#we can adjust times and stuff going forward if things don't work but lets give it a shot!

[justabigassnerd]

Driving Lessons

Pairing - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x daughter!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Word count - 2,650

Warnings - probably the worst descriptions of driving lessons ever (I don't know how to drive), Jake's a wee bit mean, angst, fluff

Summary - Jake finally allows you to learn how to drive, however, he's a pretty bad teacher so perhaps Bradley could help

A/N - whoop whoop new Hangman Junior fic time! it's only taken me so long to get a new fic out (which I'm so sorry about it's like every time I go to write in the evening I'm just exhausted and struggle to write anything). I won't ramble anymore but as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

“Dad, when can I start learning how to drive?” The question that leaves your mouth is one that Jake had been on the receiving end of since you turned sixteen and were now considered old enough to learn how to drive in the state of California. Jake put it off for a while, wanting to make sure you were properly ready for such a big thing as well as wanting to ensure all the paperwork that was needed was completed before he got you on the road.

When the day came that Jake finally dubbed you ready enough to actually get behind the wheel of his truck, you were bouncing off the walls. Jake had told you that you were to listen to his every word, and you had nodded your head wildly to prove to him that you were going to listen.

“Okay, lesson one, starting the car up. This truck is a manual, so you have to deal with all the clutch control stuff.” Jake says as you settle yourself behind the wheel and adjust the mirrors. You nod at Jake’s words, remembering what you read in the book Jake had given to you to study intently before he let you practice driving.

“Walk me through it slowly because the book can only help me so much here.” You say, looking from the steering wheel down to the pedals and trying to figure out what pedal does what.

“Okay, so the pedal on the left, that’s the clutch. The one in the middle is the brakes and the one on the right is the acceleration.” Jake says, pointing out each pedal and explaining what they do before telling you about clutch control and finding the biting point before you release the handbrake. You were nervous as Jake’s explanations were causing your brain to work a million miles an hour as your foot hovered over the pedals. You hesitantly pushed down on the clutch before applying a slight amount of pressure to the acceleration as Jake encouraged you to ease the handbrake off. Instead of smoothly making your way off the driveway, the truck lurched forward and then stopped suddenly, giving away that your clutch control was not great and you had caused the truck to stall.

“Just try it again. Easy on the clutch, okay?” Jake says, looking over at you as you nod, a sense of nervousness creeping over you at your recent mistake. Your nervousness began to take hold, making you stall the truck a few more times, and each time you could sense your dad getting a bit more frustrated with you.

“Maybe you’re not ready yet. You need to study the book a bit more before we do this.” Jake says, sighing and rubbing at his face as you look over at him with mild shock as you switch the engine off.

“What? No dad, I’ve studied that book front to back I can do it.” You argue watching as Jake shakes his head lightly.

“If you keep stalling like this it’s going to mess with the truck. I think we should call it a day.” Jake then says, making you feel like you just got stabbed in the heart.

“I know I can do it though.” You say as Jake begins to unplug his seatbelt.

“You clearly can’t right now. You’re taking a few days to really study and then I’ll decide when I next let you attempt to drive the truck.” Jake says firmly, putting his foot down as you bite your lip, unplugging your own seatbelt and jumping out of the car, immediately making your way back inside the house.

Bradley looked up from where he was looking at his phone, a witty quip about the two of you being gone for barely any time perched on the tip of his tongue but it quickly left when he saw you storm upstairs. Moose, hearing you disappear upstairs launched off the sofa and ran upstairs to be with you. Since the beloved dog had joined the family, he took a shine to you and quickly became your protector, so Bradley was unsurprised when Moose made his way upstairs to check on you. Not long after you and Moose had disappeared upstairs, Jake came back in, muttering under his breath as he closed the door behind him.

“Is everything okay?” Bradley asks cautiously as he gets up from the sofa, meeting Jake in the doorway to the living room.

“She’s not ready. She couldn’t get the truck off the driveway. She’s not driving again until I’m confident she can get the truck to move more than an inch.” Jake says, moving past Bradley to sit himself on the sofa, leaning back into the plush pillows with a sigh.

“Jake, she’s not going to learn if she doesn’t practice.” Bradley says softly, easing himself to sit down next to Jake. Tentatively, Bradley takes Jake’s hand in his own, the coolness of Jake’s wedding ring hitting his hand as he squeezes Jake’s hand softly.

“She’s not driving until I say she’s ready. She’s trying to grow up too quickly.” Jake says, making Bradley realise what the root of the problem is.

“Jake, she’s sixteen and everyone she knows at school will be driving soon. She’s capable of it and I know I’m not the only one who knows that. We’ve both seen her studying that book you got her. I get you don’t want her to grow up but it’s happening whether you’d like it to or not. Her driving will help her gain more independence. She’ll be able to go places with her friends and not worry about whether one of us would be free to take her there.” Bradley argues gently, watching as Jake’s face remains set before he shakes his head softly.

“At least let me try and teach her. She deserves a chance.” Bradley then says, making Jake turn to look at him.

“If you want to try, I won’t stop you.” Jake says with a light shrug, not protesting when Bradley releases his hand and moves to head upstairs to check on you. When he knocks on your door, he’s met with nothing more than a mumble and he opens the door to see you laid on your bed, arm thrown over Moose whose head had shot up to see who dared to enter your room while you buried your face in his fur.

“Moose, it’s just Bradley.” Your muffled voice says as the dog finally lays his head down, tail lightly thumping against the bed as Bradley scratches him behind the ear.

“Comfy there?” Bradley muses lightly as he sits himself at the end of the bed and watches as you lift your head.

“You okay?” He then asks, seeing the forlorn expression on your face as you stroke Moose gently.

“Dad probably told you what happened already.” You say quietly, running your fingers through Moose’s fur and twirling the ends carefully in your fingers.

“We all start somewhere. I wasn’t a good driver when I started learning and I bet your dad was the same. Don’t let his words get to you.” Bradley says softly, watching as your focus remains on Moose who rolls over so you can scratch his belly.

“I don’t understand why he was so mean about it. I was really trying, and he kept making me feel so pressured.” You admit, your softly spoken words make Bradley bite back a frown.

“I’m sorry.” Bradley says quietly, watching as you shake your head lightly.

“You don’t need to apologise. You didn’t do anything. I’ll be okay.” You say, lifting your gaze to send a small smile Bradley’s way.

“Look, I was thinking that I could have a go at teaching you, maybe tomorrow if you’re up for it. I know a place we can go just to get you comfortable with the basics of driving before we get you on any roads. It’s up to you though. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to.” Bradley says, gauging your reaction as you fall silent, glancing down at Moose who licks your hand softly and wags his tail.

“I’ll give it a go.” You mumble, bringing a smile to Bradley’s face as he nods.

“That’s good to hear. Just relax for today. We’ll practice tomorrow.” Bradley says with a smile as he stands up, petting Moose whose tail thumps against the covers.

When tomorrow arrived your nerves were in full drive as you got in the passenger seat of the Bronco as Bradley got behind the wheel. The drive wasn’t too long, and Bradley would tell you what he was doing as he drove to help you understand what goes on when the car is in motion. Having Bradley explain everything helped you to feel a bit more confident as he explained everything in as much detail as he could.

“Is this Mav’s hangar?” You question as Bradley pulls up on a large runway, glancing around.

“Yeah, it is. Mav’s helping Penny with her boat today so I asked if we could use the runway of the hangar to practice. It’s got plenty of space and you don’t need to worry about pulling out onto any roads.” Bradley says with a simple shrug, glancing over at you as you blink back the grateful tears that threaten to emerge.

“Thank you, Bradley.” You say quietly, smiling over at him as he nods lightly.

“Alright, ready to get behind the wheel?” Bradley asks, looking over at you as you look from Bradley to the steering wheel. You hesitate for a moment and just as Bradley preps himself to speak, you nod, looking back at him.

“I’m ready.” You say. You and Bradley swap seats and you adjust your seat and mirrors the second you settle in the seat.

“You know what you’ve got to do. Don’t rush yourself. If you stall, don’t worry, just restart the car, and start again.” Bradley says, his voice soft and gentle as he watches you with a smile. You had never expected Bradley to go out of his way to help you learn how to drive, much less allow you behind the wheel of his beloved Bronco that he barely lets your dad drive. But seeing the way he smiled confidently at you, you felt ready. With a newfound confidence, you nod and go through every step slowly, easing the car into a smooth start as Bradley’s grin grows. He then quickly tells you how to stop the car, although you remembered what he had said on the drive over and were able to stop the car with little issues.

“y/n, that was incredible!” Bradley gushes, making you smile as you process that you actually did it.

“I did it!” You say happily, looking over at Bradley who nods enthusiastically. He encourages you to have another go and you manage to drive around on the runway for a while, starting and ending smoothly as Bradley watches your confidence grow. When Bradley deems that you’ve driven enough you swap seats once more and Bradley begins the drive back home.

“Bradley, why did dad act the way he did teaching me yesterday?” You ask, looking over at Bradley who spares a quick glance your way before focusing back on the road.

“I think he’s too used to teaching the cadets at work. Most of them don’t listen well and your dad really lays the pressure on them because they need to be able to think quickly while they’re up in the air. And also, between you and me, I think he’s a bit scared because you’re growing up on him. I think if you speak to him, he’ll be able to explain things a lot better than I have.” Bradley says softly, turning down the volume on the radio before he speaks so you can hear him. You furrow your eyebrows in thought as you think about Bradley’s reasonings. The rest of the drive back was silent, and when Bradley parks the Bronco in the driveway, you’re already planning on speaking to your dad. You open the front door and are immediately greeted by Moose who begs for you to pet him as his tail wags madly.

“Has Moose been out for a walk yet?” You call through to your dad as Bradley squeezes in behind you and closes the door to prevent Moose from bolting out the door.

“Not yet, I was just about to take him.” Jake says as he emerges from the kitchen, lead in hand and the bag of essentials clipped around his waist.

“Can I come?” You ask, not missing how your dad’s eyes lit up momentarily before he nods.

“Of course. Bradley, are you coming?” Jake says, glancing from you to Bradley who shakes his head with a fond smile.

“Not this time. I said I’d help Phoenix with her relationship drama so I’m going to swing by hers in a few.” Bradley says, excusing himself to freshen up to head to Phoenix’s while you and your dad exchange a look before your dad shrugs and hooks the lead onto Moose’s collar.

“Alright, let’s make a move.” He says and the three of you make your way out of the house. Most of the walk was silent. Only a couple of words were exchanged between the two of you and it was about your driving lesson with Bradley. When you reached a bench in the shade where the two of you could sit for a while as Moose sat in between your legs, you glanced over at your dad and realised it was just time to get the conversation over and done with.

“Did you hate the idea of me driving because it means I’m growing up?” You ask confidently, noticing how your dad tensed up before glancing over at you.

“Bradley?” He asks, wanting to confirm who told you that.

“Bradley.” You confirm with a slight nod and Jake finds himself holding back a sigh.

“I’ll be honest with you, sweetheart. Yes. You’re growing up on me and I hate that I’m still far behind. You’re wanting to do all these things and to me you’re still my baby girl.” Jake says, watching as you nod at his words, hands running through Moose’s fur as he pants happily.

“I’m not going to stay little forever, dad.” You mutter, looking over at Jake who nods lightly, sadness in his eyes.

“I know. I’m trying to catch up. I’ll try to be better.” Jake says softly, making you shuffle closer to him so you could hug him which meant Moose took that as an invitation to prop his front paws on your lap so he could lick your faces, making the two of you laugh and push him away gently. You then continue on the walk and when you get home, you’re greeted by Bradley who upon questioning says that the moment he arrived at Phoenix’s house, her date also pulled up leaving Bradley to assume that there was never any drama in the first place. You then excuse yourself to head into the back garden with Moose just to go over some training with him while Bradley and Jake watch from the back door. Bradley wraps his arms around Jake’s waist from behind and rests his chin on Jake’s shoulder.

“She’s a really good driver you know? Nailed everything.” Bradley mumbles before pressing a kiss to Jake’s neck.

“I bet. She can show me what she worked on later if she’s up to it.” Jake agrees, smiling as Bradley’s kisses make their way up to his jaw.

“I am also calling it now; she’s passing on her first try.” Bradley then says, watching as Jake nods in agreement, unable to find any way to disagree.

And as it turned out, Bradley was right.

taglist (comment or ask to be added):

@zbeez-outlet @kaceywithak @tsnelf7 @starkleila @cassadilasworld @shanimallina87 @madstxo @chaoticassidy @padsdarlg @lauraseresin @alohastitch0626

[sydsaint]

This duo>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Summary: The reader is forced to choose sides when her two best friends have a violent falling out.

"Hey, Y/N. Have you seen my boots anywhere?" Jack asks you from across the room.

"The brown ones?" You reply from the side of your hotel room bed. "Yeah, I stuffed them in your bag earlier." You inform him.

Jack looks down at the half-packed bag at his feet and moves a couple of things to the side. He spots his boots at the bottom of the bag and nods. "Oh, thanks." He thanks you. "You almost packed for the show? I promised Tyler that we'd meet him in the lobby in like five minutes."

"Yep, I'm ready to go." You zip up your bag with a grin.

Jack does one last check of his bag and the two of you head down to the hotel lobby. In the lobby, you spot Tyler first standing off to the side of the room in his usual hoodie and sweats. "Do you think he ever washes those?" You joke with Jack.

"Probably not, no." Jack laughs with you. "Hey, Tyler." He waves at his stoic new best friend.

"Hey." Tyler looks up from his phone. "Hey, Y/N." He adds and flashes you a friendly smile.

You smile back at Tyler and adjust your bag hanging from your shoulder. "Hey, Ty." You greet him. "You ready to head out? Because Jack has been climbing the walls all afternoon." You joke.

"Yep." Tyler chuckles and everyone files out to the rental car.

You and Tyler walk ahead of Jack and casually chat. Behind you, Jack can't help but notice that you and Tyler are shoulder to shoulder. Like two peas in a pod. A small twinge of jealousy forces Jack forward and between the two of you as casually as he can.

"Who's driving?" Jack asks to break the ice.

"I can drive." You suggest. "You've got that match with Sanada tonight Jack. So you should let either me or Tyler drive. It's the least we can do, right Tyler?" You nudge Tyler's shoulder playfully.

Tyler nods and eyes the keys you're twirling around in your hand. "I'll drive." He snatches the keys from you. "My dad taught me manners. And that means you never let your girl drive if she doesn't have to." He jokes.

"Oh, so I'm your girl now?" You giggle, just joking around with Tyler.

"In this scenario, yes," Tyler replies.

Jack huffs behind the two of you but doesn't say anything as you all make it out to the rental car. Everyone loads up their stuff and Tyler climbs into the driver's seat. You go for the passenger side, but Jack beats you.

"Nope, my turn to sit up front." Jack grins at you playfully.

"Fine." You fake a pout and climb into the back.

Everyone chats about work until you arrive at the arena. Everyone files inside and Tyler heads out to find his dad and check in. You walk back to the locker room with Jack and hang out with him for a bit.

"So, since when are you and Tyler so close?" Jack asks you casually while unpacking his bag.

"Hmm?" You look up from your phone. "Oh, I don't know." You shrug. "A couple of weeks, I guess. You know how Mr.Khan asked Taz and Excalibur to help me kind of hone my journalism and broadcasting skills lately?"

Jack nods, remembering you telling him about Khan wanting you to potentially be a broadcaster for the show in the future. "Yeah, I remember." He confirms.

"Well, I've been spending so much time around, Taz. Tyler and I just kind of started talking I guess. Plus now you two are like a team or whatever this is." You add.

"Right." Jack nods.

A bit later, Tyler heads back to the locker room and walks over to you. "Hey, Y/N. My dad wanted me to give this to you." He hands you a small vanilla folder.

"Okay." You furrow your brows as you take the folder from Tyler. "What is it?" You ask him.

"No clue." Tyler shrugs. "He just said that you should study it." He adds. "Knowing my dad, it's probably homework." He jokes.

You laugh and open the folder. "Oh, you are so right." You find a large stack of notes in the folder. "Man, leave it to Taz to assign me homework for a pay-per-view."

You and Tyler both laugh and Jack once again feels left out of the loop. He pushes his feelings down, however, and tries to focus on his upcoming match. He slips away to get changed while you and Tyler hang out.

When Jack comes back, you and Tyler are sitting as close as can be without you being in his lap. "Seriously, your dad can't work on his penmanship a little?" You complain to Tyler. "What does that even say?" You ask him.

Tyler chuckles at your struggle and points to the page sitting on your lap. He picks up a pen and corrects the page for you.

"You two are still going over those?" Jack walks over to you.

"Yeah." You nod. "Ty's dad writes like a total gremlin." You joke. "You look ready to go though, Jack. How are you feeling about tonight?"

Jack watches you push your work to the side for a bit. And he's glad that he's gotten your attention back for a bit.

"Here, I'll do a few more corrections for you, Y/N." Tyler takes the papers from you.

"Thanks, Ty." You smile at him and turn back to Jack.

You and Jack sit on the other side of the room and talk for a bit. You've been friends with Jack since both of you joined AEW at the same time. You've been with him through everything. Being in Jurassic Express. Letting Christian become his mentor. Being betrayed by Christian. Their fued. All of it. But lately, Jack can't help but feel like he's been losing you.

The time for Jack's match with Sanada comes up and you all head to the tunnel with him. You give Jack one last hug and an encouraging smile before he heads out with Tyler to back him up. You stay behind and try your best to study Taz's notes about how to properly analyze the action in the ring.

After a grueling match, Jack ends up losing to Sanada. You feel slightly bad for your best friend's loss. But it is Sanada that he's up against. So the loss isn't something that he should beat himself up, over. You watch Tyler help Jack up the ramp and over to the tunnel like the good friend he is, but then something shocking happens.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Jack reels away from Tyler and attacks him. Blindsided, Tyler hits the floor hard clutching the back of his head. You are on your feet in an instant and race through the tunnel.

"Jack! What the hell are you doing?" You come through the tunnel and race past Jack to check on Tyler.

"Really?" Jack snaps at you. "You go right for him? Don't even bother to acknowledge me?" He confronts you.

You kneel down next to Tyler but turn your head to face Jack. "What? Jack, you attacked him!" You remind him. "I'm sorry you lost your match, okay? But what did Tyler do?" You ask him.

"You like him more than me, don't you?" Jack confronts you. "Don't even try and lie to me, Y/N. I know it's true. Well, guess what HOOK, you can have her!" He sneers.

"Jack!" You get to your feet. "Come on, this isn't you! You're not this guy!"

Jack snickers and shakes his head at you. "I'm sick and tired of being a pushover, Y/N. Maybe Christian was right. Being the good guy never gets you anywhere."

Jack storms off and half expects you to follow after him. To try and convince him that he's wrong. To beg him not to go. But you turn around and go back to helping Tyler and Jack knows that he's right. You do love Tyler more than him.

"Tyler? Ty, are you okay?" You help Tyler to his feet.

Tyler rubs the back of his head and steadies himself on your arm. He shakes out his hair and composes himself before he grabs your arm gently. "I'm fine. Are you okay?" He asks you back. "He didn't try and grab you or anything did he?"

"No!" You insist. "Jack, he-He'd never do that to me. He's...he's a good guy." You try and reason with yourself.

"Not anymore, he's not," Tyler replies. "And he's gonna pay for this. For hitting me and for hurting you." He insists.

You head backstage with Tyler and go with him to get some ice for his head. While you're both in the trainer's room, Taz comes by to check on you both.

"Hey! You kids, alright?" Taz asks when he comes into the room. "That was a pretty nasty shot to the back of the head, son. And, Y/N. How are you holding up, kid?"

"We're fine, Dad," Tyler answers first. "It's not going to happen again. That's for sure." He absentmindedly grabs your hand.

Taz notices the gesture and nods. "She's a good choice." He jokes like you aren't right there. "Smart girl. And tough as well."

You laugh a little, feeling a bit better about the whole situation. Jack might be playing right into what Christian wanted for him. But you won't be so easily broken.

[chershire23]

What, he's adorable!

Rodimus was walking around base bored outta his processor. Optimus practically grounded him to base for a while after he and Miko's last stunt together. He doesn't understand though he's a Prime for crying out loud and Miko was just fine on the battle field with them. After all he had her safely tucked away in his subspace and she could watch all the action through a screen he provided her with while inside. But it doesn't do one well to dwell on the past for too long. He soon spots Raf the youngest of his human friends working on his computer.(when wasn't he working on the thing?)

“Hey Raffy boy! How's it going?” He asks a smile on his face as he leans down to see over Rafs shoulder to look at what the boy was doing. “Hey Rodimus, I'm just doing a project for some extra credit for a college class I'm taking. And please don't call me that its the same thing Vince calls me when he picks on me.” Raf says adjusting his glasses. “Huh, want me to rough him up for you?” Rodimus asks with a smirk, making Raf giggle a little. “I can handle Vince, besides you don't want to get into anymore trouble with Optimus than you already are.” Raf says turning back to his computer to begin typing once more.

“Oh come on whos he gonna tell about a giant robot that beat him up without ending up in one of your human psych wards?” Rodimus asks standing up straight to gesture to himself. He settles down afterwards and leans against the platform Rafs on his head laying atop his folded arms. “I have another question for you as well kid. Why do you take all these high level classes. No offense or anything but everyone knows how smart you are, your practically a real life young Sheldon. Without all the cowardice and spoiled attitude of course.” Rodimus says a soft yet curious smile now coming over his features.

Raf loses a bit of his smile before shaking his head. “Well when you live in a family as big as mine you have to do everything in your power just to be seen.” He says his voice filled with a hint of sadness. “And how big is your family exactly?” Rodimus asks as he picks up his head giving the boy his full attention. “I'm the youngest out of five children. And while there are families almost three times as big its still hard to get my parents attention at times.” he explains a frown having taken over his face. “So that's why I do all this stuff and take all these extra classes. So that I can one make my parents proud and be able to have their attention, even if it's just for a minute.” He explains.

“Now I gotta get back to work on this its due on monday.” Raf says before turning all his attention back to his work. Rodimus stands up his eye narrowed in thought. “Huh, well then I just might have to fix that.” he breaths out softly to himself.

(Time skip)

Bumblebee was in all honesty worried and confused it was almost time to take Raf home and he couldn't find his tiny friend anywhere. He makes it back to the common room and sees Rodimus leaning against the wall looking way to smug for anything to be good. “Rodimus, you wouldn't happen to know where Raf is would you?” Bee asks him his beeping tone low with suspicion. “Huh Raf? No I uh, I haven't seen him Bee sorry.” Rodimus says as he avoids looking into the slightly younger bots eyes. Bee narrows his eyes as he watches Rodimus’ arms seemingly tighten around his chest. Right in front of his subspace.

Bee lets out a sigh before holding out a hand. “Let him out and hand him over Rodimus I Have to take him home now.” He beeps in frustration. “Oh come on wouldn't you like to keep Raf here at base with us? In fact wouldn't it be safer for all the humans to remain here with us. I mean Raf just told me his family barely pays any attention to him. So why don't we be his new family hmm?” Rodimus inquires trying to get Bee on bored with his plan. Bee just shakes his head and thrusts his hand forward agian. “Now Rodimus before I get Optimus involved.” He angrily beeps and Rodimus sighs loudly. “Fine but in my defense he's too adorable to not want to adopt.” He pouts and inside his subspace he releases Raf from the seat belts and opens it up to let him out.

Bumblebee takes Raf from Rodimus with a glare and cradles the boy protectively to his chest. “What can you blame me? He's adorable! Rodimus exclaims at a retreating Bee. Raf despite being a little shaken was very very amused.

thank you @callsign-relic for helping me pick a prompt! I would have had it done sooner if I hadn't had to help my mom convince my dad to go to the ER after he quite literally got yeeted through the window of a mini excavator. He should be ok but you never know with my dad as he likes to hide injuries when he feels there is work to be done.

[fountainpenguin]

"My mind is twisted up and you're to blame... Are you aware of how you say my name? I've tried so hard to push you away..." (x)

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New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 33 - “Cinders (Etho)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

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"But for real, the most beautiful thing Lizzie did was treating me like a stranger. She didn't see him." Sniff sounds like he's floating, eyes like glaciers. "I'm never going to stop being 'Joel 2.0' to you. Am I?"

Etho finally tells SnifferMyFeet what happened between him and Joel post-Double Life. Sometimes people slip right through your fingers... It's just weird it happened twice.

#smalletho - Etho/Sniff tension followed by several flashbacks about Etho's past with Joel (bed sharing, cuddling, teasing, discussing Joel's kids (Hermes & Tiny Tom), and Etho trying to learn Joel's boundaries, which Joel avoids defining)

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Yeah, we allogrooming (chewing on each other's code strings and pulling them with mouths to straighten them); keep scrolling

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Etho - Fox

Status: Keep 'em guessing

Self-taught programmer, full-time hero

💙  🧡  💚

It's familiar, but not in the way you think. It's familiar because the universe speaks to itself (to his soul) each time it checks he's doing okay. Especially on full moon nights. When the moon reaches down its light, Etho adjusts his footing and licks his lips, then chews its fingers and nuzzles back.

Give yourself a shake. Fluff up your fur. It's the arctic fox way. Then you run off to do exactly what you're meant to do, because you're born of the universe and were given conscious thought so you could love your role. The mobs play their part. You play yours. Beneath silver moonlight, we meet and make merry, for tomorrow we're AFK for weeks or months on end. You're born in the code. You live forever. And that's just the way of things.

Which is to say that snuggling up next to Sniff, one hand pressed to the back of his shoulders to hold him down against the mattress, is one of those wild things that's new and familiar at the exact same time. You remember all those tools we were gonna clean his code with? Yeah, those are beginner's toys. This is how it's done right.

It's a work of teeth and tongue: nipping code beneath his skin with glowing teeth and pulling it to straighten strings. It's goopy, thick, and messy. It's the way of the world; song as old as time.

Sniff keeps very quiet, his hands stretched out in front of him. He kneads the pillow. They don't speak. Not now. Etho keeps his hand firm, bearing weight on Sniff through a blanket so their pixels won't blend together, as he makes his way around cheek, neck, shoulder, and back. Sniff's filled with stagnant energy. It doesn't move fast - doesn't carry the parts that need attention towards Etho's mouth the way it should - but his tongue's doing the job the activator whisk should do. It ripples through his code. It stirs the stuff awake. That'll get him moving. Sniff gives a big, silent yawn that splays his fingertips and flicks his tongue. Then he turns his head away. His wings flex like a butterfly's and slowly fold against his back.

Etho keeps working. The mask's been dropped aside for this- It's just easier than letting it dangle at his neck. He nips with his teeth, catching strings, and fixes everything he can. There's only so much you can do with stagnant code. Most species don't eat it, but a fox can. Like the phantoms, they scavenge.

Etho takes the stuff Sniff doesn't need. He doesn't need scratches and aching muscles. He doesn't need chipped nails and dirty feet. He doesn't need the callus on his writing finger, the ink stains, or the ache between the V of two fingers. These are little add-ons (just wrinkles in the code). Etho pulls them free of soul and skin. They slip between his teeth.

Sniff drags Etho's other hand forward. Etho shifts, keeping balance. His hand's pretty neat and tidy after the week-long experience of Sniff cycling his code. Sniff nibbles at it anyway. The bits in his system that are ruffled prickle to attention and swish the messy bits forward so Sniff can gnaw the tangles away. Yeah, that's the spot. Etho thumps his tail against the bed.

Unlocking advancements feels like this. And the universe loves them, and it gave them thought without breaking the ecosystem, because it wanted them to know they're loved.

If there's an advancement for allogrooming, it's one he achieved a long, long time ago. Probably when he was just a kit. Not a lot of memories from the early days still stick with him, but he does remember Rhetoric chewing on his ear. He had fox ears back then. They used to wrestle with each other, but growing up is complicated. Sometimes you do the best you can every day of your life… and for what? Your mother will still pick you up by the scruff and drop you on the doorstep of a dragon she thinks could use you more.

He and Bdubs have that in common. Bdubs just refuses to admit it.

Oh yeah… We can't let the Slime Dragon see Sniff. She'll wanna kill him so he respawns at his mom's nest. Etho yawns. He stops messing with the code. Instead, he nestles his chin against the back of Sniff's neck. What time is it? Feels like they've been here for a thousand ticks, but it's such a blur that it could easily be half as much. It probably isn't. It can't be that long… He hasn't been called to Dog's Life yet.

Sniff chews at his fingers for a little longer, but his teeth slow too. He rests his cheek against his knuckles. Etho sweeps his tail sideways, brushing it across Sniff's back. He's warm. And without the nips and pulls, consistent collision isn't going to last. Pixels prickle. His chin starts to sink straight through.

It's familiar. But not the way you think. He never groomed Joel like this, with his mouth, except one time he had to re-open some rumpled bite marks that had sealed themselves in ridges across his shoulders. Long story there… but it's familiar because the universe told him this feels right tonight.

And it does feel right tonight. He's not gonna leave the mask off for long. Or the bandana, for that matter. He's way too exposed like this, raised blue scar curling over his eye and across his lips (all of it on display). Sniff probably feels the same way. He's still got both his shirts off. The curve of his spine's marked with a stripe. When you're this close, you can see the tiny zigzag marks where skin meshes like it's stitched. His giant scar - that big, white X - pulses with a dim, hazy glow.

Etho removes his head before he can sink any lower. He noses Sniff's cheek, then his chin. Once they're upturned, he gets back to work. A little more clipping here. A little trimming there. Making his way around. Sniff makes one soft noise like he's debating whether to squirm away. He keeps his eyes shut though, arms relaxed, and his wings stay folded up- lazy and content. Etho adds a few licks, keeping them light so he can seal the tiny gashes left behind by his teeth without startling Sniff enough to ask questions about 'what they are' again.

Funny. Last week, we did this the other way around. But he doesn't go as far as Sniff did. Tonight's about grooming, not feeding. Etho chews a knot from the back of Sniff's neck, then draws back. "Hey, Sniff, you-"

"My full name, Etho," he mumbles, not opening his eyes. "I only have one rule."

Right. Etho rasps his tongue around his lips and starts again. "SnifferMyFeet, I want to ask something."

"Mm?"

"I know we said we wouldn't be 'serious' right now. I've just been wondering if maybe, after I do recordings and Hermitcraft clean-up… If you'd want to eat my soul again?"

Sniff's fingers still against the sheets. They alternate whose turn it is to breathe, like they used to at night on The Relation or when they were testing how far they could swim without coming up for air. Spoilers: Oxygen does not transfer from one soulmate's body to another.

Then Sniff blinks himself back to full awareness. He sits up on his knees. The covers slide down his back. Hands still braced, but no longer looking cozy. The guy reaches to pinch his brow and take his folded tank top at the same time. "You… want to use my vessel? Fluff, I dunno. Can I say that? I think I can."

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

[thededebean]

His perspective.

It was just as busy as every evening on the subway. All the professionals are getting on and off the train at 5:00 p.m like me.

Most of the men are in their business casual attire, others are smartly dressed in suits and ties. Though definitely outnumbered, there are women leaving work at these hours as well. In order to fit into the 9 to 5 lifestyle downtown everyone has to look their best. I don't fancy myself as a fashion icon but I pay a good tailor to sharply customize my suits. Today is a suit jacket and button up with looser fitting dark slacks.

I hop on the train and find a post to hold on to since all of the seats are taken. I typically zone out after a hard day's work making sales and pushing paper. Corporate stuff.

Luckily there is air conditioning because on this hot summer day even underground, it can get extremely warm with all the people bumping up against each other.

I'm all the way at the end of the Green line so it'll take me about 45 minutes, the perfect amount of time to disassociate.

I let my mind drift thinking about a date I have planned for the weekend. It's always in the air how these things turn out. When I date I date for love and marriage. Though it's been awhile since I've had fun after breaking up with my ex. I reckon I could blow off a bit of steam.

As the train rumbles along, I find myself inhaling an intoxicating lavender.... Or maybe vanilla perfume in my daze. I have the urge to adjust myself, So I do. As I reach down my hand glides against the bottom of the person in front of me. I noticed that my cock has become stiff as I become more aware of my surroundings snapping back to reality.

I look down and notice the back of a blonde woman's head, not much shorter than I.

Realizing this is the person's ass I just grazed against, I lean down to apologize.

She looks back at me smiles and then continues looking forward.

Suddenly the train jolts as we go around a corner, and the blonde in front of me is forced crashing into my body with hers. I could feel our body heat mingle with sparks.

Looking around to see if anybody was in the same predicament, I noted that everyone else had recovered their positions from the jolt. But yet the blonde still kept her body pressed to mine.

I became hyper aware of our body's position over the next several minutes. The train was crammed, but this somehow felt more than circumstantial the way our bodies were pushing into each other.

I was holding the overhead bar but there was no place for the woman to hold on to so I felt like I needed to provide her stability.

I felt her hand grab onto my thigh while she faced forward. She wasn't pushing me backwards away from her. Every time we jostled her fingertips grabbed my body a little tighter.

Looking over her shoulder I found myself being able to see directly down her white button up blouse. Her cleavage didn't fully fill her cups. In each of them I could tell her body was aroused based on their perkiness. Her nipples were pushing through the fabric straight ahead.

Painfully aware my cock had been pressed against her bottom, I pushed my hips into her slightly to assure there is no extra space between us. She continued kneading my thigh and began to push back harder into my hips.

I glanced around at the still full train, No one seemed any wiser that we were occupied with each other.

The motion of the train was hiding or slick body movements cleverly.

At the next train stop in the shuffle of people getting on and off. She turned around to face me and we made eye contact quickly before she blushed and looked away.

She was now pushing her thinly clothed chest into mine. Her hand grasped my belt buckle as the train continued. Surely this would give her better balance. I stepped one foot around her stance to better support her as well. My cock, I could feel was leaking precum and my tummy was tightening with her fingertips grazing the inside of my pants. Every turn and bump she slid more hand inside.

Looking straight ahead my eyes became flittery for a second before reminding myself of composure.

Any second now the blonde could close the gap and have her hand play with me. This was driving me mad. This was so naughty and no one was the wiser around us. She was teasing me in a way I hadn't ever been. I was practically begging for her to touch my cock without saying a word. My hips instinctively started to rock and just as another big jolt happened she lost balance and I grabbed her hips to push her harder into me.

I slowly started to pull up her skirts so my leg could go in between hers now. The further her skirt went up the further her fingers went into my pants. She finally glazed the tip with her soft fingers and teased my cock head. Coating her hand with my pre-fun juice.

Her hips widened and she started to slowly grind on my leg. I bent my knee slightly so she could get a better angle for herself.

She kept her own pace and I could hear her breathing heavier with the friction. She lifted her hand out of my pants and licked her fingers like she had just taken her hands out of a potato chip bag. For all anybody knew that's what she was doing. Rummaging for spuds.

At the next stop, I once again turned her around to face away from me by grabbing her hips and twirling her.

She reached in between us and unzipped her pencil skirt part way down. It was my turn to get touchy inside her clothes.

I quickly moved my hand down the back of her skirt, untucking her thong from her crease. The further my hand went down the more bent forward she became.

I could have tried to straighten out her posture, but by this time I noticed a couple of tall men surrounding us.

I made eye contact with each of them who seemed to hungrily obliged to our goings on. I caught the man directly facing us in front of the blonde gaping down at her chest from his angle.

They were creating a sort of shield around us. I never performed in front of a group before, but this felt protected and mutually beneficial somehow.

I slid my fingers past her asshole and in between her lips. The trains rocking helping my quest to tease her like she did to me.

With her bent forward I was not providing much stability. She grabbed onto the waistbands of two of the gentleman to her sides. No doubt grazing the inside of their pants as well. She started off so shy with me and now held the attention of a blockade of six men.

As I continued to work my digital magic, never piercing her hole, one of the men snarled at me and motioned a thrust in my direction. I glanced around at the rest of the train, unzipped my zipper, pulled out my glistening rod from the hole and positioned myself to her entrance. I let the nature of the train take its course to assist with my penetration.

She was absolutely gushing as I filled her hole. The little slut. Her face was pushing into one of the men. She reached and unzipped his fly, springing his cock into her face. It took her no time to fill her mouth with his member. Just like that, an after work spit roast amongst strangers.

Both of us took turns thrusting into her. And the men on both sides started to use their hands to massage her. One reached underneath her hips and it other into her shirt from what I could see.

I felt her tremble and explode at least three times over the next several minutes.

I quickened my pace as I was getting closer to coming. She was deep throating the man in front, and started to choke as I went faster.

Short quick thrusts deep into her was all I could give and I exploded inside of her on the final thrust.

As we approached my final stop, I pulled out of her. And gave her my pocket square just as I was hopping off the train. As the door closed I noticed another man moving into my position. The train continues on the track back the way we came from. And I wonder...

Did she purposely miss her stop so I could fuck her?

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 1x17-1x18

despite what happens at the end of this pair, this feels like a quiet couple of episodes

1x17 is all about parent-teacher conferences. I imagine the teachers' opinions on the liars are

Emily: good kid 👍 could speak up in class more (Pam is satisfied and mentions this in her regular call to Wayne, once she's done being very emotional about Nick McCullers and Emily and all of that) Hanna: she's been skipping classes and got detention at least once for it, (Ashley will vaguely try to remember to discuss this with Hanna and lose it in the hullabaloo of single mom working and lasagna box money. Might even forget to go and Hanna will not remind her.) Spencer: smart kid! ...please give other kids the chance to speak in class (jk jk her parents don't show up to such things, they see her grades and awards online and are like ok satisfactory) Aria: adjusting ok from spending a year in a different country's schooling system (Byron and Ella are both too Ezra-obsessed to care about this :/)

don't ask me which of them is most likely to violate Rosewood's High dress code, I'm not convinced there is one

even when I first watched this show, seeing the scene where Ezra firmly de-escalates Nick McCullers from spewing his shit made me go ....I wish Ella was doing this instead of just looking impressed at him about it

If Emily had to deal with her mom being shit this season, it'd be nice to see one of the other moms be directly good to her about it

instead, Ezra's role above leads into Byron and Ezra having the stupidest conversation about authors. This is a parent-teacher conference! Talk about Aria's education and and not your snobby tastes!

Now that I'm forced to watch these Ezra scenes instead of fast-forwarding through them, can I say that I don't care for his personality either? He's just such a pushover. Why are you so invested in Byron's opinion and need to argue with your underage girlfriend about it? Why do you have zero classroom discipline and who let you direct a school play given that? If you want to take a job at Hollis College so you are less likely to GET ARRESTED for your bad relationship choices why are you immediately running it by said underage girlfriend like you are a married couple deciding to move somewhere.

it's like he used all of his spine against mr mccullers and then had to recharge over the course of the next week

meanwhile why is Aria so pissy about Ezra considering applying to a job at Hollis. HOLLIS IS IN ROSEWOOD AND WOULD MEAN YOUR BOYFRIEND IS NO LONGER YOUR TEACHER. Like, personally, it is still incredibly weird for a 23? 24? year old to be dating a 16 year old, but still way less weird than everything going on here and you can then frickin slow burn the reveal

died of cringe when Aria called him Ezra in school

my final Ezra comment: all of this is made 10x worse by the fact that Byron and Ella clearly think Aria has an acceptable crush on her hot English teacher, because they are bestowing their trust in this high school teacher to not be a goddamn creep about it. alas.

okay moving on to Emily's stuff, where she has a weird time, between the McCullers, her mom, Toby, and Jenna

is a tad odd that we only see Pam and Paige talk to her directly about Nick's rant - her friends and her teachers were right there, and I presume at least the liars did, since later Hanna says on the phone that "Paige is such a knob" re: Nick

in every scene she appears in, Paige looks like she wants to melt off the face of this planet. understandable.

Byron says that Nick is on the library board as well and Ella implies it is not the first time he has brought up the gay agenda....terrible terrible terrible, I'm glad that Rosewood High rallies around Emily here

along with Nick's explicit statements of Emily just getting anchor because she's gay (???) I kinda felt some racial implications this time around, especially with 1x17 having Emily and Pam as the only speaking characters of color

Ella says that "we all know Emily's the best swimmer" which makes what Emily tells Maya in the pilot about just wanting to do her best so funny to me...Emily truly is like I'm just here to have a good time and still does the best and it must drive S1!Paige insane

more insane, that is, because though Paige backs up Pam's assertion that her dad is always looking for someone else to blame, it sounds like the first person he tried blaming was Paige given her little "He wanted to know if I slacked off, but I didn't. You know I didn't." spiel, before he moved on to his homophobia. Because Nick McCullers sure does suck.

Emily's resignation in not mentioning it to her mom because of everything...I'm glad she witnesses Pam going off on Nick.

And then we get the world's worst leadup to a surprise kiss, which was why I knew Emily had to get a car at some point this season. Paige even manages to fuck up apologizing for her dad because she is that wrapped up in her own shit

I think she surprised herself with that kiss. That is the Paige McCullers classic, getting surprised and dismayed by her own reactions.

Emily declines a call from Paige in front of Spencer which leads to a snarky comment from the latter, giving me so many questions. Emily told the liars (or just Spencer) about the head dunk? Spencer must've really felt the heat from her last argument with Emily to not have insisted Emily report that too. Paige is the one calling Emily? Huh.

Speaking of Emily and Spencer, Emily ends up ceding custody of Toby to Spencer. I forgot that the show even has Toby bail on breakfast and have Spencer tell Emily they should call Toby together only for Emily to go no, you should call him yourself (because you both really really need to get laid).

Best A message this week: has to go to A straight up calling an EXTERMINATOR to taunt Hanna that A knows where Caleb is

1x18 is all about the school putting on a production of The Bad Seed, a play in which the 8-year-old killer gets away with everything because her mom is stupid.

Spencer and Hanna are cast in the play, Aria is stage manager, Emily lurks around for so long that I keep going why is she here??? until the very end of the episode mentions she's working in props.

Emily does not strike me as a theatre person in any regard, she got dragged into this via her friends and the class credit.

Hanna on which role she wants: "I want the other mother, the one who's drunk all the time." so real

Spencer in this conversation goes from nagging parent on Hanna hiding Caleb to being horny about Aria/Ezra. She continues to be horny about them the rest of the episode. The order of investment in Aria/Ezra goes Spencer >> Hanna > Emily.

S1!Spencer is really off her game, man. She waits to meet the other liars before looking up Braille, doesn't even note how Braille represents numbers. How excited were the writers to realize that they could encode a motel number in a way the girls would first translate to BAD?

Toby eavesdropped on Jenna and all he got was she mentioned Spencer.

To be fair to Toby he's been through a lot. This is why him being a pushover is far more excusable to me than Fitz's bullshit.

Spencer and Toby have a cute bonding moment post-ankle monitor removal by hanging out on the outskirts of town.

I pay zero attention to this, too distressed by the City of Rosewood Incorporated 1853 sign. Is Rosewood an actual city, unlike it's real-life counterpart of Rosemont, which merely a census-designated place? If it is an actual municipal corporation, why do we hear zero mention of an executive or legislature?

For the sake of my sanity I am going to assume the sign is a historical artifact, where Rosewood used to be a distinct city that has since been absorbed into a larger township.

Toby is soooo stressed about stealing Jenna's phone and the girls don't even get anything useful from it

At some point the girls all stare at Jenna trying on lingerie. Stop being weird in public about the blind girl. She can't see you, but everyone else can see you being fucking weird about her!

Jenna also ominously plays the flute while Emily stares at her. Logging this for later.

The girls all find a trophy with Ian's name on it and what looks like a bloodied corner on it. They are so spooked by the previous disappearing video that they immediately turn it into the cops, without googling golf tournaments or anything of the like

my sweet surbuban teenagers, unaware that that the non-Wilden cops will be dicks to them too

of course it is rat blood, from a little white rat named Spencer.

speaking of naive suburban teenagers, why are the non-Hanna liars and Ashely obsessed with describing Caleb as dark. He's just got shoulder-length hair and wears hoodies and hacks phones. He's smiling whenever he talks to anyone. He's the least dark of all four liars' love interests right now!

....do we think it's because of foster kid thing? that makes me sad :/

also makes me wonder how/why he landed in Rosewood specifically

See the thing I always like about Caleb is his relevance and helpfulness with the plot stuff. He's not sitting around making pining eyes at Hanna, he's helping Hanna figure out that the dead lady's nephew isn't legit, or the liars are handing him a phone to hack

he said the phone looks like it's from 2020 because that is ten years in the future for him. but it already feels a long time ago for me tbh.

I enjoy him making fun of the liars for stealing a blind girl's phone and also for calling said blind girl "Jenna Cavanaugh" instead of "Jenna Marshall". He's new here! He's not up-to-date on all these step-siblings!

Hanna and Aria make up super fast over the A thing after Aria is slightly pissy at one group meeting.

my friend watching A leave flowers at mrs potter's grave: A, did you kill her? did you kill that old lady? I'd forgotten how the first Haleb kiss happened

I remembered the swim meet "date" and the classic shower scene (Caleb apparently has a tattoo down there somewhere, taking suggestions on what it is)

but not that it was Hanna being super weird to him post-shower for a whole day

Caleb says "so you think you have to throw down too?" which is the funniest way to phrase it, but it works for him, Hanna cutely goes "what if I don't want to?" and then "what if I do want to?" and they get a very spin spin spin-around kiss

Next time: I think the cops are going to be mean to the girls?? which would make sense if they let spencer give an insane rant about ian as they turned in that trophy with rat blood. don't let spencer do her insane rants in front of other people, you'll learn this lesson one day

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

6.21.23 Wednesday

12:27 am

My pelvic is still aching and I feel a bit numb on my legs... I NEED A MASSAGE THERAPY :(

6:37 am

I have windblow trap... Wanna leave the hometown... I need money and job angels... In a lil while I will be 42....

I need a self-fulfillment...I feel frustrated....Someone damaged my life...

Hoping to get a colored alien bf or we don't know the future or only time can tell but I want mature and supportive... I need someone who is willing to be my support system but of course with mutual feelings... So, difficult to find a bf coz of my poorish situation....

Sometimes, I don't wanna have a partner coz I wanted to do some stuff for myself but I can't escape this windblow trap... But I love sensitive men and men who speak English... My deep within is over-lapping... I have complex...

I still need to remove my "deep smile lines"... I need collagen...I wanted someone sensitive coz I'm aging for nothing...

I hate being with someone and that monster is just trapping me... How can I tell???

Argh! My sciatica/ priformis / pelvic still aching...

7:35 am

Uncle Jun is up already... From the past weeks he consistently arranged his sofa-crib ( something he didn't do from the past years )...

7:55 am

Uncle Jun is sitting again in the kitchen and he always lowered the chair coz it is adjustable, probably cleaning his shoes or his morning mantra... He is just on his towel, wrapped around his waist line, apparently coz he is man not a lady boy ;)

8:10 am

Uncle Jun went to the bathroom and still the door is open for 5 seconds and he closed it...

Now, in the bathroom (this Uncle Jun )...

8:27 am

Now, in the kitchen ( this Uncle Jun ), applying his "Silka deodorant" & talking on someone over the phone... I thought it is over the phone but Nuno in the kitchen..

8:32 am

Nuno is here wearing black shirt ( A superman letter S )...Talking to Uncle Jun in the kitchen...

8:38 am

Uncle Jun is preparing going to Georgia'Z forest Zombie'Z land...

9:15 am

Uncle Jun went out already, 30 minutes ago...

My comic strip in my head:

I was really thinking of this windblow trap and my life since this windblow trap came into me year 2007... A lot thought ,we thought and most specially I thought, I could go back and live my life the way I had it when I was on my teenage years... I thought the windblow spins on us to give us all a lesson, a lesson probably a very difficult lesson.

But! No one has the right to judge anyone that you don't even know the real deep within of a particular person. Sure! You can just describe and put everything on pages like this, to remember everything and see beyond things that you can't see...

It suddenly pop-up in my head that I had and still have aunt who is part of NBI ( National Bureau Investigation ) she is my Aunt Rowena or Aunt Wena... She is the first cousin of my biological mother here ( Beth ) and my adoptive mother ( Aunt Teresa) and my 2 uncle's ( Uncle Jun and Uncle DD ).

Aunt Wena is a tall woman, I just suddenly remember her coz I'm watching "Dead or Alive-Missing Person". This Aunt Wena she is beautiful most specially during her younger years... She is as well fierce! I knew her since I was 8 or 9, the first time I met her and I wasn't on my body that time but I'm alive but dead.

Now, I remember everything but I couldn't speak... It is clear in my head now...

9:34 am

11:21 am

My sinigang pork and with 1 chicken for John (My son-dog )... This cooking is just to chill nothing serious and my hobby... In a way I enjoy cooking and looking forward to be with someone who is very supportive of my cooking as my hobby. I want more lots of imported ingredients such as wine and other herbs for foreign recipes... I love eating so much and I do believe in work and eat! ( I miss going to gym or hoping we can have gym here in the village or will jump on other places or I dream to have 1 ).

12:06 noon

A repeat recipes but looking forward with a colored alien bf who wants to eat soul food. I love eating salads! But for now this unbeatable Chicken MechadohZ!

1:04 pm

Thank God for today though I still pray for more... I really wanna have my own pet store though there are so many pet store here but I still want to have my own pet store...

What else? Still, wanna remove my "deep smile lines"....I wanna perfect my nose but on the least on my things to do coz I wanna have first my own self-fulfillment.... I wanna leave the hometown coz I can't get a bf here who is on the upper bracket, I'm a college graduate angels...I'm a product of De La Salle.. I feel low for 16 years..

I want a very supportive bf and I badly need money.... A bf who can eat salads though a lot of complexities these days... Sometimes I wanna be on my own if I can't find anyone who will accept my original entity...Coz these days we are facing a hard time, but if those judgemental people saw us here decade decade ago... This old house here was really hypnotizing and beautiful to look at... Now, this house is barren and needs a lot of renovation to do...

3:46 pm

I still have windblow trap... I feel bitter...My self-esteem is very low,I need money and a job. Some Monkeya'Z FilipiNOSE damage my life since 2007...

I wanna have new friends mainly men... I chose women coz I feel jealous if I can't get any special treatment... Women are meant to compete... I need new set of friends and I feel bitter I can't find new friends...

But I also love the thing the I will have women friends coz I also need that for my individual image that I'm also a good gf...People will also adore you if you are a kind of girl that also love by women..

6:01 pm

I hope he can be my good warlock,angels...

A warlock! Just a warlock? Too beautiful to be mine.... I feel ugly and fat these days but I need a warlock.... ( But that's not the reason why I'm liking colored alien it is the fate and situation and maturity....Plus, yeah! Colored are pretty as well like the white'z ).

A warlock is fine... I CAN'T EVEN HIRE HIM AS WELL, TO BE MY PARTNER...

Bankruptcy :(

6:53 pm

For my good angels here...

Try this ... You will feel the burn...

This yoga it is about timing of sex and giving birth... ( A lot of ministers here in Cavite in my hometown in Dasmarinas, they thought that I was evil coz I told some of the church of christ members to do yoga. I'm just joking that it is about sex position "the kama sutra" but partly but that's not the shallow explaination. It is symbol of Life --Yoga! ).

But it is fine to do it just for the pain of your sciatica/priformis/ or pelvic pain... Just explaining this yoga exercise...

8:03 pm

8:23 pm

9:41 pm

John is sleeping already, it is just weird that he is crying lately on his deep sleep than I will caress and kiss him ( then he will stop crying). I wonder why is he crying???

[btvsladiesmovieclub]

Okay guys, tomorrow, Wednesday the 2nd I’ll be streaming Race the Sun on caracal.club at 6:00pm pacific time (8:00pm central time, 9:00 eastern)! Let me know your usernames there so I can add you. Let’s see how this goes!

This is a really great Eliza movie so don’t miss it :)

[jungshookz]

maybe, she can drive his car; mechanic!yoongi

➺ pairing; mechanic!yoongi x spoiledbrat!y/n

➺ genre; mechanic!yoongiverse!! sfw!! honk honk humour!! some suggestive behaviour because this is mechanic!yoongi and his y/n we're talking about!! the green-eyed monster inside of y/n is awoken after being dormant for so long and she's ready to bite some heads off

➺ wordcount; 11.6k

➺ summary; yoongi's ex is back in town for a visit and you'd be lying if you said you weren't slightly envious of a) how knowledgeable she is about stupid cars and b) how well she gets along with literally everyone.

➺ what to expect; "right, about that- i know i was supposed to come over for dinner tonight but- listen, i don't know what lisa did but obviously she's got a lot of connections now and the shop has literally never been this busy before... you understand, don't you?"

➺ currently spinning on the record player; mustang sally (originally by wilson pickett, covered by andrew strong)

(unfortunately i wasn’t able to track down the original maker of this gif but this is where i sourced it from! all credits go to the original creator of course :-))

»»————- 🛠️ ————-««

namjoon usually doesn't pay too much attention to you whenever you're hanging out at the workshop with everyone because of how often you're here, but there's something about the way you're acting today that even he has to admit is oddly very...

cute?

and it's not that you're not cute all the time (because you totally are!!) but it's just that the version of you today in particular is suddenly making him want to go off and find a y/n of his own

"whatcha doing?"

namjoon jolts in surprise when a grimy hand suddenly burrows itself into the warm bag of freshly-popped popcorn that he has cradled to his chest and he scowls before turning his body away slightly

"hey, you're contaminating the popcorn, man-" he huffs, quickly grabbing the mega-sized pack of hand wipes from the desk before plopping it down on the countertop for jungkook, "at least have the decency to wipe your hands before digging into my popcorn- also, i'm watching. duh."

"watching?" jungkook frowns as he sloppily wipes his hands on the front of his shirt, turning to look out the open door, "watching what?"

"yoongi and y/n." namjoon hums, popping a couple of kernels into his mouth with a crunch, "she's been following him around like a little duckling all day."

"mm." jungkook props an elbow up on the counter as he looks towards the two of you before clicking his tongue, "...he must've really given it to her good last night if she's acting like that-"

"okay, now you've ruined the moment-" namjoon frowns, his shoulders dropping slightly before he gestures to you guys, "it's sweet! this is obviously a wholesome thing-"

"call it what you want, but all i'm trying to say is that good sex makes you do crazy things-" jungkook snorts before aggressively shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth, "cravy phings."

"i'd like to argue that good sex forms a strong emotional bond which explains why there are cartoon hearts currently floating around y/n's head-" namjoon perks up when he notices the way your eyes light up at something yoongi says, "look at her! look at the way she's looking at him!"

"oh, please." jungkook tuts, "that dopey look on her face is telling me that the only thing on her mind is yoongi bending her over the hood of that car and just ramming-"

"namjoon and jungkook are arguing again." you point out, turning to look towards the office just in time to see namjoon throw a handful of popcorn at jungkook only for him to open his mouth and chomp wildly at the air to get some into his mouth

"jungkook probably said something stupid, as per usual." yoongi snorts, leaning over to lock the hood of the car into place before pulling away and taking a look at the situation, "now, let's see what we have going on here..."

when namjoon told him that this was a brake master cylinder repair he immediately felt all the excitement leave his body

he hates doing brake master cylinder repairs

all the parts are so small and the handiwork is super tedious anD the last time he did one of these he took like four hours to get it done

overall it's a pretty boring repair job and as much as he wants to pass it off to one of the others to do, he knows that he's the most skilled with the internal mechanics of a car compared to everyone else which he usually likes to brag about but today he wishes that that wasn't the case

"so what do you have to do?" you frown, stepping over so that you're standing by the side of the car and you're not in yoongi's way, "all the thingies look fine to me."

"well, i actually need to replace the brake master cylinder thingy." yoongi teases, smiling lightly as he points at some kind of container, "there's a leak in the seals, which is pretty common since they wear out after a few years. it should be an easy fix! it'll just take a while, that's all."

luckily, taehyung already took care of the messy part and emptied the fluid from the reservoir for him so now it's time to start the actual repair process

"so does beeper have one of these cylinders in him?" you ask, tilting your head in curiosity

you've never actually taken a look at beeper's under the hood situation before so you wouldn't know

(it feels like he's all naked and exposed whenever yoongi lifts his hood up and you just want to give beeper some privacy, that's all.)

"if beeper didn't have one of these cylinders in him, you wouldn't be able to brake, silly." yoongi snorts, reaching down to unclip the sensor from the reservoir, "see, when you push down on the brake, it pushes a piston through the cylinder and forces hydraulic fluid through the brake lines, which goes to the slave cylinders of each wheel, and then-" he pauses when he notices you've gone all quiet and he turns to see you staring directly at him with a dopey little smile on your face "-what? what'd i say?"

"i like it when you talk shop to me." you giggle quietly, "i mean, i don't understand 98% of the words that come out of your mouth when you do, but i still like it a lot-"

"yeah?" yoongi teases, taking a hand off the edge of the car so he can gesture for you to come closer (and you do, obviously), "you like it when i talk to you about... hm, i don't know..." he feigns cluelessness as he stands up to slink an arm around your waist and bring you towards him while your arms automatically hang loosely around his neck, "how the rubbing of the brake pad against the brake disc generates friction..." he lowers his voice as he sits lightly on the edge of the car and gives your hips a squeeze

"mm, tell me more..." you play along, letting yoongi pull you closer so that you're settled nicely in between his legs

"i don't know, maybe i should save all the good stuff for the bedroom..."

you resist the urge to immediately start whining when you lean in only for yoongi to dodge your kiss, "hey, i like you in these baggy overalls, by the way." he suddenly changes the subject and you feel your cheeks flush when both his hands slide in through the gaps until he's able to grip your bum, "big, big fan of them-"

"you- namjoon and jungkook are right there-" you gawk, "at least have the decency to turn me around so they don't see you fully groping me-"

"they can always just close their eyes or something-"

"okay, you two, break it up-!" you hear namjoon's claps echoing from the office as he tries to get your attention and you immediately turn to look at him with a grin, "god, it's like you sick freaks want to rub it in our faces-"

"okay, i have to get to work so why don't you go and hang out with namjoon in the office?" yoongi stands up, being careful not to hit the top of his head on the hood, "he'll let you play chess on the computer if you ask nicely."

"i thought i was helping you out today!" you frown, grabbing onto his hand before waving it back and forth, "you said i did a good job handing you the tools and stuff. i'm getting better at not mixing all the different types of screwdrivers up!"

yoongi can't help but laugh at how needy you're being and he reaches up with his free hand to adjust his bandana

"i know you wanna help, but i promise you there's nothing exciting about repairing a master cylinder." he hums, reaching up to pinch your cheek playfully, "plus, don't you still have a huge research paper to work on?"

"yeah, but i'd much rather hang out with you..." you pout, yoongi cooing before leaning in to give your pushed-out bottom lip a little kiss

"we can hang out when we're both done with work."

"okay..." you purse your lips before letting go of his hand, "it's your loss. i'm a fantastic helper."

"mhm, you certainly are-" yoongi spins you around before pushing his palm against your lower back to get you to move, "now go and bug namjoon!"

you turn back to glance at yoongi one last time and he sweeps his hands at you to tell you to gO

fine!

it was getting hot in the garage anyway and namjoon always has the aircon blasting in the office

"sorry! only sad, single people are allowed in this area-" namjoon jokes as soon as you step in, gesturing to the office space with a grin, "leave or i'll have security escort you out."

"oh, stop it." you giggle, folding your arms up on the counter and leaning forward, "i keep telling you i'd be more than happy to set you up with one of my friends!!"

"i know, and that's very nice of you to offer, but i just want to find someone organically, you know?" namjoon sighs, leaning back against his chair before looking up at the ceiling wistfully, "being set up with someone doesn't feel like a natural process."

"namjoon thinks he's the main character of a shitty netflix romantic comedy." jungkook mutters, the two of you exchanging low giggles with each other

"well, if no one comes into your life organically you can always let me know and i'll- woah-" you jump in surprise when the sound of a roaring engine suddenly shatters the peaceful atmosphere and you turn around just in time to see a sleek car veering into the shop

you wince and raise a hand to shield your eyes from the bright headlights and you don't get a chance to make the first comment because jungkook beats you to it

(for the record, you were going to talk about how dramatic of an entrance whatever that was)

"oh my god. that is the sexiest car i've ever seen in my entire life." he breathes out, stepping away from the counter so he can stand by the door and get a closer look, "a 1965 mustang. nice."

"fun fact: i was actually thinking about getting a vintage mustang! i wanted an olive green one because i could've named her 'olive' which is super cute-" you nod enthusiastically, looking back and forth between namjoon and jungkook only for them to.,., completely ignore you and continue staring at the glossy mustang sitting out front

"okay, you guys, it's just a car-" you roll your eyes and let out a little snort of disbelief, "this isn't going to change your life or anything-"

a high-heel clad foot steps out of the car and onto the pavement and you immediately recognize the classic red-bottom louboutins

you actually own a pair of them as well but you rarely wear them out because you're always paranoid that you're going to topple over and snap an ankle and that would be completely mortifying

they're six inches tall!!!!

for the record, they look very nice sitting (collecting dust) on your shelf but now you're starting to think that it might be a good idea to wear them out again because this stranger makes it look like walking in them is easy breezy beautiful

"holy shit. is that lisa?" namjoon murmurs, reaching up to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "oh, wow. she..."

"i don't remember her looking like that the last time we saw her." jungkook whistles lowly, "hello, miss manoban."

"lisa- who's lisa?" you frown, tilting your head in curiosity as you watch this mysterious lisa toss her oversized sunglasses into the front seat of the car before slamming the door shut

"uh, she's just one of yoongi's exes- she actually used to work here but-" namjoon reaches over the counter so he can nudge you aside gently to get a better look, "when did she get a vintage mustang?!"

lisa leans down to look at herself in the side mirror, smearing some red lipstick over her pillowy bottom lip before rubbing her lips together and nodding satisfactorily

"guess her car-wrapping business really took off." jungkook hums, his eyes glued to the car

she seems to be moving in slow motion as she takes her hair down and shakes her head back and forth, the three of you tilting your heads at the same time as you watch her in awe

"car-wrapping?" you ask curiously, "she must spend a fortune on wrapping paper and giant bows-"

"no, obviously it's not actual wrapping- like-" jungkook huffs and you resist the urge to bop him over the head at how snappy he's being with you when he already knows you're clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff, "okay, you know how you said that if you ever got a g-wagon for yourself one day that you wanted to make it baby blue just like beeper and also matte? lisa could do that for you."

"oh! in that case, it might be nice to get a business card from her or something-" you make a mental note before shaking your head and turning back around to face namjoon, "hey, so, super casual, can we round back to the whole 'yoongi's ex' thing real quickly because i-"

"yoohoo, boys!" lisa whistles, grinning excitedly when she's suddenly joined by everyone outside one by one, "what, no one thought to roll out the red carpet for me?"

"c'mon, namjoon! let's go say hi to lisa and her vintage 'stang!!" jungkook grins, gesturing for namjoon to hurry before he's darting out the door, "lisa, hey!"

"yeah, okay!!" namjoon gets up from his seat so quickly that he sends his chair rolling back and smacking against the file cabinets, "oh, y/n-! if anyone calls, just send them straight to voicemail-"

"but i-" you don't get a chance to say anything before namjoon's brushing past you and dashing out the door as well

you don't know too much about lisa but obviously she's a pretty big deal around here

it'd probably be good for you to go and introduce yourself instead of awkwardly hanging out in the office by yourself

"hello, lisa. it's very nice to meet you. firm handshake." you mutter to yourself as you step out of the office and head towards the bustling group of boys, "hey, lisa! so great to meet you. firm handshake. hi, girlie-! nope, don't like that one-"

"-in town for business so i thought it'd be nice to swing by and visit my boys." you manage to catch the end of lisa's sentences as you join the boys, trying not to make any sudden movements to catch her attention

"you should've texted one of us or something!" namjoon pulls his phone out of his back pocket, "we could've ordered a pizza for lunch-"

you reach over to give the back of yoongi's jumpsuit a little tug just to get his attention and he glances over his shoulder at you before offering you a teasing smile and reaching back to wiggle his fingers against your stomach

you giggle lightly before swatting his hand away and he turns back to look at lisa

"well, i wanted to surprise you guys!" lisa chirps, tucking her clutch underneath her armpit before clapping her hands together, "i see nothing's changed around here... except for..." you feel your heart drop when she suddenly leans over and looks directly at you, "hello! i don't think we've ever met."

"oh, shoot- sorry, i should've introduced you sooner-" yoongi steps aside so that he isn't blocking you, "lisa, this is y/n! y/n, this is lisa." he smiles, gesturing towards lisa, "my girlfriend." he pauses and quickly shakes his head at his little flub-up, "i mean- lisa, this is y/n, my girlfriend-"

"he's definitely gonna pay for that later." jimin mutters, jungkook snickering before nudging at his side to get him to shut up

"it's super nice to meet you, y/n!" lisa doesn't acknowledge yoongi's error and she steps forward to get closer to you

she's practically towering over you but it's really just because of the stilettos

she turns her head to look at the boys and a second of silence goes by before they realize what she's asking of them and they all scatter in different directions

you give yoongi a look that basically screams S.O.S. and you resist the urge to burst into tears when he gives you a cheery thumbs up in return and trots off to go and do something else

okay

you'll be fine

you have nothing to be nervous about!

this is just yoongi's very hot ex who looks like a million bucks while you'e currently dressed like a giant toddler

it doesn't help that you're wearing what's commonly known as a 'baby tee' under these overalls

"you- yeah, you too-" you chuckle uneasily, giving her a weak handshake before pulling away with a smile, "i'm sorry, i'm a little underdressed-" you pause to gesture to the grubby overalls you have on, "i promise i look better than this most of the time..."

"oh, don't be silly. i just grabbed the first outfit i saw out of my suitcase and threw it on-" she sighs, reaching up to pick some lint off her blazer that you're pretty sure you saw in the most recent YSL spring catalog (in fact, you're pretty sure it's on your to-buy list), "so, what do you do?"

"me? i- uh, well, nothing, at the moment- i'm still studying for my undergraduate degree, so..." you shrug sheepishly, reaching up to scratch the back of your neck

for some reason you can't seem to maintain eye contact with her for more than three seconds at a time

"oh! you're still in school?"

"yeah, i- well, i'm graduating this year, so i'm almost out of school if you think about it that way- but yes. yes, i... am currently a university student, so that's what i'm doing."

"mm, cute! what are you studying?"

"history! i'm a history major and a marine biology minor." you nod, "so... the cold war and... like, sharks. something like that."

"ah, very cool."

to be honest you're not entirely sure if lisa's being sincere or not but you'll take the compliment either way

you can tell she's trying to scope you out - which is fair, because this is the first time you two are meeting and you're currently involved with someone she used to be involved with

"i'm sorry. i'm probably, like, freaking you out right now, aren't i?" lisa snorts, reaching out and placing her hand on your forearm for a split second, "i promise i'm just genuinely curious and i'm not trying to, like, interrogate you or anything. it's super nice to meet you! and honestly- i love the overalls. the little knee patches are adorable."

"oh, thank you..." you smile nervously, reaching down to glance at the mismatched patches of fabric sewn onto the knees of your overalls, "yoongi actually sewed 'em on for me! i usually wear this whenever i'm here because i'm okay with getting it dirty- i, um, i like your blazer! and your heels. and your purse- a chanel clutch is a classic!"

"ooh, someone has an eye for fashion..." lisa winks, raising her clutch and waving it slightly, "maybe after i'm done talking business with yoongi we can talk about gucci's new multicolour line-"

"oh, i have so many thoughts on gucci's new multicolour line!" you gasp, suddenly reignited with a spurt of energy, "honestly the colour scheme is very stabilo highlighters to me but we can talk about it later- i'll just be hanging out in the office, so you can find me there whenever you're ready-"

"perfect!" lisa gives you a thumbs up before pointing over to where yoongi is, "if you'll excuse me, i have to go and talk about boring things with yoongi-"

"mhm!" you watch with a smile as lisa click-clacks off towards yoongi before you spin around on your heels, giving yourself a mental pat on the back for how well you handled that interaction

lisa's actually nicer than you thought she'd be!

obviously the saying don't judge a book by its cover is very applicable here

"so... what'd you think of lisa?" namjoon joins your side before nudging you gently, "she's nice, right?"

"i like her! she seems really cool." you nod enthusiastically, pausing to glance over your shoulder to look at her from behind, "i need to ask her for tips on walking in those louboutins and how not to fall over."

"you know, i must say i'm pleasantly surprised at how you're handling this." namjoon snorts, holding back for a second to let you into the office first before he steps in behind you, "colour me impressed!"

"thank you!" you reach over to pull the lollipop jar towards you before suddenly pausing and looking back over at namjoon with a frown, "hold on a sec, what's that supposed to mean?"

"hm? oh, it's nothing." namjoon scrunches his nose, dismissing you with a flick of his wrist as he takes his seat behind the counter, "i just know that if i was in your shoes and my significant other's very attractive and very successful ex came back i would be a little antsy about it-" namjoon glances up from the computer and his eyes widen in panic when he notices that your eyes have widened in panic, "i- i mean- not that you're not very attractive and very successful- what i'm trying to say is that you have nothing to worry- you and yoongi seem like a very stable couple so-"

"do you think maybe you could tell me a bit about yoongi and lisa?" you interrupt his spiral and you feel yourself starting to get a little fidgety, "because i- i actually don't know anything about that situation-"

namjoon has a point, now that you think about it

lisa is very successful and very attractive and can walk in high heels very elegantly

and what about you?

yesterday you submitted a paper one minute before the deadline because of how much procrastinating you had done

and you haven't worn heels in forever because they just hurt so much

but lisa wouldn't complain about her feet hurting in high heels

lisa could have a hundred blisters and still walk into the room with a beautiful, red-lipped smile

"has he never told you about her?" namjoon frowns, "i feel like every couple should at least have one conversation about their past relationships."

"i think he tried to one time, but i- i dunno, you can't blame me for not wanting to sit there and listen to yoongi talking about all the girls he's been with, so i just changed the subject..." you mutter, pushing the jar away from you after pulling a strawberry lollipop out, "kind of regretting that decision now."

it's not like you have a reason to be insecure or anything, right?

your relationship with yoongi is very solid and there are certainly no trust issues or communication issues or anything of the sort

...

but he is your first boyfriend...,., and this is your first serious relationship which means you've had no prior experiences to learn from which means you're just going with the flow most of the time.,., so is it possible that you're being a little naïve right now?

"still, i don't think me telling you all the details of their relationship is a good idea because i feel like this is a conversation you should be having with yoongi-" namjoon chuckles nervously, leaning back against his chair before tucking a pencil behind his ear, "sorry, kiddo. i'm not trying to stir the pot here."

"i- oh, c'mon, joon- what's it gonna take, huh?" you reach into the front pocket of your overalls before subtly flashing a folded up hundred dollar bill, pursing your lips slightly as your eyes flicker back and forth between namjoon and your chest-money, "hm??"

"first of all, it's very concerning to me that you stash loose cash in your pocket like that. second of all, are you really trying to bribe me into telling you about yoongi and lisa?" namjoon asks incredulously

"what?! no!" you scoff, tucking the bill back into your pocket before pausing and raising an eyebrow, "...is it working?"

"no! in fact, i find it offensive that you think i'd be so easily swayed-"

"the next time i bring sushi for lunch, i'll get you your own mango shrimp tempura roll." you offer, namjoon staring at you blankly before he suddenly springs into action

"so, they used to sleep together, obviously." he clears his throat, "when lisa started working here, i kind of expected her to get involved with one of us and unsurprisingly it was yoongi, because... well, it's yoongi- i'm pretty sure it was a friends with benefits kind of thing because i remember asking him about it and he said they didn't want to put a label on it? and then at one point jimin asked lisa about it because all of us were super curious and she called it a 'situationship'... which, personally, i think is a pretty cheesy label- i dunno, they'd go out to dinners sometimes and occasionally they'd come into work together in the morning because- well, you know- uh, they were in this 'situationship' for... maybe, like, eight months? and then lisa got an opportunity to work elsewhere and she took it and they decided to call it off and fast forward to now... here we are!" namjoon claps his hands together before pressing his palm over his heart, "and i promise you that's all the information i have- well, maybe this piece of information might be useful to you: they were, like, super horny for each other all the time. like, almost outrageously horny, which i think is one of the downfalls of the relationship because you can't base a solid relationship off of animalistic sex, right? ooh, there was one time i caught them in yoongi's office and lisa was-"

"okay, i think that's enough-!" you hold a hand out to shut namjoon up and he shrugs before leaning back against his chair, "more than enough, actually-"

you weren't expecting to learn about the raw, animalistic sex yoongi had with lisa, but then again, you weren't expecting to even meet lisa at all

oh, god

should you be nervous??

you shouldn't be nervous, right??

...yeah, you're being ridiculous!

yoongi has been with other girls before and that shouldn't bother you because you didn't exist then

this has nothing to do with you!

so what if he bent her over the office table and-

okay, maybe it's time to stop thinking about this because the point is: you're fine. don't worry. everything is normal. yoongi is your boyfriend. lisa is his ex. everything is great!

"by the way, i want you to know that you honestly have nothing to worry about." namjoon suddenly chimes in as if he can read your mind, "lisa was yoongi's past but you are his present and most likely his future as well, so- seriously, don't even worry about it."

"yeah, you're right. it'd be silly of me to be upset about yoongi being with someone else when i wasn't even in the picture yet." you snort, reaching up to smack your own forehead gently, "okay! i'm feeling a little better. it would've been nice to not be informed about how horny they were for each other, but thank you for that detail-"

"yo, where are the snap ring pliers from my toolbox?" you turn just in time to see yoongi pop his head in, "i can't find them anywhere... i swear to god, everyone keeps borrowing my tools and 'forgetting' to put them back-" he rolls his eyes before looking over at you with a smile, "hi, baby-"

"hi yoongi-" you giggle, all your doubts and insecurities immediately fluttering away

see? nothing to worry about!

phEw

it feels like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders

"i think hoseok might've been using them earlier this morning." namjoon hums, "what do you need them for?"

"oh, lisa offered to help me out with the master cylinder repair and she needs 'em." yoongi points back over his shoulder, "you know how great she is with her hands-"

"woah, i thought-" your voice cracks slightly and you clear your throat, "i thought, uh- you were working on it yourself? like, i thought you didn't need any help and that's why i'm in here-"

"oh, i don't, but- well, lisa's good with fine-tuning so i might as well take advantage of her expertise while she's here." yoongi snorts before looking back over at namjoon, "you said hoseok had them?"

"yep!"

you bite down on your tongue to keep yourself from commenting any further

it's fine!

as we've already established, you have nothing to worry about.

...right?

»»————- 🛠️ ————-««

"and... voilà!" you smile satisfactorily to yourself after you set the scented candle down on the coffee table

the living room is going to smell like warm brown sugar and cinnamon in a few minutes and you can't wait

this is yoongi's favourite candle so you hope he'll be excited about that when he gets here :'))

you've been preparing the apartment for his arrival and lighting the candle was one of the last things on your to-do list

you still have to order dinner for tonight and you've always been awful at making decisions so you figured it'd be best to let yoongi choose instead

you haven't seen him for about a week and a half because of finals (and, being perfectly honest, you were the one who implemented this distancing rule in the first place because you know you won't be able to focus on studying when yoongi's in the apartment with you) so you're pretty pumped for tonight!!

you hum to yourself as you click on yoongi's phone number in your contacts, flopping back on the couch with a fwump! while your legs swing lazily over the arm

"hello?"

the phone picks up after a couple of rings and it takes you a second to realize that the voice on the other end certainly does not belong to your boyfriend

"he-" you pause, pulling your phone away from your ear and frowning at the unfamiliar voice before bringing it back, "um, hello?"

"hi! who's this?"

"who's this?" you point to yourself before scoffing lightly, "what do you mean who- who's this?"

"oh- oh, y/n! hey, it's lisa!" lisa greets enthusiastically and you relax a little knowing that it's just lisa, "sorry, i didn't look at the contact name before picking up- what's up?"

"well, i-" you pause again to recollect your thoughts, "um, sorry, i guess i was just expecting yoongi to pick up his own phone so i'm a little lost right now-"

"oh my gosh, don't even worry about it! yoongi's hands are super gross right now so i offered to take his call for him which is why i picked up the phone. is there something you wanted me to pass along to him?"

"yeah, you could pass his phone right along to him-" you joke before reminding yourself to keep the unnecessary cattiness to a minimum, "yeah, um- can you ask him what time he's coming over? so that i know what time to order our food and stuff? i want the food to still be nice and hot by the time he gets here, so i just need a time from him, that's all-"

"yeah, about that... i actually don't think yoongi's going to make it for dinner."

"i-" you frown, pushing yourself up so that you're leaning back against an elbow, "what? why not?"

"the thing is, i hooked him up with a bunch of clients so the poor thing's been working like a dog all day and it looks like he's going to be stuck here for a while... if you're worried about him skipping dinner, i can totally go and get some food for him if you want! there's this sandwich place a block away and i know what he likes-"

your eyes widen slightly at how... happy? lisa sounds about the fact that yoongi potentially won't be joining you for dinner and you nod to yourself as you clench your jaw

"that's- that's very kind of you, lisa-" your voice is a little pitchier than usual at this point and you clear your throat obnoxiously, "i'm sorry, i just really have to talk to yoongi for a second so if you could just, like, hold the phone up to his ear that would be okay too-"

"okay! gimme a sec." there's a bit of shuffling on the other end and you press your lips together as you wait (im)patiently, "yoongs! it's y/n... dinner... hot food... her place... clients... pretty busy tonight..."

and she even has a nickname for him

that's just downright adorable, isn't it?

"god, just give him the damn phone." you mutter under your breath, raising your other hand to inspect your cuticles as you lie back down on the couch

hm

you should probably schedule another manicure soon

"-it's okay, i can hold the phone myself- y/n?" you perk up when you hear yoongi on the other end and you can't help but kick your legs in excitement

you can't help it!!!

you haven't heard his voice in a whole week and a half!!!

"greetings, yoongs." you tease, "what time are you going to be here?" you bypass lisa's whole monologue about yoongi probably not being able to come over tonight in hopes that she'll be wrong about him ditching you to continue working, "i wanna order the food so it'll get here a little before you arrive. also, i haven't chosen what we're going to eat tonight so you're going to have to choose for us-"

"right, about that-" yoongi clears his throat, "i know i was supposed to come over for dinner tonight but- listen, i don't know what lisa did but obviously she's got a lot of connections now and the shop has literally never been this busy before..." he pauses and you hear the sound of loud clanging in the background, "you understand, don't you?"

it takes you a couple of seconds to process the fact that yoongi really won't be coming over tonight and you puff your cheeks out to keep yourself from immediately whining in protest

to say the least, you are.,.,,. very disappointed,.., but!! it won't be the end of the world, right?

you hate that lisa was right, but that's a conversation you can have with yourself another time

and if yoongi won't be here, that means you can hog all the garlic cheesy bread to yourself so maybe this is a blessing in disguise >:-)

"no, yeah, i- yeah, get it!" you nod, "i love that business is booming, i just don't love that you didn't text me or call me earlier to let me know you weren't going to come over tonight," you frown, turning your head to look at the flickering candle, "a heads up would've been nice, that's all..."

"i asked lisa to text you earlier when my hands were full... sorry, she must've forgot..."

"oh. yeah, i guess it could've slipped her mind." you respond dryly, "it would've taken, like, five seconds to text me-"

"okay, i-" you hear yoongi let out a small sigh before he speaks up again, "i'm sorry, baby, i really am- do you- i can come over now if you want me t-"

"no, it's okay! i'm sorry, i'm just-" you shake your head quickly before chuckling uneasily, "i just haven't seen you in a while so i miss you, that's all- but i'll let you get back to work now and i'll see you later?"

"yes! you are the best, you really are- look, i promise i'll be all yours as soon as i-"

"yoongi! these tires aren't going to change themselves, silly-"

"oh, c'mon-" you grumble, your teeth grinding slightly at the interruption of lisa's peppy voice in the background

"uh- yeah, in a sec-! i gotta go, doll- i'll call you later-"

"okay, b-" you don't get a chance to even say goodbye before the line goes dead and the only thing you can hear is an obnoxious beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep- "-ye."

»»————- 🛠️ ————-««

one of your goals for the new year was to try your best to not hold a grudge

admittedly, holding grudges is one of your specialties so it's been a little bit difficult but you think you've been doing an okay job so far!

like that time jungkook accidentally drowned you with dirty car water because he didn't see you and also he had headphones on so he couldn't hear you

you were ready to strangle him right then and there but you just took a deep breath and reminded yourself that *~deep-cleaning services exist~*

and sure, you were a little upset that yoongi couldn't make it for dinner the other night and that the two of you haven't really had a chance to have a moment alone because of how swamped he's been with work, but... well, the past is in the past and challenges like this are good for your personal growth!

plus, it's the start of a new week so you're just going to focus on the present

you try your best to keep your footsteps as quiet as possible as you approach a preoccupied yoongi from behind

he's currently sorting out all the things to do on his giant whiteboard (you bought this for the boys because you thought it'd be a good way to organize all their tasks and unsurprisingly, namjoon was the most excited about it)

"guess who?" you hold your hands over yoongi's eyes with a giddy smile and he immediately spins around to face you

"hey, what are you doing here?" yoongi asks, leaning down to give you a quick kiss before pulling away to check the time on his watch, "aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

"my history seminar was cancelled because my professor had some kind of an emergency so i thought i'd come and have lunch with you guys!" you hum, reaching over to fix the thin silver chain hanging around yoongi's neck, "i was going to pick the food up before coming here but i didn't want to just choose for everyone so i thought it'd be better to get everyone's orders first-"

"oh, you don't have to do that, baby-" yoongi shakes his head, capping the marker and dropping it back into the wire holder, "lisa actually offered to treat us to lunch- apparently there's some bagel place that has, like, a hundred different fillings-"

"lisa's here?" you interrupt, suddenly straightening your back before looking around quickly, "i... was not aware that lisa was... still here! i thought she was only here for a little while-"

"mm, she ended up extending her stay! one of her clients pushed their appointment to thursday so she came over to help out for the day."

"oh, cool." you nod, pressing your lips together as you take a second to sort through your thoughts

your nose scrunches slightly as you weigh the pros and cons of saying what you're about to say to yoongi

...

it won't kill you to ask, right?

"hey, i don't wanna, um-" you pause, "you know, i don't wanna... be that girlfriend, but... do you think that there's a slight possibility that lisa might still have feelings for you?"

a moment of silence goes by before yoongi practically barks out a laugh of disbelief

"what? lisa? no, no- that- no, don't be ridiculous." he snorts, shaking his head before turning back around to face the whiteboard, "lisa most certainly does not still have feelings for me- and, by the way, she was the one who broke things off with me, so if anything, i should be the one who still has feelings for-" he stops himself midway and presses his lips together before turning to glance at you over his shoulder, "you know, i'm hearing the words coming out of my mouth and i... am going to shut up now."

"mm, good choice." you raise a brow before shrugging, "alright, well, i just- you know, it's a possibility but if you say that lisa doesn't still have feelings for you, then i believe you-"

"alright, boys! it's chow time!"

you turn your head to see lisa waltzing into the shop carrying two large paper bags and the rest of the boys immediately rush over to her like moths to a flame

she brought bagels for lunch?

you're not trying to be biased or anything sandwiches are easier to eat, in your personal opinion

you basically have to unhinge your jaw to get a good bite of a bagel

"y/n!" lisa looks more than surprised at your presence when you and yoongi walk over the join the group, "i wasn't aware you were going to be here today- yoongi told me that you had class so i-" she pauses to set the bags down on the table, "oh my goodness, i am so sorry but i really didn't know you'd be joining us for lunch... yoongi, you could've texted me or something-"

"she just got here!" yoongi shrugs as he takes a seat at the table, "don't pin this on me-"

"ah, i probably look like such a jerk right now..." lisa winces, scratching the back of her head before reaching down to grab a bagel out of one of the paper bags, "here! you can take my bagel-"

"no, no, it's alright!" you hold your hands out before shaking them, "don't be silly, you don't have to do that- it's very nice of you to offer but i- it's alright, you go ahead and enjoy yourself!"

"oh, stop- take the bagel, y/n." lisa scoffs playfully, practically shoving the bagel into your arms before rummaging through the bags again, "i'll just share a bagel with yoongi! you don't mind, right, yoongs?"

"yeah, i had a snack earlier so i'm not, like, starving or anything-" yoongi nods, "what kind of filling is it?"

"this one is..." lisa pauses to look at the sticker on the top, "smoked salmon and dill cream cheese with capers."

"yoongi doesn't like capers." you chime in, suddenly feeling the need to prove to everyone that you know your boyfriend very well, "i remember they were sprinkled in a salad one time and he said they were too salty-"

"eh, i'll survive. i can always just pick 'em out." yoongi shrugs nonchalantly and you can't help but purse your lips in mild frustration at his response

"'atta boy! luckily, they're already sliced in half otherwise we'd have to take turns taking bites which would be weird-"

"agreed." you mutter, peeling the label off your bagel and sticking it onto the side instead

"oh, lisa! i was wondering if maybe you could help me out with some custom headlights i'm working on?" hoseok perks up, "i'm having some trouble getting the halo lights to work and i need your magic hands-"

"mhm! i can definitely check them out after lunch-" lisa grins, taking a seat next to yoongi, "anyone need a napkin?"

"yes, please!"

"i need one too-"

"pass one over here-"

you know it's silly of you to be feeling jealous over this because god knows the only thing you know about cars is that key go in and car go vroom so obviously the boys would never ask you to help them out with anything like how they're asking lisa to help out

and you're trying very hard to noT throw a self-pity party but it's getting harder and harder to not to that

(and it certainly doesn't help that there aren't any more seats left at the table)

you just can't help but feel so!!!!! inferior!!!!! compared to lisa

she's so cool and pretty and witty and obviously very knowledgable about cars

and what are you bringing to the table??

ham and cheese sandwiches??? fancy sushi rolls????

obviously not anymore because they've been replaced by these stupid bagels

this is the first time you haven't been able to throw money at a problem and you're not,.., sure.,., how you feel about it,..,

"i, uh, have to work on a paper, so i think i'm going to go and eat this in the office if anyone wants to come with?" you clear your throat quietly as you start to back away from the table slowly, "...or i can just go fuck myself, which is fine too."

you're not entirely surprised when your comment isn't acknowledged by anyone and you nod to yourself before swiftly turning on your heel and trying your best not to storm towards the office

you force your fists to uncurl and your shoulders to relax slightly but you can't help but make a face when you hear the boys laughing obnoxiously at one of lisa's jokes

of course she has to be funny as well

because the woman literally has zero flaws

you've been trying to find a reason to hate her and so far you haven't found anything negative to say

hating someone for having perfectly styled hair is a little odd

the legs of the chair screech against the floor as you pull it out and plop down

whatever

you like eating alone anyway

you unwrap the parchment paper and pick up the bagel before taking an overly aggressive bite of it, your cheeks practically bursting from how much food is currently in your mouth

you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand as you chew, tossing the bagel back onto the wrapper with a thunk!

...

damnit!

this is the best goddamn bagel you've ever had in your entire life!!

"phtupid phriggin' bavhel." you grumble, reaching up to wipe the sauce off the corner of your mouth before swallowing roughly, "even the mayo is delicious! god, what is this? some kind of garlic mayo-"

"oh my god. i think she's finally lost it." you jolt upon hearing jungkook's voice and you turn to see him and jimin standing at the door

"what's your problem?" jimin asks, the two of them walking over to join you at your sad, lonely table

"what? nothing. i don't have a problem." you shake your head stubbornly, "i just- i just wanted to be alone, that doesn't mean something's wrong-"

"is that why you're in here basically yelling at a bagel?" jungkook points out as he pulls out a chair and sits on your right

"i'm- i'm just stressed about- my paper. or whatever. it's whatever, i'm fine-"

"you can talk to us, you know." you frown when jungkook suddenly reaches over and in an uncharacteristic move, places both hands over yours

"is it about lisa?" jimin asks, crinkling his nose as he sits down as well, "it's about lisa, isn't it?"

"no, it's not-" you press your lips together before letting out a light laugh, "you know, i don't even have a reason to be upset about lisa, right? she's super cool and very nice and knows a lot about cars and is yoongi's age and namjoon blessed me with the knowledge that she, apparently, was a very passionate lover- so i have nothing to be upset about!" you snap, slapping your palm down on the table before wincing and cradling your hand to your chest, "...everything is fine."

"i have to say, i really don't think jealousy is a good look on you." jungkook clicks his tongue before glancing down at your feet, "i also don't know if those shoes are a good look on you- jeez, it's like the people at gucci are just pulling design elements out of a hat-"

"you are not making me feel any better, jungkook- these shoes are new!"

"ooh, you should make him jealous!" jungkook suddenly lights up and the fluorescent light hanging above you guys flickers for a second

"we're going to have to round back to my shoes later because i really don't think they're that bad-"

"you should make him jealous and give him a taste of his own medicine..." jungkook trails off, ignoring your previous comments once again, "it's what you deserve."

"i'm not- i'm not doing that." you chuckle uneasily, "are you serious? this isn't high school and getting him back would just be petty of me-"

"but it'd feel so nice to be petty, don't you think?" jungkook encourages, scooting a little closer to you with a devilish grin, "think about it, y/n. don't you wanna see yoongi get all hot and possessive over you-"

"i don't think it's a good idea." jimin chimes in, shaking his head quickly as he moves in closer as well, "because if yoongi finds out you orchestrated something just to get him back, that might create an issue of trust in the relationship, and that would be very, very bad-"

"oh, but it feels so good to be bad..." jungkook coos, poking your arm with his pointer finger, "so, so good..."

"uh, i don't think so! i'd like to argue that it feels bad to be bad-"

"don't listen to jimin, he's a wuss-"

"don't listen to jungkook, he's an idiot-!"

"okay, cut it out!" you snap, shoving your hands into both their chests to keep them from coming any closer, "i... must admit, i do want to do something to piss yoongi off because of how much he's pissed me off, but... i'm not like that, you know? and i don't want to come off as some crazy girlfriend because-" you pause when you notice jungkook's finger creeping closer and closer to your bagel and you immediately deflate as soon as you realize what's going on here, "oh my god. you guys only came in here because you wanted to try my bagel, didn't you?"

jungkook and jimin exchange knowing glances before looking up at you sheepishly

"yeah, that makes more sense-" you snort, rolling your eyes before pushing the bagel away from you, "have at it, you animals."

you lean back against your chair, stroking your chin in thought as the sound of jungkook and jimin bickering over who gets the bigger half of the bagel starts to fade out

to be petty or not to be petty, that is the question...

»»————- 🛠️ ————-««

(spoiler alert: the answer to the previous question is to be petty. very, very petty.) »»————- 🛠️ ————-««

"namjoon! where did you put my keys??" yoongi calls out, yanking open another drawer to rifle through its contents, "i'm supposed to pick y/n up from campus and i can't find them anywhere... i don't want her to just stand there waiting for me..."

"looking for these?"

yoongi looks up to see lisa standing by the door with his keys in her hand before she tosses them to him

"yes! you're a lifesaver, thanks-" he catches them with one hand before stepping out from behind the counter, "i thought you were leaving today? we already said goodbye to you this morning-"

"yeah, i know-" lisa chuckles as she steps into the office, "it's just that... well, i was going to just leave but i actually had something i needed to talk to you about before i left. i felt it wouldn't be fair to either one of us if i didn't say anything."

"mm. what's up?" yoongi hums, sticking his hand into the lollipop jar to pull a cherry flavoured one out

he pulls another one out before tucking it into his pocket (one for you when he picks you up!)

"well, i guess i should just go ahead and say it- just gotta rip the bandaid off-" lisa straightens her blazer before clearing her throat, "yes."

"...yes?" yoongi frowns, unwrapping his lollipop before popping it into his mouth and scrunching up the wrapper, "i'm not following. yes to what?"

"oh, don't play dumb-" lisa snorts, flicking her wrist at him, "yes, as in: i would love to rekindle our friends with benefits situationship-"

"woah, what?!" yoongi immediately chokes and he yanks the lollipop out of his mouth before patting his chest roughly, "what are you- what the hell are you talking about??"

"what do you mean what the hell am i talking about??" lisa stares at him incredulously before shaking her head, "you're the one who's been giving me secret signals all week-"

"signals-" yoongi's gawks, "what signals??"

"you know, like, how you cancelled dinner plans with her so you could be with me..." lisa croons, taking a step closer towards him

"i cancelled dinner plans with y/n so i could be with twenty cars-" yoongi inches to the side so he can make a quick getaway to run behind the counter in case lisa pounces, "which, i'm realizing doesn't make me sound like the best boyfriend but- i most certainly didn't cancel just to spend private time with you, no offence-"

"what about when we shared a bagel and you didn't complain about the capers??" lisa snaps, lunging towards yoongi only for him to quickly spin out of the way and hurry to get behind the counter

"uh, we shared a bagel because i wasn't hungry for a full bagel and i thought you weren't either, and also-" yoongi grabs namjoon's wheely chair as a makeshift barrier between him and lisa, "i'm a grown man, i'm not going to throw a fit over some friggin' capers-"

"how about when i squeezed your arm and asked you if you'd been working out and you totally flexed your arm for me??" lisa grabs the arms of the chair before yanking and aggressively rolling it behind her, yoongi's eyes widening in panic at the sudden empty space in between the two of them

"i flexed it to prove to you that i have indeed been working out-!" yoongi hops up onto the counter as soon as lisa darts towards him and he hurries to jump off so he's on the other side of it, knocking the phone and namjoon's pen holder down onto the ground in the process, "friends can ask each other if they've been hitting the gym!! i squeeze namjoon's arms all the time because his biceps are literally boulders-"

"i just feel like we have unfinished business, you know?" lisa whines, pausing for a second before bringing a hand up to bite down on the tip of her pointer finger teasingly, "plus, you have to admit that our sex was super hot-"

"are you- hello, i'm dating y/n!" yoongi gasps, "our business is finished! we have no more- we're out of business, lisa!"

"oh, c'mon." lisa raises a brow, clearly unimpressed with his reaction, "it's not going to hurt anyone to keep me as your sexy little secret- it's perfect! i only come into town, like, once or twice a year, so she won't even suspect anythi-"

"what are you- are you insane?! i'm not going to cheat on y/n-" yoongi chokes before raising his hands in defence, "lisa, you're a very beautiful woman and we do have a history, but- look, i'm sorry if i sent you mixed signals this week, that was certainly not my intention- please understand that i am very much not trying to cheat on someone who i love very much and who i'm pretty sure loves me back, so-"

"then who's that person she's so obviously flirting with right now?" lisa points over his shoulder, "also, she's barely visited you this week. what kind of girlfriend doesn't want to always be with her boyfriend??"

"first of all, space can be healthy, and second of all, she- hold on, you said flirting?" yoongi turns to look over his shoulder and out the door, tilting his head slightly when he sees you standing at the front of the garage laughing with... someone he certainly doesn't recognize...

"you can leave all of this behind and come and work for me, yoongi-" yoongi jumps when he suddenly feels hands grasping at the collar of his jumpsuit and he turns back to see lisa standing right in front of him (how did she move so quickly and quietly?!), "we can be happy together, i swear-"

"yeah, cool, just give me a second-" yoongi gently yanks lisa's hands off of him before hurrying out of the office and making a beeline right for you and this mysterious stranger

"oop- okay, he's coming this way-" baekhyun mutters, glancing over your shoulder before looking back at you, "it's show time. you ready?" he hums, reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear

"what do you think? do we look convincing?" you reach down to unbutton another button on your blouse before adjusting the collar

it's taking everything within you noT to whip around to see if yoongi's just walking towards you or if he's storming towards you... because there's definitely a difference and you definitely want it to be the latter

the plan you came up with had a pretty simple formula: one handsome stranger + one flirty, oblivious y/n = one jealous yoongi

jungkook had a point about how nice it'd be to get yoongi all riled up and possessive and frankly you think you deserve it considering how dismissive he's been with you all week... which is why you were more than happy to recruit your very handsome friend baekhyun (he's very sweet / you met last semester in one of your history courses / he was more than willing to help out with your plan because he's a theatre major and this is good practice for him) to help you out with your plan!

"you're laughing like a robot." baekhyun lowers his voice, "i told you to act natural-"

"i'm being natural! ha, ha! ha! ha-ha. you're so funny, baek-" you giggle obnoxiously, reaching over to slap his chest gently, "you are absolutely the funniest person i've ever met-"

"y/n!" yoongi clears his throat loudly and you bite back a grin at the hint of annoyance you can detect in his voice, "i... thought i was picking you up from class today? i wasn't aware you hired a chauffeur!"

"oh, yoongi!" you spin around, feigning surprise as if you totally weren't expecting to see him at all, "oh, this is actually my friend- i know you've been busy so he offered to give me a ride!" you hum, stepping aside to let baekhyun step up onto the sidewalk, "baekhyun, this is yoongi-" you gesture to yoongi, "yoongi, this is baekhyun! ...my boyfriend."

you're hoping your accidental on-purpose flub-up triggers yoongi's memory of how he accidentally introduced lisa to you as his girlfriend and you're delighted to see the way yoongi's jaw drops slightly, "oh, my bad! i'm sorry, i don't know how that happened- what i meant to say was baekhyun, this is yoongi, my boyfriend. there we go."

"baekhyun..." yoongi repeats, his eyes narrowing slightly when baekhyun suddenly wraps an arm around your shoulder and gives you a squeeze "well, that's very nice of you to drive y/n all the way here. thanks for doing that, man."

"oh, it's no problem at all!" baekhyun hums, reaching over to pinch your cheek, "y/n's the sweetest and i didn't want to abandon her on campus-"

"okay, she wasn't abandoned, i was literally about to leave to pick her up-" yoongi points out, lifting his keys with a jingle before abruptly shoving them into his back pocket, "you know, y/n's never mentioned a baekhyun before. you two seem... close!"

"oh, baek and i go way back." you snort, digging your elbow into his side with a grin, "isn't that right, baek?"

baek

yoongi pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek at the fact that baekhyun still has his arm wrapped around your shoulder and you haven't made a move to shoVE it off

how can you not see that his intentions with you aren't just chummy??

he wouldn't have driven you all the way here if he didn't want to get his grubby hands under your skirt-

"we most certainly do! we made some great memories in that lecture hall- i have to say, i was, uh, pretty disappointed when i found out she was already in a relationship..." baekhyun sighs dramatically, shaking his head before looking back at you, "i would treat you right and never cancel dinner plans with you-"

"okay, i think it's time for you to go, bacon-" yoongi forces a smile on his face before reaching over to gently pull you towards him, "thank you for dropping my girlfriend off. have a good one."

"oh, no problem!" baekhyun points towards you, "hey, lemme know if you need a ride to campus on monday because i'd be happy to swing by your apartment and-"

"no, i can take her!" yoongi manoeuvres you so that you're standing behind him and basically blocked from baekhyun's sight, "i've got it from here, thanks."

"bye, baek!" you wave at baekhyun as gets into his car and he salutes at you before his right eye drops in a cheeky wink and it's at that point that yoongi really thinks he's about to lose it

what the hell was that?!

he spins around to face you as soon as baekhyun zooms off and you keep yourself from asking him why his ears have suddenly turned super red

"why are you wearing lowbuttons to class?" yoongi crosses his arms over his chest, "i thought you said you were going to use them as, like, apartment decoration."

"louboutins, yoongi." you correct, looking down at your slick stilettos, "and why can't i wear louboutins to class?"

"you wore them out to dinner one time and i ended up having to carry you back to the car because your feet were aching-" yoongi reminds you with a pointed tone, "are you telling me that you walked up and down and all around campus in those things?"

"maybe i did." you shrug, turning to stick your nose up in the air a little, "i can wear stilettos to class if i so please."

"and the miniskirt?"

"what, you don't like it?" you pout, reaching down to pick a piece of fluff off the surface, "it's new!"

it's a plain black skirt but it has a little slit on the side and you purposely bought this specific piece knowing that yoongi has expressed how much he likes you in black

"of course i like it, and obviously i'm a big fan of the heels but-" yoongi huffs, "all i'm saying is that it's a little odd- the timing is weird for your miniskirts and heels to make a sudden comeback now that you're all buddy-buddy with this backyawn-"

"it's baekhyun-"

"that's what i said!"

"you know, i don't know what you're implying here but i haven't done anything wrong-" you shrug, "are you feeling okay? maybe you need to take a nap-"

"stop being stubborn, y/n. just tell me what's going on!"

"nothing's going on!" you insist, raising your hands in defense before flicking a strand of hair over your shoulder, "everything is perfectly fine and nothing is-"

"are you leaving me for baekhyun?" yoongi interrupts, his eyes suddenly softening, "because if this is how you're telling me we're over, it's a pretty shitty-"

"what- what?? no!" you shake your head quickly, "no, of course i'm not- why would you even- okay, fine! fine, i-" you let out a breath and your shoulders drop a little, "it's just that... i don't know, it kind of feels like i've been fighting to get your attention for the whole week and i... i feel like i shouldn't have to do that as your girlfriend, you know? and i'm not... i guess i just felt like i wasn't stacking up to lisa and how cool and smart she is and- this whole week it's just felt like you're in a relationship with lisa and not me, so i... wanted to make you jealous to see if you still cared. or whatever."

"are you serious?" yoongi's eyes flutter shut and he reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, "fuck, i'm sorry, ah- i'm sorry, y/n, i really am-" his brows knit together in remorse as he looks at you, "i think i just got swept up in all the new clients she was bringing in so i was focusing more on that than on noticing what was going on with you... i'm sorry. why didn't you just come and talk to me about it?"

"i didn't know how." you mutter, reaching up to scratch the side of your head, "i've never had to deal with something like this before, so... i know it was silly of me to come up with this whole thing-"

"you are my girlfriend, y/n." yoongi reminds you, his voice softening, "not lisa. it's you." he reaches over to hook a finger under your chin so he can get you to look at him, "i promise i only have eyes for you, pretty girl. you still love me?"

"god, yoongi-" you feel your cheeks flush at the nickname and you roll your eyes playfully before turning your head, "yeah. duh."

"oh, you silly thing..." he tuts, pulling you in for a hug and propping his chin up on the top of your head, "i'm sorry, baby. i really didn't mean to make you feel like that..." he pulls away and reaches down to glide his finger down the bridge of your nose before poking the tip, "i hope you can forgive me for being a shitty boyfriend."

"i'll forgive you if you forgive me for pretending to flirt with someone else." you smile sheepishly, yoongi grinning before nodding in agreement

"deal." he wraps an arm around your shoulder as the two of you head back towards the direction of the office, "so you really went through all that trouble just to make me a little jealous?" yoongi grins, "just for a little bit of attention? as if i'm not already all over you when we're alone-"

"well, it worked, didn't it?" you take your bottom lip in between your teeth as you squish your cheek against yoongi's shoulder and look up at him, "my acting skills are not half bad, if i do say so myself-"

"oh, shit, uh-" yoongi suddenly stops in his tracks when he sees lisa step out of the office and he spins around so that his back is facing her, "not to make you worry, but you should probably know that lisa's somehow convinced that i've been secretly flirting with her all week because i want to become friends with benefits again and she almost, like, body-slammed me in the office- also, if namjoon asks, tell him a raccoon snuck in and that's why his desk is a mess and his pens are all over the floor-"

"wait, what?!" your brows knit together and you're about to lean over to look at lisa but yoongi quickly reaches out and grabs onto your shoulders to keep you in place

"-yeah, so i'm going to lay you down on the hood of that car now because doing something extreme is probably the only thing that'll prove to her that she's wrong and i am very desperate to show her that she's wrong-"

"lay me down on the- and do what?! yoongi-!" you don't get much of a chance to say anything else before yoongi's suddenly bending down to pick you up off the ground in one swift movement, his fingers digging underneath your thighs as he lays you down on the hood of the nearest car, "yoongi-! you can't just-"

"shush!" yoongi hisses, pressing his lips against yours to shut you up promptly

"mmvph-"

it doesn't take you very long to melt into the kiss once you realize you haven't kissed yoongi like this in like a week and a half and you can't help but smile at the familiar faint taste of cherry you're getting from him

yoongi's warm hand slides down from your waist so he can hitch your left leg up against his hip, one of your heels slipping from your foot and clattering onto the floor

your senses are so clouded with yoongi cherry yoongi cherry that you nearly forget the two of you aren't alone (and also, all of this is definitely being recorded on the security cameras right now)

"hey, so- i- i'm gonna get going-" lisa announces loudly as she stands at a good distance away from the two of you, her eyes looking up towards the ceiling so that she doesn't have to watch the way yoongi's kissing down your neck, "i have to check out of my hotel, so-"

"yeah, sounds good!" yoongi pulls away for a second and shoots a quick thumbs up over his shoulder, "see you later, pal!"

"bye, lisa!" you chime in, giving her a wave even though she isn't looking at you and is really trying to double-time it to her car, "it was so nice meeting you!"

the two of you watch silently as lisa practically leaps into her mustang, the sound of the engine revving before she quickly speeds off like she just remembered she left the oven on at home

you turn your head to look up at yoongi before scoffing lightly, hooking a finger against his chain to pull him back down towards you, "you're ridiculous, you know that?"

"yeah, i know-" yoongi's nose crinkles before he offers you a boyish smirk and a half-hearted shrug, "you love it, though."

🎙️help me help you make your wishes come true (send me a request!) ✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here? (full fics!) 💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles like this one!) 🌟or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits!)

[lipstickstainz]

true lies - s. r. (14/15)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Series Summary: Spencer is furious, when you rejoin the team after a year and after you left him, when he got arrested. Little does he know, that you leaving him was the only option to ever get him out of prison.

Chapter Summary: Leaving is the only option - right?

Warnings: angst, blood (but not much), break up, drug addiction (mentioned), alcohol consumption

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: hello lovies. I'm back and my mind is full of ideas! I hope you like it! gif not mine.

Series Masterlist

previous chapter

You watch the coffee in your cup as if it has all the answers for the future hidden in the caffeine. It's eight o'clock in the morning, and this is already your third cup of the sacred liquid, and you're sure it won't be your last. The shadows under your eyes are a sign of your nightmares that haunted you last night. The fact that you have them doesn't bother you, after all, you've been going through the procedure for months. What bothers you is the fact that you couldn't wake yourself up this time. You've gotten in the habit of pinching yourself when it would get too painful, but something stopped you last night. And the fact that you don't know what exactly bothers you the most.

"Y/N." Emily's voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you have to tear your gaze away from your coffee. "What do you think?"

All eyes are on you and out of nervousness you'd like to slide around in your chair, but suppress the urge. You haven't been listening for the last few minutes, too busy with your own thoughts and problems that you can't answer her. The case is supposed to be your last, and you're trying hard to enjoy it and value the time with your friends, but really you're just waiting for it all to be over. Most of all, you want to pack your things and leave.

You barely noticeably shake your head for Emily to continue, and turn your attention back to your coffee, which must be cold by now, but that doesn't stop you from drinking it down to the last drop. Without saying anything, you get up from your chair to get another one, paying no attention to Emily's annoyed look. As you fill your cup in the precinct kitchen, she stands right next to you.

"You're not being very helpful, Y/N," she says coolly as you take a sip. You know her manner is all pretense, because in reality she's incredibly concerned. She only needs to look at your face once to know what's going on in your head, but she doesn't address it. She knows you'll talk to her when the time is right. But you're not sure that will ever happen. "I've already assigned the tasks. You stay here and work with Spencer to gather all the important information that may be relevant to Penelope's research." The look on your face says it all. You don't want to spend any time with Spencer, and certainly not alone, but Emily gives you no choice. Before you can say anything back, she disappears out the door with the others.

With your coffee, which you now wish had a strong shot of vodka in it, you make your way back into the conference room, where Spencer is bent over the table, passing pictures and notes back and forth. You stop in the doorway and watch him for a brief moment, and only then do you notice the narrow, red scratch on his face that stretches from his cheek to his neck. You squint your eyes. It hadn't been there yesterday after all.

"What happened?“, you ask as casually as you can as you sit down and set your cup down on the table. As Spencer looks at you questioningly, you point to his face. "Looks bad." Indeed it does, though it's just a scratch. There's bloody crust in a few places, contrasting in color with his pale skin. Something really got to him.

"Cut myself shaving“, he replies curtly, glancing again at the pictures in front of him. You haven't seen him in two years, don't actually remember who he is exactly, but you still know when he's lying. And when to stop asking and let it go. When Penelope calls, you discuss some stuff and you see Spencer scratching over the wound until it bleeds, which he doesn't seem to notice, which is why you stall Penelope on the phone and grab his hand as soon as the line goes silent. Astonished, he looks at you before looking at his fingers.

"Come with me“, you say briefly and don't even wait for him to follow you. You approach an officer and ask for a first aid kit, which is immediately made available to you. Spencer follows you uncertainly into one of the washrooms, where you already put on the disposable gloves from the box - you don't want any bacteria to get on the wound - and wet a towel from the towel dispenser. Reluctantly, Spencer leans against one of the sinks, waiting for your instructions.

"Tilt your head to the side a little, please." You take the damp cloth and gently dab along the scratch to remove the dried blood. Spencer has to swallow at the touch and you see his Adam's apple bob, and really it shouldn't be that attractive, unfortunately it is anyway. You have to concentrate because this is the closest you've been to him in years. You breathe in his scent, feel his warmth through your gloves, and can barely stifle a deep breath.

"How do you know how to do that?“, he asks softly as you disinfect the wound, and Spencer has to pull himself together to keep from reacting to the burning from the alcohol.

You look at him briefly before turning your attention back to the scratch. „Experience“, you reply, spreading some wound healing ointment over it before taking off your gloves and disposing of everything in the trash can. You then put the first aid kit back together. As you turn around, Spencer is standing right in front of you.

"You didn't tell me you were having nightmares“, he whispers, and confused, you look at him. There's concern in his gaze, and if you're not mistaken, a little affection too, but you push the thought aside, not letting yourself have hope. Hope has only harmed you lately you have not moved forward a bit.

You look once more at the scratch, and then into his warm eyes. "You didn't cut yourself shaving“, you count one and one together and clench your jaws. He doesn't need to answer. You did this to him, you just don't remember. The reason you didn't wake up is Spencer. He was probably holding you, reassuring you so much that your body turned off its protective mechanism. It had certainly been the last time he did that, and you hadn't been awake to enjoy it.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?“, he asks, wanting to reach for your hand, but you take a step back. You don't want him to touch you. You'd prefer it if you weren't in this situation at all. You'd prefer that you hadn't come back at all. None of this should have ever happened.

"It's none of your business anymore, Spencer." Your tone is cool and something in his face changes.

"I thought we were friends."

You have to suppress a laugh. Two years ago, you could have lived well with being friends with him. You were prepared for it then, wished it on him, and meant it sincerely. Only lately you've been through so much that you can't even imagine it anymore. The two years had been hell, but you are sure that you can't live next to him without being able to be with him. You can't watch him and Max be happy together, and even though his happiness is everything you want, you'd rather he be happy with you. But you can't tell him that, it would be unfair and selfish. So you just look at him.

Then you reach for the small suitcase and push past him towards the exit.

-

You're glad when the case is over and you arrive back at Quantico. It's been a week since you and Spencer spoke, and luckily for you, you've continued to be spared nightmares, for which you're quite grateful. Not that Spencer is going to join you in bed one more time to calm you down.

As you walk from the airfield back to the building, you fall back a bit, watching the team joke and laugh with each other despite their fatigue. Most of all, you'd like to leave right now without saying goodbye. Rip off the band-aid, without anesthesia. Short and painless. But your plan is foiled when Emily suddenly walks up beside you and puts a hand on your arm.

"We're going for a drink." She raises an eyebrow expectantly. Apparently she's waiting for you to decline the invitation, and all too gladly you'd like to meet her expectations, but it's almost certainly the last night you'll see each other, at least for an extended period of time, and short and painless wouldn't be fair to her - your best friend.

You smile at her. "You're paying for the first round."

Her eyes widen in delight, but before she can say anything back, Luke, who has overheard your conversation, interferes. "We're going out for drinks?" A grin spreads across his face, almost reaching his ears, and suddenly the rest of the team pricks up their ears. Luke's gaze is fixed on you. "I bet I can drink you under the table by now, Y/N."

„You can’t“, Matt replies, and you see Rossi smile to himself. "Last time you did that, you almost passed out after four shots."

"JJ got the drinks. Maybe she mixed something in“, Luke tries to defend himself, but the blonde raises her hands.

"I'm not responsible for your kindergarten drinking. But I'd love to see you try to drink Y/N under the table." She smiles at you and winks, and you can't help but grin. It feels good to know that all is well between you and the team, even though they know with a high probability that you won't be staying. You'd understand if they were mad at you, but that doesn't seem to be the case. JJ looks at Spencer, who is being less than forthcoming. "You coming, Spence?"

He risks a quick glance in your direction before adjusting the bag on his shoulder. He knows this will be your last night. And that you won't see each other again after this. "I think I'll sit this one out“, he replies curtly, but JJ nudges him and he gives her a dirty look.

"You can't avoid it, Spence."

You'd rather he'd gone home.

The first drinks are on Emily, as promised, and the ones after that are on Rossi, and it's actually not long before Luke is sitting at the table with a glass of water, wishing he'd slowed down. You grin at him from the dance floor where JJ and you are swinging your hips, and he sticks his tongue out at you before putting his head in his hands and sipping water through the straw in his glass.

JJ reaches for your hand and pulls you close before wrapping her arms around your neck. "I'm going to miss you“, she almost yells so you can hear her over the loud music. You smile weakly at her. There's a glint in her eyes, probably from the alcohol, and only now do you realize how much you're really going to miss her.

"I'm going to miss you too“, you reply, risking a quick glance in Spencer's direction. He's sitting next to Luke, looking completely out of place. You look back to JJ and without further ado, she puts her hands to your cheeks and presses a kiss to your mouth. When she pulls away from you again, she just grins at you. "What was that for?"

"I want you to know that we love you. We all do. Remember that when you're lonely, and call if you need anything. You are and always will be a part of our weird family."

You wait a brief moment before pulling away from her and disappearing into the ladies' room. As soon as the door slams shut, tears stream down your cheeks and you have to hold onto the edge of the sink to keep from breaking down. You were aware of how much the others would miss you, but hearing it from JJ only makes it more real. By leaving, you're not only leaving Spencer behind, but everyone else as well, and that's so selfish of you that bile rises inside you and you almost throw up. You wish you hadn't had those last two drinks.

"Y/N?" You don't have to turn around to know it's Spencer. You recognized his voice and can see him in the mirror above the sink.He's standing behind you, unsure of what exactly to do, which is why he buries his hands in his pants pockets and looks at you silently.

You wipe the smeared mascara from under your eyes before turning and leaning against the basin. "This is the ladies' room, Spencer. You're not supposed to be in here.“

"I'm right where I'm supposed to be“, he replies, but doesn't move from the spot. He watches you brush your hair out of your forehead and wipe at your hot face to get rid of the tears. "You don't have to go. You know that, right?"

You look up from your shoes, straight into his eyes. "Yes, I do."

You want to leave the washroom, but his fingers curl around your arm, holding you back. "Y/N ..."

"I can't stay, Spencer. I can't look at you without knowing that someone other than me is waiting for you at home. I can't watch you be happy without me. It's okay, really. It's just that I don't have the strength to watch it anymore." The words just bubble out of you, and for some reason you can't stop. But it feels good to say it out loud, even though you certainly shouldn't. "I love you, Spencer. I'll always love you. But I'm at the end of my rope." You shrug in exasperation. "I have to think about me. I can only think about me." Spencer's face contorts painfully, but you can't stop. "To think that you're about to go to Max's and do God knows what ..." You shake your head, as if it might drive the thoughts from your mind. "I feel like I - I - I can't breathe. Like I'm going to die. And I just can't take it anymore."

Spencer's hand comes away from your arm at your honesty, but only to grab your hand and pull you against him. You bounce against his chest, wanting to pull away, but he holds you tight and presses you to him with his other hand. Carefully, he places his palm against your cheek and gently strokes your skin with his thumb. "Please, don't go."

You look into his eyes, which have filled with tears. "Why not?"

You can practically see him struggling with himself. He wants to say something, but can't find the right words, so he presses his lips together and lets his forehead sink against yours. All he has to do is say it, and you'd throw all your plans out the window and stick around. Just a few words. But he doesn't say them. "I can't ..."

You take a deep breath before pulling away from him, disappointed. „Goodbye“, you whisper, before leaving him alone in the washroom.

-

Spencer sits uncertainly at the kitchen table, watching the tea bag with lemon balm in the cup in front of him. He doesn't actually like lemon balm, but he needs something to calm his nerves and get the trembling of his hands under control as he sits there searching for the right words.

The last time he had felt this helpless, Emily had just left his apartment and he had been about to make some phone calls. The first call would have been to a man who would have given him a different number. The second phone call would have been to a woman who would have transferred him. And the third number belonged to someone who would have given him what he was only too happy to get.

Many years ago, he had sworn to himself that he would never resort to it again. That he wouldn't need it. He would be stronger than the desire to feel nothing more. The only thing that had stopped him was that you would never wish that for him. That you had helped him then, had stood by him. He didn't want it to be in vain.

Spencer hates feeling so helpless, even though he actually knows exactly what he has to do now. That's why he sits in the kitchen in the middle of the night, cup of calming tea in hand, not daring to look at the woman sitting across from him. But he doesn't need to say anything either. She knows why he was at her door at such a late hour. They sit in silence, neither quite knowing what to do. Neither of them has been in this situation before. Spencer is glad she's the first to speak.

"So that's it." It's more of a statement than a question. Spencer nods silently, whereupon she purses her lips. "Because of her?"

Spencer looks up from his cup and looks directly at Max. Then he shakes his head. "No, not because of her."

She raises an eyebrow. "But what? Don't you dare give me that 'it's not you, it's me' tour. I've heard that one before."

Spencer has to think for a moment, find the right words, before he answers. "I've lost her so many times. I wouldn't survive it another time."

The two have known each other long enough. Max knows he's not exaggerating or meaning it metaphorically. He has told her about his addiction, and she had been very grateful at the time that he was so honest with her, even though they hadn't known each other long. Spencer knows that all of this is not healthy and psychologically quite far from reasonable and Maxine knows what she has gotten herself into. But no one could have guessed that it would end this way.

"I'm sorry." Spencer's voice sounds hoarse and raspy. He stands up and makes his way toward the apartment door.

"I hope you make it." There's so much honesty in her voice that Spencer has to smile sadly over his shoulder.Maxine doesn't deserve this. None of you deserve this.

The walk to Emily's apartment is short, but to Spencer it feels like an eternity. The train is late, which is why he actually starts running, afraid of missing his chance. He runs until his lungs are burning and his bag is banging painfully against his ribs.The few people left on the streets look at him askance, but he doesn't care. He's panting, barely getting his breath and wishing he was a little more athletic, but as he sprints around the next corner he can already see the building where Emily's apartment is located.

For a brief moment he considers taking a break, catching his breath, but he can't wait another second. Hopefully he's not too late.

He's not surprised that he can just walk into the building, even though he doesn't have a key. He sprints up the stairs, and runs down the hallways until he's gasping for breath and standing in front of the right door, his head high. He bangs on the door with a clenched fist, hoping it will open and he won't be too late. He can't be late. He can't be late.

Finally, the door opens, and for the first time in years, he can take a real breath.

"Y/N."

- taglist closed -

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[bridgetserdocksketches]

We're suffering tonight, boys

Lena isn’t avoiding Kara, okay? She’s just very busy. That’s all. What with being the CEO of her own company, running her own experiments, and this new little passion project she has a lot going on. Her absence in Kara’s life these past few days has absolutely nothing to do with the black eye she’s currently sporting. Don’t be ridiculous.

Though, in hindsight, she really should’ve known she’d only be able to bail on lunch with Kara so many times before she came knocking.

Lena’s knee deep in some complex coding, trying to figure out what went wrong with this last test and fix it, when she gets the call. She barely even looks at her phone screen before answering. Not that she needs to.

“Kara, hi,” she says warmly.

“Are you avoiding me?”

Well, shit. “What? No. Of course not.”

“Are you sick? You know if you’re sick you can just tell me, right?”

“Yes, I-- no, Kara. I’m not sick.”

Lena can practically see the pinch in her brow. The confusion painted all over her face as she tries to puzzle out what’s going on with Lena.

“Okay, well you skipped lunch three times this week. Is everything alright?” Kara asks.

“Yes, everything’s perfectly fine. I’ve just been busy,” Lena assures her.

“So you’re not avoiding me?”

Lena breathes out a sigh that borders on a laugh. “No.”

“Alright, then can you come let me in?”

Before Lena can even ask where she is or what she means (as if she doesn’t already know), there’s a knocking at the door. Not the front door, of course. No, that would be far too mundane. It’s at the back door. The balcony door. The one that Lena always leaves unlocked, but Kara refuses to open without being welcomed in.

Her immediate reaction is to get up and open the door for Kara. But then Kara would see the black eye that much sooner. And if she can stall for even a few seconds longer, she will. So instead, she simply turns over her shoulder (careful to keep her left eye obscured) and calls out to Kara.

“It’s open.”

Still wearing the Supergirl suit and wielding a takeout bag, Kara strides into Lena’s apartment with a little spring in her step. Because as far as she’s concerned, Lena hasn’t been avoiding her. Lena isn’t hiding a few secrets from her and has nothing out of the ordinary going on. She’s just a little extra busy with that passion project she has outright refused to share any information about with anyone. There is absolutely nothing for her - or Lena, for that matter - to worry about.

“I figured you didn’t eat anything since you skipped lunch, again,” Kara drawls, the barest hint of disappointment in her words. “So I brought you dinner.” She walks around to get in front of Lena, finally, and plops the greasy bag of Big Belly Burger down on the counter. “Voila!”

There’s a five second gap after the delectable diabetic nightmare is presented before Lena. Five charged seconds where Lena simply waits for Kara to finally notice. At first, she’s a little too proud of herself. A grin so broad and brilliant and downright beautiful it could be considered blinding spread across her face. But then those blue eyes of hers track a little to the left and they go wide. Her mouth falls open. Her brow pinches. And several emotions flicker over her visage all at once.

Her lips work around a few words, spluttering on air briefly, before she finally settles on “Lena!”

And Lena can’t help herself. “Kara?”

Kara blinks. “What-- When-- Who did this to you?”

Lena exhales deeply and leans back in her chair. “No one did this to me.”

Kara’s around on Lena’s side of the counter in the space of a heartbeat. Her hands cradling Lena’s face like it’ll break under the slightest amount of pressure as she examines her.

“What happened?” She demands.

“Nothing. I’m fine,” Lena insists.

It’s almost believable, too. But then Kara’s thumb chances a little too close to her left eye. With a hiss of pain, Lena flinches from her hand. Kara’s brow furrows further and her frown deepens.

“Lena--”

“I’m fine, Kara. Really,” Lena says. She takes both of Kara’s hands in her own and pulls them down from her face. “It was just an experiment gone wrong.”

“What sort of experiment gives people black eyes?”

Lena breathes out an indignant little huff of air. “It’ll be easier to just show you.”

Kara’s gaze narrows. “Alright.”

Kara is right on Lena’s heels as they walk to the spare room. The room Lena has taken to calling the nursery, where Baymax is lying in wait. At this stage in his development, he’s pretty infantile at best. He knows a few key phrases and can identify a person as long as they’re standing in front of him. But he can’t hold a conversation and his object permanence is severely lacking. So, yeah. Lena’s gonna call his room a nursery.

Baymax is in his charging pod where she’d left him a few days ago (when their most recent test run failed spectacularly, leaving Lena with a shiner). There isn’t anything else in the room, though. Lena had removed a lot of it to make space for his assembly. Once that was done, she decided to keep the room empty after he broke her last laptop after a particularly nasty glitch. So the only thing in here, as far as Kara’s concerned, is some weird red luggage tucked against the back wall.

“What am I looking at?” Kara asks, the worry from before replaced with confusion and curiosity.

“Hopefully something that’ll help a lot of people,” Lena says.

It’s cryptic, she’ll admit. But it’s hard to explain exactly what Baymax is at this point. Because he’s not simply a robot anymore. He’s taken on so much more personality and life in just the few weeks since his first test run. He’s learning. Growing. Like a person.

So instead of explaining, Lena crosses the length of the room, kneels down in front of the charging pod, and activates the robot.

Later, Kara would say that Lena leapt away from the charging station as it booted up. Like she’d gotten zapped or something. Lena, however, would vehemently insist that she simply hurried away in case something went wrong. Either way, she now stands alongside Kara, watching with bated breath as Baymax comes back to life.

She counts the seconds it takes him to inflate. 23. They need to get that down. He needs to be faster. If someone is really hurt, he has to be able to help. It takes another 4 seconds for Baymax to fully boot up. His eyes blink to signify that he’s fully functional and ready to assist. A total of 27 seconds. They can do better.

Not that Kara notices. She’s staring open mouthed and wide eyed as Baymax awkwardly stumbles out of his charging pod. His steps are heavy, almost as if he thinks the floor is further down (just another thing to iron out). He stops moving about two feet away from them both. Lifts his hand limply into the air (the fingers not fully inflated or opposable yet).

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

And then he freezes. Standing right there. Unmoving and, to be frank, a little terrifying.

“Wow,” Kara breathes.

“Yeah,” Lena agrees. “He’s still got a lot of bugs to work out. Hence the black eye.” She gestures at her left eye vaguely. “But when he’s finished, he’s going to help a lot of people.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kara asks.

Lena turns to her now. Her brow arched and a playful little smirk on her lips. “What? Is being Supergirl not enough for you?”

“Don't get me wrong. I love being Supergirl, but this.” She points at Baymax’s frozen form. “This will be able to do something I never could.”

Lena’s smirk falls into something softer. Something kinder. Kara finally looks at her now.

“Now, I’m not great with coding and all that… stuff. But I can help you test him out. No matter how hard he tries, he’s not going to be able to give me a black eye.”

Well, when she puts it like that…

“Do I… do I start now?” Kara asks hesitantly. She fidgets uncomfortably with the sign Lena handed her, then adjusts her glasses.

Lena smiles at her from behind her computer. “You can start whenever you like. But I do want to be done by dinner, darling.”

“Right.” Kara nods.

She looks away from Lena, her eyes landing on Baymax. And then she grins. That unfairly perfect grin. The one that is so infectious it’s a wonder the CDC aren’t investigating it yet.

“This is Kara Danvers,” She says, carefully enunciating each word. “And this is the first test of mine and Lena Luthor’s Baymax Project.”

She reaches forward, just like Lena showed her, and turns Baymax on. She grins again, up at the robot, and waits. Watches as he blinks, tilts his head down, and lifts his hand.

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.”

“Hello, Baymax!” She answers cheerily. “Would you please scan me?”

“Beginning scan now,” Baymax announces.

But that’s not what happens. No, it would be too simple if that’s what happens next. Instead, the entire system glitches. And both his arms start vibrating rapidly.

Kara’s face pales. “Uh, Lena,” she calls, not daring to look away from another rogue robot. “Is he supposed to be doing that?”

“No,” Lena says quickly. She looks between the two screens in front of her, trying to search for the error in his code to stop this from happening next time. “You gotta shut him down, Kara.”

“Uh-oh!” Kara exclaims.

Lena’s head snaps up. “Uh-oh?”

“Sorry about your laptop,” Kara says, as if it’s her fault Baymax broke yet another computer. Lena really needs to stick to her no-computers-in-the-nursery rule.

“It’s alright.” Lena waves her off, dutifully working away at the code from her tablet. “I’ll just get another one.”

“Next time I’ll stand between the two of you. That way I can better stop his renegade flying arms.”

Lena's gaze snaps to where Kara sits, finishing off the last of their fries (Lena’s fries, really. But they always share). “Next time? You still want to help after that disaster?”

“Of course,” Kara says earnestly. Then her face screws up. “But do you think we could make him look a little friendlier? A bit rounder? You know. Friend-shaped?”

Lena snickers. “Friend-shaped?”

“Yeah. Friend-shaped.”

Lena laughs lightly, and start typing again. “I think I can make that work.”

Wow. That got away from me

So this is how Kara ends up being the one to test Baymax. It's also part of what Baymax shows to Lena after telling her "Kara is here."

This scene (as in the video, not the ficlet) would serve as an emotional low point, if you couldn't tell. And it would be the moment where Lena decides she's going to let the Superfriends use Baymax to save Kara (instead of his actual purpose which is, you know, healthcare)

[yourlocalfictionalenthusiast]

IN LIFE, IN DEATH...

PART TEN

:Masterlist:

A/N: And that’s a wrap! Ahh, writing this series has been so fun and I’m so glad that so many of you have liked it so much. Thank you guys for staying until the end and hopefully for upcoming stuff 👀 I hope you enjoy the finale of In Life, In Death... <3

(Also the song mentioned in part six and this part is ‘She Is Love’ by Parachute) <3

-

December 1994

Luke groaned as he woke up, squinting hard to try and adjust his eyes to the amount of light in the room.

Even before he could see clearly, he knew he must've fallen asleep in the studio judging by the soreness in his back and neck that he always got when he slept on the old couch. It couldn't have been more than six in the morning, and Luke could still feel the tiredness in his bones. So he tried to turn away from the light and hopefully fall back asleep, but there was something keeping him firmly in place.

His heart skipped when he looked down and saw that you were laying right next to him with your head on his chest and an arm thrown across his stomach. When he realized that his own arms were wrapped around you, his heart broke out into a full-on tap dance.

Waves of confusion ran through his still-foggy brain until he saw his guitar case propped up against the piano and his backpack on the floor with his clothes spilling out of it.

Then the events of last night quickly came back to him.

How he had gotten home late from rehearsal and his mom was waiting in the kitchen with his latest report card and her signature lecture at the ready. One minute he was standing there yelling, packing all he could fit into his bag, and the next, he was halfway to the studio with the rain soaking him head to toe.

He had expected it to be empty when he finally got there, but he was flooded with relief when he saw you. All the frustration slowly melted out of him the longer he laid there with you, leaving him feeling exhausted and shivering despite how warm he felt.

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about any of it, but when you asked, the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

He remembered rambling and crying again, the sound of your voice and the feeling of your fingers in his hair warming him up even more. Then finally, he remembered falling asleep with his chin tucked on top of your head, the smell of your shampoo filling his senses.

Without thinking, Luke reached down and carefully pushed a piece of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear and smiling to himself when you shifted into his touch. Then taking in a sharp breath as the realization ran through him all the way down to his toes.

You were his best friend.

The person he wanted to see at the end of a long day. Whenever he was full of anger or lost in confusion, all he had to do was look at you and everything suddenly made sense again. With your pretty smile and laugh, and your way of flipping that little switch inside him that made his head all fuzzy and the ground start spinning under his feet.

You were his best friend, and he was in love with you.

-

2020

All you felt was a mixture of anxiety and nausea as you stood on the Orpheum's street corner, biting the tips of your fingernails.

The entire plan hinged on Willie and Teddy getting everything done in time, and considering that they had betrayed you all before, you couldn’t help but expect the worst.

“Look, don’t worry. Willie said he’ll get us on that marquee.” Alex said nervously as he kicked pebbles across the sidewalk.

“This is going to work, right?” Reggie asked.

“It has to.” Luke mumbled, wincing seconds later when another shock hit them.

Two sharp pops cut through the air behind you and you all whipped around to see Willie and Teddy standing just a few feet away. Willie was watching you all carefully with concern written all over his face, his eyes lingering on Alex longer than anyone else. Teddy stood at the edge of the group, practically burning a hole in your face with his guilty stare.

“Are you guys okay?” Willie asked.

“Yeah, nothing we haven’t felt before.” Alex laughed awkwardly. “How’d it go?”

“Well, when the opening band wakes up, they’ll find their bus two hundred miles out of Vegas.” Willie said with a proud smile as he did a spin, showing off his stolen jacket with the band’s name across the back.

“With absolutely no chance of getting back in time.” Teddy added.

Luke gave Willie a fistbump and pointed up to the office above the Orpheum. “That means there’s probably a promoter up there freaking out right now.”

Willie grinned, sarcasm laced in his tone. “Nah, man. This is Hollywood. I’m sure he’s being very professional.”

You laughed and then Alex slowly inched forward, clearly struggling for the right words to say to Willie. You gave his arm a quick squeeze before following Reggie and Luke down the street to give them space. Before you even got halfway down the sidewalk, Teddy poofed next to you.

“You know, If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you don’t want to talk to me.” He joked.

“Teddy-”

"I just-I didn't want to leave things the way we did." He rambled. "I'm sorry, I should've told you everything that night in the diner-"

"Teddy, It's okay." You said. "You told me before Caleb could put the stamp on me, and you didn't know the details about the plan until after it was too late to help my friends. Plus, I know how much you're risking helping us now."

As soon as the words left your mouth, you felt some of the weight fall off your shoulders. You weren't sure why since the situation was still a little painful and awkward. But being around Teddy always made you feel a little like that kid who started working at the diner with Cece all those years ago. Besides, they were so alike that you found it hard to stay mad at him.

You held out your hand for Teddy to shake. "Despite everything, I'm glad we met."

“Likewise, Gorgeous,” Teddy said with a relieved smile as he grasped your hand. With a subtle wink, he nodded over towards where Luke was standing at the end of the street. “He’s a lucky guy.”

"What? How did you?-" You sputtered as he stepped away. You never told Teddy about Luke, or at least you didn't think you did.

Teddy just smirked in response before disappearing into the air. At the same time, you saw Willie skate away out of the corner of your eye, leaving Alex alone on the sidewalk.

You all phased next to him and Luke squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah. I'm good." Alex smiled slyly as he gestured to the office. "Looks like this show needs a new opening act though."

You grinned. "Let's go see if we can help with that."

-

When you got back to the studio, you found Julie pacing back and forth in the middle of the room as she wrung her hands together.

When you all poofed in, she immediately jumped into a load of questions, losing her breath halfway through and flailing her arms around.

"Whoa, just sit down," You laughed excitedly. "We'll tell you everything."

Julie took a gasping breath and plopped backwards onto the couch then stared at you all with expectant eyes. "Well?"

"It worked!" You announced. "Everything's fine."

"You should be getting the call...now!" Alex pointed to Julie’s phone on the table just as it started buzzing. You all cheered and Julie shushed you as she answered the call.

You heard a woman's voice say something through the phone and Julie gave a thumbs-up as she started jumping on the couch. You watched in amusement and mild horror as Luke and Reggie lifted Alex up into the air and spun him around.

Once he was back on the ground, Luke and Reggie made a beeline for you, each of them grabbed one of your arms and flipped you upside down over their shoulders.

You all spent the next twenty minutes laughing and screaming and Alex even got a little teary-eyed but you pretended not to notice. Then Julie called Flynn and ran off excitedly to decide her outfit for the night, leaving the four of you alone to plan out the setlist.

“Okay, so I’m thinking we start with Stand Tall.” Luke said excitedly as he wrote the words down in his songbook.

“Sounds good.” Reggie said, suddenly quiet.

“’Sounds good’? Guys, I wanna hear ‘That sounds awesome!” Luke reached out and nudged Reggie’s shoulder. “I know this isn’t the way we imagined any of this. But we need to be all in tonight. This is our second chance to play the Orpheum!”

“I get it.” Reggie sputtered. “But it’s hard. Do we even know what’s on the other side when we cross over? Do we still get to hang out together?”

You shifted your weight as the happy little bubble surrounding you popped. You had been so wrapped up in the excitement of finally playing the Orpheum that you almost forgot what tonight was really about.

“You guys are the only family I have.” Reggie’s eyes were glued to the piano as he played with his fingers. You reached out and locked his arm with yours in an attempt to comfort him.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen either. But it’s not like we have a choice.” Alex said.

Suddenly, Reggie’s arm fell out of yours as all three boys fell back, clutching their sides.

“I’m pretty sure we do.” Reggie groaned. “And it rhymes with ‘Hollywood Ghost Club’.”

The garage doors creaked open and Julie appeared with a bright smile and a blue garment bag in her hand. When she saw your expressions, her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

“We just got hit pretty hard by one of those jolts.” Alex said. “But we’re fine.”

“Oh, good.” She nodded, though she still looked on edge. “I’m nervous.”

“That makes two of us.” You said. “But we made it this far for a reason. We got this.”

“Can you ride there with me? I'm gonna need more pep-talk material for the drive there cause I still think I might puke.” Julie tucked her hair behind her ears.

“Of course, and don't worry, we’ll leave the windows open.” You joked, making everyone laugh.

The sound of a car horn cut through the air and Julie looked outside. "That's my dad. Are you ready, (Y/n)?"

You nodded. "Yeah, uh, give me a second. I'll meet you in the car."

As Julie disappeared behind the doors, you turned to the boys and sighed as you tried to soak up this moment. For all you knew, this could be the last little window of time you had alone with them before tonight.

Julie was a huge part of the band of course, but these were your boys. The ones who you started this all with, who had been by your side for everything.

From the look on all their faces, you could see that they were thinking the same thing.

Without saying a word, you launched yourself at Alex. He made a surprised noise but recovered quickly, throwing his arms around you and holding you tight.

"And I'm the emotional one?" He jokingly muttered in your ear and you pinched his side, making him jump back. "Rude."

As soon as your arms were open, Reggie stepped forward and hugged you so tightly that you were thankful to not need oxygen anymore because he was definitely crushing several vital organs.

You laughed and gave him one last squeeze before pulling away, locking eyes with Luke instantly.

Alex cleared his throat awkwardly and grabbed Reggie's shoulder, steering him over to Luke's songbook to 'check out the setlist again'.

"And then there were two." Luke joked.

You laughed and stepped into his waiting arms, making him laugh. You soaked up the feeling of comfort and familiarity for a minute before pulling away.

"This, uh, is for you," Luke said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion as he handed it over. "I wanted you to have it in case...well, you know. If tonight doesn't work."

"It will." You said, trying to ignore the fact that it very well could happen. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Patterson."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He quipped back, his voice sounding softer and less teasing than you would've expected. You pulled back from him and because you didn't know if you would ever get another chance, you stood on your tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek.

You moved away too fast to see his reaction but the gesture made the other two boys smirk at you as you dashed out of the doors, making a beeline for the car pulling out of the driveway.

-

The back rooms of the Orpheum were a maze.

You had left for a few minutes to walk around the venue and clear your head, trying to wring out the last of your nerves.

By the time you found your way back, you expected to find the rest of the band rushing to get ready in the dressing room. But all you saw was Julie anxiously pacing as she had been earlier, a habit she seemed to have inherited from both you and Alex.

“You okay?”

She snapped her head up towards you and sighed. “Yeah, just a little worried. The guys aren’t here yet.”

You looked around the room and then at the clock, frowning. The show was in less than half an hour and that was already cutting it close. Part of you wanted to go check on them but Julie seemed to need you more at the moment.

“Okay, well, give them another ten minutes. I'm sure they'll be here. They wouldn’t miss this…again.”

You ran your palm across the front of your pocket, feeling Luke's note next to your parent’s photo, and hoped you were right.

But then more and more time passed until the stage manager came to escort Julie to the stage.

"Just a second!" She calls out and then turns to you. "(Y/n), something's wrong. They were getting those jolts pretty hard before we left. They must've run out of time."

You shut your eyes tight as the words sunk in. All you could bring yourself now was, ‘This isn't what was supposed to happen.’

The world fell out from under your feet and you had trouble even standing up straight as you imagined what must've happened to them. Your best friends, your brothers, your family was gone and there wasn't anything you could do about it.

The guy knocked again, this time a little harder and with a nervous tone. Julie chewed her lip as she looked between you and the door and you could almost see the cloud of grief settling over her.

As hard as it was, you tried your best to shove your feelings down and marched up to Julie. There would be time to fall apart later, but you knew that this what they would want you to do. "Let's go do this for them, okay?"

She took a deep, shaky breath before hesitantly nodding. You followed closely behind her as she walked out the door though the halls until she reached the stage. You waited beside Flynn in the wing as Julie settled behind her microphone and addressed the crowd.

There were scattered claps from around the venue and then she took a deep breath before singing the opening.

After the first few lines, you took your cue and materialized at the center of the stage. The crowd gasped and cheered the way they always did, but you kept your eyes shut tight and focused on the music.

Just as the song started picking up, you heard a familiar pop in the air and then the sound of drumming. You whirled around to see Alex mounted onto a drum set at the back of the stage, twirling his drumsticks around and smiling like he had never been gone at all.

Once you got over the initial shock, you wanted to cry with relief. They were okay, they were here. Alex winked at you goofily, and you ran towards Julie’s keyboard.

She had started bouncing on the balls of her feet, both of you finally getting into the song now that they were coming back. You followed suit, dancing around the base of the drum set as yours and Julie’s voices came together.

Then Reggie appeared on the other side of Julie and you ran to his side. You bumped his shoulder with yours and he grinned, moving to stand back to back.

The song was ramping up to the chorus when a staticky noise cut through the air, not loud enough for the crowd to hear but enough to make you all look over to the other end of the stage.

You could see Luke's form fading in and out, a look of anguish on his face, and the pit in your stomach opened up again. The crowd was on the edge of their seats as Alex's drumming paused and Luke finally materialized to sing the opening of the chorus.

You didn't even know you were moving until you suddenly found yourself across the stage next to Luke, unable to stop smiling as you sang.

Julie joined you, throwing her arms up in the air happily and jumping around. Reggie appeared by her side, flashing the crowd a winning smile.

Alex stood up and gripped his mic as he sang this solo. You looked back at him and flashed him a proud smile, then whooping loudly when Reggie sang his lines.

You all went down the line hitting your notes until the chorus kicked in again and your heart felt so full you almost couldn't stand it. This was what you were so close to achieving before you died, it was all you had wanted for years, and you knew that if you hadn't died, that night would've changed your life. But this night was something even more special. Because you were all here, all together.

Even if it was just for one last song.

Julie caught your attention and nodded towards the platform that spread out into the crowd. You followed her to the center and stood back to back as everyone cheered.

The guys joined in on either side of you, Alex grabbing one of your hands and Luke holding the other. You all bowed to the audience before taking your cue and vanishing, leaving only Julie on stage.

You landed in the wing, feeling a little lightheaded and overwhelmed from all the emotions you had experienced in the last five minutes. The elated smile fading from your face when all three boys poofed by your side only to fall to the floor instantly.

“It didn’t work.” You said miserably as Julie emerged into the backstage area. She grabbed Flynn and whispered something to her, pointing in the direction of her family. Flynn nodded and disappeared into the crowd while Julie ran to your side.

You hauled Alex onto his feet, letting him lean on you to stay upright while Luke and Reggie trailed behind Julie as she led the group back to the dressing room. Once everyone was inside, they collapsed on the couch or the floor, loudly groaning in pain.

“What happened? Why didn’t it work?” Julie asked tearfully.

“I guess playing here wasn’t our unfinished business.” Alex said hollowly.

“Point Caleb.” Reggie muttered as he clung to the side of an armchair.

You stood frozen next to Julie as panic spread through your whole body, both of you flinching in sympathy as the shocks continued.

“You have to save yourselves right now.” Julie begged. “Join Caleb’s club. It’s better than not existing at all!”

“She’s right.” You managed to say, your voice shaky and almost giving out. Your stomach flipped at the thought of them having to work for an evil club owner forever, but the alternative was worse. “You guys need to go now! For me. For us.”

“We’re not going back there.” Reggie shook his head.

Luke pulled himself up and stumbled forward a little so that he was right in front of you. “No music is worth making if we’re not all making it together.”

You sighed sadly, thinking back to your conversation yesterday. “So no more regrets?”

Luke let out a deep sigh and then reached up and cupped your cheek with his right hand. “Just one.”

You furrowed your eyebrows in response and Luke blinked hard as if he was trying to find the words. "I never told you why I left that night."

"Luke, don't." You gave him a weak smile. "I get it."

"You do?" He asked.

You struggled to get the words out. "Yeah, I mean it was bound to happen eventually. We just got too close and it was weird for you. I understand t-”

"What?" Luke asked, cutting you off with a confused look. "No, no, that's not it at all. Read the-"

Before he could finish, you heard Julie gasp loudly from a few feet away. You looked over to see her stepping back from Alex with an awestruck look on her face as she gripped his forearms.

Wait, what?

Before you could even begin to process what you were seeing, Reggie was reaching out to Julie, who grabbed his wrist and hauled him up to his feet. The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Julie turned to you and Luke.

“Guys, come here.”

Alex reached out and pulled you into his side while Luke threw an arm around Reggie’s back and Julie brought you all in closer to her. At first, nothing happened. But then there was a faint buzzing sound and the boys lifted their wrist towards the ceiling and you all watched in awe as the stamp floated away in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa.” Reggie said, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. “I don’t feel as weak anymore.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Alex agreed. “Not that I ever was that weak in the first place.”

You rolled your eyes and let your head fall over on his shoulder. “What do you think that means?”

Luke smiled. “I think it means the band is back.”

It was quiet for a second before Alex looked at you all shyly. “You guys think we can try that hug thing again?”

You laughed as you huddled together again, sniffling and laughing. Then Julie yelled out that you had played the Orpheum and then you were all jumping around, still tangled in each other’s arms.

Eventually, you all broke apart and while the boys started chasing each other around, you turned to Julie. She looked into your eyes and immediately flew into your arms, muttering into your shoulder, “I always wanted a big sister.”

The words warmed your heart and you squeezed her extra hard, grateful that you actually could now. “Well, I’m honored.”

“My family's probably looking for me so..." Julie stepped back from your arms with the biggest smile you’d ever seen on her face, you jokingly bowed to her and she copied the gesture before disappearing behind the door.

You wiped the last of your tears out of your eyes and turned around to find Alex and Reggie were talking in whispers and wearing knowing smiles. When Alex saw you looking, he cleared his throat and nudged Reggie’s shoulder.

“Hey, Reg.” Alex said cheekily, not taking his eyes off of you for even a second. “I was going to check out the next band. You wanna come with me?”

“Sure!” Reggie started strolling towards the door, stopping only for a second to nudge your shoulder and whisper ‘don't do anything I wouldn’t do’ in your ear.

Alex fixed Luke with a pointed look over his shoulder and Reggie gave him a dorky wink before they poofed away. You smiled fondly at the space where they were just standing and awkwardly turned towards Luke.

“Hi.” You said, laughing awkwardly.

“Hi.” Luke muttered back as he stepped forward until he was close enough to grab your hand. “About what I was saying earlier…”

You opened your mouth to say something but he shook his head and pointed to your pocket. “Read it. Please.”

You tugged the note he had given you earlier out of your pocket and carefully folded it open to see that it wasn’t a note at all. It was the love song that Julie had found that day in the garage, the one that he didn’t want anyone to see. You struggled a little trying to decipher Luke's handwriting. The ink was a little smudged and the song was clearly unfinished but it was the most beautiful thing you had ever read. And he had written it for you.

"I didn't leave because we got too close," He said. "It was the opposite, (Y/n), I left because I was scared to lose you, and I know that doesn't make sense because I kind of did w-"

You carefully tucked the paper back in your pocket with one hand and grabbed the back of his neck with the other, pulling him down and closing the last bit of space between you.

Luke's brain short-circuited for a second before he started kissing back, grabbing your waist with enough force to nearly knock you both backwards. It was dizzying and a little desperate, yet weirdly familiar, as if you'd been kissing him your whole life.

Most moments with Luke felt like they were happening in slow motion, but this time it was like a high-speed movie montage of your whole lives. The stolen crayons, the time capsule, the pre performance pep talks, the smell of cinnamon, the ferris wheel, his jacket, the movie nights and songwriting sessions. All of it had led up to this moment.

"I love you." Luke said immediately after you pulled away. "God, I love you so much. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

“Hey, it’s okay.” You laughed, blinking another wave of tears out of your eyes. “I should’ve told you forever ago instead of skirting around it.”

“And what is it that you should’ve told me?” He said teasingly and you rolled your eyes. You had gotten so used to Luke being so shut down or nervous around you that you almost forgot how much of a little shit he could be.

“That I love you too.” You said, unable to stop smiling.

Luke leaned down and captured your lips in another kiss, this time threading his fingers through your hair as he cupped your cheeks in his hands. “I’m never gonna get tired of hearing that.”

You bit your lip to keep another laugh from bubbling up as you looked up at him, feeling completely overwhelmed in the best way possible. "So...what now?"

"I don't know." Luke admitted. "But I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"That no matter where we go, or what we do," He pushed a piece of hair behind your ear. "In life, in death... I'm yours. Always."

-

The End

-

In Life, In Death Taglist:

@ifilwtmfc @instabull @wanniiieeee @tenaciousperfectionunknown @charliegillespiewife @merceret @itismeasmolpotato @lilostif16 @dangerouslyclose @iainttakingshitfromnobody @givemebooksorgivemedeath @sunsetcurvedotmp3 @askgeoff @mayleenicole5676 @puppy11148 @vampire7595 @wackyworrieruniverse @reallysparklychaos @lovelydaydreams15 @rachmmb @musicismyescape27 @stackie4ever​ @spidermankenobi

(Strikethrough means I can’t tag you)

JATP Taglist:

@caitsymichelle13 @sunsetcurvej​

Let me know if you want to be added!

[shig-a-shig-ah]

So we all have talked about starting a relationship with Shigaraki. What do you think a relationship with him would look like years down the road?

God, anon, I started to answer this ??? ago, saved it to my drafts, and then forgot it existed. Cue me banging my head into my desk when I discovered it today.

Anyway, this is honestly a doozie of a question, because who will Shigaraki even be years down the road? He's only twenty at the start of the manga, and not even a full year has passed since the start of the canon timeline. So even if you've been together with him since the League first formed, we're still talking about a time well after he's accomplished his goals, when hero society has presumably been destroyed and the villains have been saved by their respective hero counterparts (because I agree that's obviously where the manga is headed). Who even knows what Shigaraki will be like after all that has happened?

Let's start with some of the big stuff though.

First, he'll be happier. This seems like a given--he's been working towards his goals because of anger at the heroes and the hate in his heart, and the only real path forward for him in the manga right now is to let some of that go, because that's going to be a necessary step in preventing AFO from taking him over completely. I think a big part of that journey will be not just learning to let go of the past, but also to accept what's good about the present. And his relationship with the other members in the League and, in this little scenario, with you, is really the one good thing he has. The support of people who care about him, and who understand him to a degree. Now, Shigaraki's never going to be a ray of sunshine or whatever--I expect he'll always be prone to snark and bouts of pissiness--but give him a couple years to build on some of the above developments and I think you could get a man who lives a more quietly contented life. He finds pleasure in the small things, like curling up and playing games together, or even cheesy shit he might never have done before, like bringing you flowers or cooking you dinner. I actually think he'd be likely to develop a soft spot for some of those more normal things that he was denied, once he’s in this post-destruction life.

I don't think he's ever going to be a completely normal person though. And I think I wrote about this somewhere else, but I lowkey imagine him turning to vigilantism in his post-villainy life. Not just out of a desire to play hero himself (though maybe that's a teeny tiny part of it), but because he would be distrusting of whatever new power structures are put in place. He'd see it as keeping an eye on things, as making sure that whatever comes after the society he destroyed actually does a better job of looking out for everyone. Relationship-wise, I think this means you can expect to periodically stir in the middle of the night to find him missing from the bed beside you, or to wake in the very early morning to the feel of his lip pressing against your forehead as he slips back into bed after wandering the streets for several hours.

I expect there would be more subtle changes, too. He'll talk about the future in a way he never did before, which is to say that he never used to speak of it at all save for describing his vision of that ruined horizon. But slowly and surely you'll see that change as he adjust to this new life after, will have to bite back a grin when he talks not just about tomorrow, but about next year, or when he alludes to actually growing old with you, something that used to be far too uncertain to actually hope for.

And then of course there's all the things that just come with being in relationship for years. The development of coded language that you two perfectly understand but other people don't quite get (which with Shigaraki is, I have to imagine, weird game metaphors that are only meaningful to the two of you), and the easy ways you can read each others moods and comfort each other. Where he might have once had trouble soothing you, might have been prone to simply getting irritated when he couldn't immediately solve the problem, he'll have finally figured out how to give you whatever you need without wrestling with those doubts or frustrations. I think the end result would be a much calmer relationship, on the whole, than what you’d experience early one, which I always imagine being at least a tiny bit tumultuous thanks to his personality and his ambitions.

[adventuresinwonderlust]

Title: Caution to the Wind PART 2 

For PART 1 Click HERE

Pairing: Yoongi x reader  

Warnings: smut, fluff, angst, a lot of first times, tension, Solo/ mutual masturbation (m) (f),  mentions of virginity and losing it (friendship pact)

*AUTHORS NOTE: Warnings will update per chapter as things get steamier*

Permanent Tag List: @mochilicious-yoongi @heyimtavia ​

Rating: 18 and over

You wake to the sun peeking through his curtains, rolling to find Yoongi gone. You stretch your body out before sitting up and looking about for your phone. Yoongi soon enters, coffee in hand, once you send an all is well text to your mother. He hands you the mug with a smile, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” “Morning. I did, thanks. How about you?” He nods, taking a seat at his desk. “Do you want to talk about last night?” He murmurs. You sip your coffee, shrugging at his question. “Do you?” “I mean, I'm sorry about ruining the kiss. I'll try to control myself more.” “No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have, uh, you know, touched you.” You look away from him, your face heating. “I mean, I understand but also…. it's ok if you did…. or if you wanted to…. uh…. No pressure.” He stutters, scratching at the back of his neck. You can't help but giggle, your nerves kicking in heavily. “Why?” He chuckles. “I'm sorry I'm not laughing at you. I'm just, this is just a bit awkward to talk about.” You reply. He nods, covering his face with his hands. “How can we make it not awkward?” He asks from behind his hands. “Maybe let's not talk about it beforehand. We should just let it happen naturally.” You explain. He lowers his hands, nodding at you. “Ok, you’re right let's just move on then. What do you want to do today?” “Let's just chill out, watch a movie or play a video game. We can head back to my place.” “Ok, well let's do that early. I don't want to hang around here too long.” “Okay, let me just shower and get dressed.” “Same.” He says, jumping up to grab clothes from his dresser to pack.  

You watch as he neatly folds his things and places them into his duffle bag. He soon turns to you. “You can shower first Y/N, it'll give me time to get my stuff together.” You smile, grabbing your duffle and heading into the restroom. You exit fully dressed and ready to go, frowning when you hear Yoongi arguing with his mother. “You are never home!” “You never make it so I want to be home!” “How happy then you will be to move out and into the dorms? Finally, away from your terrible mother.” “I’m counting down the days!” He shouts, stomping up the stairs and into the bedroom. You lock eyes and he just shakes his head. “I'll be quick.” He grumbles, heading into the restroom.  

You both head down the stairs to leave, Yoongi’s mother in the kitchen staring at you. “Have a good day.” You wave at her. She simply nods, turning away as you both walk out. “You know you don’t have to try so hard. She doesn’t care.” “I’ve known her since I was a little kid. Of course, I have to try. My mother would kill me if she found out I was anything but respectful to your mom.” “My mom loves you Y/N, things have just been tough at home.” “I know Yoongi, you don’t have to explain. I’m sure things will blow over soon enough.” He nods, taking a seat at the bus stop. “I feel bad that she and I have grown so far apart.” He says finally. “Well, you are both pretty prideful. Someone has to give in and say I’m sorry.” “It won’t be her that’s for sure.” “Then it should be you.” He shakes his head at your suggestion. “Maybe one day but just not today.” You nod, not wanting to press anymore, luckily the bus arrives.  

You make it to your house and figure out a quick dinner, your mom texting to say she'll be working late. Yoongi, always being the kind guy he is, packs a plate for your mom to eat when she arrives home. You both clean up and head to your room. “Go kart?” You smirk at Yoongi, who nods. “You’re going to lose.” “Whatever, we shall see. Set it up, I’m gonna change into my pajamas.” You instruct, heading into your bathroom to change into a black tank top and sleep shorts. When you emerge, Yoongi is sitting on the rug at the front of the TV, the video game on, cheerful music filling the room. “Ready to lose?” He chuckles, his smile turning into a cough when he looks you over. He hands you a controller and you take a seat next to him.  

You smirk to yourself, watching from the corner of your eye as Yoongi eyeballs you, and you wonder to yourself if you will always have this effect on him. “Better keep focus Min.” You tease, getting the one up on him and taking the lead. Your avatar zooms quickly, your heart beating fast, your knuckles aching from how tightly you hold the controller. Soon your avatar passes the finish line, the game whistling to inform you both the level is over. “Woooooo!” You scream, dropping the remote and lifting your arms in the air. Yoongi rolls his eyes, nodding calmly. “Best 2 outta three.” He wagers. “OK but let’s make it interesting.” He scoffs at your remark. “Interesting how?” You feel your body heat. Getting the one up on Yoongi has your core needy. You go to set your terms when your mother bursts through the door, startling you. “Hey, thanks for dinner. I’m going to crash. It was a long day. Try to keep it down ok.” “Yeah mom, sorry.” “Night.” She winks, closing the door.

“What was I saying?” You look back at Yoongi. “You wanted to make things interesting.” “Oh yes! So, since you lost this round, I want your shirt.” You smirk. His brow furrows and he looks down at his t-shirt, laughing nervously. “I’m not wearing anything underneath.” You shrug at his comment and feel your face heat when his Adam’s apple bobs with his hard swallow. He chuckles again and grabs the bottom of his shirt, lifting it up and over his head. He tosses it to you, his gorgeous skin on display, and you drop it in front of you happily. “Next round is mine.” He warns, grabbing his remote. You begin the next round and find yourself hyper focused on winning. Your hands are aching, not as large as Yoongi’s who can grip the control with ease. You squeal excitedly, in the lead. Yoongi grumbles under his breath, “I’m not going to lose this one!” You giggle at his words, taking your eyes away from the screen for a moment. Suddenly, Yoongi’s eyes light up and you whip your head back to the screen to see a computer player shoot a bomb at your avatar, knocking you out of first place. “No!” You whine, watching your avatar spin out of control. Yoongi whoops over and over beside you, his avatar quickly taking the lead. He leans up onto his knees, happily making noises under his breath, his avatar zooming over the finish line. He tosses his controller, throwing his arms up before pointing at you. “Told you I’d win. Take those shorts off.”

You scoff, a fit of adrenaline riddled giggles soon taking over you. You stand, tucking your thumbs into the waistband of your shorts and drop them to the ground, using your foot to kick them over to him. He holds them for a moment in his arms, staring at you in your lacey black thong. You adjust the straps higher up on your full hips, slowly squatting down and sitting on your feet, your ass on full display for him. “Next round is mine.” You point at him. He doesn’t speak, unable to pull his gaze away from your plump behind. His eyes tracing your every outline, making your core burn with desire. “Focus Min, I want to win fair and square.” You say, grabbing the controller and setting up the next round. He grabs his controller, his eyes still taking you in. You’d be lying if you said that having his eyes on you wasn’t the best feeling in the world right now. You felt your arousal push pass your slit, wetting the fabric of your thong. You start the level and chuckle to yourself at the fact that you both are barely putting in an effort.  

You see Yoongi's avatar speed up suddenly and so you decide to slow down, letting him win! “Ha,” He exclaims, “I win!” “I guess you do.” You shrug. His excitement soon fades, and He looks over your body again. “Um, well there’s not much to ask for.” He whispers, scratching the back of his neck. “You sure? Maybe you aren’t being creative enough.” You tell him, crawling over and locking lips with his. He moans, melting into the kiss. You pull away briefly to take in his needy look. “Don’t stop." He almost begs, leaning forward to kiss you again. You deepen the kiss, straddling him. Your cunt aching when he swirls his tongue around yours. His hands find purchase at your lower back, his fingertips fiddling with the fabric of your tank. You break the kiss again, “Do you want me to take it off?” His eyes widen and he stutters over what to say but the twitch in his pants give him away.

You sit up a bit at the feeling of his member pressing into you, his cheeks reddening, “I’m sorry.” He whispers. You shake your head, “It’s ok. I like how it feels.” You rock a bit in his lap, watching how his mouth falls open and his grip on your back tightens. “Is this, ok?” You ask in the hopes he’ll say yes, the friction against your yearning sex just what you need. He doesn’t speak, just nods, his hands falling to your hips. He tucks his slender fingers under the straps of your thong, gripping at your flesh before aiding you back and forth across his clothed erection. You mewl at the amazing feeling that slowly builds deep inside you. “Do.... do you like this?” He pants. You nod, moving your hips faster. He lets a soft moan escape and you’re quick to shush him for fear your mother will hear.

He bites his lower lip to keep from being too noisy and you find yourself trying hard to grind against him. You groan annoyed at how difficult it is to keep a good pace on the floor, your knees digging into the rug. “Let’s move to the bed.” You urge, standing. Yoongi hops up and follows you towards the bed. You sit down watching him approach, his erection creating a tent like effect at the front of his jeans. You swallow back you lust for him, rubbing your thighs together. “Do you want to take your jeans off?” He looks down at himself and back at you, his face and neck reddening. “Do you want me to? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” You nod, feeling so overwhelmingly horny that you reach for his belt and begin to undo his pant. “Fuck Y/N.... I.... this has never happened before. I’m freaking out a bit.” “Me too,” You reassure him, “If you want me to stop at any time, just tell me.” He shakes his head, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he watches you tug his jeans down.  

“Lie back.” You instruct. Yoongi shakily does as he’s told, groaning when you straddle him again. You moan lustfully at how amazing his clothed manhood feels against your clothed womanhood, so much better than any pillow. You want so badly to wildly grind against him, desperate for release. He has his hands on your thighs, his eyes fixed on you, waiting for your instructions. You lick your lips, an even naughtier thought coming to your mind. You slide back a bit, palming him gently, mewling at how incredible he feels in your hand even clothed. He releases a deep breath, his eyes closing shut at the feeling. “Do you like this?” You question even though you know his answer. He simply nods. Your body shivers at the sounds of his moaning. A surge of needy lust coursing through you. You grip his heavy manhood before nestling yourself into his lap again. You roll your hips into his. “Oh god!” He almost yells. “Shh! Try to be quiet.” You lean in to whisper in his ear. “Pl-please, go faster.” He begs and you nod, moving your hips in quick flicks across his erection.  

“Do, do you like this?” He groans. “It’s nice. I like watching you.” You admit. He smiles seductively, wrapping an arm around your waist and flipping you onto your back. “I want you to like it too.” He whispers, shoving his erection into your soaked center. You can't help but hitch forward, dry humping your needy bud into his length. You moan quietly into his ear, reveling in the gentle kisses he traces along your collar bone and neck. Your skin begins to goose at the feeling of his soft lips against your hot skin. Your body burning as it nears your climax. “Yoongiiii, touch me.” You cry out. He stops completely, hovering over you and staring at your face. “Oh, Y/N, I want to, I’m just nervous. Maybe if you don’t mind, we can we try something else? If you don’t like it, we can stop.” “OK, yeah, what did you have in mind?” He bites his lip and you’ve never felt more turned on. “Show me how you make yourself cum.” He whispers. “Are you serious?” You giggle a bit. “Yeah, um, it’s a fantasy of mine. Like I want to see you touch yourself. I'll do it to. If you want to.” He whispers, his eyes fired with lust as he leans in for a kiss. You nod, running your hand into his hair. Your tongues swirling around one another in desperate fury.

“Should I stay lying back?” You ask. Yoongi shrugs. “Are you comfortable this way?” You nod in response. “Ok. I can do whatever.” He explains, leaning back on his heels, still nestled between your legs. You both watch each other. One waiting for the other to make the first move. You bite your lip, dying for release. “Show me your cock.” Yoongi's eyes widen, and he chuckles nervously. “Fuck, that's so hot. I've never heard you talk like that. I'm so horny right now. I want you. I want you so bad. Show me too. Um, I want to see your…uh….” “Pussy.” You finish his sentence. He groans deeply, palming himself with a needy nod. You let out a shaky breath at the sight of him already touching himself. “You’re so beautiful Y/N, do you know that? You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.” He confesses, gripping your thigh. “Oh Yoongi.” You whimper, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his sweet pout. He takes over the kiss immediately, suckling on your tongue and soon your lips.  

You can't take it anymore and reach into his underwear. You wrap your hands around his length, swallowing the desperate whine that leaves his throat. You begin stroking him from root to tip ever so slowly. You’ve watched porn before and had always seen the women in them start this way. You break away from the kiss to look down at his member, never having seen one up close before. He’s long, thick, and veiny. The tip the same pink as his lips. Your mouth hangs open as you watch yourself work and you soak yourself even more. Yoongi looks down also, his breathing erratic, soft moans leaving his kiss swollen pout. “Just like that, that’s so good.” He praises, reaching back to squeeze your ass. You marvel at the sticky pre-cum that spills from his reddening tip, licking your lips when it’s dribbles down onto your hand. “Fuckkkk.... this feels so amazing. You sure this.... is.... your first time doing this?” You nod at his question, your chest filling with pride. “Lie back, Y/N.” He instructs, grabbing his cock from your grasp. You nod, doing as your told and lying back. You release a shuddered breath at the sight of him stroking just his tip. His head falls back and he’s a moaning mess. His chest rises and falls so fast, you wonder if he'll hyperventilate. “Take your thong off Y/N.” You do as your told, bending your knees to your chest to remove the sticky fabric from your saturated core. You chuck the material to the side, parting your legs slowly on either side of a knelt down Yoongi.

“Fuck....she's gorgeous. Sss- So fucking wet. She’s practically glistening.” Yoongi stutters. You bite your lip, lowering a hand to glide your fingers through your slit. “I’m so wet for you.” You pant, grinding against your own hand. He shudders, watching your fingers maneuver through your slick folds. He begins to stroke himself in slowly, his eyes fixed on your core. Your mouth falls open and you widen your legs to give him more of a view. “Oh, fuck Y/N! You’re so wet. Watching you is so fucking hot.” He breathes desperately. You glide a finger through your slit, collecting your juices, and rubbing soft circles on your swollen nub. All the while Yoongi continues stroking the whole of his length, focusing on his tip with quick circular motions. You both moan out loud, unable to keep your eyes off your respective roaming hands.

You begin to pick up speed, rubbing larger circles against your clit, eliciting a long low moan from your lips. “God, Y/N. Watching you is better than any porn,” He whispers, hitching his hips upwards into his clenched fist at the same pace in which your fingers move, “I love watching you. I can’t take my eyes off of you. You’re so gorgeous.” “Ah, Yoongi. I’m so close.” “Shit baby. This feels so good, so fucking good. I’m not going to last much longer either.” You lock eyes with him and soon begin rocking against your fingers. Yoongi tightens his grip around his length and you watch his expression of lust turn to desperation. “Fuck Y/N, I can’t hold it. I’m going to cum baby.” Something about him announcing his climax brings about your own climax. “Yes, cum Yoongi, cum. Cum on my belly. I’m going to cum too.” You mewl, lifting your tank to expose your belly. “Oh, fuck! Really? That so fucking….” He is unable to finish his sentence, your orgasm striking you like a ton of bricks. His eyes widen watching you bite your lip hard to keep from screaming, never having cum so hard in your life. Your back arches, looking up just as Yoongi moans out, spurts of white shooting from his tip onto your expose tummy. You gasp at the amount of fluid one person can produce but at the same you are so turned on by it.  

He soon slows his movements, leaning in to kiss you. “That was just, wow. Are you ok?” “Yeah, are you?” Yoongi chuckles at your question, kissing you again. “It was so great.” You both find yourself giggling. “Good thing your mom didn’t pop in, or we’d be dead!” “No shit!” “I made a mess. I’m sorry. Let me grab a towel and I’ll clean all this up.” Yoongi offers, kissing you again. He gets up, tucking himself away, walking towards your bathroom. You look down at your messy belly thinking of how girls in porn love the taste of cum. You swirl your finger in his seed, bringing your hand up to your nose to smell it. The scent is distinct, almost reminding you of cake batter. You drop your hand immediately when you hear Yoongi come out of the restroom with a wet washcloth. “You sure you ok?” He asks again. “Yeah, I’m good. I was just so overcome by like hormones I guess.” “That’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides we are supposed to be here to help each other out so don’t feel weird or anything. You can always ask me to you know.” He smirks, wiggling his fingers in front of his face. You slap his arm, laughing out loud. He carefully cleans his mess from your abdomen, folding the towel up and chucking it in your laundry bin. “I think I’m going to shower actually.” You tell him. “Ok sure.” He plops back on the bed. “Wanna join me?” You offer. His eyes pop open and he leans up quickly. “Uh, seriously?” You start heading off to the restroom, turning to face him. “Well? You coming?” He leaps off the bed and runs into the bathroom after you.

[liptonsbabe]

Havoc [Thomas]

A Maze Runner fanfiction

//

Summary: When the reader, the second-in-command of the village goes out into the maze looking for a way out, the last thing she hopes to find is a whole new community on the other side of the walls. Much less, when it seems to be inhabited only by boys her age.

Warnings: none

A/N: Hey! This is my very first fanfic here and i decided to start with some tmr stuff ;) English not my mother language so please let me know if something is wrong. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter one: Leaving home

YOU WAKE UP THAT DAY WITH AN INCREDIBLE MOOD, although things in the village were not encouraging at all.

The dew hadn't fallen yet when you were already in front of the maze, impatiently waiting for the doors to open. You were carrying a backpack with the breakfast on your back, the belt resting on your hips, and an awl strategically hidden in your back pocket.

You didn't understand why your heart was beating so fast even if the night before had been the worst of all. The disease was progressing, it was devastating the village and the parents were leaving their children alone. You trembled in your place. You've never seen anything like that before. The illness, the confusion, the tiredness, the agony. The desease was ending with all of you. If you and the trackers didn’t find a way out as you had promised, then the village would be devastated.

You couldn't allow it. You weren't going to give up. Maybe the answer was out there, waiting for you and you weren't going to keep it waiting.

Maybe the feeling of your restless heart was a good sign. Maybe your heart was sensing things that you could not know and, with a little bit of luck, get it right as he almost always did.

The village had exits from its four points, so, as the sun was in the west that day, you decided to start with the east gate, considering it a good sign. You pulled your hair up in a high ponytail, ate an apple as fast as you could, and waited for the doors to move.

A curtain of dust and pebbles rose in front of your face as you listened the doors opening. That day the main corridor to the maze had a strange smell, but you thought that your nose was already damaged by the medicines and infusions that you had been smelling in the nursery, so you ignored it. You adjusted your boots waiting for the stench to disperse when a strong pull carried you backwards, scaring you.

“What the hell...? Asenat! "You muttered releasing the grip on your shirt. The girl smiled haughtily, crossing her arms over her chest “How many times do I have to tell you to not pull me like that? I hate being pulled!

“You can do it as many times as you want, I honestly don't care, I'll keep doing it anyways”

“You're an idiot”

“Where do you think you are going?” Cassidy asked, standing next to Asenat, both of them staring at you with their arms crossed over their chests and frowning. You rolled your eyes

“To do my job, the same as you should be doing right now”

"You are no longer a tracker”

“I am the leader, I can give myself that position”

"Second leader," Asenat corrected you, "After Richard, and he was the one who gave you the order to stay in the village, remember?"

You clicked your tongue as the trackers were already leaving to the maze. Asenat caught your shirt between her fingers again preventing you from running. Cassidy sighed, shaking her head. If something was clear to them about you, it was how stubborn you could be.

“Yes, I remember”

"Do you still have those headaches?"

"No," you lied. You'd been feeling terrible headaches for a couple of weeks now, before Richard fell sick from what the villagers called the glow. The man, who was also a tracker, had found you in the middle of your section with a terrible bruise on the back of your head and a pool of blood surrounding you. He carried you to the village, and when you were sufficiently recovered, you mentioned having a terrible pain and falling unconscious hitting the stone. Richard didn't need to know more to remove you from your job, forbidding you to return to the maze until your headaches were better. Until the night before you hadn't felt any pain, so you assumed you were fine “I'm great, don't worry about me. It was an accident”

"Yeah, are you sure?"

“Completely”

"Even if it were so, you are not allowed to go out," Cassidy said, determined. "We need you here, my friend."

"I'll be back before dark”

"Things don't work that way anymore," Cassidy replied, looking at you with a frown. "Richard hasn't died yet." His rules are still ours and since when we can do whatever we want?

“Don’t say it like that”

"You know Richard is not going to survive" Asenat lowered her voice preventing any other villagers from hearing her "he will die like the rest of the infected and when that happens all this will be over. We can continue with the rules that he made, but that will not be enough. There are families dying every day, our duty is to take care of them. We have a pact, okay? Treat the disease first, look for a way out later”

"How long are we going to keep waiting?" You asked, taking a step forward. Asenat sighed, "Three? Four? Another five years? This place is falling apart. If we really want to help the remaining villagers we need to find a way out, take them home, give them a better life, heal them "

"Nobody assures us that we will be better out there than here"

"Let's take the risk, we won't lose anything just by trying"

"We have kids in here, even babies. Their parents have died and they depend on us.

"This time it will be different" you said looking at them pleadingly "It's crazy, but something tells me that today we will find the answers we have been looking for. I could assure you that. Do you believe me? Do you trust me enough to believe in what my heart feels?”

Cassidy and Asenat looked at each other. Richard was still sick, confined to his cabin with the doctors trying to keep him alive. The night before he had lost part of the skin on his arms and his uncontrollable anger had made them tie him to the bed, however, that didn’t mean that in his small lapses of serenity he did not realize what was happening in the village.

Asenat shrugged her arms, leaving the decision to Cassidy. In her role as a teacher, she had no say in that situation and she didn't really care too much. You were reckless and almost always clumsy, but you had good ideas and that had helped you become te mainstay of the village. However Cassidy as the third in charge represented the third head of the monster. She would be the leader at Richard's death and if you didn't get back from the maze in time and that terrified her. She was not afraid of responsibility, nor making important decisions, but that represented visualizing a future where the three of you were not together and she preferred not to think about it.

"You know we do," she replied. "There hasn't been a single day when we doubted in your good judgment, but ..."

"It's different," Asenat said rubbing her chin. "The village doesn't feel like it used to. We are used to death, we can handle it, but the feeling of having it lurking over our heads is unbearable. The maze is not better. It is changing. I listen to it every night. The steel lobsters clattering through the halls. The giant woke up and will not go back to sleep”

"Cassidy," you called her, squeezing her hands. The girl sighed, thinking of the possibilities you guys had. Staying with your arms crossed was not an option, but neither was breaking the trust Richard had placed in all of you. Asenat watched you. The three of you shared the same fear, the same confusion and the same dread of losing the entire village. There were children who required the presence of someone capable to guide them, men and women waiting in fear to be infected with the glow and babies crying to feel the arms of their dead parents. You clenched her hands tighter. You needed to be covered for a few hours only and, in return, you would find the way out. You could do it, you trusted your instincts “Please...”

Cassidy sighed.

"We'll cover you until lunchtime, that's all."

"I only need that”

"Come back in one piece, will you?" She begged, looking at a small boy approaching. You leaned down, taking him in your arms letting out a groan as you picked him up. George was eight years old, he didn't weigh the same as five years ago. You kissed his cheek, returning him to the ground “The boy would go nuts if something happened to you”

"Are you going back to the maze?" George asked looking at you with his huge brown eyes. You nodded. Then you were hit by the little boy's suffocating embrace “the lobsters will hurt you!

"They are asleep now”

"They can wake up!"

"I doubt it little one. Don’t worry, I'll be fine. I'll be back at noon and we'll have a snack together, what ya think?”

“You promise?

“I promise”

"Okay, you can go," he said. You laughed, ruffling his hair

"Thanks, puppy. Stay with Asenat, okay? She can scold you while I'm gone”

"Ya’ heard it, boy," Asenat said, rubbing her knuckles at the top of his head. George complained, "You will stay with me the rest of the day and help me teach the little ones how to count to ten.

“That's not fair!”

"Life isn't fair, brat." Come on, maybe we can grab some chocolate from the kitchen later, huh?”

Asenat held out her hand and George took it enthusiastically as they walked together towards the largest cabin that you used as a classroom. George spun on his feet saying goodbye with a bright smile on his face. You blew him a kiss and Asenat turned to show you her middle finger. You smiled

"Take care of him, will you?" I highly doubt that Asenat will do it properly”

"I'm going to watch her. Now go before I regret it. And (Y/N)” She said, stopping you as you walked towards the main corridor of the maze. You turned around, waiting for his words “Don't die out there. The maze stinks enough to add the stench of a corpse” You nodded. It was a fair deal

“No prob”

You finished your run in your section faster than you expected. The meal would not be until three hours later so you decided to make a stop to rest. You sat on the floor against a wall. Hot sweat was running down your neck and the fucking headache was back. You closed your eyes, tired. It was terribly hot, and the stench of rotting meat numbed your nose.

You drank water, the little sip you had left, and put it back in your backpack. You were going to eat some of the apple slices you took with you, but the pain in the back of your head kept you from even chewing. You stood up wanting to continue your hike when the headache went down your neck and then numbed your spine. You leaned against the wall. It was covered in vines, moss, and fungus. You wiped your palms on your pants and started walking again.

The migraine erased your sight. For a second the world around you seemed to move in luminous spirals forcing you to close your eyes. The sound lightened and you swore you heard a static signal on your eardrums.

The floor spined over and over again. You dug your nails into the palms of your hands feeling the blood pour out from the sides, staining the stone. You heard the drops hiting the floor and suddenly everything stopped.

You were sweating. Your soaked shirt stuck to your body, your hair matted on your forehead and you opened your eyes. Pushing back the hair you noticed that this was not your section, that in some inexplicable way the maze had changed drastically and there was no way to return home.

Your heart beat madly. You fell to the ground on your knees, your head aching every second screaming in agony. You crawled down the corridor without understanding its course, but recognizing small fragments of leaves pointing a path to the north.

was that the way out? You, without being aware of the pain, could you have operated some kind of lever, changing the composition of the maze, leaving it unrecognizable? You weren't sure.

You kept crawling. The leaves spreading across the path, turning into a corridor covered in dust and dirt. You complained in pain and in the confusion, you managed to hear voices from the other side.

You buried your nails in the stone rising up. You pulled forward slowly approaching until you reached the exit (or the entrance?) of the maze. The wind ruffled your hair. Then your hands touched the green grass and the pain stopped.

You stayed alert. Your senses fading little by little from fatigue. Your head ached, your hands ached, your back ached. You heard the clear voice of a boy and, unaware of it, you got up as best as you could.

You got up with the help of the leaves on the wall. You narrowed your eyes focusing on the meadow stretching out in front of you. It was not the village, it was not the exit. The walls of the maze were surrounding the meadow and you could only think that the pain had caused you allusions.

Then the torture returned. You clenched your teeth. Your vision became blurry, however you could distinguish completely unknown figures in the mist. Your ears recognized voices, men's voices, and, unable to bear another second, you fainted.

[gayger]

"Summer in Konoha was ending and it was ending fast. With the end of that came the beginning of the end of Sakura's journey in high school. While it wasn't too rambunctious or anything of the sort, Sakura did have one regret: a high school sweet-heart. She didn't get to experience that all encompassing adoration being shown in the school halls, being yelled at by teachers for showing pda, or even the awkwardness of a first kiss. A part of her longed for that feeling - for that experience.

Those thoughts penetrated her mind as her eyes bore outside of her window, over at the open water of the ocean. Sighing, she dares to look away for a second and to her journal on her desk.

'Sakura's Dream Book!'

She smiles softly. She definitely got to cross off some of those dreams, though she wasn't sure they were the ones that she found of importance now.

Knock, knock!

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!"

Sakura sighs, looking over at her window where one of her best friends was waiting outside patiently, perched up on the old oak tree that was beside her bedroom window.

Making her way over to him, she scowls at him slightly. Why couldn't the blond just knock on the front door like a normal person? Opening the window, big and honest blue eyes stared into hers excitedly.

"Did you forget? We're going to the beach today!" He shouts, a grin on his face. Taking in his tan sleeveless top and neon orange swim-trunks, she could only smile good naturedly. She forgot how much he was looking forward to this.

"I didn't forget, you're just early," she says as she shakes her head. "Go back down the tree and I'll get ready." Sakura pauses before she turns away, giving him a serious and dangerous look. "And Naruto?"

He gulps slightly, knowing what she was probably going to say. "Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Don't even think about peeking or you are dead meat." She smiles sweetly, flexing her knuckles slightly. Naruto nods quickly, repeating a mantra of "Of course, anything for you - not that I was going to peek because that would be creepy!" And other things of that sort.

Eventually he had made his way down and she could hear a few of her other friends yell "Watch it!" and "Don't fall, you idiot!"

She laughs softly before getting ready.

Her highschool life may not have been everything she had hoped or wanted, but at the very least she had gotten through it with some of the best people.

~ ` ~ ` ~

"Mom! I'm heading out with some friends, we're going to the beach!" Sakura shouts, opening the front door and not stepping out until she hears her mothers resounding "Okay, be careful!"

"It's about time, forehead," snarks her other best friend. Sakura's eyebrow twitches, but she ignores the pretty blonde's snarky remark anyway. "Are we all ready to go?" She asks, a smile on her face as she adjusts her bag. It isn't like the walk is very far, it's pretty much just across the street so if they did forget something, her house was just right there. Pretty convenient if she's honest.

As they start walking, Sakura can't help but notice that a little ways down the street there was a movers vehicle in front of a big house.

"Hey! Someones moving into old man Madara's house!" Shouted Naruto, apparently spotting the same thing that she did. "Yeah, I guess so," Sakura hums out. She wonders if they were family members of Madara's or if it was simply sold. He passed away about a year or so ago, so it has been vacant for awhile now. Whoever it was, she hoped that they enjoyed living there. It was a beautiful house, Sakura had to admit.

While she was gawking at the house, her other best friend, Ino, let out a squeal.

Plugging one ear with her finger, Sakura gives her a look. "What the hell, Ino-pig?"

"Oh, come on. You aren't telling me that that super perceptive eye of yours didn't notice the really cute guy over there?" Ino swoons, "I hope he's single." Sakura rolls her eyes, but decides to take a look at who she could only assume Ino is talking about. It was just her luck that when she did, he decided to look over in their direction as well.

Her heart pounds and her cheeks flush slightly when he smirks at her and winks. "Ino, oh my god.. He saw me look - I'm screwed!" Sakura whispers quickly, pointedly looking away. The blonde could only laugh at her friend's predicament. It was just like Sakura to be put in a situation like that.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Naruto says with a confused look. "I mean, he's super pale and his hair looks like a duck's ass."

"Nice one, Naruto," Kiba snorts, high-fiving him.

Feeling pretty embarrassed, Sakura just quickly starts walking towards the beach again - to their usual spot. Ino gave one last look in the mysterious and handsome boys direction before following her. "Hey, wait up!"

The two boys were left to follow once they were done laughing.

"So, why couldn't Hinata come?" Sakura asks as she lays out her beach towel next to Ino's. The blonde sat down, digging through her bag while answering, "Her father said that they were having family coming into town. She probably won't be able to hang out with us for awhile, from the sound of it."

Sakura juts out her lip slightly, "That sucks. She's really good at keeping Naruto calm."

"Yeah, I know - but, hey," Ino grins, "You've got me. I'm sure we can handle these two morons on our own for awhile." Both teens laugh, stretching their legs out as they applied sunscreen.

Off in the distance, Sakura noticed Naruto and Kiba going ahead into the water with no hint of sunscreen at all. She shakes her head, willing herself to not think about the atrocious sunburn both boys would be sporting later on today.

"Can you believe we are going to be seniors this year?" Ino says off-handedly, moving her blonde bangs away and behind her ear. "I feel like it was just yesterday that we were in middle school fawning over the band Akatsuki."

Sakura nods in agreement, "I know. It's honestly crazy but.." She trails off, a troubled look on her face as she recalls her journal. "I feel like it all went too fast. I didn't cover nearly all of the bases that I wanted to."

"You mean from your journal?" Ino questioned, looking at Sakura in interest. "What was left unchecked? I'm pretty sure you made it your mission to have everything done and dealt with. I mean, you have been the top of our class and our student body leader practically every year."

Sakura's cheeks turn slightly red as she looks away from Ino, hurriedly standing up. "It's.. Just stupid stuff, you wouldn't understand!" She says quickly, trying to exit the question. She practically runs to the water, Ino following after her trying to protest the abrupt end to their conversation.

As soon as the cool water reached across her feet, Sakura let out a soft sigh. She slowly walks out deeper until she's about knee deep, letting her head fall back as she relishes in the feeling of the cool water. Sakura loves the ocean. It was her calm, it was her escape. She can't count how many times she came out here just to wade in the water whenever she was troubled.

Off in the distance, Sakura could see Naruto on his surfboard riding the waves. The guy was a total goofball, but she had to admit that he was one of the best surfers at their high school. He genuinely enjoyed it. It was the only thing (other than the lovely Hinata) that he would give 100% his focus.

"Hey, Forehead. You can't just take off like that," Ino shouts with a scowl on her face as she finished tying her long hair into a bun on top. "Why wouldn't I understand anyway? We've had many of the same experiences, I don't think there is much that I have done that you haven't."

"You would be surprised, but even so.." Sakura sticks out her tongue at her, "You will never know."

"Fine!" Ino pouts, "Be like that."

Sakura laughs, shaking her head and Ino joins in. She really was her best friend.

~ ` ~ ` ~

A few hours later, the four teens are all sprawled out on their beach towels laughing.

"I can't believe you wiped out just right after you were boasting about how you are the best," Kiba howls.

Naruto scowls, shaking his fist at Kiba in protest. "Hey! It happens - you wiped out way more than I did today, anyway dog-breath!" But even with the name calling, he too cracked a grin.

Sakura only watched with a fond smile on her lips. She looks up at the sky, noting that it would be dinner time soon.

"We should probably get going soon," She hums out. She lived just across the road, but she knew that Ino lived quite a walk away and she didn't want her walking in the dark. She knows that Naruto lives a block away from her and would walk her home if it did get dark, but Sakura would rather be safe than sorry.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm beat!" Ino yawns, covering her mouth in the process. Despite all of the sunscreen she plastered on, the blonde was still beyond burnt. Sakura could only imagine the horrified look on her friend's face when she looked in the mirror later.

"But, but-" Naruto pouts, hanging his head. "We've barely seen each other the last few days."

"Hey, Naruto, look at me." Sakura sighed, shaking her head fondly. "How about we all have a sleepover tomorrow night, okay? Then we can all spend plenty of time together."

He immediately perked up, but Kiba rubbed at his hair some in thought. "I wish I could, but Akamaru is going to the vet tomorrow. He's going to need me all night." Naruto gives him a disbelieving look but Kiba quickly waves his hands. "Don't give me that look! You know how much of a baby he is."

"Well, whatever the case may be.. I will be there and I'm sure Shikamaru and Ten Ten would be down to go, too. Ten Ten especially, she was really upset that she hasn't been able to spend so much time with us because of college and her job."

"Sounds like a plan, then." Sakura says, clapping her hands.

Heading towards the sidewalk, Sakura slings her bag over her shoulder. She's chatting away with Ino when she hears him.

"Hey."

Ino nudges her slightly, shutting the pinkette up for a moment and pointing in the direction of the voice. "Is he talking to me or you?" She asks, softly, before putting on a big and flirtatious smile.

"Hey yourself, I'm Ino," she introduces herself while holding out her hand.

The black eyes of the boy from down the street doesn't even spare Ino a glance, instead focusing on Sakura's own emerald orbs.

"I was hoping I'd catch you, I'm Sasuke." He introduces himself, giving her a small smirk and offering up his hand. Ino huffs but looks Sakura over and notices her red face. Sighing, she nudges her in the small of her back trying to get the pink haired teen back on track from her short circuit.

"I'm, uh, Sakura." She finally says, lamely, while holding out her hand. He takes it and she goes to shake, but instead he bows down and brings her knuckles up.. And he presses a small, light kiss.

Sakura could have fainted and Ino picked the worst time to pat her on the shoulder, "Well Saks, I'm gonna go ahead and head home. Text me, okay?" Before the blonde bounds off, waving cheerily.

Sakura retracts her hand, trying to regain focus, not even registering that her friend left her.

"Well," Sasuke pauses watching her face as he spoke, "I was hoping that I could maybe get your number and perhaps an agreement to meet me tomorrow?" Sakura couldn't believe her ears. For once, in her life, a cute guy was asking her and not Ino or hell, even her asking him.

"Uh, um.. Sure," she says as she pulls out her phone. She fumbles with it slightly nearly dropping it which draws a laugh from him as he effortlessly pulls his own phone from his pocket. She was starting to feel bad for all of the times Hinata has gotten nervous or messed up in front of Naruto or anyone, really. "Here," she says as she hands him her phone and his in return. They place their numbers in and once done, he gives her a cool smile.

"Alright then, I will talk to you later, Sa-ku-ra."

"R..Right," she says softly as she waves bye and he turns to leave. After he's long gone, she just stands there kind of dumbly. She couldn't believe that really happened but her mother opened the door to their house and shouted "Sakura, stop standing there like a dumbass and get inside!"

Snapping out of it, she immediately crosses the street to enter the house.

"Why were you just standing out there?" Her mother asks, shutting the door behind her. Sakura smiled sheepishly, tightening her hold on her bag.

"I was talking to someone and I was just lost in thought. No biggie, really."

"Talking to someone?" Her mother questions and Sakura nods, starting to head up the stairs.

"Yeah! But it was no one important, honest!"

Mrs. Haruno was unconvinced but let her go up the stairs. She was sure she would be able to get some information from Ino if needed.

Plopping down on her bed, her bag on the floor, she lets out a sigh. That really just happened. Pulling her phone up to her face, she notices that she has two messages. One from Ino and the other… from him.

Her face slightly pink, she opens up the one from her friend first.

From: Miss Piggy

Subject: Duckbutt

To: Billboard

Girl, you better tell me all of

the deets! Not a single bit of

information left out (6 p.m.)

Sakura snorts at the subject line. She figured that the comment Naruto made will not be forgotten anytime soon - especially since he was right, to a degree. Quickly, she writes out a response before opening the message from Sasuke.

From: Sasuke Uchiha

Subject: Meeting

To: Sakura

How about tomorrow at the ice

-cream parlor up the street at 1?

(6:10 p.m.)

Sakura thinks to herself quietly, trying to map out a time-line for tomorrow. She knows tomorrow that it is the sleepover which means most of them will be coming around 4 or 5, but she also knows that Ino likes to get a head start above everyone else which means she could pop in at any time.. This was tricky, but maybe she could time it just right. Besides, it's just for ice cream. It's not like they are going to be there for hours.

Quickly, she types out "Sure! Sounds great :)".

She deletes the smiley face a couple of times, but at some point she accidentally sent the message while it was on there. Innerly she cursed herself, but what could she do? It already sent.

"Honey?" Sakura's father knocks on the door, opening it up. He was finally home and Sakura couldn't help but smile as she stood up from her bed. "Dinner is ready, come eat."

"Coming!" Sakura says cheerily, meeting her father to walk down the stairs.

Her father worked in the oil field, so he was only home one or two weeks out of a month. So family dinners were precious to her heart. She just wished he was home more, but she understood why he chose that field. While it wasn't reliable, it paid pretty decently. It paid the bills and allowed them some luxuries. One of those being Sakura's growing college fund. It is because of this that Sakura felt a little more pressured to make sure she succeeded and did something worthwhile. She didn't want all of his hard earned money to go to waste.

She just hoped it wouldn't be for nothing.

~ ` ~ ` ~

Sakura knew what she was expecting to see when she woke up in the morning. The very same view that greets her every morning: her ceiling with her stars and solar system stickers. Instead, she got bright blue eyes staring her in her soul and a cage made from blonde hair. Accompanied by a headache, of course, because why would Ino do anything quietly?

"Get your lazy ass up, forehead!" Ino yells, hands on her hips as she pulls back from her face.

Sakura groans, rolling around onto her side and stuffing her pillow onto her head. "Go away."

Ino tsks and the only thing running through Sakura's head is shit. Ino grabs a hold of her foot and yanks as hard as she could, dumping Sakura on the floor by her bed. Sakura glares up at the blonde, scowling. She was having a good dream.

"Damn, it is never this hard to get you up. You're usually up before sunrise to watch it," Ino mumbles out. Sakura blushes, shaking her head. Ino didn't need to know that she stayed up practically all night with anxiety as an obnoxious bubble in her chest.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbles nonchalantly while her eyes look for her clock. Her eyes widen when she realizes it says 12 p.m. Hurriedly, she scrambles up, panic clear on her face.

"Woah there, what has got you so eager to get up all of a sudden?" Ino questions, eyebrow raised as she watches the pinkette hurry to her closet and pull out outfit after outfit. Then it clicked. "Oh. My. God!" She squeals before enveloping Sakura into a tight hug. "You're going to meet him aren't you?! That's why you were acting all weird last night when I was trying to see when I could come over!"

Sakura's face is bright red and she taps her arms to get her to let go. "Fine, yes. We are supposed to meet at the ice cream parlor at 1."

"Then there is no time to waste! Here, let me help!"

~ ` ~ ` ~

It took a matter of 30 minutes, but Sakura was well on her way down to the ice cream parlor. She didn't want to run because she could just hear Ino griping in her head about how her 'perfect' work would be absolutely ruined. Nervously, Sakura tucks a loose strand behind her ear. The parlor comes into view and she quickens her steps, grateful that she opted for simple sandals that fit her comfortably instead of Ino's bright idea which was heels. Her feet would be killing her, she is not like Ino who could dead-sprint in stilettos.

She could see him outside of the parlor, leaning against the wall. His eyes catch hers and her heartbeat quickens as her cheeks flush. Sakura stops in front of him and he gives her a small smile.

"Hey," he says and Sakura's genius murmurs a quiet, "Hi."

Sakura looks anywhere but him for the simple reason she felt very self conscious, but it all stopped momentarily when he offers her his hand and he leads her inside the parlor.

"What kind of icecream do you like?" He asks her as they approach the cashier to order. Sakura hums, thinking, and she smiles before answering: "chocolate as of right now."

Sasuke laughs quietly, "As of right now?" He questions and looks at her amusedly.

"It changes," she supplies before looking up at him, "How about yours?"

"Strawberry."

They didn't stay at the parlor long, instead they found themselves at the beach. They walked along the waves, Sakura's sandals in one hand and the other hand locked with his. The sunlight against their skin was refreshing and added to the warmth of the situation, the wind carrying her laughter as they talked.

"So.." Sakura trails off, her eyes slowly looking up towards his, "What brought you and your family here?"

"My great uncle left it to my brother Itachi in his will, but it's a big house and he wanted to share it with the rest of us." Sakura hums, watching the brief coldness flash in his eyes when he mentioned his brother. She didn't question it, this date… Was that what it was? This date was going well and she didn't want to ruin it by prying into his family life.

"I had no idea he had any relatives, if I'm honest," Sakura says thoughtfully and smiles. "But, I'm happy to find that he did. My friends and I made it a habit to drop gifts and say hi during holidays." Sakura rambles, leaving out the 'because he seemed so lonely' due to her not wanting to offend him.

"Yeah.. He wasn't much for big family gatherings."Sasuke shrugs and then looks down at her, taking in the way the sun brought out the many different shades of greens and spots of blue in her eyes.

"You have very pretty eyes."

She blushes, looking away. "Thank you," she says softly and can feel her chin being lifted up by him. His gaze was heavy and the world stopped around her, nothing but their breathing and her heart beating ferociously could be heard with the gentle lullaby of waves.

"Don't look away from me, Sa-ku-ra." His thumb gently rubs against her cheek and she half expects him to kiss her but instead, he drops his hand and re-takes her hand in his.

"Shall I walk you home?"

Her mind is blank and it takes a minute for what he said to process. A little bit of disappointment bubbles in her, a fear that maybe she said something wrong. "Oh, uh, sure," she says softly and she guides him to her home which is across the street.

Once they arrive, she lets go of his hand and fidgets, unsure of what to do now. Sighing, she looks down at her feet before slowly looking up at him. "Look, I'm sorry if I said something wrong-" Her words die on her tongue because he does something so unexpected and peculiar.

He poked her forehead with his index and middle finger, effectively catching her off guard.

"I had fun, Sa-ku-ra," he removes his fingers and Sakura watches, dumbfounded. "Let's do it again sometime."

"Okay," she replies and a pretty blush forms on her cheeks, she shyly watches him leave with a small smile on her face.

She turns around and briefly catches blue eyes peeking through the blinds of the living room window and she sighs, shaking her head. Of course she would get no privacy.

Stepping inside the house, she is greeted by her mother and Ino laughing obnoxiously on the couch. Not at all suspicious. Sakura places her hand on her hip, looking at them expectantly.

"Did you guys sate your curiosity looking outside the window?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," her mother states innocently before her expression turns devilish. "Buuuutttt, since you're here. Mind sharing the details?"

Sighing, Sakura gives in and decides to tell them about everything - with the exception of what happened near her front door. That, she had decided, would stay secret for her sake. Or as secret as it could, considering she was being watched the entire time they were out there."

- "A Proclivity for Love" chapter one.

Want to read more?

You can find it on AO3 and Fanfiction,net. There are 23 chapters!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13822288/1/A-Proclivity-for-Love