#too many hours and little to no breaks and shitty bosses and coworkers

[heres-to-all-that-is-mine]

Currently thinking about Mike Madhouse,,,. He fascinates me

So they claim he drank so much of that energy drink his “skin turned green”, right, yeah?

And I have. Questions about that! Doubts even!

My thoughts are,, there are. A few different options for what I think actually happened with all that and stuff. So.

1. Given the world they exist in… it might have. It seems to be within reason that if there’s such a thing as abyss sourced ingredients for coffee shop shit in a town full of Cryptids and abnormal humans that there could be an energy drink that can turn you green.

2. The idea that the drink turned him green could have come about after his death! Like, he seems to have kept on broadcasting after his death (hence the “ghost channel” you check out at the start), it seems possible that he might have mentioned “his skin being green” on one of said broadcasts because, well, it is now that he’s a ghost! Or one of those “cryptid sighting” pictures was posted, or a ghost hunter stumbled upon him and started talking about it. So the news stories/people picked it up and now that’s what people believe is true

3. It was entirely made up to sensationalise the news, though they neglected to actually talk about the guy himself apparently.

And then there’s the fourth option my friend suggested which. Well

4. It’s a mix of two and three, with the stories reporting they turned his skin green and Madhouse — his memory muddled as it was by his death — believed it.

[cherriegyuu]

breaking point | yjh

pairing: jeonghan x fem!reader genre: angst word count: 1.5k a/n: something to celebrate jeonghan's birthday, who even writes angst as birthday present?

this is part of my series, seventeen as songs from lover (ts)

Jeonghan ➝ AfterglowThis ultraviolet morning light below Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh ↳ Jeonghan was never one to lose his patience with people, least of all you. But one day a fight gets out of control and it leaves you wondering if your relationship has come to an end.

The sound of the door closing still echoed through your mind. It had been hours since Jeonghan left but you were still sitting in the same spot, eyes locked on the door as if he was going to burst through at any second. 

You knew that he wasn't. At that moment you didn’t even know if you'd ever see Jeonghan again. He was so angry when he left, rightfully so. 

All of your fights had been rational ones, both of you would calm down for a little a while before talking again. The screaming matches weren't something either of you were into but your fights had never gotten that big before. Not even once. 

It seemed as if the one thing you had always been afraid of finally came to light. 

You and Jeonghan weren't well matched, you were too different. From the way you were raised to the way you saw the world. 

Jeonghan had an almost romantic view of everything around him. While he was one to play an infinite amount of pranks on his friends, he was never overly mean about it – if he was mean at all –, and those pranks only happened because he wanted to win whichever game they were playing. To him, because he wasn't someone who would intentionally hurt anyone, it was hard to understand why someone would. And while you thought that was beautiful, that trace of naivety, you also saw it as infuriating.

So when a coworker went over him, and claimed Jeonghan's project as his own, you couldn't hold back the petty I told you he would do that to you. Because you had in fact talked to Jeonghan so many times about it. However, Jeonghan didn't seem to see it, at all.

"I don't think we should be having this conversation right now" he sighed, sitting on the opposite side of the couch. 

He was tired and stressed, the last thing he needed was to hear those words from you. Especially when all he wanted the entire day was to get to you, rest his head over your thighs while you played with his hair.

But you didn't seem to see it or you didn't care, he wasn't too sure. 

"This is the exact moment we should be having this conversation because when morning comes you'll just forget about this feeling and you'll let him or any other idiot out there do the same thing to you  again"

Jeonghan couldn't help the distressed groan that left him. He hated how the whole situation sounded like a joke coming from your lips, how you had this little spark in your eyes — as if you were enjoying his misery.

"You can't possibly be angry at me," you said "I told you again and again that he was an asshole, that he would screw you over the second he got the chance. Like always, you didn't listen. The world isn't this great place, Jeonghan. Your friends are awesome but the world is actually really shitty and, apparently, you're the only that doesn't fucking see it"

He shook his head at you and stood up. Jeonghan pushed his feet inside his shoes and opened the other.

"You're leaving?"

"You know, the most rational part of my brain told me not to come here today" he scoffed, voice slightly rising "Because I knew you'd pull this shit and this was the last thing I needed"

You stood up but didn't dare to move an inch closer to him.

"I didn't do anything!"

"I wanted to be comforted!" he all but screamed "I had an awful day and all I wanted, all I needed, was for you to tell me that everything was going to be okay, that maybe I could talk with my boss and show him that it was actually me who did all the work. But you decided that what I needed was to remember feeling like shit"

All of your neighbors could probably hear the fighting. Jeonghan held the door open, chest heaving in evident distress.  

"Please let me know when you find my girlfriend, because whoever this is" he waved his hand  in your direction "isn't her"

He slammed the door shut behind him, hard enough that you felt the windows shake. 

It had been over three hours since Jeonghan left and the only difference was that you sat back down. You couldn't move or anything else. 

While you were talking with him, you knew that you were pushing him too far, saying more than you should. It wasn't the time, everything was wrong. Yet, you couldn't stop the words from coming out.

You knew that you were projecting. That there was no real reason for you to be acting that way, Jeonghan did nothing and was right, all he needed was comfort. And maybe it was your own insecurities talking, your shit month at work, how although you told him otherwise you always behaved just like him and your coworkers were throwing their work at you and did nothing about it. The you acted with Jeonghan was the way you should have reacted at your own job but the words simply died on your lips whenever they were around.

You grabbed your phone from the couch, it was almost two in the morning. You knew Jeonghan was probably home by then but still, you wanted to make sure. Touching your phone a few times, you called Seungkwan.

"Is he home yet?" you asked as soon as the line connected.

"Hello to you too" you could picture Seungkwan rolling his eyes “and yes, he’s home”

Silence followed. You didn’t have anything else to say and you knew Seungkwan was probably a little angry at you. His voice had a little edge to it. You knew Jeonghan, he probably didn’t say anything to his roommate, but it was written all over his face that you had gotten into a fight. 

“Should I leave the door unlocked?” Seungkwan asked with a sigh.

Finally, your eyes filled with tears and you let out a sob. The tears refused to fall since Jeonghan left. The tightness in your throat was so unbearable that it was a wonder you managed to say those four words tho Seungkwan. 

“Don’t cry, fix it” he said before ending the call.

On your way to Jeonghan’s place, your mind was racing. The darkest part of your brain took over and made you believe that your relationship had come to an end, that the fight had been so bad that you had finally reached a point of no return. It took everything in you to not ask the driver to take you back home. 

There was only one way you could ever find out if it was actually over. 

Like he said, Seungkwan left the door unlocked and was kind enough to keep the lights on in the living room. Locking the door behind you, you used your phone as a guide to Jeonghan’s room at the end of the hallway. 

You opened the door quietly, to not startle him or his roommate. 

Jeonghan had his back turned to the door, body curled into a small ball. You got into bed behind him, legs adjusting to his and you wrapped your arm around his waist, forehead pressed to back.

Jeonghan’s body stiffened for a second and then relaxed once he realized it was you. 

“I’m sorry,” you said before he could say anything “I don’t know why I said those things, why I didn’t just hug you and say that it was going to be okay, that we could find a way to fix it”

Jeonghan turned on the bed, now facing you. The room was so dark you could barely make out the shape of his body, even after your eyes had gotten used to the lack of light.

“I need you to understand limits, yn. Sometimes you just keep pushing and pushing, and you don’t notice when the other person is at their limit”

His voice was low, a mixture of sleep and resentment. 

“And I end up hurting the people I love the most,” you said quietly, you ran your hand up from his chest to his neck. It wasn’t sexual in any way, you just needed to feel him as much as possible, needed him to understand that you meant every word that you said “I’m really sorry. I don’t want to give you excuses, I just want to apologize. I don’t want to hurt you, ever. All I want to do is to love you, show you all the bright and beautiful places in the world. Always. Forever”

Jeonghan held your face and kissed your forehead, your nose, your cheeks, and finally your lips. He tucked your head on the crock of his neck and for a second it was so easy to lose yourself in him.

“Sleep now, love. We can talk more in the morning” 

He hugged you tightly and that was enough to give you hope that maybe there was still some part of your relationship that could be saved. 

taglist: @wonwooz1, @ryuwonieebae, @sobun1est, @mirtaspace, @feat-sun, @belladaises, @mhlsymlysn, @immabecreepin, @miriamxsworld, @aaniag, @k-drama-adict, @maiamorrrrrrrrrrrr, @yeeyoop0206, @tomodachiii, @sofix-hc7, @scarlet789, @moonlightgrleric, @r6njunlv, @mixling-blog

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[bubblesuga]

Once In A Lifetime

Summary: Yoongi is a pain in your ass, but sometimes that's okay. What's a cafe job without a little drama?

genre: college!au tags: smut, fluff, mutual masturbation, cream pie, dirty talk W/C: 4,740 a/n: i have a weak spot for blond yoongi

You seethe silently while you stare at the schedule on the pin board in the back room. You begged your boss, damn near pleaded on your knees in front of her not to schedule you with him.

Its hard enough to close with only two people but fuck, if it isn't impossible when you're with Min Yoongi.

Don't get it wrong, Yoongi has a knack for customer service and he's quite good at making coffee but for some reason-- when the two of you were completely alone-- he became unbearably annoying.

It's like the moment the open sign turns off, he forgets how to work. While you're in the back cleaning dishes, sweeping the kitchen, counting cash drawers, taking out the garbage and everything else involved with closing, Yoongi turns on his speaker and plays whatever song he's been working on recently.

Okay, sure. This job isn't the most important thing on the planet. You both are just trying to get a little extra cash while you push through college, but you'll be damned if you get paid the same while you do all the work.

"Kati!" you yell from the back, your arms crossed and your nails digging into each of your biceps. You hear footsteps behind you, causing you to turn around expecting to see Kati.

Unfortunately for you, Yoongi leans in the doorway with a smirk on his face, "Awe, we're closing together again!"

"Awe we're closing toget-" you begin to mock but end up giving up and allowing your frustration to take over, "shut up, Yoongi."

"Don't seem so glum, sugar plum. I promise I'll be a good boy and listen to you." His words were too sweet to be true, they were laced with his famous sarcasm which only made you want to yell at him more.

Before you have the chance to counteract his sarcasm, he taps your back lightly before turning around and walking back out.

If there was one thing you did enjoy about him, it was the view of him when he walked away.

As the hours pass, eventually you and Yoongi are the last ones there. When Seokjin said goodbye, you silently pleaded that he would stay for just a little while longer. He gave you a slight apologetic look, glancing at Yoongi before shaking his head and walking out.

A groan leaves your lips.

It's only 9:30, you still have half an hour until the shop closes and there's way too many pastries left over.

Yoongi stands behind you, silently wiping down the coffee machines and humming along to whatever song was playing over the loud speakers.

Leaning back against the counter, you cross your arms and watch Yoongi for a moment. In a dark denim apron and slim black shirt, it feels as though the uniform was made for Yoongi. You can tell he's been working out lately, his muscles are more defined beneath the fabric of his shirt. It's killing you that despite being as annoying as he is, he's still immensely attractive and he knows it.

The snapback rests backwards on his head, blond hair poking out subtly. He turns, meeting your eyes for a moment which causes you to turn away quickly. It's quiet for a while again.

"I don't think anyone is going to come in," Yoongi breaks the silence, "I doubt Kati would mind if we closed early."

"I think she would. She said she gets a rush in the last 15 minutes so we should be prepared for that."

"We're not going to get a rush, we're a coffee shop and it's almost 10pm on a Monday."

"I'm not disobeying Kati just so you can play your shitty music and do nothing while I close."

"Shitty," he scoffs, "my music is hardly shitty, and I do help close. Who do you think cleans the front?"

"Wiping down espresso machines isn't the hardest part of closing." Maybe you're being a bit too harsh. Maybe you're trying to cover up the fact that he caught you staring at him earlier.

Yoongi sets the yellow rag down on the counter, turning to you fully, "I also sweep and mop up here. It's kinda hard to do anything else when your coworker does everything else. Ya ever think of delegating, huh?"

You feel your eye twitch. Just as you're about to respond, the bell above the door rings and you instantly wipe away your anger and throw your best customer service face on.

"Hi, good evening! What can I get for you today?"

As you help the customer, Yoongi walks to the back.

You make her coffee, heat her Panini, and speak with her for a moment about the aromatics of the freshly ground coffee beans that you had become used to. You didn't have the heart to tell her that you didn't smell it anymore, so you talked about how that was your favorite part about working in a cafe.

When she leaves, you realize it's finally time to close.

Switching off the open sign, you open the cash drawers and begin counting. Anything extra goes into the safe, and it seems as though everything was in place tonight.

In the back, you can hear Yoongi moving around and you don't question what he's doing.

Cleaning, sweeping, and mopping... Eventually you finish the front and move to the back but you stop suddenly.

Yoongi isn't playing his music.

Raising an eyebrow, you push open the door to the back and see that the kitchen is completely spotless.

Yoongi puts the last of the dirty dishes away and turns to you, "Don't worry, princess. I did it just the way you like it."

"T- thank-" you stutter but you're not able to finish your sentence before Yoongi pushes past you and walks out the door. The bell rings and you realize that he's left. The two of you managed to close in under 20 minutes.

You can't help but feel a sense of guilt wash over you. You definitely we're being a bit too harsh, and it seems to have affected Yoongi more than you thought it would.

Sighing, you push a hand through your hair and walk out the door.

Your drive home is silent. You're not one to overthink, especially when it comes to Yoongi, but you feel the need to apologize.

After your nightly routine, you plop into bed and glance at your phone. It doesn't take much to make you open your contact list.

(Y/N) sent 10:55

hey. just wanted to apologize for calling your music shitty. for the record, it's not. you're pretty good.

Your phone dings quickly.

Yoongi received 10:56

no need to be sorry, i know i'm good.

You don't respond, rolling your eyes and tossing your phone onto the night stand.

~*~*~

Closing the next day was much more simple than before. Yoongi did the back again, but this time you could hear his music playing again.

The beats are much more incredible than you'd ever admit to him in person. His voice speaks melodically to the music, drowning out your thoughts. You find yourself tapping your foot to the beat as you finish cleaning up the front.

The song finishes and there's a sudden change of pace.

Instead of a strong bass line and incredible drum work, a piano plays through.

Your interest is piqued, your legs carrying you to the back where Yoongi stands. He doesn't notice you, allowing the song to continue to play.

"This is gorgeous." you murmur, and a switch flips in Yoongi.

His hands, though soaked with water and soap, reaches up and turns off the speaker. He turns to you, panicked, "N- no one is supposed to hear that one. I didn't realize it was so loud."

"So you're telling me you just...listen to your own music?"

"Well, no," for the first time, you see a blush creep across Yoongi's face, "I play certain songs for you, and there's certain songs that are just for me."

"You play songs for me?" Any resentment you had towards the man dissipated in an instant. Instead, butterflies swarmed in your tummy. Butterflies for him.

He scratches the back of his neck, "Well, I don't play them for me. I want you to see how good I am."

"Humble," you hum, giggling slightly. Yoongi seems taken aback by the sound but doesn't get a chance to dwell as you continue to speak, "why can't I listen to this song?"

Yoongi sighs, "It's embarrassing."

"Let me listen," you begin to walk towards the speaker but Yoongi puts his hands on your shoulders to hold you back, "come on, Yoongi."

Yoongi doesn't give, but you manage to slip passed his hands and fall against his chest. He chuckles, wrapping his arms around your waist and waddling you backwards. In a last ditch effort, you attempt to reach passed him but his grip on you is surprisingly strong.

"No, no, Princess. That song is for me and me only."

The nickname has a stronger affect on you than usual.

"But..." you stick your bottom lip out in a fake pout, "I wanna hear the softer side of Min Yoongi."

Yoongi's eyes dart to your lips, licking his own. You're suddenly aware of just how close Yoongi is keeping you, his cologne filling your nose. He's cute from this angle, his nose is rounded and is tinged with red at the tip. His eyes, though dark, are brighter than usual. He smiles softly, a gentle giggle falling from his lips.

"I can't tell you how many times I've wanted you this close to me." Your heart melts at his words, and you look down to the way your chests are pressed against each other.

"Why didn't you say anything?" you question.

He smiles, "I did, you just didn't listen since you were so preoccupied with your little closing routine."

"My little closing routine makes the opener's life so much easier." you defend, trying to distract yourself from the way his hands sit at the base of your spine, playing gently with the hem of your shirt.

"I'm sure the opener is very concerned with the fact that you make sure you set the forks before the spoons and the knives right after." Yoongi whispers, his tone joking but his eyes glazing over. Even in the horrendous white lighting of the kitchen, he looks beautiful.

"Bite me, Yoongi."

Yoongi bares his teeth and scrunches his nose, "If you insist."

Without wasting a second, Yoongi's mouth latches onto your lips. You gasp into the kiss, but Yoongi's grip tightens and holds you closer.

To say your stomach exploded into butterflies would be an understatement. Your entire body lit up like a Christmas tree, heat radiating from your skin because Yoongi was everywhere. His hands were large, slipping underneath the hem of your shirt and resting on your lower back. He didn't stray any higher or lower, simply planting himself in one spot while his lips continued their attack on yours.

He smiles against your lips, taking them away only to begin his reign over your jaw line and down your neck. Then, he nips.

One.

Two.

Three.

By the fourth, his teeth are biting at your collarbones, but his hands have not moved from your back. You mewl above him, desperately clinging to his arms. Damn your neck for being so sensitive.

"Yoongi," you breathe, "touch me, Yoongi."

"I am touching you." He murmurs stubbornly against your skin.

You whine, "Your hands, Yoongi."

"Hmm," he hums, chuckling, "I like when you say my name."

Suddenly his hands drop down to your ass, kneading it through the thin fabric of your work leggings. He pulls himself back up to your face, planting his lips against yours again as you moan into his mouth.

Yoongi slips his hands between the two of you, hooking his fingers beneath the band of both your leggings and your panties.

"Are we really about to fuck in the kitchen?" You ask, your chest heaving.

Yoongi leans back, taking a second to assess the situation. "You're right, my apartment?"

"No, your car."

"Dirty girl," he grins, taking his keys out of his pocket, "I'll turn off all the lights. Go get ready for me."

You nod, grabbing his keys and walking out of the door. As you're about to reach the front door, it already swings open and Kati waltzes in completely unexpectedly.

Panicked, your eyes go wide and you halt just before leaving from behind the counter. Kati glances up from her phone, "Ah, perfect, is Yoongi still here?"

Swallowing, you nod carefully.

"Great, I need to talk to you both," she turns towards the kitchen, "Yoongi! Get your ass up here!"

Closing your eyes, you pray to god that he's composed himself a little more than you have. Sure enough, he walks from the kitchen and seems just as nonchalant as ever, "Yes, boss?"

"So, I need you two to close for the next couple weeks together. Jackson quit and Woojin can't work nights."

"...and?" Yoongi questions.

She seems slightly taken aback, "Well, I need to make sure you two won't kill each other."

Both you and Yoongi hold back laughter.

Resting his arm softly on your shoulder, Yoongi's skin is still hot against yours, "No promises, boss."

"I'm serious," she scolds, "It's only a couple weeks then I'll never schedule you two alone again."

"Yes ma'am." you put your hand up in a salute.

Working alone with Yoongi for 2 weeks? What could possibly go wrong?

Kati smiles, "Alright then. I'm gonna grab the money from the safe then I'll let you two get back to closing."

You two silently watch Kati unlock the safe beneath the register, taking out the deposits from today. Yoongi's arm hasn't left your shoulder, his fingers brushing lightly against your collarbone. When you turn over to him, his face showing no emotion but his hands doing more to you than you could ever imagine.

Kati turns back, "Okay, be here at 2 tomorrow. Thank you!"

As she walks out, Yoongi's arm falls from your neck.

You turn to him, raising an eyebrow as he wipes his brow.

"I was shitting bricks." Yoongi says, causing you to tilt your head. "Why?"

"You have hickeys all over your neck."

Your eyes widen, your hand flying to your neck, "Yoongi! Do you know how fucking bad that could have been?"

"I know, that's why I covered your neck." He explains, gesturing with just as wild eyes.

"No, no-" you shake your head, "We almost fucked in the kitchen, Yoongi. That's not okay."

"But we were gonna go to my car!" Yoongi's shoulders slump and his mouth is agape in confusion.

"Imagine if she had walked in when your tongue was down my throat."

"Well I would have asked her to join."

"Yoongi!"

"I'm kidding, you know I only have eyes for you babe." He steps closer, leaning forward to press a kiss against your lips once again. You pull away, shaking your head.

Despite the fact that it was taking everything in you not to kiss him again, not to giggle at his lighthearted jokes and just follow him to his car, you knew that you had to practice self-discipline otherwise no work would ever get done with Yoongi.

"Are you upset?" Yoongi seems hurt.

"No," you sigh, "I just don't think it's a good idea for us to do anything here."

Yoongi straightens his back, clearing his throat and adjusting his clothes, "Right. Wouldn't want anyone's coffee getting out late because we're in the back fucking."

"Right." you whisper.

Yoongi smiles softly, "Doesn't mean I won't imagine it."

"Such a gentleman," you roll your eyes, bending down to grab your bag, "I'll see you tomorrow."

~*~*~

"Can I get an Dirty Chai with oatmilk, Yoongi?"

It's the first time you had one of those late night rushes that Kati was talking about. There's a line out the door, drunk college students desperate for some sort of carbs to soak up the alcohol. Yoongi is running back and forth from the panini press to the espresso machine while you grabbed pastries and muffins for what seemed like hours.

It being busy hasn't distracted you enough from the past couple of days with Yoongi.

Yoongi has respected the boundary you set-- for the most part. Walking passed you in the small space behind the counter, his hands brush along your back, a trail of heat following his fingertips. Though it's not the most intense of touches, there's a sensuality of it that leaves you nearly a panting mess.

Your conversations have been more open, you continue to ask him about his music and he wonders aloud about your studies. He learned that you were a history major, specializing in paleontology. Ever since then, he likes to ask questions about random dinosaurs. It's certainly cute, because you can tell he's genuinely interested but he's only interested because you're the one telling him.

You still haven't been able to listen to that song that he started, and he insist its because its not good enough for the rest of the world to hear it yet. You're sure its finished, he's just not ready for you to hear what it's about. Something tells you you're getting close though.

Yoongi turns around a few moments after your request, setting a Dirty Chai on the counter. You call out the customer's name and smile as you hand it to her.

"Swap me, babe. My hands are shaking."

Oh yeah, the pet names have evolved as well.

"Shaking?" you question, but you don't have enough time to dwell as the panini press dings and you're rushing to the other side of the front.

Sure enough, as you glance back Yoongi's hands are shaking while he begins handing out pastries.

Finishing up a few more coffees, you call out customer names and the dining room begins to clear out. The line is gone and a few groups sit in the dining room, eating their food.

The second that Yoongi hands the last pastry out, he walks to the back without saying a word to you.

Glancing at the customers, you swallow and follow him.

When you enter the kitchen, Yoongi's taking deep breaths against the sink. He doesn't notice you, so you lean opposite him against the counter.

Leaning forward, you rest your hands on either side of Yoongi's face, forcing him to look you in the eye.

"That was a lot of people." Yoongi breathes.

"It was, but we kicked ass." you reassure him, but his breathing doesn't slow down.

"I think I'm having an anxiety attack," he explains, "can you hug me? P- pressure helps calm down the fight or flight response and-"

You don't allow him to finish, pulling him close to you and wrapping your arms tightly around him. His face buries itself into your neck, his breath fanning raggedly over your skin. It takes him a few moments, but his breathing slowly begins to calm, his heart rate slowing against your chest.

"If its ever getting to much for you just let me know and I'll fly solo for a little bit." you speak softly, your hand moving up to stroke the back of Yoongi's head.

"I can't do that to you," he sighs, "I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

"No, I get it," your nails begin to scratch his scalp gently, "a lot of drunk people wanting food is overwhelming, especially when their patience is non-existent. If you ever need to take a breather then I won't get mad."

"You already hate closing with me, I don't want to make it worse."

Your heart breaks.

"No, I don't hate closing with you. I think I was just trying to hide my feelings." You never expected to say this to him, but at this point you'll do anything to make him feel better.

He pulls away from your neck, a shy smile on his face. He has done a complete 180 from two nights ago.

"You have feelings for me?"

"Well, I certainly feel something." You look down, hyper aware of how close he is to you.

He grins, leaning down and pressing a soft, quick kiss to your lips. Before the conversation can go any further, the bell dings open and both of you jump apart, moving to the front to help yet another customer.

The rest of the night went by much more smoothly than earlier.

Yoongi turns on his music in the front while you do the dishes in the back. He's playing his usual mix, and you find yourself humming along to the songs as they come.

It's not until you're almost finished do you hear the familiar piano notes begin to play. Peaking your head out of the kitchen, Yoongi holds the speaker in his hands and watches you carefully. Slow melodies play out underneath his gentle voice, the lyrics portraying the man's first love.

You cross your arms, soaking in the lyrics as much as you can. His face is red as more emotion plays out. It doesn't take you long to realize that what you're listening to is the personification of Yoongi's passion. A conversation is held between him and the piano, and Yoongi sets flame to it all.

When the song comes to a close, you don't move, or breathe, or speak.

"Oh my god, say something!"

You look up, meeting Yoongi's scared eyes.

"When you become famous can I sell your autograph on ebay?"

Yoongi laughs, "Yeah, you can sell it."

You don't think of a witty response. Instead, you walk towards him and hug him once again. Resting your head on his shoulder, you two sway for a moment, almost dancing with the air. The atmosphere of the empty cafe has become much more calming than it was before.

His hands dance along your spine, "You know, I've never shown anyone that song before."

"I'm glad that my insistence made me the first." you tease, inhaling Yoongi's cologne. He certainly knows how to smell good.

"Your insistence, yes," he starts, "but also your impeccable ability to strengthen my confidence."

"Awe, does Yoongi have a soft spot for me?" you try your best to hide the way his smile is making your heart flutter.

"Always have." He murmurs, his lips kissing the tip of your nose.

"We're not very good at the whole 'not-kissing-at-work' thing." you giggle, feeling his grip tighten.

"I don't want to be good at it."

He doesn't allow you to respond before his lips are on yours once again. Against them, he smirks, "Shall we go to my car tonight?"

"God yes."

With steamy windows and Yoongi's hot body on top of yours, you both completely forget about your surroundings. His back seat is incredibly comfortable, your head resting on his shirt while he nips along your stomach and down to your hips.

It didn't take long for the two of you to move, you listening to Yoongi's every silent demand as he taps your hip to signal you to lift them.

Smiling, he murmurs a soft, "Good girl." before sliding your leggings and panties off in one go.

Now fully exposed, goosebumps raise under your skin. Yoongi is slow moving, his tongue drawing circles on your pelvic bone before biting down harshly. You gasp, your back arching into him.

"How long have you been this wet?" Yoongi asks, his fingers moving forward to collect your arousal. He slips through your folds, pushing a single finger into your aching heat.

You can't formulate a response to his question, because he begins a tormentingly slow thrust into your head, curling his finger upward.

Dipping his head down, his lips wrap around your clit, and he sucks.

Your hips jerk against him, but the pleasure doesn't play out for long before his pulling away.

"I don't want you to cum yet," he chuckles when you whine, standing and unbuckling his belt, "I just needed to make sure you were ready."

"And what?" you bite playfully, "you gonna pull out a huge snake or some shit?"

"I don't think so," Yoongi responds, sliding his pants down his legs, revealing his cock, "it's alright."

It's more than alright. Your mouth waters over the sight, twitching slightly from his arousal. It's curved upward, the tip already a hot red and leaking precum. His hand wraps around the base of it, stroking it slowly. Out of habit, you slide your middle and ring fingers into your mouth, sliding them down your body and to your clit.

You eyes don't pull themselves away from the way Yoongi is skillfully touching himself, thumb running along the tip and a string of saliva falling from his mouth to the tip of his cock.

"You like watching me touch myself?" He asks, his voice significantly deeper than it was before. You nod, not looking away from his cock.

"Answer me." he takes his hand away from his cock and brings it to your chin, forcing you to look up at him. He's willing to sacrifice his own pleasure to get an answer out of you, and for some reason that only turns you on even more. You speed the movements on your clit, moaning softly while you look into Yoongi's eyes.

He clicks his tongue once he notices your movements, grabbing your wrist and dragging it up to his mouth. Licking your fingers clean, he grabs your other hand and holds both of your wrists against your pelvic bone, just out of reach of your heat. He likes playing games, and he likes to win.

"Yes," you finally manage, "yes I like watching you jerk off."

He grins, a gummy grin that makes him seem much more innocent than he is. The words are dirty falling from your tongue but it only seems to heighten the fire in Yoongi's eyes.

"Good," he says, gripping his cock again and thrusting into his hand, "should I let you cum just from watching me?"

Your wrists twitch in his other hand, "P- please."

"Okay, whatever you want princess."

He lets go of your hands and your fingers fly to your clit, desperately rubbing harsh circles while he continues to stroke himself.

As his pace speeds up, he begins to let out soft, subtle moans. Your chest heaves at the sounds, hands shaking while you push yourself even closer to the edge.

"Louder, Yoongi," you beg, "please."

Yoongi bites his bottom lip briefly, a small whimper falling from his mouth while you arch your back, the heat in your abdomen growing stronger and stronger.

Yoongi's hand stops suddenly, "Where do you want me to cum?"

You grin mischievously, gesturing to your core.

Yoongi's eyes widen, crawling closer to you and leaning down, "You want me to cum in your pussy?"

You nod frantically.

"Who would have thought my pretty princess was such a dirty girl."

"Just fuck me, Yoongi." you whine, pushing your heat towards him. Yoongi does just that, slipping his cock into you. You instantly clamp around him, causing his hips to stutter deeper into you.

He gains his rhythm quickly, not holding back as he holds your hips into his back seat and pounds into you harshly.

A deep growl erupts from his chest at your small whimpers, an almost primal instinct taking over him as he leans down to kiss you. The second his lips touch yours, you gasp and feel yourself release. A loud moan of his name falls from your lips as you come undone, pushing his hips into yours with your heels.

Yoongi follows suit quickly, his release coating your walls and his head collapsing onto your chest.

"Holy fuck." He says after a minute, his mouth agape while he tries to catch his breath.

"Better than you imagined?" You feel proud of yourself for having such a huge affect on Yoongi. It's not often does he seem caught off guard.

"Way better," he replies, "the best I've ever had."

You run your nails over his scalp again, feeling him shiver against you, "Maybe if you take me out, you'll be able to have it again."

Yoongi pulls his head up, "When, where, what time?"

"I'll leave that up to you," you smile, "let's just cuddle for now."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

[backtoyuta]

NCT 127: How they would be as coworkers in a shitty office

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

❁ [Taeil] King of the welcome wagon; If it was your first day working in a small dinky business, Taeil will make it his sole responsibility to make the environment as inviting as possible. After all, the business wasn't some glamorous well known company, nor was it an exciting new start up, so Taeil made it his mission to paint the office as pretty as he could before you could decide if the job was too boring to keep. If you ask any of his co-workers they'll tell you nobody put him in charge of welcoming the newbie, but it seemed everybody but you noticed him do a double take at the receptionist's desk where you waited to be shown around. Soft moments included him making you a coffee every time he left to make his own, making a point of clearing a little space in the communal fridge for your lunch and hanging around while trying to maintain a respectful distance in case you had any queries so he could be the first to answer them. If you were low-key dreading your first day, you kinda forget about the nerves quickly because of his kindness and tells you cheerfully "See, we don't bite." Will make sure you have everything you need, down to the last sticky note and ball point pen, and smiles bashfully at you when you go to thank him.

❁ [Johnny] cheesy office romance; It was quite impressive really, the fact that Johnny managed to unlock every single office romance cliche you could think of and he wasn't subtle about it either. Though there was no policy really about dating co-workers, the whole situation was a tiny bit embarrassing given the blatant flirting from the titan walking around in his shirt and tie, always throwing devilish smiles from over the photocopier. Even if his desk was miles away from yours, there would always be an excuse to stroll by your work space to drop off some paperwork personally, or remind you of the meeting happening in the afternoon despite the email reminder going around. Johnny really put his bladder through it since he now took too frequent trips to the water cooler that was so conveniently placed next to your desk. The whole office gagged when you finally agreed to go for drinks after work. The hours were spent buying each other pints and admiring him with his tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled up, revealing the delicate tattoos that decorated the skin there before calling it a night and letting him kiss you on your porch after walking you home. You kind of became the height of office gossip, which Johnny thrived in, but you couldn't really be mad when you were dating that tall glass of water after all.

❁ [Taeyong] The receptionist with first aid training; Stapling your finger was embarrassing enough, imagine the heat flooding your cheeks when the receptionist appears at your desk clutching the first aid kit, big kind eyes glancing at your finger empathetically. Taeyong was the first face you saw when you walked through the door, that alone making a wonderful first impression, also he was a very diligent worker. He never made a fuss when you asked him to fax something, make a memo or photocopy, and when you had to ring the office because you left your keycard and needed to be let in, he laughed that off with you too while assuring that it happened all the time. On the blasted day you aimed the stapler at your paper but instead caught your finger, Taeyong was the first to perk from behind his desk at your exclamation of "Ow!" and was by your side before you knew it. He apologised profusely at the sting of an anti-bacterial wipe and wrapped your finger gingerly in a plaster, his chair scooted towards you and your knees bumping occasionally. You were pretty sure every female in the office was crushing on him and you were one of many, but you couldn't help the blush when you received a private IM chat asking if you wanted to get coffee after work: "Date? :)" he wrote at the end of the message. You wasted no time typing on your computer a reply, sneaking a glance at his face from behind the desk and exchanging a smile before looking busy once again.

❁ [Yuta] The guy that lowkey terrified you; Yuta was the co-worker that, whether it was on purpose or not, pushed you away with sheer intimidation and sinfully good looks. When you first encountered him in the office you were sure he was a model undercover, and when that was debunked you were sure he must have had a much higher level and higher paying job than you. His presence read corporate, the cologne you sometimes caught a whiff of smelt expensive and you could easily picture him in a big leather chair in a tall glass building barking orders at people. What surprised you was behind the intimidating aura, lay the humility of any of your other co-workers. All it took was one painfully awkward conversation in the break room and with the power of pointless small talk you learnt that his weekend plans didn't involve a modelling side hustle like you expected, but rather being a homebody, watching animated movies and cooking dinner for one instead. When you did finally enter an established relationship with him, expect impulsive moments like being tugged into the copier room so he can press his lips to yours and run his hands through your hair, or intense staring contests when other male co-workers demanded your attention. Overall, he was terrifying, but his redeemable qualities involved making dates after work so you had something to look forward to, buying your favourite cake during office parties and volunteering to do overtime with you so you would always be entertained.

❁ [Doyoung] The manager that scares you shitless; For the position of local branch manager, Doyoung exuded way more power and intimidation than what was probably warranted. Maybe that was why he managed to get the branch performing so well, everybody dreaded being called into his office for "friendly chitchat" after making a small mistake. When you first arrived, you steered as clear from him as possible, only venturing near his office when absolutely needed. What you didn't see was the way he would watch you intently in your little office nook, always appreciating how hard you worked and how cute you looked in your office get-up. You often squirmed at the amount of eye-contact he gave you when he ran meetings and you would glance around to see if anyone else was experiencing the same thing. Nope, just you. When he did call you into his office that one time you were quaking in your shoes. You had already convinced yourself you were fired before you had even reached his office door, but the feeling was replaced soon enough with confusion when he did eventually speak to you. "I just wanted to ask... would you be interested in.... this corporate training program?" He rushed. My god, your boss was just as awkward as the next bumbling guy. It would be a while before he asked you on an official date, dinner for two, also quite a bit of paperwork to fill out with HR, but you would come to realise his icy exterior wasn't all that icy when he wasn't in work-mode.

❁ [Jaehyun] The temp that never left; Jaehyun was fresh from university, now venturing into the world of work but still had the boyish aura that set him apart from the rest of the men in the office. From the way he spoke to you over lunch in the break room you could tell he was full of ambition, but also didn't seem to be in any rush to leave this job any time soon. Jaehyun was the guy who you initially tried not to get too close to, since you were under the impression that he would be leaving after completing the temporary placement and when he left it would hurt like a bitch. However, you could have sworn his placement ended like a month ago, but eventually you learnt that he somehow managed to talk himself into a full-time position. "Oh that, yeah, I guess I just realised I had more reasons to stay." He shrugged as casually as he could when you asked about it. You couldn't deny that you were happy, not when you saw his smiling face in the conference room saving you a seat, hearing his outrageous stories from uni and always being the two to get a little too drunk at corporate parties and being sent home in a taxi of shame. Romance blossomed when you remembered that one drunken kiss in the backseat and you both bonded when your boss gave you the cold shoulder after arriving to work a little more than dishevelled and with a hangover.

❁ [Jungwoo] Desk buddy; Honestly, who could hate their job when they had a sweet Jungwoo sitting at the desk adjacent to theirs. You kinda scored when your boss appointed you this specific desk because Jungwoo took to you almost embarrassingly quick. It made your heart swell looking at all the little knick knacks on his desk; toys to fiddle with and colourful sticky notes, this was just one part of his persona. You were a little shocked when he offered you a cigarette during the lunch break, kind of exposing a duality you didn't know existed, but nobody could be that wholesome of a person. Monday to Friday 9-5 was filled with Jungwoo ping-ponging back and forth between these traits, any off handed comments he would mutter to you when the boss was giving an announcement or the conversations you would overhear him having with a friend over the phone would remind you he wasn't a total puppy of a human being. However, the way he always offered to share a snack and would flick paper and notes at you playfully was also very much him being himself. You always fluttered a little at the smirk he would throw your way when your manager was talking something boring or ridiculous, it seemed those smirks were only reserved for you. It didn't take long before he became your best friend in the office, if he wasn't in that day you were in the right mind to just call it quits yourself (and vice versa), he was the guy that made the long hours that much more bearable.

❁ [Mark] The bumbling intern; When it came to responsibilities in the work place, you tried to delegate as little of that as possible to Mark the intern. It was cute really, the guy put in 110% effort into his tasks and yet when it came to coffee orders, photocopying or sending out a memo, something nearly always went wrong. You couldn't help but admire his enthusiasm, also that he made an effort to know everybody in the office, including the cleaners. Mark was one of the first people to greet you when you joined, waving around a little notebook of Starbucks orders and a company card to splurge, urging you to write down whatever you wanted. A simple task right? Rookie mistake. Bless him, you would never tell him how his mistake of getting full dairy rather than the soy you requested led to a night on and off the toilet, but that just scratched the surface of his office blunders. Somehow, he never cost the company too much, but there was a reason why the poor boy never got promoted beyond intern. He wasn't deterred though, he'd lean up against your desk while you made idle chit chat and he'd tell you that he liked his job and he didn't aspire to be the best in this business. Where he really proved himself was during company functions, you'll never forget during the annual employee bbq when he asked you your favourite song so he could sing it melodically accompanied skilfully with a guitar. Mark's contributions to the work place were always a little unpredictable, but he kept things interesting and people, including you, genuinely enjoyed having him around.

❁ [Haechan] Probably the reason you get fired; Even in the workplace, Haechan can't deny himself a bit of mischief. He made a stellar first impression by rocking up half an hour late, sending your boss a half arsed apology and plonking down at the desk across the room from yours. To be honest, he kind of annoyed you at first, his attitude came off immature and you didn't appreciate how distracting he was when you had work to do. However, things started to change at some point. Haechan was the guy that convinced you to ditch the office party and sit on the rooftop with him to watch the city lights, the guy that sent out ridiculous memos just to catch you smile and the guy eventually became the reason for you own demise after he started picking you up for breakfast most mornings. When the manager called you in his office after being late the third time in a row, you ducked your head and mumbled something about traffic while hiding a croissant wrapper in your pocket, Haechan covered a laugh with a cough and apologised on behalf of both of you. When you asked him about why he never seemed to give a shit about anything, you learnt that it was because he had a taste for adventure; "Don't tell me you wanna stay and work here forever? Don't you wanna do something more... exciting with your life?" He asked you incredulously, like the answer was obvious. He kinda got you, no, you didn't want to work in a dingy office for the rest of you life. To be honest, when he painted a picture of moving to a big city, or taking a road trip, or just fucking off to the suburbs you didn't hate the sound of that either. When you were both sat there in your manager's office, signing off on a severance package, you weren't even mad. You didn't have time to be, Haechan was already clasping your hand and leading you to his car and laughing about finally being free, tugging his tie from around his neck whilst driving no where in particular- the start of an adventure.

[belphies-cuhm-sluht]

Fun Zone (Belphie x GN!Reader)

(Random fic that came about because I was talking to a friend about chaperoning a field trip at a Discovery Zone. Also, the sisters name is just my two favorite sisters names blended together. Enjoy!)

Belphie hated his job, he really, really hated his job. Sure, retail sucked and he’d killed quite a few shitty customers for being a pain in his ass, but this… this was hell. Actual hell was nothing compared to where he was working now. Lucifer had threatened him with this shit hole multiple times if he didn’t get his act together while working at Target, but he just laughed in the face of the oldest brother. It wasn’t until he got fired for almost getting into a fight with some guy who was complaining about the price of every item that Belphie had scanned that Lucifer finally put his foot down.

There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that was more awful to him than the constant sound of children screaming. Everyone knew that, even Lucifer knew, and maybe that’s why his brother had sent him there in the first place, but this was a nightmare. This was torture.

“Slow the hell down.” He grumbled to the group of kids that ran by him, an exhausted looking woman following behind them, probably too tired to even apologize to him for the children’s reckless behaviour. “Fucking hell, I need a nap.” He mumbled to himself, turning away from the exhibit that he was stationed to so he could finally take a break. It was his lunch break, and he never needed one more than he did today.

“Leaving so soon, Belph?” One of his coworkers called after him, and he could hear them walking faster behind him which made him speed up. It’s not that he actually hated them, they were just irritating. They loved their job, they were too peppy, too excited, it made him sick. How could anyone enjoy being in a place like this for eight hours or more a day? It didn’t make sense to him. “Hey! Can ya hear me?” They came up right beside him, and he fought the urge to snap at them, clenching his teeth and balling his fists in his pockets as he grunted in response. “I don’t know why you’re so grumpy. Don’t ya just love working on field trip days?!” They slapped his back, and although he knew it was a kind gesture, he tensed up, whipping his head quickly to look at the employee.

“No. I hate it, actually. And you… you scare me. I’ve seen a lot of scary shit, but your excitement with all of this…” He motioned his hands around the park before dropping his hands at his sides. “It scares the shit out of me. I’m taking my break now. Have fun or whatever. Leave me alone.” He didn’t really care how they reacted to what he said, and even if they went to the boss about it, the worst that could happen is that he’d get fired. Actually… that would be the best thing to happen. There couldn’t possibly be any place that’s worse than this. He’s actually hoping that they do go to the boss.

“Mister, can you help me, please?” Belphie didn’t know how, or why this kid singled him out as soon as he was coming back in from his break, but here it was, staring up at him expectantly… and he hated it. Could they not find literally anyone else? Why couldn’t they have gone to literally any other employee? It would have been simple, and anyone else would have been far more receptive to this nonsense than he is right now. “Please… They’re stuck in the thingy…. They can’t get out.” The kid pointed to the massive jungle gym contraption that climbed up almost to the ceiling in the center of the building.

It wasn’t the first time someone older than the age of twelve had gotten stuck in there, and most of the time he’d push off the task of saving another helpless parent onto one of the other employees who actually cared. He wanted to say no to this kid, but another part of him wanted to actually see this person. See how it was possible for someone to actually get stuck in the jungle gym. He might even find some sort of amusement in it. “Fine. Where are they?” The tone of agitation in his voice didn’t seem to affect the kid at all as they started walking towards the massive jungle gym, rambling about how their group chaperone got stuck while climbing up, and that the other kids in the group couldn’t get them out. “Yeah yeah, whatever…” He mumbled, rolling his eyes at the kid as they climbed back in.

“Don’t worry! I got one of the people to help!” The kid called to the person, and he couldn’t help but laugh when he heard their sigh of both annoyance and embarrassment. That was probably going to be the best part for him, seeing how embarrassed this person will be once he gets them out. Shit, maybe his boss will see it and give him some time off, or at least a raise, even though he feels he should be making more money anyway considering the shit he has to deal with on a daily basis.

“Move. Move it. Scoot over. Would you move?!” He basically yelled at the kids as he climbed down from the second floor of the jungle gym. This was a lot more physical activity and a lot more work in general, than he wanted to actually do today. He’s really hoping that once he gets to this person that their shame and humiliation would make his extra work worth it. It’s not that he particularly enjoyed the suffering of humans, but today just hasn’t been his day, so it would be kind of… nice.

When he got to them, their head was down, still looking at the children below them trying to pull them out from the bottom. The space was cramped, very tight, and now he could understand why so many people got stuck in there. Although now he couldn’t understand why anyone over the age of twelve would even attempt to climb in the thing. Their head finally lifted, looking up at him and he actually froze for a second. They were… cute, really cute. “Sorry about this… dang kids forced me into this thing.” Their flushed cheeks were a sure sign of their embarrassment, but it brought him a different feeling when he saw them. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable, it just made him smile, which felt weird. Genuinely smiling at work? What the hell was wrong with him?

For a second he just stared at them, and it didn’t even feel awkward, or maybe it was the fact that they hadn’t really pushed him to help pull them out. They were still smiling up at him, that is until one of the kids above him started yelling. “Hey! You need us to help ya?!” Within seconds the kids that were a floor above him had surrounded him, making it almost impossible for him to even move. He wouldn’t have tried so hard to hide his anger and irritation if the human didn’t start laughing, moving one hand up to motion to the kids behind him to get out of the way, and they actually listened.

“So uh… which one is yours?” It was a strange question to ask, but what was he supposed to do? It would have been more awkward to do this in complete silence. There was nothing wrong with a bit of small talk. They smiled proudly, looking up at the little girl who was peaking over the side of another ledge, watching as Belphie pushed the humans shoulders. “Oh… nice…” He was kind of disappointed, although it felt silly to feel that way. Of course one of the kids would be theirs, they were chaperoning on a field trip. What other reason would they have to be here?

“My sister, Audrah.” Sister… it was only their sister. He hoped that they didn’t hear the small sigh of relief that escaped him at the revelation. Not that there was anything wrong with them if the kid was theirs, he just dealt with kids all day, could someone blame him for not wanting to deal with them any more than he was paid to do? They waved to their sister and he turned around to see the kid waving back, smiling happily and letting out a little laugh as the human tried to wiggle free again, bringing his attention back to actually freeing them.

“Oh… right, yeah. I uh… I’m sure she’s happy that you’re here…” He mumbled, pushing on their shoulders again. He didn’t know what was more awkward, the small talk that he was trying to make or the fact that every time they spoke he would momentarily forget about freeing them, elongating the time it took to actually get them out. At least they weren’t complaining though.

They nodded up to him, still smiling even under these circumstances. “She’s very happy… and she’s the best kid in the group. Don’t tell the other kids though.” They teased, even though Belphie was pretty sure that they’d think their sibling was the best kid in the group no matter what. Sibling bias existed in all realms, so he understood the feeling.

With one final push he finally got the human free, watching from the little ledge as they wiggled their way all the way to the bottom before climbing out. He quickly followed after, not wanting to be stuck in that little space surrounded by those kids any longer. The human was still waiting at the bottom, most likely expecting one of the kids in their group to come out just based on their expression when he was the one who popped out. There was a lot that he wanted to say, they were attractive, and their smile was kind and genuine. It was usually something that would turn him off from anyone really, he just couldn’t see himself even being able to stand being around someone like that… Hell, that’s why he couldn't be around his coworker for more than five seconds. There was something about this human though… He didn’t want to let them go. “So… uhm…”

“Come on! We don’t have lotsa time!” One of the kids shouted, and he quickly turned around, making sure it wasn’t their sister before glaring at the little brat who had cut him off. He turned back to face them, but their group had already swarmed around the human, dragging them off somewhere else. He wouldn’t see them again, he already knew that much. It was weird to feel so disappointed about it too… And while he was usually hoping that the day would go faster so he could have some sort of peace and quiet, this time he just wanted a little more time. Maybe by some chance he’d be able to see them in passing… He just wanted to talk to them for a second.

Sitting in the little lunch area, he watched as the groups of children and their chaperones filed out of the building. His eyes scanned over everyone, but he couldn’t seem to find the human that he really wanted to see. They couldn’t have possibly left before he would have noticed… right? It would have been impossible… he’s been watching the whole time.

“Hurry, hurry! This is why I told you all to go to the bathroom twenty minutes ago. We’re gonna miss the bus and be stuck here.” His head had never turned so quickly, but that voice… It wasn’t coming from the line of people in front of him, but it was them. They were standing by the restrooms, anxiously rocking on their heels as they waited for the rest of the kids in their group to finish.

“Yay! Let’s get stuck here!” One of the kids shouted, and he almost snorted at their reaction. He could see their eyes roll, and their patient demeanor was definitely wearing thin by now. “Y/N doesn’t wanna be stuck! You wanna go home and take a nap, right?” Their sister said proudly, holding tightly onto their hand. He watched as they nodded, smiling down to their sister before turning back to the bathroom doors. Now was his chance, it was his only chance.

He got up, taking a deep breath as he walked over to where they stood. All the children surrounding them noticed him first, and their eyes on him almost made him turn right back around. “Oh! I’m sorry, I’ve got one more kid in there. They’re taking forever.” They said, sheepishly smiling to him. There was a reason that they got stuck, and maybe it was a sign that he should talk to them… or maybe that one kid drank way too much juice… Either way, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass by him.

“It’s alright… The kid couldn’t possibly take much longer.” He joked, and it felt… weird… to joke with them about the kid. That was something that one of the other employees would do, but not him… not in any other situation. They let out a small chuckle, shaking their head. He was sure that they were about to disagree until the bathroom door flew open and the kid walked out. He knew that he didn’t have much time, and they were already lining the kids up and counting heads. They were about to leave.

He grabbed a napkin and quickly scribbled his number on it, hoping that they’d be able to read it. They were already walking towards the door, and if it was for anything or anyone else, he would have just let it go. Nothing was worth running for, but them… they were worth it. He sprinted to the door just as they were about to walk out, grabbing their hand and placing the napkin in it. “Text me after your nap.” He didn’t even care how forward he sounded, but he could also feel his cheeks heating up just from saying it. They would know that he was listening and he wasn’t sure how they’d feel about it.

“Sure…” They looked down at the napkin for a second and then back up at him, letting out a small giggle as they folded it and slid it into their pocket. “I’ll text you later…”

[sluttyminghao]

Prompt Game: Professional!AU Drabbles

I am back with another round of prompts, with the help of @semicolonshua we have come up with 115 new prompts for you to choose from!

these prompts have been written by myself and @semicolonshua, if you intend to use them for your own purposes please give credit! I will not tolerate any content being stolen from my blog. I would also love to see your own creations and spins off the prompts should you use them!

i do have a few rules for this one so please bear with me:

when requesting, please specify which AU you want (professor, doctor, etc.) with your desired seventeen member! (for this round i will be limiting the members to just 1 per ask)

you can ask for up to 2 prompts in one ask, but if i have too many of the same prompt being requested, i will be deleting the ask. i found this to be a problem with my previous ask game and lots of people would request the same thing and it got boring.

for example, your requests should look like this: CEO!Seungcheol x prompts 5 and 27 female!reader / Doctor!Seungkwan x prompt 78 gender neutral!reader

once you have read the rules, please click the read more to see the new prompts and happy requesting!

“Open up~”

“Don’t make me bend you over this desk”

“You’re hired!”

“You’re fired”

“That’s a little...unprofessional don’t you think?”

“Can your skirt be any shorter?”

“You got cum on my suit!”

“I have to present a meeting in 20 minutes but I think I can get a quick fuck in before then”

“You’re in trouble now”

“What’s wrong, baby? Can’t speak?”

“Now tell me what the problem is”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You’re walking weirdly, did you get fucked last night?”

“Into my office. Now”

“I think you squirted all over my documents…”

“Don’t make me use my tie to gag you”

“I think you’d look so pretty with my cock in your mouth”

“I said, ass up”

“According to my calculations, you’re fucking hot”

“I know we shouldn’t do this here, but I just can’t help myself”

“On your hands and knees”

“Are you jealous? The erection in your pants gives the answer away”

“Don’t tell me what to do”

“Make me” “oh, I’ll make you alright”

“You’d love if someone walked in on us right now, wouldn’t you?”

“Your skin is so soft”

“Be careful, these walls are thin and every sound can be heard on the other side”

“You should probably be a little quieter”

“I think you should come back next week for a follow up”

“Please suck my dick”

“Does it hurt when I do this?”

“Open that pretty lil mouth up for me”

“You’d like it if we got caught wouldn’t you?”

“Such a good slut for me”

“Look at you, prancing around in that tight shirt, you’re practically begging me to fuck you”

“Oops, I spilled my water on your chest and now your shirt is see-through”

“Move those papers, I’m fucking you on my desk right now”

“Let’s go into that a little further”

“That’s a bit of a harsh punishment, don’t you think?”

“If you don’t want to fail this class, you’ll have to do some extra credit”

“You have never looked hotter”

“Physical therapy is supposed to hurt a little bit”

“Bend your knees for me”

“Stay still”

“Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

“I’ll call you back, I have...business to attend to”

“You can’t pay this bill? I guess we can come up with alternative payment methods”

“Close your eyes and breathe deeply”

“How did you get that bruise again?”

“Try and relax for me”

“You’re so fucking tight”

“Did you guys sleep here overnight?”

“If you don’t cum before I count to 5 you don’t get to cum at all”

Create your own prompt!

“If only all of our coworkers could see how much of a filthy slut you really are”

“Damn, I didn’t realise it was my birthday with all that cake walking around”

“Did you just spank me in front of the CEO?”

“Spit in my mouth”

“Lock the door!”

“Jeez, I didn’t know you could be so horny at work”

“Let’s try these vibrating panties I bought for you”

“I don’t think these walls are soundproof…” “You’re right, they aren’t”

“I swear I wasn’t watching porn at my desk!”

“That’s not my name, sweetheart”

“Whoever said you can’t sleep your way to the top was clearly wrong.” 

“I’m about to get on a conference call so you have to be quiet.” 

“Anyone could walk into my office right now and see you like this.” 

“Do you fuck all your clients, or is it just me?”

“Get under my desk, sweetheart. You can cockwarm me while I work.” 

“Jealous?” “You’re my secretary I don’t give a fuck about your sex life.” 

“Up against the glass, baby.”

“But you’re my patient…”

“Tell my secretary to clear my schedule for the rest of the day.”

“I’m at work! We can’t have phone sex!”

“You wore that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“You know when my office hours are.” 

“You may be the boss at work, but in bed, I make the rules.” 

“You can touch yourself while I finish up these emails, but don’t make yourself cum.”

“Ride me on top of my desk.” 

“It’s not what it looks like!” “Then why are your fingers all wet?”

“This definitely qualifies as a conflict of interest.” 

“I think fucking the prosecutor makes you a pretty shitty defence attorney, but that’s just my opinion.” 

“But the no office relationships rule-“ “I made that stupid fucking rule and I can break it if I want to.” 

“I guess I just deserved the promotion more than you did.”

“I told you to wait for me.” 

“You’ve been really stressed lately. Let me take care of you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Use your words, darling.”

“I want everyone in this building to know how much of a whore you are.” 

“There’s no way you’re getting the promotion over me.”

“Do you do this with all of your students?” “Do you do this with all of your professors?” 

“Put it on my tab.”

“The company is making us share a hotel room?”

“Why don’t we work on this… after hours?”

“This suit is expensive.”

“If you’re so needy, why don’t you ride my thigh? I have to focus on this, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make yourself feel good.”

“Brats don’t get to cum.” 

“What kind of tutor would I be if I let you get off before you finish your assignment?”

“Let me take you on a real date. I’m tired of hooking up in the break room.”

“Are you naked under that apron?” 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” “And I will continue to do so until you promise not to talk about last night.”

“Remember which one of us is in charge here, yeah?”

“Want a taste?”

“Fuck, don’t say my name like that.”

“When was the last time someone made you feel this good?”

“The pool is closed for the night. Maybe now we could practice giving each other mouth-to-mouth?”

“Keep it in your swim trunks.”

“Is that whistle the only thing you’re good at blowing?”

“If it’s ‘just acting’ why are you hard?”

“The director called cut five minutes ago. Why are you guys still making out?”

“Just hold that pose for a few minutes more. I’m almost done.”

“As a personal trainer I’d like to think I have a lot of… stamina.” 

“He couldn’t please you like I can.” 

“You think you’re funny? Moaning out my assistant's name like that?” 

“You didn’t think I’d find out about you sleeping around the office? People talk, and I don’t like what they’re saying.”

[nikkxb]

First Lines Meme

Tagged by @shastuhh​ -- thank you!!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!)

See if there are any patterns.

Choose your favorite opening lines.

Then tag 10 authors!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This got really long, so everything’s under the cut. I also went by most recently posted/written instead of updated and it was really interesting to compare.

I put my favorites in bold.

Tagging @commandercrouton @maddieson-san @cryysis @sugarless-suki-writes @lilly-white @pointyobjects @thehattertheory (I don’t know if you do these?), @spycaptain @tropical-gothic @misku-nimfa and anyone else who wants to!

1. Courting a Wolf (KogKag)

The road to the tree house was a quiet one. This wasn’t the first time Kouga had traveled down the path; it was the easiest way to Inuyasha’s hill hut if one did not wish to cross over the hill. And while Kouga wasn’t commonly found at Inuyasha’s home, it also wasn’t uncommon either.

2. The Legend of Illethai Mobre (KogKag)

“What are you doing for Halloween?” Sango asked as they went through the seasonal aisles. Already, Sango had three lawn ornaments and half a dozen small decor items, all themed for the haunted house she threw every year. It may have only been the first week of October, but she was in high gear getting everything ready to open halfway through the month.

3. an ode in six parts (KogKag)

The fair was in full bloom as day bled into night. Dusk settled over and lanterns were lit, that small moment where everything was almost too bright to see. Lights glittered, people bustled down the street, conversations rose as the first night of the annual festival began. Kagome’s attention darted everywhere and to everything — except to the man ordering food at a street cart. She didn’t know he was there until she walked into him.

4. A Moment of Clarity (KogKag)

The sky was so clear in the feudal era. Kagome remembered all the different nights she’d spent in her sleeping bag looking at the stars, wishing she could stay up and watch them. Every time she went home, it was another jarring reminder of what all that smog and light pollution did to hide the sky — and what their fast paced traveling kept her from enjoying.

5. Enjoy the Show (KogKag)

Night had fallen, stars were starting to twinkle in the sky, and the park was filled. The movie showing ended about twenty minutes before and the food trucks and carts were starting to pack up. Most people had already set out their blankets and chairs, but a restless buzz traveled through the crowd as they waited for the fireworks show to start.

6. Apartment Complex Woes (KogKag)

Of all days for Kagome’s air conditioning to break, it had to be on the hottest day of the year.

7. All That Glitters (KogKag)

If Kagome managed to not strangle Inuyasha with his own perfect hair, she deserved a medal.

8. Show Me Your Hand (InuParents)

There was a storm moving in. The scent of rain was growing stronger, that crackle in the wind headier. It was an hour off, maybe a little more, but from the weight of the air, he knew it would last all night. His human would be tucked away safe in her little village, her family and guards completely ignorant to what she was doing right now.

9. What Could Have Been (KogKag)

“What are your plans today, Kagome?”

10. Discreet (KogKag)

 Your package is currently out for delivery. Expected arrival by 8pm.

11. Pajamas (KogKag)

“Hey! Kagome!”

12. The Start of a Journey (KogKag)

Kagome was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

13. Rings (KogKag)

“Fuck.”

14. Longing (Angeal/Zack/Aeris)

“Hey Aeris.”

15. Between a Rock and a Hard Place (SasuNaru)

“Are you two ever going to be on time?”

16. A Puzzle (MadaSaku)

Running had become an easy method to clear her mind. What started out as a necessity to her physical health and fitness turned into one of the most important ways to manage her mental health. That little time she spent breathing in the morning air and listening to the sound of her feet hitting the pavement was Sakura’s way to declutter her life.

17. Plans (KagKik)

“That guy was pretty cute, the one with light brown hair?”

18. Drowning (ShiSaku)

She was going to kill him.

19. an ode to traffic violations (ShiAnko)

Traffic sucked. It was the worst part of her day and her day usually consisted of dealing with shitty coworkers and inept, micromanaging bosses. Some days were better than others at work which usually correlated with how many times she was bothered at her desk, and thankfully, today had been a good one.

20. The Thing About Libraries (SasuHina)

The girl was there again, sitting on the bench. She was reading this time, pouring over a book on her lap that looked entirely too big for her body. She was alone, as she always was, but her eyes remained focused on the page. Usually, she was watching everyone walk by with a shy smile and sparkling eyes. Today, that cheerfulness she normally exuded was gone.

[bellestalesoffiction]

Clean Love

Pairing: Eventual Mob!Steve x Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, a swear here or there, minor shit talk

A/N: I wrote this in the span of two days over 6 hours. I’m not sure if I'll continue with this, but I was inspired to write for the first time in years. Please don't judge too hard. Also sorry for the shitty summary! Feedback appreciated!

Summary: She’s a city girl, an artist with a day job, because how else is she gonna pay the bills. She cleans for Tony Stark’s offices, one day she has the pleasure of cleaning up a mess made by the most feared boss in all of New York, Steve Rogers.

It was brisk, just like any normal autumn morning in New York. Steve stepped out of his town car, fixing his coat, before heading into the tall building that held the name 'Stark' in large letters high in the sky. Another meeting with his god-father about one of many deals that their organizations made. Today would be a messy one, held in the lower levels of the looming building. Someone in their lower ranks had tried to steal half a shipment of guns and ammo, they didn't get far at all. Steve's right hand man and best friend had gotten the three who tried before they even left the docks.

Two of the three men were already at the bottom of the harbor, the third was currently on the lowest floor. Most likely the traitor was bruised and beaten into cooperation, or so Steve hoped, he really didn't want to bruise his knuckles or ruin his new Armani shirt.

The few people milling about the lobby paid no attention to Steve as he strode past. He nodded at the security guard on duty before heading past the main elevators and towards a back hallway to a private lift. It was one of two elevators that reached  the lower levels, the other elevator was used by maintenance staff and regular employees to reach the underground parking (not the floors below said parking  that Steve was headed to now).

The doors to the elevator opened up after Steve input a 6-digit code, he stepped on pressing the corresponding level switch before clasping his hands in front of him. There was no music during his decent, no soothing calming or annoying music, just silence. The doors slowly parted, opening up to a metal gate, on the other side of which stood James Buchanan Barnes, "Bucky" as Steve knew him growing up. The sight of the slightly shorter dark-haired man made the mob boss grin slightly.

"So Buck, how's our friend?" Steve smirked walking alongside his right-hand.

Bucky smiles, it's almost sinister, "He's about ready to talk boss. Tony's waiting right outside for ya, wants you in the room for intimidation factor."

Steve nods, spying Tony up ahead. He gives the older man a nod, showing his respect with a hand on his chest reaching for the other man's hand. Tony smiles and returns the gesture, pulling Steve in for a quick familial hug and a pat on the back. They step apart after a moment, "You ready?" asks Tony, receiving a nod from Steve. 

The older man twists the handle and pushes the door open, the room behind it was rather large, deep and wide. A single bulb hung from an exposed wire, the only source of light in the room. The temperature was low, cold enough to make your fingers go numb and just cold enough to see your breath leave your lips. In the center, just below the exposed bulb was a chair, tied down to said chair was a man, blood running from his ear, nose and mouth, one eye swollen shut. Tony approached him slowly, circling around him, just on the edge of the light.

"Do you know why you're here, hmm?" Tony continued to circle the man, getting closer to him with each step.

"Let me tell you why," Tony stood behind him, grabbing his shoulders tightly, making the man wince. "You and your little friends tried to steal from us." Tony motioned to Steve and himself, the former staying just in the shadows.

"You tried to take 250 semi automatic weapons and sell them off, to who? And for what? You knew that if you got caught you'd end up dead... what's so important you'd risk your life? Or rather who?" Tony smacked the back of the man's head, pretending to have a moment of clarity, "Oh That's right! Your wife, Georgia... She's pregnant with your first kid right?"

The man tensed, "You wanted to get her away from all this right? Set her up somewhere you wouldn't be found?" Tony began to circle his chair again.

"You never would've been safe you know, we'd find you anywhere. We'll find her anywhere she goes." Steve smirked, Tony continued, "Who were your buyers?"

The man glanced up at Tony before he spat at him, right in his face. Tony wipes at his face, turning and nods to Steve, giving him the que to take over. Stepping forward slowly, Steve grins, making his way towards the chair. The man's eyes widen, fixed on the knife in Steve's hand. He squirms and yells out, no one moves or tries to intervene as Steve begins to slice into the man.

"Stop! Stop!! Please!" Tony doesn't listen, watches the man's face as he cries like a baby.

"He won't stop until you talk... Mr. Rogers here doesn't take too kindly to people who take his things," Steve smirks, moving to press his knife to the mans cheekbone, "... maybe after he's done we'll send your head to your lady" Tony chuckled watching the man go white as a sheet.

"Please, no, leave her out of this, I'll tell you anything!"

Steve glares at him, pressing hard with his knife, "Your buyers names, who put you up to this?"

"S Sitwell, his name's Jasper Sitwell!", that was all they needed to hear.

She hurried up the street, jacket half on and a granola bar hanging out of her mouth. Her alarm hadn't gone off, the power in her building had somehow gone out during the night causing the events leading up to now. She had overslept by a good half hour, she had skipped her shower and a real meal, having time to barley grab a snack for breakfast before running out the door 5 minutes late already.

Weaving and dodging through the crowds, she made her way down a back alley stopping at a door with a pass card sensor. She digs through her purse, grabbing her Stark Towers cleaning badge and swipes it, successfully walking into the building.

"Hey Y/N, you're wanted for a mess on level 26!", one of her coworkers calls out.

She groans, "I just walked in, I'm not even on the clock yet!"

"Yeah and the supervisor isn't happy about that. She said it's your punishment" Y/N sighs and nods punching in as she quickly scarfs down the rest of her breakfast and tosses her coat on the back of a chair. As you can probably guess by now, Y/N cleaned pretty much anything she was told to clean inside the tower. She was one of 3 cleaning ladies, besides her was Wanda Maximoff and Jessica Drew. The girls supervisor was one Felicia Hardy, who once was just a cleaning lady like the rest of them. Felicia had stabbed the trio in the back and thrown them under the bus for her mistake with their last supervisor, convincing the hiring staff that she was the most competent to take over the position. The maintenance team knows Felicia isn't meant to be where she is, the position should have been Jessica's, Felicia just knew how to brown nose better.

As they say, speak of the devil and she will appear, "Y/N, floor 26 now! Men's room on the south end had two urinals that went out of order!" Felicia snaps sauntering into the room. Besides ordering her around, the woman made her way to the coffee machine for a refill.

Y/N rolled her eyes and threw her (hair color) locks into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She turned and made her way down the hall to the supply room bumping into Scott and Luis, the two maintenance men for the building, besides their supervisor Flash Thompson.

Luis waves and smiles, "Morning y/n, how was your weekend?"

Y/n smiled and gave him the rundown as she gathered her cleaning supplies, groceries, another failed date and a dozen texts from her ex trying to get back with her. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Man, he just won't leave you alone," Scott huffed, annoyed for her. "Well if you need anyone to help you get the guy off your tail, let me know. I'd gladly offer my services."

Y/n smiled softly and nodded, "Thanks Scott, but I can handle it. You guys already fix the busted urinals on 26?"

Luis nods and makes a fake retching noise, "It's only Monday and already some asshole decided to-"

She cuts him off, "I don't wanna know, all I need to know is that it's fixed so I can clean the floors. You left the Out of order sign up right?"

Luis smiles sheepishly and shakes his head no. The man was good at his job, he could fix pretty much everything well enough, his only problem was that he often forgot about the cleaning crew and forgets to mark the areas that need cleaning out of order so the regular staff don't go in. She sighs, shaking her head, oh Luis. She picks up her cleaning bucket and pushes the mop bucket towards the service elevator and waits quietly.

The elevator dings and opens up, allowing her to step inside. She presses the corresponding button and waits, mind wandering to lunch and what's close and cheap. The elevator dings again and she makes her way off. The rest of her day is just as boring, cleaning more bathrooms and a few meeting rooms. Finally the day comes to an end, she heads back to the maintenance break room, only to be stopped half way by Felicia.

"Oh, Y/n, great, glad I caught you. Mr. Stark called and needed someone to do a quick wipe down outside his office. Security had to get involved and well, Mr. Stark doesn't want blood stains on the carpet," Felicia smirks at her, "Besides, it's not like you have anywhere to be tonight, or any night."

Y/n frowns softly, nodding and averting her eyes. When the young woman wasn't working she was making art, drawings, pastel illustrations and paintings even. She loved art more than anything, it was her passion growing up, helped her forget the harsh environments she lived in. Currently she was building a portfolio to submit to a few lower end galleries, hoping to spread her name and gain some recognition. Now here she was, stuck at work cleaning up after millionaires and office snobs just to pay the rent, pushing her dreams to the back burner.

Her supplies gathered once more, she heads up to the top floor, anxiously. She had never gone up that high, never had she been asked to clean anywhere near Mr. Starks office, normally that was Jessica or Felicia who took care of that. The ding snapped her out of her train of thought as she stepped out onto the floor cautiously. Giving the hall a once over she headed towards Mr. Starks office, his personal assistant should still be there if there was a mess to clean. The woman she knew only by name, her name was Natasha Romanoff. Ms. Romanoff had a particularly sharp eye for details and a 'no half ass' policy when it came to anything. Y/n had only interacted with the woman once, and that was when Felicia threw them under the bus. Now here she was, leaning against her desk tapping away at her phone.

"Good, you're here. My desk needs a total wipe down and when Mr. Stark is done he'll need some clean up on the marble in front of his desk," Natasha explained without looking up once.

Y/n nodded, "Yes Ms. Romanoff, I'll get right on that."

And she did, doing a thorough cleaning of the sides of her desk and the top, making sure not to move any of her personal items and work around the woman herself. Once she was finished with the desk and the floor in front of the desk she stood still, waiting for the ok to head into the CEO's office. Natasha finally glanced up at her, eyeing her in a very unsettling way. Almost as if the woman was peering into the very depths of her mind.

"You can go in now." Natasha nodded to the door and stood opening it for her. Three men were still standing inside, but quiet. "Gentlemen, the cleaner is here"

( @kayteewritessteve​ @katurrade​ @kaybrownies​ )

[et-lesailes]

missing linc // chapter three

series masterlist

pairing: ceo!dad!steve x reader

word count: 2950

series summary:  you are a college student working at a daycare full time during your summer break, and you have grown especially fond of one of the toddlers in your class, lincoln rogers. you are certainly not expecting to develop such a huge crush on his dad steve when you meet him for the first time, but you can’t help but be attracted to the businessman– despite the fact that he’s married. however, as intelligent and mature as steve comes across, he has a few secrets behind his marriage- one in particular he may never be able to make up for.

series themes: romance, drama, age gap, infidelity, smut in later chapters

chapter summary: steve and reader start getting to know each other more. while steve is on his business trip, reader is asked to babysit and ends up seeing something she definitely was not meant to see...

taglist:  @viarogers , @evanstush , @chibi-crazy , @chalamet-evans , @world-of-losers , @songforhema, @sebabestianstan101 , @tanyam93 , @bval-1, @wonderwinchester , @little-miss-exo, @poerebel , @pining-and-tired , @gogomez-509 , @patzammit, @a-distantdreamer, @malthestorytellerblog, @rainbowkisses31, @jbug491writinghelp, @quaiderade, @melannie77, @gigistorm, @lille-kattunge, @teller258316, @rohaintahquil, @deidrashouseofpain, @firstangeldragonranch, @peach-acid, @allsortsofinterests, @xoxabs88xox, @honeyloverogers, @capsiclesdoll, @qrndevans, @mcueveryday, @drkstrangeson, @bangtan-serendipity, @heyyouwiththeassbutt, @cptn-sgrogers, @heyiamthatbitch, @captainscanadian, @kaithezaftig, @morganhoran1671, @booktease21, @hista-girl, @steeeeverogers, @okilover02, @collete04, @sadella-adams, @rumoured-whispers, @aletteredaffair, @shannon124, @isawritesstories, @knuffeltuff, @wxntersoldiers, @kelbabyblue, @macgruberrr, @troublermalik, @deepmuffinspymaker

notes: i swear if the taglist notification thing doesn’t work this time i will just resort to sending out an email newsletter to yall like i just am so done w tumblr ok. anyways, just wanted to say thank you guys for all the love and support you’ve been giving me for this fic, and tbh if you wanted to give a little extra tonight i’d really appreciate it because i’m having a suuuuper shitty night. :c

** please send an ask if you would like to be added to the taglist!

For the rest of that week, Steve dropped off and picked up Linc from daycare, much to you and your coworkers’ delight. Besides his enthralling looks, he was a genuinely charming and kind person, and it was easy to keep up conversation with him. He did not come past 6 again, but he did generally come at around 5:45 or 5:50, which still had Linc being the only toddler left in the class with you.

You supposed because it was just the two of you there with Linc and no other children for you to watch, it had been a given that there would be more conversation. He did not have to rush to get anywhere and neither did you, and so each day became hanging around slightly more whether it be in the classroom or out on the parking lot, chatting just a bit more than the day before. You would make sure to clean the room before he got there so he could walk you out, and you couldn’t help but wish this could be an everyday routine-- unfortunately, he had told you he would be traveling again just the next week.

You now knew a little more about him, and he about you. He knew you were a college student, a soon-to-be junior, to be exact. He knew you studied psychology and that you eventually wanted to work with children and child development. He knew where you were from, your favorite foods, hobbies, interests-- mainly the basics, really, nothing too deep. He had told you that he was a CEO of a pharmaceutical company and that he grew up in New York. He liked running and exercise in general (of course) and drawing-- he had even shown you a few photos of some sketches he did in his spare time and you were blown away, especially upon a particularly realistic portrait of Linc as an infant. He had told you that he loved seeing the ocean and that he wanted to be able to take Linc to the beach soon, hoping his son would appreciate the water just as much as he did.

When Sunday night came around, you were a little sad knowing that you would not be seeing Steve the next day. You weren’t even sure when he’d be back-- when you had asked, he said that it depended on how long it would take for him to get his current project done. Still, being with Linc throughout the days felt even more special than it did before. Now that you knew he got so many of his traits from his father, you felt more connected to him thanks to the many conversations you had shared with Steve throughout the past week.

You hadn’t expected to hear from Steve while he was gone; he hadn’t even sent you a message ever since he got your number, probably because he hadn’t needed any babysitting during that time. However, when a random number popped up on your lockscreen with a message underneath it at 1:30 AM on Wednesday, your heart skipped a beat simply from seeing the name that came with it.

Hi Y/N. It’s Steve. How are you?

Why were you acting like a girl with her first crush over this? You had been about to go to sleep, figuring you probably should since you had to be up at 8, but now you simply had to reply. You saved his number to your contacts before texting back.

Y/N: Hi Steve! I’m good, what about you? How’s the Philippines?

The screen showed him typing already, and you couldn’t deny you were pleased. The thought of having his full attention made you feel unnecessarily happy, but you also needed to force yourself to stop thinking about it so much.

Steve: Great. The beaches here are beautiful, I think you’d like them too.

He was already typing again and so you waited, biting your lip as you stared at the screen.

Steve: I told Tiana that you were open to babysitting and she wanted me to check with you if Thursday night would work. Maybe from around 6:30-9:30? She has a dinner event for work.

Y/N: Sure, I’m available that night! I’d love to help

Steve: I’ll let her know. Thank you- how much do you charge?

Y/N: Would $15 an hour work?

Steve: $25 it is ;-) Thanks again. Have a good night, Y/N.

You blinked and widened your eyes, wondering if he had made a typo, though the winky face told you otherwise.

Y/N: Wait, you meant 15 right?

You waited a few moments, but unlike before, no typing bubbles appeared.

Y/N: Just to clarify, 15. Just 15! 25 is too much!

Again, no typing bubbles. You stared at the screen in disbelief, though you couldn’t help but smile. Not because of the extra money, but just because of him. This was not good. You could not be catching feelings for Steve, it made absolutely no sense. You still barely knew the guy, and he was a married man, for God’s sake.

Putting your phone on your nightstand, you sighed as you settled into bed, wondering if you should explore dating options within your school-- anything to get your mind off Steve.

Thursday came around faster than you thought it would. Steve had texted you the address the night before, and you were now on your way there from work-- your boss had actually let you leave slightly early for once, and so you figured you’d just show up and wait in your car so Tiana did not feel rushed. She had seemed grateful to you when she had come to pick Linc up-- she had assured you she would have him fed before you got there, so you would only need to bathe him and get him ready for bed.

When you turned down Steve’s road itself, you were already in shock as you stared at the huge houses lining the street. Of course, Steve’s was at the very end and the most grand of them all, extending father both horizontally and vertically looking like a mansion right out of a movie. As you pulled into the long driveway, you noticed three cars-- Steve’s Mercedes, which made sense because he had probably been dropped off to the airport, and two others. One had to be Tiana’s, perhaps the other was another car they both used? To be honest, you were surprised there weren’t even more cars in the driveway, if that was the case.

You parked in a spot that was out of the way of all three cars, not knowing which one Tiana would use-- the driveway was quite roomy, and even if you were on the far side of it, it was probably the most convenient seeing she’d need to get out. You were parked on the other side of a rather large Range Rover, your much smaller car practically hidden behind it. Checking your phone, you saw that it was only 6. Eh, you could probably just go ahead in-- now that you were already in the driveway, it felt weird to simply sit there. You were about to open the car door when you noticed movement coming from one of the home’s large windows. When you looked towards it, your eyes immediately widened.

There stood Tiana and a male who was certainly not Steve, engaged in a rather steamy lip lock as his hands moved over her waist. She was continuously trying to pull back but giggling at the same time, clearly not bothered by the situation, gladly allowing him to keep pulling her back in for more kisses. You froze, staring in shock before making yourself look away, completely in disbelief. She was cheating on Steve? Who the hell could cheat on Steve? The more you thought about it, the more angry you got, but you took a deep breath. It was not your responsibility to be upset with her or lecture her, but you could tell Steve about what you had seen. In fact, you were itching to at that very moment, but the curtains suddenly closed and you were frozen again. Had she seen you? Did she know that you saw her? Did staying in your car look too suspicious, like you were spying? To make it seem like you had just gotten there, you quickly got out of the car, sliding your phone in your pocket. You could tell him after she left.

Trying to act as normal as possible, you walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She answered moments later, a smile on her face as she opened the door, though you could tell she looked a little nervous. “Hi there, Y/N!” You smiled in return as best as you could. “Hi, Tiana. Sorry I’m a little early, I got off work earlier than expected and figured I’d just head here. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she assured, perhaps assuming she was in the clear if you didn’t seem like you knew anything. “Linc actually ended up passing out pretty early tonight, he was exhausted after dinner,” she explained as she let you in, and you couldn’t help but discreetly look around while listening to her; where did the man go? “So you can just sit back and relax-- there’s books in the study if you’re into reading, or the TV has Netflix, Hulu, cable, whatever you wanna watch. Oh, and feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

She showed you around the main parts of the house just so you would know where everything was, and although you were still tense about what you had just witnessed, you couldn’t help but marvel at how luxurious this house was. It did not even seem like a toddler lived there until she showed you the playroom, Linc’s nursery where he was fast asleep, and even his own personal bathroom. She showed you where his diapers and other personal items were in case he were to wake up before bringing you back downstairs. You were still extremely confused on where her little “boyfriend” could be, wondering if he had actually snuck out of the house-- until she called out, “David? Are you still in the study?”

‘Wait, what?’ you thought, now even more shocked than before. She was blatantly admitting to having this man in her home? She looked to you with a smile. “David is one of my associates at work. We were just going over a presentation we have tonight.”

‘Is it a presentation on French kissing?’ you thought to yourself in disbelief, seeing she was clearly trying to make it seem like they were only coworkers. “Ah, I see,” you said politely nonetheless, then looked up as David came into the room, dressed in a suit and tie matching the shade of Tiana’s dress. “Hi. My name’s Y/N,” you introduced yourself, and he shook your hand with a smile. “David. Nice to meet you.”

“Alright, we should get going-- wouldn’t hurt to get there early.” Tiana picked up her purse. “Thank you again, Y/N!” You nodded and waved them off, waiting until they left before letting out an exhale and turning around, making your way to the living room. It was a little disappointing that Linc was sleeping, considering you had been excited to play with him, but at the same time, maybe it was for the best. You wouldn’t be able to have this conversation with Steve if you were bathing a hyper one-year-old. Plopping down on one of the leather couches, you took your phone out and typed a message.

Y/N: Hey Steve, are you busy right now? Think you could call me?

You figured telling him over the phone would be better rather than simply in a text, and besides, you did not exactly want potential screenshot evidence that you were involved in this mess, if it were to somehow come back to bite you in the ass. Your phone dinged a few minutes later and you immediately turned it on silent, even though there was no possible way Linc could hear it all the way from his nursery. The only reason you would even be able to hear him was because of the high tech baby monitor on the TV stand.

Steve: In a meeting right now, so unfortunately I can’t at the moment. Why? Is everything okay?

You couldn’t help but take note that he was texting you despite being in a meeting, but then reminded yourself to stay focused.

Y/N: I saw something and I wanted to talk to you about it. Just call me whenever you’re free? Linc is sleeping so I should be able to answer.

Steve: Sounds good. You’re okay though right?

You hated how nice he was, how thoughtful-- only because it was making you more angry that Tiana would have the nerve to cheat on him.

Y/N: Yes I’m okay it’s not about me or anything. Just call me as soon as you can okay?

Steve: Ok. Talk to you soon.

You started scrolling through Instagram to distract yourself, but you still couldn’t believe it. This probably had to do with what Stephanie had been saying about Steve and Tiana seeming to have an odd relationship based on how they acted with one another; had Tiana really been cheating for that long, though? How could she live with herself? You felt so disgusted with her, getting more and more irritated that she couldn’t appreciate what literally any woman in this universe would-- being married to Steve Rogers.

You realized you weren’t even looking at the photos on Instagram but rather absentmindedly continuing to scroll with your thumb; God knows how many you had missed. Sighing, you swiped out of the app and leaned back on the couch, resting your head back and staring up at the ceiling. What would happen now? Were you about to destroy a marriage? You felt guilty thinking about it that way, but it had to be done, right? It was wrong to withhold such information from Steve, he deserved to know.

Thankfully your phone rang, and you answered it almost immediately, just wanting to get this over with. “Hi, Steve. Thanks for calling me…”

“Of course, Y/N. I have a bit of time before my next meeting. What’s going on? I gotta say, you’re worrying me here…”

You wished you could tell him it was alright, but you really couldn’t, and you felt horrible.

“I, uh-- there’s really no easy way for me to say this Steve, but… um, well, I got to your house a little early,” you finally began, trying not to be so tongue tied. “And I saw Tiana in the window and… w-well… she was kissing another guy.”

There was silence for a few seconds, and your heart was racing. Why were you drowning in anxiety over here? You could only imagine how Steve felt in this moment. Was he just going to hang up on you? Was he going to explode? Was he going to cry? You didn’t know him well enough to know how he would take news like this, and each second was killing you.

“I.. see.” He finally spoke, and you bit your lip, wondering if he was maybe still processing. He sounded strangely emotionless, but perhaps that was how he showed his own disappointment or upset feelings. “I-- uh, wow. Thank you for telling me, Y/N.” You blinked. How was he so composed? Was this what being an adult was about? Maybe he was far too mature for you, because had you been in his shoes, you would have probably been flipping out. “Are you okay?” you somewhat blurted out, wondering if he was maybe just bottling up his feelings. “You.. you can talk to me about it, if you want, I mean I know it’s none of my business and that we barely know each other and that I just take care of your son but-- I, I’m sorry, I just--”

“It’s okay, Y/N,” he cut you off, and you swore that based off the sound of his voice, he was even smiling a little. “I really appreciate it. I think I just need some time to process and think about all of this. I wasn’t really expecting a call like this, you know?” You immediately nodded despite the fact he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, yeah of course. I get it. I-- I guess I’ll let you go, then? Again, I’m sorry, I just thought you should know… it felt wrong if I didn’t tell you.”

“Of course. You did the right thing.” Steve assured you, and you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders-- and then you felt guilty for even having that weight there in the first place. You had no reason to be feeling as if you were the burdened one from this. You wanted to help him as best as you could, but he was right. He needed some time to himself. “I’ll talk to you later, Y/N.”

You said your goodbyes and hung up, a loud sigh escaping your lips. You were still in shock over how… calm he was. Part of you wanted to sneak up to his and Tiana’s room to try and snoop around for more information, but you knew that was going too far. If anything, his maturity about the situation was actually somewhat inspiring, and so you picked up the remote and turned the TV on, telling yourself to stop thinking about it.

[clockworkgraystairs]

Everything I didn’t ask for #1

JURDAN FIGHT CLUB AU

Rated: M 

Warnings: Mentions of sex and alcohol. Drug use and explicit violence in future chapters. 

Cardan Greenbriar wished nothing more than keeping his life simple.

A simple apartment with a simple roommate. A simple family. And a simple job.

A difficult thing to accomplish when his roommate was his exasperating ex-girlfriend, his family was either dead or involved in gang shit and he worked as a barman who generally had to ignore the fucked up things he saw daily.

Little did he know his life could take one more turn.

Chapters: 1   2   3   4   5 [coming soon]

EIDAF Masterlist             General Masterlist             AO3

WEIRD PROPOSITIONS

The annoying noise was back.

With a groan, Cardan rolled over the bed until he could reach his alarm clock and turn it off. A couple of seconds later he opened an eye to check at the time. 

“Shit,” he muttered before throwing the sheets aside and jump off the bed.

In five minutes he was stepping out of the shower, he took the first pair of trousers he saw and walked –nearly ran- to the kitchen, rubbing his still damp hair with a towel.

“Late again, huh?” a mocking voice said from behind.

“Give me a break Nic,” he answered while serving himself a cup of coffee. “I worked late last night.”

His roommate stared at him from the couch, her laptop now forgotten. 

“You work late every night,” she said, her tone was something between worrying and complaining.

“Well, the thing about bars, you know, is that they’re not very profitable during the morning. Real money is on the night shift.” Gods, his head was about to explode, not only he had worked late but also had drank a lot too.

She huffed, getting on her feet.  “Money is not that-“

“Important? For you maybe, but I’m very passionate about not starving to death.“ He could feel her gaze on him as he bottomed his coffee.

“I could tell my mother, you know she-“

“Nicassia, I’m not taking any money from your family so don’t start that again.” He’d said that rougher than he intended. Cardan left the empty mug on the sink, the sound of glass hitting metal echoing through the kitchen. She didn’t answered. A creak of the couch indicating she had sit again.

“Besides,” he turned to face her trying for a nonchalantly way out. “Hot barmans always get better tips.” with that he added a charming smirk.

“Oh my,” Nicassia rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to her computer. “How screwed are you then?”

Cardan gasped indignantly and answered by throwing the wet towel straight to her head.

He had to take the subway. It was faster, but usually crowded and he preferred walking to work when it wasn’t an hour late. Just imagining the extra chores he’ll have to do because of that made him grimace at the window. Hopefully it would not be the restrooms.

~

“Ah, His Majesty finally decided to honor us with his presence!” A red-haired man shouted from a corner table, carrying a trash bag.

“I have to Locke, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to make this place look less shitty, and that’s not good for my sells.”His answer was a very specific finger sign. Cardan only chuckled and grabbed a cloth so he could start up cleaning the mess in front of him.

On any other day, they would have cleaned everything the night before, but the Elfhame was famous enough to be continuously hosting several events of all kinds. Last night’s had been a bachelorette party, and oh those ones always ended up wild. Better said, it was their job to turn them as wild as possible, getting to the point when the maid of honor would stop keeping track of the tab and just ordered more and more drinks.

Not that he was complaining.

At some point of the night, it was late enough that most of their coworkers had gone home. Then there were just three of them. The cashier (whose name Cardan had never heard of, but everyone else called the Roach). He was making sure the girls didn’t break more cups than the minimum allowed and that of course the tab was paid before all of them left. Locke, who had disappeared into the girl’s restroom with two of the bridesmaids and Cardan in the cellar with the pretty bride-to-be kneeling in front of him until he was gasping and grabbing her hair harder.

He was not complaining at all; he could survive some extra work.

“Redbriar, you’re late!” the Roach yelled lifting his head from the registry book.

“Wrong color,” Cardan laughed “C’mon boss don’t tell me you didn’t have fun last night.”

“First of all lad, if I was the boss you wouldn’t see me checking registers, nor dealing with morons.” He marked that last word nodding his head to Locke, then added, “much less babysitting a group of drunk kids trying to balance glasses in her heads.”

“Noted. I’ll tell them to balance your record books instead.”

The look that Roach gave him had the rest of the staff howling.

~

“So…” Locke started, “how are you two dealing with it?” he finished applying his eyeliner and was now staring curiously at Cardan.

“Dealing with what?”

Locke made a face at him and motioned with his hands “You know, the break up thing. You and Nicassia.”

Cardan sighed. He knew what his friend meant, but didn’t really feel like talking about it. Not that Locke cared, apparently. 

“Fine I guess… I´ve been trying to keep some distance, giving us space.” At least what living in the same place could allow. “But also acting like, friendly? I appreciate her Locke, and I don’t want to hurt her, even if I don’t feel that way anymore.” He undid the little bun on his head so his hair fell freely just past his jaw and took the makeup from the sink in front of him. 

It was all part of the show. Elfhame had some sort of fantasy-mystic theme, so they were required to blend with it. Cardan usually mixed the eyeliner with some silver or gold powder either under his eyes or on his cheekbones. That mixed with his ear piercing and the tattooed snake on his arm was the perfect image of the devilish creature the bar tried to sell. 

Not to mention, customers seem to adore it. A flirty wink and his sells doubled.

~

He and Locke were always competing to see who sell more drinks every night, and this one was not the exception. The place was about to burst.

“Tired already?” Cardan shouted over the loud music to his bar mate who had been a while apparently chatting with a client. He straightened up and rushed to his side.

“I got us something good man, something really good,” Locke couldn’t disguise his excitement so badly Cardan could barely understand him. “You see that man over there? The one I was talking to? Well he is throwing a party, but like a big one, the real shit dude and he needs people to attend the bar area. Just look at this!”

He slipped a card into Cardan’s hand. It had a number written. But they could not possibly get paid that much for an event, it was simply illogical. He glanced at the man Locke was talking about. Tall, wearing formal clothes, somewhat older than the usual clients. Dull expression. Not the kind of guy who gives parties at all. He was staring right back.

“Do you even know who is that and what is the party about?” 

“Man who cares, if he’s paying us that much I’m okay with not making any questions” Locke’s eyes were shining with greed. “I thought you needed the money, don’t you?”

Cardan clenched his jaw and did not answer.

Unless he was planning on getting beaten to a pulp by his brother’s goons again, he had to deliver his monthly fee and there were not many days left. He needed the money, a lot. 

But something was odd about that offer, no coherent mind would give them in a night what they usually made in a month. And like it or not, he would find out soon enough where the catch was.

[mazzelloiii]

Cheesy Christmas songs - TGIC gift for @fallingprincess

hi @fallingprincess, i’m your secret santa for the fantastic Thank God It’s Christmas event organized by @dtfrogertaylor ❤️ i hope you have a great day filled with many many amazing things!!!!!!!!!!!

this is your gift, a lil Ben x reader fic i wrote. hope you like it!

title: Cheesy Christmas songs

pairing: Ben Hardy x reader (but the whole borhap squad is in it)

warnings: none, really. (i just wanted to say that english is not my first language, so if there are spelling mistakes or wrong structures or whatever, just let me know)

words count: 2.2k

summary: Since you moved to England, your life has been nothing but work. With Christmas just around the corner, you find yourself hating everything holiday-related because you don’t have anyone to share the magic of Christmas with. Or do you?

Christmas was all around you. Decorations were hanging everywhere you went, people overcrowded the streets with their hands full of bags, still shopping for presents, and you could hear All I want for Christmas is you or Baby it’s could outside in every shop, café, even in your workplace and in your apartment, coming from your neighbours’ place.

It was a downright nightmare.

You hated it, and so you had been in a bad mood since the beginning of December.

To be fair, it wasn’t that you hated Christmas per se.

Actually, you loved it when you had the chance to spend it with your family and go all out, hanging mistletoe everywhere in your house and putting a massive tree up in your living room, drinking hot chocolate and blasting Michael Bublé’s entire discography at all hours of the day. Yes, you were just like all those Christmas-crazed people in the streets you had almost yelled at.

But this year… everything had changed. You had moved to another country, and that meant that you didn’t get to see your family during the holidays, and that already put you in a bad mood. Add to that the fact that even though it was the holidays you were going to work most days, because you needed as much money as possible to pay your rent, and that you hadn’t met more than a couple people since moving, and it all explained why you were acting like the Grinch.

You couldn’t help it, really. You wished you could spend the holidays being carefree and light-hearted, but it was all so much… you felt overwhelmed.

Having responsibilities really sucks, you thought while retrieving your small apartment’s keys from the pocket to open the door.

In that very moment your phone started to ring.

-One moment, just one fucking moment!-you yelled, as if whoever was calling you could hear you.

It probably was an advertisement call, or your boss telling you that you had to cover someone’s shifts.

When you saw the caller ID, your eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Lucy. She was a coworker, a fun girl you really enjoyed talking to in between shifts or during breaks, but you still weren’t so close that you would dare to call her a friend. Even though the relationship you had with her was probably the closest thing to a friendship you had made since moving in that goddamn place called England.

You answered, curious as to why she was calling you. You had never talked on the phone, nor you had exchanged texts.

-y/n! Fucking finally!-she said with a laugh. You could hear other people talking in the background, as well as music. Needless to say-a Christmas song.

-Sorry, I was opening the door…-you replied, a little embarassed.

-Oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry. I was calling to invite you to the fucking-best-Christmas-Eve-party eveeeer!

She had sung the last part, and you heard whoever was with her laughing and mocking her.

-Oh yeah, she’s definitely coming after that stunt-said a deep voice, while another added:-Sorry if I tell you this, Luce, but singing is not your greatest skill.

You thought for a moment. Why was she inviting you? You weren’t even that close… and she was clearly in good company already. Was it out of pity?

-Listen, Lucy, thanks for the offer, really, I appreciate it, but I’m really tired, so I think I’ll just get in bed really early…

She interrupted you mid-speech:-Oh, stop already with that, Grumpy! Come on, you’ll have fun. My friends want to meet girls and at first I got really offended because they have me and don’t appreciate me enough, but then I thought that they would really like my amazing coworker. So just come… please?

Despite everything, you found yourself smiling.

Maybe… it wasn’t a bad idea, after all?

You had just got home from a shift, and your next one was tomorrow afternoon. You had plenty of time to stay home nursing a hangover in case things got a little too crazy at that party… for fuck’s sake, you deserved some fun.

-Yes, Lucy. I’m coming.

-Yesss! I’ll text you the address. Come as soon as you can.

Maybe your Christmas was going to be a little less shitty than you originally thought.

 You got out of the uber, trying to find balance on your heels. You had been trying to find the right outfit for what felt like forever, finally opting for a simple red dress that showed your shoulders, elegant but not too much. Then you had put on a layer of mascara and a coat of lipstick.

You didn’t want to look like you had put too much effort into it, even though it was the first social event you were attending since moving to England.

You approached Lucy’s building and quickly got in, feeling a little nervous as you found the right floor and rang the bell over the tag that said Boynton.

The door opened and you found yourself in front of a guy with blond hair and the most striking blue eyes you had ever seen. He was tall and quite muscular, but he was wearing the most obnoxious Christmas jumper you had ever seen, red and green with little Santas in different positions all over it.

-Nice jumper-you grinned.

He immediately blushed at your words.

-I’m Ben, and I don’t usually wear clothes this ugly, I swear-he said-you must be y/n.

You shook hands and you felt a shiver go through your body at the contact… who knew Lucy had such attractive friends?

When you walked through the door, you were welcomed with the smell of baked cookies and the view of Lucy sprawled across a couch with another guy, plus Ben who had just joined them.

-y/n!-Lucy yelled-come here, join us, I want you to meet everyone!

You sat with them and the guy introduced himself as Rami. He seemed quiet but fun, and he and Lucy were quite the pair, him all silent and her screaming at the top of her lungs.

-Sorry for her, when she drinks she always gets like this…-Rami explained to you with a smile.

-I didn’t drink anything! Stop saying bad things about me, you meanies-she retorted with a pout, then she hugged Rami and put her head on his chest.

Ben gave you a meaningful look and stretched you his hand to take:-Why don’t we go see what Joe and Gwil are doing, y/n?

You took his hand and he led you to the kitchen just around the corner, where two other men seemed busy with a tray of gingerbread. Ben’s hand left yours, and you had to stop yourself from reaching for it again. It had felt so warm…

-y/n, you are here! Come taste our cookies-said the shorter man of the two, who had reddish brown hair, with an American accent.

You felt kinda dizzy for a moment, realizing that in only five minutes you had had more social interactions than you had in months.

You smiled and took a cookie from the tray.

 -These things you baked… what the fuck are them?

Ben’s question caused Gwilym and Joe’s immediate indignation: the tall Welshman you had met in the kitchen flipped him off, while the other man blew him a raspberry.

You just laughed at their shenanigans.

The four of you were sitting on the living room floor, on the carpet right next to the Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate and eating gingerbread cookies. Rami and Lucy were on the couch engulfed in each other’s arms, their eyes closed but not quite asleep yet.

-Really, were they supposed to be gingerbread men? This one I’m eating looks more like a rugby ball.

-Shut up. y/n likes them. Don’t you, y/n?

You nodded exaggeratedly at Joe’s question.

-Yes. They are perfect. Don’t listen to this one, he’s just mean-you said, gesturing to the blond man sitting right next to you.

At your words, Ben’s mouth gaped.

-Et tu, Brute?

You shrugged and showed him your tongue.

-I thought you were on my side-he pouted.

-Aw, but I am, you poor thing-you replied sarcastically, but you couldn’t help but smile at his petulant expression.

-Doesn’t seem like it.

You comforted him with a caress to his shoulder, and out of the corner of your eye you saw Gwilym and Joe exchanging a glance and smirking.

You felt your face heat up.

Was it that obvious that you were really flirting with him? But most importantly, was he flirting back?

-So, are they… a thing?-you said out of the blue pointing to Lucy and Rami, trying to divert the general attention from you and Ben.

-Not officially. They are making us suffer so much, for fuck’s sake. It’s so obvious that they are into each other, but first there’s Lucy coming to us worried that Rami doesn’t like her back, then Rami calls me and says he’s sure Lucy doesn’t like him like that. It’s like being back in middle school, Christ-Gwilym answered, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

-And you, y/n? Do you have someone special, a boyfriend, girlfriend?-Ben asked you nonchalantly.

-Oh, no. I moved here just a few months ago… I barely have any time to eat or sleep, left alone to find a boyfriend-you said, a little embarassed.

-And no one’s tried to make a move on you? Wow.

You didn’t know what to answer to that, so you just chuckled lightly. So he was flirting back with you.

-Ben, why don’t you show y/n the balcony? Gwil and I will go make some other cookies, since you ate all of them-Joe said, getting up and heading to the kitchen with the other man.

-Shall we go?-Ben asked you, extending you his hand.

You took a deep breath and took it, nodding.

 -Pretty, isn’t it?-Ben asked you.

You were on the small balcony of Lucy’s house, looking down at the park just across from it.

-I mean, it’s not the greatest view, but it’s really rare to find a house with a balcony in London-he added right after.

You nodded and leaned against the white wall next to you, closing your eyes and enjoying the cold air of the night against your face.

Then you let it all go.

-Tonight seems so crazy to me. I hadn’t been around people like this in so much time… I only worked and studied, and barely took care of myself. Hanging with you guys made me realize that this is all real… I really moved and my life is continuously changing every day. And I’m so fucking terrified.

He turned and looked at you, but remained silent.

-This is all such a cliché-you laughed then. The whole situation seemed absurd.

He looked startled at you.

-What is?

-Everything. Me, my life right now, you flirting with me and taking me out to show me the balcony… I thought you would use a better excuse to get me alone, to be honest.

He snorted at your words.

-This was all Joe’s doing, actually. He tries to be a good wingman, but I would do much better on my own. Is it working, by the way?

-What?

-Me flirting with you.

You felt butterflies fluttering in your stomach but tried to hide it with a snarky smirk.

-Oh… I’ll have to think about it. Try harder, maybe?

He rolled his eyes, then his face became serious and he took your hand into his gently, giving you time and space to retract it if you wanted. You didn’t.

-And about what you said… I get it. Moving away from home is scary and hard, and you are a hero for enduring it all on your own for so much time. But you don’t have to figure it all out alone. We are all ready to help you if you want. Lucy, Rami, Joe, Gwil and me, of course. I can be your friend, before we try to be anything else, if you want to.

-Wow, I… Thank you.

You were at a loss of words, and you could feel your eyes welling up with tears. Don’t cry, don’t fucking cry now, you told yourself.

You hadn’t realized how difficult it all had become to do everything on your own and not have anyone to share your daily life with, and now you were feeling all the weight you hadn’t even known was on your shoulders leaving you, and the sense of relief was amazing. You didn’t have to do it all alone. Thanks God.

Before you could say anything else you felt loud cheers coming from inside the house, and then someone put on Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas is you.

Ugh, cheesy Christmas songs. Maybe you could start to like them again, after all.

-Looks like it’s midnight. Merry Christmas, y/n.

You smiled at Ben. Then you did something that surprised even yourself: you got closer to him, so close that you could feel his breath on your face, and gently put your lips against his.

He immediately responded to the kiss, putting his hands on your middle.

It was quick and sweet, just a brush of lips against lips.

When you pulled away, you both had your cheeks red.

-Merry Christmas, Ben-you whispered.

Maybe your holidays weren’t going to be as bad as you originally thought.

[kaguraspetsims]

Alright it’s story time!! I’m going to put this under a read more since it is both long and unrelated to FR!!

ALRIGHT so, I don’t know how many of you know/recall my situation so I’ll give like a short background.

My dad is emotionally abusive. He has been this way for the 25 years I have been alive and walking this earth. He is controlling, manipulative, and terrible.

Last year I started working at GameStop. I made very good friends while I was there. My former boss, after learning about my dad and his awful behavior, offered to let me and my dog move in with her and her two dogs. Over the year I worked at GS, I had been moving things into her home with the expectation I was finally going to get out. I was so very happy that she was so incredibly understanding of my situation.

Skip to February. (This is where things start to get a little more complicated btw.) I meet a very very kind dude. He came into the store, I mistook him for one of my coworkers. He stayed in our store for 4 hours! I later learned that night after we closed (from the very coworker I mistook him for lol) that when I had left the room during his visit, he had asked my coworker if I was single.

He was super nice, so I thought “eh, why not exchange numbers next time he’s in?”

So I did. We talked for about a week.

On February 25th, this amazing dude asked me out! (For the record, I totally accepted <3)

That same day, though, I learned that my store was closing.

A week or so after learning of the store closure and preparing said store for closing sales, I learned that BOTH of my bosses had fevers. (This is around the time that the pandemic was starting to finally be taken seriously, but not very many symptoms were well known.)

I go home and let it slip that they had fevers.

My dad fucking throws a fit. He tells me I am no longer allowed to work there. If I tried to go, he’d take the car from me (the car I assumed was in his name). If I still refused to stay home, he’d call the cops on me.

Keep in mind, he’s fuckign screaming this. Like, legitimately screaming. My mom tells him to back the fuck off, and he starts screaming at her too. My brother comes up from the basement to tell him to chill the fuck out. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, he screamed at my brother too.

So this is happening, I’ve been told I’m not allowed to leave the room. So I break down.I absolutely lose my shit. Not only am I sobbing, I am screaming back for everyone to stop. I have frozen up into a literal ball.

My mom takes me upstairs, where I let everything out and call my boss (the one who had said I could move in with her). I tell her I can no longer come in, I explain the threats he’s made and the situation I was just put in.

I’m met with basically total silence. The only things I hear are “I just don’t know what to say” in an obviously irritated tone.

After apologizing profusely, I finally hang up and break down again. Not even 5 minutes later, she begins to text me. When I explain I cannot make it in because of the threats, I receive this:

“Thanks for making a shitty situation even worse.”

By the time I’ve gotten this, it’s 2 in the morning.

I’ve been keeping my sissy and my boyfriend in the loop about it all. I discord call my boyfriend, who (through irritated cursing at my boss) asks if he can some get me.

I accept his offer, and I stay at his apartment for 2 days straight.

The day after this all goes down, I start receiving calls from the regional manager, who tells me that he needs my keys for the store because no one is available to open it.

My boss was sick. The assistant manager was sick.

They were told to quarantine.

I was literally the only other person who was able to open the store.

So the regional comes and gets my keys after I explain to him (vaguely) what had been happening in the past 7 hours.

While staying at my boyfriend’s apartment, I talked to his sister-in-law about the whole issue with my dad and boss.  Turns out, her mother was very very much like my father.

When I finally left on the second day, she told my boyfriend that, if I so desired, I would be more than welcome to live with them. He immediately told me about this, and I decided I would accept it.

Told my dad I was going to live with him because I couldn’t stand the screaming fits anymore. He took it way better than I had expected, although he did the whole “I’m sorry you feel that way” bullshit.

The next day I took some clothes, my switch, and my iPad and started living with my boyfriend, his brother, and his sister-in-law.

And honestly? My mental health within the past 3 months has absolutely skyrocketed!! I have been so much happier, I’ve been told I don’t apologize as much, and I’ve just really been able to come out of my shell!

We will (hopefully) finally be going to my former boss’s home tomorrow to pick up the things I had brought to her place over the past year. Aside from trying to plan days during which I could get my stuff, she has refused to speak with me.

But other than that, I can’t say very many negative things about the past few months. Even with the quarantine, my new job has been considered “essential,” so I’ve been able to keep busy. My boyfriend has been one of the single most encouraging people in my life in just these short 3 months that I’ve known him. I’ll brag more about him in another post though ;)

[artificialqueens]

Laws of Motion / Chapter 2 (Trixya) - DenDenMonMon

A/N: Confession time: So just like Contact at Katya’s place, you can always find Brooklyn Nine Nine playing at all times around my house. While binge watching that show and UNHhhh simultaneously, is that this idea came to mind. I pictured the Ru girls taking part in the b99 universe and everything made so much sense to me. The idea was to write a funny story, it is based on one of the smartest comedy shows currently on air, after all, but, yeah, my writing is too angsty, too dark, too loaded with emotions like to write something light and easy going like the show. And well, let’s see how this turns out.

AO3 Link

Chapter 2 - Red.

“Will you fuck off? But, like, all the way off?”

Trixie’s head snapped up to the sound of the familiar laughter following those words. She heard it for the first time two nights prior, and it hadn’t left her mind throughout the weekend. There were many things that were imprinted into her brain that Friday night; a pair of tattooed arms, a set of hot lips, a wet tongue, but, most importantly, a wheezing laughter.

As she had expected, the girl she took home from the club walked into the bullpen, disposable coffee cup in hand, and the woman she was hugging the other night right by her side.

“But think about it,” the redhead said, mouthfuls of muffin interrupting her speech. “It makes so much sense. Unless you are doing it naked, you are never really done with laundry.”

The blonde doubled over in laughter, her unnaturally bright teeth at full display. Her red shirt had just the right amount of buttons opened to show her breasts as she tried to control her breathing. Trixie didn’t even notice how she was biting her own bottom lip to the sight of the cleavage. She was too busy absorbing every move of the beautiful woman to realize what her own body was doing. Memories of what it had been like to have those smiling lips kissing her all over cluttered her mind; until she was burst out of her bubble by her new boss.

“Trixie, you can come in now.”

Katya’s laughter stopped at once. That name was rather uncommon, she had only heard it once before in her life. The odds of the life size Barbie doll, that she had fucked a few days before, being there in the same precinct, were slim to none. Yet, there she was. The girl from the bar was walking inside the office across the room as Captain Charles closed the door behind them.

She could still see them through the window. She could see how Captain Charles calmly moved his lips, clearly explaining something in his very professional way; but then he started laughing out loud. His bald head was thrown forward, dangerously close to the desk in front of him, and his glasses caught the reflection of the light above them. Seeing him laugh like that had a feeling invading Katya that she couldn’t really decipher. She was not sure if it was the fact that she had made it her mission to make the captain laugh at least once a day since years ago, or the fact that she hadn’t been able to fully get to know Trixie’s sense of humor. She only got the Depressed Malibu Barbie version, after all. Instead of dwelling on the feeling, she decided to go back to work. Filing reports took forever but she had to do it at some point.

Trixie was not sure how long she spent in the boss’ office but, when she walked out, she couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself. All the paperwork needed for her transfer was taken care of, the results of her many exams had been reviewed, and RuPaul Charles, the eminence himself, had congratulated her for such amazing work. He then walked her to the adjacent room, promising a proper presentation to the squad at the midmorning briefing, which was about to start.

She walked behind him, entering the already filled room, feeling like the new kid in school. Luckily, there was an empty chair next to the door, and she took it in a swift motion. She sat behind the long table and didn’t even dare to look back, nervous to make eye contact with any of her new coworkers.

The person next to her nudged her slightly. She turned around to see a girl with a big smile, the gesture looked sincere. “Hey, Jush!” She said in a shout. Trixie flinched a little, since everybody else in the room was chatting quietly. “I’m Jasmine.” The short bob bounced around her face as she laughed for no apparent reason. “You are gonna love it here,” she promised. “We always have so much fun.” Once more her laughter sounded loudly but, above that, it sounded welcoming. “What’s your name, Jush?”

“Guys, gather ‘round.” The voice of the captain interrupted them. Everybody went quiet and all eyes were set to the front. “Welcome to one more day in the job. It’s not an easy task, but the streets of Los Angeles are a much safer place because of you guys, so… thank you.”

He spoke with such an ease, his few sentences were delivered in a way that made Trixie believe that their job actually meant something bigger, something much more important than just cliché paperwork. She listened to the tall man, dressed in a colorful suit, as he kept reminding them just how valuable they were for the city, for him, and for each other.

“Now, remember, this town deserves nothing but the very best, that’s why, even when we are sad to see one of our brightest detectives go…” His hand pointed somewhere at the back of the room. “That also means that we are welcoming a new member of our family. Please, give a warm welcome to Detective Trixie Mattel! Come on up, darling.”

With dull claps heard from behind her, Trixie got up, walked the short distance, and stood next to the head of the squad. In a lame afterthought, she waved her hand slowly, as a pageant girl would do to the panel of judges.

Capt. Charles laughed at the action before continuing. “Detective Mattel comes from a precinct not far from here, and will take Ginger’s place as Katya’s new partner.”

Trixie’s eyes widened when she realized exactly who that was. The odds of the mysterious foreign girl, that she had fucked a few days before, being her new partner, were slim to none. Yet, there she was.

She must have done something extremely horrible in her previous life to deserve this, because there was no other valid reason for her luck to be so shitty. She always did things right, followed the rules, and went by the book. Yet, life had a thing for her. She just wanted to catch a break, a change of air. That was the reason why she had applied for the transfer. As much as she liked her previous precinct, it had started to become too small for her. She needed more, she needed something bigger. And she had gotten it.

That Friday night was supposed to be a celebration for her accomplishments, but her friends had bailed on her, her boyfriend had decided to end things, and she had slept with a woman for the first time in her life.

In that moment, she wished to come back to her old life, the one she had been fed up with the week before and now longed for. She wanted to get to work where nothing really happened, help kids find their bikes, and file reports about loaves of bread being stolen from the neighborhood’s grocery store. At some point it had been monotonous, it had been lineal, it had been boring. And one night had changed it all. Her entire world had been turned upside down, and not in the way she had expected. She spent her weekend crying, yearning for what she had lost, and craving for something that had been hers only for a couple of hours but felt like a part of her already.

When Kim asked her if she was still crying over her boyfriend, Trixie lied and said yes. Her roommate found it strange, since they weren’t particularly head over heels for each other, but didn’t ask any further. The answer made enough sense to pass as a half true. The reality was completely different. Those two days had been flooded with images of red lips and red nails, trailing her body and melting her to the bone. Her ears could hear nothing but soft moans and sensual whispers of Russian words.

She had dreams about her. Sometimes Trixie would catch herself daydreaming, other times the blonde woman found her way into her subconscious as she slept. The scenarios were endless. They would run into each other early in the morning, impatiently waiting in line for their first taste of coffee of the day. Trixie pictured them back at the club where they met, she would sit at the same stool and the woman would reach the bar and request a drink. It didn’t matter where it started, the fantasy always ended back in her room, with the air filled with panting and screams of utter pleasure. Reality would also find the same recurrent outlet, which involved her own hand inside her underwear.

Trixie never in her life had doubted her sexuality, she was straight. She liked men, a lot. She liked how they were simple creatures, with needs she could easily fulfill. Her type was very clear. The men she dated were slightly unkempt, they had beards and hairy backs. Her sexual compass had no apparent motive to be directed to the soft touch, the delicate pale skin, the long blonde hair of a random woman she had met at a club.

That same woman was now in front of her, fully aware of the discomfort she was causing her. There was no way Trixie could look at anything that wasn’t her. The color that had been haunting her dreams for two nights in a row, shone bright from across the room.

The girl in the red shirt bit her lip, trying to stop a smile from taking over her face unsuccessfully. “Oh, I get the pretty one. Sorry, Minj, I don’t know you anymore.” The girl stood up, bowing her head slightly. “My name is Yekaterina Pretovna Zamolodchikova, but you can call me… Katya,” she said in a rush, heavy tints of her accent lacing her speech. “And it’s going to be, oh, such a pleasure to have you as my partner.” The side smile didn’t go unnoticed by Trixie.

Her body weight shifted from one leg to the other, finally linking the face with the name she wished she had been able to scream as she came.

“You know,” Captain Charles spoke directly to Trixie. “Detective Zamo has the highest number of arrests in the precinct and, as far as I know, you had the highest in yours, didn’t you?”

Before she could even reply, Katya spoke again. “Oh, you are on, bitch!”

“We are on the same team,” Trixie reminded her, her hands going up in the air with disbelief, and making the room burst out laughing.

The captain smiled widely. “Ah, I can already tell you are going to make a fabulous team. Trixie, welcome to the family, and we take that term very seriously around here, it’s something that we don’t take for granted. From this moment on, you belong to a family of badass bitches!” That alone elicited a round of cheers and applause. He waited a moment before motioning for everyone to be quiet again. “Okay, I’m gonna let Sergeant Haylock to take over now.” He moved towards the door, and stopped right before exiting the room. “Oh, just one more thing… don’t fuck it up!”

And with that he was gone.

Trixie started to believe that what Jasmine told her was right. She could sense the light atmosphere of the place already creeping into her as she walked back to her seat. Sure, there was the crippling fear of facing her new partner, but everybody else seemed nice. She loved how nobody seemed afraid of cursing, not even The Boss, because her big mouth had gotten her in more than a few problems in her previous workplace. She could only hope that this sudden change of scenery actually meant a good thing for her, that all the rough changes thrown at her, out of nowhere, had come for a reason.

“Alright, you useless cunts!” The raspy voice, a complete contrast from the soothing tone of Captain Charles, brought her out of the conjuring of her possible future. “One of the bastards you failed to catch is out at it… again!” The sergeant placed his forearms on the little podium for support. “This one’s on you, Zamo.”

He pressed a few buttons on a remote control while Katya protested. Trixie took the cap off her loyal pink pen and pressed it against the glittery notebook, writing down the date at the top right corner. If the sergeant had addressed the case as Katya’s, it meant it was now hers as well.

When she looked up, the screen behind the man had illuminated, and the images that it was showing were disturbing to say the least.

“Oh, my God. The Puppeteer!” Katya said with something that sounded a lot like excitement. “He’s back!”

Trixie had to look at the screen with side eyes.

How could Katya be so ecstatic about the gruesome death of a young woman?

It looked like the girl had been sitting at her dining table; a kitchen could be seen at the back of the picture. She had her arms bent in the air, pulled up by strings attached to her hands, elbows and shoulders. Trixie right away understood the nickname given to the killer. The beautiful brunette, that couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, had her makeup done to resemble a marionette. Even though her head hung low, her eyes were opened, permanently staring blankly to the middle of nowhere. A pool of blood surrounded her feet, it was so big that it even went underneath the table. There were no apparent exit wounds, so there was no clear source for all the blood, but the amount seemed enough to determine the girl had bled to death right there on the spot.

Trixie wrote all her observations down, and made mental notes about things that needed to be clarified. For example, the picture didn’t cover the ceiling, and she needed to know where the wires were hanging from.

And all of these observations, she made them in less than a second, her trained eye was always ready to catch the smallest of details.

“Yes, it’s your damn puppeteer,” Sergeant Haylock repeated after Katya. “Care to fill us in on the case?”

Katya stood up happily. “Oh, yes, Gawd,” she agreed with a loud click of her tongue.

This was a case she had been working on for a year. Katya was sure she knew the man behind the attacks better than she knew herself. The only problem was, she couldn’t find him. It was the only unsolved case she had ever had. It had nagged at the back of her head for months, then the killings had stopped and she hit a dead end. Until now.

She reached the podium and right away called everybody’s attention. No words had left her mouth yet, but the shift in the room was evident. The vibe wasn’t solemn and inspirational, nor was it crude and sarcastic, like there had been with the men that came before her. People paid attention, took notes, respected what she had to say.

“Okay, listen up. This man is a psycho, a freak, and not the fun type that I like. He gets off by killing pretty looking girls, painting them, and hooking strings to their limbs. So far he had only attacked sex workers. Girls with no family, with nobody to file a missing person report, with hooker friends who are too scared to even talk to the police. His M.O. has been the same for months. Roy?”

She looked at the sergeant who simply nodded his head, confirming it hadn’t changed.

“This a dangerous, sick man who does not belong in the streets.” She made a dramatic pause, allowing her words to sink in. “The Minj and I will give you all the info that we have so you can keep your eyes and ears open. We can use all the help that we can get.”

The clear of a throat made her look to the back of the room. “Don’t you mean Mattel?” Ginger corrected her. “Today is my last day, darling.”

Katya quickly looked at Trixie. Her new partner. The girl was hanging to her every word. The pen in her hand had been writing non stop since Katya started her speech. The corner of her eye had registered that, even when her conscious self had deliberately ignored her. It was too much to take, she reasoned with herself. The girl was way too pretty and it was better to advert her attention from the voluptuous body. The formal wear seemed to hug her magnificent figure. She wondered if Trixie felt uncomfortable in the tight clothes. Katya did in her own, but she was nothing but skin, muscles and bones, unlike Trixie, who was all curves and flesh and just the right amount of fat settled in all the right places.

“Right.” She shook herself out of her dangerously sexy observations. “Right, right. You are right. Sorry. Tri… Detective Mattel and I will send you the profile later this afternoon.”

Instructions were given for the day, patrols assigned, cases were reviewed, and the meeting was over.

Trixie stood up, ready to leave, when Jasmine grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, Trix. I’ll show you around.”

Jasmine did just that. Never letting go of her arm, the lean woman dragged her around the place, showing her pretty much every room on every floor. After letting her know about the good bathrooms, they reached the interrogation rooms. Jasmine made a specific point about Katya preferring the last one on the left, since the air conditioner hit differently in that room, and how she constantly suffered from the heat. Jasmine said it with a laugh, as if it were a joke, but Trixie was trying to gather as much information as she could about her new partner.

In the course of half an hour, they had seen the most important parts of the building, or at least the ones Trixie was going to need. She had also heard more names that she was going to be able to recall, that was for sure. It was going to take some time but she was going to adapt, she had to. There was no other option.

They reached the bullpen again and Trixie was shown to her desk. It felt weird to sit behind it, Ginger’s stuff were still occupying the space. It didn’t feel like hers yet, but it was going to be.

She looked around the place, her new home. If things were any similar to her previous precinct, she was going to spend more time here, swamped with paperwork, than her actual apartment.

Her eyes immediately found Katya, chatting in the break room. Trixie didn’t miss the chance, she needed to talk to her before all the formalities were set into play. They had a lot of work to do and it was better to get everything out in the open. When she reached the door, determined to call her attention, she suddenly froze. Katya sat with her legs thrown over the armrest of a chair, the confined pencil skirt hugging her every curve in the uncomfortable position. A can of Redbull hung from her hand. She talked with such intensity that the girl sitting with her could do nothing but focus her sole attention on her.

“Oh, bitch,” Katya said effusively. “She sent me a good morning text, a fucking good morning text!” She slapped the arm of the girl beside her, emphasizing her words. “It gave me a boner.”

The other girl laughed with her head thrown back. “How would you know? Your dick is probably so small you can’t even find it.”

Katya’s mouth opened in mocked shock. “If you must know, you fucking cunt, even when being hypo– no, especially because it is hypothetical, my ding dong is huge, huge! It even glows in the dark.” She nodded approvingly of her own words.

“Really? And what color is this huge penis of yours?”

She pretended to give it a little bit of thinking, before pointing at the girl with her index finger. “Remind me, what’s the name of your mom’s lipstick again?”

Both girls laughed, and Trixie decided that would be a good time as any to interrupt. She cleared her throat, loud enough to make them look at her.

“Katya, can I talk to you?” This was the first time Trixie actually pronounced the name, and she was extra aware of the way it rolled from her lips, the way it made her tongue hit her front teeth. She liked it.

The girl looked at her, a knowingly smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Trixie nervously looked between Katya and the other girl, who pretended to ignore them, picking at the ends of her hair.

“Alone?”

It took her a moment to react but, once she did, Katya easily swung her legs towards the back of the chair, going all the way around before finding the ground.

“Please, excuse us, Violet, my dear,” she said with an accent that was probably meant to be British. She then turned to Trixie, addressing her in her regular tone. “Come.”

Trixie moved by her side as they walked in uncomfortable silence. Or at least it felt uncomfortable to her, because Katya seemed pretty chilled. Her fingertips glided against the walls, humming a tune that Trixie had never heard before. Those were halls that she hadn’t seen with Jasmine, so she tried to pay attention to the path they walked, counting the turns they took, trying to get familiar with her surroundings, anything that could distract her from the heat exuding Katya and tickling her own skin.

Katya suddenly stopped in front of a door, took the door knob in her hand but didn’t twist it. She turned to look at Trixie instead. “Okay, now, you are about to enter my secret place. I shouldn’t even be sharing it with you. Nobody knows that I come here every now and then for… for different reasons, but this is like my safe place, so don’t tell anybody.” Her index finger pointed straight to her face. Trixie couldn’t do anything but promise she wouldn’t.

Once the door opened, shelves filled with boxes were revealed. There was a small table in the middle covered with dust. The place seemed to be untouched. The spiderwebs between the boxes told her nobody had moved them in a long time. The room was large but seemed to reduce in size with so many files spread everywhere. Against the back wall Trixie spotted a folding bed, it had messy sheets on top, as if someone had recently slept there and didn’t bother to make the bed. Next to it, on top of a pile of boxes, there was an ashtray and several candy wrappers. Trixie could see her there, she could very clearly picture Katya breaking her head over a case, not wanting to go home and going to that room instead. She could see her smoking in there, even when she shouldn’t be doing it, and popping candies into her mouth as she tried to connect the clues to make sense.

“This is the cold cases room,” Katya explained. “Nobody really comes here because, you know, the cases are cold. Duh.”

When she didn’t get a response from Trixie, she turned back around to face her. Her eyes were glued to the bedroom-like area she had set for herself a long time ago. She didn’t need to explain, she knew that Trixie understood why her stuff was there. And she wondered if Trixie had a similar place at her old building.

“So you wanted to talk.” Katya’s words came out in the form of a question, reminding Trixie why they were there in the first place.

She directed her stare to Katya again, meeting her eyes probably for the first time in the entire day. “Oh. Yeah, umm…”

“Is this about that night? About you being drunk?” Katya suddenly asked in a rush. The thought had crossed her mind throughout the day. Usually, she didn’t care much about a hookup the next morning but, yet again, she never had to see them again. And Trixie was there, big and expecting eyes looking right at her. “I asked you if you were okay, if you wanted to, and you said yes–”

Trixie lifted her hand to stop her. “No! I wasn’t that drunk. I, umm, it’s not that… not at all.”

“Oh, then what is it? If you are scared that I will tell anybody, you can be sure that’s not going to happen. I promise I won’t tell anybody.” She tried to make things easier for Trixie when she noticed her fumbling with her words, but she was not prepared for what she said next.

“You left.”

The words dropped from her lips with such hurt, with such emotion that they shook Katya to the very core.

“You didn’t really expect me–” Katya tried to reason but was interrupted.

“You said you were gonna stay the night. You promised.”

Katya raised an eyebrow, unsure of where all of that was coming from, or going to. “Well, technically, I didn’t,” she said softly, trying to make her understand. “Trixie, really, it’s no big deal. I get it. It was just sex.”

Her eyes grew wide open in shock, making Katya regret her words as soon as she said them.

“So that was it? That’s all it was for you? Just sex that happened because we had both been drinking?”

“I hadn’t…” Katya stopped herself before finishing her sentence, there was no point in explaining how she hadn’t tasted a drop of alcohol in years, and she surely wasn’t drunk that night. The girl seemed so wrapped up in her own feelings, a state Katya was more than familiar with, that no reasoning was probably going to get through her head. Instead she tried something different. “Look, alright, okay, listen. We don’t have to make this awkward, okay? You have had, umm, one night stands or, like, fuck buddies before, I presume. If you think about it, it doesn’t change things if we don’t want to. I mean, we are working together. We can make it, like, not awkward, right?”

Trixie looked at her for a moment too long, Katya could feel the brown eyes going across her face. Probably trying to read her the same way she was doing. But then Trixie nodded her head, as if reality had finally dawned on her. For a moment, Katya felt relief, she had gotten her point across. Or at least that was what she thought, until an air of determination filled Trixie’s features.

“Right. Okay. Have it your way.”

She turned around and walked away, her high heels resounding loudly through the empty hallways. Katya brought her hands up to her face, an exasperated grunt coming out from the back of her throat.

Then it hit her. She ran to the door, trying to see if she could still catch her. “Hey!” She screamed after her. “You need to help me get the boxes with the case!” She waited a few seconds but got response. “Yep. She’s not coming back. Okay, great.”

[reddielibrary]

Secret Santa: Mary | @allahlav

Gift for: Ray | @ethereal-eddie

Special Message: hope this fic is everything you hoped it would be! i had so much fun writing it! <3 happy holidays!

Word count: 2,762

Eddie had never really liked Christmas, all things considered. The decorations were annoying, the music was dull and repetitive, peppermint was gross, and the concept of Santa just seemed creepy. The Christmas of his childhood wasn’t the commercial, happy one that was constantly shoved in his face nowadays, either, filled more with awkward silence and advent candles.

Beverly and Ben’s annual Christmas party got bigger and bigger every year, and by the time they were well into two years of marriage and owned their own apartment, it was less of a casual affair between their small group of friends and more of a legitimate, adult house party, complete with their coworkers, extended family, and hors d'oeuvres. They had a real Christmas tree! And lights were strung up around the house and on the lamppost in front of the house, like they were in one of the movies they used to mock and take a shot every time something cliche happened on screen.

Back when Christmas hadn’t been so bad, when the six of them were in college and the party was just them, several bottles of alcohol, and shitty made-for-tv Christmas movies, Eddie had almost looked forward to this night.

Eddie looked wistfully over at Stanley and Mike, who were pouring drinks into clear glasses, not red solo cups like they once had. “I at least had hope that you’d be just as miserable as me.”

Stan, who was wearing a sweater that read ‘HAPPY HANUKKAH YA FILTHY SCHMUCK’ over a pristine white collared shirt, shrugged and passed his boyfriend a glass. “It’s fun.”

“I think Bev is starting to call it a non-denominational-holiday party,” Mike chimed in, looking pointedly out the door of the kitchen where the hustle and bustle of the party was. “But that might’ve been to piss off her ‘put the Christ back in Christmas’ boss.”

Speaking of, Eddie needed to call his mother. Sonia Kasprak was probably wasting away sitting by her phone, waiting for her son to call and wish her a merry Christmas Eve. Eddie’s face must have shown some sign, as Stan reaches over to pat his back. “Don’t think too hard about it, Eddie. Just drink and have fun.”

The pair left the kitchen after that, into the party that Eddie felt worse about attending by the second.

Eddie followed, unsure of what else he could do, awkwardly waving a hand or muttering hello to those he recognized and some he didn’t, towards the couches where those he really knew were sitting.

On the couches, Bill and Ben were talking animatedly to each other, probably about some building Ben is designing or an article that Bill has had published. Next to them were Audra and Beverly, looking lovingly at their husbands over glasses of wine. A familiar figure was splayed across the armchair, one long leg tossed over the arm and the other up on the coffee table, a Santa hat pulled over most of his face. Eddie knew who it was immediately, the curly black hair splayed underneath the Santa hat and trashy converse dead giveaways.

Eddie doesn’t know Richie Tozier, per se. Eddie knows him just about as well as Eddie knows the Queen of England, or Jake Gyllenhaal. That was to say, Eddie knew very little about Richie Tozier and also knew a great deal — like his curly hair and crooked teeth are immensely charming — but doesn’t know how he takes his coffee or if he has any opinions on Olympic figure skating. Eddie didn’t even know how Beverly and Ben knew Richie, only that he started showing up around their house a year ago and never really left.

“Hey Richie,” said Stan, leaning over and flicking the white ball at the end of the hat. Eddie took a long drink of whatever Mike had made him (thankfully no peppermint), looking at Richie as the man in question tugged the hat off his head and shoved his glasses back onto his face.

“Stan my man! I didn’t know the party had arrived.” Richie threw a careless arm up into the air, almost smacking Ben’s mother in the face. “L’Chaim!”

Stan and Mike sat on the floor between the couch and the armchair, leaving Eddie hovering awkwardly. Richie exchanged pleasantries with Mike and Stan briefly, before looking to Eddie. “Spaghetti! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!” Richie swung his arm out again in an attempt to grab Eddie, but was too far away and nearly slipped out of the chair.

Eddie racked his memory to remember the last time he saw Richie. They’d only met a handful of times, the most recent being Richie passed out on the Hanscom’s couch, only awoken to Eddie dropping off some paperwork for Beverly. (They hadn’t said much to each other. Richie said that Bev and Ben weren’t home. Eddie gave Richie the paperwork and told him to have Bev call him. Richie, still slightly drunk from the previous night, had dropped all the paper on the table and fallen back asleep)

“It’s Eddie,” he said, choosing not to think about how little he really knew about Richie outside of all the times they’d run into each other in varying states of drunkness. They shared a long, lingering look before Eddie turned away, back towards the kitchen and far away from romantic holiday air of the living room.

-

The tiny balcony outside of Ben and Beverly’s apartment was cold, but at least it was absent of Christmas cheer. Snow was falling over the city of New York, lightly and not even enough to stick on the ledge, but it was a nice distraction.

The door behind him could be heard sliding open and closed, All I Want For Christmas Is You becoming louder for a few moments before quieting again. “I think I’m going to leave soon,” Eddie starts, looking over his shoulder expecting to see Bev, or Mike. He doesn’t expect to see Richie Tozier looking at him with a cocky smirk.

“Mariah Carey not your style?” Richie sat down in the metal chair next to Eddie, kicking his feet up against the brick ledge.

“Christmas music, in general, isn’t my style.”

Richie looks aghast. “At all? No Frosty the Snowman or Blue Christmas?”

“No.” Eddie forces his gaze away from Richie, who is being swallowed by a green army coat that he wasn’t wearing earlier. At least the Santa hat is gone. If Eddie closed his eyes and forced his brain away from this stupid balcony, he could almost pretend he was at home by himself and it wasn’t Christmas eve anymore.

“What about How The Grinch Stole Christmas? You’re acting a lot like him.” Eddie rolled his eyes and kicked at one of the legs of the chair Richie was on. “Oh, come on. There’s gotta be a Christmas song you like.”

Eddie gave Richie a flat look. “Why are you out here?”

Shrugging, Richie glances over at him. Blue eyes meet Eddie’s brown ones. “Cause I feel like it. Why do you hate me?”

The question is abrupt, making Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up. He sputters a little, then, “I don’t hate you.”

“You act like you do.”

“I don’t know you!”

Richie sits up and leans over the ledge, looking down at the empty street below them. He doesn’t sound angry, or upset. Just curious. “I’d like you to know me.”

Eddie feels the urge to kick his chair again. “I still don’t understand why you’re out here.”

Throwing his hands up again, Richie looks over at him. There’s a smile on his face. “That’s what someone who hates me would say!”

“You’re impossible.”

“Come on, ask me anything.”

Quiet befalls them. Eddie isn’t sure what to say. After a few minutes pass, neither of them moving to further the conversation (Eddie too nervous, Richie seemingly content to sit in uncomfortable silence), Eddie stands. “Well, I’m going to leave now.”

Richie stands too. “I’ll walk with you.” His smile lights up the dimly lit balcony. “We’re going to be friends even if I die trying, Spaghetti.”

-

Eddie very quickly learns that Richie talks endlessly. That’s not so much a surprise, they’ve met on multiple occasions, after all, but he hadn’t been expecting this. Incessant babble and chatter. As soon as they’re out of the building Richie launches into the story of the time he met a magician in the park around the corner, or when he got food poisoning from the Thai restaurant a few blocks over. Eddie isn’t bothered so much. It’s a nice distraction.

Every once in a while Richie reaches up and shakes the snow out of his curly hair. Eddie isn’t ashamed to admit that it's cute.

“So,” Richie starts after he finishes explaining his brief stint as his high school football team’s quarterback, “thought of a Christmas song you like yet?”

“Surprisingly, no.” Eddie kicks a chunk of snow across the sidewalk and into the road, watching as it breaks into pieces. “No such exist.”

Richie steps in front of Eddie, stopping both of them in their tracks. Richie takes advantage of their height difference and grabs Eddie by the shoulders, shaking him. “Edward Joseph Kasprak—”

“Not my middle name.”

“—I swear to God by the end of the night, not only will we be very best friends, you will like a Christmas song.”

Eddie wiggled himself free and stepped around Richie. “Whatever you say. Say, how do you take your coffee?”

Turns out Richie Tozier takes his coffee with extensive cream and sugar. The twenty-four-hour coffee shop is luckily open, but Eddie and Richie are the only customers at ten pm on Christmas Eve. They leave quickly after they get their drinks, not wanting to bother the poor teenage girl behind the counter who looked ready to commit second-degree murder when they walked in.

“Do you have any opinions on Olympic figure skating?” asks Eddie, once Richie has fallen back into step with him after holding the door open.

Richie doesn’t hesitate to answer. “I have a framed photo of Tonya Harding.” Eddie snorts into his coffee. Richie continues, “okay, maybe not, but I do love that woman.”

They sit on a bench and drink their coffee, Richie naming as many Christmas songs as he can find.

“Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?”

“It’s not.”

“Last Christmas?”

“It’s basically every other breakup song, why does it have to be Christmas themed?”

“Dominic The Donkey?”

Eddie rolled his eyes as he took a long sip.

“Jingle Bells? Sleigh Ride?”

“Sleigh bells are tacky.”

“Silver Bells.”

“Blegh. Reminds me of my mother.”

“Baby It’s cold outside.”

“Rape-y.”

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”

Pause. Eddie thinks for a moment. Then, “don’t know it.”

Richie, who had been scrolling through a list on his phone, honest to God, throws the damn thing. Eddie jumps at the sound of the phone hitting the concrete, his fingers tightening around the paper cup. “Jesus Christ, why did you do that?”

Richie walks over to grab it from where it landed by a trash can. The screen doesn’t appear any more cracked than it had been, which was to say, it was cracked quite a bit, but Richie doesn’t seem so bothered. Instead, he sits back on the bench, closer to Eddie than he was previously. “I can’t believe you don’t know this one.” He hums a high and sweet tune, looking expectantly at Eddie.

Shrugging his shoulders, Eddie leans his head back to look towards the sky so his face won’t be so close to Richie’s.

“We are listening to this right the fuck now.”

Eddie could feel Richie’s breath on his neck, and his arm on his back where it rested on the back of the bench. Snowflakes landed on his face, the warm flush of his cheeks causing them to melt immediately. Eddie wondered if Richie was having the same hyper-awareness.

Apparently not, as the song in question started to play once Richie pulled it up on his phone, tinny and small through the speakers.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light, next year all our troubles will be out of sight. Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yuletide gay. Next year all our troubles will be miles away.

Eddie finally looked back down at Richie, who was humming along. His glasses were foggy.

“I like it,” said Eddie, looking away and focusing on the music. It was sweet. Wasn’t commercialized or overdone or extraordinary. Eddie could close his eyes and imagine himself wrapped up in a blanket by the fire, Richie beside him telling him stories, this song playing on a record far away.

Jesus, Richie was turning him soft. They hadn’t even really been friends two hours ago. Now, Eddie felt like he knew more about Richie than any other person he’d met. He knew about the route Richie takes to work, how he met Beverly on the long train ride, and his two cats (“Thor and Loki, cutest cats in the world. Don’t tell Loki he’s adopted, though.”). Minute details, like Richie’s habit of tugging on the curls that hang around the right side of his face, or that his phone password was 742443, but he messes it up a lot.

“You’ve officially accomplished one of your goals tonight,” Eddie whispered once the song was over and Richie was shoving his phone into his coat pocket.

“What, are we not best friends yet?”

Eddie hums.

“There will be a quiz at the end of the night, Edward. You better hit the books.” Richie jumps as Eddie hits his arm. “Not what I meant.”

As he goes to stand, Eddie extends his hand. “We’re almost to my apartment. And it’s almost midnight, which means that it’s almost Christmas.”

Richie’s eyebrows raise and he doesn’t comment right away. Instead, he slides his cold fingers into Eddie’s and follows his lead. He waits until after they’ve turned the corner to say, “why do you hate Christmas so much?”

Thinking, Eddie tries to keep himself grounded by focusing on Richie’s hand, its warmth slowly starting to spread from where they connect and through Eddie’s body. “The Christmas of my childhood was always just my mother shoving religion down my throat. In high school and college it always seemed so lonely, the one time of the year where everyone was busy doing things with their family, so I was stuck with my mother. It’s just never felt like the good thing that everyone chopped it up to be.” It hadn’t always been so bad. After college, there were some Christmases where Eddie and his friends sat on the floor of empty apartments and ate shitty Chinese food, playing drinking games to Hallmark Christmas movies and exchanging homemade gifts because they were fresh out of school and too poor to buy anything. “Some were okay,” Eddie finished, sniffing awkwardly.

Richie nodded understandably, and didn’t push any further. “At least now you’ve got Judy Garland and me to put up with on Christmas.”

Eddie could feel his cheeks turning pink. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

They were quiet until they reached the building, then stood outside the building, looking up at it with their hands still clasped. Richie glanced at his phone, then looked over at Eddie. The snow stopped falling not too long ago, but Richie still runs his hand nervously through his hair, shaking away the snow that isn’t there.

Richie speaks first. “I’ll see you later, right?”

Eddie turns to face him, unable to hide the smile anymore. “We’re best friends, of course you will.”

Richie sets a hand on Eddie’s shoulder, shaking him lightly. “You get out of the quiz this time, Kaspbrak.” They share a long look, one of many throughout the night. Eddie nudges his way closer until they’re pressed flush against each other, only their bulky coats between them. They meet halfway, Eddie pushing up on his toes and Richie leaning down, their lips pressing together. It’s chaste, but warm and soft and perfect.

They pull away, with quiet promises to talk later. Richie kisses him once more, a bit more desperate this time, then stalks off in the other direction, yelling something about Eddie receiving a passing grade. Eddie really can’t keep the smile off his face this time, and wonders why they hadn’t been doing that all these months.

Once inside the building, in the lobby decked out in holiday decorations, Eddie thinks that maybe Christmas isn’t as bad as he thought.

[sunnyizms]

good boss or bad boss | vlog

"alright, here's the story for today," sunny said as she walked out of her office and into the sales floor. "you all know my lovely friend hannah, say hi hannah," she said, pointing the camera to hannah.

hannah laughed. "hi. why do you pick the weirdest times to vlog?"

"because they're more entertaining this way. anyways," sunny said as she turned the camera back around. "you all know hannah. you all know her little girl gracie. you all know that gracie has an array of health issues," she said as she walked around the store. "so, all of the employees i have that are parents, are single parents. they all have their own story, i make up their schedules based around their life, not around mind. a lot of employers don't do what i do for their staff. i come in every single day for at least long enough to get the system up and running and to officially open the store. i always have at least two employees other than myself to work --- and the reason i do that is because if one of my employees is in a jam, i can help without having to leave the store unprepared. so, normally if a parent can't find a sitter for their kid, they have to call in, right? they can't leave their kid home alone, can't take them to work --- and i understand at certain jobs it's a safety hazard to have a child at the location. hear me out here, i'm not calling anybody out in this video, i'm just ranting about how much respect i have for my employees that are parents because they show up to work even under the worst circumstances."

sunny walked over to a craft table where gracie was sitting in her wheelchair, coloring a picture. "hey beautiful, what are you doing?" she asked as she kissed gracie's head.

"coloring a unicorn for you," gracie said.

"for me? i love unicorns. when it's all done come find me and we'll hang it up in my office, okay?"

"okay. are you video-ing?"

"yeah, i'm recording for my vlog. you wanna say hi?"

"not today."

"not today. maybe next time. you keep coloring, give yourself all the marker tattoos you want no matter what mommy says, you're in my house today. i love you."

"love you, aunt sunny."

sunny giggled and started walking around again. "the markers are washable and non-toxic, by the way," she said to the camera. "anyways... so, hannah had some issues trying to get a last minute sitter so she could come in for her shift today. as you can see, she wasn't able to find someone, so she brought gracie with her, we got her all set up at an activity table, and she's just having the time of her life coloring unicorns for her favorite aunt sunny," she said with a smile. "another reason i always make sure i have two people scheduled other than myself is in case one of my employees needs a babysitter. i don't clock in and out when i come to work because i'm on salary, so whether i come to work or not, i get paid either way. i try not to take too much advantage of that, but everyone needs a break sometimes. so, anyways. if an employee says they can't make it because they don't have a sitter and they don't want to bring their kids with them for some reason, say their kid's a baby and there's no way to keep them entertained in a sports store --- gracie is six years old and she can entertain herself with literally anything, but we always have coloring books and crayons and markers for her here because there are a lot of times where she has to come in with hannah. so, if a parent needs a sitter but their kid's too young to come to the store for an entire shift, i personally go to their house and stay with their kids until they come home --- what the fuck is this," she said, brows furrowed as she picked up a goo-covered ball. "oh my god, i hate these things --- you guys know those stress balls that have like, slime inside and they're covered in a net? that's what this disgusting thing is that was sitting on my shelf here," she said, showing the camera. "and now we have a huge ass mess that someone made because these things don't just pop on their own, so whoever you were, thanks a lot for that, it's gonna be fun cleaning this up," she said. "anyways. so, a lot of people tell me i'm too lenient with my employees because i let them call in when they need to, and sometimes it's a lot --- but we all have shitty times, and sometimes those times last a while. if my employees are doing their job and showing up on time when they're able to get to work, i don't really care when they need to take a day off. it's rare that i have more than one person call in a week, and that's usually hannah because miss gracie has a lot of doctor's appointments --- but hannah also comes in to take over the shift of someone that covered for her, so my employees get all of the hours they're supposed to get in one way or another, whether or not they have to work on a day i scheduled them to be off, but i try my best to cover those absenses myself so my employees don't have to do that because as the store manager, it's my responsibility to make sure those shifts are covered, it's not up to someone that's supposed to have a day off. i'm rarely ever too busy to come in, and if i am busy, i just finish up what i'm doing and i get here as soon as i can," sunny said as she made her way to the front and threw the ball in the trash can. "i'll be in my office, page me if you need me," she said.

"will do," hannah said.

sunny walked back into her office and closed the door, sitting in her chair and placing the camera on her desk. "i normally love my job --- i'm a tomboy, i love sports, i've been skateboarding my entire life, so this skate shop is really special to me. then there are the days i really hate my job because sometimes, shit just goes wrong and there's nothing i can do about it. i had to fire an employee because she was either calling in all the time or she was never on time, and when she was here, she didn't really ever do her job except checking out customers. someone told me i was too hard on her and i shouldn't have fired her, but listen guys --- if you have a job, you need to be doing everything that job entails. if you're only doing one thing out of a list of many, you're not really doing your job, you're only doing part of it. and that's really fucking frustrating to your boss and to your coworkers. my employees are supposed to check people out, stock the shelves, and make sure the sales floor is clean --- that's all i ask of them, i do everything else myself because i like things done a certain way. if they're only checking people out and they aren't getting products up on the shelves and making sure things are picked up, they aren't doing their job. i always have a main cashier, who does most of the checking out and keeping behind the registers neat and organized, and then i have my backup cashier, who just jumps on a register if the main register's line is too long, and then they're the ones that focuses more on totes and cleaning. whoever's on register one just helps get totes unpacked and a little cleaning, and register two just helps out with checking people out. they both have the same amount of work to do, i'm not asking them to go above and beyond and make everything perfect, i just want them to do what i ask them to do. the girl i fired didn't give two shits. she was always late, she just stood behind the register, couldn't even be bothered to clean up behind the register, so everything was up to my backup cashier, who had to do everything herself besides checking out the customers. i'm a really lenient boss if you're doing your work. if not, then you're not worth my time or payroll."

sunny sighed, spinning around in her chair for a few seconds. "alright. i guess this is it for right now. i was planning on this vlog being an all day thing, but i don't have time for that today, and hannah's got a line, so i'm gonna go jump on the register and help her out. there's a link to the skate shop's website in my description, you should check that out because we're having a sale this coming weekend. all water gear is 40% off, and if you spend a total of $50, you get 20% off of your total purchase. that's in the store and on the website, so grab that stuff up now while you can. there are also a few links of some charities that i like to donate to when i'm able to, so you should check those out as well, and as always, i'm gonna link the gofundme page i set up for hannah to pay for gracie's medical expenses because it's a struggle for any parent and there's a link to hannah's mommy blog that's all about gracie so if you wanna read up a little on her, you should check that out because there's lots of relatable posts in general and in parenthood. oh! and check out chris dawson, i'll put a link in the description box to him and his band page and his band mates, and i'm gonna try to get their concert dates and i'll post them in my next video and on twitter or instagram. i'll have the next video up in a couple of days, until then, remember to love hard and hate less and as always, all of my videos are dedicated to lord tubbington because he's high maintenance," sunny said before ending the video.

[justpeachyshua]

part time

pairing: joshua x female reader characters: joshua hong, kwon soonyoung rating/warnings: teen+ for language; no warnings au: convenience store workers, college/university word count: 4,549 summary: “Working at a convenience store is about as easy a job as you can get. People come in and out, stopping on their way to bigger and better things, getting gas or food. Never did I think that working at a job like this could be remotely fun. Not until I began working alongside a guy so gentle, thoughtful, and oh so gorgeous. The only thing is, I don’t know his name.” 

note: hey guys!! this is my first one shot and svt fic in general, so i hope you enjoy it! i am fairly new to the fic community on tumblr, though i’ve had my ao3 account for a while and i’ve been working on a the boyz chat fic on there. i decided that i wanted to try to open up a tumblr dedicated to one shots and shorter fics and other things about my faves, so here it is! just about everything i post here will be on my ao3, but i might include some bonuses or extras here. anyways, on to the fic! 

Locking my phone and tossing it onto my bed, I let out a groan at the realization that this night would truly be one of the most boring nights of my life.

“I need you and the new guy to watch the store tonight. I’ve gotta take my son to the orthodontist at 5 and I don’t think I’ll be back in time to close the store. It’ll just be a few hours so I hope you guys don’t burn the place down.”

While in the middle of an intense Mario Kart race with my roommate, Soonyoung, I received that text from my boss and almost immediately wanted to fling my body into the sun. After quickly collecting myself and sending a polite yet casual response saying that of course I’d look after the store and of course I’d try to stay out of the break room and of course I’d be sure to card anyone looking to buy liquor and just about every precaution I could imagine, I settled back into my spot on the floor.

“Work?” My roommate muttered, eyes unmoving from the TV.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “He wants me to come in tonight because his son has an appointment. I guess we have to cancel movie night.”

“This is the third night you’ve cancelled though!” He set the controller down after finishing in 8th place. “Can he get off your ass? I swear you’re always out working.”

“Well, I mean, if it wasn’t clear from the fact that our fridge contains only juice boxes, milk, leftover pizza, and half a container of butter, we need money.”

He chuckled, turning the Wii and TV off. “Fine, fine, go. But bring me back some ice cream, kay?”

“I’m not gonna steal from the store just so you can have some mint chocolate chip ice cream.” I checked my phone and saw that it was already 4:30, then grabbed my coat and headed for the door. “Nice try, though.”

Soonyoung called out to me, stopping me before I left. “Wait! You gotta promise me you’ll actually talk to that guy today, okay? It’s been weeks.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, sure. I’ll try. Just go back to playing Mario Kart and let me go to work.”

As I made my usual trek to the bus stop headed for the store, I thought about Soonyoung’s words. There was, indeed, a new guy at the store and a fairly cute one at that. He had joined as the only other employee just a few weeks ago and was still a bit inexperienced and shy. He never spoke much in the store other than simple greetings and questions like “Have you stocked the chips yet?” and “Do you have the key to the cigarette case?” Still, he was definitely a nice guy. Whenever he could, he did a little extra cleaning and always made sure that his area of the store was completely organized before clocking out.

Even though we’d been coworkers for a while, we still hadn’t properly introduced ourselves to each other, partially because the store was so hectic the day he joined, what with our boss’s wife going into labor with their second kid that day and leaving the store in our hands for the first time. Since then, there just hadn’t been a good enough moment to ask without it being awkward. I liked to speculate what his name could be, especially when I brought the subject up with Soonyoung. While I thought he looked more like a Tae, Soonyoung stood by his belief that he was a Jae, especially after getting to see him in person while visiting me at work.

“Even if he isn’t a Jae, I’m telling you he’s a J guy,” Soonyoung stated with confidence and a mouthful of cookie when we got home that day. “I can feel it in my bones. Like a sixth sense or something.”

“I think that’s a sugar high, Soonyoung.”

Whether or not Soonyoung’s “sixth sense” was anything to go off of or not, I did feel the urge to finally start talking to this kid. Surely Soonyoung was tired of hearing me talk about how this guy was “pretty cute” and nothing much else so, if not for my sake then for his, I decided I would learn more about this kid. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that I had to prove to Soonyoung that I was right about his name and it most definitely had nothing to do with the fact that any moment in the store not spent lazily milling around was spent staring and daydreaming about him. Absolutely not.

The bus ride to the store took only about 25 minutes, so I entered with a couple of minutes to spare which I used to scan for the best spots I could stock while avoiding the most customers later on. Mr. Han, the boss of the store, interrupted my search, telling me to put my vest on so he could go. I heeded his words and headed to the back of the shop where we kept employee goods like an old TV and DVD player and a couple snacks. The new guy was already there, sliding his own vest on and staring down at his phone. Without a word, I grabbed my vest and quickly went back out with the new guy trailing behind me.

“Alright kids, you pretty much already know how to run the store. I won’t be back for the rest of the night, but be sure to lock up before 10:00. I don’t want to keep you guys here for too long on a Saturday night and there shouldn’t be too many customers anyways.”

We nodded along.

“Well, I’m off. Good luck and make wise choices!” He waved goodbye as he let the glass door shut behind him, the sound of the chimes above trailing off as well. Almost immediately, we went to our usual posts - me by the register and him milling about the aisles. We were completely silent for the most part. We stayed to ourselves, like usual, letting customers flow in and out every few minutes and attending to them as necessary. The store wasn’t particularly busy, though we were kept working long enough that we still hadn’t found the time to say a single word to each other by the time the clock struck 6:10, about an hour later.

I swiped the credit card of the last customer in line and handed him his bag of snacks. As he walked away, I was worried that another customer might enter and delay mine and the new guy’s introductions - maybe even causing me to lose the opportunity altogether - but no one came in. The store was quiet for a minute or two then. Awkwardly quiet.

With nothing to do, I realized I had my chance to talk. “So… what’s up?” I clumsily sat on the wooden stool behind me. Smooth...

I watched as the new guy paced around, poking at the shelves of ramen and mac and cheese. His long sleeve shirt wasn’t quite his size, so his sleeves came up to his palms as he extended his hands to the various boxes thoughtlessly. It was honestly pretty charming. “Not much. Missing out on a couple boring documentaries at home, but otherwise not a whole lot.” He picked a box up, shifting it around. “You?”

“Well, I could be with my roommate watching shitty horror movies and playing video games, but instead I’m here watching the store with some guy.”

With a box of Kraft in hand, he clutched his chest. “Just some guy? I’ll have you know I have a name.”

I smiled at his attempt at humor so early into the conversation. “I’m sure you do. But do you even know mine?” He looked down at the Kraft box as though it would give him the answer. “Ah, so you don’t.”

“I mean, neither of us has really asked,” he pointed out.

“Fair. Well, guy, I’m Y/N.” I stuck my hand out across the counter, which he strided over to in order to complete the handshake.

“Well, Y/N, I’m--”

“Mommy, can I get the Oreos?!” We both turned our heads towards the door which had just begun to chime at the entrance of new customers - those customers being a couple and their daughter. The mom looked stressed, the daughter hyperactive, and the dad fairly indifferent.

The mom grabbed the daughter’s arm, leading her away from the snacks aisle. “No, sweetie, we’re only going to be here for a short time, okay?” The little girl huffed and continued to tug at her mom’s arm.

The dad approached me and calmly asked where the bathroom was. I pointed him past the ice cream refrigerator and he briskly walked away. I made eye contact with the new guy once he left and shrugged my shoulders before walking around the counter to “inspect” some of the bottles of nonprescription medicine. Soon enough, the little girl was making another fuss, this time stamping her feet on the ground as she begged her mom for the Oreos. Among the loud shouts from the girl and the sound of little boots hitting the floor, the mom was clearly trying to quiet her down. This quickly proved to be unsuccessful when the loud thud of a large box falling resounded throughout the store, immediately followed by the sound of small items scattering across the floor. I rushed over to the aisle the two were walking through and noticed the jumbo box of cereal spilling out and the mother holding her daughter up off the floor.

“I am so so sorry! I was trying to take her away from this aisle and she pulled the box down. Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, I’ll clean it up.” The mother began to profusely apologize, her daughter sitting in her arms looking passive.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it.” I politely smiled, already reaching for the broom and dustpan in the corner of the store and beginning to sweep up the colorful pieces of cereal. “It was cheap anyways,” I reassured her.

She ran her free hand through her hair in frustration and took out her wallet. “I’ll pay for it up front, I promise. I feel so bad for making you sweep this up.” She rushed to the front counter and the new guy quickly met her there, ringing up the price of the cereal and accepting her payment. As I finished sweeping up and hid the cereal box where I could find it later and reminded myself to check the seals on the other boxes, I watched him carefully count out change for the mom. His hands lingered over the tray in the register and delicately picked out the appropriate coins before he handed them to her, letting them fall from his fingers.

He walked around the counter and plucked a lollipop from a display we had set up, bending down and handing it to the little girl. She immediately quieted and a grin spread across her face. “I know it’s not Oreos, but, in my opinion, they’re just as good,” he smiled. He looked up at the mom standing beside her. “Ah, don’t worry. These things have basically no added sugar in them, they’re as clean as you can get them.”

The mom gave a tired smile. “Thank you so, so much. Again, I’m sorry for causing you two any trouble.”

“It’s no problem at all!” He beamed. He looked down at the little girl again. “Now, make sure you thank your mom for letting you keep the lollipop, okay?”

The little girl nodded enthusiastically in response and her father finally returned from the restroom and thanked us. As they left the store, the girl turned back and waved. “Bye bye, pretty man!”

I scoffed as I tried to hold in my laughter and I could see the new guy’s eyes widen in shock, caught off guard by the innocent compliment. I walked back over to the counter and perched myself onto the stool again. “I hope you know those things are packed full of sugar and preservatives.”

He sighed while he watched the chimes above the door slow to a halt. “I know. I just told her that so she wouldn’t get too upset over the lollipop. It’s pretty clear that girl wasn’t going to stop without getting some kind of candy.” He rused.

My eyes traveled over to the chimes as well. When they finally fell back into place, I looked back at him. “I see you’re good with kids.”

“I guess I am. I mean, back home I used to babysit the neighborhood kids a lot so I guess I just got used to being around children.”

“And where’s back home?” I inquired, leaning my elbows on my knees.

“Los Angeles. Cali boy in the flesh,” he gestured over himself.

“L.A., huh? That’s kinda fancy.” I looked him up and down. “I mean, now that I really take a look at you, I can totally see it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean the carefully-messy hair, the ripped jeans, the sun-tanned skin, just the way you talk - it’s sooo ‘Cali.’” I put air quotes around the word, mocking his use of it.

He stood up straight, making himself just taller than me when sitting on the stool. “You know, I bet you’ve never even been to California.”

I sat in thought for a second before hopping off the stool. “Hmm, you’re right. I haven’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how L.A. boys act. I’ve done plenty of research.” I wandered the store again, eyes traveling over various sweets.

“Research?”

“You know, movies, shows, dumb YouTubers with cult followings, good sources,” I joked.

He chortled. “Oh, please. I promise I’m not like that.”

“Mmhmm, we’ll see. Next time I see you, you’ll have dropped a diss track on Soundcloud and I’ll have to pretend like I don’t know you, right?” I called back at him as I pulled a bag of cookies off the shelf for myself.

“Yup, and it’ll be entirely about you. I’ll be dropping hot bars on how the girl at the convenience store’s been taking shots at me,” he played along.

“See, the sad part is I can totally see you doing that.” I walked back towards him, opening the bag and pulling a chocolate chip cookie out. “Want one?”

He nodded, taking the cookie out of my hand and making me realize just how cold my hands were in comparison to his which were incredibly warm. I don’t know what I was expecting, but the warmth of his hands seemed right considering how warm he looked. A warm sweater, warm brown eyes, warm laughter, warm smile on warm pink lips. His lips, when I looked at them closely, were really endearing, curling up at the corners like a kitten’s. Seconds passed and I realized I had been staring for far longer than acceptable.

Looking away, I stuttered, “So, uh, what do you do? Besides work here, I mean.”

“Well, I go to university, study, and attend parties I shouldn’t really go to.”

“You local?”

“Actually, I go to Korea University.”

“Are you a genius? How the hell did you manage to get into KU?” I gaped.

He shrugged. “Just worked hard to get where I wanted, I guess.”

“Are you in any clubs or anything?”

“Hmm, not really, but I play music with friends every now and then. Nothing serious, just casual gigs at house parties.”

“What do you play?”

He hesitated quickly before settling on his answer. “Just guitar.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Just guitar? I doubt that.”

“I sing too, sometimes.” I began to speak when he interjected, “I’m not gonna sing now, though. Not happening.”

I snickered. “I wasn’t going to ask that, actually. I was gonna ask if you’d take me to one of those house parties. For the experience, you know.”

He looked taken aback by my question and took a moment to think before responding, “I’ll consider. I don’t even have a way to reach you, though.”

“Is this you asking for my number?” I joked.

“Is this you suggesting that you’d give it to me?”

I looked up at him, seeing his eyes move around the room in what seemed to be nervousness. They landed on me for a moment and I swore I saw a hint of uncertainty in his look.

“Are you flirting with me right now?” I stepped closer to him.

“I-”

The light sound of the storefront chimes sounded again. My eyes cast down and I took a step back. I could vaguely hear him mumble a frustrated “Again?” under his breath before he stepped out from behind the counter, changing face to become the polite store employee he normally was. I turned to see who was entering the store and saw a group of about seven teenagers flooding in through the door. I sighed and took my spot behind the register, disappointed at the lost moment.

The kids wandered about the store in their little group and chattered to themselves. After a couple seconds, I pulled my phone out and began scrolling through Twitter to pass the time. Soon enough, someone was standing in front of me and I looked up to see one of the kids, a girl with clearly bleached hair.

“How can I help you?”

“Can I get a pack of Marlboro Silvers?” She asked, looking me in the eyes.

I furrowed my brow. She was clearly a high schooler, probably not older than a junior. “I’ll need to see some ID.” She swiftly pulled a card out from her pocket and handed it to me. Upon close inspection, I saw a small corner of the card peeling up. I ran my finger over it and put two and two together: it was a fake ID, and a poorly made one at that. I quirked an eyebrow and slid the card over to her. “I can’t get that for you.”

“I think you should take a better look at it.”

“You should get a more convincing ID before you suggest that.”

She huffed and angrily took the card back. I rolled my eyes as she walked back to the group, shaking her head. Mr. Han had advised us to ID everyone but I didn’t think anyone would actually try to buy cigs illegally. It just seemed dumb, walking up to a store clerk as if you aren’t obviously an acne-sprouting teenager and trying to convince them that you’re a legal adult. But then again, people do dumb things to get what they want all the time.

I looked around the store. In the corner, the kids were looking through various refrigerators, picking out sodas and ice creams. Just a few feet away, the new guy stood, wiping down some of the refrigerator doors that didn’t need wiping down. I could tell he was just giving himself something to do while those kids were around, not wanting to particularly interact with them. I almost wanted to laugh at how obviously he was wasting time, doing such a useless task. To be fair, I did it all the time, but I noticed he was especially distracted as he looked back at me every now and then.

In the midst of watching him move the towel over the same spot for the tenth time, he whipped his head and shouted. “Hey, what are you doing?!” I jumped, thinking he was talking to me, before I realized he was looking directly at the group of kids. From where I was standing, I could see one of them was carefully putting something into her backpack and I realized it was a large bottle of, presumably, alcohol. As soon as they heard the new guy’s exclamation, they bolted for the door and, by the time I could even process what was happening, he was already chasing them out of the store. I rushed out to see where they had gone, but all I saw was the guy, about five yards away, hunched over and out of breath. Scanning the area, I concluded that the kids were already long gone.

“You okay?” I called out to him.

He turned around, continuing to huff. He seemed like he was going to have an asthma attack at any second, so I jogged over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. Upon contact, he stood back up and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“They ran,” I said awkwardly.

“I know.” He shook his head. “If I was just a little faster, maybe I could’ve stopped them.”

“I mean, at least they’re gone now,” I offered. I motioned for him to follow me back into the store. “I’ll pay for the drink, it’s no big deal. How much was it?”

“Fifteen, I think. I don’t know, I’m just disappointed that I let them go like that.”

“It’s not your fault,” I insisted, dropping a ten and a five in the register. “They’re just a bunch of hoodlums.”

He chuckled. “Hoodlums. Haven’t heard that one used since the 20s.”

“It’s just what they are, man. Kids these days have no respect!” I exclaimed, pointing a finger in the air.

Laughing, he said, “We’re only, like, a couple of years older than them.”

I lowered my finger. “Still, I don’t associate with them.” He only continued to laugh and soon I was smiling and giggling too. His amusement was just so infectious and I couldn’t hold back. At some point in his laughing fit he let out a loud snort and I knew at that moment that I was way too enamored with him.

After calming down and catching my breath I picked my phone up once again, unlocking to check for any notifications. My eyes lit up as soon as they landed on the first notification, reading:

“Hey! We just got out of the appointment. Sorry it took so long, he ended up getting his braces put on today. You guys should probably go ahead and lock the store up now that it’s getting late. Hope you guys held the fort down well. See you Monday.”

I looked up at the time displayed at the top of my screen, seeing that it was already 9:46.

“What?” The guy asked, noticing my eyes glued to my phone. “What’s up?”

“Mr. Han said we can lock up and head home now,” I explained, shoving my phone into my back pocket and making a beeline for the break room and shrugging my vest off. “God, I am so ready to get back to wasting time at home.”

He, too, came to the back of the store with me, taking his uniform off and gathering his belongings. “What, did you not like hanging out with me for the last four and a half hours?”

I smiled to myself as I grabbed my bag. “No, quite the opposite actually.” I turned back to face him. “I had a pretty good time.”

“I had a good time, too.” He paused for a few seconds, remaining looking at me. He cleared his throat. “Let’s head to the bus stop.”

“You ride the bus, too? I always see you walking the opposite direction.”

“I thought I’d speed up the ride home,” he excused. I squinted, not totally convinced, but let it slide anyways.

We walked side by side in silence until we reached the bus stop, only a few blocks away. We stood there for a while, a foot apart, comfortable. I looked up at him and saw him staring into space, lost in thought. I tapped his shoulder. He looked at me with wide, curious eyes. “Hmm?”

“Earlier, before those kids came in, I asked if you were flirting with me. What was your answer going to be?”

“Ah, that.” He looked away sheepishly. “What would you do if I was?”

I paused to consider my response. “I think I would like it.” He turned back to me, shocked. “And I would probably flirt back and ask if you wanna hang out someplace other than a dingy convenience store.”

He nodded, looking away again. “Nice, nice. Well now I know for future reference.” I smiled at his awkwardness. “I’ll be sure to let you know if I’m ever flirting with you. So you know, of course.”

The bus pulled up a few moments later, signalling the end of this long night. I began to walk towards the bus, but he, for the first time in the past four and a half hours, wasn’t trailing behind me. “You coming?”

“Oh. Uh, I don’t actually ride the bus home. I only live a couple of minutes away, but maybe I wanted to walk you to the stop and talk for a couple of minutes more. Potentially. Hypothetically.”

“Then thanks. Hypothetically.” My grin stayed glued to my face as he ran through his explanation. I knew the bus would be leaving in only a few seconds more, so I had to turn and step on, but I didn’t want to leave this guy at all. Reluctantly, I started to take the first few steps on board. I turned back at the last second. “Wait, you never got to tell me your name.”

“It’s Joshua! Josh, for short, whatever works for you.” That kitten-like curl of his lip happened again and I wanted to melt. Joshua, of course. I don’t know how I could’ve expected his name to be anything else. It was sweet, gentle, and charming. It fit him perfectly.

“Well, Josh, I’ll see you Monday.” I waved while the bus door closed behind me and I made my way to an empty seat, sure that he was waving back at me. I thought about his earlier words - his semi-confession - and I could tell my face was heating up. It was almost childlike, the way I was getting so flustered. I sent a quick text to Soonyoung a few minutes before my arrival at the stop.

“Hey Soonyoung, I’m almost home. Go ahead and start making some ramen so we can pick a movie as soon as I’m in”

He responded within seconds.

“Lol you got it.”

I hesitated before sending another message.

“Oh and Soon? I learned his name today”

“It's Joshua”

The next couple of messages were sent in quick succession, each one in all caps and containing a variety of keyboard smashes, including one very long “I TOLD YOU SOOOOLKHJLKGDJHLK.” I chuckled to myself and shut my phone off, putting it away in my bag. The rest of the ride was short and sweet as I reminisced on the events that had unfolded. The spilled cereal, the little girl, the lollipop, the cigarettes, the alcohol, the flirting, the laughter - it all felt like a dream. The night was so simultaneously long and quick and all the best parts consisted of interactions with him - Josh. It felt odd knowing his name finally, but I never wanted that name to leave my mind. I wanted to remember it for as long as I could.