fair enough…” Slowly she sat down along the bench and the carriage door closed behind her. She chose to sit as far away from the two as she possibly could, but since she gave her more prestigious carriage to Jaeras so she could travel to the Sun’rael Manor in style, her backup ride was a little more… cramped than she remembered; even on the other side she was almost butting her knees against theirs. “So… why do I need two of you?”

“If assassins were sent to kill Lady Sun’rael from the Glade, then you can't rule out the possibility of them turning their attention to you as well.” Victus warned with Zaetan nodding in approval. “Think of us as retainers, if that suits you.”

Syrahn narrowed her eyes. “How do you know about that?”

“Your sister filled us in.” Zaetan quickly answered. “That’s why we’re going to House Greyshade, is it not?”

“I'm on my way to visit all of the houses, yes.” She didn't want to single out House Greyshade just yet, not until she had all the facts. “I need to get to the bottom of this but I'm not about to start a witch hunt. Hopefully none of our houses are guilty… because if they are, I will not hesitate to banish them.”

“Banishment seems a little tame for attacking your allie-"

Syrahn didn't wait for Victus to finish his thought by saying, “The families would be banished. Those directly responsible will be hanged.” Her eyes flickered between them with aggressive intent in her gaze. “I suppose I should start with you two.”

“My Lady?” Zaetan asked while Victus fell silent.

“Thank you for volunteering.” The Glade Queen straightened up in her seat while she studied his face for the slightest trace of deception. “You already know assassins came after Lady Sun’rael less than three days after the Amber Glade demanded reparations for our garden’s destruction. Why would House Bladewhisper want her dead?”

“We wouldn't.” Zaetan answered plainly yet confidently. “Sure we've killed people we didn't like before. But sending in assassins to do our dirty work is… tasteless. Like using poison the way House Sunlust tried on us it's without honor.” He gave her a comforting smile before finishing with, “And you know how much we Bladewhispers yap on about honor. I'm sure you're tired of hearing it by now, truth be told.”

Syrahn was not yet convinced of his innocence. “Truth be told House Sun’rael is a mercenary contractor. Mercenaries will do just about anything and kill just about anyone for money. Your house does the same… sounds like a recipe for conflicting interests, wouldn't you agree?”

“Our trade is mostly selling arms and armor. We buy raw materials from mining guilds and goblin cartels, refine it in our forges, then make whatever the demand is from scratch. Your Honorguard was outfitted by our best blacksmiths, free of charge.”

“How thoughtful.” The Glade Queen decided to keep that remark to herself. Lord Zaetan seemed like an honest man; a simple man perhaps, but an honest man nonetheless. Although she was convinced he had nothing to do with that attempt on Kaevia’s life, ruling out his family before she spoke with them directly was not an option. As quickly as she blinked, Syrahn’s amber eyes flickered to Victus.

“House Sunpath would never stoop so low as to send assassins to dismantle House Sun’rael. As a fellow family devoted to the wrathful flames of the Holy Light, we share a special kinship, I'd wager.” He didn't wait for Syrahn to speak before making his case. “None of my family was harmed during the attack on the Glade either. It just doesn't make sense for us to raise a hand against them.” Syrahn found it remarkably difficult to read their faces, but a part of her was merely convinced she was just searching for something that wasn't there. What both of them said sounded genuine and believable, and if everyone she talked to was this convincing, she was in for a grand waste of her time. “But you know who would want to harm House Sun’rael?” Lord Victus spoke up, catching her attention again. “House Greyshade.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Syrahn quickly asked before a sharp inhale; the animosity between the Sunpaths and Greyshades was no secret. If she knew it was more than a house dedicated to the Holy Light and a house devoted to the Void distrusting each other out of instinct Syrahn wouldn't have let either of them into the Amber Glade in the first place. “Or is this your excuse for me to banish your enemies?”

“House Greyshade killed two of my nephews.” As expected Victus was quick on the draw to defend his family. “Listen - I don't have proof so I'm not saying they did it… but they've hired cutthroats to do their dirty work before. And as a family of warlocks and shadow priests, they're predisposed to hate a fellow house of paladins.”

Syrahn wasn’t interested in their rivalry. It looked childish to keep such grudges as someone on the outside looking in, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was in his very same shoes not even two years ago; House Flamesunder held such bitterness for her family, and it resulted in a civil war that almost brought the Amber Glade to ruin. Before she was able to open her mouth to comment, the carriage finally stopped at the first destination of many. “House Greyshade, my Lady.” Sven called out from the driver’s seat, as Lord Zaetan stepped outside to open her door for her.

“I should probably stay here.” Lord Victus suggested, leaning back in his seat.

The Glade Queen gave him a long stare before her door was opened. “You probably should.”

Mentions: @k-sunrael @house-sunrael

[soniabigcheese]

Soap, Chamomile Tea and Pizza

It wasn’t the anniversary she’d hoped for. Two years from first joining International Rescue. She’d meticulously planned everything for the first year ... and rescues had gotten in the way.

Now on the second anniversary. She found herself at home with her foot all strapped up, feeling sorry for herself.

And all thanks to that stupid expensive soap that her Great Aunt Sylvia always sent to her. It made the bath tub slippery, and she’d managed to slip and sprain her ankle. But not before making a few acrobatic contortions in an attempt to stay upright and keep her dignity intact.

She was told to keep her weight off it for a few days and under NO circumstances should she wear high heels of any kind until it had fully healed.

That meant many cancellations.

And a long wait in the hospital to be seen to in the triage section. 

No matter how she tried to throw her status around, the nurses were tough and told her that she’d just have to wait like everyone else.

Flicking idly through a magazine, and sipping at her chamomile tea, she felt Sherbet stirring beside her. He jumped down from the sofa and ran off, yapping excitedly.

“Parker?” “Yus, M’lady?” “See who that is for me please?” “Yus m’lady.”

He’d barely taken three steps forward, when the door burst open and in marched Gordon, armed with a large box. A delicious smell was emanating from it.

“Anyone want pizza?” he said brightly, ignoring Parker’s attempt to block him, “it’s your favourite ...”

He lifted the lid and inhaled deeply, a satisfied grin on his face.

“... pepperoni.” “M’lady don’t h’eat pizza.”

Penny cleared her throat to get their attention and when she succeeded, she gave the both of them the sweetest smile possible.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving it a try?” she added hopefully.

The pizza sounded awful, but the fact that Gordon had made all this effort to see her. It was so worth it. She’d desperately needed cheering up and his happy face and infectious personality more than made up for the pizza.

She patted the space beside her, and Sherbet leaped up, his little squished up face looking expectantly at Gordon.

Parker grumbled and made excuses to leave them alone, saying that he was going to get some napkins and plates.

“Plates won’t be necessary Parker, we eat straight out of the box.... see?”

He grabbed a slice and expertly lifted it to his face, chomping down with a satisfied grin on his face as he chewed.

“Mmmmm.”

Penny noticed that it had been cut unevenly, so she opted for a smaller slice. As she lifted it up, the cheese topping slid off and slopped down on the rug. Sherbet, quick as a flash, was off the sofa and pounced greedily on it. It was gone in seconds.

“How ... how did you know?” Penny asked, whilst putting the slice back into the box and selecting another one. “John.” “Oh.”

She nibbled carefully at the pizza, and decided that it wasn’t for her. She took a sip of her tea to wash down the spicy flavouring and turned her attention to Gordon. Who was oblivious, bless him. He was just so happy to be there ... keeping her company.

“He listens into everything, no matter how small a situation it is, just in case it turns into a much bigger one.” “Ah.”

There was an awkward silence and he rubbed his neck, feeling his face heat up.

“Erm ... so .....”

He glanced at her and gave her a crooked smile.

“It’s ... um ... an anniversary ... yeah?”

She nodded. He looked at the untouched pizza.

“So ... I guess this wasn’t the celebration you were hoping for then ... huh?” “It’s fine. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.” “Seriously?” “Uh huh.”

He grabbed another slice, tilted it up as a salute, before cramming it into his mouth.

“Happy anniversary Lady Penelope. May we have many more years together!”

[lalalemon101]

Make You Mine - Kim Namjoon

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it there, Y/N.” Jimin smiled through the screen after listening to me rave about unlimited sweets I had access to now that I was in college.

Seeing him smile made my heart twinge. “I miss you, Jimin.” I said softly, coming down from my ice cream and brownie high. I couldn’t help the tear that slipped out and quickly wiped it away, hoping he didn’t notice.

“I miss you too, Y/N.” he said softly, “But hey, I’ll be there to visit in November. Don’t forget me when you’re making all of your new friends.”

I scoffed, “Yeah, because I’m such a social butterfly.”

Jimin lightly chuckled. “You can’t blame me for being worried! When I met you, you used to tremble so hard  at the mere thought of socializing I thought there was an earthquake. Now you’re so much better.”

I playfully stuck my tongue out in response to hide how worried I still was about having to socialize. Jimin was right. I was much better at dealing with social anxiety now, but it still wasn’t easy by any means. I just clam up and jumble my words, making myself look like an awkward idiot. Knowing that this was my reaction just made my anxiety worse.

At that moment my phone buzzed with a text from my parents letting me know that they would be stopping by in 10 minutes for their last farewell after moving me in.

“Call you back, Chim. Gotta say bye to my parents!” I hung up and quickly got up from where I was resting in the shade of a large oak tree.

“Well with how loudly you gawked about the cafeteria I’m sure you’ll find someone who agrees with you.” I heard a deep voice comment as I brushed off my shorts.

I turned to see a tall, lean boy dressed in a simple black and white baseball tee and tan pants run one hand through his light brown hair and hold a book in his other. Even behind his glasses I could see his slightly annoyed expression.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we had to use our inside voices outside.” I snapped back.

He rolled his eyes as he walked past me and towards the dorms. “Well when you’re trying to read Plato’s Republic you don’t particularly appreciate some frivolous yapping about ice cream.”

I huffed one last time in annoyance before moving on to go meet my parents. They were parked right on the curb, my mom taking in the buzz of the campus and my dad reading different placards with information about the history of the college.

“Mom! Dad!” I jogged over to them and found myself engulfed in a group hug.

Finally my parents pulled away. “Make sure you stay healthy and study.”

“Yes, yes of course.” I smiled as she continued on with a list of things I needed to remember.

“Don’t worry, she’s a college student now. She’s got this.” my dad interrupted.

“Thanks, dad.” I smiled appreciatively. “I love you both and I’ll miss you. Have a safe flight home.”

With one last hug, they climbed back into the car and drove off, my mother waving goodbye to me until the car rounded the corner. And there I was back to square one. Happy, sad, excited, anxious, and most definitely looking forward to college life.

--------

College life was hell. At least so far it was. Everyday I dragged myself out of bed at 8 am to make small talk with a group of ten other freshmen whose names I kept forgetting. By the end of orientation week I was exhausted by all the repetitive conversations. Now, chatting with Matt about his small hometown of 5,000 people, I wanted nothing more than to go back to my room, throw on an oversized shirt and crawl into bed. When I thought I couldn’t take it any more, I felt someone tap my shoulder.

“Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting. The rest of the guys just got here and are waiting over by the steps.” Book boy stood in black skinny and a green and blue plaid shirt, with a much friendlier smile than the last time I saw him.

“Oh, do you have somewhere to go?” Matt asked.

Before I could respond, book boy was talking. “Yeah, sorry man. She’s my date for tonight.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him, but played along just to get out of this conversation about farming. “Yeah, I promised him yesterday. I’ll see you around!”

With that I gave Matt a last wave before walking behind book boy out of sight.  

“Thanks for getting me out of there,” I paused as I couldn’t recall his name, or if he had even told me.

“Namjoon,” he said, “And you’re?”

“Namjoon. I’m Y/N.” I continued “But couldn’t you think of something more creative than a date? It’s not like anyone actually came with a date to this dessert reception.”

He kept looking forward as he spoke. “I know, but I do need to bring a girl to get into the frat party tonight.”

I stopped in my tracks as he kept going. “Ha, funny. Why would I go as your date?”

He finally paused and turned to look at me. “Well since I did you a favor by getting you out, I thought you’d be a decent enough person to do me one and get me into something.”

“If I had known there were strings attached, I would’ve just gotten out myself.” I crossed my arms as he walked closer.

“In that case, why don’t you just walk back in and talk yourself out?” he gave me a smug grin as my glare faltered. “How about this, you come with me, give me half an hour and we’re out?”

I weighed the prospects of going back in for small talk for who knows how long or getting at least some alcohol for a mere 30 minutes of interaction. “Fine, half an hour.”

The walk over to the frat house didn’t seem so bad. I learned that Namjoon was a business major with a minor in philosophy. He loved Kant and was in the midst of answering my questions about Kant’s categorical imperative when we finally arrived at the house. The windows were dark although we could hear and feel the dull thud of the bass as we walked up the steps.

“Namjoon!” a boy with a bright smile got up from his seat on the porch and grabbed him in a hug.

“Hey Hobi,” Namjoon replied, “I see you’ve got a heads up.”

I looked down to see nine black lines drawn onto his forearm.

“First party of the year, I’m just warming up!” he gave Namjoon one last pat on the back before looking over to me. “And who might you be, babygirl?”

I felt my cheeks heat up as I stammered in confusion, “Excuse me?”

“Hoseok, tone it down. You’re scaring the poor girl.” Another boy slowly spoke from the bench Hoseok had just been sitting in. His mint green hair was fluffed to perfection and he was dressed in an all black ensemble. “Forgive him, he’s had quite a bit of vodka.”

“Oh yes I have,” Hoseok nodded enthusiastically, his orange bang swaying along with him. “You guys have to try the mango one, it’s great.”

Namjoon nodded as he took my hand and gently led me into the house. “I’ll make sure we try some, Hobi.”

Everything was dimly lit by the light of two disco balls and the DJs laptop. Girls dressed in tight crop tops and shorts were grinding against guys who held them close with a hand on their waist. Before I could feel like I was drowning in sweat and testosterone, Namjoon led us around the line for drinks to the side where another boy stood, his brown hair flopping as he vigorously shook whatever was in his tumbler.

“Taehyung!” Namjoon shouted over the roaring music. “Two shots of mango vodka!”

“Namjoon!” the boy immediately put down his concoction to come over. “You sure you don’t want to try my new drink? I named it Picnic Delight!”

Namjoon shook his head. “I don’t trust your shit man, just get us two mangos.”

Taehyung pouted, “Come on, please. I promise-”

“I’ll try some.” I interjected. I just wanted alcohol and I wanted it fast. The party was too much and hopefully it would ease my nerves.

Taehyung flashed me a boxy smile before pouring me a shot of Picnic Delight and Namjoon one of mango vodka. Before handing them to us, he gave us each a black line on our arm in sharpie. I took the shot, but couldn’t help from coughing and gagging as the rancid taste of lemony pickle juice made its way down my throat.

Namjoon immediately placed his arms around my back to gently pat it as I coughed. “Tae, what did you put in there?”

“Pickle juice, a squeeze of lemon, and Everclear!” he smiled as I finally regained my composure. “Did you like it?”

“Pickle juice and lemon? What kind of picnic are you going on?” I asked in slight disgust.

He shrugged. “Pickles are my favorite food and you always drink lemonade on a picnic. So I thought that if I just-”

Namjoon seemed more concerned about the alcohol itself as he interrupted. “Everclear? Taehyung, how much of that was Everclear?”

Taehyung stopped to think before shrugging again. “I don’t really remember but I don’t think it was too much.”

Namjoon seemed a bit angry as he shook his head. “Cup of water, now.”

He handed me the cup as Taehyung gave me an apologetic look and walked us away from the bar. “Make sure you drink all of that and stick by my side.”

I could feel the alcohol kicking in, my whole body felt warmer and I felt myself reflexively smiling. But I was in no way going to let Namjoon think I was a lightweight. “Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl.”

A while later I had snuck my way back to Taehyung for another shot and found myself on the dance floor, expertly weaving myself through the crowd to avoid any unwanted grinding and hands as I enjoyed myself. While trying to escape one guy with particularly bad B.O., I felt a pair of hands grab my waist and pull me back against a body as I tried to walk away.

“Hey there, cutie.” I felt his breath in my ear as he leaned down to whisper. “I’ve been watching you for a while. You’re playing hard to get, aren’t you?”

I tried to push myself away from him, but the Everclear had definitely kicked in, as I felt like my arms and legs were made of putty. No matter how hard I pushed and struggled, he had me easily pressed up against his chest.

“Shtap, lemme go.” I protested again. I felt one hand snake around my waist as the other inched down to get under my shirt when I heard a familiar voice.

“Let her go, she said stop.” I looked up to see Namjoon, pushing the guy’s shoulder back to keep him from running his hands along my body.

“Joonie!” I squealed in delight. “Help meh. Pleash tell this crust to fuck off.”

Namjoon took another step forward and with that the other pushed me away towards Namjoon. “Take her, she’s too much of a prude for me anyway.”

“Asshat!” I called out as he walked away.

Namjoon sighed as he led me out the door and onto the porch. I stumbled a bit before we made it to the stairs and the next thing I knew I was on his back, arms circled around his neck for dear life.

“Scary, Joonie.” I nuzzled my face into his neck. “Too high, Imma fall.”

“Joonie?” he laughed, “Don’t worry about it, I got you. But where did you wander off to?”

His laugh made me feel better, so I wiggled a bit as I answered “Danshing.”

I felt him tighten his hold on me as I moved. “No one took advantage of you, right?”

I shook my head and laid my cheek against his shoulders as I looked up at the sky. “You shaved me from him.”

He seemed to stiffen a bit at the mention of the encounter. “I’m so sorry about that. I should have paid better attention.”

“Iz okay, Joonie. Tenks for getting me out.” I babbled. “You’re no lunger shassy book boy.”

“Sassy book boy?” he asked with a hint of amusement.

I nodded. “You want me quiet when you read.”

He laughed. “To be quite honest, I was more jealous than annoyed because I thought you were skyping your boyfriend.”

“Dumb Joonie. Chim my bff.” I pouted.

“Good.” Namjoon grinned. “Then that means I can make you mine."

---

I woke up with my head pounding to the sound of the click of a keyboard.

“Finally you’re up.” I looked over to see Namjoon across the room sitting at his desk.

“Fuck,” I shot up out of bed, much to my chagrin as a wave of nausea hit me. At this, he ran over, tripping a bit over his chair and charger. Soon one hand was on my back and a trash can in front of me. I shook my head as the feeling went subsided. “Why are you here?”

“I’m assuming you don’t remember since Taehyung gave you two shots of Everclear. Frat party last night, remember?” Namjoon was now seated on the edge of the bed and adjusting his glasses.

I looked around the room and once taking in the blue comforter and posters of hip hop on the walls, I realized I wasn’t in my room. I groaned as I tried to get out of bed. Namjoon helped steady me but I pushed him away and leaned against the bed.

“Thanks for getting me back, but I think I’ll be on my way now.” I shoved my sneakers back on and groggily made my way to the door. I spun around as I remembered that I forgot to ask. “I didn’t do anything regrettable last night, did I?”

He walked over slowly, hands in the pockets of his navy sweats. He shrugged. “Define regrettable.”

He must have pitied me after seeing the look of panic on my face. “No, you didn’t.”

I let out a sigh of relief as I then checked for my phone.

“Here,” he handed it to me from his desk.

“Thanks, um see you around,” I gave him a small wave and let myself out. Thankfully the walk was a short one just across the quad, and at 9 am on a Saturday morning there were few others out to see me.

---

That party had been my first and last. Since class started up on Tuesday, I had engrossed myself in my studies. With the plethora of science and math classes I was taking, it seemed like all I did was go to class, study the intricacies of the cell and molecule for exams, eat, and sleep. It was two weeks later when I finally ran into Namjoon again.

“What room did you reserve for us again?” I asked Jungkook as we made our way into the library.

After noticing that we shared most of our classes, we would sit at the same table at the library when we saw each other and eventually began to talk and hang out.

“513,” Jungkook checked his phone. “It should be this one.”

We had stopped in front of a room where someone was furiously writing on the whiteboard walls.

“Are you sure?” I asked. After I checked his phone and the number on the door, I steeled myself to kindly kick the stranger out of the room.

I pushed the door open and was surprised to see Namjoon turn around.

“Y/N?” He was wearing his glasses again, this time in a mustard yellow sweater and black pants. “Oh, sorry am I in your room?”

“You know him?” Jungkook spoke up from behind me.

I let myself into the room so that Jungkook wasn’t squished behind the door. “Yeah, I met him during orientation.”

“Who are you?” Namjoon looked at Jungkook, one brow arched.

“This is Jungkook, we’re both chem majors.” I said, noticing how Namjoon seemed a bit peeved now.

Namjoon’s expression flickered for a second and suddenly he was sporting a smirk. “I don’t want to be a bother, but do you mind if we all studied together in the room? I’d like to catch up with you and get to know your new friend.”

“I don’t know, we have an exam next week.” I said apprehensively.

Jungkook seemed to have a sudden outburst of extroversion as he nodded. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound so bad. If you’re friends with Y/N we’ll probably get along too.”

“Oh we’re not-”

“Thanks, man.” Namjoon interrupted me, a grin on his face. “Same goes to you.”

To my surprise, studying went smoothly. Namjoon kept scribbling against the wall as Jungkook and I studied the topics that we were expecting on next week’s exam. After about three hours, I noticed that it was nearing six and I was hungry.

As if he had read my mind, Namjoon spoke up. “You guys want to take a break and head to the cafeteria?”

I nodded and so did Jungkook. On the way there, Namjoon asked us about how Jungkook and I met.

“And I remember when you would bring me back candy every time you went for a break but would be too shy to say anything so you’d just scoot it across the table.” I grinned.

Jungkook scoffed. “Hey, at least I didn’t ‘scoot’ my favor onto your notes.”

��Hey, I didn’t mean for the coffee to spill!” I laughed.

Namjoon coughed and I reminded myself that I should be more considerate of him in this conversation.

Jungkook must have felt bad too. “So how did you and Y/N meet?”

“She was loudly proclaiming her love for the dessert bar in the cafeteria two feet away from me while I was trying to read.” Namjoon smirked.

I narrowed my eyes as I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’m not going to apologize for your inability to appreciate sugar and our access to it.”

“There’s a fine line between appreciation and addiction.” Namjoon countered.

“I will have you know, I limit my sugar intake to 3 snacks a day.”

As we neared the cafeteria I heard a voice shout for Namjoon and we paused to see a group of boys make their way over.

“Hey guys,” Namjoon waved them over. Jungkook looked at me for guidance, but I was too preoccupied with trying to remember why I felt like I had met them before.

“Y/N!” a boy with tousled brown hair engulfed me in a hug.

“Taehyung,” Namjoon warned, “careful. You’re suffocating her.”

“Ah sorry.” Taehyung let me out of his grasp and I took a step back closer to Jungkook.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” I asked in confusion.

The one with fluffy mint hair answered. “A while ago, but I’m assuming that you had quite a bit of whatever Tae made that night if you can’t remember. I’m Yoongi.”

“I’mSeokjin, but just call me Jin, you actually haven’t met me before.” A tall boy in the back with black hair spoke up.

“And I’m-”, the boy with orange hair started speaking but then I had a quick flashback.

“Babygirl!” I spoke a bit too loudly.

His cheeks flushed and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Is that really the only thing you remember?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” I grimaced slightly.

“Sorry about that, sometimes I’m a little forward when I’ve had a bit to drink. Also, my name’s Hoseok.” He apologized sheepishly. He seemed like a nice guy and his apology seemed sincere so I just gave him a smile.

“No worries, we all do.” I turned to see Jungkook awkwardly playing with the sleeves of his white hoodie. “And this is Jungkook, he’s a friend of mine.”

The boys all gave Jungkook a warm smile and he seemed less apprehensive.

“Guys, can we please head in now?” Jin asked “I’m starving.”

Dinner was filled with the boys recalling the ridiculous shit they had gotten into in their time here. Jin was a senior while Yoongi and Hoseok were both juniors. Taehyung was a sophomore and the three of us were freshmen.

“And remember that time Hobi ran onto the field with the cheerleaders because he thought their choreo to Tinashe was too sloppy?” Taehyung laughed.

Hoseok scoffed. “Was I wrong? No. They were going for sexy but it just looked awkward.”

“Well it got a whole lot less sexy when security came and chased you around the field for ten minutes.” Yoongi added.

“Tiffany was just mad that her minions were doing worse than me.” Hoseok pouted.

“You guys are so embarrassing.” Jin laughed. “Now, what have you three gotten into so far.”

I shrugged. “Not much, Jungkook and I keep things pretty tame.”

“Yeah, the naughtiest thing Y/N has done is consume an obscene amount of sugar.” Namjoon quipped.

Before I could bicker back, Hoseok was tsking us. “You kids haven’t lived yet. How about you join us for our weekend trip to the beach?”

“Isn’t it a bit cold for the beach?” it was already mid-September and most of us were already pulling out our thicker sweaters.

“There’s plenty to do on the beach other than swim.” Jin said. “Especially if you’re with us.”

“When would it be?” Jungkook asked.

“In two weeks.” Yoongi replied.

Jungkook turned to me. “It is after our test. It sounds like it’d be fun.”

I was on the border, but Jungkook seemed to really enjoy their company and so far, I had too. “Alright, I guess a break would be nice.”

“Great!” Hoseok clapped his hands. “And Namjoon?”

I saw him quickly turn his glance from me and Jungkook to Hoseok. “Yeah, sounds good. I’ll be there too.”

“Awesome, get ready for a weekend of debauchery!” Hoseok announced.

-----

The weeks seemed to fly by. With our test coming up, Jungkook and I spent more of our time in the library and Namjoon came to study his philosophy and economics along with us when he saw us. By the time Friday rolled around and we were done with all of our exams and essays, I was ready to sleep until classes on Monday. I was reminded of our trip though as my phone buzzed from our group chat with the boys.

Heading out in 2 hrs! -Hobi

I groaned as I got to my room and fell onto my bed. Just a short nap and I would get up to pack a bag for the weekend. I woke up to banging on my door and a dozen missed calls.

“Y/N?” I heard Jungkook shout through the door. “Y/N, open up! We’re leaving in 10!”

I shot up out of bed. Fuck. I ran over to the door to let him in before I grabbed a small duffel bag and started stuffing my things into it.

“Why am I like this?” I ran around the room tossing in my toothbrush, toiletries, charger, clothes, and whatever else I thought I needed.

“You know, it’s hard to believe you’re top of the class when I see you like this.” Jungkook murmured.

“Hey!” I tossed a shirt at him as I zipped up my bag and shoved on my shoes. “Ok, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

We ran out the doors to see Jin at the steering wheel, Yoongi in the passenger’s seat and the others piled in the back. I clambered in and found myself squished in the back between Jungkook and Namjoon.

“Alright kids, all buckled in?” Jin asked. There was a resounding yes in the car before Jin pulled away from the curb.

I glanced down at my phone to see it on 5% battery. Namjoon noticed as he dug around in his backpack for a minute before handing me a portable charger.

“And what conditions does this come with?” I asked, a bit suspicious.

He smiled at my remark. “Instead of using your phone, talk to me on the way there.”

“Fine. Not unreasonable.” I plugged my phone in and then put it in my bag.

“So how did you meet them?” I asked Namjoon.

“We all went to the same high school and our parents are all pretty close so we’re family friends.” Namjoon explained. “We’re also all business majors so we share classes and notes.”

I cocked my head at his last statement. “But you don’t seem to study with them as often as you used to since you join us. You’ve also seem to study for your philosophy classes a lot more than you do for your business ones.”

Namjoon seemed a bit caught off guard. He gave me a shy smile. “You noticed?”

“As much of a science geek as I seem, I do quite enjoy philosophy so I’ll read over your counterpoints to Locke and Socrates. In fact, against your counter arguments to Locke’s social contract I think that you should attack his arguments on the fact that his social contract justifies the suppression of minorities since a majority vote system in a government is the only necessary requirement for a government to take away rights.” I realized that I had started to ramble and stopped myself, heat rushing to my cheeks.

Namjoon seemed surprised and then broke out in a wide grin. “That’s amazing. I’ll have to look more into that, thanks.”

I shrugged, trying to downplay how much of a dork I seemed. “Anyway, you never did say why you study philosophy more.”

He sighed and glanced out the window. “To be honest, business isn’t really my passion. I love philosophy, but my parents want me to take over the company once my dad retires and I feel an obligation to them. They are the ones funding my education and my life for the past 18 years. The least I could do is listen to them so that I can support them comfortable in the future.”

I slightly frowned. “Why don’t you talk to them? I’m sure they care about your happiness.”

He shook his head. “They do, and that’s part of the problem. I know that they’d support me if I wanted to major in philosophy, but I know that to give them the most comfortable life would be going into business and following in my father’s footsteps.”

“So because majoring in business does the most good, that’s what you’re going to do?”

“Yeah, both in the utilitarian framework and according to Kant’s categorical imperative, majoring in business is the right choice. If I majored in philosophy, I’m not thinking about my parents and my motivation would be my own happiness at their expense.” Namjoon smiled, but there was no happiness in it.

I frowned. “Not everything has to be that black and white. If duty and happiness were so cut and dry there wouldn’t be a need for compromise.”

“Namjoon! Y/N!” Taehyung shouted, “we’re going to go into the gas station store for snacks and drinks while Jin fills the tank.”

I realized that the car had been parked for a few minutes already and everyone else had already gotten out, including Jungkook, who must have squeezed his way past. We got out, following Taehyung into the store, perusing the shelves.

“You like these, right?” Namjoon held up a bag of dark chocolate covered pretzels.

I nodded. “How’d you know?”

“I remember you rambling about how much you missed the ones at home when you were calling your friend.” He said casually as he picked out a bag of chips.

“Wow, stalker much?” I joked, playfully bumping his shoulder. “But yeah, thanks.”

I picked out a bottle of water and bottle of coke, remembering that Namjoon always bought one from the cafe upstairs while studying.

We piled back into the car for the remaining hour of the ride, but this time instead of talking, Namjoon handed me an earbud.

“I don’t know if you’ll like any of it, but if you don’t you can always go back on your phone.”

I took it and put it in my ear, surprised to hear rap and hip hop. I handed him his coke and he gave me a grateful smile as we began munching on pretzels. I woke up later, to Namjoon gently nudging me.

“Y/N, we’re here now.”

“Shit, sorry for falling asleep on you. Just push me onto Jungkook next time.” I stuttered as I got up.

He laughed as I fumbled with my seatbelt. “No worries, it was kind of cute.”

I blushed harder as I finally got it undone.

“I never knew someone could look so dead while they slept.” He quipped.

“Hey!” I tossed the empty pretzel bag at him as he laughed and we climbed out of the car.

“Took you kids long enough,” Jin joked.

I looked around to see the pier in front of us, a stretch of sand and choppy waves and a slightly cloudy sky. There were other people around our age milling around, some playing in the sand and others taking part in the games and rides on the pier.

“Last one to the end of the pier has to go on the rollercoaster!” Taehyung shouted before darting off. In a flash the rest of the boys were running as well, and I felt a hand tugging me forward.

“C’mon, the whole point of these is to watch Hoseok scream on the ride!” Namjoon shouted as I ran with him.

We were all out of breath when we finally reached the end of the pier. Taehyung had apparently gotten there first and was chatting with an elderly man fishing while Jungkook was pouting that he came in two seconds behind. Yoongi was recovering on the bench and Jin was passing around a bottle of sunscreen. Finally, there was Hoseok, who was staring in awe and fear at the looming ride he had to get on in the next ten minutes.

We were all clustered at the bottom of the ride and laughing as Hoseok screamed at the top of his lungs and screeched during the loops. When he finally got off, his face had a slightly green tinge and he was shaking. Yoongi sighed as he offered Hoseok a bottle of water and gently rubbed Hoseok’s back.

“While Hobi takes a breather why don’t the rest of us split up and grab some dinner. We can meet back on the beach in 10 minutes.” Jin proposed. “Yoongi, Jungkook can help you and Hoseok set up the area.”

We all agreed and split up, Taehyung following Jin and leaving Namjoon and me to go find a stand. I looked around to see a hotdog stand, a sandwich shop, and a store with seafood.

“So, what do you suggest we get?” I asked as we walked towards the food.

Namjoon looked them over before finally coming to a decision. “I think everyone will like if we get a variety of seafood. I remember seeing another sandwich shop down at the other end where Taehyung and Jin headed, so we should avoid that one.”

“Alright, sounds good.” We settled on a large mixed seafood platter and an order of fish and chips.

As we walked back, Namjoon stopped us to grab a large caramel apple. “How could I forget your sweet tooth?”

I smiled in return and we shared our thoughts on the best toppings for caramel apples until we got back to the blanket. Jin and Taehyung had arrived before us and had a spread of sandwiches laid out. After we added our seafood and dessert, we all dug in. Once again the boys recounted stories of their mishaps and adventures.

“I remember when cooking our annual barbeque was something we used to make incoming frat brothers do before Taehyung set half the backyard on fire.” Jin reminisced.

Taehyung whined. “Jin, I promise I was paying attention to the hot dogs. One of them just slipped through and I was trying to get it out!”

“That’s fine, but couldn’t you at least blow the flames out before you tossed it onto our pile of fireworks?” Yoongi jabbed.

“You what?” I asked in disbelief.

Hoseok nodded his head solemnly. “It was a dark day. Well, not literally. Actually, it was quite bright, but half of backyard was charred and we’re just glad that the only thing that was seriously harmed was the back door.”

“I can still hear Jin and Hoseok screaming while Taehyung tried to put it out with the beers we had laying around.” Yoongi added, a glimmer in his eye that countered the look of annoyance he had.

I burst out into laughter imagining the chaos that the barbeque must have been. From the corner of my eye, I thought I had seen Namjoon looking over at me, but when I turned, he was taking a sip of his coke and grinning at Taehyung, who sat pouting with his arms crossed.

Once we finished dinner, it was around 8 pm and decided to head in for the night. We arrived at a beautiful beach house. Jin parked the car and we unloaded our bags. Jungkook helped carry mine up the stairs and into the house. I marveled at the beauty of the house. There was a grand staircase that lead to a second floor where I assumed the bedrooms were.

“So there are four bedrooms and seven of us, so these slips of paper are numbered. Whichever one you grab is the room you’re in.” Jin held up the slips in his hand, all folded so that the number written inside was hidden.

One by one we drew a slip. Hoseok and Yoongi shared the room on the first floor, Taehyung and Jungkook shared one on the second, and Jin and Namjoon were in another bedroom on the second floor as well. I had gotten the master bedroom all to myself, much to the boys’ chagrin.

“Aww, I wanted to stay in it this time.” Taehyung pouted.

“You can’t complain, I’m stuck with Namjoon. Have you heard him snore?” Jin groaned.

“It can’t be that bad,” I laughed.

Jin turned to me, eyes wide. “Y/N, please switch with me.”

I laughed again, “No way, I’m not giving this room up that easily.”

Jin grimaced before he had an idea. “How about we play a game?”

“What game?” I asked cautiously.

“Jenga. Whoever loses has to take Namjoon.”  

“And if I win?” I asked.

“I’ll cook you dinner and snacks everyday for a month and deliver them to you.”

“Deal.”

I held my breathe as a slowly pushed my chosen piece. We had been playing for 20 minutes already and Jin was surprisingly good at this game. Just as I removed the piece, I let out my breathe in relief, but it was too soon as the tower tumbled down a second later.

“Yes!” Jin cheered, jumping up and waving his arms.

The other boys bid me good luck as they all headed to bed. Namjoon stood there like a puppy who had just wet the carpet, a guilty look on his face.

I sighed. “Come on, this isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”

We were now in the master bedroom and as I was digging through my suitcase for pajamas I came upon the realization that I had tossed them at Jungkook before zipping up my bag.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“You alright?” Namjoon asked.

“I just forgot my pajamas.” I sighed.

He walked over to his bag and dug for a moment before pulling out a large black shirt. “Here, just wear this.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. Honestly, I was oddly excited to wear his shirt. It looked so soft and I was hoping that it would have a hint of his musky cologne and pages of the books he surrounded himself with.

He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d actually like if you did.”

“Oh,” I blushed and fiddled with the sleeves of my sweater. “Thanks.”

I took the shirt and a pair of underwear and took a shower. I thought I heard him gasp when I walked out and I saw him standing, mouth slightly agape until he suddenly shook his head and headed in for his shower. By the time he was out I had settled into bed with a book, reveling in how soft his shirt was and how it smelled like him. He came out in a pair of loose black sweats and a white shirt, brown hair tousled as he dried it with a towel.

“Um, if it makes you more comfortable I can go sleep on the couch downstairs.” He said as he came out.

“Oh, well I think the bed is big enough for both of us and I don’t want half of your body hanging off the couch because you don’t fit.” I said, trying to hide how quickly my heart was beating.

He smiled as he made his way to the bed and got in beside me. We turned off the lights as we got under the covers to sleep.

“Thanks for talking to me during orientation. I don’t think I’d have been here and had so much fun if you hadn’t.” I said quietly. I was laid on my side facing away from him.

“As much shit as I gave you for the first time I met you, I’m glad that you annoyed me under the tree,” he replied.

I felt my heart skip a beat and my cheeks heat up as he said that. With a smile I fell asleep, looking forward to the next day.

When I woke up, I snuggled closer to the warmth in front of me. It took a few seconds to realize that blankets aren’t typically this warm and they certainly don’t pull you in closer when you snuggle into them. I slowly opened my eyes to see that I had tucked myself into Namjoon’s chest and he had wrapped his arm around my waist. I shifted to avoid any awkwardness when he woke up, but he pulled me in even closer.

“Mmm, stop moving.” Namjoon mumbled, his voice husky with sleep.

“Namjoon,” I whimpered as he started to nuzzle his face into the crook of my neck.

“Shh baby,” he mumbled again, this time shifting his legs to draw me in closer. I felt something hard rub against my thigh and that’s when I let out an involuntary squeal.

His eyes fluttered open as he muttered out a, “You alright, baby?”

I looked up at him, cheeks an embarrassingly dark shade of pink. “Um, you, well-”

Before I could form a complete sentence his eyes doubled in size as he realized what had happened and he let me go. “Shit, I am so sorry. Are you alright?”

I hid my smile as he began stammering out a string of apologies and are you oks? I was about to assure him that it was fine when we were interrupted.

“Namjoon! Y/N!” Just then Hoseok burst through the door. “We need you. Jungkook just broke his arm!”

----

“It’s nothing serious, but he will need to wear  cast for about a month,” the doctor informed us as we sat in the waiting room.

“Okay, and anything else he needs to do or anything to avoid?” Namjoon asked the doctor.

The doctor shook his head. “Nothing serious, just take it easy and check back in at your school’s hospital in a month for removal.”

Jin was pacing the corridor anxiously while Taehyung sat guiltily staring at the ground. Yoongi was seated with Hoseok, keeping him calm enough to not express his worry in screams. We thanked the doctor and rushed over to Jungkook as he came out to see us.

“What do you think you were doing climbing a tree at 9 am?” I scolded.

Jungkook gave a nervous laugh. “I wanted to see if I can find a coconut.”

“That wasn’t even a coconut tree!” I sighed, massaging my temples.

Taehyung spoke up, “It was my fault. I thought there were and I wanted one so bad I asked Jungkook to see if he could get one for me as a dare.”

“It’s alright Tae, it’s not your fault.” Jungkook reassured. “If anything, at least now I can say I’ve done something fun and wild in college.”

Jin sighed at the statement. “Alright kids, let’s get everyone home and let Jungkook get some rest.”

By the time we got back to the house, Jungkook’s pain meds were kicking in and he headed straight for bed. Taehyung was moping around the house and although we all reassured him that it wasn’t his fault and that Kook would be fine, he still had the same sad puppy eyes.

--

By the time dinner rolled around, Jin was cooking up a feast and Yoongi and Hoseok had returned with a copious amount of alcohol.

“What’s all of this for?” I asked, coming down to see what seemed to be a setup for a party.

“Since it’s our last night here and we can’t really leave since Jungkook just broke his arm and most of us are underage, we thought we’d bring the party here.” Jin explained.

“Ooh, food and drinks?” Jungkook came into the room, hair messy from sleep. Taehyung followed behind him and seemed to be in a much better mood now that he saw that Jungkook really was fine.

“You should be fine drinking, I checked the meds, but just be sure not to drink more than two drinks. Hear me kids?” Yoongi told Jungkook. He nodded in understanding and happily made his way to the table.

Jin laid down the last dish just as Namjoon came down the stairs. “Perfect, everyone’s here and the food is ready. Let’s get started.”

An hour later we were all on varying levels of tipsy. Tae and Jungkook were laughing together on the couch, while Yoongi was lounging next to them. Jin was snapping the occasional polaroid of them and Hoseok had pulled me into singing and dancing along to his karaoke playlist.

Namjoon chuckled as I tripped and fell on my ass. I pouted as I got up. “That’s not very nice, Joonie.”

“Joonie?” Jin asked from his spot on a bean bag.

I nodded. “Joonie. Doesn’t it sound cute?”

“Sounds like a couple’s nickname.” Jin commented.

“Oh yeah, I thought I saw you wearing his shirt this morning,” Hoseok added. “Are you guys a thing?”

I giggled. “No, Joonie was just letting me borrow his shirt. We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, just friends.” Namjoon agreed.

Hearing him say that made me feel sad for some reason, but I didn’t want him to know that so I put on my biggest smile. These past two weeks I had a suspicion that I might have feelings for him as I started to look forward to our study sessions and our weekend here I thought that we might have been headed somewhere too. But hearing him agree that we were friends confirmed my suspicions as I felt my heart drop. At that moment, my phone rang and I looked to see that it was a facetime from Jimin.

“Chim! I missed you!” I greeted loudly. “Say hi to my friends!”

The boys all shouted their hellos as I giggled and introduced him to the boys. Before I could get to him, Namjoon was suddenly standing up.

“Hey guys, I think I’m going to turn in early tonight.” With that he left the room, leaving me confused. I hung up the facetime with Jimin, promising to call back later. Son we heard the dull sound of the shower turning on.

I frowned. “Did I upset him?”

“Don’t worry about it, he’s just tired.” Jin assured me.

I was skeptical, but I didn’t want to push it any further, so I returned to singing loudly with Hoseok. It was about two hours later when we all decided to head to bed. Hoseok had walked me up the stairs and I was just about to open the door to the room when it opened and Yoongi stepped out.

“Hi, Yoongs!” I yawned. “Why were you in there?”

He gave me a soft smile “Yoongs?”

I nodded as I stifled another yawn.

He chuckled as he patted my head. “I like it, don’t forget to drink some water before you sleep.”

“I won’t, thank you Yoongs!” I shouted behind him as he made his way to his room.

When I got in, I saw Namjoon in bed reading a book. I waved to him before hopping into the shower to quickly clean myself up. I was back in bed in his shirt when I suddenly felt the courage to talk to Namjoon.

“Joonie?” I asked.

He looked over, putting his book down. “Y/N?”

As he looked at me with such a serious expression I was reminded once again that he thought of me as just a friend. “I’m glad that you’re my friend.”

He seemed taken aback for a moment and it took him a second to reply. “I’m glad you’re my friend too.”

“Joonie, I want to be a good friend. Why are you sad? Can I make you happy?” I could tell from the way his smile lacked dimples that the smile he gave me wasn’t sincere.

His eyes softened and he seemed a bit panicked.

“It’s ok, you can tell me the truth.” I coaxed.

“Oh, uh well. I guess you could say girl problems,” he said shyly.

“Is she being mean to you?” I felt suddenly protective.

He chuckled as I put on my best serious face. “No nothing like that, she just doesn’t like me the way I like her.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I frowned. “You know what? She’s missing out. Any girl would be lucky to have you!”

He smiled again, this time he seemed even more sad. “Thanks, Y/N. I just wish she thought the same.”

“Hmf, if she can’t appreciate you that just means I’ll have to make up for it. Joonie, even though you were a bit of an ass when we met, you are one of the sweetest, nicest, and smartest guys I know.”

I felt myself getting a bit sleepy and as I continued to list off the reasons why she was missing out, I nodded off. I woke up the next morning to someone gently nudging me.

“Y/N? Y/N? Come on, we’re heading back home now.” Namjoon softly prodded me awake.

I grumbled as I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Thankfully I hadn’t had as much to drink last night so I was just weary and not hungover. Soon enough we were all in the car and on our way back home.

---

For a few days after, Namjoon seemed a bit distant but things were back to normal. With Thanksgiving break coming up, the entire campus seemed to be in crunch mode, studying for exams and finishing up papers. This weekend I would be finished with all of my exams and Jimin would be visiting before we flew back home together.

Soon enough, a car pulled up to the curb and Jimin hopped out, bag in hand.

“Jimin!” I squealed, running into his arms for a hug. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Y/N, it’s been so long. I’ve missed you too,” Jimin smiled as he let me down from the hug.

“Y/N?” I turned to see Namjoon.

“Namjoon! This is Jimin, he’s here to visit for the next few days before we fly home together!” I introduced them to each other. I was so excited that Jimin was finally here.

“Nice to meet you man, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jimin smiled to Namjoon.

I coughed, trying to distract Namjoon from the fact that Jimin was hinting at how much I talked about him. “It’s cold out, let’s go inside. See you later, Joon!”

---

We were huddled at the frat house, where I was introducing Jimin to the rest of the boys. Namjoon was missing though since he had to finish a portfolio assignment for one of his business classes. I was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t there, but I put on my best smile for Jimin and the boys, hoping that in the remaining few days before break I would see him.

Jimin and I stayed up late into the night, catching up. I spilled how I felt about Namjoon and the fact that apparently he was into another girl. Jimin listened like a good friend and encouraged me to confess before break. If it went south, then at least I would have a few days to recover. I decided that he was right. I knew that it was a long shot, but I couldn’t hide my feelings anymore and at least it I confessed I could move on.

Come Wednesday, Namjoon still had been absent. The rest of the boys had already left for home and Jimin and I would be leaving in a few hours. I was just walking up the stairs to my dorm hall when I spotted Namjoon. Before I could shout to give him a last goodbye and confess to him before break, I noticed that he was with another girl. She was holding his hand and shyly gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye. So that’s who he must have been with.

I felt a hot flash of jealousy and anger. Who was she and why was he with her? Had he been lying about his portfolio project to hide what they had? I gritted my teeth and blinked back a few hot tears as I made my way up. I looked down at my feet, hoping that he wouldn’t notice me.

“Y/N?” I heard him call out.

As much as it pained me to do so, I remembered how he had ignored me for the past few days and walked into the building without a word. On the elevator ride up to my room, my jealousy and anger turned to sadness. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks and when I opened the door to my room, Jimin’s face fell.

“Oh, Y/N. Was it -”

I nodded as I furiously wiped my tears away. “I wanna go home.”

---

I spent the break with my family and Jimin. I distracted myself from Namjoon as best as I could and by the time I was returning to campus I had a new resolve. Until I was fully moved on, I would minimize interaction with him or the boys. The next month passed by in a whirl. With the semester coming to a close, I had enough work to keep me busy and have enough excuses to keep the boys from questioning why I was absent. It was a week before I was going home when I finally ran into one of them.

“Y/N!” Taehyung came running up to me. “It’s been forever! We’re having one last get together before winter break. You’re coming, right?”

I tried to think of an excuse, and Tae must have sensed it.

“Come on, please? If you come I promised Jin will make those triple chocolate brownies that you love.” Tae gave me his best puppy eyes. “We’ve missed you so much and we won’t be seeing each other for at least another month if you don’t come.”

I gave in. “Alright, I’ll be there.”

Taehyung cheered and grabbed me in a hug. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to let the others know!”

With that he was running off to his next class. I sighed as I trudged the rest of my way to class, my mind solely on the fact that I would finally have to face the music.

----

Walking up the stairs to the house, my boots felt like they were made of lead.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. Everything will be fine, they’ve missed you so much.” Jungkook reassured me. Of all the boys, he had been the only one I really stayed in touch with.

The door opened to a festive scene of all the boys wearing tacky Christmas sweaters. Jin’s had a cat in a santa hat with the words MEOWY CHRISTMAS in bold red font. Yoongi was one with an obnoxiously ugly Christmas tree that matched Hoseok’s 3D reindeer coming out of the front of his sweater. Jungkook had matched with Taehyung, who wore a sweater with an elf’s body. Jungkook’s had Santa’s body knitted onto it. They greeted me enthusiastically with arm hugs. Yoongi even muttering that I if I disappeared again he would drag me out of my hole. Finally I saw Namjoon. His sweater had tacky pom pom ornaments sticking out from it and he seemed a bit anxious to see me. I forced my best smile as I gave him a hug. Before we had to engage in awkward small talk, Jin came back in with the food.

“Eat up!”

Dinner was almost normal. The boys shared their stories and we all laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Occasionally I would meet Namjoon’s eyes and we would look away for a few seconds of silence. After dinner, we all cleaned up and I had just finished wiping down the tables and was grabbing a glass of water when I heard Yoongi come in and ask me a question.

“What’s going on?” He was leaning against the counter opposite from me, arms crossed. “Are you and Namjoon fighting?”

I shook my head. “No, not at all. What makes you think that?”

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “So you’re saying everything between you two is alright.”

I took another sip of water before I answered. “Yeah, of course. I’ve just been busy.”

He sighed, “When are you going to tell him you like him?”

I choked on my water. “What?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “We’re not dumb, Y/N. We all know that you like him. What’s going on between you two though?”

I contemplated denying it, but one look and I knew that would be hopeless. I gave in. “I was going to tell him before Thanksgiving break, but I saw him with another girl. All that time he said he was working on a portfolio project, he must have just been hiding what they had. I just wanted to let myself move on before being around him so much.”

“Other girl?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she kissed him on the cheek and they were holding hands.”

Yoongi groaned as he massaged his temples. “Give me a second.”

He came back with a timid looking Namjoon behind him. “You two talk this out or I’m not letting you leave the kitchen.”

With that he pushed Namjoon forward and shut the door. I went over to open it, but true to his word, he was holding it closed.

“Min Yoongi, I need to leave for my flight in half an hour!” I yelled through the door.

“Well then you better get talking!” he responded.

I sighed as I turned back to Namjoon. I shut my eyes for a good two seconds before I opened them again and said what I needed to say.

“IlikeyouandIknowyouhaveagirlfriendsoyoudon’tneedtohideitanymoreandIsupportyoujustgivemetimetomoveon.”

Namjoon stared at me in shock. “What?”

I groaned as I repeated myself. “I was going to tell you I liked you before break but I saw you and your girlfriend. I’m sorry for ignoring you, I just wanted to move on before we hung out so much again.”

Namjoon stood there, mouth slightly gaping.

“Hello?” I waved my hand in his face. “I get that rejection sucks but your utter silence is a lot worse than no.”

He shook his head as he collected himself. I prepared myself for the let down.

“You like me?” Was all that came out of his mouth.

I felt my cheeks heat up and I swallowed hard. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. This was getting worse every second. “Yes, now could you please just tell me no so I can move on?”

“No,” he took a step forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Is this hug supposed to make rejection feel better, because if anything, I feel worse.” I mumbled, trying to avoid a pom pom from getting into my mouth.

“No, I can’t tell you no because I like you.” He finally let me go and took a step back.

“You what?” Now it was my turn to be baffled.

He played with the sleeves of his sweater for a second before looking me in the eyes. “I’ve liked you for a while. I was going to tell you the second night at the beach, but when you said we were just friends I chickened out.”

“But then who was that girl you were with?”

Namjoon looked even more sheepish at this question. “One of my seniors set me up on a blind date because he noticed that I was a bit down. She was nice and all but she wasn’t you.”

I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I’ve never met someone like you before. Someone who’s passionate about what she does, just enjoys thinking, and makes me feel comfortable the way I am.” Namjoon was looking right at me now. “You’re incredible. I thought about what you said. About happiness and morality. The time I said I was working on my portfolio, I was actually talking with my parents and the advisors here. I’m going to be double majoring now and I’ll decide what career I want in the future when I graduate. It’s not totally following my passion since I’m also fulfilling some aspects of duty, but now I feel so much better about it. You’ve helped me realize that not everything is black and white and that’s alright. You’re the most incredible person I’ve met and since meeting you, I’ve been happier than ever before.”

“Namjoon,” I felt myself tearing up again, but not because of hurt, but from happiness. I took the two steps forward and wrapped my arms around him.

I felt him wrap his arms around me and tuck his chin on top of my head.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long, but would you want to be my girlfriend?”

I moved my head from the crook of his neck to look up at him. “Of course. Thank you for accepting me for who I am. You make me happy.”

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

In response I closed my eyes and gently pressed my lips to his. I pulled back to see him grinning down at me like an idiot.

“What?” I asked, a smile on my face.

“I know you don’t remember since you were drunk, but I told you that night of the frat party that I wanted to make you mine. I’m just glad it happened.”

“You’re telling me that if Tae hadn’t given me two shots of Everclear we could have saved ourselves from this past month and a half of agony?” I question.

Namjoon pouted as he took a second to think. “Now that you mention it-”

“Kim Taehyung!” we both shouted as we barged past Yoongi into the living room.

“What? What now?” Tae shot up from his place on the couch. “I promised I didn’t mean to empty out the soda into the Christmas tree. I thought it was water!”

“You what?” Jin shrieked.

I looked to Namjoon and we both burst out laughing. Our suffering seemed inconsequential to the wrath Taehyung would get from Jin for trying to kill the tree.

[t33th1ng]

aborted nanowrimo attempt - november 2015

false bend sits on the coast and is quiet , and keeps to itself . its a town separated from the world by big high trees that pack together tight and leave no room for travelers .

toursits love it , you see . tourists love it . the people who live there wouldnt say they love it . but the people that live there arent overly emotive to begin with

everyones a little similar in this town and if youre passing through you arent going to notice that until you move on , you get to the next town and you remember the way people are Supposd to be. then it hits them , hits you , dawns on these tourists that hey something is a little weird over there , over there in false bend . somethings a little off

the people who live there know but they dont … acknowledge . that doesnt do much good . somethings fucked here , thats all they know .

somethings fucked and it reels in these tourists , who are on long scenic drives along the coast or are headed towards the national park up north , they are attracted to whatever this town carries they love the fresh ocean air and the clear crystal waters flowing down from the hills , the muddy streets , they love the towring trees the foggy beach and the cliffs above it (a witch lives in those cliffs) the tourists lap up the quirky locals and the weird way the light filters down from heaven , they love it , then thye move on . nobody moves into false bend , not really . like .. its been known to happen people Will move in but so slowly , it happens at at trickle . its like they come here . they love it , they want to Want to live here , then they leave again to take care of other affairs and in that time something Clicks in their minds like yeah , yeah false bend is nice , maybe we’ll drive through there again next summer or something but i guess .. now that i Really have time to mull it over .. i guess i dont particulrly want to live there . its nice but .. not for me

its not for anyone really . its a miracle the town even exists because no one fucking wants to live there Really . 

Regardless

people live there . the same people , year after year . people dont really move away either they just . its Stagnant is what it is .

and then , in late summer , a full entire family moves in which is unprecedented entire Families dont move in if anybody comes into the town its a solitary being , maybe a couple , never a family . most parents have the good sense not to drag their children into something like this

but this family , the osmans , they move in regardless . theyre a weird lot , weird in just a way to fit in here and weird , water-damaged . the father is transferred here for work . hes a doctor . a … hes a pathologist okay , he works in a lab looking at germs . his wife is a mess , his two daughters are surviving. its a bad family .

they move into these apartments , known as being the nicer apartments in town. the building is low and either painted gray or weathered into that color who fucking knows . it has a courtyard which is pretty cute and well maintained , if you can imagine that . two stories , vacant feeling , nice apartments though . the stairwells are creepy . it feels a bit like a motel . the roof is flat .

these osman family move into the apartment that used to belong to gertrude stetson before her son sent her to an assisted living facility two towns over . the apartment was definitely too big for one old woman to manage on her own  but at the same time its far too small for a four person family to live in. theres a sense that this apartment will be temporary , hopefully , thats the plan , please .

but really .. Are There four people living here ? the father puts in long long days at the hospital and sometimes just sleeps there . he has sleep problems , takes drugs for those, so if he is home hes passed out . the mother is here and there , shes not a staple in the ‘family life’. the daughters are the only ones there with any regularity . so maybe this apartment is just the right size .  

theres two bedrooms , a bathroom , and reasonable space set aside for a conjoined kitchen+dining area and living room.

its some kind of arrangement

So , next door , across the hall from these osmans , is josef sokol , the younger daughter catches a glimpse of him and refers to him as the ‘tweaky looking fucker’ . its not a wrong assumption to make , josef doesnt look good . he doesnt feel good either , any time , at all , ever . he monitors his new neighbors move in just as he monitored old miss gertrudes move out . in fact , he helped , and his muscles ached for days after . so he doest help these new ones move in . he observes them through his doors peephole and gets a bad feel but he cant tell i if its just him or if its legitimate . guess he'll have to wait and see . he spies on them really , wonders if he should buy a coffee cake or whatever the fuck and give it to them as a housewarming gift . thats what ol miss gertrude did when he moved in here , years and years and years ago . but whatever . he ‘ll think on it . maybe .. he can get the coffee cake and give it to them and use it as an excuse to scope them out .. yes . yes sounds good . josef needs to keep tabs on people

he lurks around for days , observing simply. he doesnt work or anything , he doesnt have friends or hobbies , so hes free to watch these new folks movements to quiet his frantic mind . he Needs to get a feel on them . especially since theyre right next door to him . he sees a father and two daughters and a woman who stops by once who hes never seen before so he assumes shes with them , possibly the mother ? bad vibes , bad vibes . he sits on his barstool in front of his door , straining his eye thru the peephole , smoking a cigarette . he blinks , slowly

that evening he goes for a small walk to smoke some more . he runs into another neighbor , a man who lives down at the end of the hall fuck fuck oh fuck - a man who lives down at then end of the hall named terry . terry is out walking his shitty dachshund that josef wants to fucking punt across the street its peed in front of his door twice and barks in the middle of the night , soft far -off yaps that make him jolt awake . josef glares at this shit dog . shit dog is sniffing the bag of mcdonalds some lazy ass dumped on the gutter

‘so whatre the new neighbros like’ terry asks . josef shrugs , takes a deep inhale , tries to blow the smoke away from him but the winds being weird so the smoke ends up all going in terrys face anyways , but fuck that guy .

‘’nah, nah havent talked to them yet , figured id let them settle in first ‘ blatant lies : josef is in no frame of mind to speak with others right now . this includes you  terry, you fucking demon . ‘ seem a little unusual but whatever . nice enough i guess . theres a father n two daughrers and i guess a mother’

‘you guess ?’ terry does this shitty awkward laugh that he always does when josef says something mildly weird which, to be truthful , is Often . josef knows this laugh in his goddamn bones

‘yeah . some older woman is there like , once . no clue who she is . neither of the adults look like the kids tho ,’ josef exhales more smooke , it goes at terry again , terry backs up . the shit dogs chewing on an old french fry cup thing what they fuck are those called ?? called shit dog chew toy now

terry gravitates away after that . josef does too . time to walk around a three block area and then return to his apartment . see if anythings new with these neighbors . think some more about that coffee cake .

--

by the next afternoon josef musters up the courage , soothes his fucking brain , and buys this coffee cake . time to meet the neighbors . gotta prove hes a reasonable functioning adult . he puts on some relatively stain free clothes , and moves out . maybe he shouldve shaved too  oh well . he knocks on their door , its a sunday , late summer .

one of the daughters answers . shes shorter than the other and looks mildly fucked up . she looks like she gets in fights at school over shit that doesnt matter (this is very true) and like she doesnt get enough validation . she also looks suspicious .

‘hello ?’ she opens the door just enough to pop her head out . theyre the same height , both of them . roughly five foot six , five foot seven . theyre at eye level . and they both have brown eyes . go figure

‘im your neighbor . my names josef.’ he sticks out his hand . she reluctantly shakes it .

'im bea’

‘heres some … heres this coffee cake . welcome to false bend ‘ josefs ability to do this suddenly fucks out on him and he wants to run .

‘cool ‘

bea takes the cake , josef nods , they both vanish into their apartments . josef is getting a Really bad feeling from these people .

later that evening theres a knock on josefs door . oh fuck . he silently jumps out of his cherished recliner and lightfoots to the door . nobody can hear him. outside is bea and her sister . the sister is taller , shes definitely more attractive , she looks more wellrounded for sure but still kind of dead inside but josef isnt one to judge . he opens his door

the sister immediately smiles and sticks her hand out . ‘hello! sorry i missed you earlier , i was taking a nap. my names gloria. thanks for the cake!’

josef shakes her hand , studying her . he cant get a good read on her and its fucking him up .

‘josef .. josef sokol . nice to meet you’ hes forgotten to smile so far so he makes himself do it . he thinks thats the right facial expression for this . glorias smiling so …

bea isnt but hes not going to trust her for social cues .

‘its nice to meet you, sorry my parents arent here , im sure theyd love to meet you too ‘ gloria goes on for a bit about things that josef doesnt necessarily Care about but hes glad to know . family of four , her fathers a busy busy doctor man doing his medicine , they moved here from new mexico , its so beautiful here isnt it ? it sure is .

gloria thanks him again , promises to see him around ,  everyone retreats . josef knows more now but fuck that just making him more confused . he feels paranoid . he always paranoid but Especially now .

-

the osman apartment is a weird place to be . the grand dr norman osman has unpacked and situated all his earthly belongings . the larger of the two bedrooms is normal looking . the rest of the apartment , boxes and bubble wrap and the remains of several half assed unpacking attempts . the sisters are trying to make things nice but it isnt working like it should . theyve smashed their mattresses into their shared room , and have realized theres no room to put the bedframes in there , so now they have to figure out where to get rid of those .  bea puzzles out  how to get the wifi and cable set up , she figures it out , they spend an evening watching nature documentaries together instead of unpacking more because theyre tired . and then the next day they go on a walk instead because gloria wants to figure out whats where in the town  shes says its so pretty lets explore . they end up doing that all day and are so tired by the time they get back they pass out .

bea knows her mother is staying in a motel and she doesnt tell gloria . it wouldnt be anything new but she doesnt want to say it . gloria probably already knows anyways why should she bother . mom is gone gone gone

they seee  their father , their esteemed doctor , a few times .

he comes home almost every night , he takes his shoes off and immediately retreats to his room , he leaves early in the morning . the family does not communicate much .

but this is how things always are . life goes on .

josef observes , josef is confused . school is going to start soon , in a matter of days . gloria will be a senior , bea will be a junior . gloria wants to get everything unpacked before school starts . bea doesnt give a shit .

‘cmon . if it doesnt get done by school its Never getting done ‘

‘why cant we just go on another walk .. i want to look in the forest …. ‘

gloria wins , they unpack some . not all but some . they get the bathroom set up somewhat . bea finds her fuzzy sucks and puts them on . the apartment feels a little less shitty .

‘ isnt this so much nicer ?’ gloria feels like theres fresh air in her lungs . she likes things to be a certain way . bea doesnt care as much . they both clean up for bed and retreat . their bedroom has one tiny tiny window and they lay in bed awake , facing each other , eyes open . the moon is weak and the clouds are heavy , the light is cold and failing . they look at each other and think and remember

they arent related . bea was adopted by their parents when she was four years old and gloria is their godchild . gloria has seen a lot and it makes it hard for her to sleep sometimes . the first night they really truly met each other was a little like this , in the dark and staring at each other emptily . they are sisters in a weird ferocious way . they hurt together but theyre not dead 

that night , like most of the others , norman comes home . theyre both awake when he unlocks the front door .  they listen to him take off his shoes , take his sleeping pills down his throat ,  he strips his socks off , goes into the room , turns the tv on . the volume is low . light flashes under the door .

‘lets go to sleep ‘

please

_

bea and gloria go to the coffee shop down the street the day before school starts . the street is poorly taken care of and theres a bunch of weeds growing , theres plants bursting out of everywhere in this town its just the way . and the buildings around the street , just like all buildings , in town , are gray and beaten . the ocean weather gnaws them down into something gray and dirty .  

all the buildings are low . gloria looks straight ahead while she walks and bea looks all around them . a truck drives by them , maybe the passengers are somebody they will go to school with ? theres a bar with a shining neon sign across the street . crows sit on the telephone wires . bea watches it all .

in the cofffee shop bea gets a donut , gloria gets tea and a scone . gloria cares more about keeping up appearances.

they sit at the window to watch people inside , and outside , the coffee shop . as they sit it starts to rain a little .

-

okay i dont giiiive a fuck

wanted to tdo donuts , donuts was boring ,

after the coffee shop wihc was Boring And a Mistake Fuck U .. afterwards thy go towards the ocean , it is cold and lovely

the ocean rolls out forever . before coming here , neither sister has seen the ocean before . they watch it for a long time . gloria is smiling , she likes it . bea is mildly horrified . she doesnt know why . she watches it move in front of her and she has a hard time breathing . oh she hates it . or not hates it . it scares her . and her first kneejerk reaction to  being afraid of things is to hate them so its only natural

gloria wants to walk the beach forever , admire the nature and the shells and the gulls , admire the gulls and the clouds .   . bea just wants to go the fuck home but hey she isnt going to ditch her sister on the beach .

they stay out there an hour , more than an hour . fuck im gying im g=done goodNight

- 

bea can only view her chemistry teacher with suspicion. marcus rydell , who has long braided hair and plays guitar and wont shut up about his beloved pet cockatoo and has a gigantic potted tree in his classroom that cant be removed without killing it , well this mr rydell is a weird guy . and bea can handle weird but theres just something so off about this guy . 

all the other students love him , hes a school favorite. but bea is creeped out by his pale pale blue eyes. something about his eyes . she doesnt know it by name doesnt know what it particularly is but its there she hates it , it drives her nuts 

(months later after shes established her weird , mildly shitty relationship with josef, she tells him about it . he looks thoughtful on it but doesnt offer much beyond 'have you noticed how others have that look? in this town?' and now that he mentions it she really does notice that . imagine that . much much later he tells her more and she realizes what it all means ) 

anyways 

bea doesnt like this fisheyed hippie shit bastard and waching him an hour a day in class is a bad feeling. she stews on this in the back of class and is thoroughly unnerved by the time she leaves. she cant even whine about it to anyone - again , everyone loves him. also she doesnt have friends so like 

- 

sol washington is the world famous darling of false bend, he has a huge home there on a cliff above the ocean with an all native species carefully maintained garden. hes there twice maybe three times a year . there is a live in staff of maids and yardworkers and one grouchy middle aged woman who takes care of his impressive 400 gallon fish tank. he loves those fish. she loves them too but not much else 

josef would be the eleventh edition to this household and sol wishes he would but but josef doubts he could handle it and anyways , living in large spaces freaks him out . hes an opposite claustrophobe. also a reguar claustrophobe . josef has some issues 

he goes to the grand washington house whenever sol visits , to keep him company and to be bathed in luxury. he also pays the house periodic visits to just to make sure its being kept to sols standards. and to send him pictures of his fish . he also kind of likes some of the staff there and likes to check up with them when hes feeling particularly sociable which is a relative term with him but is known to happen 

sol designed the house himself of course . just as he has a fair number of the buildings throughout false bend. its only natural - hes  a beloved renowned architect with a strong capability in interior design . he travels all over the world to build and lecture and entertain. sol is the light of whatever party hes sucked into . his passions are creation , and socializing (and the occult But ) in fact he met josef when he traveled to new mexico in the 80s to help create a spiritualists mountain retreat . a lovely complex integrated into the landscape and he picked up josef along the way . josef cant come to terms about how he feels on that - getting uprooted from the desert drug culture and transplanted into the northwest rainforest . he figures it was good in a way, not gong to complain about having a safe place to live and being somewhat sober is somewhat nice as well . he supposes . but going up north tossed open a whole new can of worms as well . thanks , sol . 

josefs life in the desert  was painful dangerous and something he will never properly recover from . hes killed a man and witnessed three other murders . hes wasted four solid years of his life on heroin , his body hurts and his scars stand out bright on his skin . and his brains never going to heal . but hes come to terms with that at the very least