#the pieces are gorgeous and packed with love for the movies ;_; everyone did such beautiful pieces

[potahun]

My finished page for the Detective Conan Fanzine focused on Movies 1 to 26! Check out everyone's beautiful art and writing!! The zine is out and free-to-download! I was assigned M25, The Bride of Halloween, and went ahead with many little bits of symbolism (can you spot them?)....I really enjoyed doing this piece!

I have "moved" my Twitter account to Bluesky now. Tumblr stays as is.

[imagine-a-life-like-this]

I Was A Bet, You Were A Distraction (K.SJ/M.YG)

Warnings : swearing, drinking, betting on feelings

Word Count : 4941

Synopsis : a relationship started on a bet, a classic trope, but with a twist.

I knew the rumours that circulated about me. I knew what everyone thought of me, but it never bothered me. Being an ice queen and keeping everyone at an arms length keeps my heart safe. Guys still tried to break me, wanting to be known as the person who broke the ice queen, but I’ve never cracked.

           “Another rejection?” My best friend, Park Jimin, pouted as he sat across from me. “You really should give someone a chance. You’re obviously not going to make a move on library guy.”

           “His name is Min Yoongi.” I cut him off, a playful smile on my face as he rolled his eyes. “Besides, that guy was gross. He literally told me he could show me a fun time if I just showed him a pretty smile.”

           “Okay, gross.” Jimin chuckled. “But please, if a non-gross guy asks you out, just give it a shot. They could surprise you.” I rolled my eyes, reluctantly agreeing to the only guy I’ve ever had a soft spot for.

           “Hey, Y/N.” Someone said as Jimin and I were getting ready to leave the café and grab dinner. When I turned around, I met the eyes of the infamous Kim Seokjin, standing there with a nervous smile on his face. “I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner with me sometime?” His eyes looked hopeful, but it didn’t phase me. I heard the rumours; heard the stories of the many girls he’s been with. I refused to be another notch in his belt. But before I could reject him, Jimin jumped in.

           “She’d love to!” Seokjin looked over to my best friend who had thrown his arm across my shoulders, and then looked at me for confirmation.

           “Sure, Kim Seokjin.” I didn’t bother faking a smile. I’m sure he’d heard the rumours about me. I’m sure he just wants to be the one to crack me. He’s always enjoyed a challenge.

           “Great! Uh, here’s my number. Text me.” He handed me a piece of paper ripped from a notebook with his number scrawled on it. I took it from him, telling him I’d text him later, and walked away as fast as I could.

           “I thought you said non-gross guy, Jimin!” I hit him lightly as we walked away from the café. “Kim Seokjin is one of the grossest!”

           “Yes, but he’s got money, babe. I did you a favour.” He lightly shoved me with his shoulder, and I couldn’t help but laugh and roll my eyes. I suppose one date couldn’t hurt. I’ll get some good food out of it at the very least.

*

         “Here, drink some water.” Yoongi looked up at me from his textbooks with wide eyes. He quietly thanked me as I took my usual seat across from him. I took quick glances up at him every once in a while as I studied, thinking about the first day I took the seat across from him.

           I used to study at the café as I waited for Jimin to get out of dance. But random guys would always interrupt me, and I found myself barely getting any studying done. So I decided to study at the library for a couple hours before heading to the café to meet Jimin per our tradition.

           Min Yoongi, known as the ice king, would always sit alone. Sitting with him was my best bet in getting any work done, knowing he wouldn’t bother me. He seemed annoyed when I first sat down, but when he saw it was me, didn’t say a word. No one dared bothered us when we were together.

           It didn’t take a genius to see how handsome Min Yoongi was. I always found myself sneaking glances at him while we studied, unable to keep my eyes off of him. We spoke a few words to each other over these last few months, and that was enough for me to give into my growing crush.

           “Hey, Y/N?” He softly asked as I began packing up. I seized my movements, looking up at the gorgeous man I can’t stop thinking about. “I heard you were the best at this, would you mind tutoring me sometime? I’ve been having a hard time grasping it.” He pointed to a homework booklet he was given that was still completely blank save for his name in the top right corner.

           “I got to go meet up with a friend, but,” I ripped a corner off from one of my notebooks and quickly scrawled my number on it, sliding it across from him. “Text me and we can figure something out.” He looked up at me with a small smile on his face, and I could swear time stopped. I quickly shook myself out of the trance his smile put me in and packed up the rest of my books before walking to the café, a lovesick smile on my face.

*

         I was dressed in my best dress, my hair and makeup done to the best of my abilities, and I couldn’t help but smile at myself in the mirror. “Who knew my best friend was so hot.” Jimin joked over Facetime, a playful smile on his face.

           “I can’t believe you convinced me to actually go on a date with Kim Seokjin.” I grumbled, collapsing on my couch as I waited for him.

           “It didn’t take much convincing. I know apart of you is excited to live the rich life for one night.” I giggled, but we both knew he was right. When the doorbell rang, I said my goodbyes to Jimin and went to answer it, surprised to see Seokjin standing there in a tailored suit holding a bouquet of flowers.

           “Wow, you look, wow.” I chuckled, taking the flowers he was holding out for me. Quickly, I filled a vase with water and placed them inside before sliding on a pair of heels and grabbing my purse.

           “You know you could have just texted that you were here.” I pointed out as he opened the car door for me.

           “How am I supposed to sweep you off your feet if I do that?” He smiled before closing the door and rushing to his side.

           As much as I hate to admit it, I actually enjoyed the time I spent with Jin. He was a complete gentleman right up to the end. And there wasn’t any awkward silence; conversation seemed to flow easily. I found myself laughing at his jokes and his stories. Time just seemed to fly by while I was with him as he wasn’t dropping me off until after midnight. “You certainly surprised me tonight, Kim Seokjin.” I smiled.

           “Does that mean you’ll go on a second date with me?” I found myself agreeing before I could stop myself. Maybe this is exactly what I needed to get over my one-sided crush on Min Yoongi. He’d be a good distraction.

*

         “I hear our resident Ice Queen got a boyfriend.” Yoongi teased as I sat across from him. Ever since our first date, Jin and I have been spending more time together. I still keep up my regular schedule of studying with Yoongi until I have to leave to meet up with Jimin, but Jin and his friends have decided to join us. It’s been 2 months since my first date with Jin, and 1 month since we’ve made it official.

           “Now it’s time for our resident Ice King to get a girlfriend.” I teased back, taking a sip of the coffee Yoongi bought me. He’s made it a daily thing, buying my favourite coffee before I come, and I bring us water since we’re usually here for a couple hours together.

           “Unlikely.” He chuckled. My heart started to pound as I looked up at his smiling face. “The girl I like doesn’t like me back.” He added before taking a sip of his own coffee.

           “Oh my god! The Min Yoongi has a crush!” I quietly exclaimed, a wide smile on my face as I wrapped a hand around his wrist, begging him to tell me about the girl he likes.

           “She’s beautiful.” He says, blush rising to his cheeks. “But I can tell she doesn’t believe she is. And she’s so smart, so kind. There really isn’t a better girl.” I thought dating Jin would help my one-sided crush on Yoongi, but as I sit across from him as he tells me about this girl he likes, I can feel my heart breaking, knowing it’ll never be me.

*

         I stood in the kitchen while the party raged on around me. Since dating Jin, Jimin and I have been invited to a lot more parties, parties I keep getting dragged to. I watched as Jimin drank and made new friends, enjoying himself, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I watched as Jin and his friends played some games, laughing and drinking the night away. They’ve always been the life of the party, and though I don’t like parties, I wasn’t going to stop my boyfriend from enjoying himself. So I stood in the kitchen, watching as everyone enjoys themselves, silently wishing I took Yoongi up on his offer to see a movie tonight.

           “Now don’t tell me this beautiful girl is here alone.” I looked up and met a stranger’s eyes as he smirked at me. “All alone, standing in my kitchen, must be fate.” He continued, draping an arm across my shoulders.

           “Actually I’m here with my boyfriend.” I smiled, turning towards where Jin last was, and seeing that him and his friends disappeared. My heart dropped to my stomach when I couldn’t see them anywhere.

           “No need to lie to me.” He teased, removing his arm from my shoulders, and instead wrapping it around my waist, pulling me closer to him as I tried to move away from him. “I’m sure I can show the Ice Queen a good time.”

           “What are you doing, Minho?” The familiar voice eases my nerves but seems to do the opposite to Minho. His arm immediately drops from my waist as his eyes widen, meeting Yoongi’s eyes filled with anger. If I didn’t know Yoongi the way I do, I’d be terrified. When Yoongi raised his brow, Minho left the kitchen without another word. “Sorry about him. I’m still training him.” He chuckled. “Where’s Jin?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around for my boyfriend.

           “What are you doing here?” I asked, ignoring his question. “I didn’t know Mr. Min Yoongi partied.” I teased, a smile making its way to my lips.

           “I’m actually, unfortunately, apart of this frat. My dad actually started this frat with his friends, so I had no choice.” He explained, chuckling at my shocked face. “I really do apologize for Minho. I hope he didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

           “It’s okay, Yoongs. Thank you for saving me though. I don’t know where any of the guys went.” I took a quick look around, trying to see if I could any of the 6 guys I came with. “If you see any of them, can you let them know I went home? Parties really aren’t my thing.” I chuckled.

           “I’ll take you home.” He said, setting the cup he was holding down on the counter. “Just text one of them to let them know you’re safe.” I nodded, closely following Yoongi as the two of us made our way through the dense crowd of people and out the front door. As we walked, I sent a quick text to both Jimin and Jin, letting them know Yoongi was walking me home.

           “You know, you didn’t have to walk me home.” I spoke up after some silence. “It is technically your party; shouldn’t you be there?”

           “Honestly, I try not to be home when there’s a party. It’s why I asked you to a movie tonight. Well that, and I like spending time with you.” My heart fluttered at his words. My head began spinning with theories as to what he meant. Would I be reading too far into it by thinking he has feelings for me too?

*

         Monday afternoon, Yoongi was sitting at our regular table in the library, two coffees in front of him as per usual. “How’d your test go?” I asked, placing a bottle of water in front of him before taking my seat. He looked up at me as I sat down, a smile on his face when he met my eyes. So different than how things used to be.

           “I won’t get the results until the end of the week, but I think I aced it!” He exclaimed. I remember the days we would study silently across from each other, not knowing anything about each other besides the rumours that circulated.

           “Of course! You have the best tutor.” I joked, a wide smile on my face as he just smiled back at me, chuckling slightly, and shaking his head. I used to know absolutely nothing about him, besides the small things I heard from others, and the things I picked up on while silently crushing on him.

           Now I know his smile. I know it so well I could probably draw it from memory. I know that his older brother would always cook for him. I know he’s not as close to his family as he wished he was. I know he struggles in his classes. I know he prefers iced coffee over hot coffee, and that he always forgets to drink water. He hates parties and spends most weekends at a diner, studying and trying to keep his grades up. I know he’s so far from being an Ice King. He’s so caring, so kind. And I know that I’m falling in love with him.

*

         “I think it’s time we call it.” I overheard as I walked into the café I meet Jimin at everyday. I looked over to the tables Jin and his friends push together so the 7 of us can sit together, and saw the 5 of them sitting together, serious looks on all their faces.

           “I love hanging out with her and Jimin.” Taehyung spoke, and I quickly sat at a nearby table, wanting to hear what they have to say. “You need to tell her about the bet.”

           “A bet?! Seriously Jackson?” He stumbled over his words, trying to come up with a good excuse, but there wasn’t one. “Glad I could help you win. Don’t contact me again.” I pushed passed him as he called after me, but there wasn’t anything else that needed to be said. 2 years. I wasted 2 years of my life thinking we were in love, but it was all a bet. It was never love.

           Jimin sat in front of me, snapping me out of my memories. He opened his mouth to say something, but I shushed him and pointed over to the guys.

           “She’s so awesome. I feel so bad.” Jungkook added to the conversation. “She doesn’t deserve to have her feelings played with like this.”

           “We can tell her everything and apologize. Hopefully, she’ll forgive us.” Jimin looked at me with confusion on his eyes as I struggled to breathe. It’s like high school all over again. When Jackson came into my life, stole my heart, and then destroyed me. Telling me he loved me, and planning our future, all the while laughing with his friends about how gullible I was. Jimin was the one to pull me out of my slump, but I put my walls up and I promised myself I’d never let them crumble. I’d never be so naïve again.

           “I doubt she’d even care.” Jin scoffed. “She’s the Ice Queen for a reason.” Yet here I was, repeating it all over again.

           “Just because she’s an Ice Queen doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings, hyung.” Hoseok spoke up, shaking his head. I’ll admit that the reason I started dating Jin wasn’t the best, but I found myself enjoying his company. Everything felt real, like he really cared about me. My feelings for Yoongi have always been stronger, but sometimes I felt myself falling for Jin’s charms. He’s not the school playboy for nothing. He really knows how to make a girl feel special. He knows how to knock down any wall someone has put up to protect themselves.

           “Whatever. You guys can tell her about the bet then. While you’re at it, you can tell her we’re over. I have things to do.” He stood up from the table, and that’s when they all noticed Jimin and I sitting at a nearby table. Jin’s eyes widened when he saw us.

           “You guys are all fucking disgusting.” Jimin exclaimed, standing up from the table. “You’re damn right she doesn’t deserve this. No one does! Y/N, let’s go.” His voice softened when he looked over at me, tears welling up in my eyes as I looked up at the man who bet on my heart. “They don’t deserve your tears, angel.” He whispered, wiping away my tears before grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the café.

           “Talk about déjà vu.” I chuckled as we walked towards my apartment.

           “Guys are the worst.” Jimin mumbled, shaking his head as the two of us walked hand in hand. I laced our fingers and walked closer beside him, swinging our arms causing him to chuckle at me.

           “You’ve always been the exception to that statement, Min.” I smiled up at my best friend. I wasn’t in love with Jin the way I was with Jackson, but it doesn’t hurt any less. The crush that was forming on the handsome man quickly faded as the reality set in. Once again I was a bet. And I just wished people would stop making bets on my feelings.

*

         “Don’t you usually leave by now?” Yoongi asked as the two of us studied together the next day. “The boyfriend is probably waiting for you.” He chuckled.

           “We actually broke up.” His smile quickly fell as he spit out an apology. “It’s fine. The relationship was all a bet anyway.” I shrugged, trying my best not to let my feelings show. Trying to seem as unbothered as possible. “People love trying to break the Ice Queen.” Little do they know, the reason for my smiles wasn’t Kim Seokjin, but Min Yoongi, the Ice King himself.

           “That’s so fucked. Guys are the worst.” He scoffed causing me to chuckle.

           “That’s exactly what Jimin said.” I smiled.

           “Talking about me?” Jimin joked, taking a seat beside me. “I hope you don’t mind if I intrude from now on.” The statement was directed towards Yoongi who shook his head. “Good, because if I see any of those guys, I will be throwing hands.”

           “Please, Jungkook could beat you with just his pinky.” I teased, shoving him lightly. Yoongi was watching us with a fondness in his eyes I haven’t seen before. And I couldn’t stop the pounding of my heart, no matter how hard I tried.

*

         Jimin continued meeting Yoongi and I at the library everyday after getting out of dance. At first I thought Yoongi would hate it as Jimin isn’t known for quietly studying like Yoongi and I are. But he quickly warmed up to my best friend, and 3 of us spent weekends going to movies and to the diner Yoongi loves to much. We avoided all the parties we were once invited to, and the café we were regulars at for so long, hoping never to cross paths with the guys we once considered friends.

           My feelings for Yoongi only continued to grow as spent nearly everyday together. Days quickly turned into weeks, and before I knew it, it had been a month since Jin and I broke up. With Jimin and Yoongi with me everyday, I barely had time to feel the hurt I felt when it happened with Jackson. “Y/N.” 1 month since I found out about the bet. 1 month since I’ve seen any of the guys. 1 month and now Jin is standing in front of me. I moved to push passed him and get to the library, but he wrapped his hand around my arm, effectively stopping me. “It’s been a month; can I please just say something?”

           “What more is there to say? I was a bet, and honestly speaking Kim Seokjin, you were a distraction.” His hand fell from my arm, dropping back to his side. “It was fun, though. But that doesn’t mean my feelings aren’t hurt. And you didn’t seem to give a fuck. Telling your boys to tell me and break up with me for you. So why now? Don’t tell me some cliché shit that you realized you had feelings for me and that you miss me, because we both know that’s bullshit.” He stayed silent. “Good talk, Kim Seokjin.” I pushed open the doors to the library and made my way to my regular table, Yoongi already there, two coffees in front of him. “I feel like getting drunk.” I said, plopping in my regular seat.

           “Rough day?” Yoongi chuckled, sliding my coffee across the table towards me.

           “Let’s just say Seokjin wanted to talk.” Yoongi closed his text book and smiled up at me.

           “Soju and ice cream?” He asked as he quickly packed up.

           “I’ll text Jimin to meet us at my apartment. Let’s get drunk!” I exclaimed, grabbing my coffee, and leaving the library with Yoongi by my side. We were both chuckling as he opened the door, allowing me to walk out first. I wasn’t paying attention as I walked out the door, turning my head to look at Yoongi, and bumped into someone. “Sorry … Namjoon?” He smiled down at me as I quickly took a step back. Yoongi looked up at him before wrapping an arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

           “You didn’t let Jin talk, so I figured I’d try.” He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

           “There’s nothing to talk about.” Yoongi spoke up. “You guys got caught; deal with the consequences of your actions.” The two of us tried to walk passed him, but unlike Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon was persistent.

           “You act like you don’t make mistakes.” He called after us, stopping us in our tracks. “Jin told me you said he was just a distraction.” I turned to face Namjoon causing Yoongi’s arm to fall back to his side.

           “When I agreed to the first date, I agreed hoping for a distraction from my one-sided crush. But when I agreed to the second date, it was because I liked his company. When I said yes to being his girlfriend, it was because I had real feelings for him. And that’s the difference between me and him, Kim Namjoon. Everything on my end was 100% real, where as on his end it was all fake. He pretended to have feelings for me.” Namjoon stared at me, obviously not expecting my blow up. “What else needs to be said, Namjoon?” I asked, my voice cracking. Yoongi slid his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together and giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.

           “We’re sorry. We never got to apologize, and we want to.” I shook my head.

           “I don’t want your apology. You don’t deserve my forgiveness.” He didn’t stop us as we walked away this time. “I really need a drink.” I whispered causing Yoongi to chuckle.

         “Consider it done, princess.”

*

         Jimin was angrily pacing around my living room after Yoongi and I told him what happened. “Hoseok approached me today, too. They waited an entire month to try to apologize. What a joke.” He took a swig of his drink. “I can’t believe they did exactly what Jackson and his friends did in high school! Like, we’re in fucking college now.”

           “Wait, this happened to you before?” Yoongi jumped in as Jimin continued to mumble to himself between taking swigs of his drink.

           “It’s not a big deal.” I shrugged, really not wanting to explain what happened in high school. But Jimin had other plans.

           “No big deal?! You switched schools! Wouldn’t eat unless I forced you to! Jackson is the whole reason you’re known as the Ice Queen in the first place.” Yoongi looked between the two of us. “You spent 2 years believing he was the great love of your life, just to find out it was all a bet and he never loved you. That’s a big deal!”

           “2 years?” Yoongi asked and all I could do was nod. “God, guys fucking suck.” He exclaimed, leaning back on the couch as he took another sip of his drink.

           “That’s what I’m saying!” Jimin added, plopping himself down on a chair.

           “You two are the only guys I need.” I smiled, cuddling up to Yoongi, who happily wrapped his arms around me and placed a kiss on top of my head.

           “I never should have told you to go on that date.” Jimin mumbled as he watched Yoongi and I.

           “You didn’t know it would end up like this.” I told him; my words muffled by Yoongi’s shirt as my head rested on his chest. The three of us continued to drink, trying to forget all the angst of the day and have a good night.

*

         “Hey! Now that Suck-Jin is gone, you can make your move!” Jimin exclaimed some hours later, all of us considerably more drunk than we expected to be.

           “Oh yeah! You were saying you had a crush on someone!” Yoongi jumped in, poking my arm with a teasing smile on his face. “You’re beautiful! You should just go for it.” I laughed, shaking my head. “Come on, Y/N!” Yoongi whined. “I want to see you happy.”

           “Yeah, Y/N! What was his name again?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how Jimin hasn’t changed. He still forgets everything when he’s drunk. “Yoongi!” He yelled, causing Yoongi to look over at him.

           “You don’t have to yell, I’m right here!” Yoongi yelled back. Jimin’s eyes widened.

           “Y/N! Now’s your chance! He’s right there.” He loudly whispered, cupping his hands around his mouth as if that would stop Yoongi from hearing him.

           “Shut up, Jimin!” I said as I threw a pillow towards him, missing by a lot due to the alcohol in my system. “He has a crush on some girl!” I exclaimed with a pout on my face.

           “Dammit Yoongi!” Jimin exclaimed. “How can you not like Y/N?!” He leaned forward in his chair, causing him to fall to the ground. I burst out laughing, completely forgetting the conversation that was happening seconds previous.

           “Idiot! You’re always falling off chairs.” I laughed, but Yoongi was silent, seeming to have quickly sobered up. “Yah!” I slapped Yoongi’s arm. “What’s with that face?” I pouted.

           “You like me?” My eyes widened as my jaw dropped.

           “Who told you?” I whispered. “You weren’t supposed to know!” Yoongi chuckled, shaking his head at me.

           “I think it’s bed time for you.” He stood up, holding a hand out for me to take so he could help me up. “Jimin,” he turned to saying something, but Jimin was passed out on the floor. “Okay then.” He chuckled before helping me to my room.

           “Stay.” I pouted as I patted the empty space beside me. He shook his head as he tucked me in and turned to leave. “Yoongs!” I whined. “I want cuddles.” He chuckled, standing in my doorway contemplating whether he should stay or leave. “Please.”

           “Always my weakness.” He mumbled to himself before crawling into bed with me and pulling me into his arms. I fell asleep quickly while listening to his heartbeat.

*

         I woke up still wrapped in Yoongi’s arms, and the events of the previous night hit me like a truck. “Fuck.” I whispered to myself, trying to wriggle out of his arms without waking him up.

           “You wanted cuddles; you live with the consequences.” He mumbled; his eyes still closed.

           “Yah, if you’re awake, let me go.” I whined, trying to pull his arms off of me, but his grip only tightened. “What are you doing?” I asked, eventually giving up on getting out of his arms. He mumbled something I couldn’t understand before pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Wow, who would have known the Ice King was actually the biggest softie.” I joked.

           “Says miss Ice Queen pouting until I cuddled her.” I let out a small giggle, the memory coming back to me slowly. “You and Jimin are really funny when you’re drunk.” Before I could ask, he continued. “You accidentally confessed to me last night.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard him loud and clear. “Before you panic,” He was moving so he could look at me, but his arms were still around me. “I like you too.” I couldn’t help the smile the overtook my face when he said that. “So if we can shake the third wheel, I’d like to take you out today.” I giggled, but promised I’d find a way for it to be just us. “Okay, then I’m going to go home and get ready. I’ll see you in a couple hours.” He pressed a soft kiss to my temple before getting out of my bed and leaving.

           My two previous relationships may have failed miserably, but I know things are different this time. Third times a charm, as they say.

[marvelatthetwilight]

Not Just a Crush

A/N: This is pre-wolf, pre-possible imprinting. Just some straight from the heart fluff.

“Just tell her you’re in love with her” Embry nudged Quil out of his daydream as he looked at you across the cafeteria.

You were oblivious, talking with your friends, eating your lunch. Quil didn’t know you harboured your own secret feelings too. You hadn’t told anyone, having convinced yourself that he was like that with everyone, he was just a nice guy, he was just being friendly with you. That’s just the kind of guy Quil was. His kindness and friendship It’s just a crush. You tell yourself over and over.

“You know I can’t do that.” Quil turns away to roll his eyes at Embry.

“But why? Why can’t you just tell her you like her at least?” Embry nudges Quil in his seat as he sneaks another glance at you, sighing as he turns away again.

“It’s just a crush Embry. I’ll get over it” now it was Embry’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I don’t think it’s just a crush if you’ve been pining over someone for two years Quil, but you keep telling yourself that!” Embry laughs at this, drawing your attention from across the room.

At that moment you look at Quil, watching his face carefully, the way his eyes crinkle as he smiles, the way one side of his smile is always bigger, a slight dimple pushing through his cheek. It’s just a crush you say to yourself again as you draw a deep breath to try and steady your heartbeat.

As you head to your seat in art you glance around in search of Quil’s famous curly locks. You see him facing away from you, in deep conversation with Jacob and Embry. You catch Embry’s eye and he winks, whilst seeming to push Quil gently in your direction.

You frown but think nothing of it, taking your seat and removing your sketch pad from your bag, placing it neatly on the table in front of you.

You tap your pencil on the desk as you stare out of the window at the trees moving with the wind.

“Erm hi Y/N”

Turning away from the window, you look up to see Quil, awkwardly smiling at you.

“Can I sit here?” He gestures to the empty seat next to you.

Your face flushes as you nod quickly. “Don’t you usually sit with Jacob and Embry?” Glancing back to said boys at the back of the room, they give you both the thumbs up before Quil sticks his finger up at them and turning back to you.

“I wanted to sit with you today.” He beams his gorgeous smile at you, and your face flushes pink again.

“You’re so sweet. How are you? I feel like we’ve barely spoken this week.” You smile as you glance at him sideways and notice is face flush.

“Erm...yeah, it’s been manic with school and helping out my grandfather with some stuff...how have you been, what are your plans for the weekend?”

You debate telling him the truth about your plans, only your closest friends knew it was your birthday, a secret you always liked to keep out of school.

“Just hanging out with my dad, he normally takes me out for dinner for my birthday but money is a bit tight so we are just going to have a movie night.” You breeze over it quickly and Quil doesn’t seem to pick up on what you’ve said.

“Oh I love movie nights, I do one with the guys every Friday. Maybe you’d be up for joining us one time?” Quil’s face flushes again as he asks.

“I would love to!” You say a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, yeah, that would be nice.”

Quil goes to speak again just as your teacher Mr Aldea enters and claps, prompting the class to be quiet.

“Quil, back to your normal seat.”

He gives you a quick smile as he heads back to Embry and Jacob, who are whispering questions to him as he gets closer.

You don’t pay much attention to the lesson for the next hour, instead letting your mind wander with daydreams about movie nights with Quil...

The following week you were heading to your seat in science when you noticed a gift wrapped box at your desk. It was wrapped in beautiful purple paper, your favourite colour, with a neat gold bow twisted on top. Who was this from?

You look around the room trying to catch someone’s eye in the hope of working out the secret gift giver but you had no luck.

Sitting down at your desk you carefully unwrap the bow and remove the wrapping paper. Peeling back the paper you reveal a DVD of your favourite film, a pack of your favourite sweets and a small bag of popcorn. Everything you would need for a movie night. You look up from your desk towards the door to catch a glimpse of your favourite curly hair as he runs away down the hall. Is it just a crush?

As the bell rings for the end of school you make your way out to your car, clutching your gifts in your hand.

When you reach your car you see a note held underneath your wiper blade.

Movie night at my house, tonight, 7pm. Bring your gifts with you. Quil x

Your heart flutters as you read the note. Maybe it’s not just a crush. You smile to yourself, glancing around, looking for his face, before climbing into your car, mentally preparing yourself for this evening.

At 7pm on the dot you pull up outside Quil’s house. You grab the DVD and the treats from the passenger seat, but before you have a chance to reach for the handle, Quil is at the door, holding it open for you.

He smiles his adorable smile, holding his arm out for you to take as you step out the car.

“Did you like your gifts?” He questions, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“I love them, you are so sneaky, how did you know where I sit?” You laugh as he walks you up the steps to his front door.

He gestures for me to sit on the sofa as he disappears, before returning with a small bunch of flowers.

“I may or may not have bribed your teacher with food.” He whispers theatrically, and I laugh out loud, taking the flowers from him as he offers them, sniffing and admiring them as Quil disappears again.

It’s not just a crush.

In the kitchen Quil is arranging a plate of what he hopes are your favourite snacks.

“Y/N I think I love you. No. That’s stupid. Erm. Y/N, I think your beautiful and I love you. No. Still not good enough.” He mutters to himself as he moves the food around on the plate.

He takes a deep breath.

“Y/N, from the moment I met you I have been in love with you. Your beautiful smile, the way that your eyes sparkle, the way you laugh, the way you care, the kindness you show. Everything about you is beautiful and I love you. I love you, I love you, I love...you.” Quil turns as he speaks, plate in hand, ready to declare his love, only to find you standing in the doorway, your mouth open in shock, and the plate drops to the floor.

Definitely not just a crush.

You smile at him before glancing down at the mess on the floor, amongst the shattered pieces of plate you can make out some of your favourite foods.

“I love you too y’no.” Quil’s eyebrows shoot up, before he carefully steps over the broken pieces of plate and he cups your face with his hand, gently placing a kiss to your lips.

Taglist:

@fatiguing-thoughts @clearwater-hoe @volturidoll13 @teampaul @raindancer2004 @wallwriterstuff @awesomebooklover17 @cncogirl18 @megzdoodle @evakipara @moviequeen51

[farfromharry]

summary: just cute domestic tasks with peter parker

peter parker x stark!reader

w/c 3k

a/n - i’ve had this in my drafts for so long snd forgot to post it :)

buttoning or zipping up clothing

“hey, peter?” you called. he hummed, coming to stand in the doorway of your closet where you were getting dressed for your dad’s gala. his eyes widened as he admired the way you looked in the dark blue colour, especially how the dress fit your body so perfectly, completely in awe of your beauty.

“once you’re done drooling parker, can you zip me up?” he nodded, snapping out of his lovesick daze and walking over to you. his hands touched your bare back shyly and you jumped, throwing a look over your shoulder. peter pulled away instantly, scared he’d done something wrong.

“your hands are cold.” you giggled. his heart warmed at the sound of your adorable laugh, the boy falling even more in love with you, if that was even possible. he moved his hands back to your skin and revelled in the sound of your laugh again as his cold fingertips brushed your warm body.

he tugged the zip up, gently moving your hair so it rested over your shoulder. the lightly touch of his fingertips made you shiver, a cheeky grin spreading across his face that you couldn’t see.

“all done.” he mumbled, pressing a gentle kiss to your bare shoulder.

“you look so pretty.” you blushed, turning to face your boyfriend, finally taking note of how good he looked in his suit. you whistled lowly, raking your eyes up and down his form, clad in a smart black suit and a blue tie that matched your dress.

“you look so good, wow.” it was now his turn to flush pink, his cheeks becoming rosy and making him look even cuter.

“we’re gonna be the hottest couple there.”

“gonna take everyone’s breath away, you’re so gorgeous.” he placed a few more kisses on your shoulder, trailing up your neck and jaw, right until he reached your lips.

“you’re perfect.”

putting on their necklace

“hi.” you smiled, leaning your head around the doorframe to look at peter seated on your bed.

“hi.” he laughed.

“i need your help again.” you whined. watching him stroll over to you with a smile.

“what’s up?” he asked, leaning his cheek on your shoulder, nose nudging against the skin of your neck.

“i can’t get my necklace on.” you pouted. he kissed your pout away, your lips following his when he pulled back, peter let out a beautiful laugh, one that made your heart yearn for his lips even more.

“later.” he said. he took the piece of silver jewellery from your hands, asking you to turn around. with one hand he tried to lift all of your hair out of his way, finding himself utterly unsuccessful. laughter bubbled up in your throat that you tried to stifle, not wanting to embarrass him for merely trying to help you.

to aid him you lifted your hair out of the way for him, giving him access to your neck and upper back. a ‘thank you’ slipping past his lips.

he brought the two ends of the necklace together and easily clipped them on, a scoff slipping past your lips at how easy that was for him.

“how did you do that so quickly?” he shrugged, wrapping his arms around your shoulders.

“magic hands i guess.” you smirked at the underlying dirty meaning, seeing peter’s features contort into a confused look, your heart soaring at his innocence.

“what?” he asked, his adorable cluelessness showing through. you cupped both of his cheeks and gently kissed his lips, grinning after seeing the tips of his ears turn pink.

“nothing baby.” you giggled. you heard your dad call your names, prompting you to take peter’s hand and lead him downstairs to the gala, where the night would truly begin.

any hair touching at all

study dates with peter were some of your favourite kinds of dates. even though you couldn’t count how many times you’d been scolded for pda or been kicked out for laughing too much.

mj and ned didn’t particularly enjoy accompanying you on them, at least not that they let you know, but secretly your friends were your biggest supporters. they thought you were utterly perfect for eachother. it had grown late, ned waving a goodbye as he had to go home, mj following shortly after.

that left you and peter, you weren’t really studying anymore, just watching how his eyes drooped as he tried to keep up with his biology work.

“pete.” he hummed in response, eyes snapping open to pretend like he hadn’t been half asleep.

“why don’t we go home?” he shook his head, his curls falling loose around his forehead.

“need to finish this.” he grumbled. you sighed, pouting at the sight of your tired boyfriend. you reached over and brushed his hair out of his eyes, gently scratching behind his ear. he practically purred, his eyes fluttering shut, pushing into your hand for more.

“we can go back to my house and you can take a nap, come on.” he huffed, reluctantly packing away his stuff and standing up from his seat. you’d already texted your dad a few minutes earlier, asking him to send happy to pick you both up. little did you know, your dad had decided to come for himself, watching the cute form of affection between you and peter through the window and as much as he hated seeing his baby girl grow up, he was happy you’d found someone as amazing as peter.

you kissed his head, running your fingers through his hair, watching as he almost fell asleep on your shoulder.

“c’mon hunny.” you laced your fingers with his, pulling him with you to head outside. your eyes widened seeing your dad, giving him a quick hug and a greeting.

“what’re you doing here?”

“i’m not busy tonight, so i uh thought we could all watch a movie together, get some food.” you smiled. you hadn’t spent much time with your dad lately, him and peter had been busy in the lab, so you were more than happy to accept his offer.

“think peter might pass out though.” you giggled, looking at the boy whose eyes were closed resting on your shoulder. your dad laughed, nodding his head.

“let’s go home.”

giving them a bite of your food and you feed it to them off your own fork

as soon as you got back to your dad’s penthouse, peter all but collapsed on the couch and passed out, a giggle bubbling in your throat.

“well, i’ll order food, you pick a movie and sort the kid out.” you nodded, heading to your dad’s dvd collection. you ended up picking one of your favourite disney movies, setting it up on the large tv before trying to wake your boyfriend.

“peter, hunny?” he opened his heavy eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them with the back of his hands.

“we’re getting food, are you hungry?” he shook his head.

“i’ll just have some of yours.” you nodded, kissing his head and telling him to make himself comfy. you went and grabbed him a blanket, coming back and laying it carefully over his sleepy body.

after your food arrived you woke peter up, letting him lay his sleepy head in your lap.

“pete, do you want some?” he lifted his head from your lap, looking at your outstretched fork and nodding. peter took a bite, you moving your fork back afterwards, peter mumbling a quiet thank you. your dad chuckled at the two of you, feeling slightly like a third wheel in his own home.

“even me and pepper aren’t this touchy.” you scoffed, shooting him an accusing look.

“you so are!” you defended, peter chuckling quietly. your dad shook his head, showing you his hand sassily.

“i’m the adult, so I automatically win.” you gasped, glaring at him.

“don’t abuse your power.”

“too late.” he laughed. peter watched the interaction with a smile, knowing you’d been missing spending time with your dad lately. the night ended with you falling asleep on peter, missing the end of the movie. after it was over he offered to clean up but your dad brushed it off, telling him to take you to bed.

peter hoisted you up into his arms, his super strength making you feel like a feather. he gently laid you in your bed, tucking you under the covers and kissing your head. watching as you shifted until you were comfortable.

“thank you, peter.” he jumped slightly, turning around to see your dad in the doorway. peter furrowed his eyebrows.

“what for?” he asked.

“taking care of my baby girl.” he patted peter’s back before leaving without another word. your hand suddenly reaching for your boyfriend.

“come cuddle.”

catching their eye from across the room

“loverboy’s staring again.” your friend nudged you, pointing over in your boyfriend’s direction. you turned your head and locked eyes with him. his big, brown, puppy dog eyes sparkling as he looked at you.

he had a goofy smile on his smile as he looked at you, ignoring ned’s attempts at trying to talk to him while he was in an almost trance.

peter’s smile was contagious, a similar one breaking out onto your face. you tried to hold back your blush, not wanting to get teased by any of your friends for being utterly smitten for peter parker.

he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, watching you admiringly from the other side of the cafeteria, a longing look of adoration in his eyes.

“peter!” ned finally called loud enough, the boy in question snapped out of his daydream and looked at his friend, initiating in conversation momentarily to find what he wanted, before turning his head and going to look back at you.

his face dropped when he noticed you were gone, a frown sneaking onto his lips as his eyes searched for you.

your arms wrapped around his neck, hands resting on his chest.

“you need to stop staring.” you whispered, your lips brushing his ear. his grin returned, turning his head to the side to see your beautiful face.

“i can’t help it, my girl’s just so pretty.” you blushed.

“your girl, huh?” peter’s eyes widened, shaking his head and stuttering out his response.

“uh, i-i didn’t-“

“peter, i’m kidding.” he rolled his eyes, moving over for you to sit next to him. ned made a quiet gagging noise, a giggle slipping past your lips as peter scolded him. you laid your head on peter’s shoulder, lacing your fingers with his underneath the lunch table.

“maybe i should stare more often if we end up like this.”

picking fuzz off their clothing

you felt his stare on your face, turning to look at him and catch him in the act of staring.

“c-can you help me?” he looked up, holding the two sections of his tie with an adorably confused face.

“c’mere.” he shuffled over, watching your face intently as you tied his neck tie for him.

“when did you learn to do this?” he asked, curiously.

“before dad and pep started dating, he could never tie his tie for all the parties and things, so i learned.” peter stared at you in awe, finding you absolutely adorable.

“you’re so cute.” you blushed slightly, finishing the knot and pecking his lips.

“you look really good.” he became his old blushing self again.

“t-thank y-you.” you grinned, checking over his blazer and picking a small piece of fluff off his shoulder. you brushed a few more of his right sleeve and gave him a soft smile.

“i think you’re all good to go.”

“it sucks that you can’t come.” you frowned, resting your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder.

“i know, but you can always come back here later.” he nodded, kissing your forehead.

“are you sure i look okay?” he asked again, nervously. you rolled your eyes.

“yes, pete it’s going to be fine.” your dad was taking peter on a small mission, going undercover to try and track down some guys. peter was freaking out, wanting to impress your dad and scared he wouldn’t be able to do so.

“y/n?” you turned your head and greeted your dad with a smile, laughing at the material in his hands.

“i thought you would’ve learned by now.” he shrugged, letting you tie the silky material the same way you did for peter.

“there, all done.” he thanked you, kissing your temple and leaving the room, telling peter to follow behind.

“have fun you two.” you waved them off, watching your dad guide peter to the car. “and please don’t die.” your dad rolled his eyes and peter’s widened.

“no promises kiddo.”

“dad!” you yelled. “mr stark?” peter questioned, in sync to your yelling.

“i’m kidding, god get a sense of humour.”

sitting in the same room working on different things together in silence

you and peter always found it comfortable to just be around eachother, even when you weren’t doing anything. right now you were working on math homework, him on physics and the atmosphere was peaceful.

he was sitting in his desk chair, turned slightly so he could still see you, but so he could still work at his desk. you were laying on his bed on your stomach, head resting on your hand.

you’d occasionally lose focus and just admire your boyfriend, how his left eyebrow rebelled, how his lips moved while reading, the little dimple in between his eyebrows when he got confused.

“can feel you staring.” he lifted his head, a slight blush coating his cheeks.

“you’re just really pretty, can’t help it.” you explained like it was obvious. peter was guilty of doing the same to you, he’d watch as you worked out ridiculously hard math questions that he could never do, he watched as you’d pull your bottom lip between your teeth when you got stuck, or how you’d chew on the end of your pencil.

“c’mere, come sit with me.” he opened his arms out for you, letting you crawl into his lap on his desk chair.

“are you stuck?” he shook his head no, a sigh coming from you.

“jus’ wanted to hold you.” he wrapped his arms around your waist, kissing your temple and returning to his work.

the two of you stayed sitting like that for a while. you watched peter work, occasionally pressing kisses to his head that made him blush every time.

“i need to go finish my homework, pete.” he whined, nuzzling his face in your neck and tightening his grip on your waist.

“don’t leave me.”

“ ‘m not leaving you, just going over there.” he shook his head, keeping his grip on you tight.

“peter.” you whined.

“nope, not letting you go.”

teaching them how to do something

“no, like this pete.” you giggled, you were currently trying to teach peter to box, as weird as it sounds, you didn’t trust any of the other avengers to go easy on him.

“this is so hard, y/n.” he pouted. you ran your fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek.

“we’ll just keep practicing, you got this.” he nodded. peter parker was not one to give up easily, so he was definitely going to try.

you kept slowly talking him through the moves, holding up your gloved hands in front of your face.

“i don’t wanna hurt you.” you rolled your eyes.

“you won’t.”

“but what if i miss?” he asked, with the cutest puppy eyes.

“you won’t.” you reassured, quickly kissing him and moving back into position.

“do it pete.” he took the first jab and decided it wasn’t as bad as he had originally thought. this continued for a little while, occasional comments on how to better his tactics or posture to help him out.

bucky and sam had entered the training room by the time you and peter were finishing up in the ring.

“kick his ass y/n!” sam yelled, laughter bubbling in your throat.

“last one pete.” he took one final, rather strong, jab at your gloves and you cheered, congratulating him on his first proper boxing session.

“i did it.” you laughed. the boy smiled, wrapping his arms around you.

“now try it with bucky.” he looked at the scary super soldier and gulped. you laughed loudly, shoving his shoulder.

“i’m kidding, but he’s a sweetheart, he wouldn’t hurt you anyway.”

“he could crush me with one finger, y/n.” you giggled.

“now you’re sweaty, get off.” peter pouted, nuzzling his face in your neck.

“that was mean.”

“but you love me anyway.” you teased.

“yeah, i do.”

doing something for them because their hands are full

“dad please?” you begged, pouting as he tried to turn you away from the lab, telling you he wanted no pda or distractions to deal with.

peter was on your side, finding he actually worked better in your presence.

“fine, fine, but please let him work.” you nodded, grin forming on your lips as you kissed your dad’s cheek.

“thank you!” you ran into the lab and took a seat at the workbench, a little way down from peter so you wouldn’t distract him, but could still watch him work. you ignored your dad’s eye roll, he’d told you many times not to run in his lab and here you were, still doing it.

“y/n?” peter mumbled, words muffled from the screwdriver that was hanging from his mouth. you nodded, pushing yourself up and walking over to where he was seated.

tony was watching like a hawk, his protective dad instincts kicking in at seeing his baby girl so close to a boy. even if he trusted peter with his life, he was also weary about his baby getting hurt in any way.

tony felt slightly bad for thinking you’d be a distraction to peter at first, now seeing that you were a huge help to him fixing his web shooters.

you took the blue handled screwdriver out of his mouth, a ‘thank you’ coming from him.

“can you put this on for me, i can’t do it in myself.” you nodded, letting him slip the web shooter on your wrist and lay it in his lap. you admired his concentration face, the way his brows pulled tightly together in focus.

“can you pass me that other screwdriver?” you nodded, reaching over the desk and handing him the red handled one, keeping your wrist tightly secured in his hand so he could properly fix the tech.

“and, done.” he grinned, pressing a sneaky kiss to your lips while he thought your dad wasn’t looking.

“thank you for helping me baby.”

“of course.”

grocery shopping together

“can i actually rely on you?” he asked, subtly glaring at you.

“yes dad, stop being dramatic.” you rolled your eyes, taking the list from his outstretched hand.

“i’m trusting you both, okay?” your dad asked, unsure about the grins on yours and peter’s faces. he looked between you both one more time before handing you some cash and shooing you away.

“move, come on, i don’t have all day.” you left your home with a goodbye, waving to your dad as you and peter started your journey to the grocery store.

“so, we get the stuff on his list and then leave okay, no messing around.” he pointed his finger at you accusingly.

“i won’t do anything.” you said.

“promise?”

“not sure i can.” you teased, already rushing ahead of your boyfriend in the store. he rolled his eyes at your childishness as he tried to catch up with you.

“y/n, come on.” peter felt like he was leading a child around the store, grabbing the sleeve of your jacket and pulling you into him.

“we gotta get this stuff.” he motioned to the list your dad had given you.

“live a little pete, come on, he’ll never know.” peter sighed.

“but i’ll be the one in trouble.” he pouted. you rolled your eyes and cupped his jaw.

“he loves you, don’t worry.” you wrapped your arms around him.

“can we please have fun?”

“fine.”

time had flown while you and peter were simply just enjoying yourselves, taking the groceries home to be met with a very impatient looking, tony stark.

“where have you both been?” your faces dropped, sending your dad a sheepish smile as you tried to hand him the groceries he’d asked for.

“we were getting your stuff.”

“for 3 hours?” he asked. he sighed and brushed it off.

“can i atleast have my change?” he held his hand out towards you.

“about that, uh-“ you started, only to be cut off by your angry father.

“i gave you almost a hundred dollars.”

“and we used it very wisely to, go get food.” you whispered the last part to yourself, hoping he wouldn’t hear.

“what!”

peter parker taglist - @seutarose @theliterarymess @drie-the-derp @parkerlovebot @bvttercupbby @call-me-baby-gir1 @fallinfortom @hopelessly-harry @iwearheadphones @kerrswriting @geminiparkers @blossomparkers @siriuslyslyslytherin @musicalkeys @itstaskeen @icyhollands @tpwk-grande @zspideyy @chrisosterfield @starkweasley

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Never Enough | Owen Patrick Joyner

Request: Can you please write a piece with owen maybe a little angsty like she doesn’t think she’s good enough for him so she distanced herself from him but he catches on and reassures her 🥺

Author’s note: I absolutely sobbed writing this. I really did need a sad fic to cry it out today, so thanks for requesting this! I hope you like it :)

Pairing: Owen Joyner x reader

Warnings: Angst, anxiety, self-doubt, lots of crying 

Words: 3,275

You had been feeling terrible the past few weeks. There was no reason at all to feel like this besides maybe your boyfriend, Owen, being in Vancouver filming for Julie and The Phantoms while you were still stuck in Norman, Oklahoma. But other than that, there was no reason for you to feel like this. And still, you felt like crap. It was almost as if something heavy was pressing down on your chest and you could just feel something was off. Something wasn’t right. 

You had called Owen a few times, in tears, sobbing about how terribly you felt and how everything just felt wrong. He comforted you as well as he could through a phone screen and sang you to sleep almost every night. But he still felt bad for leaving you behind in Oklahoma. That’s why he decided to book you a ticket to Vancouver, so you could come stay with him and Charlie, and join them on set. He knew you could take a few days off of work or do some stuff remotely, plus he was convinced it would really make you feel better. 

When the weekend finally came around, you packed your bags and hopped on a plane to Vancouver. You were finally going to see your boyfriend again after months of not seeing each other, and the thought alone made you feel a little better already. 

The second you spotted the mop of blonde hair, your heart leapt as did your feet in the run up to him. Launching yourself into his arms, you felt like you could finally breathe again. And with that exhale, came the tears again. 

“Why are you crying, Baby?” he mumbled into your hair as he held you as close to him as possible. You pushed yourself off him to look at his face and wipe away your tears, chuckling. 

“It’s happy tears, I promise. Just… I missed you so much,” you replied. Owen’s expression turned  from worried into endeared as he looked at  you. He grabbed your face in his hands, his thumbs helping you wipe away the tears. 

“Aw, I missed you too, Little One. Let’s get home now, shall we?” You nodded your head, and Owen’s hands dropped from your face, one trailing down to grab your hand, the other your suitcase. With hands intertwined, the two of you exited the airport and made your way to the car.

Though, there was still this gnawing feeling at the pit of your stomach, you knew it was going to get better the more time you’d spend with Owen. You pinned the anxious feeling you still had to the fact you needed more of Owen in your day after having spent so long without. 

“Here you go, Little One,” he said as he pushed the door to his and Charlie’s apartment open, letting you go inside first. With Owen trailing behind you, you stepped into the place, and were immediately met with a cinnamon-y scent. You grew more and more confused and curious as you walked further into the living room, finding Charlie in the open-plan kitchen, leaning his elbows on the counter as he scrolled through his phone. A light lit up the oven, showing a tray of cinnamon rolls baking, your very favorite. 

“Gorgeous, did you bake for me?” you asked, looking up at Owen. Your words made Charlie look up from his phone, a smile finding its way to his lips upon seeing you. 

“We did,” he corrected you while walking towards the two of you. “Welcome to Vancouver, y/n,” he greeted and took you in for a hug as Owen shut the door and took your suitcase into the living room. “How was your flight?” He pulled away from you and made his way to Owen with you. 

“Good, but can we not just glace over the fact that the two of you baked cinnamon rolls?!” You didn’t peg either of the boys to be bakers. You knew for a fact Owen wasn’t the greatest baker as the one time you baked together, he completely ruined the dough by adding egg whites to it when the eggs had to be seperated. 

“Charlie is actually a pretty decent baker,” Owen said with a smile and plopped down on the sofa, patting the space beside him. You inhaled deeply, the faint scent of burning reaching your nostrils. Trying your hardest to withhold a laugh, you turned to Charlie. 

“Right, that’s why they’re  nearly burning in the oven,” you said sarcastically. The panicked look on Charlie’s face was the best thing you’ve ever witnessed. His eyes grew wide before he sprinted to the kitchen, cursing and panicking, and getting the cinnamon rolls out. 

“They’re good! They’re good!” he shouted as he placed the tray onto the counter. “Wanna come and drizzle them with some of that white stuff?” You bit back a laugh at the innuendo before walking over to Charlie and helping him out with the royal icing. 

You could already feel the anxiety was slowly washing away. All you needed was these two himbos and a couple of cinnamon rolls, and you’d feel a million times better. 

The three of you spent that night, cuddled up on the sofa, eating cinnamon rolls, talking and watching a ton of movies together. It kind of felt like coming home in a way. Because Owen was your home. Even though you’d always thought it was kind of cliché when people said “home is in your arms” but you couldn’t deny that it was true. Home was in Owen’s arms with his heartbeat softly thumping against your cheek as you laid on his chest. 

Owen had been your boyfriend since the seventh grade. You’d been friends before that since you lived on the same street and went to the same school. You remembered the first day of seeing him move in a few houses down in the calm cul-de-sac you lived in. Ever since that day, the calm cul-de-sac wasn’t quite as calm anymore. He’d always ask for you to come and play with him whenever he was bored -- which was a lot, and, when you got older that kindly asking to come and play, turned into calling you in the middle of the night to sneak out and go on an adventure with him. 

He never really asked you out. At your thirteenth birthday party, when everyone had left and Owen was allowed to stay over, he just kind of kissed you on the lips and told you he liked you. That’s how you kind of established you were boyfriend and girlfriend, which sounded hilarious to you when you remembered it later. 

When Owen went off to L.A. to pursue his acting career, you’d kind of broke up, thinking it would be easier that way, but when you turned seventeen and he came back to Norman, OK for a while, the both of you realized you were actually in love with each other. It wasn’t that cute Middle School crush anymore. And now, you were still very much in love at 19 years old. You just knew this was going to be it. This is the guy you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. Owen was peak husband material. 

Owen and Charlie took you to set the next day. You had already met all of them when you came to visit him at bootcamp in the summer. Unlike what you expected, everyone remembered you and was happy to see you again. 

“We should all go to dinner together tonight!” Savannah exclaimed excitedly. She was the first one you met years ago when Owen was on the Nickelodeon show Knight Squad. You immediately clicked with the bubbly personality that is Savannah Lee May. You just loved how she came bouncing up to you when you visited them on set to introduce herself. Add to that the utter beauty and kind-heartedness, and you’ve got yourself a new best friend. The two of you FaceTimed regularly and texted daily, it almost made Owen jealous. 

But  now that you were seeing him on set with all these amazingly talented people that became his best friends, you were getting slightly jealous. Not the ‘one of you is going to steal my boyfriend away’, but the gnawing jealousy when you realize he’s built up this entire new life outside of Norman, outside of you. Even if you weren’t here, he’d still be this happy. 

You wished you could shake the anxiety over the jealous feeling in your stomach, but you were unable to. All day long, you trailed behind the group, absently laughing along whenever the others did and just watching from the sidelines as Owen interacted with all these people. Even at dinner, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

Owen started to notice how you’d quieted down during the day, and at dinner, he leaned into  you and asked, “Hey, you okay, Little One?” in your ear. Chills ran down your spine at his hot breath blowing in your hair. 

“Yeah, just a little tired, is all,” you replied and offered him a half-hearted smile. It didn’t convince Owen at all, but decided not to ask any further. Your relationship had always been built up of open communication and mutual trust. So, now he had to trust you would talk to him if something was really bothering you. But how do you tell someone you hate seeing him have a life beside you. That’s just plain selfish. 

The next day, you decided to stay at the apartment instead of going to work with Owen. You had a few mails to catch up on and could keep up with some work here, anyway. Though you knew you weren’t going to do much of that. 

“You sure you don’t wanna come?” Owen asked once more as you were settled on the couch with your laptop in your lap, ready to pretend to work. As you looked up at him, he was pouting and had a worried expression on his face. You were certain he knew work wasn’t the only reason you wanted to stay home for the day. 

“Yeah, there’s just a few things I need to do,” you lied, shooting him your most convincing smile. Charlie and Owen exchanged glances, both of them knowing you weren’t being 100% truthful. The latter sighed deeply before making his way towards you and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Have a good day at work, Gorgeous,” you said to him with all the excitement you could muster up to sound convincing. 

“Yeah, you too, Little One,” he mumbled and left the living room. 

“Goodbye, y/n!” Charlie shouted with a wave while Owen ushered him out the door. A small smile fought his way to your lips at the interaction between the two. They really were the best of friends. 

“Bye, Charlie!” you shouted back. 

The silence fell over the apartment as well as a heavy weight on your shoulders. You felt terrible for feeling this way. You knew you should be happy for Owen that he had so many amazing friends around him and that he loved his work so much. But you couldn’t help but feel sad about it too. The more he integrated here in Vancouver with all these amazing people, the more he let go of Norman, Oklahoma. The more he let go of you. 

Tears pricked in your eyes as the thoughts raced through your mind. You could keep them at bay for a while until the image of Owen laughing at something Madi had said flooded your mind and pushed the tears out. You placed your laptop on the coffee table and grabbed a pillow, hugging it close to you as sobs raked through your body. There was no good reason for you to feel this way, but you still did. You felt bad for feeling this jealous of friends of Owen, of your friends. It truly just felt like he was letting go of you and his life in Norman, and you didn’t know how to handle that. You didn’t know how to handle losing someone you’ve had in your life for such a long time. 

By the time the boys came home, you had stopped crying and were half paying attention to a movie you’d found on Netflix. None of the work you actually did want to do had been done, and you’d even forgotten to eat. Which you only realized when the aromatic smell of pizza filled up the apartment. 

“Hey, Gorgeous,” Owen greeted as he walked into the living room. When his eyes fell on the little ball of a mess you were, his demeanor changed entirely. He went from somewhat cheerful into full-blown concern. “Are you alright?” he asked, placing the boxes of pizza on the dining table before walking up to you. You sat up from your previously sprawled out position at once, your heart breaking as a million thoughts flew through your mind. You were upset with him for building up something incredibly for himself beside you, and even more upset at yourself because you were upset at him. 

“Don’t,” you snapped curtly, holding your hand up, “Take another step because I will break.” Owen swallowed visibly as he froze in the middle of the living room. He stuttered and stumbled over words of confusion and worry. “I can’t do this anymore, Owen.” You rubbed your hands over your face before looking up at him again. The look on his face screamed confusion. He had no clue what he’d done wrong or what had happened for you to suddenly think that. 

“What are you talking about, y/n?” His voice cracked as he choked back tears, breaking your heart even more. You hated yourself for feeling this way, but you just couldn’t handle it. You didn’t know how to handle it. 

“You, having a life I don’t belong in…”  The words came out in a whisper. You barely even dared to speak your thoughts out loud. You were very aware that this was all crazy talk, but this was the only way to save the relationship from becoming toxic. 

“What do you mean, Little One? You do belong in my life, I--” He shut up when you held your hand up to make him stop before you got up from the couch and walked towards the bedroom you’d shared with him for the past two nights. The place you’d fallen asleep in, feeling so safe and happy. Now it just felt cold and daunting.

“I’ve booked a ticket back home,” you choked on fresh tears as you walked into the bedroom. Owen’s loud voice bouncing off the walls made you stop in the doorway, your heart pounding loudly in your chest as you listened but didn’t look at him. 

“No! No, y/n! You don’t get to just walk away without properly explaining what I’ve done wrong!” You waited a few beats after the last words had rolled off his lips, gathering all your courage before turning around to face him. You regretted that action immediately as the first thing you saw were the hot tears rolling over Owen’s cheeks. 

“Look at your life, Owen. You got all these friends and an amazing job in a completely different country and I can’t help but feel left out, like I’ll never be enough. I feel like you’ve built this entire life away from Norman, Oklahoma. Away from me. And I know -- I know I shouldn’t feel like this and I hate myself for feeling like this but I can’t…” you took a shaky breath, “I just can’t pretend I don’t feel it and I can’t pretend for the sake of our relationship -- for your sake -- that I don’t feel it. I just, I can’t, Owen…” 

Owen grew completely silent at your words, his heart slowing down as it broke. He thought he had everything in life. The perfect job, the perfect friends, the perfect significant other. And now everything just seemed to crumble down right in front of him. It just all seemed so perfectly balanced out with you being friends with his friends. He was completely mistaken. He knew something was wrong when you’d distanced yourself so much the day before and why you didn’t come with them to work. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered before turning around again to grab your stuff, but once again, you were stopped. Not by his voice this time, but by his hand grabbing your wrist and forcing you  to turn around.

“Please, y/n, don’t do this,” he whispered, his voice cracking ever so softly. Tears clouded your vision as you looked at him apologetically. “No, baby, no, please don’t do this. I can’t-- I can’t live without you. It’s because of you I managed to come this far with this job. It’s thanks to you I even dared to do this audition because you believed in me. I wouldn’t have even tried for Alex if it wasn’t for you encouraging me. Please, baby. Everyone in the cast and crew loves you, y/n, I promise you. Charlie told me earlier he wanted to ask you to live with us,” you looked up at Charlie, who had retreated in the kitchen, chewing on a slice of pizza as he listened with tears glistening in his eyes. “Savannah has loved you since you met when we did Knight Squad. Madi and Jadah see you as a big sister, and Jeremy just loves joking around with you,... They all love you so, so much, baby. Kenny! Kenny even asked where you were today.” Owen sniffled before taking another deep breath. “I can’t do this without you, y/n, please, don’t leave me. I love you so, so much.” The both of you dissolved into sobs as he sunk onto the floor on his knees, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his head against your stomach. He pleaded and begged, and your heart broke into a thousand pieces seeing him like this. 

“Please, y/n,” you suddenly heard from the kitchen. When you looked up, you found Charlie walking closer with tears running down his cheeks. “Just stay… You belong here. With Owen, with all of us. We love you so much, we don’t want you to leave, ever.” Another sob raked through your body as fresh tears escaped your eyes. You finally let your hands fall on Owen’s head before kneeling down in front of him, your hands sliding down to his cheeks. 

“I am sorry for feeling this way, Owen, I--I love you so much,” you whispered, sniffling. Owen searched your eyes for an answer. He wasn’t sure if this was goodbye or not. “I feel so stupid for feeling this way, I should’ve just told you I was doubting myself, for doubting us. I am so, so, so sorry.” A soft smile lit up his entire face as more tears rolled down. 

“I love you so much, y/n. Please, don’t ever leave me,” he cried and buried his face into your neck as he hugged you tightly. You pushed him off you gently and cupped his face before pressing your lips to his in a passionate, kind of salty from the tears, kiss. 

“I love you so much, Gorgeous,” you whispered and kissed him again. 

For the first time in weeks, you felt okay again. Completely and utterly okay. Nothing could ever stop you from loving this man. Nothing could ever take you away from him. This was for forever. You and him. Forever.

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Taglist: @hannahhistorian92 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequirkybookaholic @bookdealer5 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @angryknightstatesmantrash @kiss-themoongoodbye @rudysbay @thedarkqueenofavalon @caitsymichelle13 @calamitykaty @wiselight @kcd15 @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @stars-soph @kinda-really-lost

[vannahfanfics]

Heavenly Bodies

Category: Romantic Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Mina Ashido, Eijirou Kirishima

Additional Tags: Quirkless AU

Howdy, everyone! Today I have my story for the @ashidobigbang! I had the privilege of working with the wonderful @mallowfac​, so be sure to go give her beautiful art some love!

The picturesque campus of U.A. High School was always abuzz with activity, even after the final bells rang to mark the end of the school day. As expected of the number-one high school in the district, the institution hosted a vast number of after-school sports and clubs, so much that it was almost unheard of for a student to be uninvolved in anything. Thus, even as the sun had sunk low across the sky, the halls were still packed with many students fervently discussing events and fundraising and planning, walking to and from their classrooms. 

The exterior of the school was no exception; one would be hard pressed to find an empty sidewalk or field—except for today, when the American football team would be taking on the baseball team in an impromptu flag football game to determine once and for all the title of best sport. The halls and sidewalks and fields were abandoned, for the entire student body had crammed themselves within the confines of the spacious practice field nestled in the back corner of the campus. The baseball team had asserted that football was so easy that even they could do it, and the school had become divided on whether or not that was true. 

“Kick their asses, Eijirou!” a particularly loud fan crowed from the top of the bleachers. He was standing tall, hands cupped around his mouth and stamping his feet as he cheered for the school’s idol and star quarterback. The bleachers sang with chants and stomps, trying desperately to smother the boos drifting from the opposite end of the field, where the baseball team’s supporters sat. Eijirou Kirishima, his grin blinding and his red hair gleaming in the spring sun, laughed nervously as praise was rained down upon him. 

As Mina zeroed in on him in the lens of her binoculars, she knew she’d found her latest victim— er, recruit. 

Mina Ashido was the president—and only member—of U.A.’s astronomy club. Well, it wasn’t technically a club yet since they needed two members for the administration to approve the application. An avid admirer of all things cosmological and an aspiring astronomer, Mina refused to allow her pride and joy to collapse before it had even begun. Thus, for the last few months, she’d been concocting hare-brained scheme after hare-brained scheme to recruit at least one more member and officially christen the U.A. Guild of Astronomers and Astrophysicists. All of her efforts, unfortunately, had crashed and burned brighter than a supernova. 

At first, she’d just camped out in the hallways and leisure areas pitching her case and attempting to garner interest in the subject, but she’d been met with polite refusals or awkward avoidance. With so many extracurriculars available, sometimes drastic measures had to be taken to garner interest in a club— the Shakespearean drama club, for example, had performed Macbeth completely backwards in the courtyard, and their numbers had swelled immediately. Mina had cooked up a dramatic scheme of her own, which involved her running around the school screaming about a falling star and the end times. After inciting a mass school panic that led to a lockdown and police involvement, all Mina had managed to acquire was a fierce scolding, detention, and the label as a kook—not even one person expressed interest in joining her club even for the shits and giggles! No, it was clear that the inner workings of her mind were too sophisticated for humble high school students and staff, so she would have to try a more nuanced approach—manipulating the most vital high school variable: popularity. 

Her first target had been gorgeous cheerleader and school sweetheart, Momo Yaoyorozu. Despite the stereotype that popular girls were great big bitches, Momo had been nothing but polite when refusing Mina, since her rigorous practice schedule would unfortunately not allow her to devote the time to the club it deserved (but they did regularly meet up for Sunday tea now!). The next one to fall into her crosshairs was the school heartthrob Shoto Todoroki. He’d entertained her for an afternoon, but he destroyed one of her very expensive telescopes while attempting a night viewing and she’d politely informed him that perhaps he wasn’t cut out for it. He didn’t seem too sad about it, though he did occasionally ask her how the recruiting was going when they met in the halls. Very sweet guy, but bless him, he was an airhead. 

Thus, Mina had moved on to her next opportunity—the pride and joy of U.A.’s sports program, star American football player Eijirou Kirishima. Incredibly handsome, charismatic, and kind-hearted, Eijirou was beloved by everyone at U.A. If Mina managed to recruit him to her humble club, half the student body would be clamoring to join before it was printed in the school news the next day. 

She snickered to herself as she watched him through her binoculars, hiding in the thick, leafy bushes lining the backside of the sports complex. Her cotton candy-colored hair blended well with the hydrangeas blooming amidst the emerald leaves, camouflaging her as she conducted her vital research. The redhead strode across the field with confidence, yet his sunny smile made him seem anything but arrogant. Though she couldn’t hear him, she could see his lips moving as he relayed orders to his team while they set up the play. The players seamlessly fell into an offensive stance, a testament to the faith they held in their captain—and how seriously he took their practice and performance. 

A deep and bassy “huuuuup!” resounded through the field, and then the player hiked the ball. With a speed much at odds with his muscular frame, Eijirou took off down the field. Mina admittedly salivated a little as she watched his muscles ripple, his gray muscle tank displaying his biceps and triceps in mouthwatering detail. She could see the sweat shining on his skin and flicking from his hair as he whipped his head around to eye the ball that was sailing through the air toward him. The baseball team’s defense could only watch in awe as Eijirou leaped into the air over the endzone. The ball landed in his arms like it belonged there, his grip smug and sure as he landed in the touchdown zone. The supporting crowd erupted into deafening cheers, while Eijirou just smiled bashfully and gave a little wave. 

Mina lowered her binoculars to compose herself, a blush dusting her cheeks. So effortless… And the crowd loves it! she thought in awe. No matter what, I have to get him to join the Astronomy Club! She snapped the binoculars back to her eyes, watching intensely. She really didn’t need to watch the entire game, but… damn, that was a mouthwatering piece of man. She had to find some way to entertain herself while she waited for the game to end and her chance to corner him to finally present itself. 

Needless to say, the football team absolutely demolished the baseball team. The rival players marched back to their diamond in defeat along with their gaggle of supporters, while the crowd flooded the practice field to heft a very bemused but giddy Eijirou on their shoulders with chants of his name. They dunked the container of water over his head as soon as his feet touched the grass again, making him laugh jovially. Mina’s heart fluttered at the sound; his laugh was as sunny as the rest of him, so bright she almost felt the need to close her eyes. He was just blinding, like the most intense star. 

And just like with a star, Mina gravitated toward him. 

Eventually, the raucous crowd dispersed and the football team started heading to the locker rooms to change out of their sweaty gym gear. They came tromping onto the sidewalk, with Eijirou trailing in the rear dripping wet and trying to wring water out of his tank. Mina almost forgot to spring out of the bushes, too occupied with the planes of his abs being revealed each time he wrung the fabric. She remembered her mission just as he passed the hydrangea bush, and leaped out in front of him with a delighted trill. 

“That was a wonderful game, Eijirou!” she squealed, throwing her arms up and hiking up one leg behind her in a cute little flourish. The redhead jumped back with a small gasp, startled by her sudden appearance and the leaves and hydrangea petals clinging to her clothes and the soft fibers of her pink hair. Once he recovered, however, he gave her a charming smile that nearly had her melting into a pile of space slush. 

“Oh! Thanks. Hey, you’re, uh—” he snapped his fingers quickly as he struggled to recall her, then pointed his fingers at her in a gun-like shape once it clicked, “Mina Ashido! You have homeroom with Tsuyu from the Amphibian Care club. She talks about you when she helps run the concession stand sometimes!” 

“That’s right! The one and only!” she chirped, trying to suppress the surge of anger at the fact that Tsuyu could recruit for her club about pet frogs and turtles but Mina couldn’t get one single underling. Not to worry; that will all change soon! 

“This might be an odd question, but, uh… is there a reason you were hiding in the bushes?” he laughed awkwardly. Mina blushed when he leaned forward to gently brush the leaves and petals from her shoulders and hair, which made her short-circuit for a second. It was only when he looked at her inquisitively that her brain jump-started again. 

“O-oh! I thought it would be fun to surprise you! Yanno, like in the movies where someone jumps out of a big ol’ birthday cake!” It was a bold-faced lie, but it wasn’t like she could tell him she was spying on him through binoculars while she schemed to reel him into her club. Trying to keep him from thinking too hard about it, she placed her hands on her hips and straightened up. “I watched your practice match with the baseball team and have decided that you’ll be a perfect fit for the Astronomy Club! So please join. <3” 

Eijirou blinked owlishly at her, his bright red eyes swimming with confusion. He smiled bashfully, clearly trying not to let his utter perplexity show on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. 

“Well, um, I’m really not sure how you made that connection watching me play…” 

“The inner workings of a woman’s mind are quite an enigma~” she hummed with a waggle of her finger. Eijirou only scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and jumped when she slapped her hand down on his shoulder. “Seriously! You seem like a great fit! Please consider at least trying it out for a little while?” She batted her eyelashes demurely; if nothing else, her womanly charms could entice the burly football player to at least humor her for a while. 

Sure enough, a pink blush dusted across his cheeks and a bashful smile curled onto his lips. 

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt checking it out… Stars are cool…” 

“Fabulous!” she squealed, making Eijirou flinch again as she clapped her hands together and jumped up and down in elation. Even if Eijirou didn’t join permanently, just the rumor of his interest in her humble little club was liable to attract attention. “I know that you’re busy with football practice, so we’ll schedule club meetings on Friday afternoons when you don’t have them, okay?” 

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I don’t want to inconvenience any—” 

“Great! So it’s settled then! I’ll see you on Friday afternoon in Room 310!” With that, she jumped back into her bush, leaving Eijirou staring at the quivering leaves in confusion. Through the gaps in the branches, she saw him open and close his mouth like he wanted to say something, look around and then up at the sky with a pensive look, and then smile with a shrug of his shoulders. Mina clutched her binoculars to her chest as a smile bloomed on her own lips, but one of satisfaction. Surely this will work! The Astronomy Club will be booming in no time! She thought with a giddy snicker. 

If nothing else, she could look at Eijirou’s absolutely dreamy body and face for a few club meetings and drive his fangirls nuts. 

At the end of the week, Mina paced impatiently in front of Room 310, chewing her fingernails to nubs as her eyes darted back and forth around the hall. It had only been a few minutes since the final bell had rung and the students had scattered to attend to their Friday afternoon obligations (or lack thereof), but anxiety swirled in Mina’s belly at the complete emptiness of the halls. Has he stood me up? Was I too pushy? Is he secretly a great big jerk who is nice to people’s faces but scathingly berates them behind their back to his football teammates and they all laugh evilly at the unknowing victim’s expense? 

With a dramatic sob, Mina flung herself against the classroom door and hugged it, her fingers just barely curling around the wide frame. Once again, it seemed that her recruitment plan had failed miserably, and she was still the sole member of the Astronomy Club. Was she a doomed stranded astronaut, left to traverse the stars in silence awaiting a bitter end? She sank to her knees, sliding down the door with a long squeeeeeeeeak and crying bitter tears. Stars were hella cool! Why did no one at this stupid high school appreciate them? 

“Mina!” 

Mina’s mood did a complete one-eighty when she heard Eijirou calling her name and his footsteps pounding around the corner. She jumped to her feet, her tears drying up instantly and her pout morphing into a giddy smile. The redhead came trotting up, a thin sheet of sweat on his forehead and an apologetic smile on his face. 

“Sorry!” he panted. “I didn’t get a chance to warn you that my class is all the way on the first floor. I hope you weren’t waiting long!” 

“No, no! I just got here mys— yeowch!” 

She had still been hugging the door, so when she tried to turn to face him, she accidentally pulled it forward and smashed her fingers in the doorjamb. She screamed as her knucklebones crunched and the skin tore; the pain rocketing up her arm sprang tears to her eyes immediately, and she released a petulant whine as she retracted her bruised and bloody fingers from between the wooden door and concrete wall. 

“Oh my gosh, are you okay, Mina?” Eijirou gasped, dropping his school bag and rushing to her side. Mina cradled her throbbing hand to her chest with little sniffles, curling away from the football player when he reached for it. He gave her an encouraging, sweet smile. “I know I look big and tough, but I promise, I can be gentle too. Let me see; you may have broken something.”

Whimpering but enticed by his soothing words and demeanor, Mina obediently allowed him to pull her hand forward to inspect her fingers. They were bruising already, big blotches of purple blooming around the torn and bloody skin. Eijirou leaned over her hand, and goosebumps sprouted on her skin as his warm breath puffed over her electrified skin and aching bones. With featherlight touches, he inspected her knuckles, prodding as gently as he could to feel for any deviations in the bone. 

“I know this may hurt, but can you bend them?” he asked, looking up at her through his red bangs. Mina whimpered again, hesitant to comply for fear of the pain. However, the glitter in his vermilion eyes urged her to comply. She hesitantly bent her fingers, wincing as pain skittered up her nerves— but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. Eijirou smiled satisfactorily. “You crunched ‘em pretty good, but I don’t think anything is broken or fractured,” he said as he straightened up. 

“Thanks… I can’t believe I did that,” she sighed, using her good hand to knock on the side of her head a few times. How embarrassing, injuring herself like that in front of him! “Well, now that all that drama is over, let’s go inside so I can tell you about the club.” 

Eijirou followed her inside. While she rifled through the teacher’s desk for some bandages, he looked around at the desks, which were empty aside from a build-your-own-telescope kit, Mina’s completed telescope, and astronomical charts and textbooks. As Mina wrapped bandages around her fingers, he looked at her with knitted eyebrows. 

“There’s no one else here yet?” 

“There’s no one else to be here,” she replied with a shrug and a wan smile. “I’m the club’s only member.” When Eijirou’s eyebrows shot up to the roots of his hair, she sadly added, “If that information makes you want to leave, go ahead and do so,” she said with a wave at the door. She then looked down at the adhesive wrapped around her knuckles. “You wouldn’t be the first.” 

“No, I don’t want to leave,” Eijirou said quickly. He marched up to the front of the desk, leaning against it. Mina didn’t know what to look at—his flexing muscles or his bright smile. He tilted his head slightly as he smiled charmingly at her, then said, “Tell me about your club, Mina. I want to know everything.” 

Oh God, he’s hot! Mina screamed inside her head, her good hand flying to her rapidly-beating heart. It took everything within her not to absolutely swoon at the complete sweetheart of a man gracing her with his presence this Friday afternoon. Her eyes watered a little in gratitude, or maybe it was the sheer emotion at being witness to such a wonderful human being’s kindness. 

Thus, Mina did as he asked. She first instructed Eijirou how to build the telescope that he would use on nights they did observations; he bungled through it a little, but remained patient and tried his best to follow the instructions. Mina had to giggle at the absolutely triumphant grin that plastered his face when he successfully assembled the telescope; he held it up over his head and pranced around—nearly giving them both a panic attack when he bumped into a desk and nearly dropped the telescope on the ground. Mina didn’t think she could handle a Shoto 2.0. 

After assembling the telescope, she started him off with easy information—constellations. She unrolled her star map which had all the constellations displayed by season, explaining specifically which ones they could see at the moment. Eijirou was very excited to see them in person, so they arranged a meeting for the following week. True to form, he showed up that Friday night with his telescope and all his zeal, his smile brighter than the full moon hanging high in the sky. 

“It’s hard to believe that people stared at the sky thousands of years ago and traced shapes out of ‘em!” he exclaimed as he plonked his telescope down to the ground. “And made up all these stories to go with ‘em. And all the stories and constellations are different based on what civilization was lookin’ at ‘em!” 

“The stars have always been fascinating,” Mina hummed, gently setting up her telescope and adjusting the lens. “Sometimes I like to find my own constellations and make up stories about them.” 

“Really? Tell me one!” 

“Well, my favorite is the Alien Queen!” 

“The Alien Queen?” Eijirou laughed, making Mina flush shyly. “Show me!” Not waiting for an answer, he shouldered in next to her telescope and peered into it. She flushed darker as his sturdy shoulder dug into the meat of her side, warmth blooming across her skin. With slightly trembling hands, she moved the telescope to the right section of the sky. 

“Do you see that big, bright shiny star right there?” she asked, waiting until Eijirou confirmed. “Well, that’s the tip of the back of her head. If you follow them like this—” she gestated in front of the lens, tracing the star pattern— “it looks kinda like the alien from the horror movie!” 

“Leave it to Mina Ashido to find the Xenomorph constellation,” Eijirou snickered, straightening up to smile at her in amusement. “No wonder you’re the club president.” Mina shyly played with the hem of her skirt, unable to control the giddy smile playing over her lips. 

They spent the rest of the early evening finding the constellations and discussing the various mythologies behind each. Eijirou loved the Greek-based patterns and myths the most. Every time they pointed one out, he would flex dramatically and proclaim how much he loved the famous heroes of old—Hercules, Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus. Mina laughed at his sensational flexing and grunting each time, her giggles bouncing around the empty practice field to join the cricket song. 

Monday morning, Mina was surprised to find Eijirou rushing down the hall towards her as she went to enter her classroom. His face was flushed pink and his forehead dotted with sweat, indicating that he’d sprinted all the way to her. He pin-wheeled to a stop, nearly bumping her with his broad chest, and his breath puffed in her hair as he grinned brightly down at her. 

“Mina! Guess what I saw on the news this morning! The Creati comet is gonna be passing by this Wednesday, and it’ll be visible here that night!” 

“Yeah, I know!” Mina cried. She’d been glued to the news program this morning as astrophysicists and space program officials discussed the once-in-a-lifetime event; it was rumored to be an absolute gorgeous comet, with a rare rosy pink-lavender tail due to its high concentrations of lithium and potassium chloride. She then blushed, warmed by the fact that Eijirou had found it so important to inform her that he’d run all the way across campus first thing in the morning. 

“Yeah! We’re gonna watch it together, right?” he asked, clapping his hands on her shoulders. Mina flushed, fidgeting in place and chewing on the inside of her cheek. 

“A-are you sure? I’m sure you’ll be tired after football practice.” 

“Are you kidding? What kind of Astronomy Club member would I be if I didn’t see this comet?” he objected. 

Mina felt her heart thrum at the statement. Does he enjoy being a member that much? She’d only recruited him as a means to an end, but was it really turning out that Eijirou liked being a member of her club? She felt her belly twist with guilt and a cold flush pulse through her body. She curled into herself a little, blood roaring in her ears and nearly drowning out what he said next. 

“I know you’re planning on going to watch it, so let’s see it together, Mina!” 

“Okay,” she found herself saying before she even processed it. The next two days were a similar blur of guilt and anxiety amidst preparations to view the comet Wednesday evening. All traces of excitement she would normally possess was swallowed up by the remorse poisoning her from the hard ball in the pit of her belly. She couldn’t help but obsess over the fact that she’d recruited Eijirou on false pretenses, abusing his kind heart to use his popularity for her own gain. She’d already received a flood of interest in the club once news had spread that Eijirou was seemingly an official member, but she’d evaded them with half-hearted promises that she’d contact them soon to set up a general interest meeting. 

On Wednesday night she stood by the hydrangea bush, chewing on her bottom lip and tempted to hide within its emerald leaves and pink blossoms so she wouldn’t have to face Eijirou. Before she could take shelter in its branchy depths, the redhead came trotting up the sidewalk, his smile gleaming in the starlight as he called her name. His telescope flopped on his back in its canvas sheath. 

“Hey, Mina!” he grinned when he came to a stop in front of her, panting slightly. Always in such a rush, she thought fondly. No wonder he’s the star quarterback. “Are you excited? I sure am!” 

“Yeah,” she lied. There was no room to be excited with all the guilt filling her to the brim. Eijirou’s smile somehow managed to get brighter. Despite everything, her heart still jumped in her chest when he grabbed her hand, his thick and calloused fingers so strangely perfect around her slim ones, and pulled her onto the practice field. 

“This is perfect!” he exclaimed, looking up at the starry night sky with his hands on his hips. Mina only hummed quietly, robotically unfolding a blanket and placing it over the grass. She’d arranged for the school to shut off the nighttime lights for the evening, giving them a clear view of the moon and stars. Thus, they were the only things that provided illumination as Mina and Eijirou sat down on the soft blanket together. “I didn’t know if we would want to get a better look at the comet, so I brought this!” he said excitedly, slipping the telescope off his back and setting it down between them. Mina hummed again, anxiety swirling in the pit of her belly. In the gloom, she could still see Eijirou’s bright red eyebrows scrunch. 

“Mina…? What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Mina debated lying for a moment; she nervously plucked at the loose fibers of her stockings, unable to meet his pretty vermillion eyes. The lie never got the chance to dance on her tongue. She knew she had to come clean, to tell him the truth before she toted him along even further. 

“Eijirou… I have to confess something,” she admitted quietly. He shifted beside her, eyebrows raised. 

“What is it?” 

“I’m not as good a person as you think I am.” Her voice shook as tears flooded her eyes. She bit down on her lip as a sniffle slipped free. Eijirou looked at her in utter bewilderment, confusion swirling in those gorgeous vermillion eyes that had struck her the moment she had first seen them. He gently reached out to stroke his fingertips ever-so-lightly down her cheek; she turned away, a tear slipping down her cheek that was still tingling with his featherlight touch. “Don’t,” she begged, her voice nothing more than a strained whisper. “I don’t deserve your sympathy.” 

“Mina…” 

“I used you, Eijirou,” she said finally, choking the words out as her throat constricted with guilt. “I used your popularity for my own gain. I just wanted my club to be popular.” 

She didn’t look at him as the silence hung heavy between them, like an anvil suspended on a slowly fraying rope. She waited with bated breath for the rope to snap and for it to plummet, for him to explode on her like he rightfully should, to tell her she was selfish and cruel and for him to storm away and never look back. She cringed when he inhaled sharply, already preparing for his raised voice. 

He didn’t yell or scream or curse. Instead, his voice was heartbreakingly soft when he murmured, “That doesn’t make you a bad person. That just makes you lonely.” 

Mina’s eyes fluttered as her heart swelled with hope. She didn’t resist when he cupped her cheek and gently turned her tear-stained face to look at him. Her watery eyes met his red ones, and she was so relieved to find them brimming with understanding, not hate or anger. He swept his thumb over her cheek to catch the tears still streaming over her ruddy skin. 

“Mina… I knew that already,” he confessed with a small smile. She gasped in shock, while Eijirou smiled bashfully and rubbed at the back of his neck with his other hand. “As soon as you told me that you were the only member of the club, I figured that you wanted to use my popularity to recruit more people. I was a little bitter about it for a second, but… Then I saw how sad you looked.” He used both his hands to cup her cheeks and leaned forward to press his forehead to hers. “I didn’t want to see that look on your face. Even if you were using me, I wanted you to be happy.” 

“Why?” she hiccuped, chest drawing tight like a balloon ready to burst. “Th-that was so horrible of me… And you still wanted to do that for me? Why?” 

“Because from the moment you jumped out of that hydrangea bush, I’ve been head-over-heels for you,” he purred, mouth twitching up into a smirk. Her face flushed with a fierce, fiery blush and her mouth dropped open in shock. “And maybe I was a little hopeful that I could get you to be head-over-heels for me, too,” he added with a playful wink. Mina couldn’t help but laugh, mostly from the overwhelming relief bubbling up inside her body. She leaned into him, finding solace in how well her small body fit into his muscular one—like a lock and key, like they belonged together. 

Sniffling happily, she curled her fingers into the leathery fabric of his varsity jacket and smiled joyfully. 

“Well, you didn’t have to try very hard. How could I not be head-over-heels for you?”

Before they could say anything else, the sky was suddenly filled with bright light. They both turned to see that the comet had appeared among the stars. Its powdery tail streamed pinkish-blue behind the large white body, slowly traveling across the expanse of inky blue like a leisurely sailboat. Mina inhaled sharply as the pastel colors reflected in her eyes and the light danced over her skin and hair; it truly was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She was so entranced that she didn’t register Eijirou’s hand sneaking under her chin again until he turned her face back. The comet danced in his red eyes, making it a pink nebula of stars and space and beauty. 

No. Those eyes of his were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. 

She almost didn’t want to close her own as he leaned in to kiss her, but as soon as his lips smoothed over her own, she couldn’t help it. They drifted shut as she melted against him, savoring the gentle motions of his mouth against hers. Her heart fluttered when his hand drifted up into her cotton-candy hair, twirling around the strands like he was memorizing the feel of the silky threads. He kissed her with rising passion, like an astronaut adrift in space who’d finally found the oxygen he needed. 

They pulled apart slightly panting and blushing the same color as the comet streaming slowly above their heads. He stroked her face gently, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on the blanket. She laughed when he hugged her tight, nuzzled into her hair and inhaled deeply. 

“You smell like hydrangeas.” 

“Eijirou, I thought we were here to watch the comet.” 

“It’s pretty,” he remarked with a glance up at the sky. He then looked down at her with that dazzling smile she adored so much. “But I’ve got a heavenly body right here that I’m more interested in.” 

“Oh my gosh! That’s so corny!” she howled, throwing her head back in laughter. Eijirou snickered and snuggled into the side of her face, making her laugh more at the ticklish sensation of his nose brushing her skin. He peppered butterfly kisses over every inch of skin he could find, making her squirm and giggle in his grasp. 

Finally, he rolled on his side, one arm still snug around her shoulders while he watched the comet slowly make its way across the horizon. She pressed against him, warm and fuzzy and happy. 

“You know, despite the circumstances, I’m still glad you asked me to join, Mina,” Eijirou said with a contented sigh. His fingers drifted up to play with the fluffy strands of her hair. Mina rested her head on his chest, smiling while she watched the comet. 

“Me too, Eijirou. I can’t wait to spend the rest of the school year checking out heavenly bodies.” 

Eijirou gave her a wan look as she snorted piggishly in laughter. 

“You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?” 

“Absolutely not. I’m already planning to sell tee shirts!” 

Eijirou laughed, then rolled over to attack her with snuggles and kisses again. Mina welcomed his embrace and affections. Their laughter drifted up into the sky to join the stars and the streaming glittery trail of the comet, finding a home forever in the vastness of space…

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[weeb-writor]

Meeting Shouta’s parents on Christmas

Hello all you beautiful people! So here is the last part in the Aizawa mini series. I fell in love with all these Characters and this head cannon so I will probably revisit them! As usually the reader is neutral in every since of the word! I hope you guys enjoyed this series. 

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Aizawa Shouta x Reader

After a month of preparation you meet Aizawa’s Parent over the course of a week

Words: 3,098

Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five

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“Ooh my goodness what are we gonna do!?” You said pacing around your living room. Shouta looked at you and chuckled at your frazzled state.

“We get in my car and drive to my family house as planned, pretend to enjoy ourselves so we can come home and cuddle with my fat cats.” He said, pulling you into a hug. 

“You want me to show up to meet your parents without the gift I ordered for you dad? Shouta are you outta your mind.” You said to him with a pout.

“Well that's debatable but I do know my parents and they aren't even expecting anything so it's fine. You can just tell them we’ll get it to him when we get it. Now let's go!” He said trying to drag you to the car.

“Aizawa Shouta! I am not going anywhere unless it's to a store to buy your Dad a gift.” You said giving him a glare. He stared back as if to question if you were being serious. You cocked an eyebrow at him, challenging him to disagree.

“Were gonna be late to get there, do you want that?”

“Better to be late than to show empty handed especially when everyone else has gifts.” You said with a shrug. Aizawa laughed but nodded as you both went to the store. You wandered around the place for an hour before you found something you actually liked. Now you were in the car messily wrapping in as you pulled into the driveway of your destination.

“Okay goodness gracious we barely made it but we're here and I have gifts for all your siblings and their lovers and their kids! Didn't think I would pull it off but here we are in one piece.” You said mostly to yourself.

“Kitty Cat you start talking to yourself and I might leave you to enter the den of wolves by yourself.” Aizawa said as you both got out of the car. You let him take in your overnight bags and get help for the millions of presents somehow packed into your small car you didn't wait long as you felt as presence behind you.

“Hello you, perfect example of a gorgeous human being!” The voice said from behind you.

“Shinji, how nice to see you.” You said with a sigh.

“You know if you’re tired of sighing that way… I have a better way to make you sigh.” He said winking at you. You had to push back all the thoughts of murdering him and just smiled but before you could say anything another voice interjected.

“See I told you we had to come out here! Shinji stop hitting on y/n their dating our little brother you snake.” Saika said, hitting him over the head.

“Can't help it, sis!” He said with a laugh.

“Well for this week you absolutely will have better control overself or so help me God Shinji! Anyway y/n you’ve got me, Shinji and sora at your beck and call, what do you need help with?” Saika said with her graceful smile.

“Oh just this.” You said pointing to the car packed with presents. Sora seemed to choke on air at the amount of gifts.

“God, didn't Shouta tell you didn't have to buy everyone a gift, you poor thing!” Saika said hugging you.

“Well he did but I just really like you guys and loved getting to know you this past month so I wanted to.” You said waving her off.

“More like you wanted to impress our parents, huh cutie?” Shinji said teasing you before he started to grab presents as to avoid his sister wacks.

“Ignore him! My mom is dying to meet you, Shouta’s never brought anyone home.” She said as her and Sora grabbed some more presents. As they went in you pulled out the last two rounds of presents and waited for Aizawa who wasn't far behind.

“Hey love are you ready?” Aizawa said, picking up the presents you set out.

“I am totally not!! I barely remember everyone's name! We should just slip away right now!” You said beginning to pace some more.

“Babe i'm gonna go inside and wait on you, come in whenever you want but remember we are late.” He said with a light chuckle.

“Sho!! don't you go into your house without me!” You said picking up the gifts and following him like a lost puppy. That was that and soon you were inside the house with a lot of eyes on you. You followed aizawa while bowing and placed the toys underneath the huge tree.

“Alright now that that’s done let me meet the one whose stolen my baby’s heart so effortlessly!” A woman said coming over to you. You bowed deeply to her and she let out a melodious laugh.

“How cute, no need to bow so deep! I should be bowing to you, you who is able to make my stoic Shouta blush, giggle and pout!” She says grabbing your face and pulling it around as if to inspect it.

“Oh Honey, you stop it! They are just being polite, you know like Japanese culture requires them to be.” A tall man said coming over to you.

“I'm just saying! Anyway you can call me Mina and this is my parasite of 41 years Hirohito! Nice to meet you!” She said hugging you, you were a bit surprised by how informal and kind they were.

“Excuse my parents, they were born and raised in America! No less Japanese but they are a bit more informal and that does shock a lot of people.” Shojiro said scratching his neck. 

“Oh hush boy! Don’t put a warning label on me and your mom as if we are damaged goods.” Hirohito said, knocking him over the head.

“Now it’s getting later we should all wash up and get ready to eat! I made something special for you all. And Sho I put a king size bed in your room since you’ve finally brought someone home. If you want to take advantage of that and make me some grandchildren then don’t worry we will hold up dinner for you!” His mom said kissing his cheek. He groaned and grabbed your hand and pulled you away and soon you were in his room.

“See, was that so hard?” Aizawa said with a flushed face.

“Ehh you look like it was, tomato paste! But I think it went okay! I can do this!!” You said hyping yourself up.

“Yes you can, kitty cat. After dinner only 6 more days to go.”

“WHY do you guys do Christmas gatherings for a week!” You whisper yelled at him.

“Because we have a doting mother who wants to smother us every chance she gets and a father who would do anything for her.” He said serious, you laughed and got ready for dinner. When you and Aizawa made it to the dining room, you were met with three huge dining tables. Almost every seat filled.

“Sweetheart, you and y/n come sit right here! I’ve got so many things to ask you!” His mom said waving you over.

“Thank you… Mina. Your way to kind!” You said with another bow. Dinner was pretty quiet at first but how quiet can you be with like 30 people in one room.

“Saika, dear, you were in charge of the schedule this year can you read it off for everyone.” Mina said.

“Of course! So on the 20th aka tomorrow it’s all about decorations and the tree! 21st is all about taking the kids to see Santa! 22nd is Family photo day! 23 is the gingerbread houses contest and reindeer games! 24th is sugar cookie making and movies! 25th is a grand breakfast and present opening! Bring forth the cup of straws!” Saika said giggling. Sora rolled his eyes but got the cup and passed it around, everyone taking a straw. 

“Okay now blow into if red dust comes out you’re in charge of taking the kids to see Santa!” She announced and everyone did. Of fucking course red dust billowed from you straw. You looked at Shouta and he shook his head at you and your heart dropped.

“So then it’s me and you, how fortunate!” Shinji said waving at you. You couldn’t control yourself and your head dropped onto the table dramatically.

“Haha, Shinji y/n already knows what a pain in the ass you are! you must be losing your style dear! Not to worry y/n, Shinji will be on his best behavior won’t you?” Mina said as an ominous silence fell over the room. Shinji didn’t hesitate to nod.

“Okay then! Y/n, welcome to the Aizawa family. I hope you enjoy your first Christmas with us! With that let us begin the 6 days of chaos!” Mina said laughing lifting her glass, everyone joined laughing. Okay maybe this won’t be so bad you thought for a brief second.

20th - 5 Days till Christmas

“Dad I understand you like to hang lights up dangerously but do you have to drag y/n into it.” Aizawa said as he watched you nervously. You were on the roof helping his dad put up a few decorations and lights.

“Of course I did, if they’re gonna be an Aizawa one day they gotta learn all our trade secrets.” He retorted as if it was common knowledge.

“I’ve never seen my little Sho so worried. I can’t figure out if it’s because your kind and you love him so much or if you’ve got him by the balls or maybe even both.” Mina said with a slight chuckle. This made you warm in embarrassment and you lost your footing and began to fall, of course taking the old man with you.

“Shit!” Aizawa said as he quickly used his capture weapon to grab both you and stop your impact from being damaging.

“Yeah alright, me and y/n are opting out of decorations this year.” He said dragging you who was still in his captured weapon toward the door.

“Oh honey calm down it would have just been a small bump and maybe a sprain. Would you at least help Shinji and Sora with the kids, decorating the tree?” She said with a kind yet manipulative smile. Before either of you could respond yelling was heard from inside

“Damn it, Yukio stop breaking the glass ornaments and Maki stop recording and help me!” Shinji yelled. 

21st- 4 Days till Christmas 

“Shinji what the hell do we do!” You said pacing.

“Hold on stop talking I’m thinking.”

“Like hell I’m trusting your brain! We just have to ask them to let us take pictures anyway.” You said with determination. You see everything was going well until and elf said something to Haru that Jun took as bullying. A fire light in that boy like you had never seen he was on top of the elf giving him the business in seconds. After he just mumbled things like ‘Bakugou said you can’t let people bully you.’ And ‘gotta put bullies in their place.’. Then when you tried to get him to apologize he glared and said ‘no, I can’t let that bully win’ and just like that y’all were kicked out.

“No look let’s just disguise them! Tetsuya and Haru stitch clothing and Haru and Umi switch! Then Maki will take them and her pictures with them.

“What about Maki though they saw her!” You said not believing you were actually going along with his crazy plan.

“Oh I have a change of clothes, gotta be prepared when you’re going out with uncle Shinji!”  She said cheerfully.

“That’s my girl! Now go do this thing!” He said giving her and high five. Someone how Shinji’s ridiculous plan worked and the parents didn’t even notice, they were all too drunk or tired. 

22nd - 3 Days until Christmas 

“There is no way I'm taking pictures wearing this.” Sora said as he pulled the clothes from the box.

“Yeah mom, why did you make Sho pick clothes this year you know he cant even dress himself! It’s because you babied him so much, you know.” Shojiro said, looking as equally as disgusted at the clothing.

“Hey now! I put my baby in charge of the clothing and you all are gonna wear it, end of discussion. Also if anyone babied him it was all of you so blame yourself.” Mina said, ending the discussion as Shouta wore a crazed grin.

“I like the clothes Uncle sho’ta.” Nozomi said rocking on her heels.

“They are pretty cute huh?” He said ruffing her hair.

“Ah ah ah! Don't you go infecting my kids with your bad fashion sense!.” Saika said, covering Nozomi's ears. At this you all broke out into laughs before heading to put on the outfits and prepare for maybe the most embarrassing photos known to man.

23rd - 2 days till Christmas

You were not an artist by any means but when you heard the winner got the honor of passing out presents you were purposely trying to lose. You knew them apart mostly but if they were all wearing the same pajamas with their hair tied back it was going to be a stuttering mess. However your plan of making a 3 out of 10 gingerbread house was foiled quickly. Aizawa wasn't really a competitive man or so you thought but when you to were paired against Shinji and Shojiro he went berserk! You looked at the gingerbread MANSION with a sigh.

“Shouta i’ve never seen you so invested! It's amazing.” Said Shizumi the resident artist in the house.

“Yeah uncle Shouta and L/N! You definitely got my vote!” Daisuke said smiling at you, you smiled back at him warily. The family all wrote down the people of their choosing and put it into the Santa hat. Now as names were being drawn you were biting your nails.

“Shouta and Y/n will be our Clauses this year.” Hirohito said with a small smile.

“Yay y/n wins.” Haru and Jun danced around you. You giggled before glaring at Aizawa in a way that said when we get home your sleeping on the couch, he just kissed you sweetly.

24th - 1 Day till Christmas

“Uncle Shouta stopped making so many cat cookies! Santa wants other shapes too!” Tetsuya said, hitting Shouta repeatedly on his legs. You laughed evilly as you formed another cat cookie and wrote Shouta’s name on the corner.

“I like your cat cookies.” Nozomi said, playing with her hair. Aizawa picked her up and spun her around.

“Okay, yep that's weird Baby brother! Why is Nozomi clinging to you? What did you do?” Shiori said looking back and forth from you and Shouta.

“Nothing.” Shouta said with a smirk. The family then looked at you hopeful.

“Well would you look at that! It's about time to watch the Grinch isn't it, Rei?” You asked the young boy. He eagerly nodded wanting to escape the situation. 

“You got Rei too? What is happening!” Saika said as she grabbed Rei bringing him to her chest.

“Huh where is your DVD player? I got to put the disk in.” You said completely ignoring her.

25th - Christmas Day

The gift giving had been going pretty successfully. You only Stuttered a few times but you hadn't given anyone the wrong present and let Shouta take the ones with Nicknames you didn't know. But this right here was the moment of truth, the moment you had been preparing for. In your right hand you had a gift for Shizumi and in your left one for Saika. You looked at the two twin like sisters and handed the gifts to each respectful sister hoping you were right. They opened the gifts and smiled so you guessed you were correct had everyone's eyes not been on you, you would have done a happy dance.

“Alright last gift before Mom and Dads are for Miss Nozomi!” Shouta said signaling you to get the present you and him picked out for the young girl.

“Alright this is from me and Uncle Shouta!” You said to the girl handing her the blue box. She said a quiet thank you before tearing into the box. Inside the box was a note which she took out.

“Look at your favorite uncle.” She said before looking straight at Shouta making all the other brothers gasp. In Shouta’s arm was a cute 3 legged kitten which had the girl darting toward him but slowed when she got to him so as not to scare the cat.

“Thank you!” The girl said, rubbing at her teary eyes. You and Aizawa had been teaching her how to care for cats knowing she wanted one. In all honesty she knew she was getting a cat she just didn't know when. You had asked her parents as well but didn't tell then when either so as to have a bigger reaction from the family.

“No need to thank me! Just promise me to take care of him real well.” Aizawa thumbed away the last of her tears. She nodded rapidly before snuggling the kitten who seemed to enjoy the attention. The last arc of gift giving went well as did the extravagant breakfast you had all prepared together. Now you were all saying goodbye.

“Y/n dear I do have one last parting gift for you.” Mina said as you rounded the corner with your bags. You placed down your bags and went to her side.

“I know you and Shouta haven't been together too long but I want to thank you. He acts tougher than he is. He would rather bear all the responsibility and pain and suffer alone. Not to mention the way he puts himself in danger rather than ask for help. With you he seems different, and you put him in his place. You’ve made me feel at ease for the first time since he entered UA as a student. So welcome to the family, we're so glad to have you.” She said putting something into your hands. You bowed at her and opened your palm to see a key to this house and a few pictures taken over the course of the week. You waved goodbye to them all and got your bags and made the short trip to your car where Shouta was waiting.

“Why do you look like you're going to cry.” He said worried.

“Because there are 365 days till next Christmas.” You said to him smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~

MHA Masterlist

[1025cherrystreet]

New Home for the Holidays!

happy holidays! and merry christmas to whoever celebrates it!! <3

disclaimer: kinda scared ngl, this is my first piece of writing i’m putting on tumblr. i usually use wattpad (my username is the same it is here if you wanna follow me!), so i’m still learning how to do this lmao. hope you like it! any feedback is appreciated!!!

also... i didn’t really proofread this bc i got impatient and wanted to post it before christmas lol :)

warnings: none, just fluff ;)

gf!y/n spends christmas with harry and his family.

You hear the faint chime of the doorbell ringing from inside the house as you nervously pick at your fingers down at your side. Harry notices the small action, quickly taking your hand to intertwine with his, shooting you a small smile in hopes to calm your nerves.

And it does. For a moment. Until the door swings open and Anne appears on the other side. What finally does put your anxiety to rest is the big, warm hug she pulls you into, a splitting grin adorning her face. You chuckle in surprise (mostly at the fact she hugged you first and not her own son), but return the kind action, nonetheless.

"Oh my gosh! Y/N, my dear, you look gorgeous as always!" She says pulling back just enough to look at your face.

"Thank you! You're looking quite good yourself, Mrs. Twist." You return either a kind smile.

"Oh, none of that. I've told you before, call me Anne," She looks at you with a knowing and playful scowl, waving you off.

"Wow, hello to you too mum," Harry mutters from next to you, plastering a fake pout on his lips.

She softly scoffs, releasing her hold on you and moving to embrace her son.

"You look gorgeous too, Harry. Is that what you wanted to hear?" She jokes, the familiar smirk she holds reminds you of the one your boyfriend pulls so frequently.

When they release from their tight squeeze, Anne steps inside and holds the door open before speaking.

"Well... Don't want you two to freeze out there, come in! I was just fixing a cuppa,"

The warmth of her home heats your frozen fingertips as you enter and your glad to be out of the snow. You love the snow, but since growing up not experiencing it often where you lived makes it a little hard to bear in times like these. You couldn't remember many times you've had a white Christmas before (probably could count on one hand, if your honest), but you've always remembered them being the best ones.

You've always loved the holidays. You loved the cold weather and the time with family. You loved you're yearly family tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve night and taking a picture on the staircase in your childhood home the next morning. You loved making hot chocolate and watching you're family open the presents you got them.

You loved the holidays. But, what you love more than anything, is that this year you get to spend them with Harry.

You've been dating for two years now, but last Christmas, you spent it with your own family, as did he, because it was a bit too soon in y'all's relationship to make that step. However, this year Harry extended the invitation for you to join them and after talking with your parents (and your brother, albeit he didn't care one bit) you accepted the invite. Of course, not without making sure you wouldn't be imposing at all. And with Harry's reassuring words of, wouldn't have asked if we all didn't want you there, and besides, baby, it wouldn't be Christmas without all my loved ones, would it?, you started packing for London.

Harry shrugs off his coat as you both stand in the foyer and you follow suit as a voice shouts from the kitchen.

"Are they here?" A familiar sister calls out excitedly.

You and Harry enter the kitchen and he's immediately pulling Gemma into a bear hug. You look at the sight and smile fondly, noticing her boyfriend, Michal, behind them, but not before worrying for Gemma's breath support as Harry noticeably squeezes tighter.

They let go of each other and she playfully scowls at him, swatting his arm. To which Harry dramatically holds his arm, draining an, ow, that hurt!, receiving an eye roll from Gemma before Harry moves to greet Michal, and his stepdad, Robin.

"Hi, Y/N! It's so great to see you, feels like it's been ages," She greets you in turn, having enough of Harry's antics already. You return the greeting, along with the one to Michal and Robin, and before you know it, you're all deep into conversation.

Harry takes up spot right on your side like a leech. If you were being honest, it took you awhile to become accustomed and comfortable to how openly affectionate Harry is with you in front of his family and friends. At first, it was just small touches and light squeezes when the two of you would go out with Mitch and Sarah. The actions not bold enough for you to scold him, but just enough to make your cheeks turn pink. Not long after, the touches turned into sweet kisses to your cheek and draping a protective arm around you almost every time y'all went out. Which wasn't a problem until you realized how many stares your friends shot you when you started to get too comfortable in his warm embrace, most of the time opting to daze out in Harry's comfort than pay attention to conversation. So then, when the little affections turned into koala-esque cuddling into your side and planting heart-stopping kisses to your lips in front of Gemma and Anne this past summer, you decided to tell him to reign it back just a tad. It wasn't that you didn't like it! Quite the contrary, the sweet scent of his cologne that would flood your senses as he settled so close to you made your head fuzzy, and the pecks along your neck or on your hands or on your cheeks left you incapable of being present.

Of course, your loving boyfriend pouted a bit at the fact he claims, you don't want my kisses, but quickly got over it when you dropped to your knees before the boy to press kisses somewhere he couldn't complain about.

However, despite all of your protests to PDA, you can't help but relinquish your resolve as you melt into the couch with Harry between your legs, head resting on your tummy. The whole family (which includes you now!) is settled into their comfy spots in Anne's living room as Miracle on 34th Street plays on the TV, everyone having changed into their fuzziest Christmas pajamas. The realization when you saw Harry, Gem, and Anne had matching pajama bottoms made your heart grow tenfold and your eyes glaze over in complete fondness.

The smell of kettle corn popcorn (as Harry made it since he knows it's your favorite) and cinnamon candles fill the room. Anne and Robin are together on the couch perpendicular to yours against the wall opposite of you and Harry as the two of you are laid out taking up the whole space on y'all's blue sofa, while Gemma and Michal have cuddled up on the floor, sharing the big bean bag off to your left since they were the last ones to join the holiday movie marathon.

You love the dynamic of Harry's family. Much different than the chaotic mess of yours, and although you still love your family very much (despite their constant need to be obnoxiously loud for no reason whatsoever, fight over little things, and ignore each other on a daily basis), you admire how calm their presence is. You're family is just so... loud. And that's not necessarily a bad thing! The running joke of your family is that no one in it is capable of whispering...well, except you but you all blame it on the anxiety. But even so, your parents and brother have always argued. Over everything. Very rarely is it about something important, and seldom does it get out of control, but your family's way of showing affection is very...unique? Y'all aren't openly nice and polite all the time. As confusing as it might sound, y'all show your love in bickering. The love is more underlying than it is direct in show.

But that's why you can't get over how quiet this house is right now. Not one fight over someone breathing wrong has broke out and Harry and Gemma actually get along and enjoy each other's company. They're like... friends! The concept is crazy to you and you can't help but get just a tad bummed how your family doesn't just sit around all cuddled up, and how they'll get something for you while their up so you don't have to move from your comfy spot, or how Anne will just hug Harry out of nowhere. But the more you think about it, you realize that it's probably because Harry wasn't around much, always touring and traveling the world. He never got the time to playfully bicker with his family. So, as everyone is quiet in their comfort, you take it all in, happy that you're given the chance to experience their household dynamic.

Your fingers play with Harry's hair, running them through the long brown curls, still as wonderstruck at how soft his hair is as ever. Hearing him softly hum when you gently tug through a thicker curl.

"You're so effortlessly beautiful, ya know that?" You whisper to him, the sound of the movie, thankfully, covering you're affection from everyone else.

You can just spot the smitten little grin that grows on his face, and despite not having the angle to see, you just know his precious dimple is making a showcase right now...and that's enough to put a smile on your own face.

Instead of replying in words, he only turns his head to place a soft, melting kiss upon your thigh. Making heat surge through your entire body, in turn, making your heart warm at his love.

As y'all sit and watch the movie, you start to subconsciously braid your boyfriends hair. Starting by sectioning (albeit, a bit lazily) his hair into two big chunks, then separating three strands from the top of his head, you start braiding the pieces, adding a bit more hair as you go. He eventually caught on to what you were doing and you thought he was going to stop you, truthfully. But to your surprise, he only started rubbing gentle circles into your legs with his hands in a calming manner, causing you to release a content sigh.

When you get to the end, you tie off the finished braid with a hair tie from your wrist before moving to the other side of his sectioned head. It surprised you how long his braids are! They come down about a few inches below his chin, much longer than the only other time you had saw him in braids, which was when Lou did them right before he went on stage to perform. Now, your braiding skills aren't as refined as Lou's are, her skills making yours look rather sad, but you're having a blast doing it and that's all that matters. Not like he's going to go perform after this, right?

After securing the second braid in a hair tie, you lean forward and place a kiss to the top of Harry's head, causing him to tilt his head to look at you with a big smile on his pretty face.

Since you're sat up already and hovering over his face with him still in your lap, you press a quick, searing kiss to his lips, watching them curve into a splitting grin. You smile back at him, just admiring his features.

Despite being able to feel the loving stares from Gemma and Anne in the room, your focus is still on Harry.

“I love you,” He whispers, bringing a hand up to gently stroke your cheek.

“I love you too, bubs.” You return, because you do. You love him so much it hurts sometimes.

Looking at him now, surrounded by his family, you think you have never been so happy in your entire life. You’re so lucky to have him in your life, and you know he knows he’s lucky too.

But most of all, you’re so glad you decided to spend this Christmas with him.

[kinksvt]

behind closed doors (m)

requested

→ pairing: actor!mingyu x actress!reader

♕ summary: you and mingyu have a secret relationship and before he leaves for two weeks, you both decide to tie the knot.

✱ genre: celebrity au

✱ warnings: cursing, humor? (i tried), slow sex, angst at some parts

✱ word count: 5.9k

You knew that being in the movie industry would not be easy. You knew you had to work and sacrifice many things to avoid scandals, drama and rumors. So when you and Mingyu met on a set of a movie that your agent recommended, you had no idea what was to come.

The movie's plot included two characters—you and Mingyu—sent back in time to "save the world." You and Mingyu are friends in the movie but slowly fall for each other during the quest. You both shared a few kisses in some scenes in the movie and that was it. Yeah, maybe the storyline was a bit cliche but, a gig is a gig, you always thought.

Over the course of a few months, outside of your roles, you and Mingyu got close due to rehearsing and making sure it all went as planned. Closer than you would've guessed. You've heard of costars falling for each other during the filming of a movie and end up dating in real life to be admired by everyone? Well, unfortunately, this wasn't the case for you. Your agent, Seungcheol, did not like the idea of you dating in your career. He said that it might distract and hold you back from getting certain roles for future parts. You tried to tell him that it wouldn't change anything but Seungcheol didn't listen. He just waved you off and answered a phone call outside of the room.

And that's how you ended up in the situation now. Since the filming for you and Mingyu's movie ended, you haven't been able to score any parts that involved him as the lead as well. Not even a substitute role either. You enjoyed working with Mingyu, even if you didn't consider it working and more like just having fun with him while in character. He was an amazing actor and he was so passionate as well. You've heard many actors and actresses that's worked with him compliment on how dedicated he is in roles and how serious he takes his career.

Everyone loves Mingyu, he's handsome, funny, sweet, tall and not to mention, well built. Who wouldn't fall for him at his feet? But, what no one knew was that you and Mingyu have been seeing each other on the low. After those months of working with each other, texting and getting to know each other truly, you developed feelings and so did he luckily. He asked you out and, though you wished you could date freely, you two dated in private. It was still something though, even if you couldn't hold his hand out in public or even be seen in public—it was still nice to know that he cared for you and wanted to be with only you.

It had been six and a half months since he asked you out and what a wonderful six and a half months it had been. Six—and a half—months of pure and utter affection and dates at home that involved binge watching movies and shows, ordering out and spending as much time as you both could with your busy schedules. Including tonight.

Tonight was one of the few nights that you and Mingyu were available this month and of course, he called you and asked you to come on over. Both of you were initially cuddling on the couch, watching a random show that you put on when he put his hand on your thigh, accidentally sparking something inside of you that you've been dying to push down since the moment you laid eyes on him.

You guys have kissed, plenty of times and during those times there's been plenty of moments where it escalated to the point of almost having sex. Although neither of you both were virgins, you both were somewhat afraid of "sealing the deal." You knew at least that if you were to have sex with Mingyu, it would be hard to let him go eventually, like you knew you would one day. Mingyu knew if you guys were to have sex, he'd fall harder for you and wouldn't want to leave you. But at this moment, both of you didn't care.

You ended up on Mingyu's lap, the blanket that covered the both of you tossed to the side and the movie long forgotten. Mingyu's hands wandered all over your back, moving down south to grip your ass, making you moan into his mouth. Your hips subconsciously began to grind on him, making him moan into your mouth. The only sounds that were present in the room was the sound of your mixed heavy breathing and the television on low.

"Y/N," Mingyu panted as his cock began to get hard under your movements.

You whined against his lips, feeling yourself get wet at the friction. Mingyu broke the kiss, kissing your neck and nipping only slightly at the skin, knowing that if you suddenly showed up with a hickey, the press would get suspicious. "Mingyu," you spoke softly.

He stopped his movements, "Yeah?" he replied. He was sweaty, his hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks flushed.

You wanted to have sex with him. At this point you didn't care about the consequences or the possible feelings that you might have hurt. You just needed him then and there or else you felt like you'd explode. "I think I'm r-"

Ring ring!

Are you fucking kidding me?

Mingyu groaned as you felt disappointed. You got up off of Mingyu's lap and let him answer his phone which laid face up on the table. "Hello?" He said when he picked up, mouthing an I'm sorry to you. You sat quietly, listening to Mingyu's responses and also straining to listen to who was on the other line. "Oh, hey Jeonghan. What's up?" He spoke nonchalantly as if you two weren't dry fucking on his couch.

Jeonghan was Mingyu's agent who—to put it nicely—wasn't the biggest fan of you. He knew that you two had a thing and when he confronted you about it, he made you stop speaking with him. Of course you didn't listen to him, sticking it to the man. You couldn't help yourself, trying to cut ties with Mingyu for the better of your career. But every time you tried, you imagined his sad little face in your mind and didn't have the heart to really end it.

"Really?" Mingyu got up suddenly, visibly excited. He glanced at you and his face dropped. "Okay. Friday? This Friday? That's too soon." You were on the edge of your seat, curious to know what was happening. "But- Jeonghan- I," Mingyu sighed, "Okay. Alright, thank you. Yes Jeonghan I am thankful. Yeah, I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye." You looked at him, waiting for him to talk to you.

"Jeonghan got me a role."

...

After hearing those words, you felt something in your heart. Mingyu would be gone for, God knows how long and you were—to say the least—devastated. You wouldn't see him, feel him, touch or hear him for whatever many months and it upset you. He would be leaving this Friday, only—technically—two more days. Two days to spend as much time with him as you can. That night you wanted to seal the deal. To hell with your fear of it because in reality, you were already in deep with Mingyu. You cared about him and you knew he cared about you too. But not yet. You wanted it to be meaningful.

You picked the absolute fanciest hotel you could find and were pleasantly pleased to find a private house for you and Mingyu, for two nights. You got there before nightfall, just before 6 o'clock, giving yourself time to set up and build up your confidence. When you entered the house, it was breathtaking. You knew Mingyu was going to love it.

The house was secluded, overlooking the mountains and the Pacific ocean. It was huge, beautiful wooden floors, the most expensive decorations and up to date appliances. Two master bedrooms, both with gorgeous bathrooms that made you wish you could stay in forever.

"It's that nice?" Mingyu's voice echoed throughout the living room as you had him on speaker.

"Yes, it's more than nice, it's amazing. You're seriously gonna freak out when you get here." You smiled at the thought of Mingyu's reaction. You can already see his eyes sparkling with his pearly white canines showing.

"Well, I'm only about an hour-ish away according to my GPS."

"Okay, drive safe for me. Come here in one piece."

"I will, Mom."

You groaned at his words, earning a laugh from him.

...

"Ho-ly shit, Y/N, you were right." Mingyu said right after you had opened the door. The sun set by the time he arrived and it made everything look so much more beautiful. Mingyu looked all around, taking his jacket and shoes off, setting the small bag he packed on the floor.

"I told you," you replied, giggling. You showed him around, every room making his eyes grow wider and wider. After Mingyu came to his senses, the sound of his nose sniffing filled your ears. "Y/N, you didn't." He turned to you, his eyebrows furrowing together while he pouted.

You winced jokingly, "I did."

"You made dinner for me?" Mingyu looked at you, pouting even harder that it made his lower lip ache.

"For us. I just wanted to do something nice for the two of us. You know," you trailed off. "Before you go." You said sadly.

Mingyu cooed and grabbed your hand, pulling you into his arms. "You're such a sweetheart, Y/N."

You sighed in his chest, "Just wanna make our last few moments a little special."

...

After Mingyu arrived, you served him his food and you both sat on the luxurious and quite comfy couch and ate together. You found a show to put on and you two cuddled. You glanced at the microwave that read 9:46. Mingyu had his arms behind his head while you laid on his chest, your left arm wrapped around his torso. Without looking at him, you called out his name. "Mingyu?"

"Yeah baby?" He looked down at you—well, the top of your head actually.

You paused for a second, thinking over what you wanted to say. "You remember what happened yesterday?"

At this moment, you sat up to look at Mingyu in the eyes. "Which part exactly?"

"When we were making out, I was gonna tell you something." You played with your fingers, nervous that you were ready but Mingyu wouldn't be. You didn't want Mingyu to feel pressured to have sex with you. He nodded his head slowly, waiting for you to continue. "I was going to tell you, that," you took a deep breath, "I'm ready."

Mingyu tilted his head a bit, "Ready for?"

"Sex. I, uh, I want to have sex with you. B-But if you don't want to that's fine! I don't want to if you don't want to."

He scoffed and sat up to grab your hands. "I thought you'd never be ready." You furrowed your eyebrows. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I meant," You stared at him, allowing him to dig his little hole. "Like, I meant- I thought that I was the only one ready and I was like, just, waiting.. for you."

You stayed quiet, internally giggling at his nervous state. "I know what you meant, goof." You leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. Standing up, you held out your hand for him to grab. He looked at you curiously but took your hand anyway. You led him through the house, into the main bedroom.

The room was filled with soft lighting—thanks to the candles that you lit beforehand and you bought a few rose petals to scatter on the floor around the bed, just to make it a little more cheesy. "Oooh," Mingyu said as you two walked entered and he admired your handiwork.

You laughed and turned back around to face Mingyu. He pulled you closer to him, connecting his lips to yours. Your face began to heat up, flustered at the situation. His tongue glided over yours as his hands rested on your waist. Your hand gripped the back of his neck while you stood on your tippy toes.

The kiss got hot quickly and you weren't sure if it was because you two were finally going to have sex, or if it was the romantic scenery that made you want to dive right in.

Mingyu began walking you backwards toward the foot of the bed. Your legs hit the edge and you pulled away from Mingyu, noting how cute he looked while his face was flushed. You smiled shyly at him as you hesitantly hooked your fingers under your shirt, pulling it over your head. Mingyu's face seemed to grow more pink, as he carefully watched your every move. He was trapped in a trance as more and more of your skin was exposed to his fortunate eyes. He always thought you were perfect but he didn't think you were this perfect. His eyes raked over every curve, dip and wonder of your now bra-clad torso. "You're so beautiful Y/N." Mingyu said quietly, a smile forming on his face.

You avoided his eyes, looking at the ground in shyness. "Oh stop," you replied jokingly.

Mingyu followed your actions and took his own shirt off. You knew Mingyu was built and despite seeing him shirtless plenty of times during a few of his previous movies, it felt more personal. Sure, he's shown his body on screen but seeing it in front of you, in a way that only he wanted to show you made you feel special. You were also in a daze as your eyes traveled over his defined abs and bicep muscles. "You're beautiful too," you said mindlessly.

He laughed at how adorable you were. Mingyu walked closer to you, grabbing your hand and sitting on the bed while you stood standing. He pulled you down gently, reconnecting your lips. He backed up on the bed to rest against the pillows and you ended up sitting on his lap, running your fingers through his hair, lightly tugging when you felt that addictive feeling down south.

Mingyu's tongue ran over yours, making sure no inch of your mouth went untouched. Both of your moans merged together, the air in the room slowly becoming hot. Your hips instinctively began shifting underneath Mingyu's, receiving a whine from him. He moaned, "Fuck, keep doing that, baby." Your clit pulsated at Mingyu's voice—he sounded so hot yet so cute at the same time. Mingyu's hair began to stick to his forehead, sweat quickly building up on the both of you. You halted your movements to unbutton the pants Mingyu wore, following your own afterwards.

Mingyu's cock strained against his underwear, giving you a clear outline of what you've been only dreaming about seeing since you two started dating. You definitely underestimated him though. Lost in your thoughts, Mingyu noticed you spaced out, basically drooling over his crotch. "Are you enjoying yourself, Y/N?"

You snapped out of it, your cheeks heating up from embarrassment. "Sorry.." you whispered.

"Your underwear is cute." He pointed. Your underwear were red with a black bow at the top. He messed with the bow You rolled your eyes playfully, ignoring him. Mingyu leaned up and pulled you down with him, kissing you once again. Your heat came in contact with his cock, making the both of you moan. Mingyu's hips instinctively bucked up, rubbing against you in a way that had your clit beating harshly and arousal building.

The kiss was sensual and soft, yet also rough at the same time, due to the both of you waiting for this moment for as long as you both could remember. In the past, you and Mingyu shared some heated experiences with one another before, but nothing at all like this before. The getaway, the room, the warm lighting that shined against both of your faces made the two of you stop and smile.

"I know this might not be a good time- you know, since you're leaving but, I'm really glad that you asked me out." You confessed to Mingyu.

Mingyu awed at your words, giving you a slight pout. "Well, I'm really glad that you didn't reject me."

You laughed, looking down and back up at him. "How could I ever even think of rejecting you?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, maybe you thought I was ugly."

Scoffing, you gave him a bewildered look. "Ugly?" You said, a bit too loud for your own liking. "Who could possibly think you're ugly?"

Mingyu winced. "I know a few haters that could tell you otherwise."

You rolled your eyes and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You're perfect to me, Mingyu." He smiled shyly up at you, avoiding your eyes. "Whaat? It's true, baby. You are perfect."

He shook his head, disagreeing with you. "There's so many other guys out there that could treat you so much better than me. I'm going to leave you for weeks, maybe even months in just a few days." He said in a sad voice.

Leaning down, you gave Mingyu another kiss on the cheek, rubbing your thumb on his cheekbone softly. "Mingyu, I don't care if you leave me for a year. I'm always going to have the same feelings for you."

Mingyu's eyes began to water, guilt settling in the entirety of his heart. Mingyu thinks that he might love you, but he's afraid if he says it out loud, it'll ruin everything. He knows his feelings for you are strong but he didn't know that they were strong enough to make him consider turning down the role Jeonghan got for him in order to stay close to you. It scared him.

"We can do long distance. We can Facetime whenever you have the chance or call or text. Whatever it takes. I just know that I can wait for you." Your own eyes began to tear up, your heart aching at the sight of Mingyu beginning to cry.

"I just-" he paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling as a tear slips down his cheek. You wiped to off, waiting for him to finish. "I don't know, I don't want you to wait all this time for me and give you false hope that the production time won't extend or whatever. I don't know, Y/N. I don't want to hurt you accidentally or whatever because I love you and I want you to be happy and-"

"Wait, wait. What?" Your thumb stopped caressing his cheek, and you sat up straight. "You what?" Your heart felt like it stopped, or maybe that's the loud thumping you hear in your ears.

Mingyu looked puzzled, "I want you to be happy?"

Your heart began beating faster. "Y-You-you love me?"

"Oh fuck." Mingyu mumbled, covering his mouth with one of his hands. He wanted to slap himself. He just said that he didn't want to say he loved you because it would ruin everything and now he did and you're probably freaked out and a million thoughts began racing in Mingyu's mind. He wanted to literally slap himself so hard right then and there.

"Mingyu-"

"Don't say it. I know that you don't feel the same way. I'm sorry, I didn't even mean to say it. I don't know why that came ou-"

You shut him up with a kiss, a deep, soft kiss that took his breath away. Which was what you were going for. After breaking the kiss, you paused for a second. "If it came out that easily, then that must mean that it has to be true."

"Y/N, I'm really sorry. I didn't want to say this then leave for who knows how long."

You shook your head, letting the fact that Mingyu actually loves you settle in. "I think I feel the same way."

"You know you don't have to say that if it isn't true. I didn't say it for you to say it back." Mingyu looked really sad and you knew that what he said wasn't how you really felt.

"I do though. I don't know for certain but I do believe that the love for you is there, Mingyu. Trust me, okay?" You gave him a small smile, making him smile back.

Mingyu nodded his head and rubbed your arm softly. "Okay. Do you still want to do this, baby?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

He sniffled, wiping his eyes. "Well, I kinda just cried and shit so I wasn't sure if that turned you off or anything."

You laughed as you caressed his cheek lovingly. "You didn't. I'm glad we had that moment." Sighing, you reached behind your back, unhooking your bra. "Now, can we continue?"

Mingyu's eyes dropped to your chest, "Yes ma'am." He grabbed you and pushed you backwards, attacking your neck.

You moaned as he licked your neck, dragging his teeth against it since he couldn't mark you officially. He kissed from one side to the next and moved down to your collarbones.

Mingyu kissed and licked his way to the valley between your breasts, sucking a small hickey right beside your nipple. "I hope you don't have any roles that involve you being braless anytime soon." He said, making you laugh. Mingyu's lips were soft against your skin, giving you goosebumps as he reached your stomach, going down further and further before stopping above your underwear. Glancing up at you, he looked at you curiously.

"Please," you whined.

Mingyu smirked as his fingers slipped under the band of your underwear. Before pulling them down, he kissed your clothed clit and dragged them down your legs. You shyed away from him, hiding yourself. Mingyu moved his hands onto your knees, "You're beautiful, Y/N."

You pouted, his slightly cold hands making you shiver lightly. Mingyu placed his hands on your thighs, spreading you open slowly. Your breathing got deeper, the knowledge of how much you're exposed to him making you throb. Mingyu took note of the way your wetness shined from the candlelight, edging him to finally taste you.

His tongue flattened against your pussy, making sure he got every drop of your arousal. You let out a whine, as his tongue flicked your clit. "Fuck, you taste so good baby." Mingyu's lips latched onto your clit, sucking gently while swirling his tongue around it.

Your back arched off the bed while your hands tangled in his hair, pushing his face closer to your pussy. He took his right hand and used one of his fingers to slowly push inside you. You bit your lip as your walls clenched around his finger. "So warm too." Quickly taking his finger out, he scooted up close to your face, "Say 'ah,'" he said, opening up his own mouth for you to mimic.

Obeying his order, your mouth dropped open and you stuck your tongue out a bit. Mingyu pressed two of his fingers on your tongue. You closed your mouth around them, sucking on them and looking into Mingyu's mouth. "If you don't stop that I'm gonna have to put my dick in you right now."

"Do it then." You challenged as he pulled his fingers out of your mouth. Honestly, you wanted this to move along already. You were aching to have Mingyu inside of you, on the edge of begging for it.

"Really? You want to?" His eyebrows raised up as he held up his saliva covered fingers.

Giggling, you nodded your head. Mingyu laughed nervously, "W-Well okay then." His back smacked onto the bed, lifting his hips up to take off his underwear a little too eagerly. You started laughing as he struggled slightly. While he did, you stretched over to the nightstand on the side of the bed, grabbing a pack of condoms you placed there before his arrival.

Opening the pack, you noticed Mingyu's underwear were off and you stared for a moment. A breathy "wow" left your lips before you realized. His confidence peaked a little bit but didn't let it show. "Thank you," he smiled and grabbed the condom from your fingers. He opened the condom, pinching the top and rolling it down his length. You watched his movements carefully, admiring him in all his glory. Your eyes traveled up to his eyes, seeing his concentration and you felt your heart beat at the sight.

You laid down on the bed, in front of Mingyu who began positioning himself. He took a deep breath, "Ready?" You nodded your head and closed your eyes. He held his cock in his hand and slowly pushed into you. You winced and Mingyu groaned, both of you not used to this feeling. Mingyu was a bit thicker and you felt yourself stretch to his girth. Your walls clung onto Mingyu, making him feel like he was in heaven. "Tell me when," he grunted. You took in the sight of him inbetween your legs, his hair sticking to his forehead slightly and cheeks a light pink hue. Mingyu looked at you suddenly, "What did you just do?"

You looked at him, clueless as to what he was talking about. "Huh?"

Mingyu chuckled, licking his lips. "Your, uh," he scratched his head. "You kinda clenched around me."

Your eyes widened a bit, not even knowing you did so. "Oh," you said quietly.

"I'm not complaining though! I-It felt good actually," Mingyu admitted.

When you knew you were ready you told him and closed your eyes. Mingyu mouthed an okay, moving his length almost all the way out of you before pushing back in. You gasped, eyes popping back open as you seen his mouth drop open and a quiet moan leaving his pink lips. Grabbing the back of Mingyu's neck, you pulled him closer to kiss him. Mingyu developed a steady pace—slow yet forceful at the same time.

"Mingyu," you purred in his mouth. His cock hit the sweetest spots of you when he pushed himself the furthest he could go.

His tongue swirled around yours, caressing it lovingly and making your insides fill with butterflies. "Y/N," he breathed sensually.

The kiss broke, but Mingyu kept himself close to you. His forehead touched yours, resting it gently on you as his hips kept the pace. Mingyu's hips ground into yours tenderly, making you see stars. You looked into Mingyu's eyes, "I love you."

Mingyu smiled, brushing a piece of hair out of your face and holding your cheek. "I love you too, Y/N."

After saying that, Mingyu picked up his speed. Both of you moaned, drunk off the way the two of you made each other feel. Mingyu's cock felt warm in you and your walls hugged him in a way that you knew you'd miss when he left. At the thought, you wrapped your legs around Mingyu's lower half, wanting him to be as close to you as possible before he would be gone.

Mingyu laid on his forearms that were right next to the sides of your head. His breath mingled with yours, making your head spin slightly as his lips brushed your own. Your hand rested on his jaw, admiring his facial expressions. He moaned, feeling your pussy pulse around his cock. "You must really be whipped for me because every time you look at me, your downtown gets affected in a way."

You smacked his face gently, "Shut up, dork."

"No you." He said desperately, his hips going faster and faster. You whined while Mingyu placed his head in the crook of your neck. His breath tickling your collarbones as he moaned into your skin. "Fuck, Y/N," he rasped.

Your arms hugged his shoulders, fingers tangling in his hair as you felt your orgasm building. "O-Oh my god, f-fuck," you stuttered. You swallowed harshly, broken moans slipping past your lips.

Mingyu grunted, his own orgasm building quickly alongside yours. "God, you feel so, so good, Y/N fuck." He moved away from your neck to kiss you again. His teeth caught your bottom lip, making you giggle.

Mingyu swallowed your high pitched moans, as you felt yourself get closer and closer to the edge. Your fingernails raked down his back, making him growl in your mouth. "Do that again," he mumbled against your lips.

You repeated your actions, your fingernails scratching red marks down his shoulder blades. "Shit, I'm close. Mingyu," you pleaded.

"M-Me too," he whimpered.

You slipped your hand between the two of you, rubbing your clit messily to edge yourself closer.

"That's hot," Mingyu chuckled as you rolled your eyes at him.

"I'm almost there," your walls began pulsing around Mingyu quickly.

Both of your moans got higher and higher until waves of pleasure washed over you two. Mingyu's hips halted as he came into the condom while he grunted softly. Your walls clenched around his length as your back arched off the bed. You collapsed back on the bed, your clit beating in a rhythm that you felt in your toes.

Mingyu sighed, pulling out of you gently as you mewled. He took the condom off of himself, careful to make sure nothing spilled out. Mingyu searched for the trashcan before looking back at you. You laughed, checking out his butt before pointing to the bathroom. He waddled his way into the room, flipping the switch on and tossing the contraceptive in the bin. Mingyu walked back in the bedroom, running his fingers through his damp hair.

You smirked, looking him up and down. "You know, you're really sexy, Gyu."

He waved you off, bending over to grab his and yours underwear. You gave him a wolf whistle and he covered his butt with his boxers before throwing your panties in your face and tossing your bra at you as well. Both of you laughed as you slipped your undergarments on and you put your bra on. Mingyu plopped back on the bed next to your right side. You and Mingyu stared at the ceiling, knowing that his indefinite leave will be even harder now.

After a long moment of silent staring, you spoke up. "If you find someone else, I don't want you to hold back."

Mingyu shifted his head to look at you. "What?"

A tear slipped past your eye. You turned your head to look at Mingyu as well. "I don't want to hold you back, Mingyu."

"But Y/N-" "No," you interrupted him. "You're an amazing guy, Mingyu. And I know that I'm not going to forget us or this night or any other nights we spent together. But Jeonghan doesn't approve of us. What if he wants you to be with someone else?"

Mingyu then turned his whole body towards you, laying his head on his hands. "I don't care what he wants. If it comes down to it, I'll tell him about us. I love you, Y/N. I want you and only you."

More tears began to fall, slipping out of the corner of your eyes. "I can't affect any of your decisions when it comes to your career though, Mingyu."

"Y/N, please. I can't lose you. Please just, let's give this a try? Please, just don't give up yet. I know we can do this." He cradled your cheek, wiping your tears away with his thumb. "Please," he begged.

You saw his eyes water, a tear forming before it slipped down the bridge of his nose and landing on the pillow. Taking a moment, you thought about what he asked. Could you really make this work? Will this make Mingyu deny roles that will keep him away from you longer? Was it selfish to want to make it work? Was it selfish that you wanted him to stay? Yes, but you knew you couldn't do that. "Okay," you whispered.

...

The next morning, you and Mingyu woke up in each other's arms. The two of you got up from bed, yawning and walking to the main room. You made breakfast while Mingyu helped in any way he could. He stopped you midway to finish and served you before himself. The day consisted of lounging around, watching tv, napping and making small meals whenever either of you got hungry.

The day after, you packed your things while Mingyu cleaned up and made sure everything looked the way it did when you got there. After you and Mingyu finished, you both stood in front of the doorway, taking in the last moments you'd be able to spend next to each other. You faced him. "I'm going to miss you so much."

He nodded his head, facing you as well. "Me too."

Both of you started tearing up before he pulled you in for a hug. His arms held your head, hugging you in a way you'll desperately miss when you wish he was there while he's away. You sobbed in his arms, muffling most of the noise in his shirt. Mingyu's tears fell in your hair—which he tried brushing off sneakily but failing. You laughed, pulling away and shaking your hair.

It was time.

You stood and looked at him one last time. You couldn't even go to the airport to say goodbye. Not only because of Jeonghan but because of paparazzi and fansites. "I love you, Gyu."

Mingyu pressed his lips together, his eyes glossed over from his tears as more shed down his cheeks. "I love you too, Y/N."

"Call me when you land?" You grabbed his hand and held it for a bit.

He nodded, picking up his bag with his unoccupied hand. He opened the door, and looked back at you. His hand slowly pulled from yours, a pout forming on his face. Mingyu's warmth left your palm as he looked away from you and began leaving the rental.

...

The whole ride back home, you cried your eyes out. Before getting back, you put on some black sunglasses, hopefully hiding your puffy eyes. You entered your house, already missing Mingyu's presence.

The rest of your day, you spent watching tv alone. At night, you got on your laptop, checking Twitter and seeing Mingyu's name trending.

Actor Kim Mingyu seen boarding plane with tear-filled eyes. What could possibly be breaking the 23 year old's poor heart?

You scrolled down the tag, seeing fansite photos and seeing how sad he looked. You got your phone out, sending him a message.

[11:19 pm] You: Hey babe. I seen the airport photos, I miss you and I love you. I hope you landed safe <3

You clicked your phone off and scrolled through a few more photos before heading to bed. He must've been too busy to call you.

...

Ring ring!

A phone call woke you up at the crack of dawn. You answered as fast as you could. "Hello?" You croaked, your morning voice definitely worse from all the bawling yesterday.

"Hey baby, I'm so sorry I didn't call yesterday."

You smiled at Mingyu's voice. "Hey, it's okay."

-

a/n: yerrr finally posted after ten years, hope u all enjoyed! <3 i feel like this wasn’t super interesting at all so feedback would be appreciated :(

[jewish-space-laser]

Miles & Black Coffee - Part One

“When you’re on a golden sea, You don’t need no memory, Just a place to call your own, As we drift into the zone...” 

-Island in the Sun by Weezer

Hello, and welcome to part one of M&BC! She’s split up into parts, a day late, and a bit rusty... but she’s here! It’ll be my first new piece of writing since I rejoined tumblr, so it’s a bit nerve-wracking. Thank you to Kate @andwhenshesays, Anne @oh-honey-styles, and Anna @for-fucks-sake-h for organizing this entire challenge, you’ve brought so much joy to our little tumblr community. We love you all dearly ♥️ (4.5k words)

xoxoxox Tile

Warnings: mild drinking, mild drug use (just weed)

You and Harry would never be friends. You were up and down, night and day, oil and water. You just didn’t mesh. He was your roommate’s insufferable older brother, and that is all he would ever be. Well, at least that’s what you thought before….

or

the one with campfire conversations, cabin getaways, and enemies that were never really enemies after all.

MONDAY

Pine trees and cornfields flew by in a blur as you stared out the window of your roommate’s minivan. Every once in a while, there’d be a pasture of cows or a horse ranch. It had been exciting at first, but now you were just bored. 

“How much longer?” You called over the music, trying to keep the whine from your voice. It had been hours since you left your apartment this morning, and you’d only stopped once to stretch your legs and take a bathroom break. 

“The GPS says we still have an hour and a half to go,” Callie groaned, stepping a bit harder on the gas pedal.

Normally, you loved road trips, but this particular drive was more cramped than you’d bargained for. There were seven girls packed into the van, and you’d been unfortunate enough to get squished into the backseat with your twin sister and her girlfriend, who hadn’t stopped with the obnoxious PDA since the car got on the freeway. 

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, trying to will away your nauseating carsickness. This week had been marked into your calendar for months, and you’d be damned if you let this god-awful car ride ruin it for you. 

Callie, your college roommate, had a cabin in northern Wisconsin that she’d been raving about for years. She’d been going there with her family for decades, every summer since pre-school, she’d said. According to her, it was a beautiful property, equipped with a private lakeside beach, fire pit, and a full bar. 

It was going to be the perfect getaway. You and Callie had rounded up all of your girlfriends, packed all of the essentials for a spa night, junk food, board games, movies. You’d packed four swimsuits just in case; the weather forecast looked fantastic, high seventies and low eighties all week long. 

It was going to be the perfect vacation. Well, almost perfect. 

Harry was going to be there.

Harry, the constant thorn in your side. Harry, Callie’s older brother. Harry, the one who eats all of your food whenever he visits. Harry, the one who constantly picked fights with you. You and him had never gotten along, not even for a second. 

There wasn’t a single person alive who got on your nerves more than he did. Generally, you got along with most people, but Harry was the exception to the rule. You couldn’t seem to shake him off. 

You weren’t about to let him ruin this trip, though. There were going to be fourteen people staying at the cabin, so it should be a piece of cake to avoid him for a week; there were plenty of other people to interact with. And even if you couldn’t avoid him, you were going to let his inevitable snarky comments roll off of your back. Well, you’d try to, at least.

Perhaps that’s what annoyed you most about him, the reaction you’d have from the smallest fight. With anyone else, it was water under the bridge… with Harry, you thought about it for days afterwards, thinking of better comebacks you should’ve said or ways you could have changed your schedule to steer clear of him altogether. He made your skin prickle with irritation, and turned you into somebody you didn’t like very much. 

It had been months since you’d seen him, not that you’d been keeping track. He typically visits Callie a few times a semester, but his senior year was more intense than he had anticipated, according to his sister. He just couldn’t spare the two hour drive from his university to yours.

But now it was summertime. Gone were the papers, projects, and responsibilities… it was finally time to relax and have fun. You only had one year of college left before graduation, so you and your friends wanted to make the most of it. Harry and his friends had just graduated, so they were at the cabin for their last hurrah before real life kicked in. 

If you were being honest with yourself, you were excited that Harry was bringing some of his frat brothers along. You and your ex had just ended things recently, and you were finally feeling ready to get back into the dating game. Being trapped in a cabin with a handful of cute guys felt like a dream. 

Finally, after what felt like centuries, Callie slowed the car down and turned onto a dirt road. The other girls in the car started desperately peering out the window to get a glimpse of the lake and surrounding forest. 

The moment the cabin came into view, your jaw dropped. You knew Callie’s parents were loaded, but this hardly looked like the rustic getaway you were expecting. There were three buildings, each labelled with a birch bark sign. Two speedboats and a pontoon were docked at the beach, inflatable tubes and paddleboards littered around the sand nearby. 

It wasn’t until Callie parked and shut off the engine that you heard a heavy bass thrum coming from the building marked MAIN CABIN. The other two buildings were labelled GUEST CABIN and SHOWER HOUSE. You were snapped out of it when Olivia and Jane, who had been sitting in the middle bucket seats, swung their sliding doors open and practically fell onto the ground. 

“I don’t think I remember how to walk normally,” Charlie, a girl from your art history class, groaned, “like, we were sitting in that car for so long….”

“Oh, shush,” your sister, Morgan, scoffed, “at least you got to sit up front. I was crammed into the back between these two.”

Both you and her girlfriend, Isobel, huffed in protest, but it wasn’t worth picking a fight over. You’d have plenty of time to bicker later. For now, the fresh air and cool breeze were like heaven after a long road trip.

“The boys beat us here,” Callie remarked.

Sure enough, there were two other cars already parked in the driveway. Back behind the main cabin, a plume of smoke rose into the air. You could hear loud laughter, loud enough to drown out the trap music they had playing. 

“They’ve started a bonfire!” Olivia squealed, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “I’m ready to get partying… it’s four in the afternoon and I’ve spent all day in a car. I need a drink.”

A few others were laughing and nodding in agreement, already making their way towards the boys, but you hung back. You’d party later, but after spending an entire day stuck with six other people, you just wanted to be alone. Plus, you wanted to drink tonight, and you’d never get around to unpacking your bag if you were wasted. 

You managed to dig your duffel bag out from the pile of luggage in the trunk, letting it fall to the ground with a thump. Callie had just been finishing up with a phone call when you looked up. 

“Hey, you’re not joining the others?” She asked. “I was about to head over, they’ve got a fire going. Just had to call my mum to let her know we made it.”

“I’ll join in a bit,” you promised “but I want to unpack my things first… where are we all staying?”

“You’re in the main cabin, I have you sharing a room with Charlie, is that okay?” She questioned. You nodded quickly, relief flooding over you. You liked all of the girls who came on the trip, but Charlie was by far the easiest to get along with. “Harry and I each have our own room in the main cabin, too, so you won’t be alone. Everyone else is in the guest cabin, though.”

“The guest cabin,” you giggled, slinging your bag over your shoulder as Callie lead you into the main building, “this place is swanky, Cal.”

“We host all of our family reunions here,” she shrugged, “we need lots of space. Plus it’s fun for occasions like this… we’re just lucky my dad is letting us use the boats. He treats those things like they’re his own children, only Harry is allowed to drive them this week.”

You made a face at the mention of her brother. “I’ll be staying far away from the boats, then.”

“Oh god,” Callie groaned, “I know you two don’t get along very well, but please try to be civil… we’re here for a whole week, after all.”

“I’m always civil,” you protested innocently, “it’s him you need to worry about.”

“Always civil,” she scoffed, “we both know that’s not true, but I’ll let it slide.”

Okay, so maybe you had a slight temper when it came to Harry, but nine times out of ten, he was the one who started the argument. You were never the type to actively seek out conflict, but Harry seemed to thrive off of it. Whether it was eating all the food from your half of the fridge, throwing his dark blue t-shirt in with your load of whites, or playing his guitar in your living room until three in the morning when you had a test the next day… it felt like he was out to get you. 

And he was never apologetic. Of course not. He probably got off on watching steam blow from your ears. 

You took a deep breath as Callie led you up a wooden staircase, trying not to let yourself get worked up. The cabin was gorgeous from what you’d seen on the main floor. Though you hadn’t lingered, you’d noticed that there was a bookshelf that took up an entire wall, packed to the brim with books with faded spines, vinyl records with worn edges, and an assortment of candles and bookends sprinkled throughout randomly. You couldn’t wait to explore the entire property. 

Photographs lined the walls of every hallway, snapshots of Harry and Callie running around as kids. There was a hilarious picture of a young Harry crying as he held a fishing pole, a bare hook dangling from the line. The Styles family clearly had a great sense of humor. You made a mental note to take a photo of it on your phone later; it would be perfect ammo for the next fight that Harry would inevitably start. 

“This is the bathroom…” she drawled, “no shower though. We all just use the shower house, which isn’t really as bad as it sounds. Just make sure you bring clothes with you, otherwise you’ll have to walk across the lawn in just your towel.”

You grimaced at the thought. As she continued to lead you down the hall, you saw two doors, one with CALLIE’S ROOM written in bright pink bubble letters, and the second with a wooden plaque, the word HARRY written in what was clearly a child’s handwriting. 

“This is technically my parents’ room, but we use it as a guest room if it’s just us kids,” Callie explained, stopping at the last door in the hallway, “they have a king bed, so I figured you and Charlie could just share.”

“That’s fine,” you assured her, not hesitating to drop your heavy duffel onto the side of the bed closest to the window, “this place is awesome, Callie.”

“Right?” She grinned. “I’m stoked for the week, it’s gonna be so fun.”

“You should go down to the bonfire,” you told her, placing a hand on your bag, “I’ll come join as soon as I’m done.”

Luckily, your roommate of two years understood that you needed alone time sometimes, so she left you without protest. 

This was exactly the recharge time that you needed. You were the kind of person who loved being around friends, but there was only so much socializing you could handle before you needed a break to be on your own. Even though you hadn’t spoken much on the ride to the cabin, being squished into a mini-van with six other girls drained your social battery. Giving yourself a moment to breathe and relax was necessary if you were going to rejoin the group.

Pressing the shuffle play button on your spotify, you smiled when the soft melody of your favorite folk song thrummed through your headphones. You swayed from side-to-side as you unzipped your bag, which had been packed to perfection. 

Four swimsuits, a different outfit for each day (plus a few extra items… overpacking is better than underpacking), sunscreen, bug spray, all of your toiletries. It was fun to organize everything into the empty wardrobe by the window; looking at all of your stuff just made you more excited to be here.

Time flew by as you danced around the room. Most of your things were put away, and you’d stashed your empty bag under the bed. The one thing you hadn’t put away yet was your assortment of swimsuits. It had been difficult picking out which ones you wanted to bring, but you’d settled on three bikinis and a one-piece with the sides cut out. You were itching to change out of your leggings and t-shirt; they felt gross against your skin after sitting in the van all day. 

Just as you went to pick up your navy blue sequined bikini top, a hand abruptly clamped down on your shoulder. 

“Holy shit!” You spun around on your heels, hand flying to cover your beating heart. You were less than pleased to find Harry standing there, wide-eyed and trying to mask his amusement by biting down on his lip. 

“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” he chuckled, “forgot how jumpy you are.”

“I’m not jumpy,” you frowned, pulling your headphones out of your ears and crossing your arms over your stomach, “what are you doing in here?”

“Nice to see you too,” he scoffed, dimple indenting into his cheek, “I was just using the loo, then I was gonna go back to the party, where we’re having fun. Foreign concept to you, I’m sure.”

You rolled your eyes, turning around so he couldn’t see how hard you were scowling. He always knew just what to say to get your blood boiling.

“Are you implying that I don’t know how to have fun, Harry?” You asked sarcastically. 

“Ah, I knew you were smarter than you looked,” he grinned. “Cute swim top.”

It was only then that you noticed his attire. Well, lack of attire. He was wearing the smallest swimming shorts you’d ever seen, his chest tanned from the sun and completely bare apart from a single cross necklace that hung over his sternum. His hair had grown out since the last time you saw him, and it looked a bit ridiculous with his sunglasses on top of his head. 

He looked good, not that you’d ever admit it. Luckily, you were fantastic at masking your wandering eyes; he had a tendency of walking around your apartment in his boxers during visits, so you’d had plenty of practice.

“Shut up,” you groaned, throwing the bikini top back onto the bed. You’d been planning on wearing that one, but Harry ruined it with his gross comment, just like he ruins most things for you. 

“I’m quite incapable of shutting up,” he mused, throwing himself down onto your side of the bed, “you should know this by now.”

“Trust me,” you were completely unamused, still standing with your arms crossed over your stomach, “I’m well aware.”

“You should come join the party,” he continued speaking as if you hadn’t said anything, seemingly unfazed by how visibly irritated you were, “it’s the first day and you’re already being a buzzkill. Maybe you should try like… try stepping out of your comfort zone, just for the week.”

“Thank you so much for that lovely unsolicited advice,” you said sarcastically, “now if we’re talking about comfort zones, you laying on my bed is definitely out of mine.”

“Please, you love me on your bed,” he smirked, closing his eyes, “this is a dream come true for you.”

“Are you delusional?” You were running out of patience. “Did you hit your head?”

“Why?” He said innocently. “Are you thinking about playing nurse? Because I hate to break your heart, but I’m not into wet blankets. Maybe if you loosened up a bit.”

If he wasn’t gone in thirty seconds, you were going to scream. He seemed to be enjoying himself, arms crossed behind his head with a twinkle in his eye as you stared daggers at him. 

“Are you quite done?” You spit. “I can feel my IQ dropping every time you speak. Plus, I need to change before I come down.”

“Ooh, can I watch?” He waggled his eyebrows. 

That was it. “Harry, get out, okay?”

“Jeez, okay, fine,” he grumbled, rolling clumsily off of the bed, “so bossy, you are.”

You pointed a finger towards the door, leveling him with the steeliest glare you could muster. “Out,” you repeated.

“You should come down sooner rather than later,” he said, completely unbothered, “I’m sure you’ll be much nicer once you’ve had a drink or two.”

He was gone before you could think of a response. The annoyance bubbling inside you was so intense, you felt like you wanted to break something. Instead, you punched your pillow a few times to release some tension, taking a deep breath to compose yourself after.

You wrinkled your nose at the blue bikini top, choosing to wear an orange floral patterned one instead. You’d never give Harry the satisfaction.

~~~

The fire was absolutely roaring. 

It was perfect. The fire pit was lined with wooden logs, the tops shaved off to make benches. There was hardly enough space for all fourteen of you, but you managed to squeeze in as you all roasted corn and hot dogs over the fire. It wasn’t too windy, so you didn’t have to worry about smoke blowing into your eyes, but the bugs were relentless. 

The air around you smelled of smoke, bug spray, and good food. There were a few different conversations happening, and every once in a while, a few people would break out into loud, contagious laughter. 

Harry had tried to talk to you when you came down, but you’d avoided him like the plague. You had absolutely nothing nice to say to him after his snarky comments in your room, and any further interaction with him at this point would just end in disaster. Thankfully, he was quickly distracted by some of his frat brothers, and he hadn’t tried to approach you again all night. 

Now, you were chatting with Olivia and one of the boys, Luke. By the time you’d gone down to the bonfire, everyone was several drinks in. You’d been forced to play catch-up by way of tequila shots, so you had a pleasant buzz running through your veins.

“This is a perfect summer night,” you sighed happily, pulling your skewer from the flames to keep your corn from burning. 

“Almost perfect,” a boy named Archie corrected, “we haven’t been out on the lake yet.”

Harry and three of the other boys had arrived a night early to get the boats ready, and now that Archie mentioned it, the pontoon was looking mighty tempting. The sun hadn’t fully set, but dusk was beginning to settle in, blanketing the forest with pink and orange hues, a gorgeous reflection of the sunset above you. It was the perfect time to go out on the water.

“How do we feel about the pontoon?” You wondered out loud. There was no way you’d all fit, but you could go in groups. 

“It’s too buggy to be on the water,” Callie wrinkled her nose, “I’m getting eaten alive as it is.”

“I’m down, as long as I can smoke a spliff while we’re out there,” James, one of the other boys, shrugged, “obviously I’ll share, I brought tons.”

A few others around the circle chimed in with their interest, and before you knew it, people were standing up to make their way over to the docks. You weren’t the best with names, but much to your relief, you’d introduced yourself to everyone going on the boat. Obviously, you already knew Morgan and Isobel, and were somewhat friendly with Jane, Archie, and James. 

“I’ll come along, too,” a voice behind you yawned. When you turned around, you immediately felt yourself melt. Ryan, a boy you’d had a single class with freshman year, was stretching his arms out as he stood up, and he was looking directly at you with a flirtatious smile. 

You’d had a major crush on him for the entirety of your class together, but you’d been too shy to say anything to him. He was a whole year older, after all, and that had been intimidating when you were eighteen. 

You returned his smile, biting down on your bottom lip shyly. 

“I guess I’m going too, then,” Harry sighed, shoving the last of his hot dog into his mouth before dusting his hands off. 

Immediately, your face dropped. Harry snorted when he saw your expression, digging around the pocket in his swimsuit to retrieve a key. 

“I’m the only one allowed to drive the boats, remember? Dad made me promise.” 

Your shoulders slumped. You’d completely forgotten that Callie had mentioned it to you earlier. You weren’t about to turn down a sunset boat ride though, especially now that Ryan was coming along as well. 

Everyone scarfed down the rest of their food in a rush as Harry went over to untie the boat and make sure it was good to go. You watched as he leaned far over the edge of the dock, so far that nearly fell face-first into the water before righting himself and trying again.. 

“Hey,” Ryan had walked next to you, following your line of sight, “he’s gonna fall in, isn’t he?”

“I hope so,” you giggled.

“You were in my History 204 class, weren’t you? Sophomore year?” He asked.

Your entire body flushed. You didn’t think he’d noticed you at all, let alone enough to remember you years later. Having Ryan up at the cabin, talking to you, felt like a dream come true.

“I was a freshman, but yeah, I think so,” you nodded nonchalantly, “I hated that professor.”

“Oh god, same!” He laughed, shaking his head, “such a drag, just constant pop quizzes!”

“Ugh, yes!” You turned your body towards him fully. “And that midterm assignment….”

“Don’t even get me started,” Ryan pretended to shiver in fear. 

You laughed loudly, and from the corner of your eye you saw Harry turn to glance in your direction. Upon a closer look, he’d managed to wrangle the boat so it was right up against the dock. 

“All aboard!” He shouted.

You rolled your eyes at his ridiculous antics. He always thought he was so funny, especially when you were the butt of his jokes. You hoped he’d be too busy driving to bother you. 

Luckily, Ryan seemed keen to stay by your side, even helping you step into the boat by taking your hand to keep you balanced, so Harry didn’t have much of a chance to say anything. By the time the boat was moving, everyone was sitting in a circle on the floor, clipping in the life jackets that Callie had forced us all to wear. 

As soon as the wind blew through your hair, you tilted your head up and closed your eyes. Lakes didn’t smell great, but you’d always loved it. It was classic, nostalgic. You’d spent every summer of your life swimming in Midwest lakes, so it felt just like summer.

James was true to his word, and pulled out four fatly rolled joints, passing them around with a lighter. You didn’t do this often, but it felt like the perfect moment. The sun was disappearing fast, and soon enough you’d be able to see the stars.

At some point, Harry slowed the engine down to a gentle hum when the boat reached the middle of the lake, getting a couple of the others to help him throw the anchor over the edge. Afterwards, he moved back over to the driving console and fiddled with a few buttons until quiet, staticky music sounded out. He then sat down across the circle from you, immediately accepting one of the joints from Archie. 

You stood up on your knees, and looked around. Water lapped lightly against the sides of the boat, so it took you a moment to find your equilibrium. The silhouette of the tall pines surrounding the lake were awe-striking. 

Nobody wanted to break the silence, so you didn’t. The weed was starting to take effect, making your body feel heavy and your head feel light. You started to lay down, unclipping your life jacket to use as a pillow. Slowly, your friends followed your lead, the sounds of shuffling and buckles popping open momentarily interrupting the tranquil silence. 

You watched the sky change from pink to a deep blue, only turning your head away when the first stars became visible. Morgan was laying next to you, staring straight up at the sky. To anyone else, she looked like she was lost in thought, but you knew her better than that. There was a slight frown, watery eyes, a little crinkle across her forehead... she was worried about something. 

“What are you thinking about?” You asked, trailing a hand down her arm. She let out a long exhale. 

“This is gonna sound so soppy,” Morgan sighed, “but I can’t stop thinking about like… how different I would be if I could just, change things about myself.”

“I like you the way you are,” Isobel frowned, sitting up slightly to look at her, “plus, you can change things about yourself. People do it all the time. New hairstyles, piercings, clothes. You could completely rebrand yourself anytime you want.”

“She’s not talking about her appearance,” you said softly, squeezing Morgan’s hand, “she means… like, changing who you are, at your very core. Things you can’t help.”

“I get that,” Ryan chimed in, “I think about that, too. If I could change one thing about myself, I would make myself more motivated. My life would be so different if I could just… alter one tiny thing.”

“Exactly!” Morgan nodded. “I would… make myself less impulsive, I think. I have so many regrets, and it’s all because I never properly think before I act. I’d be so much better off if I could just learn to be more careful.”

“I like how spontaneous you are,” Isobel hummed, “but I think I know what you mean. If I could change anything about myself, I’d make myself less anxious. Anxiety has always held me back so much… I mean, fuck… I haven’t even come out to my family yet, even though I know they’d support me. I’d be so much happier if I could appreciate the good things in life, rather than stress about how to keep them.”

“I’m with Isobel,” Harry spoke. He’d just taken a rather large pull from the joint, so his voice came out rougher than gravel. “Anxiety is such a bitch, and it’s like, out of our control. It’s kept me from talking about my feelings so many times, and I feel like I’ve missed out on some really good friendships because of it.”

Despite the heaviness of the conversation, you felt happier than you had in a long time. You’d smoked just enough to feel numb, and the waves were rocking against the boat so gently that it felt like you were floating. You took a deep breath in through your nose, feeling the crisp forest air fill your lungs before exhaling. The stars were shining in the cloudless sky, crickets were chirping along the shore, and soft music was filtering through the cheap boat stereo. It was peaceful, listening to your friends pour their hearts out. 

Each person took a turn sharing what they would change about themselves. Archie would get rid of his bad temper, James would become a better listener, and Jane would be less self-conscious. 

“What would you change?” Morgan turned to look at you. 

You and your twin sister were very different people. So different, in fact, that you sometimes forgot that you were identical. In moments like this, when her eyes were watery and hooded, voice thick with sadness and hope, that you were reminded of how similar you could be. 

“If I could change anything about myself….” you mused, closing your eyes. “I think I would… let things go.”

“Let things go?” Archie echoed.

“Yeah,” you nodded, “like, let go of the past. Whenever something bad happens to me, I let it really get to me. Negative memories and feelings just… constantly eat away at me. I wish I could just wake up in the morning and think about the future… because thinking about the past is exhausting.”

Nobody spoke after your confession. Nobody tried to assure anyone that they would be okay, or convince anyone that they didn’t need to change. There was something comforting about lying in a circle with your friends, your sister… even Harry, because you were all flawed, and none of you knew what the future would bring. You all found solace in the fact that you were here, right now, laying in a circle on a boat, with an old jazz song ringing through the air.

And who knows… maybe someday, you’ll all find a way to change the parts of yourselves that bother you. Maybe you’ll learn to appreciate them. Maybe your flaws will end up helping you in the long run. 

But for now, none of you were alone. And that was enough.

~~~

Thank you for reading! I love getting feedback, so let me know what you thought! xoxoxoxoxoooooxxxxxxooooooxxxoooo Tile

[myhockeyworld87]

Not a Perfect Propsal - Mat Barzal - The 5 times Mat wanted to propose + the one time he did.

Word Count: 4,900

POV: Mat

Warnings: Language, mention of sex

Notes: So I’ve been wanting to do one of those 4 +1 things, but it ended up being 5 +1...haha! I guess I have a problem. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!

When you met (Y/N) almost three years ago, you knew she was special. It was pretty obvious only a few months into the relationship that she was the one for you. You were never one to believe much in soulmates, but you knew without a doubt that she was yours. (Y/N) was smart, funny, driven, and independent, and you loved her with everything in you.

 It was obvious to everyone that you two were meant to be. Even your mom told you the first time that she met (Y/N) to not let her getaway. Now here you were a couple years later, in a jewelry store picking out the perfect ring for her. It had taken a bit of sneaking around to actually get her ring size; it was the one piece of information that you didn’t know about her. She always took her rings off at night, so last night while she was sleeping you’d plucked it off her nightstand and put it in your coat pocket.

 “Mat, have you seen my sapphire ring? I’m sure I put here last night.” She was on her hands and knees crawling around the floor looking for it.

 “No babe, but I’m sure it’ll turn up.” You felt a little guilty, but it was all for a good cause. “I’m heading to practice, now. I’ll help you look for it when I get back.” That way you could magically make it reappear. She bounced up off the floor, to give you a kiss before you headed out the door.

 One

 Instead of heading to practice, you trotted off to the jewelers. He took (Y/N)’s ring and sized it quickly, then brought out a bunch of rings for you to look at. They showed you princess, cushion, and round cuts. Diamonds that ranged from three carats to ten, from solitary ones to ones surrounded by a hundred smaller diamonds, yet none of them were special enough for (Y/N).

 You wanted something unique, just like her and you just weren’t seeing it. “Do you have anything else?” you asked the jeweler, hoping to god that he did.

 “Nothing here but we can always design something.” Well, that piqued your curiosity. “Let’s talk about what shaped you like.”

 “Well, this one is nice.” You pointed to a one that looked almost like a teardrop.

 “That’s a pear cut, very nice choice.” He put it up on his computer screen. “So what size are you thinking?”

 “Well I want it to stand out, so maybe five?”

 “Very good. Now, let’s look at some settings.” He threw up a bunch of different ones, some antique, some modern but still it didn’t seem right. Finally, he put dozens of little diamonds around it, but yet the main stone seemed to almost float around them. “What do you think of that?”

 “It’s gorgeous, but something’s missing.” He added a second layer that pulled away from both the first and the center stone. It looked like a halo, and absolutely perfect for your angel. “Yes, that’s it.”

 “Well, it should take about two weeks to be made Mr. Barzal, and then it’s all yours.”

 “Perfect.” That gave you just enough time to plan the perfect evening.

 You decided dinner at one of New York’s most iconic restaurants, Tavern on the Green would be the perfect spot. So you made reservations for two weeks from then when the ring would be done. Once, you were home, you conveniently found (Y/N)’s sapphire ring under the bed. “I swear I looked there like four hundred times.”

 “Guess my eyes are just a bit better, babe.” You slid it onto her hand mimicking what you would do in just a couple of weeks.

 Everything was set, (Y/N) had no idea where you were going to dinner, just that you were going someplace nice. You were just waiting to get the ring from the jewelry store. You’d been pacing the apartment, all morning when your cell finally rang late in the afternoon. “Mr. Barzal, I’m sorry to say, but the ring isn’t quite finished yet.”

 “What? It has to be, I have everything set for tonight.”

 “Well unfortunately we had a little problem with the setting, so it’s going to be another week. I apologize for the inconvenience.” With that, he hung up the phone. Great there went your entire plan. You still took her to Tavern on the Green, which she absolutely loved, but you were just disappointed.

 Two

 This time you decided you’d wait until you actually had the ring before you made any plans. You still wanted to do it over dinner. Maybe drop the ring in her glass of champagne, like they did in those cheesy romance movies. Only this time you decided not to do it at some fancy restaurant. Well, it was a nice restaurant, just not that big of a name like Tavern. You and (Y/N) went there often, especially for birthdays or when one of your family members were in town.

 “Babe, why don’t you wear that navy dress that I love tonight?” It would go perfectly with the suit you’d picked out.

 “Isn’t that a little fancy? I was just planning on wearing the burgundy one.” Though you liked that dress on her, it just wasn’t special enough. You knew that the two of you would be taking pictures after this, and she always loved the way that dress looked in pictures, but then you loved the way she looked in it as well.

 You slid your arms around her waist. “But I just love you in the navy one.” You peppered her with kisses all down her neck.

 She twisted in your arms then. “I have a better idea, why don’t we just stay in tonight. Order some take out and maybe…” Her hands wandered down the front of your crotch, where she fondled you, causing you to suck in a breath. As much as you wanted to just stay in with her and do all the things she was insinuating, it would spoil everything.

 “We can still do that.” You told her, taking her wrist and moving it off your now semi-hard cock. “After dinner. I’m just really in the mood for their lobster bisque.” You hoped it sounded like a plausible excuse.

 “Fine.” She stated moving back to vanity and starting to apply her makeup.

 “So you’ll wear the navy then?”

 She rolled her eyes in the mirror at you. “Yes, I’ll wear that one.”

 You had arranged for your table to be off to the side, to afford you a modicum of quiet; though there were still a few tables around you. You’d planned on waiting until dessert, and then you would pop the big question. “Mat, are you ok?”

 “Yeah, why?”

 “You seem a little preoccupied babe.” Well of course you were. This was going to be the biggest thing you’d done in your life.

 “Sorry, just thinking about the game tomorrow, but did I tell you how gorgeous you look tonight?”

 “Thanks, babe.” The conversation during dinner was nice. You talked about the upcoming road trip and she mentioned how her parents were coming to visit. You two also talked about your trip to the Bahamas with some of the guys for winter break. The waiter had just taken your order, when you looked to your left, as they brought out a special dessert for the table next to yours. You thought it must be someone’s birthday, all the tables around them were now caught up in the moment, just like you and (Y/N). But instead of it being a birthday, the man got down on one knee, saying the most romantic words ever, as he proposed to his girlfriend. Effectively stealing your thunder. There was no way you could propose now. It would look cheap. People at the restaurant were already crowding around the newly engaged couple and showering them with attention and all you could think of was that, that was supposed to you and (Y/N).

 So you canceled the champagne that you ordered, discreetly of course, so that (Y/N) wouldn’t know, ate dessert, and headed back to your apartment; still not engaged.

 Three

 After the dinner fiasco, you decided that it would be a better plan to just ask (Y/N) to marry you while you were on vacation during bye week. You’d gone in with a couple of the guys and gotten a beachfront house to rent. About three other couples were going, and none knew what your plans were.

 The house was beautiful and you were kind of disappointed you would only be there for five days instead of a couple of weeks. The water was blue, the sand was practically white and it was the perfect setting to ask (Y/N) to marry you. You hadn’t really made a decision about how you wanted to do it until you got here. You were standing out on the balcony of the suite, you and (Y/N) would share for the next few days as you wracked your brain for ideas.

 The first one that came to your mind was a romantic dinner on the beach just the two of you, but then you thought about how you’d planned it at dinner the last two times and it hadn’t gone well at all. You decided you needed to come up with a different plan. That’s when you saw it, just beyond the horizon; there was a small boat. You could picture you both on it as the sunset. You’d have a bottle of expensive champagne, and as the boat bobbed up and down and with the lighting perfect; you’d get down on one knee and ask her to be your wife. It would be magical.

 It took a full day, to find a company that wasn’t already booked, but you finally found one; and another twelve hours after that before you were away from (Y/N) to actually call them. Tito was walking by when you were on the phone. “Hey, can I get in on that boat ride?” You excused yourself for a minute with the booking agent.

 “I was kind of hoping it would be only (Y/N) and I.”

 “Please, I’m really trying to impress Kayleigh on this trip.” Kayleigh was the girl Tito had brought with him, and it seemed like he was trying to take it to the next level with her. While you wanted the whole boat to yourself for the proposal, you couldn’t say no to your best friend.

 “Alright, fine. Can you make that reservation for four instead?” She took all your information and you were all set for tomorrow afternoon. You would have a day of fun at sea and then a romantic proposal.

 You’d given (Y/N) some general information to pack somethings for the following day, while you packed a small duffle bag with all you needed to ask her to marry you. A car arrived around three o’clock to take the four of you to the boat. What you didn’t expect was the second car that was there. “Are you guys driving separately?” You asked Tito.

 “Um no, I think that one is for everyone else.”

 You grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him aside where no one could hear you. “What do you mean everyone else?”

 “Well, Kayleigh and I were talking about it and then MDC walked past and asked if he could come and I didn’t really think that it would be a big deal.” Well, it wouldn’t matter if one other couple went; you could make this work. “I think he mentioned something to a couple of the other guys next door at well.” A few guys from other teams were your neighbors down here in the Bahamas, and you’d all hung out on the beach the last couple of days. Though it didn’t mean that you wanted to share your proposal with the entire NHL.

 You breathed out a frustrated sigh. “I wish you would’ve asked me. I had something special planned.” You could still make this work, at least that’s what you told yourself.

 “Sorry, Barzy.”

 You all piled in the SUVs and headed to the dock. The number of people waiting by your boat, made you want to scream. There had to be a good thirty people. This was not the intimate setting you had planned. “Babe, maybe we should do this tomorrow?”

 (Y/N) cocked her head at you. “Why?”

 “I don’t know I just wanted it to be us, you know?”

 She kissed you on the cheek. “We have plenty of time for us, later. Let’s just have fun with all our friends today.” There was no point in fighting it, so you gave in and headed onboard what was now the party boat. You could always rebook tomorrow and it would be just the two of you.

 The day was full of sun, loud music, and rum punch, too much rum if you were being honest, at least in (Y/N)’s case. She was on the deck of the ship, swaying to the music when the sun was setting, not quite what you had pictured. “Mat!” She yelled when she caught sight of you. “Come dance with me.” You made your way over to where she was dancing with Tito and Kayleigh. “Where have you been?”

 “Around,” you answered as you pulled her close to your body. The truth was you were sulking a bit because you hadn’t been able to ask her to be your wife.

 “We should totally buy one of these.” She yelled over the music.

 “What a boat?” To which she nodded, as she stumbled a bit from the alcohol. You moved the two of you off to the bow of the boat, where it was a bit quieter and the two of you could sit down. “Why would we buy a boat?”

 In her drunken state, (Y/N) got a bit handsy. Not that you were complaining, but with the crowd milling around on the boat, there wouldn't be a place to finish what she was starting. “So we could…you know.” Her hand trailed up your thigh and you had to stop her wrist before she went any higher. She leaned over and whispered in your ear. “Just think about, the gentle up and down motion of the ship, while your cock slides in and out of me.” You groaned you couldn’t help yourself, had your plans actually worked you’d probably be doing that right now, but unfortunately for you that was not the case.

 “I need a drink.” A few beers later, you were in no better shape than (Y/N) and any thoughts of renting the boat out for the next day were forgotten.

  Four

 The following day you had every intention of getting up early and trying to do another sunset cruise, though that backfired when both you and (Y/N) woke up hungover. There was no way it would be romantic to have waves crash against the boat, as you hurled over the side. So instead, the two of you had a low-key day at the beach.

 By the afternoon, you both were feeling a bit better, and (Y/N) and Kayleigh were able to con you into burying Tito in the sand. It was perfect retribution for sabotaging what would’ve been the perfect proposal. You made him suffer a bit before actually helping him out. Later on, you all built a giant sandcastle. You had to admit that in the end, it looked pretty darn good.

 That’s when it hit you. You decided you were going to sneak out in the middle of the night and write ‘will you marry me’ in the sand. The two of you would wake up and you’d take her out on the balcony for her to see it. It would be something out of the movies.

 All night you were keyed up just waiting to put your plan into motion. The two of you finally called it an evening around eleven, though neither one of you were ready for sleep by any means. So after having sex, not once but twice, you were both ready to fall asleep. It was hard to stay awake, but you finally felt (Y/N)’s breathing steady out. You crept out of bed and outside. You drew a huge heart first, next to the sandcastle you’d all built earlier, then started working on the words. “What the hell are you doing?” Tito’s voice caused you to jump and ruin the ‘W’ you were working on.

 “Keep it down. I don’t want to wake (Y/N) up.” Tito padded down to the beach where you were.

 “But what are you doing?”

 “Well since you ruined my original idea. I’m working on a new to get (Y/N) to marry me.”

 “Woah! What? That’s major. Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked.

 “I don’t know. I just wanted it to be special, but someone had to go and invite the whole fucking universe to my sunset cruise.”

 “Fuck man, I’m really sorry.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Anything I can do to help?”

 “Yeah, grab a stick and start writing.” It didn’t take the two of you long and as you stood back you had to admit that there was no way she could say no to this proposal. Both of you headed back to bed, though you found it a bit difficult to fall asleep.

 You were the first to wake up, more because you were so excited to finally propose. Your fingers lightly traced down her arm and around to her back. She stirred but didn’t wake fully, so you lightly kissed her lips. Her eyes blinked open and she smiled at you. “You’re perky this morning.” Her hands roamed over your chest and down your body.

 “Just anxious to start the day.” You told her, wiggling slightly before she could get your morning wood harder than it already was. “We should go see if we can catch the sunrise?”

 She looked behind her to the sliding glass doors. “Babe, I think it’s been up for a while.”

 Well, you really couldn’t argue with that. “Well, why don’t we go outside and maybe….”

 “Mathew Barzal, are you feeling kinky this morning?” She devilishly wiggled her eyebrows.

 “Something like that,” you told her, easing out of her grasp and the bed. There had been robes left in the room, and you tossed one over for (Y/N) to put on. While her back was turned, you grabbed the ring out of your hiding spot in the closet and stuck it in your pocket. You quickly hurried around her side of the bed, to walk outside with her; your arms wrapped around her waist as you went. You steered her towards the edge of the balcony and then looked out at the beachfront, but there was nothing. “What the…”

 She tilted her head to look back at you. “Something wrong?”

 “Umm…” How were you supposed to tell her, her marriage proposal was missing? It was nothing but a blank beach. Did someone come along and get rid of it? Thankfully you thought of something to say. “I’m just wondering where the sandcastle went.”

 She gave a light chuckle. “Babe, the tide probably came in and swept it away.”

 “What?”

 “You know, like fourth-grade science or something, high tides and low tide.”

 “Damn it!” Why the hell hadn’t you thought of that? How could you have been so stupid?

 “If you’re that disappointed, we can work on another one today.”

 It was a sweet offer, but now the day, hell the trip was totally ruined. “Nah, it’s fine.” She went to slide her hands into the pockets of your robe, which caused you to jump back before she could find the ring box. “I gotta pee, be right back.” You slipped the ring back into your bag, knowing that you wouldn’t get to ask her again till you were back in New York.

  Five

 Tito cornered you in the kitchen later that morning, after your none balcony proposal; to see how things went. When you told him what happened, he then took it upon himself to be your wingman and make sure that the next time you asked (Y/N) to marry you it would go off without a hitch. It was obvious that you couldn’t ask her on Valentine’s Day; it was just too cliché. Which meant that you were going to have to wait until the beginning of March to ask her.

 You got tickets to the hottest new Broadway play, which you knew that (Y/N) had been dying to see. You were then going to take her on a carriage ride to Central Park, where you’d lead her across Gapstow Bridge so you could propose. Tito helped you hire someone to take secret photos of the whole thing. The two of you had it down to a science so that absolutely nothing could go wrong.

 The day had been hectic with morning skate, then you got called away for a quick interview, which ended up not being quick at all. The two of you were rushing around the apartment getting ready to go for the evening. You had your suit already picked out and ready to go, but at the last minute (Y/N) changed the color of her dress and threw the whole thing off, so you quickly chose one that would compliment her in every way possible. You no sooner finished and you were out the door headed to the theater.

 The show was amazing and (Y/N) couldn’t stop talking about it as you left. “Oh my god, Mat that was just simply amazing. I still can’t believe you got us tickets.”

 “Well, the night’s not over yet. I thought we could be romantic and take a carriage ride as well.” The horse and buggy you’d reserved pulled up as if right on cue. “My lady,” you said making a grand flourish and assisting (Y/N) into it.

 “Mat, this is just incredible.” You scurried in beside her, as the driver had a nice warm blanket for you to snuggle under. (Y/N) leaned over and kissed you then. “Babe, this night is just perfect.” You continued through the busy New York streets when a funny smell crossed your nose. (Y/N) leaned over to whisper in your ear, “do you smell that?”

 Before you could even answer her, you heard the horse emit a loud noise, that could literally only be described as a fart. (Y/N) burst into giggles and you joined her. “This is too much.” You said when you finally got your laughter under control. The problem was, it wasn’t just one little moment of passing gas on the animal’s part. It lasted the entire trip and had you asking, ‘what the hell they fed the poor animal?’ Thankfully (Y/N) was a good sport about the whole thing, though by the time you got to the right spot in the park the two of you were both sick to your stomach.

 “Let’s walk a bit and get some clean air.” You told her as she descended the carriage.

 “Gladly.” You laced your hand with hers and started the short stroll through Central Park to the bridge. Gapstow Bridge offered one of the best views of the city skyline and as you made your way there, your heart started to race. You were about a hundred yards away when you padded your suit pocket to check for the ring. It wasn’t there. You let go of (Y/N)’s hand and checked your other pocket, still no sign of it. Did you put it in the breast pocket? A quick check and it wasn’t there either. “Something wrong?”

 Yes, something was wrong! You’d lost the damn ring. Had it fell out getting into the carriage or at the theater? Your mind raced and you couldn’t think of anything to tell (Y/N). Where the hell was it? “Mat, are you ok?”

 You needed to come up with something and quick. “I think I lost my phone.”

 “I have mine in my purse. I’ll call yours.” While that would’ve been helpful had you’d actually lost your phone, it really didn’t make a difference at the moment since you knew it was in your pocket. You looked over at (Y/N) as she fished in her purse for her cell. That’s when you remembered where the damn ring was. It was in your other suit coat, the one that you were originally supposed to wear when she was going to wear the red dress, instead of the black one she had on.

 “Found it.” You told her, somewhat relieved but still incredibly pissed at yourself for ruining yet another proposal. There was no point in going to the bridge now. You pulled out your phone and shot Tito a quick message telling him to abort the mission. It seemed as though every time you thought you had the perfect plan to ask her to marry you, something got in the way. You were starting to question whether or not you should actually ask her.

  + 1

 You were done with trying to plan anything out to be perfect, on your next home game, you planned on waiting till after it was over and just throwing it up on the jumbotron at the Barclays Center. It would be something that could easily be done. Most people were gone by the time you finished interviews and everything, but even if they were there; it didn’t matter because you wanted the world to know you were marrying (Y/N).

 Again, Tito was your accomplice and helped you get everything ready, including getting the social media people to help you film everything. The whole thing was set to go down on March 12. (Y/N) might not be wearing the perfect dress, but then this was more the two of you.

 The morning started out the same as any other and you got up to get ready for morning skate. You were just about to head out the door when your phone rang. Tito’s voice was on the other end. “Did you hear the news?”

 “What news?”

 “The season’s on pause, because of this damn global pandemic.”

 “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” First, the ring wasn’t done, then several botched proposals and now this! It was too much. “Well, this is just fucking fantastic.” You dropped your bag down and headed into the kitchen, still fuming. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

 “I know man, now what are you going to do?”

 “I have no fucking clue. I’ll call you when I figure it out.” You disconnected the phone then slammed it on the counter.

 (Y/N) had been in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from breakfast. “I’m not sure what happened but there were an awful lot of fucks in that conversation.”

 “The NHL just paused the season because of this virus thing.”

 She made her way over to you then and wrapped her arms around your waist. “Well, New York has been getting a lot of cases lately. I can’t say that I’m upset that they’re putting your safety first.” You tighten your arms around her, now debating on how you could propose. “I can’t say I’m too upset either, especially if it means I get to spend more time here with you.” She turned her head up and planted the sweetest kiss on your lips. It was soft and tender and there was just so much love in it, that you broke apart abruptly.

 “I’ll be right back,” you said. “Don’t move.” Then scurried back to the bedroom and grabbed the ring box. She was still rooted to the same spot as when you left, a bewildered look on her face. “Baby, I’ve been trying to do this for months and every time something comes up, including this damn pandemic. But I’m tired of waiting.” You dropped down to one knee and grabbed her left hand, while her other immediately went to cover the gasp she let out. “(Y/N) you have been my rock these last few years, always by my side, putting me first and cheering me on. I think I knew shortly after I met you that we’d get to this moment and I wanted it to be just perfect, but the harder I tried to do that; the more it seemed like it wouldn’t happen. But I guess that’s because we don’t need perfect; we just need each other. I love you so damn much (Y/N) and I’m asking you right now if you’ll be in this crazy life with me until the end of time. Will you marry me?”

 You opened the ring box, and tears were streaming down her face, as she nodded yes furiously. “Of course,” she finally choked out on a sob. It took all of about two seconds to slide the ring on her finger. She flopped down on the floor with you, her mouth immediately finding yours in a passionate kiss that stole both of your breathes away, and while the moment may have not been what you planned, that kiss was so much more than you dreamed. It was full of promises and love, and all things to come.

[dyde21]

Learning - 1

Also available on AO3 HERE

Summary:

Peter Parker has a lot on his plate. Too much. He's also just so damn tired all the time. But people are counting on him. Counting on Spider-man. So he can't afford to slow down. He just has to keep moving forward.

Until everything falls apart because of a pancake.

Luckily there are people there to help pick up the pieces.

Or

Peter learns how to accept help and how to grow.

XxXxXxXxX

Peter Parker was pretty sure his biggest enemy was Spider-man. Spider-man meant the world to him, and he really wasn’t sure he’d ever find himself in a place to give up the mantle. Maybe if he found someone to take over for him, or if the city didn’t need him anymore, he could afford to slow down. 

But as he grew into a young adult, he knew that it wasn’t a possibility for him anytime soon. His mind and body yearned to be out there when he had gone too long without saving someone. He could just imagine the scenes of the people he didn’t save when he wasn’t out there. The lives lost or ruined because he was not out there. 

As much as he knew he had to be Spider-man, there was still a part of him that yearned to be a normal college student. Someone who could have weekend movie nights with his friends after long hours doing homework together. Someone who could drop by his aunt’s place and cook dinner with her to catch up after a busy week. Someone who could plan a date night weeks in advance and know for sure that he wouldn’t miss it or bail early. But he had resigned himself to the fact that he couldn’t have that. 

He hated how much he hurt others. He hated the disappointed, yet understanding looks his friends gave him everytime he had to leave early or show up late. He hated how he had lately stopped making promises because he longer believed he could keep them. So he had to make it up to them. He tried desperately to prove how much he cared about them every chance he got. Little gifts, reminders of conversations, jumping at the chance to do anything in the moment while he was at their side. He dreaded the day they realized he wasn’t worth all the trouble, he knew it had to be coming soon. But he could feel his life falling apart at the seams.

But Spider-man wouldn’t. Spider-man wouldn’t disappoint the city. Even when they hated them, he’d still be out there protecting it. Because people needed Spider-man. People needed Peter. He had to live up to those responsibilities.

However Peter felt so <em>tired</em>. He could feel himself running on fumes, but he’d manage. He always did. He always had to. 

Until suddenly he couldn’t. Until Peter broke.

It hadn’t even been a dramatic fight with someone like the Rhino. It hadn’t been an explosive alien bomb he couldn’t deal with. It had been a pancake.

Midterms sucked for everyone. Normal students and superhero students alike, they just sucked. A week of projects and tests and papers that were all due around the same time. It was a cruel seasonal rite of passage. Unfortunately combining that with having missed almost the maximum number of classes allowed in the term already, Peter was behind. But that wasn’t anything new. 

But the same old problem was still a problem. Which meant that was how Peter found himself on Saturday morning stopping by the corner store and grabbing a six pack of energy drinks, a couple of cups of noodles, and some chocolate for comfort’s sake. 

He had a long weekend ahead of him, and he knew he just had to get through it. Maybe he could take it a little easier. Pausing before the counter, he had walked back and grabbed a couple of bags of Ned’s favorite sour worms. He knew Ned liked to snack on them when he got stressed and he knew there was a coding midterm Ned had been stressing about all week. 

After he paid, he made sure to take the long way around and stopped by MJ’s favorite tea place. Filling up a thermos, he had also splurged to get her a few boxes of the teas they imported there from fairly traded farmers abroad. MJ had done research into the brand and found they were providing a good opportunity, and she liked the tea so it had been a win-win. Sure it had cost him a bit more, but he figured he could just cut back on his meals for a week, no biggie. The protein bars Bruce had made for him ensured he got the vitamins he needed, so he figured it’d be fine. 

Swinging by MJ’s place, he felt a small surge of energy in his otherwise exhausted body. He loved seeing her, and he knew she tended to isolate herself when going into heavy work mode, so their interaction would be brief but if he could make her smile it would be worth it. He knew things were still a little tense after he had been forced to bail on their anniversary dinner because Rhino had decided to go on a rampage to ruin his love life. He really, really wanted to stay. He had even promised himself he wouldn’t let normal crime alerts stop him, but the Rhino was more than the police could handle. One masked crazy required another. He had even been trying to force himself to stay when she had grabbed his hand, and with that same sad smile told him to go.

Making his way up to her small studio apartment she shared with Gwen, he had knocked on their door, shifting from place to place. Should he have grabbed flowers? Maybe that would be too much. Also too expensive. Should he have picked some? He knew MJ liked to complain about cliches like that, but also knew she liked them more than she would admit, considering he had seen the handmade card he had crafted her on valentine's day at Pepper’s advice was still on her desk months later. Shoul-

He was cut off from his internal rambling by the door being opened up. An exhausted, weary looking MJ stared at him, in open confusion. Normally she’d be better about putting on some sort of mask, but he could tell she was pretty tired too. She was dressed in sweats and one of his hoodies she had stolen when she came over the night before their anniversary. 

A range of emotions crossed her face. Surprised. Guarded. Frustrated. Concerned. Happy. 

“Hi.” She said simply after a moment, clearly waiting for him to say something. 

“U-uh hi. Yeah. I just…” He realized he really should have thought of what he wanted to say before showing up. 

MJ raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. “I’m kinda busy.” She said, before she winced. He had a feeling she was still a little hurt about their date, but also hadn’t meant to sound so cold to him. He couldn’t blame her. He deserved it.

“Right! I know.” He cleared his throat. “I know. I promise I’m not here to bother you. I just… here.” He said, handing her the thermos. She took it, surprised before she took a sip and a smile crossed her features. Peter’s heart melted a little at it. He also shoved the two boxes of her favorite tea into her arms. “Also these. And an apology. I’m really sorry. I know I say that a lot. And it sucks. But I am.” He said, his eyes drifting to the floor. He hated how familiar this felt. 

“I know.” MJ said softly, before he saw her feet step forward, and he felt her tip his chin up as she kissed him gently. 

Peter returned it for a moment before he stepped back. “I know you have work so I won’t distract you. I just… wanted to give you a little care package, and say I know you’ll rock this. I can proofread your article if you need me to too. Or just to get an opinion.” 

MJ’s expression softened again. “Thanks, Tiger.” She said, a soft smile. Then her brow furrowed. “Are you okay though?” She said, reaching out to grab his jaw and turn it as she inspected him. “Have you been eating? Sleeping? You look like shit.” She said bluntly, but not uncaringly. 

“Oh, ouch.” He said with mock affront. MJ just rolled her eyes, knowing he knew what she meant. “Midterms.” Peter brushed off her concerns with a shrug. “Happens to us all. I mean you always look beautiful. But you also look a little less beautiful. Only stunningly gorgeous today.” He offered a small smirk on his face. 

MJ rolled her eyes again, shoving his shoulder weakly. “I’m sorry I didn’t try to make myself look nice hoping you’d drop by unannounced.” She replied in a dry tone. “But Gwen and I are making sure we take care of each other. You’re still living alone since Ned moved in with Betty. I’m worried.” She confessed. 

Peter offered her what he hoped was a reassuringly and not as fake looking as it felt smile. “I’ll be fine. Just gotta get a lot done this weekend. Then I’ll rest next week sometime. Maybe we can have a night in, no suit, no alerts.” He offered.

MJ looked at him skeptically, like she knew that was an offer that probably couldn’t be kept. But she must have also seen how desperately he was hoping for her to say yes. Some little hope to hold onto to get through the weekend. She nodded. 

“Yeah. Sounds nice. I’d like that.” She affirmed, leaning in for another quick kiss. She paused, pulling out the collar of his sweater. “Pete, you need to eat. You’re losing weight again.” She warned, seeing how pronounced his collarbones were starting to be again. 

He stepped back, pulling it back. “I will! I bought stuff today.” He didn’t mention it had been energy drinks, sugar, and salt pretty much but he didn’t need to worry her anymore. “I can’t wait to read your article. You better send it to me!” He said as he started down the hallway before he could drag any more of MJ’s attention away from her work with concern for him. He didn’t need it. He’d be fine. 

MJ just watched him leave, sipping her drink for a moment before she let her head slump against the doorframe with a sigh. A bad feeling welling up in her stomach.

Peter’s next stop had been over to Ned’s place.

When he knocked at the door, he figured MJ must have texted him because Ned didn’t seem surprised in the least. 

“Hey Peter, come in for a sec.” He said, practically dragging him into the apartment. Peter was surprised by that, having planned to just make the drop and leave, but he was herded over to a stool at the counter and forced to sit on it as he fished out the gummies to give to Ned.

“Here man, I know you still have to finish up the code then work out the bugs in it. I brought you emergency rations.”

Ned gave him a quick side hug, taking them. “Thanks. Now eat.” He ordered as he deposited the gift as his computer.

Peter was confused until a sandwich slid in front of him, along with a drink and a cookie. He looked up, seeing Betty looking at him with an expectant look. It reminded him of MJ. He had a feeling they had been hanging out a lot more recently. 

“I’m fine.” He offered weakly, feeling bad they were taking time to take care of him. 

Ned crossed his arms, giving him a thoroughly unimpressed look he had honed over years of dealing with Peter’s bullshit. “Dude, you look even more barebones than usual, don’t think a baggy sweater hides that. MJ said you are doing your gift rounds too which means you’re stressed out because you picked that up from Tony too.” Ned laid out, honest. “Eat the damn sandwich.”

Betty was side-eyeing Ned like she didn’t agree that the best way to get Peter to eat was to snap at him, but Peter just sighed and took a bite of the sandwich. It tasted so good he wanted to cry. He almost did, but he busied himself with taking a bite of the cookie before he could lose his shit over a sandwich someone made for him and start up a whole new series of conversations he wasn’t ready for.

He devoured the sandwich probably too quickly because Betty looked like she was about to make another one just to keep him eating. But he forced himself to stand up. “Thank you. Really. I needed that.” He confessed. “But we both have work so I should get back.”

“It’s fine if you want to relax here for a moment.” Betty offered with a gentle smile.

Peter’s throat felt tight at the nice offer but shook his head. “N-no. I’m fine. Both of you have work to do too. I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Pete…” Ned started but Peter just fist bumped him and left, laughing a bit too hysterically for it to seem natural. 

“I’ll be fine man! We’ll catch up next week.” He promised as he quickly made his way out of the apartment. He felt like he was about to start crying for too many different reasons and wanted to be alone for it. 

He heard them still calling after him as the door closed and he practically rushed down the hall. He just had to get home. He could be alone in his home. 

By the time he got home, Peter had managed to get himself in control. AKA, shoving all his annoying emotions and impending breakdowns deep within him to deal with at a later time. He had studying to do now, he didn’t have time for pesky things like proper emotions.

Pulling out the first energy drink, Peter just leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. He’d be fine. He just had to get through this weekend and he could afford a little rest. He made a point not to think of how he had made that promise the previous weekend as well.

Pulling out his phone, he found the photo he was looking for and smiled for a moment. It was a selfie of him and MJ. MJ was standing in the suit after she had wanted to try it on one night, and he was kissing her cheek as she was mid laugh. He could do it for her. 

Moving over to his small kitchen table, he cleared everything off it by piling it onto the counter haphazardly and set up his laptop and books. He glanced over at the stacks of dirty dishes with a frown. He had gotten a lot worse at keeping them clean since Ned moved out. Looking around, he saw the entire place had kind of gone to shit since Ned moved out. Stuff piled up everywhere, too much dirty laundry, a bag of trash he hadn’t taken out yet tied in the corner.

Normally he went over to MJ’s place since Gwen had done a good job with the interior design of it and it was spacious and well organized. He did his best to hide how bad his place looked, too ashamed.

Pushing down more thoughts of how much of a disappointment he was for failing to keep his apartment together he sat down at the computer as he took another sip of his energy drink. He just had to get through this.

Pulling up his assignments he began to try and organize them. Working was something he could do. Solving problems was something he was good at. 

A few hours passed and Peter had actually managed to make quite a bit of progress on his assignments. Which was good. Figuring he needed a break, he got up and moved over to the ramen. His stomach was angry now, and wanted a proper meal but he didn’t exactly have enough money at the moment to splurge. He was tempted to swing by the Avenger’s tower to grab a meal there, but he knew they might get on his case if they saw him looking this rundown. Turning on the electric kettle, he turned on some music to listen to it while he waited, closing his eyes to take a moment to relax. 

It was a playlist MJ had made for him, and he knew all the songs by heart now, including the order of them. It helped him relax. Singing along softly, he waited for the kettle to click off as he poured it into the cup of noodle, pleased his hands weren’t shaking. Going into the drawer, he paused as he saw he had no clean forks. Of course he didn’t, cause he was a fucking mess.

He bit his lip, hating that a tear escaped his eyes as he trudged ever to the sink and quickly washed one as he blinked away the burning sensation in his eyes. This was dumb. It was just a fork. He just had to do the dishes. Eventually.

Finally cleaning the fork, he set it on top of the cup as it heated up the noodles and just slumped into his seat, letting his head fall against the table. He was just so tired. He had time to kill until the noodles were cooked enough so he could close his eyes for a minute…

<em>Peter stared in horror as MJ struggled to pry herself from the metal gauntlet wrapped around her neck. Her feet dangled helplessly over the edge.

“Pe… peter. Help.” She choked out.

“LET HER GO.” Peter tried to scream out but no words would escape him. Iron Man’s cold eyes stared at him. 

“You were a mistake.” He said in an emotional robotic voice as the hand opened up.

Peter ran towards her, but as he stepped the suit around him dissolved, leaving him in his old homemade suit, and none of his tools. Desperate anyway, he jumped off the edge, trying to dive for MJ but she was falling too fast for him. He couldn’t make it in ti-</em> 

Peter woke with a start, knocking one of his textbooks off the table as he looked around. It was darker. With a groan, he checked the clock. 3 hours had passed. Great. Guess that would be enough sleep for the night. Glancing at his phone he saw some messages from MJ and Ned but he really couldn’t bring himself to respond to them at the moment. 

Wiping sleep from his eyes, he hated how he had slept for three hours he didn’t plan to, but still felt exhausted. Nightmares sucked. 

Walking over to his noodles, he peeled off the lid and stared down at them. They were super soggy now. Peter was pretty sure he’d be more disappointed if he had the energy to be. Instead he just moved back over to the table, and flipped open his textbook to the section he had to go over again for the test because he had missed that class after a big fight and getting too injured to go in for it. 

He slowly ate his soggy noodles as he stared at the same passage, reading it a few times but not really absorbing it. By the time he had actually managed to process all the content on the page, he felt his fork scraping against the bottom of the now empty cup. Great.

Setting it down on the table he just leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. Where was his life even going now? Why the hell was MJ even with him?

He checked his messages finally, both of his friends checking on him. He sent them a generic assurance before he sighed. Forcing himself to his feet, he figured he needed to make himself useful. He quickly changed into his suit as he saw the sun starting to set outside. He knew he couldn’t afford to spend too much time out as Spider-man tonight, and probably none tomorrow so he figured he would make it count while he could. 

As he warmed up and swung through the city, for the briefest moment it felt like he was able to forget his problems. Like his real life was hidden away back in his nest of an apartment, and out here he was just Spider-man. The hero with no obligations, able to save people and bring a smile to those who didn’t despite him. 

The rush was almost enough for him to avoid the bone deep exhaustion creeping through his body. He managed to stop a few robberies, a carjacking, and helped a drunk person find their way home without much issue. It helped his mood a bit, feeling useful. Feeling like he was actually able to take control of things and do some good.

What didn’t feel good though was seeing Rhino rampaging down the street. His shoulders slumped, he was not in the mood to deal with him today. He still had homework.

Swinging down, he caught a car that had been knocked to the side, and set it down with a grunt of effort. Normally he didn’t have that much trouble lifting one, so that was probably a troubling sign. Still, he swung after the large man. 

“Didn’t I put you away like last week? Where are they even sending you, juvie?” He complained as he dodged a few punches from the overzealous russian. 

“No cage can hold the Rhino!” He called out in return, making Peter sigh. 

“Apparently.” He muttered as he launched himself towards him, slamming his fist into Rhino’s chest with enough force to send him toppling backwards. His hand was sore now, but he really wanted to end this quickly and he knew Rhino was tough enough for him to be a little less gentle. 

The Rhino got back up and threw a car at him. Peter managed to catch it, but it left him in an awkward position as the Rhino charged through it, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby hotel. He gasped in pain, and barely had the reflexes to shoot his hands out and catch Rhino’s horn before it impaled him into the building. Slamming a kick into the Rhino’s jaw, he dazed him enough to push off of him and get some distance between them.

“I think I’m sending you to the zoo next. I hear they love to take in hopeless cases.” Some part of Peter wondered if he qualified for that.

“The only place I will be going is to your funeral, Spider-man!” Alexios roared out as he charged forward. 

Peter just managed to dodge to the side and hook a web onto one of his legs, pulling it into the other one as the man fell over. 

“Aw, you’d attend my funeral? You do care!” He praised as he launched himself up, before twipping two webs on either side of the Rhino and pulled himself down, slamming his knee into the back of the Rhino’s head with enough force to finally knock the man out. 

Before long the familiar sirens showed up as the police must have realized it was safe for them to come detain him to pass him off to the proper authorities for enhanced individuals. Peter loitered for just a minute to make sure the Rhino didn’t get back up.

“Hello Animal Control. I’m afraid this guy is a little jumpy.” He offered with a wave, still standing on the Rhino’s back.

“Spider-man! You’re under arrest for property destruction and inciting violence.” They said as they raised their guns at him.

Peter’s hand dropped to his side. “Really?” He said in a flat tone. He just took down the criminal they couldn’t keep behind bars for a month, and they’re trying to arrest him. 

With a sigh, Peter quickly hopped to the side in a flip, landing on the wall before launching off and dodging a few rubber bullets that had been shot his way. At least they weren’t trying to kill him this time. He quickly swung off into the distance, until the sirens were far out of earshot as he landed on a roof, leaning against the wall. He held his side, wincing as he could tell a few of his ribs were definitely bruised after the entire fight. Great. Just what he needed when studying. 

Asking Karen for the time, he saw a couple hours had passed. With a sigh, he made a few more laps as he headed back to his apartment, climbing in and stepping out of his suit. 

He made his way over to the bathroom, wincing as he saw his entire side was pretty much one giant bruise. Treating the basic cuts he could and doing other basic first aid, he slumped his way over to the table. His entire body ached, and he wanted to just curl up and sleep but he still had an essay to finish and two tests to study for. Sleep was just one of the many luxuries (and necessities) he couldn’t afford at the moment.

Opening another energy drink, he chugged it quickly and tried to power through some more work. If he could at least finish the essay he might be able to BS his way through the tests. So he started writing. He was pretty sure there were more spelling mistakes than were reasonable for a college student. But he kinda sorta had an outline. At least something he could work from. 

Leaning back in his chair, he immediately winced and regretted his decision and he leaned forward again. Stretching wasn’t a good idea with his bruises. He also noticed his bruises were barely healing, which was worrying. But something he’d just have to deal with next week. If it didn’t heal by Monday he could deal with some strange looks for showing up bruised, it wouldn’t be the first time.

His phone buzzed and he saw a message from MJ.

<em>Saw the alert. You okay?</em>

Peter sighed. MJ stayed very up to date on any spidey news, so she pretty much knew every time he was out patrolling cause at least someone would report it on a fan site. Or the news if that battle was big enough like the Rhino.

<em>I’m fine. Nothing broken this time. Promise.</em> Which was true. 

<em>You better not be lying. Wanna read my article? Are you caught up on midterms?</em>

Peter glanced over at the laptop with the barebones of an outline on it, and the two textbooks only halfway read on the table. 

<em>Yeah, doing surprisingly well. I can use a break. Send it over.

Thanks, Tiger.</em>

Peter grinned down at the screen, and opened up his email, waiting for the notification. A moment later it popped up. 

<em>Here’s the essay. Lemme know your thoughts. Make sure you drink water tonight, and go shower. I know you’re lazy about it after patrol.</em>

Peter rolled his eyes, but listened to her. He quickly hopped in the shower and changed into his last clean set of clothes before he got some water to sip along with his energy drink as he started reading her article. 

Peter loved MJ’s writing. She was clear, concise, and he could practically hear her personality in the words. No matter what the subject was, he found himself enamored with reading what she wrote. She treated the reader with respect, and always offered a fair balancing of views on the issue, while not being afraid to make assertions that might make her a little less than popular at times. 

Still, she was trusting him to offer proper feedback so he did his best to put aside his feelings for the author and focus on what he was reading. He noticed a few instances of some premises she presented as true without supporting them that he drew attention to, a few grammar mistakes, and one part that felt so clunky he had to read it a few times and he was still a little unsure just what she was saying. 

Peter knew she’d rather he was honest and straight forward, while still polite about any potential issues in her article than hold back on his critique in order to be nice. She’d actually be pissed at him if he held back, so he stayed honest. 

Sending the article back to her after double checking his own work, he leans back and looks at the clock on his wall. 2 am. He frowned slightly, but pulled over his text book. He was tired of writing for the moment so he started to read, doing his best to stay focused despite his creeping exhaustion. He normally likes to nap after a patrol but he had too much work to do.

A couple of minutes later when he was about half way through his third energy drink, he got a notification from MJ. 

<em>Thanks Tiger, you’re the best. You actually made good points, I’m impressed. Need me to check over your essay?</em>

Peter frowned, looking at the outline he hadn’t touched in a couple of hours and still had no desire to work on. 

<em>It still needs some work before I can show it to anyone. I’m good, thanks though. Love you.</em>

<em>Love you too. Get some sleep, okay? I know the Rhino is annoying and I saw you get hit with that car. I can help you study tomorrow so get some sleep.</em>

Peter smiled at her concern. He swore she knew him almost better than he did, as she was determined to keep him alive and she decided that meant knowing what kind of threats he would find himself up against. 

<em>You still have studying to do too, don’t worry. I’ll be fine.</em> He replied as he glanced around his apartment. It was a mess, and he knew she’d yell at him if she saw the state he was living in lately. He wanted to live better than this but he was just <em>so tired</em>.

She didn’t respond, so he figured she had fallen asleep like a normal human would.

With a sigh, Peter downed the rest of the energy drink and splashed some water on his face. He had to get through this. He pointedly ignored the bruise that was looking worse and worse as he moved his textbook and notes to the couch to be a little more comfy than the old wooden chair at his table and laid down to read it, turning on the TV on low for some noise to distract him. He just had to keep working, he could do this.

Cracking open his fourth energy drink, he set it on the table and set to work. 

By the time his phone showed four, his eyes felt incredibly heavy. Even the energy drink he had just finished seemed to have been doing nothing more to his system. Leaning his head back against the pillow, he let out a sigh. “Fuck.” he mumbled to himself. He still had another day of cramming to get through. 

He managed to force another hour of studying out of him, enough to finish off the first book before he gave up. Setting about 12 alarms, he set them for 8 am, figuring three hours would be enough to kickstart his system into functioning again to get through tomorrow. 

He laid his head back against the pillow and within seconds he was out cold.

Peter woke up to about the fifth alarm on his phone as he groaned and reached for it, his textbook sliding off his lap as he managed to find the phone and shut off all the alarms. Somehow he almost felt worse than when he went to bed.

Forcing himself to his feet, he only staggered a few steps before he had managed to regain his balance. He felt like death and he stumbled over to his bathroom. Brushing his teeth, he winced as he saw the side of his neck still showed a heavy bruise. It barely looked more healed than it would for a normal person. That was… really not good. A part of him considered going over to the Avenger’s tower to get it looked at. But he couldn’t… he had midterms.

Stumbling back over to the kitchen table he sighed and dragged his other text book over to him. He had to keep studying. His body would be fine, surely. He went to reach for another energy drink, but his stomach churned and he hesitated, before grabbing the water. For some reason just thought of more of the caffeine made him feel like he needed to go throw up. 

He had only managed to get about an hour of studying in before his stomach was desperately screeching at him to get some food into him. Sighing, he gave into it and wandered over to his kitchen. Opening his fridge he saw… condiments. Some pickles, and a barely not empty jug of milk.

He felt his heart sink at it. God, why was he just a fucking mess? Slamming the door shut, he tried to keep his breathing even as he started rummaging through his mostly empty cabinets. He paused when he saw a bag of pancake mix. Right. He had made pancakes with MJ one night as a night in. Grabbing the mix, he looked around only to see all his bowls were dirty. Biting his lip, he just shoved all the dirty plates into one sink and piled the rest up next to it, before he washed a bowl and a pan, and a spatula in the sink, breathing a bit heavier. 

A few minutes later he was finishing up the first pancake but the pile of dishes next to him just kept tearing into his heart. 

<em>Worthless.

A joke.

A disappointment.

A mess.</em>

Peter realized he didn’t have a plate to pour it onto. “FUCK!” He shouted, far too loud for the time in the morning it was as he quickly half cleaned a plate, drying it off with shaky hands as he moved to the pan. 

Now grabbing the slightly burnt pancake, his hands were shaking too much as he used the spatula but it tipped off the edge of the plate and fell onto the floor. 

He watched it slow motion but he couldn’t bring himself to catch it with his reflexes. He was just <em>so tired</em>. 

It landed unceremoniously on the dirty ground. Something in Peter broke. 

“GODDAMMIT!” He shouted as he threw the pan with enough force that it broke one the cabinets on the opposite end of the kitchen and he just dropped the spatula and slid to the ground. 

He curled his fists in his hair and just fell apart. He couldn’t stop the tears as he held his head. What the fuck was he doing with his life? He was just so damn tired. He was falling behind in all of his classes. His apartment was an embarrassment. He was broke. He had an amazing girlfriend he just kept disappointing. He needed to turn off the fucking stove and he couldn’t summon the strength to stand up.

He just clenched his head tighter, head between his knees as he did his best not to scream and get in even more trouble with his neighbors. 

He heard the sound of someone approaching his door. He wanted to stand up. To hide his mess. To do anything but he just continued to sob on the ground, everything falling apart.

There was a knock on the door. 

“Peter?” MJ’s voice called out. 

His stomach dropped. No. She can’t see him like this. He tried to stand up, but his legs weren’t responding. Everything was so bright, and everything was starting to get <em>so loud</em> He tried to speak but couldn’t find the words. He heard her knock a few more times, as well as the muffled voices of people in the hallway saying something he couldn’t make out in his state.

“Peter!” MJ’s voice was more frantic this time as he heard the door unlocking. Fuck. He forgot she had a spare key. 

She rushed in the apartment, looking around. He heard her gasp as she saw the broken cabinet. “Peter?” Her voice was more frantic as she turned and saw him on the ground. He tried to stand up again but his entire body was shaking and he couldn’t stop the fucking tears. 

“MJ…”

In a flash she was at his side, looking him over for any signs of injuries. He saw her eyes flutter around the apartment, taking the state of it in before they settled back on him as he buried his head into his knees again. 

“Peter…” Her voice was barely a whisper.

He couldn’t take it. He didn’t want anyone to see him this low. Especially not MJ. She was going to leave him. She <em>should</em>.

“Are you okay?” Her voice was gentle again.

Shakily he looked up to her, deep into her eyes. The truth rushed out of him, desperately clawing its way from deep inside. 

“No.”

[writer-akihiko]

Chapter 1 - Meeting Him [QuartetNight Ver.]

Chapter 2  →

Camus Cryszard

As a student of Saotome Music High, everyone is mostly expected to either categorise themselves in common stereotypes. You, however, were not one of those people.

The moment you entered the school and had to pick a course; your heart had already decided. You had a passion for music, but not for playing or composing, rather, conducting.

You were quite well-known in Saotome, after all you were the first female in the history of Saotome's conducting course. Due to this, you had developed an instinct to try harder and be more ambitious.

As a project to pitch to the principal to include you in Saotome's premier concert for scouters, you had to come up with a new arrangement.

Carrying your composing files, you enter your practice hall where your usual orchestra group waited for you to arrive. To your surprise, there was a person lecturing them.

The tall man had his locks in a low ponytail. As you stepped in, the orchestra looked at you. Noticing that they weren't paying attention to him anymore, the man looked at you as well.

"Another late member?" He harshly said.

You were taken aback, but smoothly replied. "I'm their conductor. I wasn't informed that anyone else would be observing today."

The faces of your orchestra members were relieved from whatever scolding this man gave them. "Please do tell what you were lecturing my orchestra about," You said to the man, arranging your pieces on your desk.

"I was simply asking your party here why they feel that the practice halls can also be for horseplay and loitering," he crosses his arms, giving you a blaming look.

You sighed. "Fukuda, did everyone finish their tasks before I got here?"

The orchestra leader nodded immediately, then silently sitting down as you and the odd long-haired man have your showdown.

You turn to the man. "Great. I don't see why they cannot relax if they finish their tasks, Mr..."

"Camus. However I believe that there is no time to relax when your proposal is soon, LN-san."

"If this misunderstanding is cleared up, you can sit near the desk and begin your observation Mr Camus," You prepare yourself at the podium.

"Very well LN."

The two of you glared at each other the whole practice as the orchestra awkwardly play the whole time.

Ai Mikaze

You had a meeting with Ai Mikaze, a popular idol of the group Quartet Night. You were going to talk to him about the new ending track for the new season of the anime you were starring in.

You were a popular voice actress with a boyish wild attitude despite some of the cutesy roles you took on. Your fans still loved you anyway, to which you are extremely grateful for. Most of your roles consist of characters from shounen animes, but you still had some other roles in fictional idol games and shoujo animes.

The song that was meant for the ending track was about the character you voiced as, the main protagonist. You had to get Ai Mikaze to understand the personality of your character and honour it through the ending. The first episode is going to be released in two weeks’ time, meaning you had no time to waste. You walked into the studio and asked for the number of the recording room. You pushed the door open and found the famous Ai Mikaze standing there, looking at what seems to be a script.

"Hey there, name's LN YN. Nice to meet you Mikaze-kun!" You enthusiastically chirped.

He didn't reply and just stared at you.

"Umm..."

"Are you sure you are LN-san?" He said.

"Yes, I am..." You answered, quite confused. "Anyway, let's get on with the script!"

Deciding to forget about that awkward situation, you took a seat.

"What do you think about your character?" He asked you, taking a seat as well.

"What?"

"What do you think about your character?"

"I heard you the first time..." You corrected. He started to look puzzled. "Well I think with the new arc going on she's going to have to face her past. That's in the song, right?"

He handed me a piece of paper. It was the lyrics pre-written. "What?! This doesn't sound like her at all! How could they disgrace my precious child like this?"

Ai continued to stare at you with wide eyes. "Um, sorry Ai. There must be a mistake in the song here. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Sorry for wasting your time."

"We could fix it together," He insisted.

"Huh?"

You two spent the rest of the week fixing the song together. It was later re-approved by the audio director who thanked both of you for doing so.

He's a little odd, you thought. He's still nice though.

Reiji Kotobuki

You were a paramedic in training. You were quite studious and serious most of the time, even outside of your job. Your senior today was hired for the rehearsal concert of the popular idol group, Quartet Night.

You and your senior were watching from the side lines. The group was practicing the choreography to Poison Kiss. You didn't know the members much, but their songs often came on the radio.

Crash!

One of the idols fell to the floor. Your senior decided that you should examine the guy as he observes you. You nodded, grabbing your kit and running to the fallen idol.

The idol was panting, clutching his ankle. You asked his bandmate, a silver haired man. "Can you get him to sit on a chair?" He nodded, seating his friend down.

You scrambled to take off his shoe and his sock. You took out one of the ice packs and supported his foot. Quickly compressing the ice, the male groaned and winced.

You looked up at the male. "Sir, you'll be fine. After this I will wrap your ankle and continue to compress. May I ask what your name is?"

He stared at you, in a daze. He looked like a puppy, almost rivalling your own puppy back at your apartment.

"Sir?"

"Umm... Kotobuki Reiji."

"Ok. Now listen here Kotobuki-san, I'm going to begin wrapping..."

You continued to talk; however Reiji did not listen. He was too busy staring at you and your beauty to pay attention.

When you looked at him... your e/c eyes caught him off guard. There was so much emotion in them... concern, worry, calmness... It was enchanting.

No wait, it didn't even start from there. When he was in pain, the sight of you running towards him made his heart race. To see someone as gorgeous as you race to him... it was like a movie when the princess leaps into the arms of her lover.

"KOTOBUKI-SAN!"

"AH YES PRINCESS!" Reiji yelled.

"Huh?"

Reiji turned redder than Otoya's hair. "U-Uh continue please Miss Paramedic."

"As I was saying, I don't think you can dance tonight. You can still sing though. I'm sorry Kotobuki-san." You apologised sincerely. You felt bad for him, as he was an idol after all.

"Don't be sorry to me Miss Prin- I mean, Paramedic," Reiji replied. "On another note, what's your name? I feel awkward calling you Miss Princ- Paramedic."

"LN YN," You said. "I must leave now. Your bandmates must want to talk to you, and I need to let you rest. Get well soon."

"Thank you," Reiji said as you walked back to your senior. "Miss Princess..." He whispered.

Ranmaru Kurosaki

[This starts when you were children]

"YN-chan!"

Your best friend Ranmaru called to you. You waddled your way to him in your polka dot f/c bathing suit. Ranmaru was rich kid that moved into the fancy villa for the holiday. When your father was delivering fish to the villa, you followed him and met Ranmaru. You two became quick friends.

Today you two were playing on the seaside.

"YN-chan..."

"Yea Mawu-chan?" You say, as you gather water with your pail.

"My mommy says that we're going to leave soon. I have to go back to school as well," He says, pouting as he grips his swim trunks.

"You can visit next howiday right Mawu-chan?" You said, hopeful.

"But... I WANT YN-CHAN WITH ME!" He cried. He grabbed your hand and brought you to his mother.

"What is it Ranmaru dear?" She said, looking at the adorable couple. Secretly, YN's mother and her ship you two.

"Mama! I don't wanna leave!" Ranmaru cries.

"Eh? Ranmaru, we already talkedー"

"NO!! NOT WITHOUT YN-CHAN!" He held onto you tighter, as to prove his point.

His mother didn't know what to do. Ranmaru continued to throw a tantrum.

"I DON'T WANNA! I WANNA GO WITH YN-CHAN! I DON'T, I DON'T!"

"Ranmaru! YN has to stay here. She has her whole family here. We can't take her with us..." His mother comforted him.

"It's okay!" You cried out. "Becawse Mawu-chan is gonna visit me evewy howiday!"

As the day ended, both of your fathers had force you two apart (or more like Ranmaru from you) and you said farewell.

On the day of Ranmaru's departure, you two were on the sand on the beach you two met.

Ranmaru was already crying to you, telling you about stupid adults that cannot bring you.

"Mawu-chan!"

"Huh?"

You gave him a shell bracelet. "Mawu-chan... I know that you're sad. I'm sad twoo. But my granny says that if I give you this shell bracelet then you'll never forget me. I made it with granny. See, I have one too!"

You showed him the bracelet and they were indeed matching. "Like Mawu, I'm gonna follow you somedway! Because Mawu's name means follow right? Meaning I have to follow you one dway!"

Ranmaru held the bracelet in his hand. "Y-YN-CHANNN!!"

The two of you cried together.

"I'll mwiss you," you yelled, as you waved at the limo and a wailing Ranmaru at the window.

Fast forward to today's time period, you were a popular athlete, a surfer to be exact. You were at one of the beaches for your nationals competition. Today was your relaxing day, but that definitely won't stop you from surfing.

Unbeknownst to you, Quartet Night was having a photoshoot on the exact same beach you were at. Ranmaru Kurosaki, your childhood friend, was complaining to their manager.

"C'mon! I'm already done! Why should I wait for Ai? He's not even facing the waves!"

"Fine Kurosaki-kun. You can go ahead and surf. I'll be watching."

"Woo-hoo!"

"How impudent," Camus remarked.

Coincidentally, you were also about to catch the waves. Ranmaru rode the wave first, and you caught up to him.

This guy is really good, you thought. As a challenge for yourself, you tried to catch up to him. You decided to try the risky route and overtake him from above. You glimpsed back and the male was shocked at what skill you had. You smirked at him and went ahead. You noticed the male try to catch up to you but failed however, until the wave was nearing an end.

You decided to surf and jump it from the top. The male followed suit, and the wipeout occurred.

"You're not too bad," you commented to the male, who just resurfaced. You were about to sit on your board and heave yourself until the male gasped.

He was staring at your bracelet. The one you gave Mawu a long time ago.

"Oh this? It’s a bracelet I gave a friend a... long... time..."

You stopped when the male across from you lifted up a necklace that had the same shells in the identical order to yours. That's when it hit you.

"MAWU?!"

"YN?!"

Ranmaru swam to you and lifted you up. "YN-chan! I can't believe it's you!" He puts you on your board. "This is so surreal..."

"I know. What are you up to here? Don't tell me you're a part of the surfing contest," You said.

"No, I'm here for a photoshoot," he said truthfully.

"You're with Quartet Night?" You said, shocked. "You didn't look like Mawu at all, y'know, because of the eyes."

"It's an aesthetic. But you? Are you a part of that contest?" You nodded. 

"Professional surfer... Wow."

"Wow yourself Mr. Idol," You laughed.

"H-Hey! Don't tease me like that! Also don't call me Mawu! It's Ranmaru!"

"Then call me YN, Ranmaru. I missed you y'know?"

"Me too YN." He said smiling.

"LN!" Your manager screamed.

"KUROSAKI!" His manager screamed.

"That's my manager..." You two said in unison to each other.

"See you around, Ranmaru," you said, swimming to shore.

"You too, YN."

Chapter 2  →

[just-jordie-things]

Jealous Much? - Peter Parker

word count: 2541 warnings: swearing summary: (y/n) is just a little bit jealous but Peter thinks it’s adorably unnecessary (a/n): this is really old lol

(y/n) was never really much for jealousy.  She trusted her boyfriend, she knew he’d never do anything behind her back, and even if he did he’d feel incredibly guilty about it.  It’s what made Peter Parker cute.  He was so afraid of hurting her feelings that it made his stomach twist up and he’d apologize profusely.  It happened just last week when they were supposed to have a movie night but he’d forgotten to but popcorn.

And of course she was never mad, how could she be? He was just so damn cute when he rambled on with ridiculous apologies and all she could do was smile and kiss him.

She was standing at her locker when the boy came up to her, smiling as soon as he’d seen her putting her things away.  The usual sleepy look on her face since it was seven in the morning, and he’d learned quickly she was not a morning person.

“Morning beautiful” He called, and she turned around to smile at him, allowing him to kiss her cheek quickly.  Public displays of affection made Peter nervous, but it was worth it to see her blush before looking down to hide her grin.

“Morning” She responded, her tiredness evident in her voice.  “How was patrol last night?” She asked him quietly before shutting her locker and holding onto the strap of her backpack.

“Nothing happened” Peter shrugged.  “Which I suppose is a good thing…” (y/n) giggled, shaking her head at him.

She’d only been dating Peter for a few months, but she’d known him since her and Ned met him in the first grade.  He had tried to hide his secret identity from her, but Ned found out first and couldn’t keep the secret to himself.  Though ultimately it’s what prompted Peter to tell the girl about his real feelings, and not long after the two of them became official.  And she’s never been happier.  But sometimes, the Spider-Man side of his life scared her to death.

“I’d say so” (y/n) replied, and Peter gave her that look.  That completely adoring one, where his eyes were swimming pools of hearts.  “You probably still got to bed late, huh?” She asked, looking over and seeing those eyes of his.  “What?” Her eyes narrowed just a little, wondering why he was staring at her like that.  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked again when he didn’t answer right away.

“N-nothing I’m listening to you” He shrugged innocently.  (y/n) smiled bashfully, and dropped the subject.  “But y-yeah I went to bed at like two in the morning”

“Jesus Peter” She sighed.  “Seriously, you need to pace yourself a little” Her voice was soft, so no one would hear, and so he didn’t feel like she was pushing him.

“I know” He breathed.  “Can’t help it” She smiled good naturedly at him, knowing he loved being a hero.

“Hey guys!” Ned came running up in between them, grinning happily at them both.

“Hey Ned” Peter said, giving him a slightly pissed off look for shoving him away from his girlfriend.

“Morning Ned” (y/n) said.  “Why’re you all perky?”

“The new girl!” He whispered yelled.  “Have you seen her?” He asked Peter, who shook his head.  “Oh dear God she’s hot- no offense (y/n/n)”

(y/n’s) brows furrowed, her head shaking slightly as she looked at her friend, but didn’t say anything before he started talking again.

“Her name’s Dana, or Diana, or something” Ned went on.  “And She’s gorgeous, like ten outta ten gorgeous”

“Cool” Peter mumbled, not really sure what to say.  “Is she nice”

“Don’t know, haven’t talked to her yet” He said.  “I’m hoping to, we have Chemistry together! I saw her schedule on Liz’s story so that people can be nice to her and stuff and man am I gonna be nice to her”

“Ned” (y/n) forced a chuckle, trying not to let on that her feelings were just  little bit hurt.  

“Go for it” Peter shrugged.

“Really? You think I could? I’m not like you”

“What does that mean?” Peter asked, clearly confused.  And if (y/n) was being honest, she didn’t get it either.

“You’re the one with the girlfriend” Ned shrugged.  “You know what you’re doing”

(y/n) held back a laugh.  Peter never knew what he was doing.

“What?” Peter still seemed confused, but they were already at class and Ned cut off the conversation.

“That’s her” Ned whispered, nodding his head to the girl in the back.

“Woah” (y/n) murmured.  Ned was right, she was hot.  “She’s gorgeous” (y/n’s) voice dropped, and Ned seemed to realize she was put down.

“Don’t be one of those girls” He said as Peter went in and sat at his usual seat.

“What?”

“The kind that thinks you aren’t good enough” Ned explained, before walking in.  (y/n) shook her head to get over it and came in to take her seat next to Peter.

“Everything alright?” He asked her.

“Yeah why wouldn’t I be?” She responded, clearing her throat and quickly trying to get out her Chem notes to et started in class and ignore the awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“(y/n/n)-”

“Really, I’m alright.  Just tired as always” She said, glancing at him quickly then back to her papers.  Peter frowned, but didn’t want to push her so he let it drop.

“Alright everyone, get out your notebooks.  We’ll be taking notes and then running a quick lab” Their professor said, starting class off right off the bat.  (y/n) turned to look behind her at Ned, and behind him, Dana or Diana, she still wasn’t sure.

“Lab day” Ned said with a big grin.  (y/n) rolled her eyes, unsure why Ned loved labs so much.  Him and Peter always got so excited for them.

Notes went by relatively quickly, neither (y/n) or Peter talking.  She was using her ‘hardworking’ note taking to her advantage, avoiding any form of confrontation that could happen.  It was going fine until her phone buzzed on the desk.

[Ned] : oh no are u and peter fighting bc u haven’t talked

[(y/n)] : we’re fine

[Ned] : lies, why would u think he’d ever prefer some random girl over u

After that she put her phone in her backpack, turning to give Ned a look again.

“Miss (y/l/n)?”

The girl spun around, facing front again, her eyes wide as her teacher glared at her.

“Would you like to join the class now or are you in a serious conversation with Mr Leeds?”

(y/n) nodded her head quickly, cheeks blushing a bright pink in embarrassment as the class continued on.  Peter looked over at her, chuckling quietly.

“Same thing happened last week” He said, causing her to smile a little bit but she didn’t say anything.  This time not wanting to get into more trouble.

Once it was lab time, and she’d gotten her goggles on and ready to start ripping the tinfoil up to put in a solution, Peter was rambling about how he’d already known the observations that they were going to make.  He knew something was still up, because she still wasn’t responding much to him.

What had happened? Just that morning she’d hugged him and talked to him, and now it was like something had happened in a snap.  And of course he was worried and wanted to know what was going on, but he didn’t want to push her to open up either.  So he did what he id best and rambled about chemistry until eventually she cut him off.

“Peter!” She finally called out, looking over at him, being all cute in his lab goggles and his hair all messed up from them.  “I get it, the foil burns and the solution changes color” She chuckled quietly.

“Miss (y/l/n)”

Cursing silently, she looked back to her teacher after getting yelled at again.

“Mr Parker, back of the class with Dana for the day.  Miss (y/l/n) you’ll be working by yourself today since you can’t seem to focus on your own”

“Yes Mrs Adreille” She mumbled as Peter packed up his things and walked to the back of the classroom.  (y/n) turned around and watched as he got settled next to the new girl.

“Nice job” Ned snickered, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

She spent the entire last half hour of the class doing a lab all by herself, and listening to Peter’s distant laughter.  Kicking herself repeatedly her pencil nearly broke as she was writing down her observations.

But she’d never really been one for jealousy.

“I swear to God I swear to God” (y/n) grumbled to MJ as they got their lunches from their lockers together.  “She was batting her eyelashes Michelle, I’m gonna rip them out-”

“Okay breathe” MJ giggled to herself at the violent image in her mind.  Sweet, soft spoken (y/n) plucking out a girl’s eyelashes.  “Peter would never cheat”

“It’s not about cheating, it’s about some other girl hitting on my-”

She stopped speaking when she looked down the hall and saw her boyfriend walking alongside the girl she recently realized she despised.  Her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared the girl down.

“Wow” Michelle’s eyes rolled.  “Will you chill? You and Peter have only been dating a couple months”

(y/n) didn’t respond.

“I mean seriously, what’re you in love with-” MJ gasped loudly.  “Oh, my, God”

“Shut up”

“No way”

“Don’t say anything”

“(y/n)!”

“Please don’t do this” The girl pleaded.

“You’re in love with Peter Parker? And I thought he’d be a virgin forever”

“MJ!” (y/n) scolded.

“Oh come on.  You’re being crazy.  Peter’s legit smitten by you, have you not seen the way he stares at you like you’re a goddamn piece of art? It’s. Cause.  He.  Knows  You.  Are.  Art” She clapped in between her words.  “Some random new girl isn’t gonna change that”

(y/n) still stayed silent as they walked into the cafeteria together.  Ready to sit through an awkward lunch time only to leave and complain to MJ again.  But again, she was greeted with a sight that made her blood completely boil.

“She’s at our fucking table” She practically growled out.  Michelle’s bows shot up in surprise from her words, not having expected such a volatile reaction from her friend.  “That’s it! Hold my lunch” She blindly handed her bag to Michelle, swiftly making her way towards where Peter and Ned were sat in their usual spots at the table, Dana sitting across from them.  His eyes found hers, his face brightening as she sat in the seat next to him.

“Hey (y/n/n) how was Calc-”

He was promptly cut off by her hands grabbing his face and tugging his lips down against hers.  A muffled sound coming from his throat but he kissed her back nonetheless.  Sure it wasn’t the first time she’d kissed him this passionately, but no one else had ever been allowed to see it.  His hands had set on her jaw, their lips still moving together in a spontaneous makeout session.

“Holy shit!” Ned exclaimed from next to them, while (y/n’s) hands ran through his tresses of hair and her tongue swiped over the seal of her lips.  “They aren’t stopping! Pete! Hey Pete! Take a breather man!”

(y/n) pulled away with a small smirk on her lips, her eyes holding a mischievous glint that Peter had never seen there, but at this point he was fairly certain he loved it.  His girlfriend straightened out his shirt and fixed his hair up all nice again, and wiped her lip with her thumb before looking over at the girl across the table.

“Who’s your friend Pete?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at Dana, who was now staring between Peter Ned and (y/n) in absolute confusion and awkwardness.

“This is Dana.  Dana, this is (y/n), the girl I was telling you about” Peter introduced awkwardly.  He looked back to (y/n) wish raised brows and a pointed stare.  She smiled bashfully, her heart fluttering at the idea of Peter telling someone about her.  “Dana’s new here”

“Hi” The new girl smiled and waved nervously.  After (y/n’s) very public affection there was a tension left behind that made everyone shift in their seats.  “Nice to meet you, Peter sure talks a lot about you”

“You too” (y/n) squeaked, extending her hand and offering the kindest smile she could

“Anyways, I’ll see you guys another time hopefully.  I’ve gotta meet my boyfriend in study hall” She smiled sweetly before getting up and heading off.

“B-boyfriend?” (y/n’s) voice nearly failed her as she looked over at Peter.  Who still had that dumb look on his face.

“Yep.  Dana was telling me in Chem how she was excited her parents moved here because this is the school her boyfriend goes to, and now she can see him more often” Peter said, a cocky grin growing on his lips.  “And meanwhile I was telling her how lucky I was to have you at this school cause it would suck without you here.  Cause… well yaknow.  You’re the best” He shrugged simply, but his grin was still there.

She felt like an idiot.

“So, what was with the little show?” Ned asked, making (y/n’s) cheeks burn.

“Yeah (y/n/n) what was with the show?” Peter repeated.

“Shut up I was jealous” She mumbled under her breath.

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch it” Peter said.  She mumbled again.  “You’re gonna have to speak up hon-”

“I said I was jealous!” She snapped.  “Sorry! It’s just… Ned kept going on about her and then- I just got in my own head and-”

Peter cut her off, kissing her lips chastely.

“You silly girl” He shook his head, the biggest smile on his face.  “There’s no other girl in this whole galaxy I could love as much as you.  Much less some random chick that just moved here” He said.  And if she wasn’t already blushing, surely she was now.

“Can we forget it happened?” She asked hopefully, but Peter shook his head.

“Nope I don’t think I’m ever gonna forget it happened” He said, making her rol her eyes playfully.

“Yeah.  Me either” Ned grumbled.

“Fine” (y/n) sighed.  “I promise not to be stupid anymore”

“You’re not stupid, you were just being ridiculous” Peter chuckled.  “Really, I can’t believe you let that get to you” He said, shaking his head and cupping her face in his hands.  “Absolutely ridiculous” He said, kissing her again softly.  She held back her smile, very much liking all the affection she was getting.

“I love you too, by the way” She told him, happy to be able to say it without her voice stuttering and failing her.

“You’re cute, but you made that pretty clear” Peter snickered, earning a jaw drop from (y/n) and a smack on the shoulder.

“Yeah.  Very clear” Ned muttered, but the young couple ignored it, kissing softly again.  “Very clear!”

taglist: @writings-and-stuff @rofromtheashes @tomshufflepuff @steve-avengers-rogers @vibhati123 @dark-night-sky-99  @hollandhours @drakonwild​ @imofficiallyobsessed​ @fussy-and-a-writer-sometimes

xoxo ~ jordie

[insanityclause]

Guillermo Del Toro is no stranger to widespread acclaim, especially from his ride or die legion of fans. Pan’s Labyrinth, the Hellboy duology, the list of genre-bending, timeless masterworks goes on. Coming off his 2 Oscar wins for The Shape of Water in 2018, and moving into finally releasing his animated Pinocchio film from the pits of development hell along with an adaption of Nightmare Alley next year, this couldn’t be a more thriving time for the Mexican auteur. Though amongst all the praise and glory, something has still felt missing these last handful of years. Besides his Oscar-winning film, Del Toro’s works prior to the 2010s are what generally buzz conversations of his genius. Those aforementioned films did, after all, skyrocket his name to fame. His titles from the last decade, however, are just as crucial to the Del Toro canon and emphasize his greater influence as a filmmaker. One, in particular, has seemingly gotten by in its young life at the hands of few. But now that Crimson Peak has officially turned 5, it’s time to turn that few into many.

Del Toro’s trifecta of the 2010s (not counting his work on television) stand out vastly from one another. Pacific Rim, Crimson Peak, and The Shape of Water: all love letters penned from the ‘nichest’ corners of his mind. These 3 arguably boast more diversity in genre than Del Toro’s 5 films of the 2000s (3 comic-book adaptations and 2 Spanish-set fantasies). Not a criticism, as established, those films now flaunt an immovable place within the cultural zeitgeist. Though with a career notoriously marked by a slew of unrealized projects (more on this later), it’s not often recognized how the ideas that did make the cut still lead a crystal clear trajectory in Del Toro’s growth as a storyteller. In the eyes of many, Del Toro pulls ideas out of a hat and gambles on which one actually sees the light of day. Humorous sure, but this is far from the truth.

Each Del Toro project feels like a pivotal step for what would come later, take his work on Trollhunters paving the way for his upcoming first animated feature for instance. Despite this trajectory, Crimson Peak feels criminally unsung 5 years later. Pacific Rim continued its life with a sequel and more planned spin-offs. The Shape of Water literally set a new bar for the Academy. This leaves Crimson Peak feeling like the pushed aside middle child of this trio. This isn’t a call for a sequel, and ‘underrated’ gets tossed around very loosely in modern film discussion. But for cinema as quintessential as Crimson Peak, it just doesn’t feel like it gets enough recognition – especially when the current film industry is seeing less big-budget, R-rated projects heavily steeped in genre.

You can easily trace Crimson Peak‘s short-lived spotlight back to its marketing. The timely October release and scare-heavy trailers sold a classic ‘Haunted House’ horror, when in reality, Del Toro’s film is a Gothic Romance. Set in the early 1900s, an aspiring American writer, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), is swept away by a promising English baronet, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). They discover true love and marry, leading the young newlywed to her husband’s decaying mansion in the English hills. The age-old manor is slowly, but surely, sinking in red clay – the very source of Sharpe’s wealth. Here Edith is forced to live with her new sister-in-law, Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), a reserved yet commanding force who works to hide the true nature of the house and its endless secrets. Mystery lingers as untamed lust, envy and greed unfold between the mansion walls, not leaving enough room for the restless red-colored spirits who haunt them. When it snows on this cursed hill, the clay surfaces, making it seem as if the land bleeds. Given more than just red clay rises from beneath, a deeper meaning is given to the place locals call ‘Crimson Peak’.

Just like the clay at the center of its mystery, Crimson Peak is an amalgamation, but of genre. It would be novice to expect anything less from Del Toro. The Gothic elements call back to many classic tales, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s adaption of Rebecca and, of course, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. On the horror side, homage is paid to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. It’s a devilish blend that only this filmmaker could pull off so beautifully. And oh is Crimson Peak so god damn gorgeous. To contrast common period pieces that go for muted or sepia-toned color palettes, Del Toro turns the saturation on high. The result is an eye-popping picture that heightens the core emotions at play: fear, pain, and more importantly, love. Simply mesmerizing, avid fans will be quick to recognize the same shades of golden yellows, sea greens, and ruby reds found in Del Toro’s other works. It feels right at home in his filmography visually, while packing its own unique punch.

Red, a color mainly associated with passion, here instead intricately represents endless bloodshed. A twist that would suggest Crimson Peak is just as equal a horror film as it is a love story. Regardless of what might have been initially marketed to audiences in 2015, this film is a Gothic Romance from start to finish. Del Toro himself made this distinction clear to the studio from the get-go and repeatedly draws the line whenever given the chance. Yet, much like the rest of his repertoire, Crimson Peak utilizes horror not as a means to an end, but as a means for introspection. Yes, there are classic horror conventions such as jump scares, but it couldn’t be more obvious that Crimson Peak isn’t trying to evoke the same kind of high and dry fear other films heavily rely on. Del Toro is actively trying to get under your skin to achieve a hell of a cathartic viewing experience.

The ghosts of our past and how we let them define us is a core theme in Crimson Peak. The film opens on a flashback in which Edith is visited by the charcoal black ghost of her recently deceased mother. The nature of this visit sets the groundwork for the rest of the narrative. Mother Ghost, dreadful in appearance, doesn’t necessarily come to haunt her child, but to warn her. “Beware of Crimson Peak,” she says. The way Edith takes in this otherworldly occurrence, and those that follow, sets her apart from everyone else in the film. Wherein others flee from or lock away the ghosts of their past, she learns how to wear them on her sleeves – reaching out to the dead multiple times in the story, each attempt more confident than the last. Not too dissimilar from what Del Toro was playing with before, Jaeger pilots confronting past trauma in their quest to defeat Kaiju. At the same time, the transformation that occurs in Crimson Peak when neglected demons consume you from the inside – humans becoming the true monsters of their supernatural tales – would only be amplified in Del Toro’s next film.

Every minute detail coincides with this strategized, therapeutic use of horror. And to the everyday moviegoer trained by common tropes, Crimson Peak is quite deceptive. Just like Mother Ghost at the beginning of the film, the red spirits never manifest with the intent to cause physical harm, but instead to give messages and guide. Red clay seeps down the walls and the mansion ‘breathes’ as the country winds burst in. The house feels alive in the most cinematic sense possible, but the case as to it being ‘horrifying’ is not so black and white. Expertly designed to every inch, there is plenty of beauty to be found in the manor. Much of it has just been corrupted by a debauched affair – keeping this story rooted as a Gothic Romance. Subversion has always been the name of Del Toro’s game, and it’s within Crimson Peak that he uses it to mix genre so well while still staying true to his vision.

Though Crimson Peak saw Del Toro take subversion to a new level, notably with his main character. This film is a key chapter in his overarching legacy; not the first of his works to be lead by a defiant woman, but the first to have the female hero entangled in an unabashed love story. Effortlessly played by the brilliant Mia Wasikowska, the not so damsel in distress at the center of Crimson Peak is one of the most significant characters of Del Toro’s career. In discussing Gothic Romance with The Mary Sue in 2015, Del Toro explains: “This is quintessentially a female genre, that was written with characters that were very complex, very strong. I wanted to make a movie in which to some degree I recuperated and, maybe if possible, enhanced all that.” And enhanced he did for every central male character acts in more distress than Edith ever does, even when she is literally at the edge of death. A more than welcome change of pace that makes for a more resonating film.

Edith’s willingness to tackle the unknown is captivating and her vigor inspiring. But she isn’t absolved of frailty. For someone who comes to terms with facing the dead, her sheer vulnerability to heartbreak and suffering brings great humanity to the role. Hardly recognized, but Edith is one of Del Toro’s most self-reflective protagonists. A marginalized writer, inspired by the great Mary Shelley no less, in the midst of drafting her magnum opus, she immediately faces backlash from her novel’s inclusion of the paranormal. “It’s not [a ghost story]. It’s more a story with a ghost in it. The ghost is just a metaphor… for the past,” she says – giving Crimson Peak a rare Del Toro tongue-in-cheek quality that he utilizes until the credits roll. Meta enough given that the crimson ghosts Edith later encounters are, in fact, echoes of the past, but when looking back on the public’s initial perception of the film, it creates a charming, albeit ironic, wit only found here.

Additionally, when tracing back to Crimson Peak‘s pre-production days, you’ll find something even more profound. Penned by Del Toro and an old collaborator, screenwriter Matthew Robbins; this was the first script completed after the release of Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006. The two first worked together an entire decade earlier on Mimic, which has now gone down as the only film Del Toro has truly lost to studio interference. Del Toro was supposed to direct Crimson Peak in the late 2000s, but along came Hellboy II and his involvement in launching The Hobbit (another R.I.P). Through this hectic time, Del Toro would reunite with Robbins in writing 2010’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, directed by Troy Nixey. However, the two also spent time together writing something else: an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness.

For those unfamiliar, At the Mountains of Madness is by far one of, if not, the most tragic of this filmmaker’s unrealized projects. After spending years trying to get this dream off the ground, Del Toro had the following to say to Empire in 2010: “It doesn’t look like I can do it. It’s very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing a period-set, R-rated, tentpole movie with a tough ending and no love story.” The payoff of Crimson Peak being a period-set, R-rated, tentpole film only 5 years after that statement couldn’t be sweeter. In the film, Edith is told to insert a love story for the better of her novel. Del Toro is obviously commenting on expectations tied to gender here, but you can’t help but wonder if he’s also referring to one of the biggest thorns in his own writing career – one that also ties back to writing partner Matthew Robbins.

When faced with the question, Del Toro has consistently said that all of his films carry an inherent Mexican touch just from the utter fact that they come from him, and Crimson Peak is no different. Whether if deriving from his personal experiences with tackling genre, both on and off paper, or from actual events tied to his life – Del Toro reimagines two separate ghostly encounters experienced by him and his mother through Edith – this film beams with the very essence of Del Toro’s soul. Perhaps most personified when the marginalized writer gets bloody and fights back with nothing but her pen, a visual that cements this as an important stepping stone in his career. It’s a fascinating through-line, connecting to very different segments of his canon while still defining a clear path. The mending of our wounds and subversion of gender roles is continued from Pacific Rim, while setting a bold new course for delving into unfiltered, mature romance in The Shape of Water.

This is only a fraction of what makes Crimson Peak quintessential Guillermo Del Toro. Gothic Romance has long been part of this auteur’s framework, and you would be remiss not to indulge in all of its glorious melodrama. Even if it isn’t your cup of tea, Del Toro will make it so. Reaching its 5-year anniversary, the film hits stronger than before. The intricate motifs, compelling use of practical effects (complete with the involvement of Del Toro veteran Doug Jones), and cathartic use of horror make for something that has yet to be replicated by a major studio. Its lacking box office performance suggests that maybe the world merely wasn’t ready for this masterwork? But just like its characters, we hold the power to define what comes next. Del Toro himself has previously ranked Crimson Peak as one of the 3 best films he’s ever made, and straight-up called it the most beautiful. Take his word and dive in no strings attached, because who knows when we’ll get another large scale, unapologetic Gothic Romance with this much grandeur.

[nc7dr3am]

LILY’s RELTIONSHIPS WITH THE DREAMIES

MARKLY:

so their ship name is just his full name LMAO

they love it

so yknow how dream clowns mark?

obviously she does too

but she’s more gentle and has a TON of respect for mark

“minhyung oppa is extremely hardworking ... he’s always working to be his absolute best and he is so kind and down to earth”

they’re actually a really soft duo

because like. mark is truly her big brother

he cares for her a lot and helped her so much during her debut

he helps her practice her dancing (even after he left dream)

because she trusts him a lot and he know the exact way to help her

but yeah she still clowns him

calls him old man all of the time

but she was full on SOBBING at their last concert with mark

like she had to move her mic because it was so bad

mark isn’t too big on the pda but when they’re together he always lets his baby sister give him so many hugs

when sm told them that mark was coming back and they were a fixed unit ... god she cried a lot then too

she was so happy

“lily is actually so sweet guys. like, she’s so genuine. she cares a lot for all of us and she’s also so intelligent? she’s always reading” - mark when asked about her on vlive

he’s trying to teach her guitar but the only instrument she formally knows is violin

her skill with the bass is self taught and she doesn’t know actual notes so she applies that to guitar and mark is trying to ACTUALLY teach her

mark also understands her well because they were both raised in the west

she expresses herself better in english and mark is always there to understand and listen

they’re just actual siblings and love each other so much

LILJUN:

firstly

lily makes renjun look a lot taller

she doesn’t ever make fun of his height and gets mad at the other dreamies when they do

she clowns his voice crack tho HAH

lowkey the savage duo

lily is more secretly savage though

renjun is the one allowed in her room the most

he works on his art and she reads or writes or practices violin

they have a lot of quiet moments

but they also get silly together

so lily doesn’t think about the universe deeply because she lowkey thinks it’s a waste of her time

like .. she’ll never know and she’s fine with that so why dwell on it

HOWEVER she really believes in aliens and she and renjun legit have sat for hours looking online ab alien shit

they’re also both so smart

and she’s always talking about how much she admires renjun’s brain

stans his vocal talent. like. she’s loud about it

fans love this duo a lot nd they have a lot of romantic shippers

even tho .. they have never liked each other that way LMAO

at the airport she links arms with him a lot and they look like they’re gossiping hhhhh

when the dreamies are being too much they just look at each other and fans love that shit

also they’re both arguably the scariest members

renjun because... duh y’all know him

but lily doesn’t get annoyed often. when she does... there’s hell to pay and she has a good punch

“renjun oppa is so good at korean! i’m actually korean and he speaks it better than i do!”

“that’s because i’m smarter than you”

“do you want to die?”

basically just a really close pair! they’re always there for each other 🥺

JENLY:

she openly says that jeno is the cutest member

“he’s the most adorable person ever! his eyesmile is too cute”

the way she laughed when jeno ripped his shirt off-

she clowned him for DAYS

every time she was wearing a jacket or cardigan she ripped it off and mocked him

also whenever she’s drinking something around him she recreates his milk cf

also!!! she thinks jeno is so funny

she loves him and his humor

she and jeno have a really really deep bond.

he saw her journal (refer to my post about her room) and he’ll take what he read to the grave

he checks in on her a lot because he knows when she’s hurting

when they were trainees she was struck by how kind he was to her

and they were stuck together ever since

lily hasn’t ever been mad at him ONCE

they’re arguably the softest duo

they have a lot of romantic shippers too but

again

it’s a no

she’s a big nomin shipper too like unironically she thinks there’s something there

she always hypes his vocals!! he doesn’t get to sing enough >:(

he’s also her biggest cheerleader and when she cries and gets upset about her dancing he always pulls her aside and consoles her 🥺

he helps her with writing songs too!

wholesome beautiful friendship

they go out to eat a lot

jeno also helps her paint her nails LMAO

and they ride bikes together a lot

can’t commit to working out with him though because it’s way too much for her to do all that

lily also bakes a lot. and jeno appreciates that. a LOT

they’re best friends. she even bought them stupid girly heart bracelets that connect together LMAO

JIHYUCK:

so much affection!!!!

she is such a hyuck stan

“haechannie is my bias!!”

always calls him fullsun (in english)

number one hyuck skin enthusiast!! she thinks he’s gorgeous and glows brighter than all of them

also she loves his singing and thinks his vocal tone is so unique

always laughs at his jokes and finds him hilarious

he doesn’t prank her as much as the others because he’s actually so sweet to her

he’s used to having a younger sister and thinks of lily as his little sister

they constantly text and facetime a lot since they live in different dorms

she’s lowkey whipped for him and he’s whipped for her

not in a romantic way tho!

another member who always eats her baking

they learn girl group dances together

now we all know damn well that hyuck is the sweetest boy and so full of love

but we also know he annoys the shit out of the members

jimin is NO exception

he pokes fun at her and mocks her all the time

so she slaps him in the back of the head LMAOO

when does she actually get mad tho? when he shows up at the dorms and enters her room without permission

cue her chasing him around the dorms with murder in her eyes

yknow the vine where it’s like

“let me see what you have?”

“a KNIFE”

“NO”

that’s the other guys making sure hyuck doesn’t get brutally murdered

because lily can pack a punch

all in all though, they’re a great duo and they’re always so proud of each other

JAEJIMIN:

okay jaemin babies the FUCK outta her

he always takes care of her and talks to her about her concerns and vice versa

he was so happy for her when she debuted and was sad he couldn’t be there for it

she visited him all the time when he was gone

and she was heartbroken that he wasn’t with dream

she is a BIG 8dream stan because they are a family

but yeah fans can’t even ship them romantically because they know lily is his lil baby

she helps him with his english

and he always compliments her singing and dancing

proud of her songwriting

so much affection

even tho she hates when he pinches her cheeks n calls her cute

when he came back during go she was overjoyed

“go is our special era! we were all reunited~~”

he always wanted a sister and now he has one <3

she drinks a lot of coffee but not as much as him and was so worried about his health

they’re the biggest flirts w czennies

you’ll always find them with their arms linked in the airport

and everywhere really

during empathy era she was always hugging jaemin’s side

they also do a lot of lives together!!

such cute bffs

she is a big nomin stan like i said

name twins and they always tell everyone that they’re actual siblings

jaemin’s mom is so fond of her and treats her like her own daughter

HE REALLY TRIES TO GIVE HER FASHION ADVICE AND GIVE INPUT ON HOW HER HAIR SHOULD LOOK FOR COMEBACKS

they’re really true siblings and best friends 🥺

LILLE:

THESE MFS ARE BEST FRIENDS

01’ liners and so similar in ages but he ALWAYS brings up that he’s older

they compete over a lot

literally everything is a competition

she’s at her most childish with him

they also make lots of bets and she usually wins

clowns him for those predebut pics LOL

SHE ALWAYS SEND THEM IN THE GC AND EVEN POSTS THEM ON BUBBLE N SHIT HAHA

they can be really soft but will never admit it even if they are caught on camera

they’re pretty calm if they’re cooking together

he is Banned™️ from her room and she won’t budge at all

“chenle isn’t allowed in my room because he will disturb my peace”

remember on that one ep of weekly idol where chenle was SCREAMING while they did aegyo

yeah it’s louder when lily does aegyo

u didn’t hear it from me but her aegyo is SO cute it’s not as cringey as the others

but chenle hates it because she’s cute and he wants to clown her but he CANT

really proud of each other. super proud of each other

chenle has sat with her as she’s cried a lot. and comforted her. and it always stays between them.

she’s always there for him too

a LOT of fans have suspected that there’s something there

his mom loves her so much!!!!!

when she and jisung went to his house they were BAFFLED and impressed

“something bothers me a lot. one day, chenle woke up and looked grown up. he used to have chubby cheeks and looked like a kid and now he looks like an adult and has such defined cheekbones. it’s so strange”

when they became adults they got SHITFACED DRUNK

they definitely don’t say it a lot and when they do it’s in private (even tho everyone knows)

but they really love each other 🥺

LILJI:

jisung and lily is

p o p u l a r

with fans

because fans put together the pieces that jisung had a crush on lily during debut

lily thought it was sweet because jisung was always so cute and young

she saw him as a little kid

they used to not have MANY interactions

she always laughs when jisung is bein funny

and is in AWE of his dancing

he always assures her when she gets upset about her dancing

lilchenji is an ICONIC friendship

they watch a lot of movies together

she’s been on chenjis this and that a few times

remember that live when nomin got all in each other’s faces while chenji just froze and looked at them and then looked at the camera and looked real shocked

she was there and the three of them were like 😶

so yeah when jisung started getting really tall lily was real confused

and then somehow

during go and we go up

jisung started looking different. like. more grown up

and he had more confidence and talked to her more

and lily was like 😳😳

but spoilers so i won’t go too deep into that

they’re really good friends these days tho

the fans LOVE THEM it’s such a popular ship

at the dream shows when they sing bye my first

the song that lily famously LOVES

yknow that one line jisung has where the music goes quiet and he goes

“na geuttaeneun cham eoryeosseo”

blessed line it was beautiful

anyway at the dream show jisung would hold the mic to lily and have her sing the line or they’d duet it

and their eye contact!!!! and lily’s SMILE IS SO BRIGHT

stars in their eyes

um anyway!! they’re great friends nd very shippable for. reasons!

author’s note! i’m also a ‘01 liner! so don’t think it’s weird if i’m writing a jisung romance LMAO or who knows if it’ll be jisung? 👀👀