#this one was kinda rushed since i completely forgot his birthday was today but fuck it we ball

[bucketinyourwalls]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FALK YOU STUPID OLD MAN 🗣🗣🗣💥💥💥

Close up + ref under cut 🫶

[infested-tea]

Monoma x Tetsutetsu Bday One-shot

I missed his birthday! FUCK!!! Ok. Happy late birthday Monoma!

Also some line breaks are off bc Tumblr is being a shithead.

Also, Tetsutetsu is trans bc I headcanon him as that and is mid transition so...

I love this ship so fucking much and it’s great.

Warning for: A bunch of fluff! Little bit of angst Monoma, a mention of abuse,

Also, these two will be dating throughout High School and are now adults, takes place one year after graduation.

Alright let’s go!

Favorite Places

Tetsutetsu let out a sigh. He stared at his beautiful boyfriend lying on his chest. He held him tighter with a hum.

The two spent the night together in Neito’s apartment. The blond said he had been feeling lonelier than normal lately. So, of course Tetsutetsu had to come. It was the manliest thing to do!

The sun outside was beginning to peak its yellow face out from behind the blinds. Tetsutetsu grabbed his phone, he saw a text from Kendo.

Big Fist: Did you forget Monoma’s birthday?

Tetsutetsu felt a rush of panic. It completely slipped his mind! He didn’t even have a gift! Usually, Neito would love being spoiled and would remind him every year so Tetsutetsu could do it. Strangely, he didn’t this year.

Iron Hide: ...Maybe...

Big Fist: You did. Oh lord. Tetsu, you better find something to please him. You know how he gets.

Iron Hide: I know... I promise! I’ll make it the best ever.

Big Fist: You better. He’s a lil’ shit buts he’s out lil’ shit.

Big Fist: He’s been kinda off recently. Has he told you anything?

Iron Hide: No. He told me yesterday to come over. He’s been really distant lately.

Tetsutetsu heard Neito shift with a sigh. Tetsutetsu quickly texted Kendo goodbye before smiling down at the blond on top of him. Neito’s blue eyes fluttered open, being greeted to a toothy grin from a silver-haired iron shark.

“Morning, Neito!” Tetsutetsu greeted cheerily. Neito hummed in response, snuggling closer to Tetsutetsu’s face and kissing his cheek. Tetsutetsu felt his face warm up. He heard the blond chuckle.”Morning.” He smiled sleepily.

Tetsutetsu loved mornings like this. It was the one time Monoma was Neito, instead of just Monoma. He would smile easier and was so much more relaxed. And then they had to go out into public, and Monoma changed. His shell came back.

Now, Monoma had become less of an egotistical, slightly unhinged maniac. But, the facade of “I’m better than you” never truly dropped away fully unless Monoma was comfortable being Neito around you.

And Neito trusted no one more than iron boy. And Tetsutetsu knew that, and promised himself he would never betray it.

Tetsutetsu kissed Neito’s forehead with a smile.”I love you. So much.” He mumbled. Neito’s face went beat red at his words. He pouted.”Unfair...” He protested. Tetsutetsu giggled. He always did that whenever the silver-haired boy said those magic words.

Neito sighed contently.”I love you too.” Tetsutetsu beamed at him. He wrapped his arms around Neito’s smaller frame and cuddled him. Neito felt his face redden as he was buried deeper into his boyfriend’s chest.

Everything was quiet for a moment, Tetsutetsu softly stroking the blond’s soft hair and Neito refusing to show his face. Until, the blond’s hold on his boyfriend’s shirt tightened. Tetsutetsu’s gaze immediately shot to the blond in worry. “What’s wrong?” Tetsutetsu asked.

Neito mumbled something that was muffled by the shirt. Tetsutetsu repeated the question.”I said nothing!” He snapped.

Tetsutetsu went quiet. He looked at Neito with sad puppy-dog eyes.”I’m sorry... I’ve just been worried. You’ve been... off the past couple of days.”

Neito looked away from Tetsutetsu, biting his thumb. Something he usually did when he was overthinking. Tetsutetsu sat up and cradled Neito.”You’ve been weird the past couple of days, baby... It scares me when you don’t tell me what’s bother you. You know I’m always here for you and-“

Tears burst out of Neito eyes. Tetsutetsu instinctively burst forward and trapped Neito in a tight, protective hug.

Neito sobbed for what felt like forever. And all Tetsutetsu could do was rock back and forth gently and run his fingers through the blond’s hair comfortingly.

After a while, Neito’s shoulders stopped heaving and his breathing became steadier. A few tears still slipped down his face, but Tetsutetsu kissed them away.

Neito held onto Tetsutetsu tightly.”My dad...” Was all he mumbled out. Tetsutetsu felt a familiar spark of anger at the mention. He looked at Neito worriedly, inspecting him.”He didn’t lay a hand on you did he? What happened? Are you ok?” Tetsutetsu stopped at the last question. He clicked his tongue.”Well... obviously not. But that’s not the point!” Tetsutetsu grabbed Neito’s chin so he would look at him. The blond’s red, tear-stained face and puffy eyes made his chest ache. And his own dad did this. Though Tetsutetsu himself was all to familiar with parents like Monoma’s.

Neito shook his head. He wiped his eyes furiously. Tetsutetsu knew how much Monoma hated crying. He thought he looked ugly when he did.

Tetsutetsu moved the blond’s hands, taking them in his and rubbing his boyfriends palms with his thumbs. Neito didn’t look at him. He was quietly sobbing at this point. Tetsutetsu laid a kiss on Monoma’s lips.

“Hey. You’re with me today, ok? It’s just me and you. All day.” Tetsutetsu reassured, wrapping his arms gently around Neito in a hug. Neito gripped onto the silver-haired boy’s shirt as if Tetsutetsu would float away if he didn’t.

“So, what happened?” Tetsutetsu asked. Neito felt tears threaten to overflow again. Tetsutetsu rested a hand on his blond hair, shushing him quietly. Neito quieted down to a whimper. He refused to look at his boyfriend, burying his trash face in his shirt.

“My dad... he...” Neito trailed off, his voice went from a sob to pure rage.”When I told him I wouldn’t spend dinner with him for my birthday instead of you, he started yelling at me. Going on about how filthy I was for being a queer and how stupid I was for thinking I was with a man over a women.” His eyes darted to Tetsutetsu, full of desperation.”You are a man! You’re my prince! And I tried to tell him that you are a boy, no matter what a damn peace of paper says, and he kept going on and on about how stupid I was. And how you were fucking pathetic. I couldn’t take it anymore! I couldn’t deal with it.” Neito’s voice became like ice.”I don’t care anymore if he insults me or hits me. But if he brings you into it...” Neito gritted his teeth, looking down, gripping onto Tetsutetsu until his knuckles were white.”I get so mad... I get so fucking angry. And I couldn’t... I couldn’t deal with it anymore. I had to walk away. Like you guys always tell me to do. But he kept following me and insisting I was an issue, and calling you all this fucked up bullshit. The bastard... I tried defending you, Tetsu! I really did! But it was to much. He cut me... even when I tried to walk away. I tried to run. And I did... and I felt like such a fucking coward...” Neito trailed off, looking away in shame from his boyfriend.

“Neito...” Tetsutetsu pulled the smaller boy into a tight hug, catching the blond off guard.”Don’f listen to that bastard! You’re amazing! And beautiful! And incredible! And the fucking manliest man ever and I love you so much! I’m so sorry you’re dad doesn’t see that!” Tetsutetsu nuzzled into Neito’s neck. He heard Monoma let out a faint chuckle, he felt a hand on his silver hair. Neito sniffed.”Thank you, Tetsu.”

The silver-haired boy kissed Monoma’s forehead.”Of course!” Neito smiled softly to himself. Tetsutetsu chuckled, nuzzling Neito’s face with his own. Neito’s face was beet red.

Tetsutetsu chuckled, laying his forehead against the blond’s.”You’re so cute.” He mumbled. Neito ruffled Tetsutetsu’s hair.”I feel like you’re addressing the wrong person.” He replied smoothly. Tetsutetsu laughed, blushing.”Hey, Neito. Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday today? You always do. You know how much of an airhead I am.” Tetsutetsu muttered.

Neito eyes widened.”Why? It’s my birthday? I completely forgot...” Neito breathed. Tetsutetsu eyes widened in alarm. He tackled Neito in a hug.”You forgot you’re own birthday... That’s how much this was bothering you, huh?” Neito nodded. Tetsutetsu kissed Monoma on the cheek.”Y’know, Imma spoil you today! Even more than I did last year! This is gonna be the best birthday ever for you!” He stated determinedly.

Neito looked at Tetsutetsu shyly with a small smile.”You better.” He mumbled. He kissed his cheek and wrapped his arms around Tetsutetsu’s neck.”Though I don’t know how you can top this.” Neito commented.

Tetsutetsu puffed out his chest.”I am gonna try. A man conquers any challenge full force!” He announced proudly. Neito ruffled his hair and kissed him.”Yeah... just don’t rush in head first this time.” He joked. Tetsutetsu hugged Neito tightly.”I thought you liked that about me...” he pouted. Neito sighed, rolling his eyes.”I do. But I also need to reign in your worst habits.”

Tetsutetsu narrowed his eyes at him. Neito booped his nose.”Come on. Get ready.” Neito walked out of the room, Tetsutetsu watching him go with a blush. Neito often wore booty shorts to bed and... well...

Neito leaned out of the door to see Tetsutetsu staring off into space. He sighed.”Lovely. You need to get ready and stop staring at my ass.” Neito left before his voice came out from the hall.”And remember to brush your hair.”

Tetsutetsu took a couple minutes to get ready. Throw on a binder, a baggy shirt, and sweats. And some basic hygiene. While Neito, took twenty minutes.

But, Tetsutetsu was a patient soul. And he knew Monoma liked putting on make-up in the morning. At least he didn’t take an hour like during pride.

Neito came out, hair done and face pretty. He wore a casual shirt with a black jacket and pants. Tetsutetsu felt himself blush. Frankly, Neito looked great in anything. And this was no exception.

“Alright, where too then? Since you’re spoiling me.” Neito asked innocently. Tetsutetsu thought for a moment. He would say the arcade, because then he could win Monoma a plushie. As it is a tradition for Tetsutetsu to get him one every once in a while. And by that, that means about every few months.

But he needed to go above and beyond. He hit his hand into his fist at an idea. He grabbed Neito by the hand and dragged him out of his apartment and down the road. Tetsutetsu was a hero. And his paycheck had come in for the month.

“W-where are we going?” Neito asked.”You’ll see!” Was all his boyfriend replied, smiling to himself.

Neito followed quietly when the two arrived at a fancy looking restaurant. It was a high tower, glass walls at the top of the building. Normally, you would have to book a reservation. But heroes had special access as long as they paid a little extra.

Neito looked at Tetsutetsu in surprise. Tetsutetsu was probably the polar opposite of Monoma when it came to what they prefer to dates. A date to Tetsutetsu was the gym or just cuddling at home watching a movie. To Neito, it was a fancy dinner and also cuddling at home.

So, for them to come to a place like this, took Neito off guard. Tetsutetsu seemed to realize something.”Oh... I nearly forgot.” He looked at Neito thoughtfully.”You want me to call Aoyama, Kendo, Ojiro, and Shinso over?”

Neito thought for a moment. He hugged Tetsutetsu from behind.”No. I just want you today.” He mumbled. Tetsutetsu hummed. He patted Monoma on the head.”Alright.” He replied warmly.

The two walked in, Tetsutetsu getting a table after a bit of begging. Although neither of them were dressed to fit the scene, maybe Monoma, Tetsutetsu on the other hand...

Although, Monoma didn’t really cared about the stares of the waiters or the customers. Neither were popular heroes. Not yet anyway. But it was only year 1. They had plenty of time.

Tetsutetsu however, was shrinking back underneath the intense, judgemental gaze. Neito never knew why it was judgement that Tetsutetsu was afraid of. He was so laid back and sociable all the time, it was a stark contrast.

Monoma started leading Tetsutetsu around the restaurant. He squeezed his boyfriends hand gently. Tetsutetsu seemed to snap out of his gaze. He walked closer to Monoma who led them to the elevator to the top floor. It was more private up there, and Tetsutetsu paid even more than he would’ve to sit up there.

Because there, you could see the entire city. Even if it was just midday, it was still a pretty sight. And it was Monoma’s favorite spot anywhere. Well... almost. It was a close third. There were two more.

Tetsutetsu and him sat in a booth far away from the few people that were already there. Neito looked at Tetsutetsu gratefully. Under the table, he took Tetsu’s hand and intertwined their fingers. He rested his head on the taller boys shoulders. Tetsutetsu felt himself blush profusely.

The waiter come over and seemed to stare at the two. Neito shot up, but kept his hand on Tetsutetsu’s. The two quickly ordered their food. Tetsutetsu of course, trying to order anything with spinach in it. Monoma getting his own french cuisine.

The two ate, and ended up talking, mostly Tetsutetsu going on about work and other things while Neito ended up complaining about 1A or a comic he read that day.

It was almost dusk by the time they finished. Neito sighed to himself.”Time truly does fly.” He commented, looking as the sky was just beginning to turn pink. Tetsutetsu was stuffing cake in his face. Neito gave him a sideways glance and he paused, fork in mouth. He smiled at Neito and Neito felt himself blush.

“We should get going. It’s getting late.” He mumbled. Tetsutetsu nodded in response.

The two got out to the street, the sun dipping down into the horizon. Tetsutetsu looked at it, than at Neito. The blond’s eyes were fixed to the sky, the colors reflecting in those already beautiful blue orbs.

Tetsutetsu thought again for a moment. Since they took so long eating, well... dinner would probably be skipped. At least for Monoma. He was always so picky when it comes to overeating.

“So, what now?” Neito asked. Tetsutetsu hummed cheerily, leading Neito to the docks. Neito followed quietly and curiously, unknowing of Tetsutetsu’s brilliant plan.

It was a bit of a walk, Neito’s feet started hurting by this point, when they approached a warehouse. Neito looked at it in suspicion.

Tetsutetsu hummed to himself as he opened the door. The two climbed to the roof, where Neito felt his stomach churn.

Neito’s second favorite spot was a double-edged sword. At one hand, he got to watch the sunset. On the other hand...

Monoma looked the ground. It was at least 2 stories below him. He gripped Tetsutetsu’s arm, feeling himself get sick. Tetsutetsu held him tight.”Hey. It’s ok. I won’t let ya fall.” Tetsutetsu soothed. Monoma nodded.

He glanced out from between Tetsutetsu’s arms as he was sat on the taller boy’s lap. He felt his boyfriend’s warmth against his own, soothed by the tight arms. He let out a shaky breath as he leaned back and stared at the sunset.

The sun was peaking its head, dipping it into the sea, lighting the sky aflame with oranges, reds, and yellows all blending together as if a painter took a brush to it themself. Neito closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the sea mixed with Tetsutetsu’s breathing. He snuggled into Tetsu’s chest. He felt Tetsu’s arms wrapped around him tighter, nuzzling into the blond’s hair with a happy sigh.”I love you.” He mumbled.

Monoma suddenly remembered the feelings he had for the past month. The guilt he had for not defending Tetsu like he should’ve.”Tetsu... I love you too but...” He looked away from the iron-quirked boy.

Tetsutetsu felt a tug of fear in his heart.”What’s the matter?” He asked, eyesbrows furrowed. Neito sighed.”I still... I’m guilty I didn’t defend you... from my dad. It pisses me off. He pisses me off. I don’t...” Neito felt tears well up.

Tetsutetsu hugged Neito tightly.”It’s ok, Neito. And hey... you walked away like you’ve been told too. I’m proud of you for that. I know stuff like that is hard. But I’m so damn proud of you. And we don’t have to listen to that damn bastard and his dumbass opinions. We’re happy and that’s all that matters, alright Neito?” Tetsutetsu looked at the blond with a glance full of all his love, passion, and affection he had for him and then some. Neito felt his heart flutter at the gaze. Tears streamed down his face at his words. He smiled as he hugged Tetsutetsu.

This was his favorite place anywhere. In the arms of the one he loves most, and the one who loves him most.

Tetsutetsu looked at him in alarm.”Are you ok? You’re crying again.” Neito kissed Tetsutetsu on the lips, in a brief but sweet kiss. Neito wiped his eyes.”Yeah, I’m fine.” His make-up was probably messed up at this point, but he didn’t care.

“Tetsu... My Prince. Love of my life. Thank you.” Monoma whispered earnestly. Tetsutetsu smiled at him softly. He planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Of course.” Tetsutetsu hugged him.”I’m so proud of you. How strong you are. How brave. How incredibly beautiful. Everything.” Tetsutetsu felt his breath caught in his throat as the sun reflect off of Monoma’s face like a perfect picture painted by a skillful hand. His make-up was messed up and eyes red. But he was beautiful nonetheless.

Neito out his forehead against Tetsu’s as the silver-haired boy kept mumbling his praises. Neito shushed him by putting a finger to his lips.”Hush and look at me.” Tetsutetsu’s face was red as he did so. ‘So close.’ He thought.

Neito kissed his lips.”I’m proud of you too, lovely.” He whispered. Tetsutetsu beamed at the praise.

Neito laughed again at him. And the two stayed there for the rest of the time, watching stars for the sky.

Neito was in his favorite place on earth now.

Home.

Home, for him, was Tetsutetsu, and he would always appreciate that.

[gideongrace]

11, 13, 14 🥺

11. "Fuck the avocadoes! We're leaving!" 

13. "I am a complete and total asexual disaster."

14. "But sex is boring."

These prompts are part of my fic "Upside Down Cupcakes". Which you can read all of on a03!

//

This time, things actually are good. 

Steve's been baking all day. And okay, sure, he's had to take a lot of breaks, he's basically become best friends with that old stool Robin dragged over for him on his first day back, but still. He's been able to bake. All. Day. Long. 

He's made champagne flavored cupcakes ('cause he's gotta celebrate somehow), he's made bubblegum flavored cupcakes ('cause he feels light and fluffy and bright pink, super sugary cupcakes help represent that mood), he's experimented with this new recipe for salted caramel cupcakes (which almost worked!) and he's made these purple grape flavored cupcakes he decorated with the best vanilla swirl icing he's ever made and these little rolled buttercream grapes that both look and taste so good (he knows because he put four aside and absolutely devoured them all minutes after setting the others out in the display case).

So all in all, it's been a pretty good day.

Or, it is until Dustin comes rushing in all flustered. Literally. His hair is a big, giant, poofy mess like he's been tugging on it and running his hands through it relentlessly and there's sweat on his forehead and cheeks. 

"Steve! You have to help me!" he pleads in this whispered tone that's entirely too loud to actually be a whisper. But Dustin looks like he doesn't remotely know that. So.

"Okay," Steve says, drawing the word out. His eyes dart around the room, looking for anything that might help and they quickly land on the box of champagne and bubblegum cupcakes he'd put aside for Billy and Max for later, realizing he just might need them sooner rather than later and for Dustin rather than for Billy. "What's up?" 

"There's a girl!" Dustin squeaks in that same not-really-a-whisper tone. 

"Where?"

Dustin rolls his eyes and points at the swinging door he'd only just burst through. "Out there!" He looks like he's annoyed Steve didn't automagically just pick up on that that's what he'd meant. 

"Oh." Steve pauses for a second before going to peek out the door. 

He gets swatted on the arm by Dustin for his troubles.

"Be careful!" Dustin for real whispers this time. "She might see you!"

Steve draws his head back into the kitchen and suddenly finds himself wishing that today wasn't Robin's day off. He doesn't entirely want to be responsible for handling this situation by himself. But then he sighs and he looks at Dustin's pitiful, sad, oh-help-me-please look and he realizes he has no choice but to help.

After careful deliberation, he decides to go with full, brutal honesty. "I don't get it," he says. 

Dustin sighs. "She has an asexual pin on her shirt and I am a complete and total asexual disaster!" 

"Okay…" Steve says again, drawing the word out for a second time. He's definitely going to need the cupcakes. 

"Here," he says as he gently leads Dustin over to his trusty old stool. "Sit down." 

Dustin does. 

"Eat a cupcake." Steve grabs one of the pink bubblegum ones and hands it to Dustin. "And breathe for a second." 

Dustin takes the cupcake and frowns a little before plucking the maraschino cherry off the top and plopping it in his mouth. "Okay," he mumbles around the cherry. He sounds so sad and so forlorn and yet so ridiculous because of the cherry it takes an actual effort for Steve not to laugh at him. 

He eyes up the box of cupcakes and decides this effort is well worth a cupcake as a reward for himself (probably a champagne one so there's still two left for Billy and Max each), before saying, "Now I'm gonna go out and talk to the girl. You come join us when you're ready."

Dustin, eyes wide in panic, takes a bite of the cupcake and nods then swallows. "Okay," he says quietly. 

Steve gives Dustin's shoulder a reaffirming squeeze before heading out to the front room to get a full look at this girl that's got Dustin's head spinning this badly. 

When he sees her, like fully sees her, like not just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it look but really sees her, he gets it. 

She's wearing a Star Wars t-shirt with a pin on it that says "But sex is boring" on it in the asexual pride flag colors. She's got long, flowing black hair. She's got a canvas messenger bag that has "Science: Ruining Everything Since 1543" printed on it. She's got flawless, soft, brown skin and glasses with frames so large they take up almost half of her face. And you'd expect from all of that softness for her to be, in essence, soft and sweet looking, maybe even shy, but she's not. Instead, she's got this innate confidence to her, this fierce determination and this look on her face that says, Don't bother messing with me, you'll lose and…. 

Oh, boy.

If Steve was ever asked to describe Dustin's type, "tough as nails nerd girl" would have been exactly it. This girl would have been exactly it. 

No wonder Dustin's so freaked out. 

Then the girl turns to the counter and Steve springs into action. "Hi there," he says as brightly as he knows how. "Are you looking for anything in specific?" He makes a point of dragging his asexual flag colored pendant out from underneath his shirt and playing with it. He does it casually enough he knows it won't look like it's on purpose, but also bluntly enough he knows she'll see it. 

"Hi," she says, her eyes dragging across all the cupcakes in the display case and totally missing his necklace. "I'm not sure. It's a co-worker's birthday just today and everybody in the office forgot, so just kinda, anything you've got?" 

Steve makes a noise then looks to the kitchen before moving to grab a box for her cupcakes. He wishes he could tell Dustin to get out here, that this girl isn't going to be around for long. "We could do like a mixed box? Just sorta one of every type so there's a variety? How many co-workers do you have?" 

Her eyes roll up into her as she mentally counts off how many co-workers she's got. "Six," she finally says. "Seven, including me." 

Steve makes a noise of general assent then starts opening the display case from the back. "Seven cupcakes, coming up." He grabs one of each of the types they have except for the basic vanilla ones Dustin made this morning—the ones Steve had had to fight him on calling "the basic bitch vanilla"—and sets them into a box. 

It's when he's moving to stand and put the box on top of the display case when she finally sees his necklace. "You're ace too?" She says it in the same breathless, excited way every asexual person does on finding another asexual in the wild. 

He smiles. "Yeah, so's Dustin," he says with a careful thumb pointed back towards the kitchen. "We originally met at an ace meetup during pride five years ago."

She smiles back but it's hesitant and Steve can't help but wonder a little at why. She fishes her debit card out of her bag and asks, "How much?" pointing at the cupcakes and pointedly not asking about Dustin. 

Steve thinks maybe it's best Dustin isn't out here and that this girl's about to leave, so of course, that's when he comes rushing out. 

"That'll be $21.00, please," Steve says, picking up like there's nothing weird going on. 

"Sure," the girl says. She forcefully shoves her debit card into the slot in the debit machine as Steve hands it over, her eyes still firmly on Dustin. 

"So you're Dustin, right?" she asks, her eyes finally flicking downwards for just long enough to input her information.

Dustin nods. 

"And you're asexual, too?" 

Again, Dustin nods. 

She yanks her card out of the machine and gives Dustin a tough, appraising look. Then she smiles, but only a little. "I'm Kali," she says and holds her hand out for him to shake, which he does. Vigorously. "And I think we owe it to all the asexuals who never get to go on dates to go out. And we definitely owe it to ourselves. What do you say?"

Dustin is speechless until Steve elbows him in the ribs and even then he only manages to squeak out a, "Yes!" 

Steve hands over the box of cupcakes and tells Kali she can come pick Dustin up tomorrow at eight and gives her his address. She agrees, takes the cupcakes, and leaves. 

Dustin looks like he just might pass out. 

//

This one got away from me a little bit so the other part of this prompt will be a separate piece!

[chilling-seavey]

Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied (c.s.) - Chapter Nine

A/N Totally forgot this novella existed ngl. Anyway, this chapter was sorta fun to write because I love the angst 😛 What do you think Christian should do??

“Smoothies all around.”

Michelle set the takeout tray on the table and the small group thanked her as they took a cup each and passed the rest around. The main ‘characters’ were gathered around the conference table again with the set director stood by the projector to go through the walkthrough of the set location in regard to the directions on the script. Christian was placed between Dean and Tom, sharing a small bashful smile with Michelle from across the table where she sat with the director and the other more cooperate staff.

She looked beautiful that day – at least that’s what Christian thought – and after their situation from Oscar’s birthday party a few nights before, he could hardly look at her without blushing. He felt like he was in high school again. Funny, he was more nervous about being in the same room as Michelle than he was sitting between two of Hollywood’s best actors.

The meeting started and the rendering and areal photographs of the trenches that were being built were scanned through on the large TV. It was truly impressive and Christian tried to pay attention, he really did, but he kept stealing glances at Michelle from across the table, having to force himself to look forward and focus.

How was he supposed to pay attention when all he could focus on was the memory of her lips on his and her hands on him like it was natural? Like it was supposed to happen?

Christian didn’t mean to, but he had completely zoned out for the entire meeting and he was startled back down to reality by the snap of the set designer’s briefcase closing. He sat up straighter and looked around as everyone started to pack up, awkwardly shuffling his papers together to make himself look busy. Had it been an hour already?

He managed to sneak out without anyone asking him any questions about what they just covered, thankful to avoid any further embarrassment.

“Come on, Christian.” he mumbled to himself as he got in the elevator alone, pressing the button for the parking garage. “Get your head out of the fucking clouds.”

“Wait up!”

He habitually stuck his hand in the door to keep it from closing and Michelle rushed in to join him, offering a wide smile and a breathless, “Hey!”

“Hi.” Christian smiled back, his heart racing in his chest just from looking at her.

“Did you like the sets so far?”

Her grin was nothing but proud and hopeful and Christian cleared his throat nervously before nodding, “Yeah. They looked really good.”

The five seconds of them he remembered.

“I got to sketch it out for them myself, can you believe that?” Michelle sighed, shaking her head, hugging her bag to her chest through her smile. “I swear I fell asleep and this has all just been one huge dream.”

“Me too.” Christian whispered, eyeing her discreetly before taking a deep breath and focussing on the elevator numbers ticking down to the lobby.

He was waiting for her to bring up the party; how it was a mistake, how she didn’t really feel like that, how she was just another girl that didn’t like him like that. But she didn’t, simply standing next to him quietly with a calm smile on her face. It was almost worse. Was she pretending that it didn’t happen?! Christian’s mind was going a mile a minute to try and wrap his brain around it himself, the silence lingering between them.

The elevator doors dinged as they opened to the lobby and Christian went to let out a small sigh as that was her stop and she would be gone to let him stew alone. Except she turned to him first, grabbing his arm, and pulled him in for another kiss that was over before it even started and she was rushing out into the lobby, her grinning cheeks a furious pink.

Christian stumbled a moment as he stood up straight and the doors slid closed again, leaving him alone in the elevator with his love-sick mind a bit woozy.

Tyler was home when he returned and Christian headed into the backyard where he heard the music playing. His older brother was grilling in the back in shorts and a baseball cap, Kobe snoozing on the stone walkway.

“Hey.” Christian called, making the dog’s ears perk up and he rushed over to greet him with eager yaps.

“Hey. How was the meeting?” Tyler asked.

“Oh…fine.” Christian shrugged, bending down to pet the dog.

“Just fine? You were looking forward to it this morning.”

“Yeah. Just…I…” Christian laughed nervously as he stood back up and joined his brother at the grill.

“What’s with your goofy smile?” Tyler narrowed his eyes at him.

Christian bit back a smile as he picked up the fork resting on the plate beside the grill and tapped it nervously against the wood, “Nothing.”

“Nothing my ass. You look about as guilty as Kobe after he pooped on Daniel’s rug. What did you do?” Tyler pressed, flipping over the chicken he was cooking.

“So…you remember the writer, right? The one I’ve been practicing lines with and stuff?”

“And going for lunch with and visiting the C4 house with? Yes.” Tyler’s lips turned up at the corner in a small smirk.

“Yeah…well…we kinda kissed on Saturday. And today.”

“Kinda kissed?” Tyler raised an eyebrow at him. “How do you kinda kiss?”

Christian sighed deeply, slightly embarrassed, and ruffled a hand through his hair, “Okay, we kissed a lot on Saturday. And once today.”

“Did you sleep with her?”

“No! Tyler! Oh my gosh.”

“Because you can’t get involved with your co-workers.”

Tyler’s sudden serious tone made Christian’s cheeky smile falter and he dropped his gaze to the fork in his hand, tapping it once against the plate as his eyebrows furrowed.

“This is your first big gig, Chris.” Tyler continued. “And based on how you came back here from that meeting something tells me you’re spending more time with this writer than with her script.”

“No.” Christian shook his head gently. “We’ve been working together on it. She’s been helping me.”

“What was your meeting about today?”

“Trenches. Sets.”

“And?”

Christian hesitated a moment, “The script. And the sets.”

Tyler sighed, closing the lid of the grill and set the thongs on the plate, “Listen to yourself, Chris. What the hell are you doing?”

“Do you not want me to have a girlfriend or something?” Christian snapped. “Because I found a girl who actually likes me and now you’re telling me that I can’t be with her or something?”

Christian was usually the level-headed brother but under the judging stare of his eldest brother, he always felt like his buttons were being pushed.

“Christian, holy shit, bro.” Tyler laughed. “Relax. You don’t need to date the first girl that gives you the slightest bit of attention. You always do that and end up laying in bed listening to your ‘Sad Songs’ playlist on repeat when she doesn’t feel the same way. You rush things, Chris. That’s just who you are. You rush things and get yourself hurt and, as your older brother, I seriously gotta put my foot down here because a lot more than heartbreak is on the line. This is your career, Christian. Your career as an actor that you have dreamt about since you were like six. A real actor, bro. You can’t be standing here telling me about this girl down to the colour socks she was wearing today but can’t tell me a single thing about the meeting you were at.”

Christian scoffed, dropping the fork onto the plate with a clank and he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not saying this to be an asshole. This is reality. If you fuck this up, your career will be done for. You need to be putting every single ounce of concentration and passion into this movie and this character. How do you think Daniel got where he is? Spending hours and full nights practicing his music until one of us had to yell at him to shut up at 2am. And when he started touring, he only practiced harder to make it where he wanted to be; he didn’t get caught up with any relationships except for his band mates and his family. He had his priorities where he needed them to make it big.”

“Yeah, I fucking know how Daniel made his dreams come true.” Christian snapped loudly, making Kobe’s ears perk up with the sudden volume. “I know he’s the successful one and the attractive one and mom and dad’s pride and fucking joy. You don’t need to tell me!”

“Oh, come on, Chris.” Tyler sighed. “Don’t turn it into that.”

“Turn it into what? It’s the truth! If it wasn’t for him I’d still be living with mom and dad in their guest room!” Christian yelled, throwing his hand out towards the million dollar house behind him. “I’d still be driving my 2001 Honda that breaks down if you breathe too hard! I know that all my ‘fans’ are only here because of him! I fucking know, Tyler!”

Tyler stayed quiet, watching his younger brother carefully as his cheeks flushed red with anger and his chest heaved with emotional breaths.

Christian ran both hands through his hair and took a few steps back before continuing softer now, “I finally have something that I got on my own. She found me to be her actor through my college reels. This is my doing. Mine. Not Daniel’s. For once, it’s not fucking about Daniel. It’s me.”

The oldest two brothers stared at each other silently for a moment. 

Tyler nodded once, opening the grill up again, “So don’t fuck it up.”

“I won’t.” Christian mumbled, taking one last glance at him before turning towards the house.

He’d be damned if he messed up his one big break because of a haphazard half drunk kiss.

[ellana-ravenwood]

The Ex - Jason Todd x Single !Mom reader part 3/5

Hi, my name’s Ella’, and I’m here to fuck up absolutely perfect families. Hope you’ll like this new chapter of Jay x Single!Mom, I think there’ll be only one more part after this, and um...yup, hope you’ll like it ! : 

FINISHED SERIES : PART 1, PART 2, PART 4, PART 5 NEWLY ADDED EPILOGUE : PART 1/3

My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives​

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                                                      ******

“Hey (Y/N).”

He dares to say, a wrapped package in one hand, and flowers in the other.

“…Jess ?”

You whisper, not quite believing your eyes.

Jess. Him. How ? After all this years, why ?

Jess. Him. Viggo’s father.

You don’t think. As soon as the information of who this is finally reaches your brain, and the shock passes, you walk straight to him. 

Jason, who knows who “Jess” is, looks at you with a pained look as you rush to your ex, as if you’re about to give him a hug.

And Jess ? Oh Jess. He has an infuriating smile on his face, the kind that means “I’m gonna get exactly what I want and I know it”, and he opens his arms as if you’re about to give him a hug.

Only you don’t. 

Oh no. On the contrary. Years of pent up feelings and resentment against him explode inside you, and as you reach him...You punch him right in the jaw with all your might. 

Everyone gasps. Jess grunts in pain. You grab your fist and swear because fuck punching people actually hurts ! Viggo, who went to stand next to Jason, lets out a laugh, apparently delighted that you just hit his father. 

Your boy knew about who his dad was. 

You kept ONE picture of him to show him what he looked like (and Viggo was very happy to see that he looked NOTHING like his father, but resembled you a lot), because you knew the importance of knowing your own identity. Knowing where you came from. Even if it meant knowing that your father was a total fuck up, at least...you knew. 

Viggo knew that he left. Right before his birth. 

He knew everything you knew, in fact. Because you never refused to answer his questions. You thought he had every rights to know about the man who abandoned him. At the same time, you tried to not be biased and give your son only the truth, the facts. 

You never spoke ill of his father. 

You always said you and him got along very well, and that you really were in love with him. You even talked about the good times you had with Jess, after all, you two dated for years before you got engaged and you got pregnant...You never spoke ill of his father, but you stated the facts. 

Jess left. There was no beating around the bushes. Viggo deserved to know the truth, and you weren’t about to make up some lie about his dad having to leave for some reasons. No. He left, of his own accord, just like that. 

Even if at the time you were in love, and even if he was always sweet and nice to you...he ultimately broke your heart by leaving. By not even having the courage to face you to tell you so, only writing a note saying everything was “too much”.  

Jess left Gotham city the day his son was supposed to be born. A few months before you were supposed to get married. That was a fact. And maybe he used to be a nice guy, and you used to be in love with him and all of that...but in the end, he still left. 

And though when he was younger Viggo couldn’t quite understand what everything meant, and why his daddy decided to not even see him, wondering if he did anything wrong...Now, at the very wise age of eight, he figured things out. After all, he was quite a smart kid.

Actually, Jason coming in yours and his life helped him understand. It had been just a little bit over six months since you started to date Jay, but it was everything Viggo needed to finally get it. 

Jess wasn’t his father. 

A father doesn’t leave his kid because he suddenly freaked out about becoming a dad ! A father doesn’t abandon his family, just leaving a short note, not even facing them ! A father, a real one, doesn’t run away at the first sign of trouble ! A father takes care of his kid, no matter what. 

To Viggo, the concept of a “dad” was kind of a foreign one. He saw dads on TV, in some of his favorite shows and such. He saw his friends’ dads. But...it was always just a theory to him. 

Dads were suppose to be there, to play catch with their sons, to help them do their homework, to kiss their booboo and read them bed times stories...But his dad wasn’t there. And you had to fill in and do everything. 

Viggo never thought it was a bad thing, not having a dad. Because you, his beloved mom, were absolutely the best !! 

But then. Then Jason came in the picture. And suddenly...Suddenly Viggo understood that having a dad was also awesome ! 

Your son knew since the beginning, since Jason took care of him when he was sick, that night you were suppose to have your first date, that Jason was definitely “real father material”. He instinctively took care of him, even though he didn’t even know him that much ! 

And though he was yet too shy and unsure about really calling him that, although he was still kind of afraid Jason would freak out if he did...Viggo realized, as his biological father dared to barge in today, that in his heart, Jason already became kind of his dad. 

Not that Jess guy. 

Not the one who abandoned him and left his mom in a deep struggle all those years ago ! But the one who didn’t actually “have to” stay and yet spend a night taking care of a sick kid he barely knew, and eating nacho chips and guacamole on the floor of a small living room as a first date. The one who didn’t have to stay, and didn’t run away at the first sign of trouble. 

And so, seeing you punch Jess’ goddamn lights out was highly satisfying, for the little boy. He knew violence wasn’t a good answer, but honestly, in this instance ? He didn’t care. Because he too, was mad at his “father” for never even wanting to know him. For never taking news about him, and suddenly reappearing right now, as if nothing ! 

The flowers and the wrapped object Jess was holding went flying in the air before falling on the ground with a loud noise. 

“How dare you ?! How dare you come back ? Today, on his birthday at that ?! Who do you think you are ?” 

You scream at him, holding your painful fist in your uninjured hand. Fuming. Viggo has never seen you that angry before. It’s kind of scary. Without thinking about it, the boy grabs Jason’s hand. For comfort. And Jason ? He squeezes back, reassuring Viggo immediately. 

Your ex straightens back up, and massages his jaw. it’s definitely gonna bruise. Damn, you had a mean right hook ! He looks at you, eyes narrowing a bit, and his next words make your blood boil : 

“Who do I think I am ? I’m his dad, that’s who I am.” 

Jess quickly realizes his poor word choice as your eyes turn a couple shades darker and you grab him by the shoulder...To violently bring him towards you and headbutt the hell out of him. 

He joins the flowers and gift he brought with him, on the floor, as you take a few unsure step backward. Ok, well headbutting someone also hurts. You see stars for a few seconds when...Jason. Of course. 

Jason is by your side now. And Viggo is too (you don’t see him, but he harbors a rather satisfied smile, as he sees his father shaking his head, down on the floor, trying to regain his senses after you basically beat the heck out of him). 

Your boyfriend lays a supportive hand on your lower back, and you kinda fall against him as your head spins a bit...It only takes a few seconds for you to get back to normal, but you stay against him. You feel as if he’s lending you his strength, and oh god you need it right now. It’s pretty incredible really, how he manages to soothe you in such a situation.

Jess gets back up once more, and, keeping his distance with you this time, says : 

“Ok. I’m sorry. I’m aware I just...I...I’m an asshole, ok ? I know. I shouldn’t have left. And I’m sorry I just assumed right now...I know I have no rights after what I did. I know I fucked up. I came here today to try and...fix things ok ? Glue the pieces back together. My sister just got a kid. And I went to see her in the hospital, and when I held my nephew it...Well it just reminded me that I...that I...That I screwed up. Big time. And so here I am. I know I should’ve called, I’m sorry. But I thought coming back on his birthday would...I don’t know, be nice.” 

“You thought wrong.”

You say, your voice cold and harsh. Not an ounce of forgiveness in your tone. Tt. What was he thinking ? That because he suddenly realized he was an ass, you’d forgive him that fast ? That you’d forget YEARS of trying to make ends meet ? Of working multiple jobs just to feed your kid ? That you’d forget how much he broke you, when he left you ? Not even saying where he was going ? Or why, exactly, he was leaving, except that it was “too much” ? 

Damn right he was wrong. 

“Listen (Y/N), I...I’m not playing tricks or anything ok ? I really had an epiphany, with my sister’s kid. I...I want to be part of his life ? Of our kid’s life ?” 

“Our ? Buddy, you lost the right to be his dad when you left eight years ago. As I was about to give birth to him.” 

There’s a small silence. You completely forgot that Jason’s family was here, as you’re entirely focus on that asshole that basically ruined your life (though the fact that his existence brought Viggo into your life was a blessing..the only good thing left in your heart about Jess, really). 

Your ex lets out a frustrated sigh and you think about hitting him once more for a second. How dare he get frustrated with you right now ? But then he takes the flowers and the gift back from the floor, and says : 

“Ok I see now is a bad time. Mea Culpa. I guess I didn’t think. I thought...I thought you’d be happy. That I want to be more in his life, you know ? I guess I really should’ve called. Ask for forgiveness before coming over. I’m sorry. I can see you’re busy so...I’ll go now. We can talk alone, later, right ?”

You don’t say anything, and glare at him some more. You don’t take the flowers and the gift he’s trying to give you either. He sighs once more and says : 

“Listen, we really need to talk ok ? I’m sorry I didn’t expect you to react that way ok ? Now I do realize you have every rights to. And I’m a total ass for barging in like this. But...in my defense, I didn’t expect you to have any...Company.” 

The way he looks at Jay makes your blood boil once more, and you’re about to punch him again but you feel your boyfriend’s hand on your lower back, caressing you soothingly and...It works. You exchange a look with him, and you can see in his eyes that...yes. Yes you understand. 

You should probably stop hitting that jerk in front of your son. No matter how big of a jerk he is, you’re really not giving a good example right now (oh but if only you could see the highly satisfied smile your son had on his face right now !). 

But it seems that Jess doesn’t quite learn his lessons fast enough, because he has the guts to say : 

“So um...I guess that’s my replacement, uh ?” 

You narrow your eyes back at him again. Did he just call Jason a “that” ? And what was he even insinuating right there ? Oh my god he had NO rights even making this kind of comment ! But before you can get to him again, and this time kick him in the balls, Viggo says : 

“There was nothing to replace, really. You weren’t there.” 

You often cursed your son’s smartassness, but in this instance ? You can’t help but smile proudly at him, even if you know you might be a bit petty right now. Eh. Who cares ? You deserve to be petty. Plus given the look on Jess’ face, your boy’s words hurt him more than a kick in the balls would have. 

“Outch...But I guess I deserve it uh ? I’m sorry about what I just said. About the replacement. I realize it’s not my place to...I’m sorry. I keep screwing up but...I really didn’t expect you to have company.”

“Oh yeah ? Were you expecting me to wallow forever while waiting for you ? Because I wallowed for about ten seconds, until I realized I had no time for self-pity because I had a kid to feed. All on my own. All of our plans to make it work pfioush, gone into flames.” 

“Ok. Ok (Y/N), let’s take a break in the bashing ok ? You can lash out on me later. When we won’t have an...audience. Please, let’s just meet later ok ? Give me a chance to apologize at least ? To explain myself ? Give you my side of the story ? No wait, don’t speak. I’ll um...I’ll call later ok ?”

“I won’t answer.”

“I’ll still call. And hope that when your anger will go down, you’ll give me a chance. I know I don’t deserve it, believe me I do. But...I’ll try anyway.” 

He shoves the flowers in your arms, and you catch them by reflex. He then turns to your son and says : 

“Happy birthday...Um...uh...”

“It’s Viggo. My name is Viggo.” 

“Oh, Viggo uh ? Like the actor ?”

“No. Not at all. You’re completely wrong.” 

He’s not sure quite why, but Viggo doesn’t want that guy to know that you named him after the actor indeed. He doesn’t want that guy to know anything ! He should have given him a fake name...Ugh, what kind of father doesn’t even know his own kid’s name ?! It’s not like you stopped him from coming to see him...he just didn’t seem to be interested until now !

Jess looks at your son for a few seconds, and then smiles sadly. 

“Well...happy birthday, Viggo.” 

Your son reluctantly takes the gift his “father” is giving him in his hands, as Jess turns one final time to you and says : 

“I’ll call you later. Sorry again, truly. I hope...I hope you believe me. Talk to you soon, hopefully...Bye (Y/N). I’m sorry. And um...bye buddy.” 

Jess finally leaves, and there’s a few more seconds of you not being able to let go of your anger. Of wanting to run after him, and push him down the stairs. But then...Then your son moves, and your eyes follow him. 

Viggo walks back in the apartment, passes Jason’s family, and goes into the kitchen. Without saying a word. Worried, you follow after him. Jason does too, so is the rest of his family. 

He climbs on the kitchen counter, and opens the window. He looks down in the street, his father’s present still in his hands. There’s a few seconds of confused silence. You’re still so shocked and moved about your ex’s appearance that you don’t even think about going to your eight years old son and scolding him about looking out the sixth floor window like this ! 

And apparently, Jason, his dad and his siblings are just as confused and lost, because they don’t do anything either. 

And then, after a minute or so, Viggo put the gift his father gave him out of the window, dangling it into the air for a few seconds...before letting go of it. 

There’s a second of silence, followed by a crashing sound and a “JESUS CHRIST !”...It’s Jess’ voice, you recognize it. 

Your son close the window, and looks at you with a disappointed look before saying : 

“I missed.”  

You don’t know why, but all of a sudden, all your stress, pain and anger from the past few minutes vanish and you start laughing louder than you ever did before. Quickly, the rest of the fam follows. 

He missed. Oh my god. That boy...

************

“...it wasn’t a very heavy gift anyway, even if I hadn’t missed it would have just like, knocked him out or something, nothing too bad.”

Viggo was saying to Damian, as he was helping Jason’s brother to put his actual gifts away. Damian was chuckling, listening to your boy. They were in the living room, while you were in the kitchen with the rest of the family.

“I’m...I’m so sorry Mr. Wayne. I realize this isn’t a great...first impression...”

“Please, call me Bruce. And then...It really wasn’t your fault.”

There’s a small silence. Not an awkward one though, as you look apologetically to Bruce, and he looks back at you with a reassuring and paternal look.

You smile back at him and feel strangely appeased. And when you turn to the rest of his Jason’s sibling, and they all smile to you. When you see Damian talking with your son about what does he think he got in his presents ?

You’re reassured.

You turn to Jason and...is that a troubled look on his face or are you just imagining ? Oh yeah no, you did just imagine it, as he brightly smiles at you and comes to wrap a tender arm around your waist.

“We can...leave if you want, you know ? To let you process everything ?” 

He says in your ear, and you turn to him, panicked as you answer : 

“God no ! I..need to think about something else right now ok ? And it’s Viggo’s birthday, he invited you guys, you can't go !” 

Jason nods, quite relieved, to be honest. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay and see Viggo’s cute smile as he blows his candles and open his presents.

But the arrival of Jess kind of...threw him off. Because no matter how much of an asshole that guy was, he seemed sincere when he said that he truly wanted to be part of Viggo’s life. And that was a good thing, right ? 

But as Jason’s gaze was drawn back to Viggo, he couldn’t help but feel a big pang in his chest. If Jess was back in yours and his life, what would happen to him ? Jason was already in too deep in love with you, and head over heals for your little boy, to just move on...

************

The rest of your son’s birthday went perfectly well. Better than you ever expected actually, even with Jess coming to ruin everything. 

Well, actually your ex didn’t manage to ruin anything in the end, because this party was a true success ! And one of the main reason for that was your son himself. He seemed to have completely forgotten about his “father” coming back, as he took his spot at one end of the living room’s table. 

“Time for the candles !” 

He chirped happily, and you all sung him the traditional “happy birthday” song. 

“Make a wish baby !” 

You tell him, and...Yes. You know exactly what he wished for. You can see it in his eyes, as he goes from looking at you to Jason, and then to the rest of Jay’s family. You’re pretty sure you know what he wished for

He blows his candles, making a wish that he doesn’t say out loud because if he does, it won’t happen, right ? And then he turns to the pile of gift on the couch...

“Ya don’t want to eat some cake first ?” 

You ask, knowing perfectly that he won’t be patient enough for that, but also will want to be polite and will ask his guests first. Which is exactly what he does : 

“Um...You guys want...cake ?”

“Yes.”

They all say unanimously, and Viggo’s face falls. He really was expecting them to tell him he could open his gifts first. He looks absolutely crushed, and slumps back in his chair. He looks pitifully at you, and nods to the cake...and it makes the entire “bat family” feel bad that they made this little joke. 

Bruce looks utterly panicked, and it’s kind of a feat, to see THE Bruce Wayne that worried about hurting a kid’s feelings ! You quickly wonder if he was a dotting father to Jason, when he was younger...Probably. 

Damian, who’s the only one who actually didn’t answer “yes” glares at all of his family members. How DARE they make that sweet child sad ? And sure, being sad because he has to eat cake and can’t open his present yet is kind of very childish and...Oh but he IS a kid right ? So allow him be bummed out ! And therefor, Damian glares some more. 

Tim and Cass are properly mortified that Viggo didn’t seem to understand their jokes. It makes Cassandra want to speak soothing words to him, forcing herself to get out every words she can muster, while Tim freezes, not sure what to do or what to say because now he’s afraid he’ll only make the situation worst...Dick quickly says : 

“Oh kiddo, we were totally joking ! Of course you can open your gift now, the cake can wait !”

Viggo’s smile comes back at once, and it turns into a mischievous grin as he says : 

“Got ya ! You should see your faces, hilarious !” 

And then he jumps off his chair to rush to his presents. You and Jason (who by now was used to your son’s antics) roll your eyes as you witness Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian and Cassandra’s “shocked” face as the kid completely played them, making them think he was actually sad. Damn it. Smart one. They really thought this little boy was...oh, all of a sudden all of Jason’s stories about this little smartass made sense ! 

************

“...That’s fo-for me ?” 

Viggo asks, not quite sure he can believe his eyes as he holds a brand new PlayStation 4 in his hands, staring at it as if it’s the greatest thing he ever saw.

“Um, yes, yes it is. Jason said you didn’t have one...R-right ?”

It kind of totally adorable, to see Bruce Wayne stumbles on his word in front of your son, unsure if he did the right thing or not. 

It’s funny, as Jason looks at his father, he has a flashback at when he first arrived at Wayne’s Manor. Back then too, Bruce was quite stressed about doing the right things. Dick and Jason exchange a knowing look. Both of them “experienced” that shy side of Bruce...By the time Tim and Cass came in, Bruce kinda knew what he was suppose to do. 

But with Dick and Jason ? Oh he was so often confused. “Alfred, they can have ice cream for dinner, right ?” It was a lot of questions and not many answers. 

Jason looked fondly upon Viggo and his father interacting, and he was pretty sure he heard his heart slowly bursting when Viggo calmly settled his new PlayStation on a side, got on his feet, solemnly walked towards Bruce and asked politely :

“May I hug you ? Please ?” 

You were pretty sure you “awed” aloud too. Your son was such a sweet little man...You know that he wanted to rush to Bruce and hug the hell out of him, but since he didn’t know him very much and wasn’t too sure either of how to ask...It was just so cute, how he was being so serious while asking for a hug !

“Um...Yes. Yes of course.” 

And oh Bruce was in for a treat because when your son gave a hug ? He gave a hug. Your little boy says “thank you, sir” a bit formally and then...he lunges at Jason’s father with all his might, and circled his arms around the man’s neck tightly.

“Thank you so much for the PS4 I love it, oh my god thank you it’s too much I can’t accept it, thanks a lot for it ! I don’t think I can get it because it’s too much...but thank you !” 

Bruce answers to the hug by wrapping his own arms around your boy, and is even more confused than before as your son keep saying he can’t accept the gift, but that it’s also the best gift ever and he can’t wait to try it, while not being able to accept it...You chuckle and once again, you’re so proud to have raised such a cute little one, who understands the value of things. 

Of course, he’ll accept the PlayStation (you’ve never been able to afford one for him...), but you’re just so proud of him right now, for even thinking about refusing the gift because it’s a bit too much. You’re too happy he can finally have a console though. Of course, he wasn’t a poor little boy cause he didn’t have one, but it was nice, that for once, he could have the same things his classmates had. 

Viggo hugs Bruce for two long and cute minutes, and you can see the man slowly relaxing in your son’s arms. Too sweet for this world. When your boy finally let’s go, he smiles widely and then goes to hug his new PlayStation, repeating “I love it I love it” multiple times before he realizes it’s a bit rude to not open his other gifts...

He stands up and takes another one. 

“That’s from me !” 

Damian says with a smile, clearly eager to see the boy’s reaction. And when your son tears open the box...

“OH MY GOD !!” 

He yells, and then all you see is your little eight year old kid running around the living room screaming happily and...the hell did he just get ?

When your son finally calms down, and puts the box on the floor to then proceed on literally jumping on Damian, you finally see what’s the matter. 

“Cheese Viking VR”. A virtual helmet with the entire “Cheese Viking” game saga. It was suppose to be sold out, and new production for it was running slow, as the company didn’t expect to sell that many sets...It was probably a pain to find. No wonder, Damian looked so proud of himself ! 

Jason couldn’t believe his eyes, as he saw his bratty little brother hug Viggo back gladly, and smiling fondly at the kid. He knew they somewhat bonded when you meet them at the arcade room, but it was still a surprise. A pleasant one. 

Viggo finally calmed down a second time, and went to sit on the couch, saying :

“Ok guys, if you have any more of this kind of surprises, you need to tell me. Because I don’t think my heart can handle it right now...” your little one says, but it seems like Dick, Tim and Cassandra don’t think their gift will outmatch Bruce’s or Damian’s. 

But they’re wrong. They don’t outmatch it, no, but they make your boy as happy as the PlayStation and the Cheese Viking VR set. 

Tim gives him a “little chemist set”, and coincidentally, it was exactly the one that your son always wanted but that you could never afford...You had to tell Viggo to be patient, or he would have started experiencing there and there, forgetting the world around him. 

Dick gives him an electric skateboard with all the safety gears, and your son just couldn’t believe that this was just for him. He never saw that many toys and such in the same room ! All for him !! 

And when Cassandra gave him basically every single action figure in existence about his favorite TV show, you were pretty sure your kid was gonna faint right in the middle of the room. 

He gave away many hugs, and said the sentence “I can’t believe this is for me !” a hundred times. This was the first time in your life that you saw your son not having a smart come back ! It was quite something, really ! And oh it was so nice to see your son’s personality making everyone around him beam ! 

When you saw everyone together, gathered in that tiny living room, you wouldn’t believe that just a few hours ago you were all almost perfect stranger ! That this was your first meeting ! 

In fact, it felt like you’d been a family since the beginning of time. That Viggo was yours and Jason’s son, and that you were having his uncles and aunt, and his grandfather, over for his birthday...It really REALLY felt like it. 

It kinda freaked you out, when you realized this, but also made you incredibly happy. Because your boy ? He deserved to have great uncles and aunt, and a grandfather like the goddamn Bruce Wayne ! And most of all...a dad like Jason, who had absolutely no intention to ever leave (he made that clear on your first date). 

But for now, you shook those pleasant thoughts away, a bit afraid you were getting too carried away, and turned to Jason and your boy as it was your boyfriend’s turn to give him a present. Finally. 

“Um, seeing what everyone got you, I’m not sure my present will be that great...”

He says shyly, and you know it was a big deal when none of his siblings teased him about it. The wasn't as big as what his sibling’s or dad got for him, but you were pretty sure it made Viggo almost cry. 

It was just a simple notebook. At first, Viggo was very confused about it...until he opened it. And discovered that inside, all the pages were covered with “personalized gift cards” Jason drew himself.  

It almost made YOU cry too. It was so sweet, and personal, and Jason clearly put a lot of work into it ! It was full of little actives Viggo could do with “The Jason”. Some were simple, like just “a game of catch” or “an afternoon playing Cheese Viking”, while some others were rather big like : “going to see a Baseball match of your fav team at Gotham’s Stadium” or “A week-end in Disneyworld” ! 

Your son gave Jason the biggest hug he ever gave, and refused to let go for quite a while. And when he finally took a few steps from Jay, Viggo whispered :

“Thanks, dad.”

Which made Jason freeze. He was pretty sure he was the only one that heard Viggo used this word, and that the boy himself didn’t even realize what he had just say. What he had just done to Jason’s heart. 

Jason hadn’t felt this happy since before his death. Of course, you and Viggo made him extremely happy those past few months but right now, as the kid called him “dad” in the most natural way in the World...Jason’s heart just couldn’t stop beating. He felt the same way than that day Bruce told him he was going to adopt him. 

But his happiness was cut short by a dark thought slowly casting its shadow in his mind...

Jess.

************

Laying next to you in the bed he found himself sharing with you more often than not now, Jason couldn’t sleep.  

Probably because you went through a lot of emotions today, you were completely out and were lightly snoring next to him, unaware of his inner turmoil. Unaware that he was overthinking everything. Clinging to his arm sweetly. 

Jess’ arrival today, he realized now, touched him more than he initially thought. 

He didn’t want this jerk to slowly crawl in his thoughts, but he couldn’t help it. 

It was all because Viggo called him “dad”, and made him realize that...He wanted to be that kid’s dad. But he couldn’t really, could he ? Because he actually already had a father, and this father came back today, and was finally willing to come into his kid’s life.

Jason couldn't stop thinking about one thing...What if...What if his own father repented ? What if his own father decided to come back in his life, and start anew ? What if his own father didn’t get into the wrong criminal businesses and got killed, and came to Wayne Manor to ask for his son back ? 

Jason was pretty sure he would have forgiven him, because it was his dad. Sure Viggo’s and his situation were different. Jason did live with his father for a while when he was a kid, and with his mother, before leaving for Wayne Manor because they got killed. 

And both his parents were abusive and mistreated him...But still. If Viggo had the chance to have his dad back in his life, shouldn’t he take it ? No matter how much Jess screwed up ? Didn’t he deserve a second chance ? 

Jason couldn’t stop but think about “what if” his own parents got cleaned and came back for him. What if his own parents actually wanted him, and begged him to come back...What would Jason have done ? 

What would he have become ? Would his life get so fucked up ? 

Probably not. He wasn’t mad at Bruce anymore, and he knew that his adopted father loved him deeply...but if eight years old Jason had the choice to have a normal life, with normal parents, and to avoid this world of pain that he had to go through...Wouldn’t it have been fairer to take this chance ? 

If his parents came for him, if they did everything to get better and go on the path of redemption...Jason was pretty sure that he would have gone back to them, and it was a fact that then, he would never have died. He would never have been so angry. He would...

Ugh. It was so complicated. On one hand Jason viewed Bruce as his father, and only him, because he was the only one who ever acted as a father towards him. But what if his own father came back ? Wouldn’t have it been better for him ? 

Jason couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking over and over again about how genuine Jess looked. And how hurt Viggo looked when he threw that gift out of the window. 

Jay was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed it, but for a micro-second, Viggo looked like he was about to cry. Looked like he regretted throwing the gift away. And during his birthday, when he thought no one was looking, the boy kept looking back at the entrance door with a thoughtful look. 

“What if my own parents came back to get me and take care of me ? Would I forgive the years of abuse and would it be best for me to leave  with them to avoid the world of pain Bruce’s life brought me ?”

Sure, Jason willingly jumped into Bruce’s night life. Because for the first time in his life, he found someone that actually cared about him ! He wanted to make him proud ! Plus it was fun...but we all know how that ended. 

He kept thinking over and over again. He knew for a fact that Viggo could NOT come into his vigilante’s world. Ever. But then again, Jason knew he would never stop fighting crime. 

Maybe Viggo and you were better off without him, and instead would have a better chance at a normal life with...Jess ?

It hurt like hell, to realize that maybe that was it. That maybe it was better for both you and your son to stay away from him. 

It’s funny. So far, he had been kind of lying to himself, always thinking that he’d talk about this all Red Hood ordeal one day, in the future. Always saying he’ll tell you all about it “one day”. But never doing so because he knows that as soon as he says the truth, things will forever change. 

You and Viggo will be in danger all your life, just for being associated with him and...goddamnit what was he even thinking ?! That he could just have a family with you ? Be a dad to Viggo ? After only six months of relationship ?! 

He clearly didn’t think any of this through. He wanted, to be that kid’s dad. For the first time in his life he knew he was in love, he knew he wanted to spend his life with you...Six months or six years wouldn’t make any difference, he just knew his feeling would never change. He knew he didn’t want to touch anyone else but you. Kiss anyone else but you. Make love to anyone else but you. 

He knew he didn’t want to give his heart to anyone else but you...You and Viggo. He didn’t want to say anyone else’s name the way he said yours. He didn’t...He knew he would never love again the way he loves you. 

But this wasn’t about only him now, was it ? He couldn’t be that selfish, and thrust you into his dark world like that. What would you say, if you knew how many people he killed ? If you knew he actually died himself, and came back to life ? If you knew...the him from the night ? 

So far, things were blissful. Things were peaceful. Things were beautiful. 

Whenever he came over to your place, it felt like you, him and Viggo were a little family. It felt good, and so easy. 

But...Oh god ! He couldn’t believe he allowed himself to be seen THAT MUCH in public with his BROTHERS that day at the arcade ! When it was just you and him, or you, him and Viggo, it was fine, because he became an expert in being able to hide the fact he was Jason Todd-Wayne, one of Bruce Wayne’s heir. 

But Damian and Tim ? Everyone knew who they were wherever they went. Especially Damian, who looked so much like Bruce and had such amazing feature like his eyes or darker skin !  

Apparently no one saw you all together that day, as no picture had been released but...what if ? Then you would have become the face of every single newspaper in Gotham. Worst, Viggo would have been plastered everywhere ! 

That alone would put your life and your son’s life on the line ! Being associated with such a powerful family was quite something...but then if it turned “Gotham Official” between you two, he would HAVE to talk about Red Hood and then the threat would be doubled...

Jesus. This was all so painful. Everything. This all realization. 

The fact that Jess was now back in the picture and was really Viggo’s rightful father. And this all Wayne/Red Hood thing...He...he couldn’t do that to you, he couldn’t be that selfish...could he ?

You moved closer to him in your sleep, and threw one of your leg over his waist. And it’s with a heavy and painful heart that Jason softly kissed the crown of your head. Tenderly showered your face with peppered kisses...And resolved himself to take a harsh decision. 

************

The next day, you woke up to an empty bed. 

Which was odd. Usually, even if he would he awake before you, Jason would always still be in bed with you...Weird. 

You stood up and went to the kitchen and...here he was. He was making breakfast for Viggo. Cute. But...when he looked at you, did you see a flash of pain going through his eyes ? Or did you just imagine it ? You weren't sure. 

But when you went to kiss him to say “hello”, his kiss back felt strangely distant. Very unlike him. Usually, he would be so into it, and smile widely afterward...

“Ok I made some breakfast for you too. I’m sorry I have to run, I have important business back at home, see you later ?” 

“Um, ok...” 

He leaves with a quick “See ya Viggo”. No kiss goodbye to you, as he always gave you. And no kiss on your son’s forehead either. 

Odd. You and Viggo exchange a knowing look...

************

You tried to remember everything you did with Jason in the past few days that could have changed his mood that much. 

Jesus (Y/N) think, THINK ! 

But you couldn’t recall doing anything to Jason that would justify his behavior...Why, all of a sudden, was he always too busy to see you ? Why would he refuse to go out in public ? Why was he coming over less and less ? 

He kept telling you that is was because there was a lot of work back at Wayne inc but, so far, he always managed to make time for you...or were you just being jealous and too selfish because he spend less time with you ? 

Yes, that was probably it. You were being a kid, this was defenitely nothing and he would eventually stop being so busy. 

************

Jess called you back a few days after Viggo’s birthday, and you told him to fuck off. But he kept calling and calling and calling...

“Maybe you should give him a chance, you know ?” 

Jason’s words surprise you, and you turn a confuse look to him : 

“I told you what he did to us, right ?”

“Yes, but I’m a strong believer in everyone deserving a second chance.” 

His words kept fighting in your head, over and over again...

************

And Jason kept being busier and busier. Having less and less time for you and Viggo. It got even worst when you finally accepted for Jess to come and see you (not Viggo yet) and talk. 

Viggo was at school, and you were talking with Jess in your kitchen when Jason came in...He immediately apologized and though you said Jess was about to leave, Jason still left. 

And oh you hated that judgemental look Jess gave you, as if he was saying : “wow, great boyfriend you got there” ! 

Because Jason was great. He really was ! He was the damn best. He was the perfect boyfriend. He cared for your son, and was always so affectionate towards you ! He always had great thoughts, and was just so sweet ! 

He was perfect ! 

But...you guessed perfection didn’t exist, as you felt you and him were slowly growing apart more and more. 

************

You still refused for Jess to see Viggo, and to be honest, Viggo had no intention to see his dad anyway ! 

Jason heard you guys talk about it, as he came by one night...And the way Viggo’s face brighten when he saw Jay, and how he rushed to hug him finally gave Jason a good idea of what he had to do. 

For yours and Viggo’s good. 

************

He had to. He just had to. 

IT didn’t mean it made anything easier, but he knew it was the only way. 

He had to leave you..both of you. 

He had laid the ground work for a few weeks now, coming to see you and Viggo less often, and being much less attentive and affectionate to you both. 

It particularly tore his heart apart, to see Viggo’s cute little smile fall every time he said “not now buddy” when Viggo asked to play with him ! 

The worst was that time he refused to give him a hug because he said he was “late for work” (a lie), and that other time he said “can’t right now” when Viggo, full of hope, brought his little notebook he got for his birthday and basically tore a random “gift card” from it, clearly not caring what it was, and only wanting to spend time with Jason. 

It really, really hurt, that he had to do that...But at the same time, it was the only way. Because if Viggo was getting to attached to Jason, then he would never want to get to know his real father, Jess. 

If Viggo decided that Jason was his father...then he would eventually get dragged into this dangerous vigilante’s life. And that...Jason couldn’t let it happen. He’d rather die, than putting this little boy’s life in jeopardy. Or yours. 

And though it hurt more than anything in the world, acting that distant and cold toward both you and Viggo, he knew he had to. 

He had to...lay the ground work...To make you guys hate him. 

Make you realize he wasn’t actually a great boyfriend. Purposefully doing things he would never do usually, but doing them just because he knew it annoyed you.

And yet, he couldn’t quite seem to achieve this goal to make you guys even dislike him. Even when he pushed away on purpose; or when he was a bit rude. 

The truth was, he was never able to completely push you two away, or completely be heartless with you. Because he loved both of you with all his heart. 

He was deeply in love with you. And Viggo ? Oh Viggo, he found himself thinking of him as his “son” so many times ! 

But this was dangerous ! You both could never have a real life, if he kept going ! And Jess really seemed to want to get back in your life, and participate in Viggo’s upbringing. And even if he screwed up..maybe he had the right to have a second chance and get to know his own son ? 

Yes. Jason had to do it now. And quick. Rip the band-aid...

*********** 

“Jason, what are you saying ?” 

Your pained look almost convince him to backtrack. To not go forward with it. To tell you it’s just a silly joke and to kiss you with all his might. 

Oh and the look Viggo gives him, sat at the kitchen table, a bowl of cereal in front of him ? It tears him apart. It makes him wish he was still dead. Those innocent eyes slowly realizing that something bad is happening. 

But he can’t go back now. He has to go through with it. For your own good. To both of you...so what if you hate him ? 

“It’s just too much for me, ok ? Too much at the same time, all this.” 

He gestures at you and Viggo, and once again, he has to fight against himself not to go to both of you and give you a hug, apologizing profusely for what he just said and insinuated. 

But he knows...he knows that by using the exact same word Jess used in his letter all those years ago, he’d really break this bond you formed with him. 

“Too much ?” 

You ask, obviously trying to fight tears as you were understanding what the problem was more and more every seconds. 

This was what you feared since you started to date him. What you were terrified of as you realized you were completely in love with him, and that Viggo was getting very attached to (you were pretty sure he almost called him “dad” a few times by now). 

This was your worst nightmare. All over again...The man you love leaving you because a family is too much for him. 

“Yes. You and Viggo. And Jess now too..” 

“What about Jess ?” 

“Well it’s a bit too much ya know ? He’s part of your lives again and...”

“He is not part of our lives. Plus you’re the one that told me to give him another chance !” 

“Yes exactly ! And you did ! Now he’s part of your life wether you want it or not, and he wants to know Viggo so...”

“I don’t want to get to know him Jason, I don’t want to !” 

For the third time, he almost cracks. The tone his little boy just used...”his”. No. No he wasn’t his. He was Jess’s. And it was going to be better for him if the bond between him and Jason was cut. 

“Well you do whatever you want buddy, but ultimately he’s your dad and he wants to know you ! You know, I wish my dad came back for me when Bruce adopted me ! I really do !” 

This was a lie. With all his thinking, Jason came to the conclusion that he would never want another father than Bruce Wayne. No matter how easier his life would have been...But this was his choice, and he already came from a fucked up family and was a delinquent. While Viggo ? Viggo had a bright future ahead of him. 

He was cute and intelligent. He couldn’t come into the vigilante’s world... 

“Where are you getting at with all this, Jason ?” 

You already knew, of course. But you wanted him to say it. You wanted him to spell it out. To face you and tell you. 

“I’m getting at...I mean...I think...I think we should break up.” 

It’s as if someone just threw a bucket of freezing cold water over your head. And without realizing it...You fall on the nearest chair (Jason has to resist like hell for not suddenly running to you and see if you’re ok) and start to cry. 

You don’t even hear what Jason says next, but you know it’s all bullshit. Whatever he says. You know. He’s just trying to be nice and ease the break up, but if you’re being honest, you realized a while ago that he would leave. Because he became suddenly so cold...after Jess’s arrival, really. 

A few weeks ago. 

Since that day Jason became more and more distant. It was weird. It was so different from those past six months ! And you just couldn’t understand why the sudden change of heart...did he think you were going to leave with Jess ? Because he was your first love ? 

But you realized you had never loved anyone before Jason... 

Why was he suddenly...like this ? Didn’t he see you had no intention of ever going back to Jess ? And sure maybe you’ll let him see Viggo because after all yes, maybe he deserves a second chance at that “father’ thing but...couldn’t Jason see that your kid already decided who his real dad truly was ? 

You don’t even realize your son came to you until he presses his small smooth hands on your cheek, and wipe away your tears. 

“I think you should leave.” 

You hear Viggo say to Jason. And you wish you could say something but...you knew it. You knew since day one that if Jason Todd broke your heart, you would be a total mess. Worst than ever. And you really were. 

Damn. You felt so pathetic, moping on your kitchen table while your eight years old son tried to cheer you up. Took care of you. 

“Viggo I...” 

Jason was about to say that he still wanted to see the kid. Still wanted to be friend. He just couldn’t cut all ties, it was impossible...he knew it was a bad idea, but he just couldn’t let you two go. IN fact, he was slowly starting to regret his decision. 

But Viggo, looking up at him with eyes full of unshed tears, and clearly furious, made everything easier for him : 

“I said you should leave. You’ve done enough, don’t you think ?” 

He points at you, who seemed to not even be aware of what is happening around you right now. And oh geez you feel like such an idiot for ever even believing in all this...For believing that a perfect man like Jason could be with you, and help you raise your son the last of the way. For believing that you had another chance at love and at having a normal family. 

“And please don’t come back. Thank you.” 

This is it. This is the day Jason Todd dies a second time. 

He can feel it in his heart. He’s not alive anymore. 

He wants to reach for you, he wants to reach for Viggo...But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes his duffel bag that he prepared the night before, and leaves. Without even turning back once. 

And it’s good that he didn’t, because if he did, his resolve would have shattered. He would have thrown himself on the floor and beg for yours and your son’s forgiveness, say that he wasn’t thinking straight...or tell you the truth ! The all truth ! Why he was leaving right now ! 

Because it’s better for both of you...It’s to save your life...

Oh but if he had turned to look one last time at you, he would have realized he wasn’t saving anything. On the contrary. As you softly cried uncontrollably, not able to get a hold of yourself while you were known to never wallow in self-pity...You always got back up on your feet. Always moved forward. 

For your son. But today...today, even as you see that your tears are really distressing him, you can’t stop crying. Because you feel it in your heart, in your bones...you just lost the love of your life. 

And Viggo ? Viggo, for the first time in his short eight years on this earth, he realizes how painful it is, to not have a dad. 

____________________________________________

Hope you liked this ! It is currently 7 am and I stayed up ALL night to finish this...(while watching the oscars so I got distracted, but said oscars were over two hours ago so...yeah). I hope it’s not too...bad. I must admit, I’m VERY scared to disappoint you...In the end, I’m glad I stayed up so late (or early, depends on the point of view), cause I’m gonna now go hide in my bed.

So. Yeah. Blahblahblah the usual about feedbacks = life, as well as reblogs. 

[nyanzaya]

Zuo’s birthday

words: 4094

     Zuo was not the type of person to remember important dates. If anything, he would have to constantly be reminded days before and even on the day itself.

     This year, it was no exception.

     His day went on as usual. Roaming the streets. Doing some work and eventually punching someone square in the face for ranting about how much they were in love with someone. Honestly, Zuo didn’t care who they were in love with. They pissed him off and without much control or thought he hit them unprovoked.

     It always happened. Some days he would actually get through it without the struggle of fighting a gang or punching someone because they had pissed him off. It was almost unbelievably that he would constantly find himself harming another human being, but Zuo knew he wasn’t exactly human. As much as he longed to be like everyone else, be normal and not as temperamental it was something he would have to work hard at.

     Of course, finding a place to start was hard so why did it even matter if he worked hard at it when there was so much he had to do about it? Zuo was a hard worker if it was to better everyone else. As long as people liked him the way he was, why change? He could be as erratic, unpredictably and quick-tempered as he wanted. Compared to how he was years ago, he was much calmer. When he was younger anything that moved he considered a threat but nowadays he didn’t see anything as a threat unless of course, someone would actually threaten or attack him first. Even the few who were petty thieves or a small gang that thought they could walk anywhere as if they owned the place were considered threats.

     He went to see his mother, Aiko, today. The feline had to see if perhaps Asher was being troublesome for her or if she was going to ask for Zuo to take him back. Zuo entered the building and walked into her apartment. His ears had perked unsure why it was dark, quickly he took off his sunglasses and pocketed them in his vest.

     Alert now, Zuo walked to the living room. “Mom?”

     Zuo looked around, seeing the kotatsu that shouldn’t be out in the middle of spring. The TV was off and appeared to be an older model. He forgot that his mom wasn’t exactly up to date on technology. Her apartment looked old, but it was one of the newer buildings that were built a few years back. The cream-colored feline heard the small coos and giggles of Asher and saw him crawling towards him when he had turned the corner of the couch.

     “Ah- Asher no!” A whispered cry and trill was heard.

     What was happening? Zuo wanted to start laughing when he saw his mother’s hand appear from behind the couch to try and catch Asher but it was a moment too late.

     The toddler crawled to Zuo’s feet and held onto their pant leg, making a small meow.

     Zuo wasn’t sure how to take that. Asher meowing? What was his mother doing? Meowing at Asher whenever he did something she considered stressful?

     The small child wasn’t a feline like Zuo or his mother. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave Asher with his mother. Regardless, Zuo bent down to pick asher up. “Hey, bud.” He spoke to them, hearing them giggle and reach for his ears.

     A white feline appeared from behind the couch, looking defeated with her ears flat. “He really is such a daddy’s boy if he instantly went to you.” She commented but she couldn’t be that upset. Asher was technically Zuo’s son after all.

     “What were you doing anyway?”

     “I was hoping I could surprise you, but well that didn’t turn out the way I wanted.”

     Zuo’s ears had leaned forward hearing that, despite the fact Asher was tugging at one and had his hair in the other hand. “Surprise me? Why?”

     “Ah?” Her ears perked up. She shouldn’t of been surprised that Zuo wouldn’t have remembered. It wasn’t in his habit to remember what today was. “Hold on, let me get something for you.”

     The cream-colored feline tilted his head. “Alright then, what is it though?” He asked and continued to hold Asher, gently swaying.

     “You’re about to see~” Aiko chimed from the kitchen and after a few minutes she appeared.

     Zuo saw the small lights of a 29 on a fish. His eyes went wide and he went still hearing her starting to sing ‘Happy birthday’ and walk towards him.

     How could he have possibly forgotten about his own birthday?

     Bashful, Zuo had a grin on his face. “You didn’t..” He tried to interrupt Aiko’s singing but she kept singing proudly.

     Once she had finished singing she was in front of Zuo. “Blow out the candles.”

     Truthfully, Zuo didn’t know what to think of it. It had been a while since he had last celebrated his birthday- well of course it had been a while it only came once a year but for the last few years, he had simply forgotten.

     A soft smile was on his face. He brought a hand to rest on Asher’s back, seeing how they were amused by the small light and attempted to reach out for it. The feline laughed at that.

     “I can’t believe I forgot.” Zuo said and blew out the candles.

     “Well, I figured, you know, that you’d want something special at least. It’s been a long time since we celebrated it.” The white feline said, placing the plate of fish on the kotatsu.

     Softly, Zuo purred and leaned forward to bunt his forehead onto Aiko’s. “Thank you. You don’t know how happy this makes me.”

     Aiko pulled away and licked at her kitten’s ears, lightly grooming them before she twirled away and cupped her hands, “Sit down! Sit! Let’s eat this.”

     Zuo laughed seeing how excitable she had gotten at being thanked and did as she asked. He sat Asher on his lap and seeing his mother bring a pair of chopsticks and a knife and handing them over, Zuo took them.

     “The one who’s being celebrated gets the first piece.” She said watching Zuo cut into the fish as she went to sit down.

     He put his hands together, “Thank you for the meal.” Then he cut the fish in half. He picked up his half with his chopsticks, while his mother picked up her half with her hand.

     They ate the fish quickly finishing it off and cleaned the meat off of the bones.

     Asher had crawled out of Zuo’s lap as he ate, crawling around to explore Aiko’s apartment, even if he had seen it already.

     Aiko watched Asher crawl around the room, “How have you been doing lately?”

     Zuo was also watching Asher until his mother had spoken up and turned his attention to her. “Lately? The same as always I guess. Gettin’ pissed off, punching a guy in the face…” He brought a hand to his neck, knowing that she wouldn’t be pleased hearing something like that.

     The white feline gave a soft smile. “Is there something else that’s wrong? It’s not like you to punch someone in the face just because you got mad, sweetheart.”

     His ear twitched at how gentle the words were but who knew him better than his mother? She was right, something else was grating on his nerves and made him angry.

     “Is it Izzy?”

     Zuo flinched. Was it because of Iza? “I mean… I guess. He keeps doing something stupid and cause trouble for me.”

     “Maybe he just wants your attention. I know you both aren’t...together anymore but maybe it’s not so bad to see him every once in a while.”

     “That’s a bad idea. He’d just make me mad because that’s what he always does.”

     “Oh, you know that’s not true. You used to be so happy when you and him were together.”

     Aiko wasn’t wrong. When they were together everything felt right and that they were doing something for the better of everyone. The ex-lovers knew that they had the same goal even if their way of achieving the goal was in completely different directions, they could still help one another.

     Iza could gather up the information and Zuo could be the man-power. Often, Iza dealt with the people underground and Zuo dealt with the people above ground. It wasn’t hard to split the work they both did and Zuo did just almost everything Iza would ask. Of course, recently, he had found the black feline to be of annoyance with how they would start trouble above ground for the fun of it.

     That was Zuo’s turf and for Iza to cross into it was seen as invitation for fight. Often times, Zuo would find Iza on his turf and from there they would engage in a scuffle. It ended with Iza getting away with a few scratched and torn clothes while Zuo was left with blade marks, seeping small amounts of blood and torn clothes as well. There had been a few times where Zuo would win, overpower the black feline immensely and injure them; as there had been times Iza would win and over power the cream-colored feline, but those times were not often and required careful thought and critical planning.

     “Yeah… but, you know, things change and stuff like that.” Zuo vaguely explained and Aiko could only nod.

     “Well, I’m sure you and him will come back together again. Maybe not in the way you want but from back then it looked like you both needed each other.”

     The cream-colored feline gave a sign, until he heard the sound of clattering from the kitchen.

     Aiko instantly jumped up and went to the kitchen.

     Suddenly there was a crash of glass.

     “My china!” She cried, picking up Asher.

     Zuo got up quickly and rushed to the kitchen. “Ah, fuck, is he okay?”

     Aiko inspected Asher, who was crying. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” She purred to him. “No, I think he’s okay, but my cup isn’t.”

     The cream-colored feline started picking up the large bits of the broken cup, going to the trash can to toss the ceramic. “Do you want me to take Asher with me when I leave?”

     “Oh, no it’s okay. He’s such a joy to have around it makes me feel young again.” The white feline said bunting her forehead onto Asher’s head, trying to calm him down. “I don’t mind accidents like these. Normally, he’s well behaved and he kinda does remind me of you when you were a baby his age.” She gave a soft laugh at the thought. Sure, they may have been on the streets for a while, but even then when Zuo was around Asher’s age he was just as adventurous and curious.

     Zuo’s ears turned to the side in embarrassment, picking up the broom and the dust pan to brush the rest of the broken cup onto it and once it was on the dust pan he pick it up and carried it to the trash to throw it away, “Alright, well if you ever want me to take him off your hands you know how to reach me or where I live.”

     Asher had calmed down, having one of his thumb in his mouth. Aiko opened a drawer to get a pacifier. “I know, but you don’t have to worry about me or him. It’s not like I’m going anywhere any time soon.”

     “I’m just reminding you is all.” Zuo said as Asher yawned.

     “Ah, I guess he’s tired now, huh?” Aiko softly laughed, watching how Asher’s eyes were started to flutter closed until he tired to keep himself awake.

     “You can go put him to bed, I think it’s about time I go.”

     “Ooh, well alright. You are busy after all. I’m glad you came over today.”

     Zuo gave a soft smile, “Yeah, me too. I’ll try to visit more, ‘kay?”

     “Please do, I think it’ll make Asher happy to see you more, since you are his dad.”

     “I’ll take him back next week. I should spend more time with him.” Zuo mused. It did sound like it would be a good idea to spend more time with Asher and tend to them. He didn’t want to put all of the responsibility on his mother.

     “That’ll be perfect. It’ll give me time to recharge and be ready for more of his little shenanigans.” Aiko said and walked toward Zuo to bunt her forehead onto his, finding it to be difficult considering her son was much taller than she was but Zuo leaned down.

     “Okay, I’ll see you Monday to take Asher off your hands then.”

     The white feline gave a hum, “Yeah, I’ll see you later then.”

     With that Zuo watched Aiko take Asher, who had fallen asleep against her shoulder to another room. He left the apartment and didn’t realize how long he had spent at his mother’s but he couldn’t get mad about it. Lately, he hadn’t gotten to see her as much as he wanted and he was hoping to change that soon, though; he could recall someone else who hadn’t seen his mother in a few months.

     It was almost strange that he couldn’t pick up their scent when he walked into or out of her apartment but who was he to tell Iza what to do with his time anyway? He knew that the black feline and his mother were close, in fact, Zuo was sure Iza accepted her as his own mother. Some part of Zuo felt bad for Iza. They didn’t know their parents, yet; he still claimed that it didn’t matter if he knew them or not but the cream-colored feline knew that to not be true.

     Zuo walked down the street in thought, not paying attention to the people around him. He was thinking about Iza and some part of him did miss the black feline. Missed when he would whine when he didn’t get their way, or how Iza would calm down whenever he picked them up and cradled them. He missed how Iza would come to him and bunt their forehead onto his or groom his ears, despite the fact that Zuo would give low growls about it. He missed their soft touch and how vulnerable they could be if given enough time and patience, but even then some matters had to be pressed even if it would make the black feline cry.

     The cream-colored feline didn’t register the fact someone had greeted him as he kept walking down the street to his apartment. He was looking at his feet as he walked. Zuo knew he shouldn’t miss Iza that way. He knew that they were the one that broke his heart.

     Unbeknownst to Zuo, Iza had done it for a different reason than the one he had told to Zuo but it was unlikely Iza would ever come clean with it.

     Perhaps being broken hearted was what made him see all the wrongs that Iza had made him do and how his sense of justice had come to be. It was all in the name of keeping Iza in check and under control. If the black feline were allowed to do as he pleased, then that would be havoc for the city and its people.

     The cream-colored feline had made it to his apartment. Walking up the stairs to get to his door he was still lost in few thoughts, but he figured it shouldn’t matter. It was better to not think about that bastard anyway. They didn’t deserve any of the love or attention Zuo had offered so long ago. Love that was frankly taken advantage of. Besides, it was his birthday. It wasn’t like Iza would ever remember something as small and insignificant as that.

     Though, Zuo thought too soon, he saw a box that was neatly wrapped. It was a gift from the looks of it and without much thought Zuo bent down to pick it up. Already he could smell Iza’s scent, the smell of it alone made his eye twitch. With a small growl, Zuo opened his door and tossed the box on the table. He wasn’t going to give into the temptation to open it. If he did, he was sure he’d have to owe that bastard something and he refused.

     Zuo was done with that life. He couldn’t go back to doing Iza’s bidding, even if it had been out of devotion years ago. Why Iza even bothered him always grated on his nerves to think about. It wasn’t as if someone like Iza loved him.

     With a huff, Zuo brushed his hand through his hair. Truly, it was annoying to think about Iza. He couldn’t lie to himself and say that he didn’t care about them when really, he did care. A part of him still wanted something more with them but it was hard to discern whether it was from his heart or from the nostalgic and loving memories that surfaced.

     “What are you doing?” It was softly laughed.

     “Distracting you.”

     “Ehh? Zuu-chan, please I’m trying to work.”

     A huff. “You work too much. It can wait can’t it.” Zuo spoke. He was holding Iza from behind, his arms around their middle, nuzzling into the black feline’s neck. “C’mon, we should go outside.”

     Iza laughed, bringing a free hand up to Zuo’s cheek, caressing the skin before he turned his head to press a kiss onto Zuo’s face. “Maybe in a few minutes, ne?”

     “You’re so stupid.” The cream-colored feline purred, pressing a kiss onto Iza’s face in return of the affection.

     As Zuo remembered, a pain struck at his chest. He gritted his teeth. His fist was clenched tight. Anger was on the rise.

     Iza laughed.

     And laughed before abruptly, he stopped. He gave a side-glance to the pole that had embedded itself in the wall, grinning. “Tom, just give into your true nature already. This-” He gestured to the fallen men before himself. “This is what you’re meant to do. Don’t you get it? Together, you and I could actually change something. Isn’t that what yo-”

     “Shut up! This- this isn’t what I fucking want. It’s what you want.” Zuo spat, the fur on his tail was fluffed, his ears laid back in defensiveness.

     These men Iza gestured to wasn’t the work of Zuo.

     The iron in the air wasn’t the fault of Zuo.

     It was Iza that drew blood and he was covered in it. The tips of his ears to the tip of his tail. He wasn’t drenched but it was easy to tell that the blood on his clothing didn’t belong to him.

     “Don’t shift this...this shit on to me. You did it.”

     Iza’s ears twitched. Rejection was a bitter taste. “I’m doing you a favor, Dear. Isn’t the scent wonderful? It tells us that we are survivors. So, why don’t you draw some blood as well?”

     A light flickered and suddenly Zuo felt a pain on his cheek. His brows furrowed. Iza flung a blade at him. The smell of iron further increased his rage. He didn’t want to return to being a brawler. Zuo was done being a gladiator for the entertainment of others and he sure as hell was not going to give into what Iza wanted. He brought a hand to his wounded cheek before he looked at his hand. Zuo saw the blood on his fingers.

     “Enough..” He spoke softly, his hand was shaking.

     Iza was quiet, watching Zuo. “Enough? Enough of what? This is the only way.”

      “How is this the only way?” Zuo’s closed his blood-tipped hand, as if to show his resolve on the situation.

     The black feline paced, taking a blade out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. “How? Haven’t you heard of the saying: ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?’ To allow these...humans to continue to use us and further lower our quality of life and longevity would be horrendous, no? We are just as capable as they are.”

     “Fuck off with your ‘we’ shit! There is no ‘we’. It’s just you against everyone else.” Zuo growled, flexing his hands before he brought them together to crack his knuckles.

     Iza stopped pacing taking in Zuo’s words. No we? He understood now. Even Zuo was an enemy of his now. This feeling in his chest hurt. It hurt to feel how Zuo rejected him. They were together, though Iza supposed that was impossible. There was a sting at his eyes but he wasn’t going to let Zuo see him fall into tears. Without thinking, Iza flung his knife. He almost missed his target, but his blade had impaled itself in Zuo’s shoulder.

     “Well, well. If there is no ‘we’ then there can never be an ‘us’.”

     Zuo knew Iza twisted his words. That wasn’t what he meant but if that’s what Iza saw, then all he could do now was to stop them from this senseless killing.

     These were innocent people. All Zuo saw in front of him was someone who was crazed, lusting after more bloodshed. Someone who, Zuo was fond of. It hurt to see Iza turn into someone he didn’t know, or perhaps he had known who he was all along but had never seen it from a different perspective. Perhaps, Zuo had tolerated this behavior until it was too much.

     How could he save them?

     The cream-colored feline pulled the knife from his shoulder. “You threw your knife at me. So, I’ll assume you meant to hit a pressure point. That’s what you do, huh? So, that means you wanted to disable me to kill me then, huh?”

     Iza’s ears leaned back.

     Zuo brought his other hand to the other side of the blade, snapping it in half before dropping it to the floor. Another solid resolve. Zuo was going to be the one to stop Iza. He had to be. To let the black feline running wild with power? He understood now that Iza couldn’t handle the power; the rush of the high of being on top of the world.

     Zuo would bring them back to earth. Even if it meant that this was their fate: To fight and oppose each other until the end.

     Iza furrowed his brows when his blade was snapped. He would never be afraid of Zuo. The black feline thought of them as something beautiful, worth praising and keeping. Iza knew Zuo was powerful and he wanted to use that power. Was it shallow of him? Perhaps but he needed it. Iza needed Zuo.

     Iza laughed out loud again, raising yet another blade. “That’s exactly what I wanted to do.” He lied. “If you look so determined to stop me, then come after me.” Iza threw his blade before he turned in his heels to dash away.

     Zuo’s fur stood on end again hearing Iza say that. Feeling the blade bite into his leg, he roared before he chased after him Zuo punched the wall holding his weapon, the pole that he had thrown before.

     Once that was in hand, he chased after his lost love.

     “Ah…” His table was broken. Zuo didn’t realize he had snapped it in half. He pulled out his catnip cigarettes, craving for a wave of calm. With the stick between his lips he lit it and inhaled, closing his eyes before he finally exhaled.

     Better. Everything was okay now.

     He looked at the table he had broken. The gift was still intact surprisingly. Zuo picked up it. He may as well open it considering how much trouble it had caused him.

     The feline ripped it open and popped open the box to find a card and a ring and quickly Zuo found he could open it up and turn it into a sphere. There were inscriptions and astrology signs. He then read the card.

[I still believe in fate. Do you? This was meant to be, even if it’s...bitter. Happy Birthday, Zuo                                                                                                           -- Iza]

     Maybe there was still chance. Zuo did believe in fate and past lives. If this was how they ended up, perhaps it was always how it was meant to be. They were fated to be on oppositions. If The Scales and The Ram had anything to do with how clear their oppositions where, Zuo wouldn’t know what would show it off any better than that.

[fairyshuuu]

Pearls

Genre: Fluff Length: 8.8k You are a college student that doesn’t know how to swim. Right, totally pathetic. Luckily, you’re not the only one.

The air is warm and sticky, and somewhat taking your breath away, because of the smell of chlorine that is permanently floating around. Many people must think of this as a familiar smell. Attached to memories of childhood friends and birthday parties. The smell is quite foreign to you though. You’ve not been inside a swimming pool a lot in the past. Right when you think that, you almost slip over one of the wet, white tiles, shuffling around carefully. Why would you need to, when you don’t know how to swim? 

Yes, you are a college student, and you never learned how to swim. Your parents just kind of … forgot that was a thing a child should learn, and before you knew it you were too old not having learned how to swim. So, then, why are you here on a Thursday afternoon, fully dressed inside the college pool? Well, someone decided to have the yearly trip be a water park this year, and you refuse to miss out on it. That, and your best friend might strangle you if she has to share the room with anyone else.

You look around again, walking just a little closer to the water. The pool is surprisingly completely empty. Maybe that isn’t actually so surprising, since most people might still have classes at this hour. It’s lit up with underwater lights, so that you can see the bottom. That’s comforting at least. Not like the looming darkness of the lake on the way to your house. Luckily. 

The pool extends longer than you imagined it would. As gracefully as possible, which isn’t very since you are terrified of falling in or getting too close, you squat, and take small steps closer to the edge. You carefully lean forward and dip your hand in the water, a little surprised at how warm it feels. You wave your hand back and forward a couple of times, when-

“You having fun?” A male voice rings out, making you almost jump out of your skin in surprise.

You look around with wide eyes, pulling your hand out of the water and letting it awkwardly drip away from your body, as you straighten up. The young man in front of you is looking at you in amusement, curiosity painted across his face, as a smile breaks out. He looks to be a little older than you, with sharp eyes and a gummy smile, light brown hair falling over his eyebrows loosely. He’s wearing red swimming shorts and a white shirt, bare feet just like you. 

You awkwardly skip away from the water, looking back at it once before looking at the young man again, face most likely bright red. “Yeah, I- uhm- I was just-” You bite your cheek as he raises his eyebrow, smile only widening. “I don’t know what the hell I was doing, to be fair. But- uhm- I’m looking for swimming lessons. They told me to come ask here.”

The bright haired man nods, sticking out his hand happily. “Minseok. I teach here after school, though- normally, the people I teach are- a little bit younger.”

You offer him your hand, only to realize it’s still wet and hold it up in mid-air in a fist, amazed at your own awkwardness. You just smile and offer him your other hand, so Minseok switches hands with a laugh and shakes yours. You’re normally really not this awkward. Must be because Minseok is very cute. “Yeah, I’m Y/N. My -uhm- my parents, they kinda forgot to get me swimming lessons when I was 5 so I’m just doing it now.”

The man giggles brightly, nodding his head in understanding, as he folds his arms over his chest. “Oh, you are a first year? The waterpark, right?”

“Yeah,” you huff, looking around for a second, “you’re not a first year, I’m guessing?”

He lifts his shoulders a bit, shaking his head. “Last year of Physiotherapy now.” He pauses, a friendly smile as he continues. “What are you-”

The conversation is interrupted by a loud noise and a shouting voice, cutting through the silence. “Minseok, bro, I need a favor.” The tall young man that is walking in with a lot of noise isn’t looking at the two of you, instead keeping his eyes intently on his feet, as he walks past the kiddy pool and over to you. “So you know how we’re all going on this trip, right? Well, we’re going to a waterpark, and I-” 

When he finally looks up, he shuts down, eyes widening when he spots you. He gives you an up and down quickly, noting that you, as well as he is, are still fully dressed, only your shoes and socks missing. “Uhm- hello.” He offers, only turning to the man in front of you with widened eyes, before looking back down at you again, and spotting your hand awkwardly held away from your body, making him grin. “Is this some kind of weird foreplay you are into, Minseok? I knew you were strange but roleplay-”

The shorter man just stops him there, going into professional mode. “Chanyeol, please. This is Y/N. She has never learned how to swim so she’s going to be having lessons here with you.”

Chanyeol turns to you with a giant grin then, before aggressively clapping his hands and folding over in laughter, as you glare at him. What the hell is he laughing at? It’s a bit unusual that you don’t know how to swim, but it’s not that funny. He stays doubled over for a considerate amount of time, just laughing, and even wipes his eyes of tears at one point. As he straightens up, his black hair just falls in his eyes, while a giant smile stays painted on. “You don’t know how to swim? Wow, that’s fucking pathetic.”

You just scoff, folding your arms angrily over your chest. You shouldn’t even be mad, since he’s right, but his tone just bothers you. “Look who’s talking. If I’m not mistaken, Minseok said that we’d be having lessons together, so who can’t swim now?”

He frowns then, dark brown eyes finding yours again. “Hey, I can swim, okay? I’m just not very good.” He grumbles, before turning to his friend again. “How do you know I was coming for lessons, anyway?”

Minseok smiles. “Junmyeon told me when he saw me in the hall earlier.” He looks over your shoulder to the pool then, nodding his head. “I’m free now, so you can get your first lesson right away, if you’d like.”

“Ah- uh,” You interrupt, looking back quite desperately at the pool. “I don’t have my swimming gear with me yet. I was just informing, really.”

Chanyeol quickly cuts in, poking your cheek. “You scared? Chicken?” He starts imitating a chicken then, as you take a deep breath and try to stay calm. How can a single person be this annoying? When he stops, a grin comes onto his face again, making him look even more handsome. Clear that handsomeness doesn’t have anything to do with personality, though. His grin only widens. “You can swim without a swim suit too, you know.” He bends down then, ignoring Minseok’s roll of the eyes. “I won’t tell anyone.”

You just give him a sour face, and narrow your eyes. “Just go get your swimming pants and shut your giant trap, Aquaman.”

--

Turns out, you know Chanyeol. Or, well, you are supposed to know him, according to all girls in your friend group. One of the most popular guys in your year, and a well known playboy, though your friends swear he has the biggest heart. You don’t really know how your friends know this, and frankly, you don’t really care.

There are these moments though, that you would have never even noticed him before, and now you do. And he most definitely notices you. His fluffy black hair is styled out of his face today, tall statue surrounded with friends that are obnoxiously laughing along with him, as he runs his fingers through his hair. He has very big manly hands… and that is not important at all, you remind yourself. You just continue walking out of your last lecture of the day, and pass him and his little clique in silence, following behind your friends. Somehow, Chanyeol catches you in the corner of his eye though, and pops his head up, poking out even more above everyone else. God- why does he need to be this tall?

“Y/N!” He calls suddenly, while you jump at the sudden call of your name, whirling around with wide eyes. Most people in the hall are looking at the loud call as well, while you lower your eyes out of habit. You can hear your friends wait up behind you, as they stare in clear surprise at the attractive man walking up to you. As he reaches you, he puts a hand on your shoulder, grinning widely. “I needed to tell you that Minseok is expecting you for your first lesson today, honey buns. So if you don’t have your bathing suit today…” He pauses, leaning in to hover next to your ear with a whisper, “you’ll just have to swim without one.” He laughs brightly as he straightens up, raising his eyebrows at you, before winking and turning back to his friends.

While he walks away, you are knocked out of whatever daze you were in when your friends rush back over to you, whispering harshly, and call after him. “Honey buns? Really?”

Chanyeol turns then, walking backwards as he shrugs with a smug grin. “It fits you.” He turns back then, waving you a goodbye without looking back.

You just chew on your tongue, glaring at his retreating figure. “Have you been looking at my ass??!”

A loud laugh rings out through the hall, just as obnoxious as he is, that you can just catch as he walks around the corner, some of his friends looking back at you with confused expressions.

When you get to the college pool, you are very glad you thought last second to bring your swimming gear. You will not be caught off guard in the proximity of Park freaking Chanyeol for any money in the world. Today, there are some students swimming laps in the pool, cutting to the water graciously, and you can’t help but stare in awe, as they flip when turning, continuing without a problem. You have to hold a laugh as you imagine yourself next to them, splashing in the water like a three year old. Well, you have to start somewhere, right?

Very carefully, you waddle over to the far end of the pool, tug your swimming suit straps up a bit, and fold your arms over your chest, waiting for Minseok. When you look over the pool though, you can see a familiar face come out of the dressing room, smile slipping on when he spots you. He’s wearing an all black swimming short, in total contrast with your all white bathing suit. 

White wouldn’t be a great choice, if it wasn’t such a damn cute piece of clothing. Luckily it’s dense enough to cover all you want covered. When he walks over to you, equally elegant baby steps passing the water, you do your best to avoid looking at him all together. Not only does he have to be handsome, he also has to have a six pack and amazingly sculpted chest and shoulders, doesn’t he? God, you need to stop thinking these things about him.

“Hey there, honey buns. You excited to get wet?” He still has that smug grin on his face, and you need to start wondering if that is just his permanent expression.

You roll your eyes as he comes to stand next to you. “Are you going to be like this the entire time or do I need to push you under until you quit with the sexual jokes?”

Chanyeol giggles, before humming, as he looks out over the room, taking a breath. Suddenly, he grins to himself, and picks you up from the floor bridal style. You swing your arms around his neck out of habit, screaming when he walks over to the pool and dangles you over it. “Oh my God, Chanyeol, put me down!”

“Right here?” He teases, bending down towards the water even more.

“No, no! Not here! I really can’t swim, don’t let go of me!” You protest, closing your eyes tightly, as you pull yourself totally against him in an attempt to survive this.

“Oh, so now you don’t want me to let you go, huh?”

You open your eyes, biting back your blush at how close the two of you are, and glare at him. “Put me down away from the water!”

Just when Chanyeol wants to answer, another voice cuts in, to your relief. “I see you guys are getting along well. Chanyeol, if you wouldn’t mind putting the lady down, so we can start our lesson.” Minseok just smiles at your grateful expression, giving you a wink, and walks over to the two of you.

Chanyeol lets go of you, grinning proudly at himself, before Minseok hands him floaties. You snort at his expression, unable to hold in your laugh. For once, the tall raven haired man looks genuinely offended. “Minseok, really? I said I’m bad at swimming, I didn’t say I was a baby that needed help staying afloat.”

Minseok just smiles at him, shaking his head. “If you’re going to behave like a child, I will treat you like one. And I’ve seen you swim, Yeol. Be glad I’m giving you these.” Minseok then turns to you and hands you a pair too, as your grin slips from your face. “You too.” He giggles. “They really do help.”

You nod, and put on the floaties, ignoring Chanyeol’s protest, and follow Minseok as he walks away. You hold next to the kiddy pool, looking down into the undeep water, and then back at Minseok.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but we’ll start here. Better safe than sorry, right? If anything happens, or you panic, you’ll just be on the ground again.”

Despite the embarrassment that comes with having to start in a pool your three year old niece can swim in, it actually makes sense. You nod at your teacher, and sit down on the edge of the pool, legs dangling into the water. You just walk in, taking a deep breath. The water comes just above your knees. You can do this. Chanyeol is still moping behind you, but follows Minseok in the water, folding his arms over his chest.

“Okay, so- The first thing about swimming, isn’t the movement itself. You need to know how to float before being able to swim, okay? I’m confident you’ll get this quickly, so don’t worry about the movement for now. We’ll get to that soon enough.” Minseok gives you an encouraging nod. “Just lay down in the water, and float. You can keep your head down and come up to breathe, or, if that scares you, you can just keep your head above the water for now. Go ahead, try.”

You take a deep breath and sit down on your knees, then leaning forward. You probably look ridiculous, but you’re floating, arms wide open and attempting to keep your balance. It goes quite easy, and the entire lesson goes quite well, to the point where you can move from one side of the pool to the other. Not very elegantly, or fast, but you’re doing well. That’s what Minseok keeps telling you at least. Chanyeol is doing well too.

“Hey, honey buns. Now you know how to move, want to race?” Chanyeol grins, still dripping from his earlier practicing on the side of the pool, while you do your very best to keep afloat.

“Fuck off, Chanyeol.” You huff, straining your neck to take a deep breath.

Chanyeol laughs, folding his arms over his chest. “Aw, come on. Why are you so against fun?”

“Because,” you take a breath, and pull your arms back, smiling proudly at how fast you are going, “I’ve been practicing for only a few hours and I’m already better than you. I don’t dislike fun, I just don’t want you to feel embarra- Hey!”

Before you have a chance to finish your sentence, Chanyeol is bending down and pulling you out of the water by your waist. He just dangles you over the water for a bit, before letting you splash back into the water, and laughing way too loud. When you catch your breath, coughing out some water, you just reach up and pull him in too. With a loud splash and more water in your face, he comes down into the water, coming back up gasping dramatically for air. He just frowns, shaking his head left and right like a dog, hair sticking to his face, before starting to laugh. “You were saying?”

You just splash him with water, and grab on to the edge, right at the moment Minseok comes from behind the wall of the showers, shaking his head at you two.

“Okay, kids, that’s it for today! Jongdae is bugging my ass to let the English majors set up their pool party stuff, so we’ll have to cut things short today.” He walks over to the two of you easily, not struggling like you and Chanyeol always are when walking across the wet tiles. “Does this Friday afternoon work for you two?”

“I’m done with classes after 3, so that works.” Chanyeol nods, pushing himself up from the pool as well, eyes flicking over to you in question.

It’s strange that he does that, you think then. He can have lessons without you perfectly fine, if you wouldn’t be able to come, right? “Uhm- yeah, Friday is cool for me.” You answer Minseok, who starts collecting the line of red and white floating balls.

He nods with a smile, and waves you two off then. “Well, go and shower and get out of here, youngsters. You did great for your first time, Y/N. See you two on Friday!”

You and Chanyeol walk next to each other in silence for a while, walking into the showers. You had gotten a chance to adjust to the temperature of the water earlier, but in here it feels ever warmer, sticky and a little uncomfortable. Chanyeol immediately takes one of the showers, and closes his eyes as the water starts rushing down, while you look around a little while staying in place in the entrance.

Is there any spot where you can peacefully shower where you don’t have to watch Chanyeol and his naked chest shimmering underneath the water? Because frankly, that would be a lot better, you’d rather not look at him. You just sigh and walk over to the other side of the showers, taking the band out of your hair. Chanyeol still looks peaceful enjoying the warm water, so you decide to do the same and close your eyes. It’s only when you hear a little intake of breath, that you open your eyes, rubbing them for a second against the water.

Chanyeol is looking at you, big black eyes catching yours. You just blink dumbly at him, while Chanyeol looks away, looking around the room instead. He hums a little, before speaking up to break the awkward silence. “Are you going to the pool party tonight?”

You immediately shake your head, the thought not even crossing your mind. “No, I’m staying in tonight. I’d rather avoid the chance of drowning because some drunk asshole pushes me into the pool. And I have classes early tomorrow, so…” You trail off, looking away from his face now too.

“Yeah,” the taller man agrees, “I’m not going either. I have guitar practice tomorrow, and I want to do well.” He looks over again, smiling happily at your confused face. “I’m- I’m a music major.”

“Oh-” you respond, unsure of what to say next. Chanyeol didn’t immediately strike you as the type to be into music. He is way too obnoxious in your opinion. But then again, you really don’t know much about Chanyeol at all. Maybe you judged him a bit too quickly.

“What?”

“Nothing- I just… didn’t really expect you to be into music.” You shrug, pulling your fingers through your hair to get all the chlorine out.

Chanyeol tilts his head curiously, before looking at the floor again, shrugging. “Yeah, well… It’s kinda the only thing I’m good at so…” You want to say something to that, but you lose your words, when looking at Chanyeol. Right now, he doesn’t look like the smug grinned man you’ve gotten to know just these few days. 

He looks generally like he believes that to be true, which throws you off. He’s always been bright and annoying and a huge tease for as long as you’ve known him, so seeing him with his head hung low and his lips in a tight line, gives you a strange feeling. Before you can speak up to deny it, he turns off his shower, and gives you a little wave, walking out. “See you on Friday.”

--

On Friday, you’re actually excited for a swimming lesson. Even if Chanyeol is a little bit of a pain in the ass, you’re actually enjoying learning something new. When you walk out of the dressing rooms, Chanyeol is already standing at the edge of the water. You roll your eyes at his slightly terrified expression, but walk over in silence. Chanyeol puts on such a front, but really he’s just as scared as you are to fall in. The pool is empty today, you guess that it’s not really open to the rest of the school yet because of the party on Wednesday. When you come to a stop next to the tall man, you cross your arms over your chest. “Would you be mad if I were to push you into the water?” You ask, looking out over the pool and the way the light skims over it.

Chanyeol huffs, before turning to you with his usual smirk. “That’s cute. It’s not because you’re so short that if you were to fall in you wouldn’t even reach the surface, that I would.” You narrow your eyes at him, before putting your hands on his arm. Chanyeol’s eyes widen for just a second, before he notices that you’re not actually going to push. So instead he takes a step towards you, wrapping his arms tightly around you. You take a hitched breath while looking up at him in surprise, trying to ignore the way his fingertips tingle your skin. “If you push me in, I’m taking you with me.” He smirks, clearly proud.

For a second you stay frozen, looking at his lips as he licks them, before breaking free. Your face is most likely bright red so you look over your shoulder instead, looking for Minseok. Minseok who just walks out of the storage room. When he sees you two already at the pool, he’s a little surprised, but immediately a gummy smile appears. “Hey, guys. You’re early.” He reaches you two, usual pool attire. “Eager to start again?”

“Surprisingly, yeah.” You smile, reaching for the floaties that your teacher holds in his hands.

“Let’s warm up. Maybe after that you can try without the floaties.” Minseok suggests, jumping into the pool, as he motions his head for you both to come in too. Before, Minseok only came to help in the kids pool, where the water came to his knees. Now though, it comes to his chest, making his shirt distractingly see through. Why is every guy in college obsessed with having abs these days?

Chanyeol jumps in before you, rolling his shoulders a little to warm up, before looking up at you. He notices your hesitation, the water coming pretty high up even for him, as he blinks. Without a word, he puts up his hand and takes yours, giving you some extra support. You want to retort immediately, but when you look at him, he doesn’t have any kind of teasing glint in his eyes, which surprises you even more. You frown but don’t linger on it too much, jumping down into the water, as Chanyeol makes sure you stay up straight. When you’re in the water, he lets go, not even commenting on it, before starting to swim.

He’s not great, but better than you for sure, while you turn to Minseok with tight lips. It’s so strange, every time you think you get Chanyeol, he seems to change again which leaves you in the dark about him. Minseok raises an eyebrow at you, before smiling in support. “You remember last time? Just float first, then your arms join.” You nod, trying to position yourself in the water so that your mouth isn’t underwater. Minseok puts his hand on your belly for a little extra support. “Go ahead. I’ll hold on to you.”

After a good hour of swimming, you finally push yourself out of the pool, groaning at your sore arms. Minseok laughs, the sound shaking through his entire body, while he easily jumps out of the pool too. Today, you really made a lot of progress, if you say so yourself, but MInseok also really pushed you to your limits. You swam five lengths in one piece, until your arms were so tired that you had to hang onto Minseok to get back to the edge.

“You did really, really well.” Minseok nods, patting your shoulder as you get up from the tiles with a deep sigh. “I know you’re tired, but now your arms will grow stronger, and next time it’ll be a whole lot easier.” Though you know it’s true, you glare at him, making the young man’s crooked smile show up. Behind you, Chanyeol crawls out of the pool just as exhausted as you do, taking hold of your ankle to pull him forward across the stone.

You look down at him with an amused smile, while he rolls back on his back, eyes closed and his legs still dangling in the water. “Chanyeol, you are aware that you are lying on a floor where people and their dirty, wet feet constantly walk on, right?” Chanyeol immediately shoots up, brushing the back of his hair with a little bit of an awkward smile. Both you and Minseok get a laughing fit at his expression, as you fold over laughing.

“I would go take a shower quickly. I’m going to clean this all up, text me to let me know when you can take the next lesson.” You give Minseok a pouty look, before smiling.

“You’re just trying to take my money, you. And I already have so little. I can swim now, so why should I take more lessons?”

Minseok grins at that, freigning hurt, as he puts a hand on his chest. “You wound me. But no, swimming is a process. You can swim well, I admit, but it’s different when you fall in the water or are playing around and suddenly panic. That’s the reason why children have to take so much lessons too. You don’t have to come, but I recommend it.” He winks, while you roll your eyes.

Chanyeol groans, while taking your hand. “Enough with your flirting, I need to go wash off the millions of feet bacteria from my body, please.” You can’t even say goodbye to Minseok properly, before Chanyeol is pulling you over to the showers, running full speed with his long legs over the tiles. You’re not so lucky though, and have to hold onto Chanyeol’s hand very tight to make sure you don’t fall over. It’s only when you halfway slip, that Chanyeol looks back, holding his steps. He’s holding onto your shoulders gently, when you look up. That was way to close, you could have totally smacked your face into the tile floor. “Careful.” He breathes, helping you straighten up.

You look away in embarrassment, before mumbling a quick thanks, and leaving his side to walk over to the showers quickly. Chanyeol takes a breath, before slowly following behind. You’re already under the showers, warm water washing away the flush on your cheeks, eyes closed and lips parted just a bit to take a deep breath yourself. You can hear another shower turn on, as you crack your eyes open just a bit, blinking away the water droplets. The dark haired man is stood right next to you, eyes closed and running his fingers through his locks. You just swallow and look at your feet, ignoring the way your stomach flips.

It stays silent for a while, while you wash your hair as best as possible, getting out all the chlorine. Suddenly, a finger pokes your arm, making you look over at Chanyeol. “What?”

Chanyeol smiles, before turning around. “Can you scratch my back?”

“What?!”

“Please?” Chanyeol breaths, an adorable small pout coming to rest on his lips.

“Wh- are you- are you a dog?”

“I have long arms, they don’t bend that way. I can’t reach.” He says it so genuinely, you can’t help but burst into a smile, laughing at his serious expression. You just shake your head, but do as he asks, and scratch him between his shoulder blades. “Down a little, honey buns.” At that, you smack him in the back, as he doubles over dramatically, putting on a face, before breaking out laughing. “I’m sorry, I’ll be nice.” He giggles, as you huff at him. Boys.

--

There’s a loud, hurried thump on your door, that makes you look up from where you were taking off the last of your makeup. Whoever is out there is clearly not a fan of waiting, because before you even get a chance to get up, they are knocking again, even more volume this time. The loud banging on your door only stops when you aggressively pull it open, glaring at whoever is in front. You need to look up a whole bit, at the familiar face, black hair falling into his eyes. Well, familiar is a lot to say. Chanyeol stands shaking outside, wet, and covered in what you can only hope is mud. He shivers a little, teeth clattering because of the sharp gust of wind that travels through the building. “Hey.” His deep voice rings, sounding a lot less confident and cocky tonight.

You just look at him for a second, before taking a step aside to let him in. He doesn’t walk in just yet, instead staying there in the cold stubbornly. “Sorry I’m on your doorstep at 1am looking like I just walked straight out of Jurassic Park.” He shakes his hair at the floor, wet tresses sticking to his forehead. He shakes his limbs because of the cold, looking back at you. “Your dorm is the only one I know on this side of campus. I wouldn’t bother you if-”

“Chanyeol, it’s fine, just come in. It’s cold and we’re letting all the warm air out so hurry.” You sigh, not willing to watch him shiver any longer. Though his mouth stays open for a bit, clearly wanting to retort, you walk away from the door, going back over to your small vanity, to finish taking off your make-up. Chanyeol just sighs and walks in, closing the door behind him gently. When he just stands there blankly, looking at how you put on toner and dry off your face, you raise your eyebrow at him. “Well, I’m guessing you didn’t come here for my fun personality…”

He chuckles, and runs his fingers through his hair out of habit, regretting it immediately as the mud sticks to his hair too. “Can I use your washing machine?” He does a little turn in place, looking back at the door knob with a frown, which makes you smile. You hand him a few paper towels to clean his hands at least, before cocking your head over to the small side room.

“Do you know how they work?” You counter, taking out a little tub from below the sink and filling it with lukewarm water first.

“If they work the same way as the ones in the communal laundry room do, I can do it.” He nods, looking around a little awkward.

If you didn’t know Chanyeol better, you’d say he looked shy. But you guess he just finds it a bit uncomfortable to ask for help. You can actually relate to that to an extent. “You don’t have to put money into this one.” You wink, which Chanyeol rolls his eyes at, before nodding your head at the tub. “Wash off most of the mud in that first, please. I don’t want the machine to clog up. Towels are in the bottom drawer there. I’ll be in the other room if you need me.”

When Chanyeol hums, you walk out, and go on with your evening routine. It takes a couple of minutes for the machine to start, but when it does, Chanyeol comes to peek his head out of the door, blushing ever so slightly. The tips of his ears turn more red the longer you stare at him, but you’re honestly just waiting for what he has to say. “Yeah?”

The raven haired man sighs deeply, before walking from his spot glued to the door, and crosses his arms across his chest. He’s only in his boxers, but you’ve seen him in swimming shorts enough by now to be very surprised. “All my clothes are in the washer now, so… do you, by chance, have anything I can wear in the meantime?”

You put on a thinking pout, before nodding curtly. “Well, you should shower first, you look freezing. But I think I do. I have a ton of oversized shirts for when I’m just lounging around the house, so…” you trail of, walking over to your closet. You have some that fall even so big on you that they can’t even be considered a dress anymore.

When you turn around again, you almost walk into Chanyeol’s chest, who has walked over to you in the meantime. You just lower your eyes to the floor and take a step back, handing him the shirt. The raven haired man hums a thanks, chuckling softly. “I guess I should be grateful you dress like a dude.” You just smack his chest, before walking past, hoping to rid yourself from your blush as soon as possible. Chanyeol stands still, eyes following you silently, before sighing and moving to the only other door in the room. “I’ll be out in a sec.” He says, while you nod with a small smile.

Why you didn’t really like Chanyeol before, is beyond you now. He’s funny, clumsy, caring and frankly, quite adorable, and you want to smack yourself because you most definitely like him. Not like like, just like. Well, maybe a little more than like, but still. When no one else is watching, he’s actually really nice, and cares more than he clearly likes to admit.

You take a deep breath and pick up your phone, jumping into the bed, scrolling around on social media for a while as you hear the shower turn on. You giggle as you hear Chanyeol yelp at the cold water. “Turn the right one.” You shout, before letting your head fall back in the cushions. You’re actually very tired, and were ready to head to bed when Chanyeol’s knock stopped that plan. He finishes his shower quickly, coming to walk out in his boxers and the shirt that looks pretty normal sized on him, a towel on his head. He gives you a little look, before dragging the fabric through his hair, wincing a little as he pulls too hard. He looks so cute with the stupid towel on his head, you have to hold in a huge smile by biting the inside of your cheek.

“What are you-? That is not how you dry your hair, Chanyeol.” You walk over with a smile, and take his hand, leading him over to the bed and pushing him down in front of it, so that he sits against the bed while you get on top of the comforter. Chanyeol’s big eyes follow you wordlessly, as he just agrees without much fuss. You put the towel over his head again, and start rubbing his head gently, careful not to shake him too much. You don’t know why, but Chanyeol is so calm and sleepy right now, probably because of the warm water. The room falls silent then, apart from the movement of your hands and towel on his hair.

You don’t know why, but the silence is nice, as you rub his scalp and hair dry. Then, you pull the towel from his head, rubbing the hairs on the back of his head once more, before putting it down next to you, smoothing his hair down a bit. Suddenly, you realize how close the two of you are. Chanyeol is literally sitting in between your legs, his shoulders just touching the inside of your thighs, while you are drying his hair. The idea makes your stomach flutter, so you push it way down quickly, and do your best to ignore it.

With that thought, you get an idea, as a smile slips on your face. You take a couple of strands in hand, parting them in three as you start braiding. The young man doesn’t protest at all. Chanyeol even seems to be enjoying the feeling of your fingers in his hair, before he suddenly yelps and reaches his hand up to cover your hands. “Aw, why are you pulling my hair?”

You just pull him back by the shoulders, giggling slightly, before going back to serious. “Stop fussing, you big baby, I’m just making a braid.”

To your surprise, he pauses without a word, just looking up at you for a bit, and lowers his hand from his head, leaning back into you slowly with his head resting against your stomach, big eyes fluttering shut. He doesn’t even protest. So you just bite your lip and gently run your fingers through his hair, scratching softly, before slowly giving the small braid another try.

As the hair slips from between your fingers you giggle, before letting yourself fall back into the bed. “That’s not going to happen…” With a sigh, you press your chin to your chest, trying to look at Chanyeol, who’s still seated on the floor. “Okay, it’s late and I need to go to class early tomorrow, so… Your clothes won’t be dry anytime soon, I’ll find something to sleep on.”

At that, Chanyeol stands up, seriously shaking his head. “You’re sleeping in your bed, I crashed at your place, so I’ll just sleep on the floor.” You open your mouth to retort right away, but Chanyeol stops you with more. “I’m serious, you’re sleeping in your bed. I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.” He mumbles, mind already made up, as he turns to look around your dorm.

You frown though, crossing your arms over your chest. “Well, I’m not letting you sleep on the floor either, so-” You start putting your pillows in the middle of your bed, effectively parting it in two. Chanyeol just stares for a second, before pulling your hands back. You look up at his frown with one of your own. “What? You don’t want to sleep next to me, so I’m putting a barrier there. Now stop being a stubborn idiot and lie down.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes but lets go of your hands, as you yawn, stretching out. As he comes to sit on the bed, it makes the bed bounce up. You can’t help the sleepy giggle that falls from your lips. Chanyeol’s eyes don’t leave your face, as he regards you, before slowly letting out a breath. “You’re sure you don’t want me to sleep on the floor?”

You just lie down, resting on top of the covers for a bit. “Yeah, I’m sure.” You mumble, words drawn out because of another incoming yawn.

Chanyeol slowly lies down too, and pulls some of the covers over him. Though your pillows effectively block out his face when you look, you can tell he’s turned toward you, lying on his side. There’s a deep breath, before he lifts the pillow next to your face, black orbs finding yours. There’s a small smile on his face, but you’re honestly too tired to smack it off. “You are strangely endearing when you are half asleep.” He grins, which makes you groan.

You just pull his arm back down with a roll of your eyes, lowering the pillow wall, before slipping under the blankets. “Good night.”

“Good night, honey buns.”

“I hate you. And if you snore, I will kick your shins.”

When you wake up, you’re a little confused at the warmth that surrounds you. You stretch out your back, cracking one eye open, and almost choke on your own breath. Your face is so close to Chanyeol’s that you could just as well be tucked under his chin. His one arm is also draped over your waist, while you breathe in shakily, your chest seemingly too full. You bite your lip, before slowly sliding his arm from your body, trying to ignore the way your cheeks and ears flush. Chanyeol looks so perfect with bed hair, you suddenly think. His black hair messed up, falling over his eyes, while his chest moves up and down steadily.

You quickly look away, and slide out of the bed, ignoring the flutters in your belly. Even now though, you can smell Chanyeol’s scent around you, seemingly pulled into your shirt. You lift your shirt to your nose, and of course your shirt smells so much like the young man. You should throw it in the wash, or wear another shirt, but it smells so good. You shake your head at your own stupidity. You are fucked.

“Hey.” A deep voice suddenly croaks, making you jump up. With a small smile, you turn around, where Chanyeol is looking at you with his eyes cracked open just a bit. He breathes out deeply, but doesn’t look away just yet. “Did you sleep alright?” He asks, rolling his shoulders.

“Yeah.” You nod, before walking around the bed to the kitchen, hoping that your shirt falls low enough to cover you. You swallow away the sudden ball in your throat, and turn to the man in your bed, whose eyes are still on you. “You want some coffee? I would do more but I have to get ready for class so…” You trail off, as Chanyeol blinks a couple of times, before nodding.

“Yeah, coffee is good. I have to get ready too, anyway. Uhm- I… Thank you for letting me stay over.”

“No problem.” You say, keeping your focus on the coffee machine. You don’t know why you’re this nervous and awkward for waking up, but you can’t help it. Just the thought of you and Chanyeol cuddling up in the night makes you feel some sort of way, you can’t really explain. It makes you all light and fluttery, something that seems silly concerning the person you’re thinking about. Chanyeol definitely didn’t mean it, it just happened automatically in his sleep. You shouldn’t pay so much attention to it.

Chanyeol moves into the other room, going to get his clothes, as you brew him a cup of coffee as well. He comes out triumphantly, holding his clean clothes up as he walks over to you. You tilt your head though, because the clothes seem completely dry. “I woke up in the middle of the night, and put them out to dry.” He explains, before coming to stand next to you. His warm figure stands close, arm brushing over yours as you turn. His hair is still a mess, but he gratefully takes the coffee and takes a sip. “You know you pull all the blankets to your side when you sleep?” He says then, eyes finding yours.

You want to answer, but stumble over your words as his thumb comes to swipe over your bottom lip, smiling a little guiltily. “Sorry,” he smiles, looking at his own cup of coffee, “you had some…” You lick your lip, before letting out a breath and shaking your head, excusing it. Instead, you walk over to your vanity.

“Yeah, it’s- fine. I’m going to get ready for class, but feel free to use anything. Uhm- food is in that cupboard, or you can take a shower, or… yeah.”

“Thanks.”

--

The next time you see Chanyeol, apart from the stolen glances when you pass each other coming out of class, is the next week. Minseok had been a bit busy with training for some competition, so had to ask to put the lesson a bit out. The lesson goes fine, the teasing between you and Chanyeol returning to normal soon enough. You’re in the storage room at the moment, trying to get the arm weights Minseok asked you to get from the shelf. Sadly, you’re nowhere near tall enough to reach.

As if on cue, Chanyeol’s voice comes from behind you. “Need help?” He laughs, noticing your struggle.

“Don’t laugh at me. I’m vertically challenged.” Chanyeol snorts and reaches for the weights, handing them to you with an amused smile. “Not everyone can be as tall as you, you sentient tree.” You joke, pushing your elbow into his side gently. Chanyeol shakes his head, but lets you have a laugh, cocking his head back at the pool.

When you walk out of the room though, Minseok is on the phone, talking with a frown on his face. You and Chanyeol walk over, putting the weights down while your teacher finishes up his conversation. He puts his phone away and rubs his temples, before sighing deeply. “I’m so sorry, guys. I need to cut this lesson short, my best friend ran her car into a tree and needs me to come get her. You’ll get your money back. I need to run, you guys can clear out and I’ll come back later to clean up the pool and lock up, okay?”

You hum, nodding as he waves and rushes off. You and Chanyeol follow him with your eyes until he disappears behind the wall. “What should we do now?” You turn to the tall man next to you, but he doesn’t seem sure either. “I guess we should clean up, then?” You question. Chanyeol just shrugs, but picks up the weights you had just gotten again, and walks them over to the storage room. In the meantime, you walk to the far side of the pool, looking around.

The ladder Minseok had used earlier was still out, and you sigh, taking hold of it. The thing is quite heavy, and you’re not standing very stable on the edge of the pool, but you do your best to carry it anyway. Lifting the entire ladder over your shoulder, holding it straight up, you start walking. You don’t notice that one of the cords is still wrapped around the bottom of the tall metal ladder. Suddenly, you are stopped in your tracks because of the rope that pulls the ladder back, making you take a step back in surprise. Your foot slips though, making you fall over into the water and pulling the metal with on top of you.

Your head is pushed under before you even get the chance to think, and you’re being pushed down further and further. In worry, you start trying to rid yourself of the ladder that still sits jammed around your shoulder, desperately trying to get up to the surface. You kick and wiggle, eyes closed tightly, because of the speed at which everything happens. You manage to get the metal from around your arm, but when you don’t feel the ground beneath you, you panic. You’ve never swum in the deep end before. It’s like your brain stops working at that moment, your arms mindlessly pulling through the water in an attempt to get up. You open your mouth to call out but just water gets in.

And then, someone puts an arm around your waist and pulls you to the surface. You take a deep pull of air, coughing the water out of your lungs, while your body shakes in adrenaline. You can’t even open your eyes, you’re crying too hard as you try to catch your breath. Your legs kick around desperately to keep at the surface, but it only makes it harder for the person who’s helping you to hold onto you. “Y/N.” Chanyeol’s deep voice suddenly calls, arm tightening around you. “You’re okay, calm down.”

You know you should, but your body is still so scared to go under again, so you just throw your arms around his neck tightly, pulling your face to his chest. Chanyeol breathes out calmly, even though you are pulling him down a bit as well without meaning to. “You hear my heartbeat?” You try to nod and hold onto him closely, while Chanyeol slowly tries to move to the edge. “Good. Just focus on that. I’ll get you out, I promise.” He breathes, arm letting go of you to swim. When you reach the side of the pool, he does his best to push you out, even though even he isn’t tall enough to touch the bottom. You take another choked breath, before another coughing fit comes over you.

Luckily, Chanyeol is holding onto you the entire time, and helps you up on solid ground. When you’re seated, you finally open your eyes, rubbing them harshly as you cry out, unable to help it. Chanyeol pulls you into him again, petting your hair softly. “Shh, shhh. You’re okay. You’re out, you’re fine.” You don’t let go of him, just breathing in and out in an attempt to calm down. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Here.” Chanyeol hands you a cup of coffee, smiling softly as you let out a breath of relief. “Are you feeling any better?” After the almost accident earlier, Chanyeol took you with in his car and drove over to his house, which is just off campus. He didn’t let go of you the entire time you were shivering in both cold and adrenaline. Now, you’re seated in his couch, as he sits down next to you.

“I’m a bit better.” You nod, pulling up your nose, before looking at him. “I’m still cold though.” You add, pointing at your wet hair and clothes. You didn’t even have the strength to take off your bathing suit or dry off earlier, the stress seemingly having taken up all your energy. Chanyeol just tugged your sweater over your shoulders, helping you into your pants, and then immediately drove you here.

“Okay, then-” He stands up, and is picking you up bridal style before you can protest, putting you down again in the seat closest to the fire. His eyes flick over your face for a second, before walking to the back of the room and getting out a fluffy blanket. Chanyeol tucks you in like a child, brushing your hair out of your face and away from your neck, and puts the towel over your head again. “There.” He smiles, ignoring your glare. “If you’re calm enough to be mad at me again, you’re calm enough to dry your hair.” You pout but do as he says, putting the coffee down and starting to dry your hair. Chanyeol chuckles, but reaches for the towel soon enough. “I was kidding.”

He walks around the couch then, and starts drying your hair. His breath tickles your neck a bit, and without being able to help it, you start shivering again. Chanyeol’s hands still in your hair. Then, something warm is on your neck. Surprised, you almost jump away, before noticing that he’s placing small kisses on the side of your neck. While your face flushes, you stutter something out. “Wh- What are you doing?”

“Warming my girlfriend up.” He says, placing another kiss on your jaw, as you feel him smile against your skin.

“Girlfriend?”

“Well,” he breathes then, pulling back to dry your hair again, “if you would like to be my girlfriend, that is. I was going to ask it earlier, but then you kind of… almost drowned.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I would love to be your girlfriend.”

Chanyeol laughs, before leaning down for an actual kiss. As he pulls back, his eyes glint. “Good.”

This just fit perfectly, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’m so glad to finally put this out, this story has been sitting in my drafts for two months, I swear. I hope you enjoyed it!! I really liked writing it ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼

Thank you for reading, as always!! I love you all ♡♡♡

[hycrans]

( the cuteST )

a bitch is Tired rn after pulling my usual shit, aka staying up until 5am for no reason only to wake up three hours later to watch bts run, so excuse the seeming lack of enthusiasm lkfdsjglk. hey i’m jules, i’m 20, canadian, and my current means of life rn are chocolate, the x files ( iM LATE IK SFGDJLK ) and 3am you in me listening parties with myself rip !! it’s been almost a month since its release, i need to Relax dammit. i’m a uni student who just got off for christmas break and in love with sowoo so you don’t wanna know the agony that came with picking one over the other without a bit of help. you can hmu on d*scord at HAPPY S*OKJIN DAY#2030 ( don’t.. call me out for not having an updated name since his birthday’s passed, i’m not v bright pls ) if you’d like and this is so boRING, it’s like the life is sucked out of me omg. anyways hyeran, a whole.. other positive muse bc jesus, how many of these do i have rn ?? this is so out of hand man, but nonetheless here’s a bit abt the brat:

- ̗̀ JEON SOMIN, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ̖́- – have you seen YUN HYERAN? people’ve said the TWENTY TWO year old has been running around the streets of jeju lately, which is odd because aren’t they a BARISTA/MUSIC PRODUCER during the day? anyways, i know they’re known to be EBULLIENT and TRANQUIL but recently i’ve heard they’ve been MAGNANIMOUS and DIFFIDENT, but i could be wrong. ( jules / 20 / gmt-3:30 / she/her )

EDIT: i somehow forgot to mention that she’s.. not sure where she is on the lgbt spectrum but she knows she’s Not Straight JFGDSLKJGK but she’s panromantic so yeah sgjkdl. i’m a whole mess today, i’m sorry lol

yun hyeran, a daegu native with an older and younger brother, an ambivert and an all around baby

tbh i don’t have much of her bg figured out, that’s always the last thing i get to so rip

buT she became involved in music through her father, who studied it in uni and ended up becoming a music instructor with a focus on piano, flute and vocals

her and her mom.. also her older brother, didn’t have the best relationship when she grew older, which seemed to die altogether when her parents divorced and her mom left. but her and her brother’s still exists, it’s just that he’s a bit of a toxic influence on her and she tends to distance herself from him

went to uni in seoul to pursue music like her father ( a daddy’s girl too like ) and found her way into the world of production !! by junior year, she’d transferred out of her original program and majored in that instead and has loved it ever since; she recently graduated

moved to jeju island bc an aunt lived there when she was young and she LOVED to visit, made a few friends there and would always whine abt the next time they could all go see her aunt again. so it made sense for her to live, at least for a little while, in one of her favourite places

she also adores said aunt, her dad’s sister and the maternal figure she Deserves, so she came partially to see her more often

for the time being, she works full-time as a barista at the café just a block from her cute little studio apartment while looking into internships at record labels for her to take on a little further down the line ( no rush bc it’s already quite competitive and she’d rather enjoy what she has going now )

she’s also making something of an income as the creator of an acct on youtube and soundcloud for her music, something she’s had for abt two years now

she’s not even close to making it big yet, and she doesn’t mind if she never works for a moderately to highly popular label — though she should if she wants to get by

among the aesthetic, lo-fi music crowd ( one of those yt accts with a livestream for certain playlists that go on for hours, rip ) where for the most part, it’s personal faves mixed with her own works, and has a substantial following as of now. but has an interest in experimenting, with mashups ( as a lover of them ?? i couldn’t help myself sgflkdsjg ) for example, with a small fear of how that change would be received

this is so short iK, it’s a little infuriating if you ask me ljkgdfjls

in terms of her personality and other things:

she’s a very loyal person, v e r y. while like i said, her relationship with her brother is Not Great, she hasn’t completely given up on him. maybe for the time being, but her being someone who’s open to the idea of people changing for the better somewhere down the line, leaves a bit of room for her to possibly change her mind if he does enough to allow her to consider it

so she can be a bit of a doormat in some cases, it all depends on how she sees the person that determines if that’s the case, but she generally won’t let you off if you’re being dumb/an ass to someone or if she gets advantageous vibes from you for example ( given she can.. be a little naive and is a p gentle soul ) so.. idk fgklsj good luck to the 99% ig ??

she does have a slight dependency on others despite her thinking all signs point to the opposite, and even though her and her mom never rly had a good relationship she still reels from the neglect/abandonment some days so handle her with Care if she deems you a close pal, 

spontaneous tbh, moving to jeju was a little last minute on her part, for one

she’s a little reclusive when focused on something, if she tells you she’s working on a track, it’s essentially a head’s up that you might not see her for a couple of days depending on how soon she gets it done — lowkey that bitch™ who makes up an illness to her boss, so she wouldn’t even show up for work if it’s more than just her fucking around

bc admittedly, a lot of what she posts is fucking around and liking it, her more thought-out and effort packed projects are hidden away on her laptop

a bit insecure with her work and just her general disposition ?? those first few points above mess with her a lot and leave her disheartened so.. my poor child

v strong overall, takes people’s shit and if it gets to her, she gets over it p fast. doesn’t dwell on much and will be courteous to you even if she’s declared you too toxic to stick around 24/7

isn’t exactly one to get angry ?? she’s basically just disappointed or annoyed at best 99% of the time, it takes a lot to get her beyond that

positive, ugh. maybe not sickeningly sweet, but still. kinda explained parts of it above and i’m 95% gone mentally rn, gotta spare that for other little details gsjklf

a cute bean who wants the best for everyone and is also clumsy as absolute fuCK

uhhh

plays piano and bass guitar ( you don’t know how tempted i was to say clarinet bc of jiwoo gjflkgds )

prob had some kind of little amateur rock band with a few music majors and took up bass for the hell of it lmao

loves animals, leans towards cats or big dogs. corgis and those little spaniels get a pass tho

speaking of, she has a cute little calico kitten ( i’m shit with pet names so that’s tba rgkjls ) who she Loves, her baby !!

sweater, ball cap and basic t shirt junkie

those glasses somin’s been wearing a lot of lately ?? hyeran wears them too but.. actually needs them, not even close to a fashion statement

doesn’t don much makeup unless someone’s dragging her to a party or something

thaT’S when she looks a little more like a classy early twenties bitch.. which lbr, is hard enough when adulthood is a whole Train Wreck for the most part LGFJSDL

not a heavy drinker, but the textbook definition of a lightweight so.. she’s always praying for anyone who has to deal with her dgfjklsfg

lattes are her livelihood

a bit of a hopeless romantic, god help her

her favourite subject in school was literature/writing and reads quite a bit on her breaks at the café

favourite music genres.. it’s easier to say what she doesn’t like/finds boring, which is prob country and some aspects of edm/pop, not into punk/metal either

these are super basic but.. i’ve gotta get myself together for the day so this’ll do for now i hope ??

so if you’d like to plot, im me here or on d*scord ! i prefer the latter personally, but whichever’s easiest for you. i have a list of a few of the specific wcs i have in mind ( for the time being, catch my lazy ass avoid listing all the basic ones and revising a few i have on an old blog ) for hyeran up now, which you can find here, so just lmk if any of them appeal to you !!

[v3-killing-harmony-imagines]

How bad would an evening go if an “i somehow burned water once” s/o tried to cook something alongside the boys?

 Nyahaha~! This was fun to write! i can relate tho, anon

- Mod Angie

Shuichi Saihara

You’ve been noticing bags under Shuichi’s eyes lately, and that he hasn’t been sleeping.

Last night, you peeked in his room and saw him at his desk, pen in hand, mumbling to himself and writing notes in his notebook. It must be a hard case for him to crack, if he doesn’t eat or get any sleep. You don’t bother the detective at all when he’s focusing like this.

But! You wanna make sure that he’s eating right, at least. Even if you got an F in cooking class for accidentally giving everyone food poisoning, if it’s for Shuichi, you’re gonna try your best!

After rummaging through cabinets looking for something with directions on it, you find a curry packet and decide to work with that! You two usually go out and eat or get fast food for dinner, but sometimes Shuichi cooks! You get out potatoes, carrots, and… is that all..?

The easiest thing is the rice! You put it in the pan with water and pop that baby in the rice cooker! It’s all good, and you got instructions for this curry right here!

Okay! So, you need 2 ½ cups of water, but you thought that was too much so you only put in 1 cup, and you’re cooking that water- wait, it’s boiling i think- that right now...oh fuck i forgot the veggies

You start chopping the vegetables vigorously while the water goes to a boil and Shuichi enters the kitchen, looking a little shook. He asks what you’re doing, and you tell him that you’re cooking dinner! It’s important that he eats too uwu

His face goes kinda pale, and he awkwardly laughs. “Hopefully this won’t end like last time…” He looked worried. You reassure him that you kinda know what you’re doing! He stays in the kitchen and helps cut and put the vegetables in the pan.

Okay, it’s time to… i think the packet is supposed to go in now? wait a minute… wasn’t the meat supposed to go in earlier>>????? Okay,, you just plop in both at once and bOOm!! Wait for that shit to cook and you got yourself a good curry dish!

You take this time to ask Shuichi what he was working on, and he goes in really deep and goes to show you who he thinks the suspect is! You both go to his room and he shows you his notes and-- OH FUCK IS THAT THE FIRE ALARM

he is screaming. you are screaming

the fucking meat is roasted and the whole pan is smoking

You take that shit and throw it in the sink and you’re both still screaming but things turn out ok in the end. even though you only have rice for dinner...

Rantaro Amami

Rantaro texted you this morning, and after some talking, he asked if you wanted to hang out and go on a date today (which usually means watching movies and cuddling on the couch). You said yeah, he can come over!

It's about an hour later, and he's sitting on the couch looking through movies, and you're looking for more movies on the shelves. "We really have watched every movie, hah..." He chuckles from the couch. You turn to him and ask if he wants to do something else?

He thinks for a minute and looks at you with a smirk on his face... "Do you wanna try cooking together?" You can feel the sweat on your cheek, and you chuckle. "Aha, that's funny... I don't really know how to cook, but sure, okay...!" You get up and grab your phone to search for a recipe.

You two go into the kitchen, and he jokes about making an avocado cake, since he himself gets called "avocado" a lot. It turns out that it's an actual recipe, and you refuse to cook anything else. There's a fuck ton of ingredients, but luckily, you have... 4 of the ingredients, out of 11.

You write down the ingredients you need on a sticky note and get in the car with him. It was raining really hard outside, so you had to rush so you wouldn't get soaked...

Going to the grocery store wasn't too interesting, but you two were completely soaked when you got home... You laughed for about 5 minutes straight when he placed a bag on the counter and said "At least the avocados aren't harmed... They got a bath!"

After getting towels and drying up, and """accidentally""" seeing Rantaro's abs when he was drying his hair, you set up the ingredients and start cooking!

Everything was better than you thought, with Rantaro helping. Both of you successfully made the batter and it looked good! Since he did most of the mixing, you decided to put the batter in the pan and plop it in the oven!

You've never worked a timer before, though... You set it for 30 minutes, and you think that it's working?? You high-five Rantaro and chill on the couch together for the next half-hour. The alarm you heard when you thought 30 minutes passed, was not the timer, though...

You both jolted up in a panic, and you could see that the oven was smoking. You quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher as Rantaro opened the windows, and when everything was solved... the charred brick in the oven probably wasn't edible anymore, and you found out that the timer was broken.

Rantaro chuckled a little and pulled out 2 pre-baked, packaged cupcakes from a grocery bag. He gave one to you and said that he had fun, even if the avocado cake got burnt. He got to spend time with you, and that's all that matters ♡

Korekiyo Shinguji

You woke up at 6 am this morning beside Korekiyo, and you immediately get up to get ready. It's his birthday, and you're really excited for what you have planned for this special day!

You had plans for today that involve cooking, and since you can't bake a cake, you decided that it was a better idea to cook long life noodles!!

You refuse to just buy a cake from the store, and you wanted his birthday to be interesting, so you decided to make something tastier than cake! You rush to the store and buy your ingredients, after finding a recipe for it online.

It was kind of difficult to find Asian-style wheat noodles, but the store did have them! They ended up having all of your ingredients, so you were really happy about that!

Korekiyo was awake by the time you got home, and you started cooking immediately !! You put on his cooking apron and he asks what you're doing...

"Well, since it is your birthday, I thought I could make it something you wouldn't forget!" You chuckled.

"Please, do try to not burn down the house..." He sighs and stays in the room while you try your best. You assure him that it'll be okay! Even if you don't really know how to cook!

After reading the recipe instructions on your phone, you read the instructions on your noodle package, and you were successful in cooking them after you had to ask Korekiyo for help lmao !!

You mix other ingredients together in a bowl, like the instructions told you, and then it says to let it sit for 10 minutes cooking in the pan. You kept an eye on the time, and showed Korekiyo a bunch of Youtube videos you thought were cool, while you wait !!

You realize you were a few minutes over 10 minutes, and you screamed when you entered the kitchen, and fell on your bum.

Korekiyo quickly went in, grabbed the non-water fire extinguisher, and the fire on the stove went out in a couple of seconds... holy shit what just ?? happened ??

You were sad that his birthday turned to a disaster, and his "cake" was completely destroyed, but he knelt down and stared at you...

"That definitely was something I shall not forget, but... Saving you is the best present I could ever ask for."

You could see the edges of his face mask turn up, and you smile as well. Today wasn't as tragic as you thought!

Kaito Momota

You were on your phone, chilling on the couch when you hear Kaito gasp really loudly from the other room.

He yells from the kitchen, “S/O WE GOTTA MAKE A DIY GALAXY PIZZA” and you’ve never been more disappointed in your life

You walk in the kitchen and he’s already ready to go, with an apron on and everything. You don’t remember why you got an apron, because neither of you can actually cook.

Last time he tried to cook actual food, the fire alarm went off, and the pan was smoking like crazy. And after that one incident where you tried cooking and the food lit on fire in the sink, you both decided that fast food was the better option for dinner.

and here we are

You both decided that you should try do most of the work, while Kaito gets the ingredients off of a youtube video he was watching.

Tomato sauce, cheese, and… uhm, we need dough. He mumbles a little and then tells you that he’s gonna go get the stuff at the store! He rushes out of the house and the kitchen goes quiet...

While he’s gone, you look at the ingredients he chose. You’re pretty sure this tomato sauce is expired by like, 2 years, but you know that if you tell him that, he’ll say “It still looks like tomato sauce, it’s fine!”

You know that the cheese isn’t expired yet because the only thing you two can cook without it being a fire hazard is nachos. Next to the cheese is food coloring, probably gonna be used for the galaxy color.

He comes home with that dough (and some glitter- for stars he says. you know it’s not edible) and you get started on the pizza! You prepare galaxy-ify the ingredients and he decorates! You pop it in the oven and he’s so excited !

After like, 10 minutes you take it out because it smelled so bad. You had to open all the windows of the house and take the corpse out of the oven.

the fucking food dye was smoking and it was bubbling black like something poisonous

Well, there goes the galaxy pizza, here’s a…. bubbling, probably poisonous burnt disc…

yeah, fast food seems like the better option...

Kokichi Ouma

It was just a calm evening when you suddenly screamed and started panicking.

You forgot that you had to go to a party tomorrow, and were asked to bring food. It’s 8 pm and you still have no clue on what thing you can cook that will turn out decent.

You wanted to convince the people there that you can cook, since they told you that you can’t… yeah, you’re screwed qwq

Ouma finds out about your predicament and helps you out! He finds a can of green beans you decide to work with that.

You googled a recipe to make them taste good and you’re going off of that. It just says to heat the beans and drain them, so I guess that means just plop them in a pan?? Uhm.. Okay, we got this.

It took you a couple of minutes, but you find a pan that you can cook in. Just a little dusting off, and you’re good!

You set up a pan and pour the whole can in, turning the heat on. You’re guessing that it’s supposed to cook for like, 10 minutes or so? You’re not sure??

You hear footsteps coming down the stairs while you set the timer for 10 minutes

Suddenly, Ouma runs in the kitchen, screaming??? You jump and the pan falls from the stove, and it falls on Ouma’s foot. He drops his phone and screams louder. poor bby qwq

You find out that he got a really rare item in the game he was playing, but now his foot is red from getting burned.

When he opens his eyes, they widen and he shouts “Fire!!”

?????? you look to see the carpet behind you, on fire.

You panic and quickly fill a bowl with water, and pour that shit on the burning carpet. It goes out, leaving behind a burnt oven mitt. Oven mitts can burn??

You realize soon after that you could’ve used the fire extinguisher instead of making the floor slippy, but you realize too late when you run to help Ouma. You slip and fall, bruising your arm pretty badly.

In the end, you both got your injuries treated and just decided to buy something already cooked at the store to bring. Not only do you have to explain why you brought a store-bought cake, you have to explain the bruise on your arm too, and why Ouma is limping. yeah, you’re screwed qwq

Kiibo

It was a lazy, rainy day and you two were cuddling on the couch, with nothing to do. You both were coming up with ideas other than just cuddling, rejecting them all. Everything was silent, other than the sound of rain hitting the windows, until Kiibo gasped a little and smiled wide.

“S/O, I want you to teach me how to cook!” sweet robot doesn’t know what’s coming,,

His eyes were sparkling like a kid in a candy store and you couldn’t say no..

You both go into the kitchen and you awkwardly look for something that you can cook. You offer teaching him how to cook a microwave meal and he insists on cooking something from scratch… oh god,,

After searching in the cabinets for a couple of minutes, you find a little box of macaroni. You have no idea how to cook this, but it’s better than trying to cook stir fry, or something.

You search up a recipe, and yikes… You might not have all the different types of cheeses in the recipe, but you have slices of cheese for making sandwiches and such, so that’ll do.

You two had to stop by the store to get more butter and… paprika ? That’s what it says in the recipe, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

When you get home, you try your best to cook while Kiibo measures the ingredients! You had no idea how he was able to measure ¼ cups of butter, but you just went with it.

You were able to cook the macaroni, but making the rest was a trainwreck. Milk got all over the counter when you accidentally stirred too fast, and you improvised and used a glass bowl instead of a “casserole dish”. You still kept a smile! For Kiibo! He looked a little worried but that’s ok.

You made the mistake of thinking that it wasn’t cooked enough and you burnt it to a crisp… You were also cooking something else (melting butter, I think?) in the frying pan on top of the stove, and Kiibo was looking after it. You picked up the burnt mac and cheese from the oven and-OW!

You burned your hand and knocked the pan on the stove over, melted butter all over the floor along with burnt mac and cheese... Kiibo was screaming the whole time, mostly because you screamed when you burned your hand.

He was more worried about your health than the mess on the floor, and you luckily got the burn properly treated. You two clean up the kitchen and end up cuddling on the couch again.

If you two ever do that again, make sure to put on oven mitts before touching anything burnt...

Ryoma Hoshi (shoutout to levia from the discord server for helping me with this!! qwq)

It’s the day before a really important tennis match! It's probably the most important one of the season. Ryoma isn't too worried about most matches, but for this one, you can hear him saying that he's not as good as he used to be, and that he'll lose this one. You're kind of worried for him, so you try to find a way to bring up his confidence...

You wanna make sure that he has enough energy for tomorrow, so you decide to make dinner for him instead of just getting Mcdonalds or something.

Your eyes travel to the abandoned spaghetti package on the counter, one that you decided to cook one day, but gave up when you picked up the package...

Spaghetti is a good source of energy....right? Well, let's do it!

You pick up the package with determination, and you're ready to cook for Ryoma!

He notices your determined smile and your frilly apron, and walks over to observe... he says that he hasn't watched you cook before, and that he's just curious. You start cooking with him beside you!

Okay, so... you grab a big pot and put it on the stove and fill it with water, just like the directions said... you opened the spaghetti package and some of it fell onto the floor and snapped, but you got most of the noodles into the water. The noodles didn't really fit in the pot, but you think it's okay??

aaa just to be sure, you break up the noodles so that they'd fit in the pot... You turn up the heat and wait for the water to boil.

In the meantime, you decide to doodle and talk to Ryoma until you see the water bubbling... wait! The directions tell you to salt the water, and the salt is on the counter above the stove. Just reeaaach,,,, wait. "S/O--" Ryoma tries to warn you until you look down...

The frills on your apron went a little too close to the fire. You scream and there it goes off of your body, and into the sink. Not only that, the water somehow went over the edge of the pot and went all over the stove, and steam was everywhere around it...

After cleaning up and throwing away your apron, you sigh and make a sandwich in the morning, for him...

You tell him that you're sorry about last night, and that you just wanted to bring up his energy and maybe, his confidence, for this game. You wish him luck and hand him the sandwich.

He looks down at the sandwich and smiles. He gives a quick "Thank you.", puts the sandwich down for later, grabs his tennis racket, and walks onto the court with slight confidence...!

Gonta Gokuhara (i'm sorry in advance qwq)

"S/o, can Gonta learn how to cook for you??" Gonta said with sparkles in his eyes, holding a recipe that Kirumi let him borrow. You were flattered that he wanted to learn from you, and said that you're not good at cooking, but he insisted, saying that a gentleman should cook for his s/o... and you couldn't say no to that pure, determined face...

You took a closer look at the recipe. Waffles... you thought it was rather simple to make, and the kitchen already had the ingredients for it! You told Gonta that you can try teaching him, and he was excited! You got the right ingredients and measuring tools (you think,,>??) and started teaching him how to measure the ingredients, and how to mix them all together. It was all good so far, actually, and you were determined that things will turn out okay in the end! Just for shits and giggles, you put a few drops of blue food dye in the batter, and he said that it looked pretty :>

You grabbed the waffle iron after searching for it in the cupboards, dusted it off...and plugged it in! You told Gonta that it needs time to heat up, and then the batter can go in ! Also, that if it smokes, that means it's bad :v

He watched intently as you opened the waffle iron with an oven mitt and poured the batter in. You thought the expression he was making was really cute, and you couldn't help but giggle a little. The batter overflowed over the iron, but that would just make it fluffier, right? Right... owo"

You pressed the hot waffle iron down, and more batter flowed out of it, and all over the counter... You laughed awkwardly, and said that that's not supposed to happen,,,

You didn't know when to lift the iron back up, but it started smoking after a couple of minutes and you opened it in a panic, hoping that it didn't burn too much!! Gonta gasped and picked you up, saying that he'll protect you from the bad !! Pure boi...

He lets you down after you tell him that it's okay, and yeah, your blue waffles weren't really blue, but completely charred... they were still in the shape of waffles, tho! Aha... You told him that you're really sorry you couldn't really teach him, and that you're not good at cooking.

"It's okay, s/o! Gonta will ask Kirumi-san to teach Gonta and s/o to cook!!" He smiled wide and you gave him a hug. His hugs are always the best, aha... and now, you'll learn how to cook, together! You're excited for it!

[call-me-rei]

Chapter 34

“We know we’re classic together like Egyptian gold.”

---

Love was in the air.

Not between me and my boyfriend, just in general.

It was February, which meant that hearts, candy, stuffed animals, and cheesy poems were around every corner. My school took the upcoming holiday very seriously. There were posters lining the walls that advertised a Valentine’s Day dance and buying candy grams for your special someone so someone from Student Council could go to their class and embarrass them.

I couldn’t care less about any of that.

February meant that Vic’s birthday was around the corner. I didn’t know how he felt about Valentine’s Day, but Tony had told me that he liked his birthdays to be lowkey. Usually he’d hang out with his friends then do something with his family. I wanted to change those plans, or at least add to them.

I was standing in the back courtyard at school with Tony. He was telling me about some of the things Vic did and didn’t like when it came to his birthday. He liked meaningful presents and chocolate cake but hated surprise parties because he liked to be in the know.

“Seriously, if you gave him a new notebook for his lyrics or something for his guitar, he’ll be more than happy.”

I nodded at the advice. I wasn’t the greatest at giving gifts. It took me too long to decide what someone would want. I always wanted to give them something they’d absolutely love and use, but I always doubted that they’d like what I gave them. I needed about a month in advance so I wouldn’t psych myself out.

“I know nothing about guitars though,” I whined.

Tony chuckled. “It’s okay dude, I do. If you want, we can go down to Guitar Center and get some stuff.”

“We’re going to Guitar Center?”

Tony and I turned at the same time and watched the Fuentes brothers walk up to us.

“Uh, no. Tony wanted me to go with him,” I lied.

Vic just shrugged and stood close to me. He leaned back against the wall I was standing near and reached his hand out discretely. I reached my hand back and lightly played with his fingers.

Since Vic was only out to his friends and mine, he didn’t want to draw too much attention to our relationship. Small moments like this were the only ways we could show affection to each other without letting the whole school know we were together.

“Why would you wanna go to Guitar Center?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “I wanna learn how to play guitar. Tony offered to help me get started.” Tony smiled at my quick lie and nodded to Vic.

“Why not ask me? I could help you with that,” Vic offered. I looked to see a slight look of offense on his face. I almost pouted.

“Well, I was talking to Tony when it came up and he offered. I wasn’t really trying to ask anyone,” I said with a shrug.

“Alright, I guess.” I put my hand in his for a quick second and squeezed. I didn’t need him to be suspicious or skeptical. I would’ve appreciated his help if my words were true.

“So Vic, you’re turning eighteen in a couple days. Got anything you wanna do?”

Vic shrugged at Tony’s question. “Not really. I guess since I’m eighteen we should throw a party?” He looked over to Mike. “You think Mom would be okay with it?”

“I guess. As long as you don’t invite the whole school.”

Tony and I exchanged glances as the brothers talked about party planning. He and I had gotten closer in the last few months so he quickly became one of the people who was able to read my facial expressions and know how I was feeling.

At that moment I was feeling kind of bummed. I didn’t want my plan to be ruined by a party that Vic was looking forward to more.

“Don’t worry, it’ll work out,” he whispered to me. I nodded, not wanting to dwell on the subject any further.

Thankfully the bell rang signaling the start of the school day. The four of us walked into the building. Mike and Tony quickly went their way to their first class leaving Vic and me to walk to government alone.

“You were kinda quiet out there.” I looked at him as we walked up the stairs to the second floor. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” I reassured him. “Just thinking about your birthday.”

His face lit up. “Why? You have anything planned?”

I shook my head. “No, just wondering if there’s anything specific you’d want to do?”

“Well,” he started. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. “There’s one person I wouldn’t mind doing.”

An evident blush spread across my cheeks at his words. I shoved him playfully while he laughed. “Fuck you, Victor.”

“You gonna?”

I bit my lip to keep the dirty thoughts in my mind from turning into words.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” I rolled my eyes to avoid admitting it. “I’m just saying, it would be a great present.”

I glared at him and flipped him off as I stepped into government before the bell rang.

***

I had successfully avoided Vic all day. It was the hardest thing I had to do.

It was Thursday after school. Vic’s birthday. I had the brilliant idea the night before to not say much to him, mostly because I didn’t want to get so excited and spoil the surprise I had for him. Tony had told me that Vic’s parents had allowed for a party at his house over the weekend so my present would be a good prequel to it.

What I forgot to account for was that my boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate being ignored on his birthday.

It wasn’t like I walked away from him when he talked to me. Of course I wished him a happy birthday when I saw him and talked to him at lunch, but I was very careful with what I said and how much I spoke to him all day. In hindsight I could’ve been a bit more open considering this was his special day, but I knew that if I had been I was going to ruin his surprise.

Did I do something?

I pouted at the message Vic had sent. I hated making him feel like he was in the wrong for something that hadn’t even happened.

No. Can you come over? I have something for you

It’s not my stuff is it??

I rolled my eyes at his reply. You never gave me anything

SO?!

If this is a breakup just tell me

Kinda ass that you’ll break up with me on my birthday

OMG just come over!I huffed after I sent the message.

FINE but I won’t like it

I shook my head as I put the finishing touches on the last part of Vic’s surprise. With a proud grin I carried it up the stairs to the attic. It was with a lot of luck that I didn’t drop it as I climbed onto the roof.

I always thought the view from the window in the attic was nice, but the view from the roof was even better. From the top of our two-story house you could see past the neighborhood and into the park down the road. The sun was about set which meant it was the perfect time for my plan.

As if on cue I saw Vic’s car roll into my driveway. I smiled to myself before carefully climbing back into the house from the attic window. I was very glad I had gotten my cast and sling taken off weeks before; I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this if I was still in them.

I rushed down the attic steps and the stairs of the second floor as Vic rang the doorbell. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my shirt before I answered the door with a big, excited smile on my face.

“Hey you,” I said cheerily.

“Hi…” I giggled at his confused state and pulled him into the house and led him up to the second floor.

“What’s going on, Kells?”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“I already said that breaking up with me today would be a dick move so-“

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up, I already said I’m not dumping you.”

“Then what?”

My smile grew when we stopped. “Go up the stairs.” He looked up at the attic stairs then at me. I nodded to reassure him.

Vic looked up the stairs again and blew out a breath but started climbing anyway. I followed behind.

“Alright, it’s pretty cool up here.” Since we had moved, I had decorated the attic. There was a rug on the floor and a table and loveseat around it. I had put some pillows and a blanket on the ledge in front of the window and was in the process of hanging up fairy lights on the walls.

I smiled at his compliment. “Thanks, but we’ve gotta keep moving.”

“To where?” I pointed out the window. “No.”

I bit back the laugh that wanted to escape. My poor boyfriend was afraid. “You’ll be fine, trust me.”

“I can trust you from in here.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” I went over to the ledge and stuck my upper body out of the window. I grabbed onto the security rungs Mom and I had installed above the window and hoisted myself onto the roof.

“Your turn,” I yelled down to Vic when I saw he was watching me with his head out of the window. He looked like he was debating if he should join me or turn around and run back to his car. Eventually the inner turmoil ended, and he followed my example. Once one of his hands was on the rung, I pulled the other one and lifted him up.

Vic gained his footing and looked at the scene in front of him. I had set up a birthday picnic for him, complete with a picnic blanket, pillows, and basket full of food. I sat down on the blanket and pulled out two small bowls of fruit, bottles of water and cans of soda, and two sub sandwiches. I left the small chocolate Bundt cake in the basket for later.

He looked down at the setup then at me. “I didn’t know what to give you so I thought I’d do this. Do you like it?”

I was nervous when he kept staring without a word. I nibbled on my bottom lip while I watched as he took a few small steps forward. He kneeled in front of me, took my face in his hands, and planted a gentle kiss on my lips. “I love it.”

I smiled and leaned in for another kiss that he gladly gave me. Our lips moved against each other in such a wonderful way that it sent chills down my spine. I pulled him closer to me as I leaned back. He readjusted his weight so he was lying on top of me, our lips never separating.

What started out as innocent quickly intensified. Vic’s hands slid down my body and settled on my hips. He grinded his lower half into me which led to a moan escaping past my lips and into his mouth. My fingers tussled themselves in his hair looking for anything to hold on to.

His tongue had just slipped into my mouth when a car horn pulled us from our trance.

“Kellin, Kellin’s boyfriend, stop that! We have neighbors!”

We pulled away from each other and sat up. I looked at the ground below, seeing my mom standing next to her car with her arms crossed.

“Hey…,” I stuttered out. I scratched the back of my head to give my nervous hands something to do. My cheeks were no doubt red and my lips were tingling. What a fun scene for my mother to get home to.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your…friend?”

I blushed harder if that was possible and cleared my throat. “Um, yeah…? Mom, this is Vic. Vic, this is my mom.”

Vic seemed just as nervous as me, but he hid it better than I ever could. His voice wasn’t shaking as he spoke. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Quinn.”

“Nice to meet you too, Vic. I take it you’re Kellin’s boyfriend?”

He looked at me, giving me a small reassuring smile. “Yes ma’am.” I returned the gesture and held his hand. Mom had already caught us making out; there wasn’t anything else we could do to have her tease us more, so I took comfort in holding him.

Mom hummed. “Well, okay. Be safe up there. No running, always look where you’re going, and use a condom.”

I stand corrected.

I hid my face in my free hand and groaned. “Mom!”

She simply winked at me and walked into the house.

“I’m sorry about that,” I mumbled. “That was so embarrassing.”

“Uh, it’s fine.” He sounded so unsure; it made me smile. Vic was blushing almost as hard as I was, if that was possible.

“Should we start eating?” I nodded, grateful that he had changed the subject.

We sat in a comfortable silence and watched the sun set behind houses and trees. Occasionally one of us would hold up a piece of fruit to the other’s mouth for him to eat, but not many words were spoken. Vic broke the silence when he finished his sandwich and laid back on the blanket.

“How long did it take you to come out to your mom?”

I laid down next to him and put my hands under my head.

“Not long,” I answered. He looked from the sky to me, urging me to continue.

“I mean, I was fourteen and it was all new to me. Obviously I was afraid to tell her because you never know how someone is gonna react, but Mom and I were - and are - all each other have. It’s kinda like keeping something from your best friend. You wanna tell them more than anyone, but you fight it until you can’t anymore.”

“Right. So how long did you fight it?”

I thought about it. “I think it took me four or five months after I admitted it to myself. She picked me up from school and took me shopping for something. We saw a gay couple holding hands in one of the stores we were in and I asked her how she felt about it. Mind you, this was in Michigan where acceptance is kinda hit or miss.

“She looked me dead in the eye and said she would never judge anyone for who they loved. Love is love and no one has a right to say otherwise. I came out to her when we got home that night. She hugged me, cried, then told me she knew it.”

Vic chuckled at the end of my story. “That’s really sweet. I’m glad you had a good coming out experience.”

I smiled. “Me too. It kinda makes moments like earlier hard to deal with though.”

“How so?”

I chuckled. “Well, she won’t ever let me hear the end of it, for one.”

We glanced at each other before breaking out in laughter. Once we calmed down Vic took my hand in his and intertwined our fingers as he stared thoughtfully at the sky. “I think I should tell my mom.”

I looked at him. His eyes didn’t leave the space above him that had started fading into light shades of pink and orange.

I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “I think you should too. Both of your parents actually.” He nodded. “I can be there with you if you want.”

“I’d like that.” He looked from the sky and sent me a warm smile that I returned.

“If your parents are as cool as my mom is, there won’t be anything to worry about.”

“My parents are pretty cool. Who knows, maybe we’ll have a ‘roof moment’ at my house.”

I giggled. “I hope not. I don’t think I could live through another one.” Vic chuckled with me and brought my hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss.

“Just so you know, my mom is probably gonna call you ‘Kellin’s boyfriend’ forever.”

He smiled. “That’s fine. As long as you keep calling me your boyfriend then I’m okay.”