#which hopefully I’m missing something but that doesn’t sound super exciting.

[episodeoftv]

EDIT: ending this early bc I’m impatient. Here’s the tiebreaker poll!

If we do Most Episode s2‚ I’ll allow episodes to be resubmitted‚ except for the top 8-16, which will join the new bracket later. It will be a smaller bracket‚ definitely no more than 128‚ but probably capped off at 64.

Also this is just deciding which bracket to do first‚ I anticipate doing some of the runners-up later. (If this poll doesn’t have a clear sweep I’ll do a second poll with the top 2/3)

[kotos-and-smiles]

Chapter 118 Rambling

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR CH.118 OF KOT!

I’ll be referring to the translation by @tessenpai​ If you haven’t read it yet you can find it here

Shook Tokise (even Satowa was shook!), beautiful koto playing, and a determined Ousuke, Oh my!

I really liked getting a bit of commentary from Satowa. I’ve been kinda missing my girl.

I love little things like Ousuke realizing that perfection still can’t be too beautiful. Like even as they strive for perfection, he realizes that humans are interested in flaws, and find boredom when something is too perfect. Little things like this are just really nice touches to me, and it’s interesting to see how this idea factors into Ousuke’s life and his idea of ‘perfection’

Oh damn, Meiryo has that sex appeal quality that our Tokise doesn’t have?! Or more accurately, our Tokise didn’t have and now very hopefully do? I honestly think that after Chika’s conversation with Satowa’s mom in ch.91, when he figured out the importance of the space between words and what that meant, I think he’ll have the sex appeal thing down. And also the confession and Chika and Satowa both expressing their love for one another will also probably help. I’m also not too worried about Momoya in that department. Takezou and Hiro should be interesting when it comes to if they can express that or not. The rest of the club is completely up in the air, who knows what they’ll do with that. I’m excited to see how the whole sex appeal concept will factor into Tokise’s performance.

I find Ousuke’s description of Tokise’s sound to, once again, be very interesting. It’s always interesting to hear things from Ousuke’s perspective because he’s often right. He’s very perceptive. “Pure, straightforward, with no lies or deception, as if exposing your very heart.” Is what he describes Tokise’s sound as, and then mentions it’s the complete opposite of his. Now, obviously, we are seeing his views through the lens of his own experiences, he is comparing himself to them, seeing how different they are and basically admitting the aspect of deception in his sound. But it also got me thinking about how everyone at Tokise truly faces the koto earnestly, leaving behind any dishonestly in their words and playing truthfully in their music. Not many people in Tokise open up easily in words, or at all at first, but even in the beginnings, everyone let their true sounds out in koto. It’s kinda not even a choice for them, they just can’t not do it that way. Chika even kinda brought this up when Momoya was still struggling with his fill-in in  ch.111. Chika wanted him to say what he had to say about Uzuki because holding things back like that affects music. Chika knows this because he’s experienced it firsthand. The sounds of the koto really are a direct line to the players’ hearts and souls when it comes to Tokise. Again, they really can’t help themselves, which is a huge advantage honestly, because it’s one of, if not just their biggest asset.

Ousuke feels he needs to orchestrate the sounds of the heart, but for Tokise it comes out naturally. It seems a lot of Ousuke’s ideas around training for Nationals could’ve been about bringing out this heart even if it doesn’t come as naturally for Meiryo, and certainly not for Ousuke. He admits himself, his sound is dishonest, it very controlled but disguised in such a way that no one should notice its falsehoods. I wonder if perhaps, in this performance, Ousuke was able to use a little bit of his true heart’s sound and let that shine through because he was playing for Asano and her smile. Akira did mention that Meiryo achieved some amount of sex appeal in their sound, and this is usually synonomous with feelings of romantic love in this manga. So maybe part of that was Ousuke? Especially because she said this right after we focus on him playing.

So, this has just been a really quickly written thing, I don’t really have the time to dedicate to going super in depth right now, but all the stuff with Ousuke and Asano is so, so good, and I’m very invested in these characters rather than just feeling like these are the side character chapters. A testament to the amazing writing and the compassion we can feel for so many of the different characters. There’s certainly a hell of a lot to unpack with these two, and damn I just love the couples of this manga and how there’s never any entitlement to someone feeling a certain way about someone. Like, of course I want Asano to recognize Ousuke, and that he’s right there and always will be, but at the same time I love that Ousuke isn’t expecting that from her. It’s sad for Ousuke, but I love that he just wants to be able to love her and see her smile and expects nothing in return, because that feels like he truly loves and cares about her and her wellbeing, but just because he feels that way about her does not mean she is obligated to feel the same way back and he is totally aware of that. It does hurt to watch Ousuke do all these things just to see her smile when she doesn’t even notice him as more than her childhood friend, but I do like Ousuke’s resolve and I’m excited to see where that’s going for his whole character arc. But a lot of it has probably happened already within the song, as the chapter ends with him arriving at the answer to his sound, and that is Asano’s smile. He’s choosing to dedicate himself to her still, and that’s what his sound kinda is.

I realized that really his arc is centered around Asano, pretty entirely, which I think is really nice to see sometimes with male characters because we see female character’s entire storylines revolve around men, and Ousuke’s is really about Asano and his feelings for her, how they go unacknowledged but he does what he does anyway, etc. Of course, his character still has a lot of depth on its own, but yeah. It’s kinda sad to see, too, that he so fully has dedicated himself to this performance and this music, but only for someone else. He has a lot of potential, but also a lot of fear and desire to stay by Asano’s side, but I hope he’ll find his own passion or relationship to koto for himself. It’ll be interesting to see if he kind of lets go of Asano a little and finds his own purpose, through music or other avenues and gets over some of his insecurities about being alone, whether Asano might notice him, or something else entirely, but this character arc is really well built and so the culmination should be fascinating to see, though this might be the biggest focus we’ll probably get on it. It is worth mentioning though that the performance from his perspective was very much about Asano, so either he’s able to let go now, or the most significant part of the story has kind of happened within the music already.

Also, with the fact that Ousuke is at Meiryo and so is Uzuki, I can’t help but wonder if somehow their storylines will intersect. I think it’d be really interesting if they did. Ousuke can see right through people, so that could be fun to see. Their dynamic, and very personal similarities and differences, how they both tend to put on masks and use those masks because they need people in their lives more than they feel they need to be truthful to themselves, could be so, so interesting to see. Though, Ousuke feels far more self-aware than Uzuki does about his habits. And also Ousuke is far less toxic to the person he’s decided to glomp onto as his world than Uzuki was with Chika. Again though, I think Ousuke is far more aware of how he handles things and how it affects him whereas Uzuki is just holding on to whatever he can scrounge from life that he even slightly cares about. With where both of them are in their character arcs, it’d be cool to see how maybe they could even help each other. Maybe they could both find things to care about for themselves. But again, who knows if they’ll even meet.

Anyway, these were just some very rough thoughts I had while reading through the chapter for the first time. Not nearly as detailed and deep as I usually like to post (how many times can I just say ‘interesting’?), but hey, I had some thoughts and here they are (braincells very tired). Life be taking up a lot of my kot ready/thinky time right now, but thanks for reading!

Also, just look at the Tokise the couples, love to see it!

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.9 thoughts

[Put Your Hands in the Air]

Iroha has revealed that he believes the cipher in the dance to be not military strategy but an SOS. Kogoe asks for his reasoning, and Iroha dramatically responds that he doesn’t have a reason

Then he realizes he was being dramatic unintentionally and apologizes, and Kogoe takes responsibility for how she asked the question. It’s a cute little moment that cuts the tension, but admittedly it’s a bit disappointing to find out that Iroha didn’t notice something in the code that made it clear it was an SOS. My guess is that it was because of how short the code is, like it would be easier to swallow a quick message like “SOS” rather than “invade X place at Y time with a force of Z size”

And now, finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Iroha puts on the glasses once again. Seeing the digitized hands flying through the air hammers home a concern that I’ve had and haven’t been able to articulate the last few chapters: the visuals haven’t been super impressive lately, and I realize now that it’s because Iroha’s decision to only rely on his own abilities has prevented us from seeing one of the most unique visual elements that this series has to offer and promised in the first chapter. I’m sure that Iroha will still do his best to avoid it and Iwasaki will do everything they can to keep things visually stimulating in the interim (like Iroha dancing or Kasuri moving at lightning speed), but man I really missed seeing these effects. They’re so imaginative and really help me feel involved with the puzzle in a way that just seeing someone use pen and paper or move things around just can’t. Hopefully seeing the glasses used more often will help some folks come around on how exciting this series really is

When questioned why he’s using the glasses when he finds them unfair, Iroha explains that he’s been avoiding it for classes and tests because he doesn’t want them to take the fun out of puzzle solving, but in this, a real world scenario, he shouldn’t prioritize having fun over practicality. “I don’t think I should be looking to have fun when helping people.” There’s a lot of ways to take this, but I think the important one to consider is that this is similar to the idea I brought up last chapter of there not being a concept of cheating in war

...Somehow I only just remembered the phrase “all is fair in love and war.” I wonder if Nisio has any plans to bring that up, considering how much this series is gearing up to be a bit of a harem

Anyway, Iroha isn’t going to let his pride get in the way of helping people, and he isn’t going to make helping people into a game. This is the time to get serious,  and he’s going to treat it as such, which is a surprisingly rare quality in shonen protagonists. It’s so much more common to see protagonists stick to their guns no matter the situation, but Iroha is adapting to the needs of the situation, and I respect that

For some reason, when Iroha activates Ice Cold Reading he seems to get a headache. Later in the chapter Yugata mentions eye congestion, which as far as I can find is another name for pink eye. I always thought pink eye was exclusively from infections, but I’m finding out now that it can also be caused by Computer Vision Syndrome. Iroha is literally just getting eye strain from looking at computer screens RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS EYES! It’s such an obvious weakness I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner, but such is the nature of any good puzzle or mystery

The dance moves themselves are revealed to be irrelevant, with the focus being on the hands, and we’re given a reminder of what Iroha said last chapter: “the most I could copy was the tips of their hands.” Now, you may have noticed: THAT’S NOT WHAT HE WAS TRANSLATED SAYING LAST WEEK

Last week the translator said “the most I could do was copy movements,” framed in such a way that it sounded like he was talking about when he was a cheerleader back in junior high, but NO, he was talking about the present situation! That made me completely misinterpret the meaning of that line and miss a crucial detail to the current puzzle! That’s extremely frustrating, and unfortunately makes me worried about this translator’s other choices up to this point and going forward. Nisio Isin is very difficult to translate, I can speak to that firsthand, but this is a professional translation, and it’s very worrying to see that immediately relevant details are being lost. I can only hope that this is a one-off issue, but much like with CXC’s translation of Medaka Box, I’m going to have to second guess everything from now on, and that’s a terrible feeling

Moving on, Iroha notices that the right hand only ever has one or two fingers up, while the left can have up to four. Now, to me it was immediately clear that this meant there were at least eight combinations because you could multiply 2 by 4, but for some reason they both get start by assuming the total number of fingers was the key. I imagine it was meant to eliminate all possibilities, but one hand always having one or two told me that it was meant for sorting the other hand into some kind of category. Admittedly, I thought it was going to be a base system, so I immediately overcomplicated it, but at least I was mistaken in a way that made sense

With the goal of having a usable number of characters, Iroha is able to work backwards (like he did with the 3-D puzzle last chapter) and realize that he needs to consider that the hands are sometimes forward or back and the absent possibility of zero fingers being held up (inspired by the negative space from the sticks puzzle of last chapter) to create a total number of 60 possible combinations, which would fit when graphing out the kana syllabary (accounting again for negative space which can be ignored)

For some reason Iroha quotes Kasuri’s “a chance meeting is pre-ordained by fate,” which...doesn’t make a ton of sense here, so I’m again given reason to question this translator’s methods. I’m sure the line makes sense to Japanese speakers, but I already thought the line was awkward when Kasuri said it, now it just feels kind of nonsensical. If I had to guess he’s saying that he was fated to coincidentally realize the solution? But that doesn’t feel satisfactory. I’d love to know the original Japanese for this line and run it across a few different translators to get their take, but for now, I’ll just ignore it and conitnue on

As Iroha thought, the cipher is in fact revealed to be an SOS, but Kogoe conjectures that the hand movements may be a separate message on top of a military strategy hidden in the dance, as the dancer might be a hostage or someone being forced to dance. She also mentions that Iroha intuited the dancer is a child, but...I have no idea where that line is coming from. Nothing Iroha said indicated that in either chapter that I can find. I wonder if his word choice changed somewhere along the way, but if it did, the translator certainly did not convey it. I don’t want to keep harping on this, but it really does feel like I’m back in the CXC days...

Iroha notes that contradiction in his ability to solve the code: he’s a novice code breaker. If he was able to solve it, then professionals should have been able to as well, and yet no one has answered the SOS. Kogoe conjectures that the dancer may be more useful while communicating the actual military code, as breaking that more complex code will allow someone to stop or learn the strategy involved, and thus won’t go out of their way to save this otherwise anonymous hostage

Feeling compassion for the abandoned dancer, Iroha decides to continue plugging away at the real code, only to find himself waking up in the infirmary from prolonged eye-strain. Honestly this was surprisingly fast and strong for simple eye strain, so I’m wondering if the level of blue light from the glasses on top of how close they are to the eyes is also a factor?

Iroha finds Yugata next to him, who gives him a simple puzzle to help him reboot: “what name is written here?” Of course, it’s his own name, and you can even tell if you look hard enough, even if you don’t know kana too well. It’s not too different from asking someone simple questions like “do you remember your name?” when they’re in shock, it’s just in the form of a puzzle here to make sure that Iroha is in a place mentally to be able to do puzzles

Of course, ascertaining that he is capable, Yugata challenges Iroha to a code battle. Previously she had stated that she hated bullying weaklings and needed Iroha to “go up about another five levels” to challenge her, so this is proof enough that she feels he’s up to snuff now, at least enough not to consider him a weakling. Funny enough, it’s been exactly five chapters since she said that, do you think Nisio was explicitly saying “see you in five chapters”? I wouldn’t put it past him

Yugata makes the bold claim that if they do fight and Iroha loses, he’ll end up being conditioned to feel ill every time he so much as sees text, which is frankly a terrifying prospect in general, to say nothing of someone aiming to be a code breaker, but that’s gotta be puffery, right? There’s no way she can craft a code so mind-bendingly hard that it ruins text for someone forever...right?

I can’t even fathom what that would entail, but I guess we’ll find out soon. This fight is definitely coming a lot sooner than I thought, so I suppose Yugata isn’t going to be the catalyst for the drop as I projected last time, but this may well still be the transition into something bigger

[hopespeak-hs-hostclub]

omg hi! i love your account! can i request the host club reacting to haruhi’s gf , like maybe the reader goes to pick haruhi up and everyone just sees that haruhi has a girlfriend and not a boyfriend.

and her gf is also super cutesy and nice thank you!

Yay!! Haruhi is an angel I’m so happy to write this for you 🥰 I’m sorry it’s on the shorter side, but I hope you love it!!!!

Haruhi’s Date

You’d been dating your girlfriend for about a month now, and she was absolutely perfect for you. She was the most stunning girl you’ve ever laid eyes on, with her big brown eyes, and her soft short brown hair. The way your hand always fit perfectly in her hand. You truly felt like you were made for each other. She unfortunately goes to a different school than you do, so you only get to see her on weekends, as long as the club she’s involved in doesn’t have any activities going on. But this weekend was all yours and you couldn’t be more excited. You got into your old beat up car, and started to head to her house to pick her up.

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

“Gosh, cant they leave?” Haruhi thought to herself, referring to her 6 friends, who had barged into her apartment early this morning for breakfast. With an annoyed expression plastered on her face as the boys all talked, she just sat and listened. But the twins must’ve noticed that Haruhi was seemingly annoyed.

“Hey Haruhi,” Kaoru started, while nudging his twin brother in the side to get his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“Yea, you don’t seem like yourself today Haruhi,” Hikaru finished. That statement got the attention of Tamaki, who immediately jumped into the conversation.

“Is something wrong with my perfect baby Haruhi?!??!” Tamaki gushed, while striding over to her quickly, and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Tell daddy what’s wrong, I’ll fix it!”

Haruhi, growing rather annoyed, shoved him off of her. “Don’t call yourself that, senpai. And you all want to know what’s wrong? It’s that you all barged in here this morning like you own the place, not even considering if I have other plans!!” Haruhi shouted defensively, while taking a quick look at the clock.

Kyoya, never missing anything, noticed Haruhi’s glance at the clock though, and decided to pipe in. “Are you expecting company, Haruhi?” He inquired with a slight smirk on his face. Instead of answering, Haruhi turned bright red in the face.

“Oooh! Haru-Chan IS expecting somebody!” Honey laughed, oblivious that he was embarrassing her even further. The twins both raised their eyebrows and looked at Haruhi interested in whatever she was hiding.

“You’re having guests?” The Hitachiin twins inquired at the same time.

“NO!” Haruhi blushed, covering her face with her arms. “I just really want you guys to all go home, and let me enjoy my weekend, please!”

“Well Haruhi, I don’t think it’s very polite of you to hide your guests from us, after all, we are like family!” Tamaki said while popping up in between the twins, and putting his arms around each of their shoulders.

Haruhi, unable to think of an excuse on why they need to leave, just sat there staring down at the floor, which Kyoya was also incredibly quick to notice. “Boys, I believe what Haruhi here is too nervous to outright say to us, is that she has a date today,” he started while peering down over his glasses at her. “Isn’t that right, Haruhi?”

Before Haruhi could even answer him, Tamaki stepped in. “Kyoya, that isn’t possible! We’re the only boys she ever talks to, and she doesn’t have a date with any of us!” Tamaki exclaimed proudly, before looking at the twins. “Right?” He asked nervously.

The twins shook their heads.

“Nope,” said Hikaru.

“Not with us,” Kaoru replied.

Honey, and Mori both also shook their heads, to indicate they weren’t the mystery man.

“Listen guys, can you all PLEASE just leave? You figured it out, I have a date. Now please let me be alone!” Haruhi cried out nervously.

But there of course wasn’t time for that.

~~~~~~~~

You rang the doorbell of your girlfriends apartment and heard a commotion inside. It sounded like she was having a party? That can’t be right, Haruhi hates party’s. You decide to wait outside just a moment longer, and that’s when Haruhi slides out the smallest crack of the door, not allowing you inside.

“Hey darling,” you gushed as you held her close to you. Haruhi nuzzled her head onto your chest and then looked up at you.

“So… we need to go, now,” Haruhi tried to explain quickly.

You looked at her puzzled as she grabbed your hand and tried to pull you down the steps with her. “Haruhi, honey, what are you doing?” You laughed nervously. But before she could answer, 6 boys walked out her door. A tall blonde one strutted up to you, hand extended.

“You must be the man who’s taking my precious Haruhi out today? Please, take good care of her. We all love her very much,” He started.

“Uh, boss,” Hikaru tried to whisper out.

Tamaki, shot him a glare then looked right back at you. “A-a girl?” You didn’t know what to say, so you just nodded and stared at all the boys in front of you.

Haruhi, clearly embarrassed, stepped next to you, and grabbed your hand tightly. “This is Y/N. We met over summer break at the market. We’ve been dating for a little over a month now,” Haruhi introduced. “And love, this is Tamaki, Honey, Mori, Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru,” she said pointing to each respective person.

This is her club. Haruhi had told you all about the club, and how she has to pretend to be a boy to pay them back a lot of money, but you hadn’t ever seen photos of them or anything, and you definitely weren’t prepared for this today. But you have a bright bubbly personality. So you turned on the charm.

“Hi boys! My names y/n!” You extended your hand out to each boy individuality to shake it. “Haruhi my love, if you don’t mind, we can have our date later tonight? I’d love to go inside, share some tea and get to know everyone!!” You smiled and held onto your girlfriends arm.

Haruhi pulled you aside and whispered, “are you sure? They’re a handful…” she said, eyeing Tamaki specifically. You just smiled and nodded eagerly.

“Of course Haruhi, I love you, so I’m sure I’ll adore your friends!” You grinned at them all again. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you all! Hopefully we can do this all the time!” You beamed, hopeful that your girlfriends friends end up loving you. Sure, them finding out Haruhi is in a gay relationship might be shocking, but you know that you’ll end up loving them, and hopefully the same goes for them towards you!

[twordytings]

Hi I’m having a rough day. Can I request a fic where Bucky and Steve give the reader cheer up tickles because she had a bad day? Thank you

Backbone

(Steve and Bucky x Reader)

Summary: You’ve been having a pretty rough few weeks, but there’s always two people that are always there for you; whether you like it or not.

Word Count: 1,859

A/N: Sorry I couldn’t complete this the day of, but i hope this makes your day better than it already was! This does get a teensy bit deep, since I was speaking from personal experience (hence the trigger warning) but I want you guys to know that if you’re ever having a rough day, or ever just need someone to talk to, I’m always here! Please please please don’t be shy to send a message my way!!!

!TW! - Hints to ED

You came home from school, lugging yourself through the door and going straight up to your room, not even bothering to greet Bucky or Steve, who were sat in the living room. They noticed that you didn’t say hello, since you were always so excited to come home to see them, so they were a bit confused to say the least.

It’s impossible to make a long story short at this point, but to speak in broader terms, you hated yourself. It started when you were at school one day; your teacher, of all people pointed out a part of you that you never thought was a problem: your weight. The same day, after you came home, you looked at yourself in the mirror and couldn’t help but think about everything else that could’ve possibly been wrong with you.

You ended up finding flaws in yourself that you’d never even dreamed of having. Your hair wasn’t like the pretty girls at school, your waist wasn’t as thin as the model you saw on social media, your freckles didn’t look as cute as that little girl you met the other day, your face wasn’t as chiseled as the woman in the TV show you were watching, and your thighs... there was no gap between them. It was as if you were being hit by a bunch of waves nonstop; and now you were drowning. It got to the point where all you would consume each day was a cup of iced coffee and gum, but you still weren’t satisfied with how you looked; wearing baggy clothing and avoiding meals with the excuse of having a lot of homework became a normal routine for you. You were physically and emotionally exhausted, and honestly just wished you could hide inside of a shell for as long as possible. Unfortunately, you didn’t have a shell, but your room would have to do.

You slung your backpack off your shoulder and roughly ripped your shoes off your feet, immediately crawling under the covers of your bed. It was nice, being in your own space, until you heard a knock on your door. You groaned at the sound, hoping whoever it was would leave after your nonexistent reply; but yet again, another knock.

“Ugh. Go awayyy!”

“It’s Steve. Can I come in?” he said as he poked his head in a bit.

“Well you already opened the door so... yeah I guess.” you said from underneath your covers, body covered from head to toe. Steve smiled a bit, walking over to sit beside the lump in your bed which was you.

“You wanna tell me why you’re upset?”

“Uh uh.” you responded, still under your sheets.

“C’mon take that off your face I can barely hear you-” he said as he ripped the sheet away from your face. You sat up in annoyance, seeing that Bucky was now walking into your room to join in on the interrogation. You subconsciously rolled your eyes, not wanting anything to do with the two at the moment, but you knew they weren’t gonna leave you alone until they knew exactly what was up with you. Bucky walked to the side that Steve wasn’t on, but sat next to you on the bed as well.

“You okay doll?” Bucky asked with concerned look on his face.

“Guys, I’m fine. Just had a rough day is all...” you said as you looked down, fiddling with your fingers. They looked at each other in worriment. What you didn’t know was that they’d noticed your behavior over the last few weeks. It wasn’t hard to; you had gone from a happy go lucky teenager to a quiet mouse in a matter of a couple days. Steve took hold of your fidgety hands, wanting to cry at the sheer sight of how much they were shaking before he had grabbed them.

“No. You’re not fine. And that’s okay,” as he looked you straight in your big doe eyes, “but we need you to be honest with us, okay?” He had never looked so concerned before. You obviously knew what you were going through, but failed to recognize that they were probably petrified for you as well. For as long as you could remember, Steve and Bucky were always there for you; whatever problem you had, they fixed; if you were troubled by something or another, they always cheered you up. It was probably eating them from the inside out, not knowing what was going on with you. You played with his hands a bit, looking at him and then Bucky before you started to explain.

“I... I hate myself.” you said as your voice already began to crack, tears threatening fall. The two looked at each other in complete and utter disbelief, but let you continue without interruption. “Everything about me... I’m just so ugly!” you were crying now, not bothering to wipe your face off in front of the two. “I’m not as pretty as all the other girls. I’m a waste of space.” You’d been numb for so long that it actually felt good to cry.

“Hey hey hey! Don’t say something like that about yourself!” Bucky interrupted, a bit furious at the fact that you could even fathom such a thing about yourself, but keeping a calm tone with his voice nonetheless. He scooted closer to you, wiping your tears off with his bare hands as he swiped his hand off onto his shirt, not caring if it got dirty. “Y/n,” he said, pulling your face by your chin so you were looking at him, “you... are beautiful. Every single thing about you-”

“Even my freckles?” you interrupted quietly. He chuckled in pure adoration.

“Especially your freckles, sweet girl.” he affirmed. He was upset at the fact that you weren’t joking with that question... that you were genuinely asking, not even a smile grazing your lips. Steve, on the other hand was tearing up a bit. He was the more sensitive one of the two, for obvious reasons. “Do you understand what I’m saying? The way that you’ve been avoiding your meals and wearing our clothes all the time... it needs to stop.” You guiltily looked down once again, reflecting on how bad it actually was. This gave Steve a bit of time to collect himself as he took you into his lap, holding you how he did when you were much smaller, although you still fit in his arms just how you always had.

“Hey,” Steve said, looking down at you as you looked up at him, your nose a bright red from all the crying, “there is absolutely nothing wrong with how you look. I don’t know where you got that idea from, but that doesn’t matter now... what matters is that you are the most adorable girl on the planet, and you don’t need me or anyone else to tell you that. The way your nose twitches like a bunny when you’re nervous, how your tongue sticks out a little when your super concentrated, and your cute little laugh...” he said, following with a few pokes to your stomach, making you giggle for just a second, but it was enough to provoke him into a full blown tickle attack, cuing Bucky in to help him. Tickling you silly was always their sure fire way of cheering you up - in this case, lightening the mood as well - so you couldn’t say you were surprised. That isn’t to say you weren’t in agony whenever they did it.

“wahaHAHAHAIT GUHUHUHUYS!” you yelped, kicking your legs out as they moved from spot to spot, not even needing to hold you in place since you were already wedged between them.

“Steve, why’s she laughing so hard?”

“Yeah y/n what’s so funny over there?” Steve quipped.

“IT TIHIHICKLESSSSS!” you screamed in frustration, batting at their hands to no avail.

“Yeah it’s supposed to... duh.” Bucky teased, earning a few aggravated whines from you. The two had paused as if they could read each other’s minds; you were confused as to why they stopped so soon, but it wasn’t for no reason. They both had evil grins plastered on their faces, which told you that they weren’t done yet.

“Okay y/n...,” Steve started, his hands resting on your stomach, “do you want raspberries or-”

“NONONONONO PLEHEASE NO!”

“you didn’t let me finish! Or... do you want ribs?” Bucky snorted at the awful proposal, but went along with it regardless.

“Uhm... is neither an option?” you said hopefully.

“It’s either one or both...” Steve stated seriously, noticing your eyes widen at the ultimatum, almost breaking character at how your eyes began to dart between him and Bucky.

“Better hurry up y/n... time’s tickin’...” Bucky chimed as he pretended to tap a watch on his wrist.

“I’m not choosing!” you said, attempting to sound as angry as possible, but they saw right through you.

“Ladies and gentleman... we have a winner!” Bucky announced in a deep voice. “Miss y/n wins both raspberries and ribs!” Steve snickered at Bucky’s voice as he was amused by his performance, but looked back at you straight after.

“You ready?” he said all too softly as he menacingly hovered over you.

“Please dohohon’t!” you begged, nervous giggles pouring out of you.

“Sorry bug but you brought this upon yourself...” Steve shrugged as he spoke half-heartedly. You braced yourself as the two dug in, Steve taking care of the raspberries as Bucky shook his hands into your ribs. You shrieked so loud, they were surprised you hadn’t broken a sound barrier.

“STAHAHAHAHAP!” you screamed. They had figured you were pretty tired considering you’d just gotten home from school, so after a few more minutes of their fun, they decided to let up. You immediately curled up like a slinky as they stopped, wrapping your arms around your body to protect yourself from any more unexpected attacks.

“Oh relax... we’re done, I promise...” Steve laughed. “...as long as you start eating, correctly.”

“Cross my heart.” you vowed as Steve stood up, satisfied with your response. Bucky smiled at you sweetly, lifting up your curled form onto his lap this time, kissing the top of your head as he held you tightly. “I love you guys... and thanks for making me feel better.”

“Love you too lil sis...” Steve said as he leaned down to kiss your cheek, pinching it once before he went to leave the room.

“We love you more than anything, sweet girl.” Bucky said softly. It would take some time; gaining the courage to eat full meals and wearing your own clothes again, but you knew that with Bucky and Steve, you’d be just fine. You were upset that you hadn’t talked to them sooner, but it was better late than never. They were your rock, and you were their pride and joy, and you knew that they would rather die than allow you to feel so terribly about yourself. It might be sappy to say, but you would never change the relationship you had with them for the world; that was one thing you knew for sure.

[4stars-uswnt]

My Muse, My Valentine [Christen Press x Reader]

requested by anon: Not sure if you’re accepting any request but can you write a cp x photographer gf where her gf surprised her at man u, like her gf secretly transfer there to be with cp. Thanks

A/N: please ignore some of the inconsistencies this story has with reality :) but anyways... hope you enjoy and have a happy Valentine’s Day (tomorrow) and remember it’s a day about LOVE, whether that be romantic, platonic, familial, or self ❤️

“I’m gonna miss you,” you whine, as you watch your girlfriend pack her suitcase.

“I know, babe. I’m gonna miss you too, so much.” Christen leans down to quickly peck your lips, before continuing to fold her clothes.

You and Christen had been dating for almost three years now, having met after you’d photographed one of the USWNT’s matches. You instantly felt an attraction to the curly-haired forward, your camera always drifting towards her wherever she was on the pitch.

After you’d posted a couple of your photos on your Instagram, which Christen made a point to like and repost, you gathered up the courage to approach her after a game, and thus began your relationship.

With yours and Christen’s busy schedules, it was sometimes hard to find time for each other, but you made it work, sharing an apartment in Portland during the offseason and flying out for matches when you could. But being a sports photographer did have its benefits, as your work often led you to spending more time with your girlfriend and admiring her speed down the field and score goals.

But now, with the pandemic, as the NWSL was struggling to field games,  you found yourself with little work. Christen herself was not quite satisfied with the league’s plan for the season, so when Tobin proposed the idea of going to the WSL, she desperately wanted to, yearning to get back on the pitch.

At first, when Christen approached you with the subject, you immediately opposed, not wanting to be so far from your girlfriend for such a long amount of time. Additionally, with COVID, it would be nearly, if not completely, impossible for you to visit. But after a blowout fight and discussing it further, you realized that this is what would be best for Christen and her career.

“Do you have to go?” You pout, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed.

“You know I do, (Y/N/N).” Christen playfully rolls her eyes.

“Humph.”

“Babe, come on, don’t make me feel worse about leaving you.”

“Then don’t,” you quip, grabbing your girlfriend by the waist, pulling her down on the bed with you.

“Babe!” Christen squeals, as you blow raspberries into her skin.

You lift your head from the crook of her neck, your eyes locking with hers. “I know that you have to go,” you admit seriously. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I know that this is what’s best for your career.”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” she says earnestly, giving you a small smile. “We’ll text and FaceTime everyday.”

“I’m holding you to that.” You cup her face and bring her in for a kiss, savoring the feeling of her soft lips on yours. “I also know that you’re gonna kill it over there in Manchester. The WSL isn’t gonna know what hit them.”

Christen ducks her bashfully, a small blush arising on her cheeks. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course, Chris. I love you, too.”

“Good.” She gives you a quick peck, as she gets up from the bed. “Now, either quit bothering me or help me. My flight is early tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even finished packing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

—————

It had been a little over five months since you’d dropped Christen off at the airport and she left for Manchester. Despite the constant texting and the nightly FaceTime calls, you couldn’t help but ache for your girlfriend. Without her, the apartment was lonelier and the bed felt bigger.

It had helped that your work had started back up, first with some freelance work and then with the NWSL fall series starting, which gave you something to do and kept you fairly busy.

Currently, you were sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of coffee, as you edited some photos for the Thorns. Just as you were saving your work and closing Lightroom, about to shut your computer, a ping alerts a new email in your inbox.

Switching tabs, you notice the message is from an unfamiliar address, so you presume it’s a new client. You click and open it, your eyes widening, as you scan the email:

Ms. (Y/L/N),

I noticed your professional portfolio through many referrals, particularly your work form the World Cup. I am writing on behalf of the BBC News Media Centre, and we’re looking for an excellent sports photographer to join the team, specifically to cover the FA Women’s Super League and the Premier League.

Your experience is outstanding, adn your work speaks for itself. I think you’d be a great fit for this role, and I’d love to tell you more about it and hear more from you.

Would you like to set up a phone or Zoom call soon? If so, let me know when you’re available.

Best,

Charles Smith

Director of Media Relations at BBC Sport

You quickly reread the email, and then reread it again, just to make sure you’re not dreaming. This was too good to be true. But you shake yourself out of your stupor and quickly type out a response to set up a phone call as soon as possible.

After hitting send, you shut your computer with excitement and throw your hands up in the air.

“Yes!” You exclaim into the empty apartment, as you throw your fist in the air and jump off the barstool.

Knowing you needed to distract yourself, otherwise you’d just be staring at your computer, eagerly awaiting the response, you decided to go on a run.

Jogging through the city, you think of your girlfriend and your potential reunion if this job offer worked out. You decided that if you did in fact take this position, you’d surprise Christen at one of her matches, hopefully one that you’d be able to photograph.

As soon as you arrive back in your apartment, you make a beeline for your laptop. You anxiously open your inbox and beam when you see Charles had replied to set up a Zoom call at 9:30 tomorrow morning. You excitedly type out pleasantries, telling him you’re looking forward to it.

For the rest of the afternoon, you were in an increasingly good mood. So later that evening, when Christen called you for your routine FaceTime, she could tell something was up.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“Can I not be happy to talk to my girlfriend?” You tease, a huge grin plastered onto your face.

���You can,” Christen trails off, not quite believing you. “But you have the weird giddy look you get when something’s up?”

“Nothing’s up. Just had a good day,” you shrug nonchalantly.

“Okay,” the forward accepts, still eyeing you suspiciously. “Anyways, you know She Believes is in a couple weeks, are you working the tournament?”

“Yup,” you nod and make a mental note to mention that to Charles tomorrow.

The two of you continue updating each other, chatting about topics ranging from what you had for breakfast that day to re-inc’s upcoming drop.

“Alright,” Christen yawns. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

You check your phone and see it’s 5:37 pm, meaning it’s almost midnight in Manchester.

“Okay,” your eyes softening at the sight of your sleepy girlfriend. “Good night, Chris. I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe. G’night.”

After ending the call and shutting your laptop, you head into the kitchen to make some dinner for yourself, getting on with your evening.

—————

The next morning, you anxiously await for Charles to begin the Zoom call, nervously bouncing your knee and biting your lip.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Charles greets, his face appearing on your screen.

“Good morning. Or rather good afternoon?” You correct with a light chuckle, to which he reciprocates.

“Well, as you know from my email, we are looking for a photographer to join our team, and from many referrals, you seem to be a very good candidate,

“So, I was thinking maybe we could look at your portfolio really quickly and then hash out the logistics to see if this is something that could work out.”

“Sounds good,” you agree, as you pull up some of your best pictures and share your screen.

The two of you look through your photos, many from the 2019 World Cup, some of the Olympics, and a few from random NWSL games.

“Well, (Y/N), your work is quite impressive. If you’re ready, and you’re seriously interested in this position, we can talk specifics, scheduling, all that good stuff,” Charles offers.

“I’m definitely interested, but can I just preface by saying that my girlfriend is a major part of this decision, so depending on what she wants to do at the end of the season will impact my contract.”

“Oh?” He raises his eyebrows, clearly not expecting your candor. “Your girlfriend plays in the WSL?”

“Yeah, well, technically only for this season. Her contract is up in May,” you explain.  

“(Y/N), to be completely frank, we’re looking to hire because a couple of our photographers had some personal issues due to COVID and had to leave mid-season,” Charles reveals. “So if it turns out that your girlfriend wants to go back to the NWSL, then we can work that out. And if she wants to stay, and you end up liking it here and you fit in well, we can also work that out. We’re pretty flexible.”

You sigh in relief, giving him a small smile. “Wow, thank you so much. So what would my contract look like?”

“Well, we can sign you to three month contract with the option for extension,” he offers, as you nod along enthusiastically.

“That sounds great,” you exclaim, beaming. “And just to let you know, I’ve already signed on to work the She Believes tournament from the 18th to the 21st.”

“That actually aligns with the WSL’s international break, and there are a couple Premier League matches that weekend, but I think we can manage, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“You guys are too kind and so flexible. I really appreciate it so much,” you say earnestly.

“It’s really just us being desperate for a good photographer,” Charles jokes.

“Either way, I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“We’re excited for you to join our team,” he reciprocates. “So, in terms of when you’ll begin, I honestly would like you to come over as soon as possible so that you can get settled and get acclimated.”

“I am honestly ready to start whenever you’ll have me.”

“How about next week? The Manchester Derby is on Friday, and honestly, given your portfolio, I’d love you to photograph that match,” the British man admits.

“That’s perfect!” You were in complete awe of how perfectly everything was working out. Photographing a Man United match as your first job meant you could surprise Christen, maybe as an early Valentine’s gift.

“Great,” Charles smiles.

The two of you discuss and finalize your contract and the logistics of you starting the job. Once everything’s settled and you each have the information you need, you wrap up the call.

“Well, thank you so much, Charles, for this offer, and I can’t wait to see you next Tuesday.”

“I can’t wait to work with you and meet you. See you next week. Cheers.”

After ending the Zoom call, you begin to make a COVID test appointment, book your flight, and arrange your hotel room for the few days that Christen doesn’t know you’re there, preparing yourself for moving across the world.

—————

After landing in London, getting settled into your hotel, and meeting with the BBC team and the other photographers, you were now on your way to the Manchester Derby.

In the back of the black cab, you pull out your phone to text a good luck text to Christen.

It was difficult to keep your surprise a secret, especially when you were actually in England, because it was much more difficult to FaceTime without her noticing your change in setting. You had to make up the excuse that you were swarmed with editing and preparing for the upcoming Thorns trainings.

As you pull up to the Academy Stadium, you hear your phone ding.

Chris ❤️

Thanks babe. Miss and love you 😘

You quickly type out a response, before heading into the building.

(Y/N/N) 💗

Love you too. I miss u too but go kick butt.

The match was exhilarating. Not only were you a sports photographer, but you were also a huge fan of the game, enjoying a good game when you see one.

You watched in awe, the level and style of play significantly different from than NWSL. While snapping hundreds of photos of both teams, your camera would always somehow land back on your girlfriend.

Your heart ached for the curly-haired forward, as you missed her dearly. Until you saw her back on the pitch, you hadn’t really realized that you missed watching her play the game that she’d mastered, her movements around the pitch and on the ball effortless and elegant.

As the ref blew the whistle, signaling the end of the half, you scroll through some of the photos you’d taken, deleting some of the blurry and unfocussed ones.

A smile immediately forms on your face when you see a picture of Christen during warmups with a huge grin on her face. You spend all of halftime editing said photo and putting together an Instagram post for your girlfriend.

About fifteen minutes later, the teams take the pitch and you go back to doing your job. Throughout the second half, you could tell that Christen was getting increasingly frustrated, her team getting down 3-0 with only about five minutes left.

You watch as the players high five and hug each other, and you want nothing more than to run onto the field to be with your girlfriend, but you had a plan to stick to.

As the team goes back into the locker room, you pull out your phone to post a photo on Instagram and then you shoot a quick text to Tobin:

(Y/N)🤓:

toby go check out my ig post :))

Back in the Man United locker room, after Casey went through her post match speech, Tobin checks her phone and sees a text from you. The injured forward playfully rolls her eyes at your message but follows your directions.

Upon opening the social media app, Tobin raises her eyebrows, her eyes widening. She glances across the room to see if her best friend had seen your post, but Christen was minding her own business, changing into sweats after her shower.

“Chris!” The older forward calls over to the other woman. “Have you seen your girlfriend’s Instagram post?”

Christen furrows her brows in confusion. “What? No, what is it?”

Tobin waves her friend over and shows her the post:

Liked by mrapinoe, ashlynharris24, and 638,231 others

yourusername: My muse, my valentine.

“As I sat and looked at her

and the rolling hills she sat upon

I thought,

what amazing luck I have

that the world had created

such beautiful things

and given me the eyes to see them.”

- atticus

tagged: christenpress

- - - - -

mrapinoe: Stunning pictures, (Y/N). Love you guys 💖

alikrieger: These photos are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

alexmorgan13: love this 😍😍

cdunn19: Beautiful!

glennondoyle: Love love love love this!!

ashlynharris24: Holy shit! Are you in Manchester????

↳lavellerose: Was this today??

↳sammymewyy: Oh my gosh it was!

↳kellyohara: Valentine’s Day surprise for Pressy?? 👀

Christen zooms in on the photo in the center, her eyes widening when she realizes that it is from today’s match.

“How did she get that picture?”

Tobin mentally slaps her forehead at her friend’s denseness. “Knowing (Y/N), she probably took it.”

“But that’s impossible. She’s in the States,” Christen states and shakes her head, dumbfounded.

“Actually,” you speak up, stepping into the locker room, deciding to make your presence known. “I’m right here.”

“(Y/N)?” Your girlfriend looks up at you, her mind in a state of shock.

“Hey, love,” you greet shyly.

Once her mind caught up with reality, Christen runs and jumps into your body, kissing you passionately but briefly and wrapping you into a bone crushing hug.

“I can’t believe your here,” she whispers into your neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, babe, so much.”

Unwrapping herself from the hug, Christen stares at you in awe. “What… how are you here?”

“We can talk about that later,” you give her another quick kiss. “But right now, I just wanna spend time with you. Maybe we can grab some dinner? You can show me around Manchester, considering I’m gonna be spending a lot of time here.”

Your girlfriend looks at you puzzled, but you just give her a wink with a small smirk on your face.

“Well, c’mon lets get out of here.”

—————

Back at Christen’s apartment, the two of you sit down for a nice and casual, but romantic, dinner you’d prepared along with a bottle of red wine.

After catching up, the forward finally decides to address the elephant in the room. “So how are you here? What’s going on, (Y/N/N)? You said earlier that you’d be spending a lot of time in Manchester, what does that mean? I’m so confused. Not that I’m grateful that you’re here right now and that I get to see you, but I thought you were working She Believes, and—“

“Chris,” you cut off your girlfriend’s endearing rambling. “Babe, you’re rambling.”

“Sorry,” she blushes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I got a job with BBC Sport till the end of the season,” you answer her parade of questions.

“Does that mean what I think it does?”

You nod, while taking a sip of your water. “It means I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

Not having the adequate words to express her joy and excitement, Christen gets up from her chair, walks over to sit in your lap, and connects you lips for a searing kiss.

“I can’t believe you,” she breathes, rubbing her nose against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you quickly peck her lips while rubbing circles on her hip. “But as much as I love you and all this romance, we gotta get going soon.”

Your girlfriend tilts her head in confusion.

“Do the words ‘She Believes’ ring a bell?” You tease. “If I remember correctly, our flight leaves in a couple hours.”

“You’re coming with me?” Christen asks, her brain trying to wrap around the fact that her girlfriend, who she hadn’t seen in almost five months, would now be living with her in England and flying back to the States with her for the next week.

“Of course, Chris,” you give her a cheeky smile, along with a kiss to her nose, as you quote a book Becky had convinced the whole team to read. “You should know by now that I’d follow you anywhere. You’re the only good thing left in this world.”

[mileawrites]

Baby

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Warnings: some angst in the beginning I guess, fluff, proof read but mistakes could still be there

Summary: Oh for her he would do whatever. He is whipped. The question is if she is as whipped as him.

Inspiration: a freaking Justin Bieber Song called Baby, technically I got the inspiration from a girl singing the bold lines in this work, I do not have the Tik Tok saved though

Word count: about 2.500 (whoopsie)

_____________________

A week ago:

Oh for you I would have done whatever and I just can‘t believe we ain‘t together

Bucky watched her from the kitchen as she talked about something to Natasha and Wanda that excited her. Her whole face lit up and her eyes had that sparkle in them that always appeared when she was excited or simply just happy.

With his super soldier hearing he would have probably heard what she talked about but he was to distracted from how happy she looked. It suited her. Happiness. Bucky would do anything for her to make sure she stays happy. If she had a bad day though, which sometimes is just inevitable, he will make sure to cheer her up. Like watching her favorite movie in pajamas and a ton of snacks with hot cocoa and tiny marshmallows, or a walk in the park at the ass crack of dawn. In any way possible and even if it is embarrassing. He didn‘t care. It didn‘t even matter that Sam would always call him whipped afterwards. He was totally whipped and he knew it. Despite always rolling his eyes so hard they may get stuck in his head and muttering a „Shut up“, there was simply no denying his feelings for this certain girl.

Maybe there are some feeling involved on her part. He was never really sure. Bucky has his insecurities and one definitely was not being sure if he was good for her. Nightmares still disturbing his sleep on many nights. His left arm, although he was more sure of it now because it was not what Hydra once so carelessly put on him. His arm now, it was gifted from Wakanda. Black and gold not silver with a red star and made to help people instead of killing them while being brainwashed. It still made him insecure sometimes. The scars that covered his body that reminded him of his past. He technically knew that she did not mind his arm or his scars. Neither are the nightmares bothering her because if they would she would not help him calm down from the disturbing dreams on so many nights. He has a nightmare, she is there for him. One of the reasons he started to fall for her. Technically he was aware that she would not mind all of these insecurities but it seems like Buckys brain likes to torture him sometimes as if it could not let go from the 70 years of being put into a blender and tortured.

Bucky sometimes heard her heartbeat pick up when being near her or her pupils dilating when they are talking. Signs that she could at least harbor a crush on Bucky. If it would be the 40s he would have already made a move. Something is always stopping him though although he could see some signs of her liking him back. Should that be the case then he simply could not believe they weren‘t together yet. Both being to shy to do something about it.

„Hey Bucky are you with me?“ Sam snapped his fingers infront of Buckys face which he slapped away. „I just told you about the cute girl in the coffee shop“, Sam slightly pushed Buckys shoulder to gain the soldiers attention.

„I absolutely did not pay attention.“ Immediately Sam started to grin and followed Buckys line of view. „Why don‘t you just ask her out? I could be too late soon enough.“ Bucky never snapped his head so fast into Sams direction, for a moment you could think it might have broke. „What do you mean“, the soldier tried to keep his voice from trembling but that did not really work. The Falcon just shrugged his shoulders. „You are whipped. Take a chance before it is too late Buck.“ Bucky rolled his eyes. „First, it‘s Bucky and second, what do you know that I don‘t?“

Slowly the brown haired man started to loose his cool. Could it really be over before anything started? He did not want to miss her in his life. Bucky wasn‘t to sure he would be able to handle a friendship while having to watch the women he liked being in love and happy with someone else. Sam kept his grin on his face.

„I might do.“ With that he left and Bucky was still standing in the kitchen with a sad puppy dog face. He started to drift off in his mind that he did not even notice the girls where not in the living room anymore. Was he too late?

Four days ago:

A week passed and Bucky did not do anything about his feelings for her. Everytime he tried to talk to Y/N about his feelings or a possible date with him, he either stumbled over his words or got interrupted.

When he wanted to ask you on a date it went like this:

„Friday do you know where Y/N is?“ The AI answered immediately, telling him that she is in the kitchen. Bucky thanked Friday, still finding it slightly weird talking to something he could not see.

The 21st century was something he could not have imagined in the slightest back in the day, eventhough he was very interested in what the future technology could bring. Granted this century did not have flying cars like they expected in the 40s but having an artificial intelligence that helps you out is quite fascinating.

Bucky walked int the kitchen and saw Y/N making herself a coffee.

„Oh, hey Buck.“ „Hi Y/N.“ „You want a cup?“ He shook his head no. „No, thank you. I wanted to tell you something though.“

Bucky could not be bothered enough to look around and see NAT making her way into the kitchen.

„Sure what’s up? Are you okay?“ Y/N started to worry slightly. It did sound kind of serious. Bucky noticed her worry and started to smile. She was concerned about him. One more reason to like her. He knows at least that Y/N cares about him.

„Yes don’t worry. I just wanted to“, he stopped talking and started to blush slightly.

Since when did Bucky blush? That never happened in the 40s.

He takes a deep breath, looking into Y/N eyes. A beautiful e/c. He could stare into them for hours as cheesy as it sounds especially with that sparkle they held just now. Y/Ns pupils are dilated.

„I wanted to tell you that-“

„Sorry for interrupting Bucky but I need to make Y/N ready for her date.“

He felt like his heart stopped. So Sam was right but soon definitely was too soon. His shoulders started to slump and he looked away from Y/N.

Nat eyed him and hid a smile. Of course she knew what Bucky and Y/N felt for each other. She would not be a good spy if she wouldn‘t notice her friends looking earth other with heart eyes or how their body language changes when they are around each other. Both were shy though. Therefore Wanda and her planned to get either of them to make a move. Their plan to make Y/N go on dates and let Bucky know may be a little mean but they have three outcomes here.

First, Y/N makes a move because she finally admits that it doesn’t matter on how many dates she goes, neither can compare to a certain blue eyed soldier.

Secon, Bucky realizes that he does not want the young woman to date anyone else an finally finds the courage to say something about his feelings for her.

Third, he one hopefully doesn’t happen, is that neither of them is telling the other what they are feeling and both are going to be sad and unhappy for the rest of their lives. A little bit exaggerated but they need to realize this.

Y/N smiled at Bucky, her eyes sparkling less. „What did you want to say Buck?“ Ignoring Nat for a second.

He looked at Y/N for a split second. Bucky shook his head slightly and runs a hand through his brown hair. „Forget it. Have fun with your date.“ He smiled lightly and left.

Y/N called after him but he did not turn around. She was even more concerned now. What did he want to tell her? Why did he seem so sad now?

„Maybe this date is not a good idea Nat?“

The spy shook her head. „Nonsense. Let’s go.“ Y/N got ushered out of the kitchen into the direction of her own room.

„I‘ll go get Wanda.“ Nat disappeared and Y/N sat down on her bed.

She kept thinking about Bucky. Hopefully he was okay. Did he have nightmares again? No that they ever fully stopped. The h/c woman made a mental note to ask Bucky if he would like to have one of their movie nights. The ones without the team. Just them two. She liked being alone with Bucky, cuddled up to him while watching some movies. Cuddles with Bucky is not something that you could take for granted. When the sergeant came first to the compound he did not let anyone apart from Steve get close to him or touch him even though he was touch starved. Y/N slowly but surely showed him she is not going to hurt him and would you look at that, he opened up and they got close especially during movie nights. With the team it took Bucky a little bit longer to get used to touches but to Y/Ns he got comfortable quite fast.

The door opened and Nat, followed by Wanda, entered.

„Are you excited“, Wanda asked.

Y/N took a second to think. Well, it is someone she does not know. Nat set her up with him and meeting new people always sparks her anxiety. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. „I am not to sure about it.“

The other girls shared a look that Y/N did not see. „Well-“ Wanda started but Y/N was starting to get lost in her head, thinking about the ex-assasin.

Yesterday:

And I wanna play it cool but I’m loosing you

Three days later and Bucky was still sad that his chance with Y/N might have slipped through his ingers. He did not ask about the date she had, afraid she actually enjoyed being with the other guy. Not that she did not deserve it but he wanted her. Badly.

the soldier was sitting in the Irving room trying to read a book Steve recommended. Yesterday Steve told him to just talk to Y/N. It may not be as bad as Bucky made it out to be. The man did not take his friends advice. But fate had another plan.

„Hey pretty boy.“ Bucky looked up and saw Y/N entering the living room. Immediately he started to smile.

„Doll“, he greeted her.

„What are you doing?“ She sat next to him.

„Reading.“ „Obviously. Do you maybe want to stop reading and watch a movie with me?“ She gave her best puppy dog look.

Bucky stared at her, getting lost in her eyes for a second. As if he could ever say no to her. Something stopped him though, remembering a conversation he heard his morning. Bucky sears he was not eavesdropping, he just overheard a conversation between the Black Widow and Scarlett Witch.

He got that sad look in his eyes again, something Y/N noticed immediately. „Don‘t you have a date today?“

The woman looked at him surprised, wondering how he knew. „I canceled the date Buck.“

And suddenly Bucky felt mor alive than ever. She what? Why did she cancel? „Why?“

„I wanted to hand out with you pretty boy. We haven’t in a whil and I miss you.“ She started to slightly lean into the soldiers body. „You do?“ Bucky never saw anyone nod their head yes that hard.

„Of course. You are important to me.“ The 100 something year olds heart skipped a beat. Luckily his body had the serum to not make hi have a heart attack.

Time to be honest. To take his chance. „I honestly thought I was loosing you, doll.“ Confused Y/N looked at him and took his metal arm. „We haven’t hung out in a while and maybe that’s alsokind of my fault but you were going on dates and I tried playing it cool but I am so not cool with it? I kind of feel like I am loosing you.“

The sergeant didn’t think Y/Ns e/c eyes could sparkle even more. She had a smile on her beautiful face.

„No.“ „No?“ The woman shook her head. „You are not loosing me and I am not dating anyone.“

Now it was the soldiers turn to be confused and he interlaced his fingers with hers. He loved that she took his left arm, no being afraid at all.

„But the dates you went on?“

She put her free hand on his face and he leaned into her hand. Suddenly overcoming with the courage to tell Bucky her feelings for him. This is it. Her heart is beating so fast she is afraid it might jump out of her chest. Also, her hand started to sweat slightly.

„Neither of them are you. Nat and Wanda set me up with them. You are not loosing me Bucky. You always have me, if you want me.“

Now his eyes started to sparkle the second he registered Y/Ns words. Blue eyes looking so light and full of love and admiration, mirroring the eyes of the woman infront of him. Slowly his whole face lights up. Bucky brings their interlaced hands to his face and kisses her Nuckels.

„Of course I want you. You have me, doll.“

Slowly they start to lean in and softly their lips meet. A kiss that was long overdue. It is filled with love and gentleness.

„Finally, oh my god.“ Nats voice startled the pair and made them break the kiss.

Wanda and Nat were standing in the living room, grinning at them both. Steve, Sam and Tony also appeared.

„Why are you two smiling like idiots“, Tony asked.

„Nats and mine plan worked.“ The attention was suddenly on Bucky an Y/N. Still with interlaced fingers and Y/Ns hand on Buckys face. the newly couple looking confused.

„Plan?“ Y/N and Bucky spoke at the same time, laughing lightly when they noticed.

„Yes. These two made you, Y/N go on dates. So either one of you confesses their feelings for the other. Apparently it worked.“

„You knew Steve?“ Bucky looked at his childhood friend. „I was in on the plan.“

„It was exhausting to watch the both of you pinning over the other and neither doing anything“, Sam said.

„Your welcome“, Wanda and Nat spoke, smiled, turned around and left.

Wanda quickly adding while walking that she wants to be one of the bridesmaids at their wedding and Nat agreeing. The guys went for the kitchen.

Today:

Bucky and Y/N walked through the Central Park. It was a little before 6 am.

„You like getting up early, Doll.“ „It‘s nice and quiet early. We could always sleep more afterwards.“

Bucky kissed her cheek and put an arm around her as they kept walking. It was quiet. Y/N was right and he loved it as well. Sleep be damned if he could spent his time with his best girl.

Oh for you I will do whatever and I just can‘t believe we are together

___________________________________

Authors note:

So, this is the first piece I have written in a long time. I am not to sure about it but I just liked writing it.

Feedback is appreciated as long as you are not being mean. Tell me what you think if you read this. :)

[shoichee]

Rose-Tinted

Craving for angst with kise please!! Like both are afraid to act on their feelings which ends up hurting the both of them unconsciously. Idk, maybe kise is trying to “test” the girl, but went a bit too far i guess. Whatever floats your boat!! I just want angst but maybe hopefully still HEA in the end (or whichever your muse takes you) ;-; thank youu ❤️

Kise x Reader

Word Count: 6975

Note: oh my GOD, HELP THIS WAS 17 PAGES ON MY GOOGLE DOC I COULDNT STOP MYSELF………. angst, happy ending, fake dating!au, mean old kise ….. girl idk WHAT I WROTE I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT ????? reader POV first half and kise POV second half~

@knb-kreations

»»—————　☼　—————««

He holds you so gently, the touch so feather-light as he cradles your head and dips his own head in for a soft peck. The warmth of his lips makes you feel things you shouldn’t feel, things that you still chased for more in a never-ending cycle. You hold onto his hands thumbing your temples to try to anchor yourself further into the bliss, but it ends all too soon when he separates from you and gives you a radiant smile.

You were rudely pulled out of your rose-tinted trance when you heard gasps and chatter amongst the gawking students nearby, particularly Kise’s fans. He doesn’t pay any mind to their reactions and turns his friendly demeanor towards them.

“So you see everyone,” he cheerfully says. “I’m sorry I can’t accept any of your affections, as much as it flatters me so… after all, I have my dear (y/n)-cchi by my side!”

Groans and cries rung throughout the campus as most wail about missing out the opportunity to be Kise’s romantic partner, but before you can listen to their laments, Kise hurriedly tugs you away to the privacy of the back of a building nearby, away from prying eyes and ears. He drops your wrist just as fast and yawns with a stretch.

“What time should we meet up tomorrow?” he casually says, taking out his phone from his pocket.

“Huh?”

“Well, we can’t exactly sell our image of us being a couple unless we walk to and from school together consistently, right (y/n)?”

The rose-tinted lenses on your self-indulgent fantasy shatters to the ground instantly. You gulp, the swallowed spit hitting down to your stomach in heavy dread, where it was previously occupied by fluttering butterflies just moments prior.

This isn’t real.

“Ah… um,” you hesitated, thinking of a reasonable time, so you can wake up and get ready accordingly. “How about this time…”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he replies, shutting off his phone before he walks a few steps away from you but then stopping. “Huh, uh… should I walk you home first? There might be some nosy people around, and we might as well get some practice in as an official couple.”

“W-Why don’t we start tomorrow morning instead?” you suggest. “A lot’s happened today, and well, I wanna have some time to myself.” Kise impassively stares at you for a couple of seconds before he forms a grin.

“Ah ha, well then, (y/n)-cchi,” he shouts jovially, making sure that his voice rang throughout the area for anyone nearby to hear. “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning, my love!”

“Y-Yeah…” you mumbled, your hand held up in a half-hearted wave. “See you…”

With that parting, you turned to the opposite direction to exit through the side gates to get to your home. Your mind scrambles to recall the impulsive decisions you decided to take on a whim today. The grip on your bag tightens as you finally realized what sort of situation you got yourself into.

You like Kise, plain and simple. You’ve always gazed longingly at him whenever his presence entered within your line of vision. You couldn’t even fault his fans for being so whipped for the basketball player in the first place, not when you felt like you were more enthralled by him than anyone else. So what does a love-stricken fool like you do when the source of attraction directly asks you to partake in a “relationship?” You immediately accept his conditional proposal on auto-pilot before he barely finishes his sentence.

It felt so wrong, yet so right. How can you hate this arrangement when you enjoyed that first kiss you shared with Kise earlier? But how can you love this arrangement when you knew Kise only kissed you to drive everyone off? You stopped on the sidewalk and heaved a huge exhale, and you continued to walk again, the action not even remotely able to clear your head. Your mind continues to swirl and race.

You agreed to this. He even laid out his intentions very clearly to you, and he was more than ready to leave you alone if you didn’t consent to this. But stupid, desperate you did. You were ashamed to feel even a shred of flattery when he told you that you were the only one he can ask to drive off his fans in this only effective method: a relationship.

“Why me?” you said, looking up at his casual posture. “Don’t you have someone you like to ask to be in a relationship? I’m sure they’d be more than happy to accept you…”

“Well,” he mumbled. “I don’t really have someone in mind… you’re kinda the only one who doesn’t drool over me whenever I’m near, and I just ought to ask for your help.”

“W-Well,” you slightly stammered. “I’m okay with helping you, right, so…”

“This isn’t something to accept so readily, you know,” he said, raising a brow. “I know this is super sudden, and it wouldn’t be fair for me to force an answer out of you right at this moment. Besides, I don’t think there’s any incentive for you to be in this either? It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“N-No!” you interrupted, but you coughed to regain your composure. “I mean, I do have something in this… maybe if I got with you, people would stop trying to harass and tease me if I had someone like you by my side.” That was a half-truth, but you knew there was no way you could reveal your crush to him… not when he believed you were “different” from the others. But can anyone blame you for sticking up for Kise when someone was talking about him like a piece of meat rather than a normal person? “Besides, for you to get to this point, things must’ve gotten too chaotic to simply tell them to stop, right?”

“Huh… is that so,” he said, stretching his neck, but you didn’t know whether or not he intentionally ignored your last question. “Well, if you’re fine with this, I’m letting you know now that we’ll be doing actual couple stuff, like…” He pauses for a second to gauge your reaction. “Hugging, hand-holding… probably kissing too…”

“Y-Yeah,” you nodded. “That’s fine with me! And we’ll have a code word in case either of us overstep our boundaries in any way… maybe…”

“Unagi,” he said.

“Huh? Why?”

“Because they’re the bane of evil…”

“It’s just a dish, but…” you laughed, giddy at how he already showed a different side to you apart from his cool persona. “Alright, let’s go with that.”

How long were you able to keep this up? You pat yourself on the cheeks to dismiss the rest of your fantasies. If you keep this up, Kise will soon notice how you actually were head-over-heels for him all this time, and surely you’ll lose any future chance with him. Besides, maybe you can use this unique arrangement to learn about Kise and his hobbies other than basketball. Yes, you tell yourself, jogging the rest of the way home. It won’t be so bad, after all.

———

Starting today, you’ll be officially dating Kise.

That’s how it is on paper, anyways.

How are you supposed to act while dating the Kise Ryōta? Equally cool and flamboyant? Athletically capable? Would you weird out Kise if you were the one initiating physical affection?

“(y/n)!”

You flinch, not expecting anyone to call for you so early in the morning, and your walking route to school was never shared with another student as far as you were concerned. After all, your path was a little more obscured and unorthodox compared to the majority of students traversing the main neighborhood paths.

“Sorry… did I scare you?” You stop and turn to the source of the voice, only to be surprised when you see Kise himself. “Why do you look so surprised? Didn’t we agree on the time to meet up and walk to school together?”

“Oh… yeah…” In the midst of your thoughts, it seems that you forgot the arrangements you made with him yesterday evening. “My bad?”

“Oh, come on,” he gives a mock-hurt face with a hand to his chest. “Am I that forgettable, (y/n)?”

“N-No!” you immediately deny. You knew it was more like the other way around, the way constant thoughts of Kise preoccupy in your head too much. How can you ever forget him when he constantly runs through your mind everyday for so long? Kise merely gives a good-natured sigh before he changes the subject.

“Kidding,” he says, holding out a hand to you. “Seriously though, get your act together. We gotta start acting the part if we want this to work.” You stare at his hand, hesitating for a split moment before you put your own hand on top. His large hand easily encompasses yours, and the warmth makes you widen your eyes. It… felt nice.

You were so entranced by your linked hands that you failed to notice how Kise was staring at your face with a sharp glint in his eyes, but when you look up back to his face, he easily morphs his expression into his signature grin. He swings your hands around like an excited kid and turns to walk ahead to tug you along.

“Alrighty!~ Let’s hurry together before I get chewed out by Kasamatsu-senpai!”

“Kise, have you ever considered that it’s not really your tardiness that gets the captain mad but more so about the way you seem to irritate him with the way you skip around?”

“(y/n),” he says with a pout, “you know you’re not being convincing when you use my last name to address me as your boyfriend.”

“R-Right,” you stammer, still not used to the entire situation. “Ah… wait. Don’t you uh… call people who are close to you with -cchi?”

“Huh…” he mumbles, looking up at the cloudy sky before looking ahead of the path. “Not necessarily people who are close, just people who I really admire. I guess I addressed you like that yesterday without really thinking.”

“U-Uh, right… sorry.” He stops walking with your hand still in tow, and you almost bumped into his back at his sudden movement. He turns to you with a quite serious look.

“Do you want me to call you that?”

It was a normal question, but for some reason it felt like the next sentence coming from your mouth would make a huge impact on the way the two of you would interact in the future. From the way Kise looks at you with such a scrutinizing gaze, it feels like a trick question, and you’re not sure how to answer it. Your mouth goes dry when you try to reply.

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Kise’s eyes widen a fraction before he gives an unexpected chortle. “Pfft… how do you not know what you want to be addressed as?”

“Arrgh, oh shut it!” you frown, hitting his arm in a fluster before stalking off ahead. You remember that you were supposed to go to school together, and you begrudgingly stop and turn back to wait for him to catch up. “Ryōta, just call me whatever you want. You’re already calling me by my first name, so I doubt anyone would care if you added -cchi or not.” Still, your cheeks turn pink at the realization that Kise would be uttering your first name for the next couple… whenever this relationship will last.

“You… wait up!” Kise wheezes dramatically, despite the both of you knowing full well how easily he can catch up to your stride. “You really shouldn’t be treating your boyfriend like that! Especially on the first day!” Kise holds your hand again to lead you to the rest of the way to school.

All the while, you’ve been staring at his back, your heartstrings being tugged so mercilessly at the cacophony of emotions you were feeling the whole time. He felt so warm, so inviting, but the way he held your hands felt cold and transactional.

———

You’re not sure how to react whenever Kise introduced himself as your “boyfriend” to everyone or whenever nosy students inquired about your new “boyfriend.” All you could do was gulp and manage the most convincing act you could do within different contexts. Smile, laugh, get bashful, be modest in talking about how Kise managed to “like” you, pretend you know many embarrassing stories and sides to him that no one else did. Truthfully, you were just as in the dark as anybody else.

You think the only reason why everyone bought the couple-act was due to how enamored you were in talking about him. This was the only response you could be truthful about. At least you could use your huge crush to your advantage in portraying yourself as the “lovey-dovey” half of the couple. Yet it feels unbelievably wrong.

You knew you had to prepare yourself some preset answers for curious students, but you didn’t expect yourself to be participating in neverending “interviews” in these social settings. You thought this relationship would entail a closer access to Kise’s true self, but things suggest otherwise.

“Ryōta,” you say, peering up at his face as the both of you walk down the hallway to your designated spot for lunch together. Even as you two walk, he puts a reasonable distance between the two of you when there is no one in close proximity. Even when you two are together, he only grabs your hand when it’s socially convenient. Even when Kise approaches you to talk, you know it’s never anything beyond for the sake of acting. And you agreed to this entire thing.

“Hm?” He spares a glance to your figure before returning his gaze ahead.

“Uh, I brought extra food today,” you say, trying to use this situation to try to express your genuine feelings to him in small increments. “I brought an extra bento box too… in case, you don’t wanna actually share one…” He was about to reply before a pair of students turned around the corner to head towards your direction. Kise narrows his eyes at the unexpected turn of events, and immediately turns to you brightly.

“(y/n)! You really thought that I wouldn’t like the idea?” he pouts. “Of course I wanna share a bento with you! Silly…” He slightly bends to your level to place a chaste peck on your forehead.

“Ah…” you freeze at his soft touch, your legs stiff in place as you stop walking. Kise, in response, moves his lips to your ears, and you slightly shiver at the unexpected intimacy… it was the closest he’s gotten to you ever since that public stunt when he kissed you in front of everyone the other day.

“Hey, don’t just stand there… you can’t overreact like this over something couples do everyday.” You bit your lip in an attempt to stop your heart from sinking from disappointment, but in turning your face to him to spill an apology, your face ended up right in front of his. Your eyes widen but he only stares at you with such an intensity that makes you hold your breath in anticipation.

But he immediately draws away and stretches with a yawn. “Looks like those people left right after they thought they intruded on a private moment between us,” he says. “Sheesh, people really do the most to be so nosy nowadays.” You wonder how he can be so casual about this all. Perhaps it was a mistake to be here like this when you were so in love with him, overthinking every single thing he did.

Why didn’t he kiss you this time? Did he not find you the teensiest attractive enough to want to kiss you even without an audience nearby?

“Come on,” he mumbles, waving a hand through your face. “Quit making that face. I won’t be doing that to you without warning anytime soon. My bad, okay?” Kise sheepishly holds out a hand for a handshake to make peace, and you wordlessly take his hand. One day, you’ll stop being his special someone to savor his warmth…

No, you thought, you’re an idiot… he’s never considered you as someone special.

You debated in telling him that you were fine with him kissing you, but you hold your tongue, afraid that he’ll realize your true feelings about him. Besides, were you really okay with him kissing you when he didn’t reciprocate the same feelings?

“It… wasn’t like what you think,” you hesitate. “It just caught me off guard.”

“Well,” he laughs. “That’s a relief! By the way…” He stops to settle himself on the bench. “What’s exactly your lunch? Since you went through the effort to bring extras, I guess I’ll eat them.”

“I packed salmon from leftovers I had from home,” you reply, taking out your bento box and utensils. You decide to shake off your negative thoughts and shove them to the back of your mind. He makes a horrified face at the lunchbox. “Kise, what’s wrong?”

“Do you… happen to have anything else packed?”

“Rice?”

“Well,” he coughs. “I’m not a fan of dishes with boned fish.”

“Didn’t you say you hated unagi too?” Kise shyly averts his gaze before he reluctantly confirms it so. “They’re delicious though! Especially when they’re grilled!” At first, he refused to answer, but the more you tried to poke and prod (literally too, at his ribs), he finally gave in.

“Alright, alright! But I swear, you better not tell anyone!… I choked on a fish bone one time…”

“… And?”

“And yeah.”

“You choked on a bone once and you got scared out of eating fish—”

“Shhhh!” he hushes, emphasizing his hiss with a finger to his lips. At this very moment, you saw a glimpse into who Kise really is, and you can’t help but bust out a genuine, carefree laugh for the first time in front of him. In embarrassment, he bonks your head with his fist to get you to stop laughing, but it only makes you more conscious of how close he is to you.

But just as quickly and telepathically, Kise puts some distance between the two of you, sitting closer to the edge of the bench. He opts to hunch over casually and keenly watch you scarf down your meal in minutes without a care.

You wonder if you should feel guilty for enjoying this moment with Kise, even if he was only waiting with you out of obligation of being your “boyfriend,” but right now, you allowed yourself to indulge, letting your heart beat sporadically without guilt and fear for once. You continue to savor your lunch in silence, concentrating on munching around the fish bones, while Kise sat in contemplation all the while.

———

“You should come watch our practice game today, (y/n).”

“Eh?”

You tilt your head at him in confusion. It’s been two weeks since you started this arrangement with him, but nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking happened between the two of you, much to your despondency. But you knew, you shouldn’t be asking for too much when you already have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be close to him like this.

“There’s going to be a lot of people coming,” he explains. “Even if it’s just a practice game… it’d be weird if you weren’t there, because, you know, we’re dating.”

“I don’t mind going,” you reply. “It sounds fun.”

“You know, you’ve been agreeing to everything I’ve been suggesting the entire time,” he mumbles to himself, but he zips his mouth shut when he sees you instinctively moving closer to try to catch what he said. “Uh, in any case… just stop by the gym whenever you can.”

So here you are a few hours later, being the first person to settle yourself on top of the 2nd floor of the gym. You rest your arms on the railway, fascinated by the Kaijō basketball team and their skills. As they warm up on the courts, it’s the first time you see Kise truly at ease and happy with the people he cares about, and your heart pangs in jealousy seeing his genuine smile. You were pulled out of your thoughts when you realized the gym became completely crowded, the constant chattering announcing huge crowds along the entrance and the lucky watchers at the 2nd floor with you.

You didn’t mind the onlookers when all you were focused on was Kise throughout the entire game with a smitten look, and you weren’t surprised when his team easily won against the other local school.

“That’s Kise isn’t it?” You were about to turn to leave the higher floor to wait outside the gym when you heard his name. You stop to eavesdrop on the conversation next to you.

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing about him way too much. Something about him dating now?”

“He’s dating (l/n) right now, which is super weird because they never even talked… and all of the sudden, they’re dating? I didn’t think of him to be into short-term flings.”

“You think he’s using (l/n) in some way? What an asshole.”

“Yikes. You’re probably not even that far off the bulls-eye. He’s a really heartless guy, from what I’ve heard.”

“Hey,” you interrupt, scaring the two girls out of their wits before they turn to you. “I don’t think you should talk about Kise like that when all you know of him is through speculation.”

“Ugh, here we go again with his fans…” one of them groans, rolling her eyes. “Look, I get it, he’s good-looking and all, but I don’t understand how you can defend him to death when he doesn’t even spare a glance at you… ah… shit, you’re (l/n)?” A flash of hurt was visible on your face for a split second before you frowned. Their words unintentionally hit the nail in the coffin.

“Whether I’m (l/n) or not doesn’t really matter,” you say angrily. “Gossiping about anyone like that isn’t something you should make a habit out of.”

“Jeez, let’s just leave,” the other girl whispers, dragging the first girl along.

You simply stand there watching them leave, but you can’t shake off what they said. They were right… how could you be so whipped for him when you know he’ll never see you the same way?

“Oy!”

Kise’s voice brings you back to your consciousness as he waves at you from the court. “You’ve been standing there for a while! Hurry up, or I’ll leave you behind, (y/n)-cchi!”

“Coming!” You race from the 2nd floor to the ground level to catch up to him, your heart pounding all the while. Did he… did he just…?

You shake your head before you reunite with him to walk home together. Stop it… don’t overthink it.

———

Kise waits at his usual spot to wait for you before walking to school together. It’s been three weeks since he’s approached you to “date.” He’s grown quite comfortable with this arrangement, being close to you and backing off when it’s convenient. After all, if you somehow showed a gruesome true self of yours, he’d be able to separate himself from you with no consequences… even if his heart would cry out not to.

“Ryōta!” There you are, running down the path towards him so cheerfully. Could you really be an awful person when you have such a pure smile like that?

“Ah, (y/n)-cchi,” he says. “We should hurry if we wanna be inside campus. It’s a little chilly today, so being indoors sounds really nice right now.” He peers over to your face to see your nose slightly red from the cold, and he huffs out a chuckle, noting the warm puff of air escaping from his own lips.

“I guess it’s a little cold today,” you say, looking up at Kise with a slight childish wonder. “Hey, that’s a pretty cool cloud that you puffed out.”

“You have some clouds around you too.” He gently smiles, and he notes that your eyes widen at the sight of him. “Wha? Is my face that horrific, (y/n)-cchi?” You avert your gaze as your cheeks grow just as red as your nose.

“Nah… i-it’s nothing…ah—” He holds your cheeks to turn your face back to him, and he draws near with a serious gaze, bumping his forehead against yours.

“You’re actually really cold…”

“Uh, um… I don’t think I’m c-cold anymore—” you stammer, your eyes darting to look everywhere but his face, and Kise’s eyes only scrutinize your behavior further.

“Hm, if you say so…” he mumbles. Your eyes flutter close at the anticipation, and he feels the pull towards your lips, closing his own lids shut…

Wait, what was he thinking? He snaps his lids open and slightly draws himself away to look at you, still vulnerable with your closed eyes. It’s only when he drops his hands from your cheeks and turns to walk ahead when you flutter your eyes open again. Don’t let your feelings for (y/n) blind you into figuring out who they really are.

“Come on,” Kise calls out to you. “We should get going… we don’t wanna be late.” Besides, what if there’s a possibility that you don’t really like him at all?

“Y-Yeah…”

The rest of the walk was in silence, with Kise slightly ahead of you. Perhaps if he turned around at least once to check on you, he would’ve seen the consequences of his actions.

You were silently crying the entire walk.

———

Nothing seems to change much for the entire month. The way the two of you dance and sway around each other, while never being too close, never being too affectionate, never being completely honest. In this shared rose-tinted world, the frail glass that holds these moments together threatens to break with every fickle interaction. Every shared kiss constitutes another small crack to the rose-tinted crystal.

And both of you are content with just the way things are.

Or that’s what you both mutter to yourselves like a mantra.

“Ryōta!” you call out to him. “Did you wait long?”

“Not really,” he says. “I just barely got out too… the teacher was really lenient on dismissal today, actually.” His heart swells at the sight of you as usual, but just as quickly, he’s always managed to quash his emotions in check.

For the first time, you initiate physical touch with him without hesitation, linking your hands with his and snuggling up to him. He flinches, not fast enough to process the sudden warmth of your body, and he immediately separates himself from you. Do you actually like him after all?… No, something is up, right?

“Ryōta…?” You flinch just as severely from the sudden reaction, and he turns to avoid looking at your face, knowing that his resolve would crumble right in front of you. He’s a coward, and he fucking knows it.

“S-Sorry, (y/n)-cchi! I don’t know what came over me like that, but you know you don’t have to force yourself to do things like that, right? There’s no one here, so let’s just walk home together like we always do, yeah?”

He turns to already walk ahead, too afraid of hearing your response and hoping you would follow and catch up to him… like you always do.

You simply stood there for a few moments, anguish clear as the sky above you as you keep telling yourself to manage your own expectations. Still, your voice croaks out quietly to respond to him, even if you knew he wasn’t going to hear it.

“… But I wanted to do these things with you, Ryōta.”

———

It’s been several days since that incident.

It was very awkward for the most part, the walks to and from school silent and suffocating. He’s not quite sure how to go about it while trying not to sound disingenuous about it. Nonetheless, even through his quiet apology, your face still lights up, and he’s confused about why you would ever be so forgiving of him.

Although today, lines have been crossed and this shared secretive world between the two of you have completely shattered to the point of no return.

It was quite a blur, an instinct that Kise has developed over the course of this relationship. Every time a group of students drew near, he was always ready to tug you close for a kiss until they left and carry on with their day. Today was usually no exception.

Another group of students was hanging around the corner, presumably spying on you two, and Kise did what he’s always done, grabbing your hand and embracing you for a kiss. Your eyes were blown open in surprise, but when you saw Kise’s eyes elsewhere, something finally snapped inside.

You push him away at his chest.

“U-Unagi… unagi…” Your voice trembles, and you use your arms to cover up the fresh tears. The code word sounds unbelievably stupid out of context, but at this moment, the word alone stabs Kise in his chest. “I-I… just stop… please.” Kise stares dumbly at you, processing the fact that you just used the agreed safe word against him.

“… (y/n)-cchi?” Kise asks with a confused smile. “You’ve never objected to kissing before… I’ve even told you what we’ll be doing if you agreed to this…?”

“How…” you choke on tears. “H-How can you kiss me like that while your eyes are on someone else…?”

“I don’t understand—”

“A-Am I that atrocious to kiss unless you stare at something else or there’s some convenience?”

“I don’t get it, (y/n)-cchi,” he frowns. “Did you expect more out of this or am I missing something?”

“There was no reason to kiss me like that,” you softly wail. “Everyone already knows we’re a thing for… o-over a month now. There’s no reason to kiss me around people anymore when they won’t suspect us anyways…”

“So you don’t want me to kiss you anymore?” Kise’s heart sinks in thinking about where this is going.

“No!—you don’t… you don’t fucking get it! I don’t get it—! Why are we doing this anymore—I just, I see no reason to continue this anymore… you already shooed off your fans, right? Why haven’t you ended this?!”

“(y/n)-cchi—I…” He reaches out for you, but you immediately recoil.

“No—please… no more, I can’t do this anymore!” you sniffle. “I can’t fucking do this… I’m done, I’m tired—please… just look for another person to take my place… I… I’m done—I can’t pretend with you anymore when I always expect more out of it like a love-stricken fool!”

“I…”

“Look—see,” you choke. “I’m just like everyone else who’s in love with you, I’m no different than everyone else R-Ryōta… so that’s why, I-I… can’t do this anymore!”

Kise stands there, staring at you running away from him. It was like everything had gone silent, save for the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.

“You think he’s using (l/n) in some way? What an asshole.”

“Yikes. You’re probably not even that far off the bulls-eye. He’s a really heartless guy, from what I’ve heard.”

He hated rumors, he really did… but for the first time, he feels like he deserves every word thrown at him around the hallways and classrooms. His memory flits to the time when he felt warm from seeing you standing up for him, even if he wasn’t bothered by them before. Now, the warmth is replaced by agonizing regret and guilt wracking through his entire body. His hands feel cold with you gone from his side.

What has he done?

———

He’s grown quiet for the next week.

It’s been a week since you ran from him, and it’s been a week since he last talked to you.

Even his teammates were concerned about his reserved behavior, but just as always, he’s managed to shoot them a convincing smile. Kasamatsu was more persistent about this but eventually dropped it seeing Kise’s refusal to talk about it.

That day when you pushed him away, he couldn’t sleep, his thoughts keeping him awake the entire night. He resolved himself to talk to you the next day… but he changed his mind the last minute… and then he told himself he’d do it the next day… and then he changed his mind again.

He tells himself that it’s because you rightfully hate him, with the way you’d surround yourself with other crowds and groups to prevent him from walking up to you when you were alone. He tells himself that it’s because both you and him needed space to cool off and go back to the way you two were. He refuses to tell himself that it’s because he’s an honest-to-god coward.

He misses you. He misses you damn badly. Why the fuck did he go through such lengths instead of confessing to you straight up? He tells himself that he was being cautious. He tells himself that he doesn’t want his heart to be broken again. He refuses to conclude that it’s because he’s a fucking coward.

“I don’t know what’s been on your mind, idiot,” Kasamatsu says. “But you better solve this yourself quickly if you’re not opening up to me about this. We can’t have your performance quality be dropping even in practice. Hurry up and fix this shit with (l/n)-san already.”

“H-How’d you know?!” Kise raises his head from his desk in astonishment.

“Tch, idiot,” he glowers, chopping Kise’s head with a swift hand. “It’s too obvious from the way you’re moping around… from the way you two stuck together all this time, who wouldn’t notice something happened from the way you’re at your desk watching (l/n)-san like that?”

“O-Ow…” Kise grumbles rubbing his head. Ironically, his captain’s hit cleared up his doubts and he took a deep breath before exhaling. “Got it, senpai.”

“You better.” Kasamatsu goes back to talking to his classmates during break, and even despite not knowing the truth of the relationship, he manages to give solid advice as usual.

Tomorrow. He’ll find you tomorrow.

———

He doesn’t know where else to find you alone other than the place he’s always waited for you before you two used to walk to school together. So he stands there, almost an hour earlier in case you had the idea to walk to school extremely early to avoid him at all costs.

He was right.

Here you are, shuffling your feet as you trudged yourself along the path and looking down at your feet. You even manage to walk past by him without noticing his presence.

Even if you’ve grown to hate him, he’s willed himself to come completely clean about his feelings to you for once. But a part of him is thinking to change his mind again and just let you slip away from his fingers. It’d spare the both of you the inevitable, right?

“R-Ryōta…?”

He was pulled from his thoughts, startled to see you staring at him from a short distance away. Apparently you did notice him after all.

“… (y/n)-cchi…” He swallows his words, knowing full well that his stupid words might blow this up for him again, his words responsible for all the rumors at school, his words responsible for hurting you and will hurt you again.

He wordlessly walks up to you and holds your cheek, and waits. He waits for you to push him away again. He waits for you to say the code word to let him know that you don’t want him near you again. The thought of you running away from him nearly brings him to tears, but he gulps his emotions down and stares at you calmly, with only his upturned brows hinting to his inner turmoil.

“Ryō—”

He swiftly brings his head down and kisses you. In feeling the warmth for the first time in a while, he greedily drinks from your lips, holding your temples more firmly as he searches for more, more, more.

You push him away.

Kise immediately lets go and stares at you like a lost child, unable to mask the devastation from the implications of your actions. But you’re still gripping his uniform tightly, almost as if you didn’t want to let go.

“W-Why…?” you croak, biting your lips to stop any tears from breaking through. “There’s no reason to kiss me. Don’t you know that we’re done? There’s no one to watch us here, no reason for you to walk me to school anymore. You know that, Ryōta. After all, we haven’t talked since a week ago, and you have the audacity to come here and kiss me like everything is okay—”

“… I want to kiss you, because there’s no one around, because there’s no other reason for me to.”

“Why…?” your voice softens to a whisper. “Don’t you hate anyone who likes you in that way? I… I already told you that I see you in that light, like many of your fans do. Don’t you hate me? Don’t you hate me for using this arrangement to get closer to you? Don’t you hate me for expecting something real out of this?”

“I already had an inkling of suspicion that you liked me, (y/n)-cchi,” Kise turns away to look at the bright morning sky. “I just didn’t know if I was wrong or not.”

“Then… why did you ask me to do this whole thing with you…?”

“Because I’m a coward,” he says, looking back to you. You were stunned into silence. For the first time, he finally admits what’s been weighing on his mind for weeks out loud, and his eyes, while drenched in shame, were full of resoluteness. “I liked you, but I was too afraid for the day when you ended up being not like the person I ended up liking. I liked you, but I was afraid of a real relationship that would tie me down. I liked you, but I was afraid of making huge decisions that involved another person into my life. I didn’t want to end the fake relationship because I was too fucking selfish… if I ended it, I’d lose the only connection I had with you… I’m sorry.”

Both of you went silent, bathed in the light of the rising sun. Kise drops to a squat to hide his face from you, and you knew he was trying to stop himself from tearing up. He knows how uncool he looks, but he had no right to cry when you were the one who got hurt the most.

“Ryōta, did you really find it difficult to kiss me…? Just… be honest.”

“Yes,” he looks up from his squat to stare at you with an intense look, even despite his puffy eyes. “Everytime I kissed you, I found it hard to control myself. I thought, what if you were using me to somehow get a kiss from me? or what if I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you and I ended up taking things too far? Looking anywhere but you at least stopped me from getting too invested…”

By now, both of you had turned completely red at his honesty, but he still found you frankly stunning even with your red, puffy eyes. “Look, (y/n)-cchi, don’t you hate me? I used you. The rumors are right—I’m a complete asshole. Just… I won’t blame you if you walk away right now.”

“You do know that I used this opportunity to get closer to you, right?… I wasn’t a saint about this either, so… I’m sorry too.” Both of you go silent again, and you slowly drop yourself to his level in a squat of your own in front of him.

“… C-Can we… can we start over?” you whisper, your warm breath tickling his chilled nose.

“(y/n)-cchi, I don’t think I’m capable of continuing this arrangement…”

“No,” you huff, before you tentatively press a chaste kiss to his lips. “I mean… can we… start over, but this time, as a real couple? I… want this relationship to be substantial. I really do like you, Ryōta.” You murmur against his lips with your hands on top of your knees, waiting for him to rebuke you away with an easygoing comment or a plastered smile.

But he doesn’t do any of that.

“I… guess we can try that,” Kise mumbles, gaze averted as his cheeks flame brighter than his nose and ears.

“Can you kiss me again?” you ask, your voice cracking at the end out of fear he’d turn down your request. Kise flicks his gaze back to you to see you equally red with a hesitant expression.

“Could you… close your eyes?” he asks with a frown.

“H-Huh?”

“Y-You don’t need to see me looking like a mess, I don’t look charming right now.”

“I… guess…” After a few moments of hesitation, you flutter your eyes shut, waiting apprehensively for his lips to descend onto yours again. Kise holds your cheeks and takes the time to admire your features for the first time, and his smile grows wider with every passing second.

‘R-Ryōta…?” Afraid of the fact that he actually may not like kissing you after all, you worriedly open your eyes, only to be greeted by the most brilliant smile from Kise, his figure illuminated by the sunshine hitting the back of his head at the perfect angle.

“(y/n)-cchi,” he teases with a small pout. “Didn’t I tell you to close your eyes?”

Who needs a rose-tinted lens when the sight before you is already so radiant to behold?

[astrojoong]

Hongjoong - Migraine Comfort

Hongjoong x Reader

Genre: Comfort, Fluff

Length: Bullet Pointed, sort of a Reaction

Warnings: Mentions of pain? nausea? 

AN: okay so this was originally going to be a full blown drabble, BUT I am very depressed and can’t seem to complete it, so I think I’m going to be posting them as bullet points/reactions for rn and then I’ll plan on fleshing them out and probably posting them to ao3. I say them bc this is part of a bunch of comfort fics that I’m writing, one prompt per member, one fic for each member! anyways lmk what ya’ll think! 

Ok so you and Joong have been dating for a while

They very recently ended promotions for a comeback and were BEAT

so when Joong texted you letting you know that they had their first free day in a while you were Excited to say the least

Work had been rough the past week and you really missed Joong during promotions 

and to a lesser extent, the boys

you arrive like a bit past one, just like you said you would, and were disappointed but not surprised, to find that half of the members were still asleep

At least Joong was up, that's all you could ask for tbh

Because you missed the boys as well as Your Boy, you and the awake members (read: Hwa, Yeo, and Jongho) decide to watch a movie together.

You all settle in the living room, getting all comfy and cuddly to watch a movie together 

It starts off calm. 

but

BUT

it is Ateez

even when the other members start to make their way into the living room around the end of the first movie and the start of the second, it doesn’t get crazy YET

but it was only a matter of time

you think it started with Wooyoung’s questions and commentary during the start of the second movie, but its hard to say how exactly you got to this point

u and joong are still on the couch, u leaning against him with his arms around your shoulder, holding you to him while he rests his chin gently on your head

yeo is on the other end of the couch and all three of you are watch the Shit Show go down

The innocent act of eating popcorn while watching a movie has devolved into a full blown battle of spitting kernels and flicking popcorn at one another

Its woosan on one side, yungi on the other

Seonghwa was in the middle, acting as both a shield and a target as he attempted to get the boys to ceasefire in the hopes of mitigating an already disastrous mess

jongho had abandoned the chaos in favor of napping in his room now that it was free of any distractions

as amusing as all this was, you were a little distracted.

you were getting a headache

well, at this point, you HAD a headache

you weren’t sure when exactly it had started but at this point you Certainly felt it

you hadn’t been too concerned, thinking it was probably just a tension headache since you had been all tensed up for the past month due to work

but now

now you were feeling nauseous 

which is a Bad sign

as nonchalantly as you can, you extract yourself from joong shooting him an apologetic look and make ur way to the bathroom

the farther u got from the cacophony, the less nauseous you became

which gave u a Theory

a theory that you tested when you entered the restroom and didn't turn on the light 

just as you suspected

your headache ebbed just a touch and the nausea lessened

it was a migraine

you had a little experience with migraines before, you knew yours didn’t present with an aura so you never got a warning before one hit 

you were thankful to have gotten yourself to a dark, quiet room before it hit full stride, which it was doing right now

all you could really do was curl up in a ball on the cool tiles and softly groan in pain 

which is exactly how joong found you 

when you had gotten up originally he noticed you seemed a little off but decided to say nothing and planning on seeing how you looked when you returned, maybe checking in then

after a couple minutes you could hear your phone chime, recognizing Hongjoong’s assigned text tone, but you were in far too much pain to do anything 

plus you knew how painful the light from your phone would be

so after a few more minutes, with his text remaining unseen, he came to check up on you himself

he knocks on the door and all you can really do is moan pitifully in response 

which does NOT comfort the poor boy

he was already worried before but now you sound like you’re in pain

when he opens the door you wince and retract from the light and now the faint sound of the rest of the boys’ distant antics

noticing your reaction, he crouches down to softly push some of your hair out of your face and stroke it lovingly

his voice gets really soft and he asks what's wrong 

you explain the best you can which is really just whimpering the word migraine at him 

he sighs and gives your head a few gentle pats before saying “wait here” in the same, soft tone, and standing up

he gently closes the door behind him 

through the door you can hear him use his “Leader Voice” as he speaks to the members

you aren’t really aware enough to catch any specific words, all u know is that you’re for sure glad that the noise had died down a considerable amount 

some time later

it could’ve been anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, you aren’t really in a place to note the passage of time, joong returns.

as he slowly opens the door, you brace yourself, but it doesn’t hurt like it had before

he had the lights in the hall way turned off

joong helps you up off of the floor and guides you toward him and hwa’s shared room

there he has the lights off and the curtains drawn

on his bedside table there are two icepacks, a glass of water and a bottle of over the counter pain meds waiting for you

he helps you sit down and hands you the water and deposits two pills into your palm

you were getting ready to settle down when you heard wooyoung’s voice cut through the silence, yelling about something that mingi had done

you wince and the gentle expression falls from joongs face, morphing into “Leader Mode” as he quickly but quietly left the room to scold Wooyoung, but not before placing a gentle peck on your temple before disappearing 

He returns with a remorseful looking woo who softly apologizes from the door, you silently wave off his apology and in return shoot him a finger heart with as much playful energy as you can muster

he returns the gesture as Joong turns back from talking to Seonghwa, who also apparently had followed him back.

you shoot hongjoong the best questioning look you can and he whispers back that Hwa will be making sure the rest of the boys keep the dorm quiet until you feel better

he tucks you into bed, placing ice packs on your forehead and neck respectively 

he pulls up a chair next to his bed and softly strokes your hair and whispers soothing words to you until you are finally able to fall asleep

ok tbh this is my first time ever writing so like... hopefully it wasn’t Total Shit, im not Super happy w it but we all have to start somewhere so whatever. also! hopefully this is a somewhat accurate description of a migraine! I’ve only had about four in my life and they were all essentially the same as what the reader has. So I have limited experience and research to go off of but hopefully it was sufficient enough. Anyways pls let me know what you thought, or if you have a request (no promises tho lmao) or ideas. I’m pretty much open to anything.

thank you for reading!!

[jeongjaebae]

Love Station

⇢ Jaehyun x reader | AO3

⇢ 7k of fluff, heart fluttering moments, and meme references

⇢  You never expected anything good to come out of a train delay, much less for it to play cupid on this Valentine’s Day. 

Turning 23 wasn't something you were overly excited about.

Nothing good could come out of being this age anyway—you were starting to feel old and life was starting to feel stagnant. Besides, everyone's seen the meme about checking up on your friends born in a certain year because no one likes you when you're 23. But heck, you'd already felt that way for long enough so it doesn't really matter that it's your birthday today because no one liked you at 22 either. Or at any age.

Maybe that's why you're still single on this Valentine's Day, which coincidentally happens to be the date you enter your 23rd year since birth. Whatever deity that's up there probably planned this to give you a headache every year, making you watch couples all around you broadcast their PDA everywhere while you only became one year closer to growing old and wrinkly. And dying single.

"Are you on the train yet?" Yoojin's loud voice comes through the phone. "Also what are you wearing, because I'm having an outfit dilemma again."

"Almost at the station," you reply, checking the time for the sake of it. You knew your best friend would be late regardless of the occasion, so you never had to rush. "I didn't expect it to be so cold out here. Wearing the pink blouse with the bow, that black skirt, and some thin tights. Long coat of course."

Yoojin was your best friend of seven years and happened to be the complete opposite of you. While you were generally shy, she had no qualms about talking to strangers. She'd always been bold and unabashed with her opinions, attracting quite a large group of friends and enemies alike, whereas you have always stayed within your comfort zone of invisibility. And whereas you were completely dense and unlucky when it came to boys, she had a list of them long enough for the both of you.

"Tell me you at least have some tall boots on," she replies with some rustling sounds in the background as she probably flips her entire closet upside-down. "You should've gone with a warmer outfit; there won't be any boys around for you to impress! It's only your date with boring old me."

You roll your eyes and play along. "I'm dressing to impress the cute waiter, obviously," you say, "the one with the super sweet smile who looks like NCT's Doyoung." It's all made up, of course. In reality the two of you didn't have a reservation or even a restaurant in mind yet, and of course, there's obviously nobody who could ever be as cute as Doyoung.

Your best friend was all about being spontaneous and winging it, and even letting fate decide things.

"Oh you better hope that he's not out with his girlfriend tonight then," she singsongs. "Anyway, I'll go pick out an outfit now and bring a pair of leggings for you or something. Oh and before I forget, happy birthday!"

"Thanks," you say with a smile as you approach the train station. "I'll see you soon!"

It's slightly more crowded at the station than the emptiness that usually greets you at this hour, but that's not surprising since it's Valentine's Day after all, and people would have plans in the city. And just as you would expect, there are people holding big bouquets wrapped in a special paper with hearts all over it, packs of chocolates in pink and red boxes, and delicate single roses encompassed in beautiful ribbons.

It wasn't something that you felt like you were missing out on. You've never spent Valentine's Day with someone special anyway; it was always some sort of birthday celebration with friends. Until your friends started getting into relationships and then the birthday thing got pushed to different days. Either way you didn't mind because people don't need particular days to show their love for others, so Valentine's Day was all just a big marketing scam.

Or so you tell yourself.

The February air is cold and makes it hard to pry your transit card out from your wallet with your frozen fingers. When the machine nearby is finally free, that's when you go to tap your card.

"Don't."

A hand slides right in between your card and the machine, blocking it from being detected.

"Excuse me?" you automatically respond.

The first thing you notice about this annoying stranger is that he's tall, as it takes a while for you to look up to see the face of said annoying stranger. The second thing is that he's incredibly good looking. Nice skin, large eyes, and some evidence of dimples slightly visible on each cheek. A strong jaw line and sharp gaze.

But none of that matters because he better have a good explanation for you.

"Don't waste your money tapping your card. The train's been delayed and won't come until maybe an hour later."

"What? An hour? Is this some kind of joke?"

He shakes his head. "There was an announcement a few minutes ago but they'll probably repeat it soon."

"But it's not even April Fools Day," you mutter under your breath, but proceed to put your card away anyway. "Are you serious?"

That earns you a funny look from the annoying stranger, a mixture of a smile and a grimace of sorts. "Yeah, I'm really just going to go up to strangers and prank them by telling them about a train delay."

"Well, maybe if you're one of those YouTubers who go around pranking people for reactions?"

He rolls his eyes. "No, but your reaction was terrible, by the way. A two out of ten at most."

"Hey, you're the one who had to break the news to me like that!"

The corner of his mouth twitches but before he says anything back, the blare of the announcement comes on.

"Attention all passengers! Attention all passengers. The line 1 eastbound train is experiencing delays due to a technical issue on the tracks. It may be over an hour before the track can get cleared. Once again, the eastbound train is currently experiencing delays of an hour or more. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

"And there it is. Do you believe me now?" the annoying stranger asks, raising an eyebrow at you. It's not so much of an 'I told you so', but rather a sad 'welcome to the club'.

"Yeah... sorry for not taking you seriously."

"Nah, no worries," he shrugs and gives you a quick smile. The first you'd seen from him. "We're all just stuck here now."

When he turns to look at the announcement board, that's when you take the chance to really study him. He's dressed like he's walked out of a Korean drama: turtleneck and a nice formal jacket. He looks to be about your age, maybe a university student or fresh grad. Hair gelled up and parted at the side. Perfectly dressed to go on the perfect Valentine's Day date with his perfectly stunning girlfriend.

As perfect as it can be with this whole train delay issue anyway.

You follow his gaze to the announcement board and see that it now has red words everywhere, indicating all the delays of the trains. It definitely wasn't looking good. Even if Valentine's Day was nowhere close to being one of your favourite holidays, you were looking forward to at least seeing a friend on your birthday.

"Yeah, I guess so. On the one day I had plans in the city." You sigh at the thought that seeing your best friend might not be possible anymore.

 "I know the feeling," he frowns, somehow still looking just as good as before which is entirely a mystery to you, "I'm also supposed to be in the city tonight."

You nod, then pull out your phone to shoot Yoojin a quick text about the delay. The cold wind sears your hands and you yet again regret wearing so little when you knew this train station didn't have an indoor waiting area.  

"So, what are our options for getting out of here now? Do you think the buses are still running because we could probably take one?" he suggests.

The 'we' takes you by surprise, but then you realize that he's probably talking about everyone here. All of the ten or so people that are just stuck at this station in the cold for the next hour.

You grimace at the thought of dissipating his ounce of hope. "Well, the nearest bus station is all the way across town, so by the time we get there maybe the trains will have already started working."

The handsome stranger sighs. "Maybe an Uber then?"

"It'll be rush hour soon so that only works if you want to be going during the most expensive time of day using the most expensive form of transportation."

"Ah, that's true." He looks disappointed. "Hmm, if the trains don't come by the next hour, maybe I'll just head to the bus stop."

Oh how nice it would be to have a car to get there yourself.

Buzz. The phone vibrates in your pocket and you could already imagine how Yoojin would be reacting to your news. Hopefully she hadn't already started on her crazy makeup routine yet, because who knows if your meet-up could actually happen at this rate.

"It's chill, don't worry about it! I'll head to you instead. Text you when I'm near."

Sometimes Yoojin's spontaneity was just what you needed. You message her a quick thanks and then shove the phone into your pocket before your fingers freeze off.

It's quiet for a bit and you almost forget about the handsome stranger entirely until there's a crinkling sound and you find yourself staring at the rose in the pocket of his coat, the clear foil around it blowing gently in the wind. It was on the side facing away from you earlier, which is probably how you didn't notice upon first glance.

Of course, he has a girlfriend. With a face like that, who wouldn't have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend. Maybe even multiple.

"Special occasions, right?" The corners of his lips are curled as if holding back a grin, and like this his dimples are visible.

But why was he still talking to you? You figured he was probably just trying to be friendly seeing as the two of you would be stuck here for an indefinite amount of time. Maybe you'll even become all buddy-buddy by the time this ordeal finishes. While you weren't a fan of small talk or talking to strangers, it was nice to be able to have someone by your side who was experiencing the same struggles.

And besides, he clearly has a girlfriend so there was no point in writing that "strangers to lovers" fan fiction in your head.

You clear your throat. "So... Valentine's date with your girlfriend?"

"Valentine's—" he pauses for a second and you can almost see the gears turning in his head. "Right, it's Valentine's Day today. Nah, I'm celebrating my birthday instead." Then he holds up the rose up and glances at it as if he'd also forgotten about it. "And no girlfriend. This is for my cousin. Her boyfriend's overseas so it's hard for them to meet up, so I thought I would get something nice for her and keep her company."

That actually takes you off guard and causes you to replay the words in your mind to make sure you heard correctly.

"Wait, it's your birthday today? Really?"

He gives you a strange look. "Yeah, there are actually people born on Valentine's Day, believe it or not."

"That's not what I meant—"

"I'm just kidding." His eyes twinkle in amusement. "It's also your birthday today, isn't it?"

"What—how did you know?"

He chuckles. "Your reaction said everything."

"Wow, someone is a smartie."

"What about you? Valentine's or birthday date with your boyfriend?"

"Best friend," you correct him. "And yeah, it's a birthday dinner."

"That's nice. I've actually never met anyone else with a Valentine's Day birthday."

"Honestly, same."

His eyes curve up into crescents as he smiles with his entire body, and it's dazzling and is so bright that it makes you want to stare for just a moment longer. The two of you laugh for a while at that coincidence, still amazed.

"So, how old are you turning?"

You groan, "The age where no one likes you."

"Ah, I just passed that." He wrinkles his nose as if remembering how terrible a year it was. "But hey, can't have no one liking you at that age if no one liked you anyway."

His words immediately put an image of that roll safe meme into your head and you find yourself laughing.

"Wow, those are my thoughts exactly."

The handsome stranger only gives you an innocent shrug. His meme game was on point, and that almost makes your heart flutter for a second. Almost.

Another cold breeze whips your hair into your face and blows straight through your thin tights, making you shiver.

"Hey, um, I hope this isn't too forward... but since we're stuck here anyways for the next while, do you want to possibly go hang out in town?" He bites his lips a little, making his dimples stand out even more. "It just kind of sucks to see our birthdays go to waste like this. Only if you're comfortable with it though, but of course we'll be in public areas the entire time."

You couldn't believe your ears for the second time today.

On one hand, the logical voice in your head was screaming stranger danger because you just met him! You hadn't even exchanged more than a few sentences! On the other hand, you could already picture Yoojin telling you to never waste an opportunity, to go with the flow and live life a little recklessly. To stop waiting for a train that might never come, to stop waiting for perfectly planned moments in life that might never occur.

"So, what do you think?"

Besides, if he's not some crazy serial killer or anything along those lines, the only other danger you could possibly see was getting heartbroken. But of course there's no way you'd fall for a stranger in one day; you didn't believe in love at first sight or fate or whatever other mushy romantic cliches that movies love to portray. This would merely be a fun time between two people who happened to be stuck together because of a train delay, on a day that happened to be both of their birthdays. A simple coincidence, really.

"You know what," you smile. "Screw it. Let's go."

***

The smell of the arcade brings back memories from when you were a child—friends' birthday parties, hangouts in middle school, the occasional school trip. It had been fun as a child even though you hadn't been very good at any of the games and probably never won anything worth keeping. Looking back, you hadn't set foot in this place in years.

"We'll get the one with the most tokens," the handsome stranger—Jaehyun—says to the guy behind the counter, flashing you a smile when you raise an eyebrow at him.

Jaehyun. It had sounded so pretty when he introduced himself.

You'd been afraid that conversation would come out awkward and forced between two strangers brought together by no more than a train delay, not knowing where or when or how to start. But there was actually never a dull moment between the flow of words and laughter that made you feel as if he was someone you've known for a long time. The short walk to the arcade had been spent on reminiscing and comparing past memories of growing up in this town, brainstorming fun places and cool restaurants that you'd been to or have yet to go to, pointing at familiar buildings and telling funny stories about interesting moments spent in there.

"Come on, let's go." He leads the way into the main area where all the action is.  

The arcade still looks the same as the last time you were here, though everything seems smaller than you'd remembered it. Bright lights flashing from every machine, loud noises at every corner. So many games that you'd once thought it was impossible to play through all of them.

"Let's start with this one?" You point to the zombie shooting game. It was something that you had always wanted to try as a kid out of pure curiosity, but you'd been too scared to at the time.

"That one? Really?" He raises a brow at your suggestion. "Alright, but I bet I can beat you."

"I would also bet on you winning," you respond dully.

After choosing characters and weapons on screen, the two of you settle in your seats and finally start. It's like watching a horror movie where you expect huge jump scares at every corner except there's no music build-up or anything to warn you that a zombie might just show up. Horror was definitely not your forte but maybe he was better at handling these things than you were.

You get your answer when the first wave of zombies finally show up. Jaehyun screams. You scream.

Somehow you manage to shoot some of them by pure instinct guiding you, however your aim isn't exactly good with your eyes closed half of the time. By the time the screaming dies down and you notice that both your characters had died in the zombie battle, you finally turn to see how he's doing. The way his face is twisted in a mixture of utter shock and horror would've been something to laugh at if you hadn't been just as scared.  

"If I recall, someone said they were going to beat me at this," you tease after seeing the final score. Neither of you did particularly well, though your score somehow turned out to be much higher than his.

"You should've given me a warning that it would be this scary."

You burst out laughing at his expression. "I didn't know either!"

That's when you notice how you're clinging to each other. Your hand clutching his arm, his hand right on top of yours.

"Oops, sorry," you mutter and quickly detangle yourself from him.

"It's fine," he says with a laugh. "But yeah, those zombies were next level."

Needless to say, you guys don't go back to that game.

The arcade is quite empty on this afternoon and you're glad that most of the games are unoccupied and can be played right away. Even with everything going well so far, you still have the fear of having awkward silences and uncomfortable conversation.

It's a while later when you try again at a different shooting game, though luckily this time it isn't zombies that you're dealing with, so it isn't scary at all. It's a teamwork game this time, and what surprises you the most is just how good your teamwork turns out to be.

"To your left, in the corner."

"Phew, got him. Thanks," you reply, promptly shooting the character before he could shoot you. "Watch out—right above you."

"Got it."

It lasts a few rounds but you manage to make it to the end and finally clear the game.

Jaehyun's whole face is lit up when he turns to you. "Wow, that was awesome. Great teamwork."

He holds up both his hands for you to high-five, and just as your hands meet his, you can't help but notice the way they linger together a little longer.  

Time flies as the two of you go from game to game and you're trying your best to beat him at any game possible. While he does let you win some of the time, more often than not, he ends up winning. Though it's not like you could be upset about it at all when he looked so happy after each win, excitedly showing you his score or prize. It was definitely nice to be as carefree as kids again.

Yet there was something deeper with the adrenaline coursing through your veins and heart racing that it becomes hard to tell whether it may be from the excitement of the games, the warmth of his body right beside you as he patiently teaches you his strategies for winning, the bright smiles that seem to light up his whole face, or those damn dimples.

Why did this Valentine's boy have to be not only heartbreakingly handsome but also incredibly kind and considerate?

"Hey, you want to try one of those?" The sound of Jaehyun's voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you silently pray that you hadn't been staring at him subconsciously. And if you had been staring, hopefully he didn't notice as he's pointing to the line of game stands at the side where the games are always rigged and you can never win big prizes.

"I've never won anything from there before, so I sure hope you're good at those."

He ends up picking a dart game out of all the options, but maybe this one would be easier than the rest.

The man at the dart stand greets you and explains the rules. "Are you trying to win something for your girlfriend?"

"Oh, we're not—" you start but stop as soon as you hear what Jaehyun says instead.

"It's Valentine's Day after all," he says easily then follows with a wink at you.

He didn't deny...?

It's three shots dead center to win one of the biggest prizes or five within the smallest ring. It makes your heart pound a little faster seeing Jaehyun so focused with his nice stance, sleeves rolled up slightly, and intense eyes on the target. However, he misses on the first shot with his dart going off the board.

"Well that's no fun," the man says, frowning at where the dart landed. "I suppose I could give you another chance, since it's Valentine's Day and all. Wouldn't want to end up empty handed, right?" He laughs to himself but puts the dart back in Jaehyun's hand.

"Thank you," he says, flustered judging by the hint of a blush that sweeps his cheeks. "I'm not usually this bad."

"It's okay! You're doing great, sweetie," you joke.

He rolls his eyes at you despite the way his lips curl up at the corners, then gets ready to throw the dart again. And this time? You're sure your jaw is to the floor when he manages to get all three darts to hit the board dead center. The man congratulates him for winning and then they disappear into the back room to pick a prize. Jaehyun later comes out holding the biggest dog plushie you've ever seen.

Once you're back outside after the arcade adventure, that's when he stops and turns to you.

"I wasn't sure what you'd like but I hope this is okay," he says quietly, gingerly handing you the giant plushie.

"It's great, Jaehyun." You meet his gaze as you take the plushie and he quickly looks away. "Thank you."

"You know, I'm really glad we ended up doing this. It's even better than what I had planned originally." Then he adds more quietly, "One of the best birthdays I've had in a while."  

"Yeah," you smile. "Me too."

It's only then when you realize that Yoojin and the rest of your plans had totally slipped your mind.

***

It's chilly outside as the two of you walk around town. Valentine's Day decorations were everywhere, with the chalkboard menus of local restaurants featuring couple meal sets with tons of hearts drawn around them, various pink and red plushies lined up on the windowsills of nearby shops, and even lamp posts on the streets covered with mini heart shaped lights. The sight of those things usually would've made you roll your eyes and pretend to puke, but somehow it doesn't seem to bother you quite so much today. It's as if you're seeing everything through a new perspective—one that might find the rosy decorations pretty and one that might understand the hype of such a holiday.

"Y/N," Jaehyun suddenly says, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you to his side. Before you could even react, he's quickly switching positions with you so that you're sheltered between him and the wall of the nearby building.

Then he's turning to you. Hand on the wall behind your head, body leaning towards you.

So close that you could see the individual eyelashes framing his eyes.

But in the next instant he's looking behind him where a car drives by and splashes up a large amount of water from the melting snow on the side of the street. Which lands right where you were standing just a moment ago.

Jaehyun turns back to you, eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you breathe. "Um, are you?"

"That's good." He glances behind him and then reassures you with a quick smile. "And yeah, all good."

"It was a close call. Thanks for saving me."

"Wouldn't want your clothes to be ruined by that." He laughs. "How are you doing though? It's pretty cold out here."

"I'm okay," you automatically reply.

That earns you a skeptical look. "Your cheeks are all red. Come on, let's go warm up somewhere."

When you resume walking, he's taking the outer edge of the sidewalk.

A couple of blocks later is when you find out that the place he had in mind turns out to be the local coffee shop. You'd never been there before but had always thought of it as a cute place when you pass by it, so when you enter, the interior definitely matches up to your expectations. It has a rustic theme with warm glow from fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and there's soft music playing in the background, a nice place to study if it's as empty as today.

Jaehyun buys you your drink. Kind of.

"I bought one, but they gave me one for free," he says, beaming when he comes back to the table with the drinks—a coffee for him and a latte with a cute little heart floating in it for you. "Maybe the barista was charmed by my smile."

"Hmm." You look behind him to see a sign at the front of the store saying, 'Buy one get one free—Valentine's Day special'. "Are you sure it wasn't because of my charming smile?"

"You're right, that could be it. You are quite cute."

"Exactly."

Wait, what did he just say?

You do a double take but he's merely staring back at you with dimples just barely visible and eyes sparkling through thick eyelashes that you could only wish yours looked like.

Suddenly it feels like the heater's on extra high in this cafe or maybe it was the way the latte burns your tongue as you take a big gulp. Whatever it was, it definitely succeeds in warming you up a little too well, especially your face.

"You okay? Don't burn yourself," he says, the amusement in his eyes betraying the concern in his voice.

You nearly spit your drink out at him. "Nah, no burn. I'm good, thanks," you say dryly.

Time seems to slow down as you relax in your seat, body finally warming up in the coziness of the cafe. The small corner you're in almost feels like a liminal space; such a transient place you'd only ever noticed while passing by, yet a whole different world on the inside where one can hide forever. Perhaps you wanted to hide here, to enjoy the fleeting moments of a strange but amazing birthday.

Conversation ebbs and flows though you're a little surprised when Jaehyun opens up about his life. His passion for music, especially, is what picks up traction as he happens to know your favourite group, NCT. From there it becomes a debate of whether Doyoung or Taeyong was the best looking member (you insist that Doyoung's Instagram was all the proof one needed, whereas he points out that Taeyong's sharp jawline could totally cut that VVS diamonds they keep singing about). You definitely don't tell Jaehyun the fact that maybe—just maybe—he's even more attractive than your NCT biases and that he could totally be an actor from a Korean drama.

Everything you hear about him makes you appreciate his vulnerability, yet you can't help but wonder if he's so open with just anybody. You were a complete stranger, after all.

Yet every time you see the twinkle in his eyes when your gaze accidentally meets his, part of you wonders if 'strangers' no longer fits the definition of where this strange relationship was going. It leaves you with wanting to avoid looking at him which is quite difficult with him seated directly across from you. Maybe you should've sat where your plushie was, taking up its own chair between the two of you, but it's too late and now you're left to deal with the audible thud of your heart every time you make eye contact with him.

And yet when you think about it, you realize that it wasn't Jaehyun's cute dimples or his deep voice or his lame jokes that had your nerves acting up.

It was probably the caffeine.

But maybe it was the small things that you hadn't even realized you'd noticed. Earlier at the arcade when he patiently taught you the games that you were unfamiliar with, letting you win games but also winning at them himself just so he could give you the prize. Saving you from a car first then from the cold with the warmth of the cafe. Opening the door for you, sitting closer to the door to block the cold wind from reaching you.

And how despite the number of reschedules and plan cancellations you both had to make due to the train delay, he hasn't pulled his phone out a single time. You admired how in the midst of all the chaos today, he was still nothing but calm and polite the entire time and seemed to have everything under control. He was a comforting presence that made you forget about the madness of the outside world for a little while.

Nah, it had to be the caffeine.

Still, you find yourself glad to be stuck here with him, even as far as dreading when you both had to leave. You're definitely appreciating Yoojin's ability to be late right about now.

A lull in the conversation has you sneaking a glance at your phone to check up on your best friend. There's no text from her as she's either still doing her extravagant makeup or still on her way here, but for some reason you let out the breath you held in relief.

"I wonder if the trains are running now." A glance out the window shows you the remnants of sunset and the quickly darkening skies. Then you cautiously throw out the question that you'd been holding onto for a while. Something that you'd been reluctant to bring up, carefully stepping around it the whole day, and something that he hasn't talked about either. "Oh right, didn't you say you would end up taking a bus? If the delay is still going on."

Maybe it's a test to see his reaction, maybe it's to end this vague relationship before you become even more attached than you already are. Because any rational person wouldn't just throw away all their birthday plans for someone they'd just met.

"Oh. Right." Jaehyun looks down and swirls the stir stick in his drink. Clockwise, counter-clockwise, back and forth. "I, uh, actually forgot that I didn't drive here today." He shoots you a sheepish grin then runs his fingers through his hair that has deflated quite a bit since you first saw him. "So can't exactly drive over to the bus stop."

You smile back weakly. "Ah, that's okay. There's probably a ton of traffic out there now anyways."

An ambiguous answer for an equally ambiguous relationship. It could definitely be a real excuse, yet somehow the thought of that makes you almost disappointed. Maybe there are no answers to the questions and uncertainties muddled in your mind.

"But did you want to get rid of me so fast?" He actually pouts at you, as if his regular face weren't already enough to break hearts.

"What? No, of course not? I—what?" you manage to get out.

"Okay, good!" The pout immediately goes back into his regular smile. "Phew. It's sad enough being single on Valentine's Day; no need to get rejected on top of that."

Then his phone buzzes and it finally pulls it out.

"As if anyone would reject you," you mutter under your breath while he's distracted.

It's true. You might've expected Jaehyun's appearance to be making up for other areas, or maybe even hoping he'd be too rude or too blunt or have a bad character. Because the cognitive dissonance in your head wants a reason or excuse to remain distant and emotionally detached from him. But the kindness and authenticity that you saw today just leaves you without a reason, which makes it that much harder to stop yourself from liking him.

"Sorry about that; what did you say?"

"Nothing!" You plaster on a cheerful smile.

"Okay, my cousin is going to be here soon."

"Oh."

Then there's the sinking of your heart, the inevitable dread that this unexpectedly enjoyable afternoon is coming to an end. Somehow it manages to crush the anticipation you had for your birthday celebration with Yoojin.

"You know, I kind of feel bad that you paid for everything today," you say. "Let me pay you back?"

"It's fine, Y/N. We had fun and that's all that matters."

"True, but you should've at least let me buy the drinks!"

That manages to make him smile but it quickly dies as he bites his lip, suddenly hesitant. "If you really want to..."

"Yes!"

"...you could just pay next time."

What.

"Next time?" you repeat, afraid to believe what you were hearing.

"I mean, if you—maybe—want to hang out again sometime?"

You open your mouth to say something, or maybe it was already open in your state of shock. Nothing comes out as if you lost your voice.

Jaehyun briefly meets your eyes before continuing. "Well, um—I just wanted to say that I had a really good time with you today. I know the train thing was probably an inconvenience to everyone else but to be honest, I'm kind of glad that happened." He laughs a little. Stops. Bites his lip. "And yeah, if you're down, we could hang out again sometime. Because I'd love to get to know you better."

Thud.

You could only stare back at him as the roaring of your pulse becomes all you can hear. The whole day you were telling yourself that it shouldn't be possible to develop feelings for someone within a day, almost trying to hold yourself back from enjoying your time with him to the fullest in the fear that you might be wrong. And it's not like you developed crushes very easily, but here in front of you was a boy so friendly and good-natured even to a stranger he'd just met, someone who really seemed to care about you.

"Jaehyun..."

He continues, "I know it's weird meeting like this, and I don't really believe in this whole fate thing where we just happened to be stuck here and we happen to have the same birthday. All I can say is that I really enjoyed talking to you and hearing your thoughts and um, youknowyou'rereallybeautiful."

The logical inner voice had been screaming stranger danger the entire time because you didn't know him at all! You'd just met him today! Yet the small fic writer voice in your head, which definitely sounded a lot like your best friend's voice, was trying to convince you that maybe fate does exist. That if it doesn't, how likely was it that you met someone with the same birthday which happened to be Valentine's Day? That you met at exactly the right time and that the train the two of you were going to take was delayed? That you managed to have one of the best birthdays that you could recall?

Maybe sometimes you need to let go of any fears and just live life to its fullest. Let yourself feel a wide range of emotions without being afraid of getting heartbroken. Stop holding back and just be true to yourself.

It suddenly feels too hot in the cafe once again.

"Yeah," your voice comes out quiet, unsteady, but his words give you the courage to reach over to hesitantly take his hand. "Today has been amazing and I'm so thankful that you're the one I was stuck with."

His eyes flicker to yours then away. "But...?"

"There is no 'but'. Jaehyun, I'd love to see you again."

"Yeah?" He lets out a long exhale before his face visibly brightens again. "That's a relief. I didn't think you would agree, but I didn't want to have you walk out of my life just like that."

Then there isn't a need for any more words as shy smiles are exchanged and fleeting gazes meet and there's a warmth bubbling in your chest. It's as if you spent the whole day worrying over nothing. That somehow, everything worked out. That maybe it was fate, and maybe it wasn't, but the connection you thought you felt wasn't just one-sided. It was something real, something tangible.

"Jeong Jaehyun!"

The booming voice jolts the two of you out of the moment and makes you immediately spring apart.

"Did you seriously make me take the train all the way here just for you? Who is this girl because she better be real nice for you to ditch me—" The loud voice from the woman walking into the cafe stops right when her eyes land on you. She smiles sheepishly, dipping her head lightly as if apologizing for her outburst. "Never mind; forget I said anything. I approve."

"Nice to see you too, Minah," Jaehyun greets as you both stand. You can see how his face is still flushed from earlier, but now he's put on a neutral expression again and what you'd seen just a moment ago has been erased. "Don't worry, I won't make you take the train back. I'll drive you home after."

"Oh, you have the car. Bless." Minah brushes her hair back, tidying it from the effects of the wind. Then she stops suddenly and narrows her eyes at him. "Wait, why didn't you just drive over if the trains stopped working?"

"You—have the car? I thought you said you got a ride," you muse out loud.

"Oh, uh. Actually I forgot I had it since I usually get a ride here and it would've taken too long to drive there in rush hour anyway... so... yeah..." He trails off and shifts his weight from one foot to another, and it's even more evident how flushed his face is, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

You hear a snort and see Minah practically shaking with quiet laughter.

"Y/N!" The bell at the door rings again as Yoojin steps into the cafe, bringing a rush of cold air in with her. "There you are! And oh—" she stops mid-sentence when she spots you with Jaehyun, his cousin, and the massive plushie sitting in its own chair. "Minah?"

"Yoojin?"

"You guys know each other?" you ask tentatively.

"We were friends in high school!" Yoojin replies. Then gives you a questioning look. "Minah, it's been so long. We should totally catch up."

Minah nods enthusiastically, jumping up to give Yoojin a warm hug. "Totally!" Then she briefly glances at Jaehyun. "Well, I was supposed to have dinner with my little cousin over here but if you and your friend are free, then we could all go somewhere together?"

"How about we head over to that cute little diner that was our hangout spot for the longest time?" Yoojin suggests with a glance over at you and Jaehyun.

Minah squeals. "Let's do it; it'd be just like old times!"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I wanted to borrow Y/N for a bit," Jaehyun says. "We'll let you guys catch up in peace without a third and four wheel."

"Yoojin, we can always hang out another time if you want to go with Minah."

Your best friend looks at you suspiciously with her eyes narrowed. "Hmm, yeah that works. I'll call you later and you better give me all the details though."

"Okay, deal."

And with that, they both head for the door. Yoojin turns to give you one last wink before they're gone.  

"I guess it's just us." Jaehyun's eyes are sparkling when they meet yours and he gives a gentle smile before shyly holding you hand. "We're probably too late for my reservation, but there are some good food places not too far from here."

"So..."

"Have dinner with me?"

"Hmm, I thought you didn't have your car here."

He looks pained. "Y/N!"

"I'm just kidding! I'm actually starving so let's go."

***

It's hours of delicious food, good conversation, and shy glances later that he finally drops you off at home. When your phone buzzes this time, it's not from Yoojin—it's a text from an unknown number followed by an image attachment.

"I have a feeling this is very false for you :)" it reads. And your heart skips a beat when you see the image.

It's the "no one likes you when you're 23" meme.

On the day of your 23rd birthday, you definitely weren't expecting anyone to like you, just as you haven't for the past 22 years. But with the words in Jaehyun's text that you read and reread, the light fragrance of the rose now in your vase and the giant plushie on your bed, and your mind replaying his bright smile and dimples and the sparkle in his eyes, it seemed like today was different.

Maybe today, someone just might like you when you're 23.

[hieludoboi]

Okay okay hear me out,,, Todoroki x a nb!reader,,, He finally actually confessed to them and the reader is just like cannot accept that Todoroki Shouto actually likes them. They're in total disbelief

A/n- Reader’s just standing there like “Me? Oh. That’s right, who else here is named Y/n” and Shouto’s kinda just standing there like ‘....’

A/n- Also! Just the thought of Pro Hero Todo getting like a scone or something sweet every morning before a patrol (I headcanon Shouto liking sweets, just idk, something about it just works for me) and slowly falling for the baker at his favorite bakery

A/n- I did a little research for how to write non-binary readers and such, and I feel like it’s kinda difficult to write for them unless specifics are given! Some non-binary individuals are masculine, other’s are feminine, some go by they/them, some by she/her or sometimes by zie/zim. I didn’t feel like it was right for me to write for these individuals specifically until I do a bit more research and learn to properly write for them!

A/n- Non-binary is a blanket term encompassing a whole list of genders/identities that don’t exactly follow societal gender norms! Sometimes non-binary individuals have gendered pronouns, sometimes they don’t! Since you didn’t specify I’m going to label this as a more gender neutral thing! 

A/n- Update, I researched like two hours and I still don’t understand. My brain very fried no work from online classes brainrot but not by bokuto by staring at screen all dy. Someone pls give my pigeon brain examples on how to properly write for nb! readers rn or I’ll pull out the glock >:(

Pairing- Pro Hero! Shouto / Gn! Reader

Summary- So he was serious? 

Warnings- not really?

It was a mundane Tuesday morning. The sun had yet to rise, slowly peaking over the city’s skyline, yet somehow getting lost among all the trees and towers. As with every morning, Y/n started off their day by preparing for their day. A quick shower, followed by washing their face and brushing their teeth. Before they knew it, they were trudging out of the house and making their way to the bakery to prepare for the morning rush.

Y/n was quirkless in a society plagued by quirks, an average day to day citizen if you will. They didn’t mind, in fact, life even seemed a bit easier when they didn’t have to worry about controlling some strange and odd power. The rest of the world, however, couldn’t begin to fathom how they even managed to lead a life without a quirk. 

Stifling a yawn, they made their way to the front door, unlocking it before closing it and locking it behind them. If the day went as planned, which normally it didn’t, they’d have scones, muffins, and croissants all out and freshly baked by six. Bear claws, donuts, and danish pastries would be out by eight, all the rolls and loafs would be done by ten and by eleven they could hopefully get started on the sugary sweets that their younger costumers seemed to enjoy so much. 

Their morning dragged on as usual. One by one the rest of the employees pooled into the back kitchen, kneading dough and making batters to pour in to tins or mold into shape. Grunting, Y/n picked up a tray chocked full of scones and made their way towards the display cases, setting the tray atop the display and carefully arranging the scones inside. Looking up at the pretty light blue clock, Y/n hummed. Their day rarely went as planned, but they could always count on Shouto coming in once the clock hit six-thirty. 

“Waiting on Mr. Pro-Hero?” Y/n turned around, feeling the heat begin to seize the apples of their cheeks. Sputtering, Y/n turned around, ignoring their coworker and instead focusing on arranging the last of the scones.

“Come onnnnnn! How are you so oblivious!” Y/n huffed, quickly standing up before thrusting the empty tray into Hina, their coworker’s, hands. “Y/n. He likes you!!” Hina groaned, following a wordless Y/n back into the kitchen. 

“Hina. No he doesn’t!!” Y/n mocked Hina as they slid a tray of muffins into the oven. Hina grunted, pulling out a giant bowl of risen dough before letting it fall onto a flowered counter top. “Besides, he’s rumored to be dating Creati,” Y/n pointed out, dusting their hands off on their apron.

“They’re just ru-” Hina rubbed her temples, watching as Y/n made their way towards the front at the sound of the little bell ringing. When would they stop being so oblivious?

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

Nothing seemed to go right that morning. While on his usual morning patrols, Shouto had run into Momo. While it was a welcome surprise, the situation was not. They had run into each other while battling a lowlife villain with a disastrous quirk. Damages were not kept to a minimum, and all Shouto wanted to do after being chewed out by local authorities was to go bite into a delicious scone at his favorite bakery. 

“This could have gone better,” Momo sighed, rubbing her temples as they both surveyed the damage they had done to the small plaza. Shouto nodded, he couldn’t agree more. “We should probably go out west, right? If there were robberies here, there’s bound to be some in the shopping centre,” Shouto nodded, Momo had some nice ideas. 

“We can stop by a bakery there too, I know a place that makes some nice scones,” Shouto explained as they walked, a subtle smile on his face at the thought of the baker that awaited him every morning. “What time is it?” SHouto asked, turning to look at Momo. 

“Oh, it’s around seven-thirty, why?” This morning could not have gone any worse for Shouto. First, he has to stop villains at the crack of dawn, and now he’s going to miss out on scones? Admittedly, they didn’t sell fast, but the bakery didn’t make a lot of them either. 

“No reason,” Shouto shrugged. He hoped he wouldn’t miss Y/n.

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

Y/n sighed, watching as the seconds ticked by on the clock overhead. It was eight already. Shouto was never late, ever. The man had a thing for punctuality, and even when everything was going wrong, Y/n could always count on seeing their favorite customer before the sun fully rose.

“Pretty boy ain’t here yet?” Y/n stood up, turning to look at the smug grin on their co-worker’s face. Curling their lip and rolling their eyes, Y/n went back to slouching over the counter, resting their chin on their palm as they zoned in on the glass door ahead of them. “C’mon boss! Cheer up, we’ll never make any sales with a grumpy face up front!” Y/n frowned seemed to become deeper, rooting itself in their brows and lips. 

“And I suppose having a super buff woman who looks like she can pop your head off with a squeeze of her biceps at the counter will allure customers like nothing ever could?” Y/n teased, grinning as Hina flexed her biceps. 

“Children adore me. They see me and are amazed by the ‘big muscle woman’,” Hina gloated, wiggling her eyebrows while continuing to pose behind the counter.

“Yeah yeah, go help Kohaku before he breaks an arm trying to knead the dough,” Y/n grumbled, pushing Hina into the kitchen so they could focus on the sales upfront. Kohaku liked decorating cakes, but every once in a while he’d have to knead dough while Hina helped Y/n arrange things up front.

Picking at their nails for a minute or so with boredom, Y/n’s head instantly popped up as soon as the bell on the glass door chirped. Their eyes instantly attatched themselves to the blue suit before them, almost completely ignoring the red latex that stood beside it. 

“Shou! I was starting to think you’d... never get here,” Y/n’s voice was filled with excitement at first, immediately dying off at the sight of Creati, who stood right next to him. Offering the pro hero a pleasant smile, Y/n grabbed their gloves and tray, their tongs hanging off a little hook on the display case.

“What can I get for you two?” Y/n asked, the bright smile that usually reached their eyes seeming to drown before it could fully rise. Shouto frowned a bit to himself, wondering where the usually happy and bright baker he had grown so used to had gone. Was he maybe reading too into it? 

“Oh! I’ll a pumpkin walnut muffin! They look so good!” Momo praised, delicately pointing to her preferred muffin through the glass case. 

“Thank you, made the recipe myse-”

“And we baked them!” Y/n winced at Hina’s booming voice, opening their eyes as soon as it died out. 

“Sorry about that, you’ll come to find that this bakery comes alive after a certain hour,” Y/n explained with a giggle, placing the muffin on the tray they held. “And you, Shouto?” Y/n asked, tilting their head a bit as they awaited his answer. 

“The usual,” Shouto made sure to offer them a grin, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit as he watched Y/n set the tray on the counter. 

“Lucky you, I made sure to save one just for you!” Y/n hummed happily, reaching for the last scone before placing it on the tray. Shouto could feel the shy smile subtly spreading on his face, did they really save on just for him? 

“I’ll pay, it’s the least I can do after you helped me out earlier today,” Momo said, turning to give Shouto a smile. 

“Right, thank you, Momo,” Shouto gratefully accepted his scone, waving goodbye to Momo as she left the shop. Shouto preferred to eat his scones at the shop anyway.

“Are you not joining me today?” Shouto looked up, a confused look on his face as he watched Y/n fidget behind the counter. They would always snack on a danish pastry and sit with Shouto before he had to leave again. It was routine at this point. 

“Oh! Right, sorry,” Y/n muttered sheepishly, snagging a pastry from the display case before heading over to Shouto’s usual spot by the window. For the umpteenth time that day, Shouto could feel himself frowning. He wondered what was wrong. 

“S-so you and Creati?” Y/n asked, taking a small bite from the sweet bread that sat in their hands. Shouto looked up, eyes widened in surprise, midway through a bite of his scone. Was that what this was about?

“She helped me stop some villains this morning, that was all,” Shouto explained. Y/n hummed, nodding their head as they started to pick at the jam filled sweet in front of them. “Oh, uhm...” Shouto mumbled, his brow furrowed as he began to search his pockets. Where had he left it?

“You okay, Shou?” Y/n giggled, amused by the way his face had contorted when he began to search for his little mystery item. 

“Yeah, fine... Oh! Found it,” Shouto muttered, pulling out the small box that had resided in his pocket since the day prior. “Here, for you,” Shouto mumbled bashfully, sliding the velvet box across the table to Y/n.

“For me? Shou... That’s sweet, but you didn’t have to,” Y/n explained, gently sliding the box back to Shouto. Accepting gifts felt odd, especially if they were from Shouto. They could already imagine what ridiculously expensive gift sat inside.

“Please, open it?” Shouto asked, sliding the box back across and making sure to set it in Y/n’s hands this time. Y/n gasped, eyes wide as they felt the heat rush to their face. Open and closing their mouth in a flustered fit, Y/n finally decided to delicately pry open the box, eyes tripling in size at the sight of the gold chain anklet studded in pearls that sat in the box. 

“Shouto... No, I can’t accept this,” Y/n insisted, shaking their head profusely, shutting the box and trying to put it back in Shouto’s hands.

“You can, and you will. Can we go out sometime?” Y/n could feel their jaw drop to the floor. First the anklet and now he’s just asking for a date like it’s a regular Tuesday?

“M-me?” Y/n asked, looking around the shop, the confusion settling in their eyes, locking their mind in some sort of fuzzy haze. 

“Yes, so, will you?” Shouto asked once more, amused by their cute little reaction.

“Uh, sure... Sure...”

“Cool. I’ll pick you up at seven,”

“But we don’t close untill-”

“THEY’LL BE READY BY 4!”

“Hina-”

“I SAID YOU’LL BE READY BY FOUR DAMNIT!”

“I’ll be ready by four!”

[deanandthephantoms]

We're a Perfect Harmony PT.4 - Reader x Charlie

A/N: Sorry it took so long for this next chapter to be posted i really struggled with this one. Thanks for the advice and encouragement to keep me going @julie-thefatones and @happinessinthedarkesttimes you're both gems <3. - Hopefully you'll all enjoy this new part!

Summary: Charlie and Y/N meet again in real life after a year of face timing.. Will it be just like last year or will thing be different? How will Y/N deal with her feelings for Charlie? And what happens when Emma is suddenly around all the time? We’ll find out in this chapter..

Wordcount: About 5700

Other Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3

Playing pretend..

A year had passed and summer came around again. There however was one major difference with last year. Around this time last year I felt scared and anxious because I was about to go on this camp with all those people I didn't know. Now I felt super excited cause I was about to see all of my friends again after such a long time. Madi was the only one I had seen a few times cause she lived somewhat close to me. I had talked to the rest regularly and had of course seen Charlie almost every day over Face time. There however was this tiny voice in my head, a voice that was telling me things would be awkward. I was afraid things would be different, afraid they suddenly wouldn’t like me anymore and possibly the biggest fear; afraid that Charlie and I would not have as good of a time as we had last year, I for some reason was afraid our real life click had vanished. Even though I knew that would not be the case and I desperately tried telling myself that, I couldn’t help but feel nervous on my way over there. The fact that I had developed feelings for Charlie didn’t help either. I didn’t want to like him like that and I would do everything in my power to deny the fact that I did. I was so lost in my own anxious mind I didn’t even notice the fact that we had arrived on camp..

Once I got off the bus there was the same big crowd as there was last year. This time however my eyes instantly fell on the boy I was most excited to see. I felt my heart jump a little and butterflies emerged in my stomach at the sight of him. At the same time he seemed to have noticed my bus arrived. And as soon as our eyes locked he dropped everything he was holding and came running towards me. “ NUGGEEEEETTT!!” He picked me up from the ground and spun me around while giving me the tightest hug “ YOU’RE FINALLY HERE!!” i wrapped my arms around his neck and held on to him as tight as I could. Being in his arms made me feel like all my doubts and fears were never even there. I just felt calm , peaceful and happy. ”It's so good to finally see you again Charlieee” he then put me back down to look at me with the brightest smile “ what do you mean? you literally saw me last night, you dork.” he says playfully. “ yeah, I know. But you know Face time is nice and all but it doesn’t beat seeing someone in real life right?” “ oh I get it, I definitely missed doing this” he says while pulling me in for another tight hug. “ Me too” I mumble into his shoulder. We let go of each other and I start to gather my stuff from the bus, when Charlie sees me struggling with a big and heavy bag he comes over to me and laughs “Let me get that for you.” and without allowing me to even say anything he takes the bag from my hands. He then walks me and all my stuff to my bedroom and when I open the door I see Madison is already there. I see a grin appear on her face when she sees me and Charlie who’s still carrying all my stuff. “HIIIII Y/N and Charlie!” she greets us. “Maaaaads!” I say while pulling her in for a hug, trying my best to hide the girl’s stupid grin from Charlie. Not that he would think anything of it, but I wasn’t gonna risk it either. I then let go of her and finally take my stuff from Charlie’s hands. “Thank you” I just tell him with a smile. "No probem" He smiles at me before pulling mads in for a hug "Goood to seee you mads!" He then leaves us alone suddenly remembering he had literally dropped all his stuff for me.

“Sooooo remind me again how there’s nothing going on between you two?” Madison says the moment Charlie left the room. I let out a groan causing Madison to laugh. “I already told you. We’re just friends Mads, Charlie was just being nice.” “Just being nice? Really Y/N? Me and Charlie have been friends for years. He has never dropped everything for me or Sav or Jadah or basically anyone.” I wasn’t even gonna fight her on this.. I knew nothing would change this girl’s mind. So instead I just said “Look Mads, whatever it is that may or may not be going on, can we not talk about this when he’s around?” “Don’t worry. I won’t mention anything. Even if I wanted to I can’t. Emma is in our group this year so..” I know I told Emma I would like to get to know her better this year but I’m not sure how I felt about the fact that she was in our group now.. Super selfishly I may be a bit scared it would have it’s negative effects on the time I would get to spend with Charlie. I couldn’t think like that though, she was his girlfriend if there was anyone deserving of his time it was her. “Oh wow, I didn’t see that one coming. I bet Charlie is very excited about it, I know he tried to get her into this group last year but back then she didn’t want to..” there's a short silence “Charlie didn’t tell you?” Mads seemed genuinely surprised by this fact. “No.. I bet he just forgot about it or something..”

There was no time to think anything of it because Savannah and Jadah came bursting into the room, we all just screamed gathering in one big group hug in the middle of our room. Mads couldn’t help but tell Jadah and Savannah about how Charlie had carried my bags for me which made them once again tease me. But once I asked them to not do this when he was around they promised me they wouldn’t and I trusted them. We talked and giggled while unpacking our bags and then our last roommate came in.. “Hello Girls” She said. She sounded and looked somewhat shy and or uncomfortable I couldn’t tell for sure. But I did know she could use a hug. I got up and embraced her into a warm hug. “Hi Emma! I heard you’re in our group this year. That’s cool!” and I wasn’t just saying that to be nice.. The way she came into the room reminded me of how I had felt last year. I felt for her and wanted to make sure she actually felt welcome. My gesture seemed to have taken her by surprise “Hi Y/N, I eh I am yeah. Thank you.” She smiled at me. A genuine one. Who know maybe Emma and me could actually become friends after our rough start last year..

When I was done unpacking I decided to go out and see if Jeremy and Owen had arrived yet. Emma came with me so I took this chance of getting to know her a bit better. I learned that she had an older brother and that she had a great connection with her parents. She loved baking and wanted to work with small kids in the future. That was gonna be something we could bond over. That’s when is saw the boys. “JER , OWEN!” I yelled all excited before running up to them and pulling the both of them into a hug. “Y/N!” they both yelled back “You actually came back!” Owen added. That’s when Charlie threw himself into the conversation. “Of course she came back Owen. She just couldn’t miss us any longer.” He said clearly teasing. i shoot charlie a look and he just sticks his tongue out to me. “Glad to see you two getting along” He then said to me and Emma before throwing his arm around Emma and giving her a quick kiss. Oof.. I was gonna have to get used to this. I’m sure I would have to see a lot more of this now Emma was in our group. It’s not that it bothered me that much, I mean I expected to see them together. It was fine. But I couldn’t stop myself from hoping they would not be stuck together like that the entire week.

Just like last year we were placed into smaller groups and during our first activity we met this new boy called Sacha. He was kind of cute and on top of that he seemed really nice. That’s when a plan started to form.. The girls were pretty sure about the fact that I liked Charlie heck i was convinced everyone could see it.. I needed a form of distraction, something to keep everyone from obsessing over how i actually felt. And that’s where Sacha came in.. What if I just started casually telling people I thought Sacha was cute I mean he had blonde hair and blue eyes I had once mentioned that was my type.. Surely that would get their minds of me and Charlie? Since Sacha was new to the group I decided to invest some time in genuinely getting to know him, making sure he felt welcome and all that. Just like the rest of the group he was into music and loved playing the guitar and had the ambition to become an actor. I couldn’t help but think this guy was gonna get along with Charlie quite well.

As if I had summoned him Charlie came up to us and sat down beside me. – actually, he couldn’t sit closer to me if he tried..- “Hey guys!” “Hi Charles” I said to him with a big smile. – I really had to stop reacting to him that way..- "Sacha and I were actually just talking about how he loves playing the guitar.” “Oh? Awesome! We should totally jam sometime!” and just like that I was sat between two boys fangirling over guitars and guitar players I had admittedly never heard of.. “Aaalright” I interrupted the two. “I’m gonna go find the girls.” I give Charlies leg a quick pat before getting up and walking off.

I find the girls outside on a bench “heellooo, what are we talking about?” I say while joining them. “boys, actually.” Savannah says with a grin on her face. “Jadah was telling us about this dude she met.” Boys? Great. Time to put my Sacha plan to action.. “ahh I wanna hear all about it Ja!” “Soo.. since we’re on the topic of boys.. What do we think about Sacha?” I ask nonchalantly. We all seem to agree on the fact that he seems nice and pretty cool. “I was just talking to him. That’s until Charlie interrupted us.. I think he’s kind of cute actually..” Madison looks at me with a suspicious face. Then Emma speaks up “ohh, You like Sacha?” “well I mean.. I’ve only just met him. But he is totally the type of guy I would usually fall for..” “Who is?” I hear Owen ask behind me. Before him and Jer join us. “Y/N likes Sacha.” Emma just happily replies. “Ohhh does sheee?” Jer says and I instantly see two boys with a teasing smirk looking at me. I had not expected it would be so easy to convince people.. Although I could tell Madi was not convinced at all, but she promised she wouldn’t say anything so it was gonna be fine.. I think.

Later that night our group was chilling by the campfire. Charlie and Sacha both had brought their guitar and were jamming away. Emma was resting her head on Charlie’s shoulder and was actually engaging in our conversations. I found myself taking in the scene and being completely fine with it. I felt happy and at peace it was only the first night and i was already wishing it would never end again. That’s when almost everyone of our group decided it was bedtime. “You coming too Y/N?” Madi asks me. I shared a quick look with Charlie before replying “Yeah, I eh, I’ll be right there.” Apparently Madi got the message loud and clear and wished us a goodnight before leaving with Sav and Jadah. Emma shared a kiss with Charlie before quickly following after the other girls. I hugged Owen, Jer and Sacha goodnight.

And then it was just me and Charlie. Suddenly I was not completely sure what to do.. so I just sat there just looking at the boy I very secretly liked. That’s when he scooted closer to me and just casually threw his arm around me before breaking the silence “I’m glad we still have our little late night moments together..” I felt myself relax at his touch and automatically just melt into him. “Yeah me too. I was actually feeling really selfish for wishing we still would have this..” I admit. “How is that selfish? We both agreed that last year the late nights were our favorite part.. Hoping that would happen again this year isn’t a bad thing Y/N.” “Yeah.. I don’t know. Now that Emma is in our group I thought she would be around a lot more and that would maybe mean the end for our late nights. But you know she’s your girlfriend so wishing for time alone with you felt wrong? You must be happy with the fact that she agreed to join our group though? ” “ yeah.. I get that.. and honestly it totally could have been that way. She can be a bit clingy and sometimes has some trust issues when it comes to me and spending time with others.. but yeah I’m happy to see she seems to be pretty chill and trusting this week. I hope she’ll open up more and really become friends with my friends you know. Would make it all a lot more fun for the both of us.“

“Well.. I guess, for us, maybe it helps that she thinks that I like Sacha.” I blurt out before even realizing it. I had become way too comfortable with telling this man everything.. “oh.. Do you?” I swear I heard a change of tone in his voice but that might have just been some diehard wishful thinking on my end.. “I.. I don’t know. I’ve only just met him Charles.” “I mean i get it, he’s a pretty cool guy. He’d be lucky to have you Nugget.” “Oh stop it. I really am not as brilliant as you still seem to think I am. ” “Eh. YES YOU ARE Y/N. and getting more and more brilliant every day actually.” “Well, that’s all on you then. Since you’re the only thing that has been in each and everyday over the past year.” He laughs. The sound of that fills my heart with even more love for him. “I’ll gladly take that credit. I’ll make sure to tell Sacha you’re only this awesome because of me.” “Ah yes greeeeat plan Gillespie! Maybe he’ll date you then.” I laugh. “Oof imagine the great music that would come out of it! But no. He’s all yours “Y/L/N.” Charlie and me joke around like that for a while before deciding it’s time for bed. When we arrive at my door Charlie pulls me in for a tight hug. “So good to finally not have to do this virtually.. Sweet dreams Nugget.” “Sweet dreams Charles.” He holds onto me a little longer just hugging me in silence before he lets go. “goodnight” he says and with a smile walks off to his own room. That smile was one day gonna be the death of me.. good thing the owner of that smile didn’t know that..

The next morning I woke up to the sound of my roommates chatting away. “Morning sleepyhead” I hear Madison say as I open my eyes. “Morningg” I groan which makes the other girls laugh. “It got that late already huh?” Savannah says teasingly. “You guys know me.. I don’t need a lot of sleep.” “uhu. Sureeee you don’t.” Sav says again. I just sigh as a response and get myself out of bed to get ready. As I get out of our room to freshen myself up I bump into Charlie who is standing in front of our door. As I’m about to say sorry he just wraps his arms around me ‘Good morning Nugget!” every bit of feeling dead and grumpy instantly disappears . I rest my head against his chest for a good second. “Good morning, Charlie.” Realizing the fact that the other girls may soon get out of our room I wiggle out of his grip and just smile at the always happy look on his face. “I was actually about to go freshen up, I’ll see you at breakfast okay?” “You look perfectly fine to me you know. But okay, I’ll save you a spot at the table.” “Thanks, Charlie” I smile at him before making my way to the bathroom.

Once I’m done the other girls are done as well and together we make our way to breakfast, and as promised Charlie saved us all a pot at the table. Emma sat down next to him giving him a quick good morning kiss. I find my old familiar spot across from Charlie and Sacha sits down next to me. “Morning Sacha!” I greet him. I instantly feel multiple eyes on the two of us. Pretending like I’m not noticing that but happy with the fact people are apparently believing that I like him, I continue my conversation with Sacha and soon enough the others join in.

Later that day we had some sports activities. It’s a very hot and sunny day so the minute the activity was over our group made it’s way to the shadow under some trees. Charlie was the first one to fall down into the grass and I was quick to follow. I don’t know what took over me but I decided to use him as a pillow. I sat down next to him only to slowly fall back and let my head rest on his stomach. Surprisingly no questions were being asked about this and no comments we’re being made.. Emma lies down on the other side of Charlie resting her head on his chest and Owen lies down next to me , using my stomach as a pillow causing me to giggle at the tickle of his hair. Before we knew it we we’re just one big pile of people using each other as a pillow.

We just chilled like that for a second not saying much. I felt every breath Charlie took under me and I noticed that was a weirdly calming thing to me, without even trying my breathing matched his. Never had I ever felt as at peace as in this moment so i couldn’t help but feel just the tiniest bit sad when we had to get up to freshen up before dinner. There really was no denying this man had an influence on everything I did, liked and felt. There was no denying that I liked and possibly even loved this boy. I was gonna have to be careful with my actions if I wanted to make sure no one else knew about that.

Later that night Emma came up to me "Hey Y/N? Can I talk to you for a second?" I feel myself getting nervous, what could this possibly be about? "Yes of course. What’s up Emma?" I follow her towards a quiet place on the campground. ‘I..I just wanted to talk to you..’ she sounds sad. I sit down next to her putting my arm around her shoulder “Are you okay Ems?” “Honestly I don’t know. I’ve been feeling insecure and Charlie is not making it any better at the moment. “ “oh.. I’m sorry. Do you know where the insecurity is coming from?” I say hoping to kind of avoid discussing Charlie with his girlfriend. “Well. I’ve always been a bit anxious and insecure.. I’ve been bullied a lot as a kid but even at home it was always about my brother and it’s like I almost don’t exist? Don’t get me wrong you’ve all been super nice. And I know you’re all Charlies friends and he hasn’t seen you all in a year and so obviously he’s gonna be excited to hang out with all of you but I guess I just feel a bit left behind?” I had no idea about the fact that Emma had somewhat of a same life story as me. I know what being bullied can do to a person.. “Wow. I’m sorry you had to go through that Ems.. and I get that, that all makes you insecure and anxious I’ve been struggling with that as well.. But this is a safe place, you don’t have to feel insecure or left behind. You’re always welcome to hang out with us. I’m sure Charlie wouldn’t mind either.” “Yeah you say that now, last year we got into a fight over me jumping into a conversation between you and him and during the last year we’ve gotten in a few more fights that come down to the same topic of me not wanting him to do something or me wanting to come along to something he’s doing..”

I wasn’t aware of the fact that there had been more fights between them.. Apparently Charlie had not been telling me everything, not that he was obligated to do so but I just thought he did? “Oh.. I did not know that.. sorry. But can I be honest with you Emma?” “No you couldn’t have it’s okay. and yes. Actually please do. “ I take a deep breath before speaking again “ Well.. I of course have not been there for all the fights.. I know of the one of last year cause Charlie told me about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you to join us. It’s the way you did it.. If you would have just joined us everything would have been fine. But I got the feeling you we’re trying to make very sure that I knew Charlie was taken.. and that’s what he didn’t like. I think ,and you can correct me if I’m wrong, maybe you’re scared of losing Charlie? If so, don't be.. I know Charlie really loves you. I think all he wants from you is trust that he will be faithful to you and maybe some space sometimes to do his own things. But I also know for a fact that he wants to spent time with you and he wants you to spent time with his friends so you can all hang out more.. Maybe just have a good conversation with him about where you’re coming from and what you would like and / or need from eachother?”

“yeah.. You may be right there. I know I was acting horrible last year, I just really thought you were on your way to steal Charlie from me.. Sorry about that. You and Charlie both did not deserve that.. I don’t know though.. I believe that he loves me and all but if you’d ask him to name a list of things he loves most in this world I’m pretty sure things like food and music would come first and then maybe at one point he’ll be like oh yes and Emma of course.” I can’t help but smile just a little at the amount of love this boy indeed has for food and music but quickly compose myself again. “ I’m not sure Em.. Sure he loves music and food and stuff he makes that very obvious. But from things he told me I know you’re so so important to him.. Just talk to him about all of this okay? You really gotta be honest about your feelings with him..” “Yeah.. Thanks Y/N. I appreciate you listening to me and actually giving me advice on all of this.” “ yeah no worries. Any time. “ I say while giving her a smile. We fall silent for a second and I stand up holding my hand out to her “ So are you ready to get back to the others?” She nods and takes my hand. We make our way towards our group and once we get close I share a quick look with Charlie, a look that tells me he wonders if everything is okay. I just give him a reassuring smile and the smile I get in return is the end of that small silent conversation. After playing some fun and very competitive boardgames with our entire group, it in the end is just me and Charlie again.

We end up finding a quiet spot in the middle of a field and just like earlier that day he lies down in the grass and I lie down next to him with my head resting on his stomach, one of his hands now reaching up to softly play with my hair. We just lie there in silence for a while looking up at the stars admiring the beauty of it all, and in my case very much enjoying this warm and fuzzy feeling this boy was giving me right now. I feel Charlie taking a deep breath underneath me before he breaks the peaceful silence “Soo.. was everything okay? That conversation with Emma I mean..” I take a second to consider my options, should I tell him? It doesn’t feel right to hide something from him but at the same time it is not my place at all to talk about Emma’s feelings.. I decide on keeping our conversation private.. “Yeah. No eh she just needed to get a few things of her chest. Don’t worry about it. It was nice getting to know her a bit better actually. She even apologized for last year..” “She did? I’m really glad to see you two getting along.. I’m happy she found someone in you she can open up to. I sometimes feels like even I can’t be that person for her..” I sigh. “I’m sure that’s not true Charlie.. at the very least I know she wants you to be that person. And for what it’s worth.. You are that person to me..” Not my very best line when it comes to hiding how I feel but this boy needed to know it wasn’t his fault at all. I can feel him let out a small silent laugh. “For what it’s worth? Really nugget? You do know that hearing that means a lot to me right?” “Does it? I mean you’re just so easy to talk to, and you’re always so nice and understanding. I would quite literally trust you with my life, Gillespie.” “Well for what it’s worth Y/L/N, I trust you with mine as well.” I can’t help but smile at that.

“Hey Charlie, can I ask you something?” I say softly, not being mad about it if he wouldn’t hear it. but he does.. “Yeah, anything. You know that..” he says still playing around with my hair. “Why didn’t you tell me about the whole Emma coming to camp and being in our group thing? Not that you had to! I’m just curious?” He’s silent for a while.. “Charlie..?” “Honestly? I guess.. Seeing how things we’re last year, I maybe was afraid you wouldn’t come if you knew?” he says and I let out a little laugh. “It was not that bad Charles.. She just didn’t like me very much.. But that did not bother me enough to not come here.. I’ve missed all of you too much over the past year..” “I missed you too much” I barely even whisper. “Good. cause I really need you here. “ I could not deny that hearing that made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. He needed me? I reach up with my hand to grab his free hand and give it a light squeeze. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Although maybe I should be going to sleep..” as I’m about to get up and let go of his hand he grabs mine tightly and pulls me back down “Naaah-aah. You can stay here a little longer.” He says teasingly.

“You really think you’re teasing me by doing that? Gonna have to try harder than that Gillespie. “ I laugh. “Is that a dare? Cause I will. But in this case no. I’m not teasing. I Just would like us to stay up a little longer.” I lay my head back down on his stomach and he instantly finds his way back to my hair. “Fine then. I’ll stay. And yes, maybe that was a dare..” He starts to laugh as soon I said that. “What?” I ask him. “You have no clue what you’re getting yourself into Nugget. I’ll have you know that annoying someone and teasing them is actually one of my talents.” “uhhu. Right. I think you’ll soon learn that I’m not THAT easy to annoy.” “Oh it’s so on now.” “Bring it, Gillespie.” We just lay there a little while longer talking and teasing each other. My head never leaving his stomach and his hand never leaving my hair. Until Charlie notices I’m getting more and more silent.

“Really Y/N? You’re falling asleep on me? You could have just told me that I was boring you , you know. “NO THAT’S NOT…” “HA! See. Already got you there.” He laughs. “You’re the actual worst Char.. but no. I was actually just very comfortable and that made me sleepy. You make quite a good pillow you know.” “Well thank you Y/N.. I trained long and hard for that. We’re gonna have to get you to bed now though." he starts to sit up causing my head to slide towards his lap but I don’t plan on moving any time soon. When he’s fully sat up he just looks at me and my head that’s now in his lap. “Come on nugget. Time to go!” “Naaah-aah. We can stay here a little longer.” I smile up at him mimicking his words from before.

“Are you sure about that?” He leans forward a bit his face now sort of hovering above mine with a suspicious smile spread on it, and I feel a slight panic grow in me. What is he doing? What is he thinking? When I don’t move but also don’t say a word he continues. “Well alright then..” and that’s when he starts to tickle me making me laugh uncontrollably and as soon as I get the chance it roll away from him. “Fine. You win, we’ll go to bed” I say while getting up, offering him my hand to help him up as well. He takes it and I pull him up. “Good decision nugget. Good decision” he says teasingly and I playfully hit his arm “Oh shut up Charles..” when I’m in bed my brain is racing. What was happening between me and Charlie? I mean we were just friends obviously.. but I couldn’t deny that we were in someway getting a whole lot closer? And why did it feel like I was in the middle of the relationship between Emma and Charlie? I was gonna have to figure out a way to get out of that position.. and I was gonna have to try a whole lot harder when it comes to hiding my feelings for Charlie as well. I basically told him he’s my person and I like laying on top of him? COULD I BE ANYMORE OBVIOUS? My mind keeps running like that for a while before I get, 3 hours of sleep at most.

The next morning I am the last to join everyone at the breakfast table, somewhat surprised to see my spot across from Charlie is saved for me. “Good morning” I greet everyone feeling more dead than alive. A bunch of happy and cheerful good mornings are being thrown my way while I sit down. I can hear everyone talking but what they’re saying isn’t even really getting through to me that’s how tired I am. At this point I’m just staring in the distance trying to stay awake. That is until I literally get slapped back to reality by Charlie. I just look at him, mouth wide open in pure shock. Not that it was hard or painful but I never expected him to do that.. “WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” He just laughs, which normally would make me feel all better but in this case made me more annoyed which apparently was showing cause the laughing stopped. “So you are alive! Had to make sure since we were talking to you and you were not responding to a single word we said. ” “I’m Sorry..” he adds after noticing the fact my facial expression has not changed one bit. I relax my face even though I’m still shocked by the fact that he did that. “It’s okay. Sorry guys I just really have not slept the best last night.. But I’m here now, what we’re we talking about?” Glad no one asks me about why I had a bad night we just fall right back into the conversation they we’re having beforehand.

The rest of the day was, lucky for me, pretty easy-going we were just chilling in the sun and Charlie and Sacha had both gotten their guitars out and we were all singing songs together. I could not stop myself from thinking that the whole guitar playing thing somehow made Charlie even more attractive. Sacha wasn’t bad either though.. maybe I just had a thing for guitar players? That’s until out singing gets interupted by Charlie’s phone ringing, he gets up and walks away from us before picking up. When he gets back though I can tell something is wrong.. my thoughts being confirmed by Charlie who picks up his guitar and gives us a quick “excuse me for a sec..” before storming off..

Continue reading in Part 5 :)

[seokmingiggles]

what kind of future.

Anon requested on 201221: "Would you do a Hoseok one shot of his significant other's 4 year old nephew crashing their bed during the night he sleeps over because of a nightmare and Hoseok is super soft with the reader about this being their future?"

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x gender neutral reader

Genre: very fluffy, established relationship.

2.84k words

Warnings: mentions of a (toddler's) nightmare (aka no warnings).

You and your boyfriend are in charge of looking after your brother's son overnight, and the act makes him consider how he'd like to spend the rest of his life with you. Alternatively, there are many things you admire about Hoseok—one being the tender way he does so well with kids, and one not being the way he seems to possess zero Mario Kart skills.

A/N: Here is the second babysitting-themed request I got. Thank you, anon, for requesting Hobi! I have so much adoration for this beautiful boy ;-; Additionally, this fic is not to be confused with Lee Jihoon's heartbreakingly beautiful ballad of the same title. I definitely recommend listening to it if you haven’t already; it’s full of incredible emotion that blows me away and brings me to tears every time I listen.

•• You were surprised when Hoseok, your boyfriend of five years, hadn't hesitated to agree when earlier today you mentioned how you're scheduled to babysit your older brother's son tonight.

You know he's good with kids. Hobi has the perfect amount of energy and positivity to get along with them; it's one of the many traits you admire about him. Even though the two of you have been dating since the beginning of your college years, you and Hoseok have never really discussed your future, including marriage and having children. Although you don't doubt he would be a good father one day.

Your brother, Seokjin, was in desperate need of a date night out with his partner and had asked if you wouldn't mind looking after Jisung for the evening until tomorrow morning. You agreed instantly. You aren't ready to have kids of your own anytime soon, but you thoroughly enjoy spending time with your nephew.

"Thanks again for this, (Y/N). I owe you one."

Your brother arrived at your apartment at precisely 5 pm like he said he would, with Jisung already running to your living room and flopping on the couch upon opening the door.

"It's no problem. Jisung's fun to hang out with, and Hoseok likes him too," you could feel your heart soar at mentioning your boyfriend. "He should be here in about an hour once he gets off work. Hopefully, I'll be able to entertain Jwi until then."

"You're better with kids than you think, don't worry too much," Jin playfully ruffles your hair before saying his farewells to his son (who is already preoccupied with your couch cushions).

You wave goodbye to your brother and encourage your nephew to do the same (although the boy is adamant about creating a pillow fort in your living room; Seokjin apparently doesn't often let him in his house).

"Do you have more pillows, Auntie? And maybe blankets too!" Your couch is already naked of cushions, with Jisung sitting on the floor surrounded by the pile he’s accumulated.

You comply with his request and manage to find some spare blankets in the linen closet, along with a couple more pillows.

You follow your nephew's orders of where to place the soft additions on the floor. "What are you planning on doing once we finish this fort, Jwi?"

The boy murmurs, "I was hoping we could play Mario Kart."

You should have expected that answer; it’s one of his favourite things to do on the few occasions he's come over.

Soon enough, your small living room houses a busy arrangement of scattered couch cushions and duvets to make a comfy fort. The four-year-old is nothing less than thrilled about the finished product.

"Auntie, I'm hungry."

You almost forget that you are babysitting, and therefore responsible for feeding the boy.

"Let's go see what food we have in the kitchen," you stand and hold out your hand, which Jisung eagerly takes as the two of you wander into the kitchen. "Has your favourite food changed? Or do you still like pancakes?"

The boy squeezes your hand as he thinks. "I still like pancakes. I also like pizza." He hums in deep consideration, "Maybe I like circle-shaped foods."

You think he's adorable.

"There are a lot of tasty circle-shaped foods, that's a good answer," your eyes scan the interior of your fridge, moving to your cupboards shortly after when you can't find what you are looking for. "I'm sorry, buddy, but it doesn't look like I have the right ingredients for pancakes tonight, though."

Jisung audibly expresses his disappointment.

"Here, let me see if I can call Hobi. Maybe he hasn't left work yet and could kindly pick up some mix on his way." You trek back to the living room to retrieve your phone and find Hoseok's contact.

The line rings once, twice, and a few more times until it goes to voicemail.

It’s unlike Hoseok to not answer his phone, so you try once more.

"Auntie! There's someone at the door."

You must have missed the knocking as you focussed on the dial tone.

Hoseok finally picks up on the line as you make your way to answer the door.

"Special delivery," you hear through the phone and in front of you as you open the door.

You break out into a smile, which only becomes wider as you spot a couple of pizza boxes Hoseok carefully holds with one hand, his other one keeping his phone to his ear.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" You help him with the boxes as you usher him inside your apartment. "Because you always seem to know what I'm going to ask you before I even say anything."

"It's just one of my superpowers, don't you know I can read your mind, (Y/N)-ie?" He makes some silly sound effects as he displays how he can 'read your mind.'

"Pizza!" Jisung calls out upon seeing the cardboard boxes on the counter. "Oh, hi, Hobi!"

"Yeah, you better say hi to me," your boyfriend sweeps your nephew up in a hug and lightly spins around with him. "I'm not just your pizza boy; I'm your favourite uncle too, right?"

Jisung laughs as they spin. "I think you're my only uncle, Hobi."

"Exactly. So I must be your favourite by default then, hm?"

"Ah, stop teasing and go wash your hands. Both of you!"

"Yes, Auntie," both Jisung and Hoseok say, the latter mostly to keep teasing you despite your request.

Dinner is louder than what you are used to. The times where you would eat alone when Hoseok would be working late or simply not over seem like a distant memory as you’re sat between the two boys at the small table, seemingly alternating between bites of pizza and bubbly laughter. Jisung had asked if you all could eat in the living room fort, but you could already picture the tomato sauce stains and spilled crumbs decorating your furniture, so you denied his request and were met with a pout in return. But his pout didn't last for very long once he took a bite of the cheese-adorned food.

Seeing how Hoseok gets along so well with your nephew does something to your heartstrings; how he would listen to Jisung with the utmost attention and not hesitate to give the most perfect response in return. Your boyfriend is clearly gifted with children; you can't contain the smile on your face as you listen to him discuss something about dinosaurs with the toddler.

"I want to be Bowser when we play Mario Kart, Auntie," the boy tugs on your sleeve to pull you from your thoughts. "He's a dinosaur, right, Uncle?"

"Actually, I think he's a turtle," Hoseok considers, "but he does look kind of like a dinosaur, doesn't he?"

Jisung agrees without a second thought, now practically vibrating in his seat from the excitement and anticipation of playing the game. It helps that his tummy is now full of pizza, courtesy of your amazing boyfriend.

It isn't yet 7 o'clock, so you figure the three of you could play for a bit before your nephew has to go to bed. With fingers free from pizza grease, you all pick up the small switch controllers and choose your characters for the Kart racing game. Jisung chooses Bowser like he said he would, while Hoseok opts for Yoshi, and you with a Shy Guy in your favourite colour.

You are aware that Seokjin also has this game at his house—your brother was ecstatic when he learned his son also likes to play video games—but you couldn't have expected Jisung to be that well-practiced for a four-year-old. You knew you could beat Hobi at the game, you have many times before, and this evening was no different, but your nephew is unexpectedly your biggest competition.

An hour and a half quickly passes by with the sounds of competitive shouts and the in-game noises of Hoseok's character falling off the map too many times to count. You love Hobi, but certainly not for his Mario Kart skills. Sure enough, it is time to get Jisung ready for bed. You collect the overnight bag your brother left at the door, moving to the bathroom to help the boy get changed into his pyjamas and brush his teeth (in the other room, you hear Hoseok start another race so he could practice by himself).

After only minimal fussing, you manage to get Jisung tucked in the bed residing in the small room doubling as your office and a guest bedroom. Even though it’s only a twin-sized bed, the boy has plenty of room to be comfortable during the night.

"You know where to find us if you need anything, okay, Jwi?" You are now by the door saying your final goodnights to your nephew with Hoseok beside you after shutting the game off. "I'll also leave a nightlight in the hallway so it won't be completely dark."

"Thank you, Auntie (Y/N), goodnight. Goodnight, Hobi." Jisung waves at the two of you after yawning with a wide mouth.

You and your boyfriend wish a final goodnight before you close the door until it is only slightly propped open.

Hoseok takes your hand as you leave the short hallway and find yourselves back in the living room. You are finally pulled into a warm hug.

"Should we clean this up tonight?" Hobi whispers into your hair as he embraces you.

You relax in his hold, also keeping your voice low when you say, "No, Jwi will probably want to sit in his fort again tomorrow morning before Jin picks him up."

You feel a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

"Okay," Hoseok begins playing with the ends of your hair. "Why am I so tired too? It's only 8:30."

"There's nothing wrong with going to bed early." You turn your head so you can see Hobi's pretty face, "Who knows what time that kid will wake us up in the morning. Jin said he's still an early riser."

That is all the motivation Hoseok needs to take your hand once more and lead you to the bathroom so you could also get ready to go to sleep.

"Hey, Hoseok?" you whisper in the darkened room, feeling for his hand beneath the covers.

"Yeah?" he hums back.

"How did you get to be so good with children?"

There is silence as your boyfriend thinks, then claims, "It's funny that you say that because I don't think I'm particularly good with kids." He stops once more, thumbing the back of your hand. "All I do is make sure I listen to them properly and treat them well. I don't think it's anything special."

You move closer to Hoseok, finding a safe place in his side. "I think it's special. I've seen you before with other kids too, not just with Jisung, and it's the same thing. They just seem to like you." You run your fingers upwards on his arm until you reach the side of his face. "You're very likeable, Hobi."

With your thumb grazing over Hoseok's cheek, you lean in to give him a kiss against his soft lips. He tastes of peppermint from your toothpaste but smells familiar, like home.

"You're very lovable, (Y/N)," he replies, mirroring a hand on the back of your head. Although you can't see his face in the darkness, you can hear the smile in his voice. "I love you."

"I love you too."

You and Hoseok unexpectedly succeed at falling asleep at around 9 pm. Yet, you aren't sure for how long you manage to sleep as you are awoken by Jisung, who has appeared on your side of the bed.

"Auntie?"

Jisung's voice is quiet. He feels bad for waking you up, but he keeps your sentiment in his mind about coming to you if he needs anything during the night.

Hoseok is the first to wake at the sound of sniffles. He reaches over to turn on the dim table lamp, only to find the toddler with tear-stained cheeks and tightly clutching his favourite stuffed whale plushie.

You stir from the sudden introduction of light and sit up, becoming immediately concerned at Jisung next to you.

"Hey, come here," you coo, helping the boy get situated between you and your boyfriend in your bed. "What's wrong, Jwi?"

The boy sniffles a few more times before saying, "I h-had a bad dream."

Hoseok had already moved around him, now taking a tissue to help dry his face before rubbing soothing circles on his back. Jisung moves to sit slightly closer to Hobi, leaning into his touch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" your boyfriend asks, his voice is nothing but gentle.

Jisung nods, "There were monsters. Big monsters with spikes. They looked scary." He squeezes the plush whale, "They were chasing me, but I wasn't fast enough."

Hoseok nods as he listens carefully, gently swaying as he rocks the boy to calm him down.

"Would you feel safer if you stayed here?" you offer. "I promise you no monsters can get in this room."

Jisung accepts with a quiet "Please," and begins to settle beneath the covers.

It doesn't take much for the toddler to relax; Hoseok is humming some tune barely audible to you as you stroke the top of his head softly.

Hobi becomes silent when the sound of Jisung's breathing steadies out, and his grip on the whale loosens.

Despite your tiredness from your interrupted sleep, you remain in that position watching your nephew as his chest rises and falls. His small nostrils on his round nose flaring every once in a while.

And as you watch the boy, Hoseok watches you.

He admires your beauty—an obvious quality, but something to admire nonetheless—and the way your touches are so delicate. You have expressed your doubts about being good with children in the past, but all Hoseok can see now is how caring you are as you make sure Jisung is properly asleep and feeling better.

"Hey, (Y/N)?" Hoseok whispers, "What kind of future do you think we'll have?"

You direct your gaze to your boyfriend and nearly melt at the way he is looking at you so fondly.

"What kind of future do you think we'll have?" you smile and repeat the question to him, suspecting that he already has an answer.

Hobi beams. "I can picture us in a similar situation down the road, except maybe it's our own child between us." He carefully fixes the blanket ever-so-slightly so that Jisung is fully covered. "I can picture us in our own house one day after we're married. It'll have a nice kitchen with plenty of room for slow dances at midnight and a big bathtub in the ensuite that I know you'll use plenty." He gently tucks some hair behind the toddler's ear. "I can picture us growing old together." His gaze once again meets yours. "That's the kind of future I want to have. Anything is optional, except for you. You're the only requirement I ask for, my love."

You want to squish into Hoseok's embrace once more, but you refrain yourself from moving at the dispense of Jisung's newfound peace.

Instead, you whisper back with glassy eyes, "The only kind of future I want is with you, Hobi."

Your boyfriend glows at your words and warms your heart with his dimple-clad smile.

Down the road, you would, in fact, end up engaged to Hoseok one day, and soon after to be married as well. Your house wouldn't have a bathtub in the ensuite, but the kitchen would have plenty of room, and your husband would ensure that he twirls you around like the royalty he sees you as.

One day, you would find yourself with a daughter of your own and catching Hoseok brushing her hair as she gets ready for her first day of kindergarten. She would be so happy with the little ribbon he tied in her hair and would run to your arms to show you.

One day, you would find yourself going grey with Hoseok still next to you; the same Hoseok who would kiss you silly to wake you up on the morning of your birthday, the same Hoseok who would insist on paying for your dinner every time he'd request a date night.

The same Hoseok who would tell you "I love you" in the most gentle tone of voice, never failing to make your heart soar at his words.

One day.

But now, you remain here, in your small apartment with no ensuite nor a large kitchen. You're here, laying next to your beautiful boyfriend with your nephew between your bodies. Both boys are fast asleep, yet you remain awake and thinking about what kind of future you'll have.

What kind of future will you have?

You're open to anything as long as it contains Hoseok.

Yes, one day. ••

[incorrect-julie-and-the-phantoms]

Jealous Luke+famous Julie (they’re both together now)

Hi there! Thank you so much for the prompt. I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope that this is what you meant when you sent the ask. You can read the fic under the cut or you can click on the link here to read it on AO3. Enjoy!

Green Eyes and Fame

Pairings:  Luke/Julie, Alex/Willie

Tags: Fluff, angst, jealousy, miscommunication

Five years since the band first made a splash, Julie and the Phantoms was one of the most popular bands in America. As the lead singer of the band Julie was the most well known and, thanks to her sweet disposition and how she went out of her way for her fans, everyone adored her. People just liked her, romantically as well as platonically. As her boyfriend of three years though, Luke kind of wished people would stop flirting with her in front of him.

Also known as the five times Luke was jealous because of people flirting with Julie, and one time he realized there was never a need to be. 

1 - The Number 1 Fan

Luke was really glad in moments like these that the band wasn’t required to do meet and greets. He loved playing for people and he loved meeting people who were genuinely touched by his music, but after performing for two hours in the hot stage lights for the third time that week, he was pretty wiped out. 

Management did require Julie to do these meet and greets once a week after a show though, what with being the lead singer and the name brand. Despite how she was just as physically drained as he was under the surface, and despite being at this for over two hours, Julie still greeted each fan with unending enthusiasm and her signature toothy smile. 

He was meant to be there to keep her company, but found himself staring at her in fond amusement as she started admiring the little girl wearing Julie and the Phantoms keds. “My daddy got them for my birthday last week!” The girl beamed at her dad who was standing slightly to the side so his daughter could have her moment. 

“They look super cool,” Julie said in an impressed tone, “and happy belated birthday.” 

“Can you sign them?” The girl bounced up and down in excitement. “Please, please, please, please please-”

“Easy there,” Julie laughed, “I can't sign them with you jumping around like that.” 

The little girl looked like she was gonna pass out from happiness as she hurried to pull off the sneakers. “Thank you Julie!”

A minute later, the little girl was sporting some autographed keds and a picture of her and her icon on her dad's phone. The man politely shook Julie’s hand before leading his daughter out of the room. 

“I love you Julie!” The girl shouted behind her as she walked out.

“That girl was so adorable,” Julie gushed once she was gone. 

“You think every little kid is adorable,” Luke reminded her. 

“That’s because they are.”

Luke laughed good-naturedly at his girlfriend’s defensiveness over literally every child on the planet. She wasn’t wrong, kids were adorable. Especially when they were bouncing around in excitement over meeting their idol. Luke had helped her babysit her brother when they were in high school though, so he knew exactly how much of a pest they could be. 

Luke pulled out his phone to scroll through Instagram as the next fan in the line up walked into the room. Luke only glanced at her briefly to see it was an older girl, probably around their age. He liked a picture of Alex, Flynn, and Reggie at an after-party and kept scrolling. 

“Hey there,” Julie smiled at the girl as she approached, “what’s your name?” She held out her hand which the other girl took for a handshake. 

“Lucille, but you can call me Lucy” the girl replied in a tone that sounded a little flirtatious. Luke raised an eyebrow and looked up, certain he had imagined it. He noted that the girl was holding the handshake just a little too long.

Julie just smiled back unaware, “nice to meet you Lucy. Did you enjoy the show?”

“I could watch you perform all day,” Lucy smiled back widely. Luke barely stopped his frown, definitely flirting. 

As subtle as he could, which wasn’t very, Luke began to take her in fully for the first time. She was kind of pretty, tall with dark skin and almond eyes, hair pulled into a ponytail that showed off the buzzed underneath. Her nose was pierced and she was sporting a pair of cuffed jeans. 

“I’ll take that to mean a yes,” Julie laughed warmly. “Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. And that you found the time to come for the meet and greet. You got a camera for the picture?”

Lucy pulled out a handheld camera and handed it to the photographer. “I was actually hoping we could do a pose?”

“Sure,” Julie smiled, “whatcha have in mind?”

“It involves your friend, if he doesn’t mind.” Lucy gestured over to Luke who startled in surprise at being addressed. 

Julie looked over uncertainly. “I’m not sure-“

“I’m happy to join in,” Luke interrupted her. Anything to get between those flirty eyes and his very hot girlfriend. 

Lucy smiled widely, “awesome! My idea was to have the hot guy look all jealous while I pretend to propose.”

Luke struggled to not glare at the girl. Choosing to keep an easy smile on his face and laugh. “Well I feel like anybody would be jealous of the person with Julie.”

He walked over to stand in front of the two while Lucy dropped to one knee. The jealous glare on his face was a little too easy for him to make as his girlfriend pretended to gasp in excitement. The camera flash finally went off and Julie hugged the girl goodbye. “It was nice to meet you,” she said brightly. 

Lucy smiled back and handed her a piece of paper. “my number, in case you miss me.” At that she turned around strutted out of the room. 

Once she was gone Julie turned to Luke, holding the paper between her thumb and pointer. “She was so sweet, it was nice of her to ask to hang out.”

Luke raised an eyebrow, “babe, you know she was flirting with you right?”

Julie’s eyes widened, obviously unaware of the fact. “Oh! I had no idea.” 

Luke laughed. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice. Babe she proposed to you.”

“Shut up,” Julie blushed in embarrassment, “I can’t believe she didn’t recognize you as my boyfriend.”

“Trust me, she probably barely even noticed me there,” Luke kept the possessiveness out of his tone as he said it. Instead he batted his eyelashes and made a dramatic kissy face. “Oh, Julie,” he tried to mimic Lucy’s flirty tone, “I could watch you perform all day.”

Julie groaned and playfully shoved his shoulder. “I hate you so much.” 

Once she turned to face the next person, Luke took the piece of paper with Lucy’s number on it to throw away. Feigning surprise when Julie told him she lost it with a confused look on her face.

2 - The Cute Barista

A couple weeks after the incident, the two were visiting their hometown for Julie’s father’s birthday. Before making their way to the house Julie dragged Luke to a hole in the wall cafe for breakfast.

“I don’t remember this being here in high school,” Luke mused.

“It’s new. I heard about it from an uh… Friend?” Julie’s smile was a little bit too innocent. Luke mentally prepared himself for whatever mischief she had planned, letting her lead him into the cafe. He was greeted with the intoxicating aroma of roasted coffee grounds and cinnamon pastries blended together and the din of people laughing, enjoying their drinks. 

Luke went to the counter to place his order while Julie left to find a booth for them to sit in. He made a double-take as he recognized the barista.

“No way, Carrie?” 

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him, mouth spreading into a wide smile. “No way.”

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I got the job for the summer while I’m not in school. If I had known they really let just anybody walk in here I wouldn’t have taken the job though,” Carrie teased him.

Luke laughed. “I remember Julie’s creative manager saying something similar when I signed on to be her guitarist.”

Carrie swatted his arm over the counter. “Shut up, we both know it wouldn’t be the Phantoms without you.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t nearly fistfight the manager when we first met. Anyways, how’s school?”

The other girl rolled her head to the side, a soft crack emitting as she cracked her neck. “Honestly? Amazing. I’m so glad I just decided to stick with the dancing side of performance, the whole singing and ‘dirty candy’ thing was kind of just cause I thought it was cool.”

“You’re cool though,” Luke insisted, “and I know that Julie is just waiting for you to graduate so she can snag you as a background dancer. She really misses you.” He paused for a moment. “Thinking about it now that’s probably why she dragged me here.”

Carrie blushed at the compliment and waved him off. “She knows that I want to make it on my own first, not ride on my friend’s coattails.” Still slightly pink, she gestured to nothing in particular, “what can I get for you in the meantime?” 

Luke rattled off his order which she deftly took down. She then began to make his drinks and put his pastries in the oven simultaneously. Luke listened politely to her chatter about her different classes at CalArts as she worked, only interrupting to ask questions when she started talking in technical terms that he had no clue about.

If somebody had told Luke in high school that one day he would be having a conversation like this with Carrie of all people he would have said they were crazy. The girl had been a constant negative towards Julie up until their junior year, always trying to belittle her or one-up her with her own band. 

One day though, Julie had decided she was through with being passively polite to Carrie as Flynn defended her. So, Julie made Luke drive her to Carrie's house in the middle of the night to verbally berate her to submission and hopefully get Carrie to back off.

The conversation had taken a different turn though. 

It turned out Carrie was mad at Julie because Julie had completely shut her out when her mom died at the end of eighth grade and started ignoring her for Flynn. Then, when Julie started to be better and more like herself, she had ruined Carrie’s big premiere performance that she had spent months working on by showing her up with a last-minute song. 

That hadn’t excused her being a bully, but after a lot of crying and apologizing on both ends, the girls were soon best friends again, this time with Flynn. 

When Flynn and Carrie had first spoken to each other after the argument with Julie, they had gotten on like a house on fire. Reggie, Alex, and Luke had been equally surprised that they were able to get along at all after three years of fighting and horrified of what the two of them accomplished when they worked as a team to roast them. 

It had been even more surprising when Reggie and Luke caught the two of them in a janitor’s closet at school, but that was a story for another time.

Despite constantly teasing him, she had turned out to be surprisingly cool without her ‘mean girl’ persona. She loudly called out people who were homophobic to Alex and verbally eviscerated people who made fun of Reggie. After she turned Dirty Candy from a pop group to a dancing group, she had let Alex join and would hang out with him until late teaching him. She also helped tutor Reggie in math when his ADHD had made it hard for him to focus, patiently explaining quadratics and Algebra.

In Luke’s eyes, anybody who was good to his friends was good to him. So, naturally, Carrie grew on him quickly. 

As she finished making his drinks, Luke looked around the cafe for Julie. Despite how small it was, there was a surprising amount of people there, filling the atmosphere with laughter and idle chit chat. He kind of wish it had existed while they were in high school, it would have been a great place to hang out.

He finally found her sitting in a booth by the window, freezing once he noticed that she wasn’t alone. There was a guy there wearing a barista uniform, admittedly handsome, who was braced on the edge of the table in a way that was obviously meant to show off his arms. His pose was suggestive, leaning slightly towards Jullie.

As Julie laughed at something the man said, a familiar curl of jealousy wrapped around Luke’s gut. He glared down the man’s head, wondering if it was possible to kill somebody from this distance with his mind.

“Easy there,” Carrie interrupted his thoughts. Luke startled and turned back to face her, surprised to see she had finished making his order without him noticing. “What’s got you so angry?”

“Nothing,” Luke mumbled unconvincingly. Carrie looked over in the direction he had been staring in and smiled in a way that Luke meant trouble. 

“Wow,” she said in feigned surprise, “I didn’t know that Jesús and Julie knew each other.”

“Jesús?” Luke asked. He knew he was being obvious but he had always been bad at subtlety.

Carrie’s smile was predatory, knowing she had caught him. Her face smoothed out innocently and waved her hand dismissively. “He’s nobody, just a new hire. His family recently immigrated from Spain so he’s still got the accent, has a habit of making nearly every girl here, and quite a few guys, swoon.”

Luke clenched his jaw and glared across the room at the man again. Turning back around, he paid for his food and slipped an extra hundred dollar bill into her tip jar. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice until they were gone. 

Right before walking away though, he turned back to Carrie. “Hey I might need your help later, Ray is going to give me…” Luke trailed off, eyes flicking back to his girlfriend, “a family heirloom. He told me about a shop to get it altered but I don’t want to go alone.”

Carrie’s eyes widened in understanding. “Are you-?” Luke nodded, smiling bashfully. The girl beamed, “you bet your ass I want to go with you.”

“Thanks Carrie,” he smiled at his friend as he grabbed the drinks and pastries, “it was nice to see you.”

Carrie grinned widely. “You too man, pick me up tomorrow. I’ll come up with some excuse so Julie isn’t suspicious.” After she finished speaking she turned to the next customer in line to take their order.

Forcing the glare off his face into an easy grin, Luke made his way over to his girlfriend. 

“Hey babe,” he said a little too loudly, startling the other man. Luke felt a curl of dark satisfaction as Jesús jumped a little in surprise. “I got one large black coffee with cinnamon for you, you sadistic weirdo, two lemon blueberry scones, and a salted caramel iced mocha, for me of course.”

Julie rolled her eyes as she took the coffee from the tray, “liking black coffee isn’t weird you know.”

“Plain black coffee is something that only people who hate themselves, are on a diet, or psychopaths enjoy.”

“It’s not plain,” Julie reminded him, “it has cinnamon.”

“The only reason I haven’t called a psych consult and you know it.”

Julie laughed and took a sip of the coffee, “you never know. I could be a psychopath.”

“Or a high functioning sociopath, if you do your research.” Luke grinned as Julie laughed at the reference. He loved watching her when she laughed, leaning back in a way that showed off the endearing gap in her two front teeth as her entire body shook with the force of her laughter. On rare occasions she would even snort, if the joke was funny enough.

Luke slid into the booth next to her and linked their fingers together while she laughed. Once she stopped laughing she gestured towards Jesús with the hand still holding the coffee. 

“Luke this is Jesús. Jesús, this is my boyfriend Luke.”

Luke felt warm all over, being introduced as Julie’s boyfriend. Even after dating for three years it still made him happy. “Nice to meet you man.” He held out the hand not entwined with Julie’s for a handshake.

“Likewise,” the man responded. Luke felt a flash of surprise at the lack of accent.

“Jesús and his sister were adopted by...” Julie trailed off, eyebrows furrowed as she did some math in her head.

“Your mom’s second cousin,” Jesús finished her sentence. “moved down here from San Francisco. I’m starting at Caltech once the summer’s over.”

“That’s neat.” Luke tried to not be embarrassed over being jealous and thinking Julie was flirting with family. “Whatcha studying?”

“Double major in mechanical and electrical engineering,” he said proudly.

“Jesús was just telling me he wanted to be a robot engineer so he could build Norm from Phineas and Ferb,” Julie said as she took a sip of her coffee.

Jesús grinned. “You laugh, but that man shaped my childhood.” Carrie shouted for Jesús as a crowd of teenagers walked in, loudly messing around and joking. He grimaced, “looks like Carrie needs some backup. It was nice to meet you though Julie, and you Luke.”

“See you at the party later!” Julie called after him as he walked away. 

“I didn’t know you had other family in LA,” Luke mused. He took a sip of the mocha, pleasantly surprised at how great of a job Carrie had done on it. 

“Neither did I,” Julie confessed, “when my aunt heard I was in town she told me about him though and said to keep a lookout.”

“Is that why we came here?” Luke asked, snagging a bite of his scone.

“Nah, I just heard Carrie was here and wanted to see the horror on your face once you realized I brought you here for a dark roast and a Carrie roast.”

He choked on his scone. “That was a horrible pun, and a horrible thing to do.”

“Pun still made you laugh though,” Julie said with a smug smile.

Luke glared at her for a minute before turning back to his scone, sulking. “Just shut up and eat so we can go to your dad’s house.” 

He tried his best to stay annoyed with her. When she leaned over and kissed his temple in apology though, his resolve shattered and he couldn’t help the pleased grin that spread across his face. Wow am I whipped, he thought to himself, but for the life of him he couldn’t find any problem with that fact.

3 - The ‘Nice Guy’

A month later, Luke had to miss a scheduled practice session with the band for the first time ever. 

The only reason he was missing in the first place was because of Bobby. The man had finally gotten back to him about a favor he needed, saying he was happy to help. However apparently there was only one opening at his recording studio for the next six months, something about the starlet booked being sent back to rehab? Six months was too long for Luke to wait though, and he was already in NYC. So, he told Bobby he would be there.

He knew that, even without telling them his reason, the band would all be fine with him missing. But even with Julie insisting that it was completely fine, Luke still felt like a horrible person that they would have to cancel practice because of him. 

The guilt gnawed on his chest until Reggie and Alex told him they were still going to practice as scheduled. Apparently, they had asked one of the backup guitarists to cover for him. Some guy named Billy?

“If you ask me,” Alex confessed to Luke while they were telling him, “I only asked him cause the dude really needs the practice. He’s literally paid to know all the songs in case you need time off and to play back up. But at the last concert, he was right next to me, and the dude couldn’t even keep up with ‘Bright,’ for longer than a couple seconds. The rest of the songs ” 

Luke raised an eyebrow, “that song is like, four chords. If he can’t do it then why did management hire him?”

“Do we all have backups for our time off?” Reggie piped up.

“Yeah, mine is some named Owen, seems pretty nice. I’m surprised you guys didn’t know about yours. Jeremy is a pretty funny guy, way more level headed than you.”

“You sayin I’m not level headed?” Reggie said defensively.

“I met Jeremy,” Luke said in surprise. “I’ve seen him around everywhere but I didn’t know he was the backup bassist. Did you know he does voice acting?”

“My backup does voice acting?” Reggie flipped from defensive to excited in a moment.

“Anyways,” Alex got them back on topic, “Billy’s only your backup because his dad is the head of Covington Entertainment. Dude could ruin us if we don’t let his son have the job.”

“On that note, I will be sucking up to him,” Reggie said nervously, “quite a bit.”

After that Luke had felt a little bit better about skipping. He left for the studio a couple minutes later, after saying goodbye to Julie of course.

Bobby himself was the one who sat in the recording booth for Luke’s session. “You think I would let just any old person produce your music? You’re family, and family looks after each other.” 

The whole thing didn’t last more than half an hour. It had been fun at first, messing with the different equipment and such that was usually off-limits. Without the band though, and he found it a little bit boring after a while. At the very least, this was a confirmation that a solo career was not for him. After Bobby called it a night he promised he would send over the demo once he was done editing it.

Luke thanked him a hundred times before running off to his car. Based on his watch, there was still an hour left to rehearsal. If he was careful and took the highway he could get there on time for a least a solid forty-five minutes of practice.

There was no music coming out of the studio as he arrived, probably meaning the band was taking a break. He was passing by the bathroom when there was the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Luke was going to keep walking until he heard something that caught his attention.

“-think I might actually have a chance with Julie, man.” Luke froze at the excited words, wondering if the person was talking about his Julie. He couldn’t hear whoever the man was talking to so he assumed it was a phone call. As quietly as he could, he inched closer to the bathroom door so he could eavesdrop. 

“I’m not crazy,” the man said defensively, “the band personally asked me to cover for their guitarist while he’s off doing god knows what. We’ve been practicing together for a couple hours now and the guys love me.” A laugh. “Alex is exactly as much of a Mary Sue as all the magazines said and Reggie is the biggest dolt on the planet though so it really wasn’t too hard.” 

Luke felt his teeth grind together. The Mary Sue thing was something that he knew bothered Alex. His friend was polite to everyone he didn’t know, even those who were rude to him, and tended to be a people pleaser. If the magazines ever had to deal with Alex when he was tired or stressed, they wouldn’t be so quick to call him a Mary Sue. 

And Reggie wasn’t dumb. Anybody who bothered to get to know Reggie figured out pretty quickly that he only needed to be told things multiple times because his ADHD affected his short term memory and made it hard to focus when people were speaking to him. And despite what people thought, Reggie was a little shy. So, being around new people made him a little nervous which made his hyperactivity worse. So random outbursts, fidgeting, or rambling made him seem ‘spazzy’ and outgoing.

Luke was about to burst in and give this guy a piece of his mind. Yell at him about how Alex was actually a grumpy dumbass and Reggie was not a dolt, but stopped himself once the guy spoke again. 

“I know that doesn’t mean Julie likes me. I’m not stupid. I know Julie likes me cause she keeps watching me while she sings and stuff. The chemistry is practically tangible dude. Trust me when I say that she wants a piece of Billy.” 

Jealousy began to pool in Luke’s gut. Usually Julie sang to him, not whoever this wannabe was. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time Julie and him got so into a song that she kissed him at the end? When was the last time they went on a date? When was the last time they even kissed period?

She literally kissed you before you left for the recording studio idiot, his brain reminded him.

The voice was silent as the guy listened to whatever the person on the other end of the line said. He made an offended noise. “It’s not weird to talk in third person, it shows confidence. And why would I make up practicing with the Phantoms?” So this was the Billy Alex told him about, interesting. 

There was another beat of silence, longer this time. “I’m not being delusional, you and I both know I would be amazing for her. I’m only here because her crappy boyfriend bailed on the band and I was man enough to step up and help. Once Julie stops being a stupid bitch and realizes I’m an actually nice guy- ” 

Luke felt the jealousy and possessiveness burn into anger, slamming the bathroom door open before the guy could finish his sentence. As he took in the guy he noted that, other than being tall, he was kind of unimpressive. Especially when he looked like he was about to shit his pants at the sight of Luke.

“Hey Billy,” Luke said icily, “I’m the shitty boyfriend, nice to meet you.”

Billy blanched. “I can explain-”

“I heard enough,” Luke practically growled, cutting the guy off. “I can understand saying that Julie is amazing since it is super obvious to literally even the stupidest people. I can understand wanting to treat her right. Hell, I can even forgive you thinking that I’m the biggest piece of garbage ever.”

As Luke spoke he stalked closer to the man in front of him, watching as Billy stepped back nervously to avoid him. He kept walking forward, herding the man until his back was pressed against the wall. He stepped closer still, until he was practically in the man’s face. Despite being nearly a head taller, Billy still cowered like Luke was twice his size.

“Do you know one thing I will not tolerate though?” Luke asked as he plucked the phone from Billy’s hand and hung up on the man on the other end of the line.

“N-no?” The man squeaked.

“I will not tolerate anybody calling my girlfriend, or any girl for that matter, ‘a stupid bitch’ just because she doesn’t want to get with them. And I certainly won’t tolerate you making fun of my best friends.” Luke’s voice sounded dangerous to his own voice, despite being at a quiet, even tone. “You feel me, nice guy?”

 “I’m sorry man, I wasn’t thinking.”

“You’re right,” Luke agreed, “you weren’t thinking, and I’m not even slightly finished with your dumb ass.” He stepped back just an inch, crossing his arms to prevent himself from throttling the guy in front of him. There was a nagging voice that sounded suspiciously like Alex in the back of his head telling him that this was a bad idea.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything cause I’m not one to rain on your parade, but you really pissed me off. First of all, since you are apparently unaware, it’s literally your job to cover for me when I can’t be there. There was no ‘being man enough’ idiot when it’s in your job description.”

“It’s not my job to go to practice, the team asked me personally-” Billy protested.

“That brings me to the ‘second of all.’ The guys only ‘personally’ asked you to practice cause you can’t even play the most basic songs, and rather than letting you embarrass yourself, they were trying to be nice and help you. Cause unlike you, they are actually nice guys. And what you,” Luke jabbed his finger into his sternum, “did to thank them is turn around and talk bad about him to your friend the second they were gone.” 

I didn’t mean any of it man. It just slipped out on accident.” Billy looked like he was about to cry, which was not a good look on him. The only reason Luke didn’t feel bad is that Billy looked like a petulant child who was only upset at being caught doing the bad thing and not remorseful because he did it in the first place. 

Taking a deep breath, Luke stepped back from Billy before doing something stupid, like punching the son of the guy who owned Luke’s career. He stared up at the sky, tapping his chin as he pretended to think. “Say, I just had a great idea. Wanna hear it?” 

Terrified, Billy nodded.

“Since I’m such a nice guy, I’m gonna do you a favor.” Luke practically growled at the man “Since your not thinking led to you ‘accidentally’ trying to degrade my girlfriend and talking smack about my friends, I’ll do your thinking for you for the rest of the night. Just so you don’t slip up again, understand?” 

Billy opened his mouth to reply. However, even though he phrased it as a question, Luke didn’t actually care about his answer. So, he just kept talking before the man could speak.

“So, I’m thinking that, since you just feel so bad about all of this, that once we walk out of this bathroom we pretend we never had this conversation okay? But when we go back to the studio you are going to be unbelievably polite and nice to Reggie and Alex. Then you are going to work your hardest for the rest of practice until you have a basic grasp of every song. Then you are going to leave.”

“Can I at least talk to Julie?” Billy asked hopefully.

A wave of anger rose up in Luke. “You aren’t gonna speak to her unless she speaks to you.” Billy sagged in disappointment, nodding to show his agreement. 

Satisfied, Luke backed up so that he was no longer cornering the taller boy to the wall. He felt Billy’s eyes on his back as he turned on his heel, marching out of the bathroom. 

As he opened the door to the studio, Julie, Alex, and Reggie were sitting in the center laughing about something. The three of them looked up at the sound of the door, eyes widening in surprise. 

“Didn’t expect to see you here man!” Alex smiled at him.

“Dude, do you know how weird it is to practice without you? I felt like I was in the twilight zone.” Reggie laughed at his own joke.

Julie walked over and placed a kiss on his cheek, rolling her eyes at Reggie’s joke. “Billy’s in the bathroom but he should be back any minute so you can meet him. He’s a nice guy, you’ll like him.”

Another irrational stab of jealousy pierced through Luke. “Great,” he answered her. His friends must have noticed the irritation in his tone because their smiles dimmed down.

“You okay?” Julie asked, a concerned frown on her face. He opened his mouth, ready to brush it off and pretend nothing had happened, as Billy walked into the room. He was all swagger now, a contrast to the boy Luke left in the bathroom who looked like he was going to pee himself.

“Hey guys,” Billy smiled. Luke didn’t miss the way his eyes passed over Julie and stayed just a moment too long.

Another stab of jealousy. “Just met this really rude guy today. You wouldn’t believe the things that came out of his mouth.” Billy froze, a flash of panic over his eyes that Luke only caught because he was looking for it. “It’s not that important though,” he continued, watching as Billy relaxed again. “I might tell you later if I don’t forget by then.” 

“How about we get back to practice?” Billy suggested nervously. “Any chance you can help me learn Luke?” This time when he looked up at Luke he pointedly avoided eye contact with Julie.

Luke felt another pang of guilt in his stomach. He knew he was being an ass, but he really didn’t like this guy. Trying out a genuine smile for a peace offering, Luke went over to his guitar mounted on the wall. “Let’s play.”

4 - The Old Fling

The day after Luke accidentally put the fear of God into him, Billy quit the band to go work for his dad’s company. Luke felt kind of bad for him, but to be fair he was wholly unqualified. Even with Luke painstakingly showing him each cord he still couldn’t get it. The new guy they hired for his backup guitarist was named Charlie, who he liked infinitely better because he never flirted with Julie.

After Billy went home, Luke ended up telling everyone about the incident in the bathroom. Julie had gotten annoyed with him for defending her honor like she was some helpless maiden, but she seemed glad about him defending Alex and Reggie. The two guys had just shrugged and said he was really annoying anyway.

As an ‘apology’ to Julie for defending her honor without asking, Luke took Julie out to Coney Island for a date. He was pretty Julie just wanted an excuse to go there but Luke didn’t complain, any time spent with Julie was a good time.

The trip started out great. They went on the ferris wheel, visited some candy shop Julie had heard about, and rode the cyclone. It was hot there in late August and there were countless people on the beach. Julie closed her eyes and looked up every once in awhile, basking in the sun.

“You’re like a cat,” Luke teased her.

“Cats do nothing but eat, sleep, poop, and play all the time and are called cute even if they are little devils to their owners,” Julie replied without opening her eyes, “sounds like the kind of life most people would be jealous of.”

“Cats also lick their own buttholes,” he reminded her.

A shrug. “Well we can’t all be perfect.” Julie looked down from the sun and grabbed her water bottle from Luke’s backpack. 

“Yeah, but I still think I’m gonna pass. I would have to stop eating taco bell, which is definitely a dealbreaker.” Great, now he wanted tacos.

Julie rolled her eyes at his bad joke, opening the bottle to take a sip. “Even still,” she said, “with all the team meetings, songwriting, and late-night concerts I’ve barely been able to enjoy the sun. I’m either sleeping or stuck inside.” Her shoulders slumped a little. 

Luke pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead comfortingly. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, tucking her under his chin.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Julie said, voice muffled against his chest, “I love what I’m doing, and I love that I get to do it with you. I just wish that they didn’t make a meeting to decide if they wanted to make the ‘and’ in Julie and the Phantoms into that weird eight symbol.”

“Well obviously it was life or death,” Luke said in a grave tone, “can you imagine the outrage if we changed something that literally nobody would notice?”

Julie giggled, “I imagine it would be the same level of rage if we made the ‘J’ in merchandising a little larger.”

“Well that would just be unforgivable,” Luke said in mock horror.

His girlfriend laughed and hugged him back tighter. A familiar warmth spread throughout his core and his brain felt like it was saturated in happy hormones. He smiled and tucked his head in her neck. Luke let out a grumble of complaint once she finally pulled away, trying to pull her back into the hug.

“Luke, you’re cute and all but it's hot out.”

“Oh that? It’s just my burning desire for you.” Luke grinned as Julie groaned at his corny joke.

“I changed my mind,” Julie took a step back as she spoke. “I don’t think you’re cute and I actually hate you.” There was no malice in her tone though, and her exasperated smile was still fond.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Luke parroted back to her, inevitably bringing tacos to mind again. His stomach churned in anticipation.

Julie started laughing again, another one of those full-body laughs that showed off her toothy smile. “God you’re so…” Julie trailed off as she saw something behind him, eyes widening.

“I’m so what?” Luke pressed. He glanced behind him to try and see what caught her eye, heart dropping once he saw it. ‘It’ being Nick, Julie’s boyfriend from when they first started playing together and became friends. All distracting thoughts of tacos left his mind.

“Nick!” Julie called out, running towards the blonde man. He had grown up since Luke had seen him last, literally. Nick was definitely a couple inches taller than him, which  Luke stubbornly refused to acknowledge bothered him. His baby face was gone and he had five o’clock shadow.

Nick caught Julie as she ran to him and twirled her in a hug. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were in town,” he said in a pleasantly surprised tone as he lowered her, hands still on her hips. He looked up as Luke made his way over, giving him a polite smile.

“Hey Nick,” Luke waved. His eyes flickered down towards Nick’s hands still on Julie’s waist, trying to stifle his possessiveness. Julie was her own person and it wasn’t her fault that he was still jealous of Nick.

The blonde didn’t seem to notice, amazingly observant as ever. Thankfully, he still moved his hands. “Man, it's weird to see you guys outside of a magazine tabloid or a video call. How long has it been? A year?”

“Three,” Julie corrected him, “either that or I managed to skip to junior year of college alarmingly fast.”

Nick’s eyes widened, “it’s already been three years since high school?” He looked like he was about to have an existential crisis.

“And yet Luke is still a child,” Julie joked.

“Hey,” Luke complained.

“We’re actually about to get some tacos if you want to join us.”

“We are?” He turned to Julie excitedly, immediately forgetting why he was offended.

“Yeah, I know you. The second you bring up tacos you’re basically impossible to distract.”

Except for the blonde idiot I had to watch you obsess over for two years. It then processed that she had invited said blonde idiot to join them for tacos. Jealousy and hunger conflicted in his mind. Great, now Nick ruined tacos.

The blonde chuckled in amusement. “I would love to but I'm here with my mom. She’s not gonna last another five minutes without asking me to take her back to my apartment, let alone going out to eat.” Julie pouted at that, and  Luke couldn’t tell if he was more annoyed at the disappointment in Julie’s face or at Nick for disappointing her. 

“Well you have to tell your mom I said hi,” Julie ordered him. 

“Of course, my mom adores you,” Nick said sincerely. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw a familiar flash. Turning to look he saw a small group of paparazzi starting to form. Julie and Nick were completely unaware though.

“Jules,” Luke reached out to tap her arm for attention, to warn her. 

It was too late though. Julie propped herself up on her toes to plant a friendly kiss on Nick’s cheek. Luke couldn’t help the spike of jealousy in the pit of his stomach as he saw her lean over, feeling the frown on his face before he could stop it.

The paparazzi went nuts, cameras flashing like strobe lights as they tried to catch a picture of the scene. Julie turned in surprise as they surged forward and started hounding her with questions.

“Are the rumors of your split with Luke true?”

“Is this man your new boyfriend.”

“What’s your opinion your gay drummer.”

“Is it true that you had an illegitimate love child when you were sixteen.”

Julie’s eyes widened, frozen at the onslaught. Luke reached out his hand and yanked her free of the crowd. The paparazzi had drawn a lot of attention, causing a crowd to gather to see what they were going nuts over. 

“It’s Julie Molina!” Somebody shouted from the crowd. A bunch of people started murmuring in agreement, pulling out their phones. Luke cursed, their cover was blown. So much for a day without work.

Luke began to lead Julie away from the crowd at a hurried pace, making sure to wave and smile as he walked by them. Julie had recovered from her initial shock and joined him in their smile and wave.

Finally they made it to their car, breathless from exertion. The car was quiet, save for the sound of their labored breathing, until Julie broke the silence with a burst of laughter. Luke looked over at her in bewilderment, certain she had cracked from stress. She looked over at him and whatever she saw only made her double over harder, snorting between laughs.

“Are you okay?” He asked in concern.

“I’m, I-I’m just.” Julie struggled to catch her breath so she could form her sentence. “I’m just imagining the tabloid covers tomorrow. Poor Nick’s mom is going to think we’re a thing again.” Luke’s eyes widened in horror at her realization. Julie just started laughing again, “oh my god PR is going to kill us.”

“We’re so screwed.” Luke agreed.

The next day, the headlines showed Julie kissing Nick’s cheek while Luke stood to the side with a pained grimace.

“Sweetheart or Heartbreaker? : Popstar Julie Molina flaunts new relationship in front of ex-beau Patterson. Does this mean the end of Julie and the Phantoms?” Read all about it on page 3.”

5 - The daredevil

“I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried,” the PR representative declared as she beamed at the photo like Christmas had come early. “There’s nothing like a scandal to catch media attention, and ultimately what people think you did was unproblematic enough that people have no reason to ‘cancel’ you.” She looked up at the two of them pensively, “did I use that word right? My middle-schooler taught me it the other day.” 

“You used it fine?” Julie glanced at Luke in confusion which he returned with a shrug to convey he was equally lost. He wasn’t sure what to say here. They had been prepared for a lecture, to get chewed out. Not whatever this was.

“So just checking, you aren’t mad about us accidentally causing drama?” Julie sounded skeptical. 

The woman scoffed "Are you kidding me? Management is over the moon with your band’s popularity ranking. Sales for their latest album went up by 15% in middle aged women and 3% in college students. You’re even on the Billboard top 100 music charts now.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh honey no of course not. Frankly it's a miracle you made it as long as you had without appearing on the front page of some crappy gossip magazine. This scandal was so mild that it probably helped you. Honestly you just show up a couple times acting like a happy couple and the bad part will be gone, leaving you with all the juicy benefits.”

“Wha…” Julie gaped at the woman like a fish, expression bewildered. If Luke looked hard enough he swore he could see the error message as her brain tried to process being freaked out for nothing. Luke reached out and linked their fingers together, squeezing her hand reassuringly. 

“We aren’t in trouble Julie,” he translated for her. 

“We aren’t in trouble?” Julie repeated skeptically.

“Look,” the woman leaned forward. “Your brand is defined by keeping your nose clean, not getting involved in anything controversial, being politically correct, and staying appropriate for all ages. All you did was make yourself a little messy, bored housewives and angsty teenagers like messy. And a little messy can also lead to good more messy.”

“Oh,” Julie nodded in understanding. She leaned over to Luke and whispered in his ear, “can you translate?”

“You were a perfect person, now you’re human, and something messy?”

“That’s so stupid,” she hissed, “I’m not perfect at all.” 

“I didn’t say I agreed with her,” he retorted. 

“Oh, so you don’t think I’m perfect?”

Luke felt the blood drain from his face. “Hold up-”

“And don’t even get me STARTED on Luke,” the woman interrupted him, “nothing is hotter than a heartbroken man.” 

“Julie is,” Luke said defensively. Julie blushed and kicked his shin under the table. She still had a pleased smile on his face though, so he figured he was forgiven for earlier. 

“Well not everybody is you,” the PR rep reminded him. “People want more of you now, and I have to say this is the perfect opportunity for you to start your solo career. Bobby sent over your rough demo to the big boss and is ready to make a team for you, just say the word.”

“I don’t want to release it now though,” Luke argued, ignoring the quizzical look Julie sent his way. With the argument with Billy, seeing Nick, and freaking out about them getting in trouble Luke had been too distracted to talk to her about it. The three days since recording the demo felt like an eternity ago now.  

“Well obviously not now, the demo song isn’t fully edited yet.” The woman rolled her eyes like ‘duh.’ “We want you to announce it on the red carpet when you go to the premiere of The Other Side of Hollywood next week.” 

Luke sat in quiet, thinking about what the woman was offering. “Can I have some time? This is kind of a big decision.”

The woman waved him off, “yes fine. We don’t have to announce it at the premiere, but we need your decision by the end of the month.” The end of the month was less than three weeks away, not too much time. The woman turned to her computer and waved them off, “just act like a couple and the scandal blows away. See you at the end of the month.” 

As soon as he left the room, he let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “That was the opposite of what I expected.”

Julie laughed. “I think all it proved is that we are too goody two shoes to keep up with drama.”

“Maybe we should turn to a life of crime,” Luke suggested, “nothing too bad, just interesting.”

“What, like jaywalking?”

Luke staggered back in exaggerated horror. “I said nothing bad, you monster. I thought it was just a theory that only psychopaths drink black coffee but you just proved it right.”

“My bad,” Julie apologized, “how about cold-blooded murder?”

“Now we’re talking.” Luke smiled at Julie’s exasperated smile, leaning closer to link their hands together. “I got an idea on where you can start actually.”

“Jaywalking?”

“No, murder. You can kill me so I don’t have to go to the premiere of The Other Side of Hollywood.” It had been exciting to write a song for a big budget movie soundtrack, and he was excited to see the film. It was just the whole formal event thing that he wasn’t a huge fan of.

Julie rolled her eyes at her dramatic boyfriend. “It’s not going to be as bad as you think.”

“Wrong, I’ve been told if I want to go I gotta wear a tuxedo. Nobody should be cursed by the sight of me in a tuxedo.”

Instead of replying Julie stopped them in the hallway, turning him to face her and taking a step back. Her eyes trailed slowly up and down his body, her gaze hesitating on his neck, wrists, and lips. Luke felt himself start to flush at her shamelessly checking him out, nervously reaching up to scratch his forearm.

Finally, Julie nodded. “Thought so.” She turned heel and walked away.

“What?” Luke called after her.

Julie turned her head over her shoulder, eyes sparkling mischievously. “That it’s a damn shame you won’t see me in my dress.”

A week later, Luke was wearing the tux.

Unfairly though, Luke turned into a flustered mess once he saw Julie in her movie premiere dress. He struggled to pick his jaw up off the floor as he watched her blue-clothed figure make its way down the stairs. To be fair though, what did one expect him to do when an absolute goddess greeted him casually before leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“We get it,” Reggie sighed, “you two are in love and hot and all single people everywhere hate you. Can you just get in the damn car now, I was promised champagne and pigs in a blanket.”

Luke flushed at being called out by Reggie. He reached out his hand to lock fingers with Julie, helping her get the long dress into the limo. He kept that hand the whole ride, tracing the veins while he pretended he wasn’t staring at her. She could have told him to jump off a bridge that moment and he would have done it.

He wasn’t able to stick with her once they got to the red carpet though. After taking a band group picture she was pulled to the side for solo pictures, flashing an apologetic look their way. Luke knew she felt bad for being more famous than the rest of them but the guys honestly didn’t like the attention fame brought them. The three of them were more than happy to let somebody else be their face and stick to the background. Luke knew Julie couldn’t stand it either, but it was kind of hard to hide while being the lead singer.

He gestured to let her know that they would be inside waiting for her and she blew him a quick kiss goodbye. Luke felt the dopey grin on his face as Alex and Reggie dragged him inside to the party. 

“Can we stay here instead of watching the movie,” Reggie mused. Luke couldn’t help but agree with him. There were tables overflowing with food and a champagne fountain in the corner. There were also three separate bartending stations spread throughout the room that Luke was pretty sure were all open bar. Besides, the movie sounded kind of dumb anyway. It was just a drama musical about ghosts haunting the Ritz.

“Guys, we literally helped make the movie,” Alex reminded him. “The man who owns the company who manages us produced this movie.”

“Okay,” Luke agreed slowly, “ counterpoint, Caleb Covington is an ass and we should eat all of his food in silent protest.” 

Alex shrugged, “I’m convinced.” 

Skipping the movie meant that Luke lost Julie for the duration of the film. He sent a quick text to let her know the others were skipping and she replied that she was going to watch it still. It ended up being nice to goof off with his friends for a while, having hot dog eating contests with overpriced pigs in a blanket just hit different for some reason. 

He finally found her again later chatting with a guy Luke didn’t know. The man was wearing a black suit over a low cut flower print button up. His brown hair was tied in a knot at the base of his neck and there was a scar expanding down the side of his face. Luke made his way over to say hi with Alex trailing after him. He started catching their conversation the closer he got.

“It’s not that I’m against dating or hookups, it's just that people my type are usually not interested.” The man shrugged in an ‘oh well’ gesture and took a sip of his champagne.

Julie leaned in close to him. “Well I know somebody exactly your type who would be interested,” she whispered loudly. Luke frowned at the suggestive tone as she went to take another sip of her champagne. He was almost to them now with Alex not far behind.

“Oh yeah,” the man smirked, leaning  in closer to her, “and who might that be?” 

Oh HELL no, Luke’s inner voice growled. He pulled up next to them and coughed, startling the two out of their exchange. The man took a step back from Julie who just stared at him without moving.

“Luke!” Julie said in an excited tone, a wide smile spread across her face. “I missed you so much. Never leave me alone at a premiere ever again.” 

Luke wrapped a possessive arm around his waist, staring at the man in front of him to make sure he was getting the message to stop flirting with his girlfriend. He planted a kiss on her forehead, “I promise.” Julie grinned up at him, her eyes just a little too bright. Looking down at her empty champagne glass he wondered just how many she had already had. 

“You look too serious, Willie isn’t serious. Willie is the stunt double for the main character. Willie is a badass. Willie, Willie, Willie.” Julie laughed at some internal joke that he wasn’t privy to. Leaning towards his ear she whispered “Willie’s been keeping me company for you, slacker,” just as loudly as her earlier whisper.

Luke felt a flare of jealousy that his drunk girlfriend was waxing poetic about some guy he had never met while he was right next to her. The flare only fueled at Julie’s loudly whispered confession. He turned a dark stare towards the other man.

“You call it badass, I call it a paycheck,” Willie’s mouth formed a small fond smile at Julie, completely unaffected by Luke’s glare. 

“Bad. Ass.” Julie insisted, reaching forward to poke Willie’s chest to enunciate each word.

Willie looked up at Luke in amusement. “Is she always this stubborn?”

“Worse actually,” Alex spoke up. He slid up next to Luke holding his own glass of champagne. The glass looked completely full, and Luke would have bet money that it was purely for show. “She’s easy to distract when she’s drunk so you can just change the subject to start arguing.”

Laughing, Willie turned to face Alex. He opened his mouth to say something but paused halfway through, mouth snapping shut. As the two made eye contact Luke could swear the room got a little quieter. Alex’s smile faded into a small ‘oh’ of amazement as he stared at the other boy while the small smile on Willie’s face stretched out into a crooked grin, eyes crinkling. 

“Uh, hey.” Willie broke the silence.

“Hey there,” Alex replied awkwardly. 

Luke jumped as Julie poked his side excitedly. “Luke and I gotta got. Alex.”Julie gripped the boy in question’s arm and leaned toward him “You need to take care of Willie, cause he hung out with me all night. I’m drunk so I think I’m not good to take care of him. I couldn’t even take care of a baby.” Julie’s laughter at her own joke quickly transformed into a haunted stare, “my god could kill a baby.”

“Yeah, she’s done.” Luke pulled Julie back to his side. “Thank you for keeping her company,” Luke said to Willie, the words felt like poison in his mouth. 

“It was nothing, Julie’s cool.” Willie glanced over for just a moment before turning his gaze back to an oblivious Alex.

“Wait, we can’t leave until Alex promises me,” Julie protested as Luke tried to lead her away.

“I promise I’ll take care of your friend,” Alex’s tone was serious but his lips turned up in a very amused smile.

“I hope you take very good care of me,” Willie mused, casually raising his champagne glass to his lips. Alex turned red as a fire truck and started stammering at the bold flirtations.

And on that note. Luke grabbed Julie and began to lead her away from the pair, his good mood back. He was already looking forward to teasing Alex mercilessly tomorrow. Not to mention the green-eyed monster had calmed down a little now that he knew Willie was gay.

“Alex is so cute and Willie is so cute and they are both so nice,” Julie rambled. Luke smiled down at her in amusement, she always was a happy drunk. 

“How did you know Willie was gay though?” He asked, leading her down the hall to the cars. He pulled out his phone to order one of those discreet taxis that usually brought the other drunk celebrities home.

“What?” Julie asked in confusion, “Willie isn’t gay he’s bi. Bi bi birdie.” She giggled. “Willie is so cute.”

The green-eyed monster raised his head again to wink. 

+1 The Mother?

Luke was absentmindedly plucking the chords to Flying Solo on his acoustic. He had a flight that morning to Los Angeles, but his anxiety over what tomorrow had in store was making it hard for him to sleep. His plans to relax and spend the day with Julie had only made his nerves worse because she was pissed off at him for seemingly no reason.

So here he was at 2 am, less than three hours until he needed to be leaving trying to figure out what exactly he had done to piss her off. 

It wasn’t that he kept the demo to himself, as far as he knew, because they had talked about it already and she said she understood not wanting to say anything until it was official. Luke even gave her permission to listen to it before it was ready. It wasn’t for losing her at the party because he would have gotten an earful the day after. It certainly wasn’t because he had left the toilet seat up in their apartment, he had learned a while ago not to do that.

The only thing he wasn’t sure about was the whole ‘solo career’ thing. 

Luke had planned his trip so that he got back to New York the day of the deadline, which absolutely boggled his mind that he only had six days before making such a big decision. He and the rest of the band had discussed it at length, it was the kind of thing that concerned them after all. The other guys had been excited for him and Julie had been as encouraging as ever, talking about all the recognition and fans he would have.

When he thought about going solo though, he thought about how boring it was recording alone in the studio. How great it felt to be a part of the team, to succeed with his favorite people in the world. How much he hated being the center of attention. After talking to them it hit him just how much the idea of doing the music performing thing without them sucked. Luke was never in it for fame anyways, he just wanted to connect with people through music.

Luke told Julie as much in private, that he was pretty sure he wanted to stay with the band but wanted to wait to tell the others. Then he confessed that this trip would decide if he even wanted to release the single at all, since the song was so personal. Julie had patted his hand and given him one of her sad smiles. Since then, the crabby mood.

Hence, the solo career being the number one culprit.  There was a thought nagging at the back of his head though, insisting that he give it the time of day. What if Julie wants you out of the band because she’s getting tired of you?

It wasn’t the craziest thing to think about. Julie was meeting amazing people who did amazing things all the time, and Luke knew they all were well aware of how much of a catch she was. People like Willie, her highschool sweetheart Nick, even prince Nikolai of Denmark.What if Julie had realized she was tired of foster kid Luke and his issues and realized she could have a literal royalty. 

What if the only reason she hadn’t broken up with him already was that she was too nice? If that was the case, him refusing to go solo would have made her realize it would be basically impossible to escape being around him. Luke felt his stomach churn with anxiety over going home and jealousy. 

In Luke’s opinion, it would really suck if his girlfriend dumped him. Especially since part of his reason to go home being that he needed to pick up her mom's engagement ring from the jewelers. 

Or maybe she was just stressed because of her Rolling Stone celebrity profile photo shoot tomorrow, and Luke was making up her being mad at him in his head. Luke really hoped that was the case.

As the time neared 3 am, Luke finally accepted that he wasn’t going to calm himself down enough for even just a quick nap. Sighing in resignation, he began fingerpicking notes in random order until something started sounding good. He eventually realized he was humming to himself as he played, no words just a melody.

Lyrics he had written a couple weeks ago drifted in his mind. He had thrown out because they were a little too cheesy and knew the guys would have teased him if they ever read them. They hadn’t even managed to be half a song, so he wasn’t too beat up about ditching it. But now, he was alone and writing songs had always been a good backup to just practicing.

“Step into my world, bittersweet love story 'bout a girl shook me to the core. Voice like an angel I've never heard before. You set me free, me loving you is more than chemistry. I'll hold your music here inside me while my heart is in your hands. Melody and words are all I am, and when I’m with you there’s perfect harmony.”

Luke trailed off and sighed. All the song made him do is think about Julie, which made him sad again. Besides, the song didn’t feel right. He turned to put his guitar on a stand, pausing as he saw the figure leaning against the doorway.

“Julie?” Luke was confused. “What are you doing here?” The studio was a ten minute drive from their apartment, and last he checked she was asleep when he left. His girlfriend was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a band tee and her hair was pulled on to the top of her head in a messy bun. She looked like she had literally rolled out of bed.

“Why are you hiding in the practice studio at 3 am?” Julie raised an eyebrow in challenge. 

Luke sighed and looked down at his guitar. “I just needed to think, to clear my head.”

“Why? So you can decide whether or not you’re going to dump me for some girl in LA tomorrow?”

Luke felt his eyebrows rise so high on his face, he was pretty certain they were at his hairline, from his surprise at Julie’s accusation. What the hell was she talking about? Asking if he was going to ‘dump her for some girl’ like he was even capable of noticing somebody other than her. “What are you-”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Julie said in mock remorse, “I forgot I was supposed to play stupid about you pining over some girl named Emily. Silly me, I just got a little upset when you implied the whole point of your super-secret personal trip was to go see your long lost love. You know I have a little difficulty being properly supportive when I’m upset.”

Luke stared at his girlfriend in bewilderment as she glared back at him. Her words were processing slowly in his head, not quite understanding how she got the idea that he was in love with mom. Then it hit, his eyes widened in understanding.

“Oh! You listened to the demo.”

“Yeah,” Julie said icily, “I listened to your love ballad apology.” She looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Luke realized in a start that she looked like she was about to cry. She looked back down at him, face melted from angry to devastated. “You know everything about my exes, you were with me through Nick breaking my heart. Why didn’t I even know about this ‘Emily’ girl? Did you not trust me?” Julie choked and a tear slid down her cheek. “Or did you know that the second I found out about her I would realize you were still in love with her?”

“Julie.” Luke felt his heart drop at the sight of her crying. His movements were so instinctive he didn’t even realize he was going to hug her until he was already doing it. Her body shook as she cried but she didn’t try and push him away. “Julie,” he said gently, “before you get more upset, I need you to remember what my mom’s name is.”

“E-Emily. But why?” Julie froze as she realized, pulling herself away from the hug. She looked up at Luke, tears still on her cheeks. “Unsaid Emily is for your mom.”

“Yes.”

“You aren’t dramatically telling a girl you are still in love with her.”

“Nope.”

“You just wrote a heartfelt emotional song apologizing to your mom.”

“Yes.”

“This trip is for you to go see your parents and try to apologize to them, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.” Julie stared up at him blankly. Luke watched her, waiting for her to say something else. Finally, the girl reached out to smack his arm not ungently.

“You jerk!” She yelled at him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were trying to do that. I would have tried to help you!”

“I know,” Luke sighed, “to be honest, I didn’t want you to come in case I backed out last minute or they rejected me. Cause if you were there, it would be real. And you got that big Rolling Stone article tomorrow, I didn’t want you to cancel.” 

Julie’s face dropped into something more sympathetic, reaching out to hold his hand. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for accusing you of leaving me for your mom”

Luke let out a short laugh, lacing his fingers with hers. “I can’t believe you thought I would leave you at all though.”

“To be honest if it wasn’t this I probably would have thought it at some point anyway,” Julie confessed with a shrug. “I’ve kind of thought you were getting bored of me honestly. 

His eyes widened in surprise. “What could I have possibly done to give you that impression?”

“You want a list?” Julie raised an eyebrow. “I saw the way you kept staring at that fan Lucy. Then you and Carrie were all chummy and went out together the day after my dad’s party without me. And while I was trying to set Willie up with Alex you got all mad at me and possessive over him.” Julie’s shoulders slumped, “I didn’t say anything cause it technically wasn’t cheating I didn’t want you to get annoyed and leave me.”

Luke stared at her sad face in bewilderment before bursting out in laughter. Julie glared at his amusement, “I really don’t know what you found that so funny.”

“Babe,” Luke grinned, “I was staring at Lucy because I was jealous of her flirting with you. At the premiere I wasn’t possessive of Alex, he may have been my ex but he isn’t my very sexy, smart, funny, and talented girlfriend. I was getting jealous because you kept rambling about how awesome Willie was and calling him your night and shining armor.”

“Oh,” Julie’s glare shifted into surprise. 

“You’ve been so worried about me getting bored and I was worried about the same thing,” Luke confessed, “I am so completely in love with you and I’m not sure what I would do if you didn’t do the same.”

Julie smiled, stepping into Luke’s space, reaching up to intertwine her hands behind his neck. “I kind of love you too Luke Patterson.” Luke beamed, moving his head down to capture her lips in a kiss, wrapping his hands around her waist.

Julie shivered under his hands, better than any kind of high Luke ever experienced. He smiled at Julie’s little gasp of surprise as he pulled her closer, arching her back to pull him into a deeper kiss. Luke slanted his head in a different angle, humming in contentment.

Julie was the one to break the kiss, still locked against Luke in his arms. “I should make you jealous more often," she gasped against Luke’s cheek, as he kissed the corner of her mouth. 

He froze, “don’t you dare.”

She laughed. “Well maybe you should convince me not you,” she teased flirtatiously.

“Well maybe you should marry me,” Luke blurted out. 

Mid laugh, Julie’s face froze in surprise. Luke felt his heart start to beat like crazy, instantly regretting his words.

He hadn’t meant to say it like this. His plan was to bring her to her studio at her dad’s place. To tell her how he had realized he loved her the first time she hugged him after they performed, how he realized she was the woman he was going to marry after they wrote Edge of Great at 1 am their senior year. How he wasn’t able to stop smiling for a week when she told him she liked him at graduation. How the past three years have been the happiest of his life.

It was not meant to be blurted out after the two of them just had an argument over whether or not Luke was sleeping with his mom. He didn’t have his ring, wasn’t down on one knee, and definitely looked like crap from not sleeping. Julie deserved better than that. She wasn’t going to say-

“Yes,” Julie blurted out, cutting through his train of thought.

His brain circuited. “What?”

“Yes I’ll marry you, you big idiot.” 

Luke beamed, heart soaring with joy. She said yes! He cupped her cheeks and started peppering her face with kisses. He was so happy that he was sure he could fly. Finally, he settled on her lips for a slow sweet kiss.

Once again Julie was the one to separate them, leaning back. “I am so canceling my Rolling Stones shoot.”

Three days later, Luke knocked on the door to a brick house in the suburbs of LA. He started fidgeting nervously, unaware of his fiddling fingers until Julie’s warm and slid into his own. He looked down at their joined hands with a smile, Julie’s mom’s engagement ring catching the light. He could do this, he could do anything as long as she was by his side.

The door swung open to reveal a tired grey-haired woman. Her eyes widened as she saw Luke.

“Hi mom. I’m home.” 

[shes-an-oddbird]

A Very long list of Season 5 Predictions/Wish List

I tried to hit as many of the characters as possible so this is really really long

The trickiest thing about this show seems to be the ever growing cast creating several stories at once and the fact that it’s a show about first responders so even characters that don’t seem like they would follow that career choice end up there and those that don’t sometimes feel out of place.

This is not to say that I don’t LOVE AND ADORE FIREFIGHTER ALBERT HAN! (but really kind of thought it came out of nowhere and yet I’m not surprised because what else were they going to do with him?)

It seems unlikely they’d assign Albert to the 118 unless Bobby requests him like he did with Eddie, but I think Bobby might have some hesitations about that. They’re already as close as family and sometimes make dangerous decisions because of it. He might feel its better for Albert to be with a different fire house or maybe Chimney would.

But he’s a regular so putting him with the 118 would be the best way to give him screen time

I personally think he’ll be assigned to the 133 since we’ve seen a bit of them this season. I’d love if there was a fun rivalry between the two firehouses (whichever one Albert ends up at.) I’ve said it before that the 118 is probably notorious at this point for the weird situations they get into. The teasing and the taunting would just be so much fun to watch. Albert talking to Chim or Buck and just being like, so the guys told me about this time…

Actually can we take a moment to appreciate that the 118 got ANOTHER firetruck destroyed and this one wasn’t even theirs. The 133 spends FIVE MINUTES with Buck and Eddie and their truck is in shambles.

On a more serious note, we might meet Chimney and Albert’s dad. I’m thinking he’s not going to be thrilled about his youngest joining the fire department and show up to talk some sense into him and scold Chimney for letting him do it.

I’m so confused about how much time has passed? How long does it take to become a firefighter? They must have some sort of plan for him because cutting out him going through training seems like a lost opportunity. It’s a story we haven’t really seen through anything but montages. Is it difficult? Would he try to quit? I’d have liked to see him making the decision in the first place.

putting the rest under here because its really a lot

We’ll also miss Eddie recovering (and Bobby too actually), which I’m a little bummed about but not devastated. It sounds like we won’t see much in the way of the effects of either shooting but can’t do anything about that now unless they flash back and have them work towards that moment on the roof.

My biggest concern with the time jump is missing literally any of Maddie’s story. I don’t know much about PPD or if its called recovery or overcoming it but I do want to see Maddie work through that and Chimney and the others supporting her.

I think her leaving the dispatch center will be temporary but it may take half or all of next season for her to return.

Maybe she’ll take over for May, if she does go off to school

Or May might continue working at Dispatch and going to school.

If she doesn’t go to school Athena is not going to be very happy with her. But maybe we could get Maddie and Josh being big siblings to May which is an underappreciated dynamic. Maybe it will help Maddie cope with how useless she’s feeling with Jee.

I’ll need to rewatch to see if they say what May wants to do but maybe she’ll study journalism or something that will keep her in the loop of the main characters the way it does Taylor.

And speaking of Taylor, she is actually a very interesting character, whether you like her (morally) or not. I think we’ll see more of her in season 5 and I genuinely think she’ll fall hard for Buck. And I think everyone needs to chill about how it’ll destroy her character.  We’ve already established that Taylor is like the female version of Buck (with a bit more sense maybe but a mirror if him non the less). If Buck is allowed to grow and want an actual relationship, is anyone really surprised they’d have Taylor go through that too.

She’s just a few steps behind, like he’s in relationship phase and she’s just coming to terms with her own feelings for him

My big concern, since they like to break Buck’s poor little heart, is that she’ll leave. She’ll get a job opportunity and pick it over Buck. I think it would be a hard decision for her but in character. Or maybe they’ll surprise us and make Buck and Taylor endgame (I know a lot of people don’t want to hear that but I could see it happening that way)

On the flip side I don’t know what’s going to happen with Eddie and Ana. I know she’s pretty much hated but its super unclear what the plan is other than that they’ll eventually break up per what Carla implied. I suspect they’ll be together for a bit of season five until Eddie figures out what’s up with what his heart wants. I don’t think Ana is some awful witch so the break up will probably be mutual or at the very least Ana won’t be surprised.

But hopefully we get more than just that as far as Eddie goes. The episodes we do get that are focused on him are really some of my favorites. They are wrapping up his moving on from Shannon arc which is cool. The trying to be a good father to Christopher will always be there, that’s something that will never change and always be a growing/learning experience.

I’d love to meet one or both of Eddie’s sisters. They don’t have to stick around long term like Albert did but to have them pop up with some crisis would be interesting and we could learn more about Eddie and the dynamic with his family which seems loving but strained.

Maybe we will see Eddie working more with Hen too. I was wondering if they’d make Eddie a full paramedic to take over for her eventually, which I decided they probably won’t do. But one episode of Buck distressed over the fact that he and Eddie wouldn’t be partners anymore would be fun drama.

The two really are just at a loss without each other and I love that. They get so pouty when they’re apart.

I don’t know what other plans they might have for Buck next season. I suspect we’ll see him worrying over Maddie and I’d kill to see him watching Jee-Yun.

I don’t know how old she’ll be because of the time jump but can you imagine Buck watching the baby and it just being an absolute disaster. So he starts calling everyone in a panic and we get firefam taking care of Baby Jee, maybe while Chim and Maddie are at a therapy session or just a weekend away for themselves.

I’m convinced the Baby would love Eddie. I think its just me projecting my desire for Eddie and Maddie to interact more. But like Hen teasing him because of course the baby loves him, all the girls love Eddie, he’s got the pretty face. Buck being super jealous that Jee likes him more. Eddie being genuinely surprised because he felt like such a failure when Chris was a baby. 

Denny, Harry and Christopher are all getting older too so there has got to be a story there with at least one, if not all of them. Harry was sidelined this season but I love that kid, he is the spawn of Athena and Michael and we already know he’s a little trouble maker. Match that with Christopher who is sassy and too smart for his own good and Denny who is clearly the good kid of the bunch. I don’t know, it’s another lost opportunity if they don’t do something with that.

They could assign Karen and Hen an older foster kid who’s maybe not such a good influence at first. Unless they opt for just younger ones, I’m not really sure how that works. But they could get one that’s not as easy as nia and they have to work for that bond.

Might be they adopt them at the end

I hope we see more of Hen’s mom and med school friends but not like a crazy amount. The cast is already too big but I love them so an occasional appearance would be welcome.

I love David and Michael too but they always seem like the hardest to work in because, as stated, they are not first responders. David is a doctor though so maybe we’ll see some interaction with him and Hen. And all the Bobby and Michael content is welcome.

I NEED A WEDDING NEXT SEASON! Just pick a pair and marry them please!!! Maddie and Chimney!!! Michael and David!!! Someone, please! Even just a proposal?! Maybe? Please?

And there will be another crossover event which is exciting because I really enjoyed the first one. I wonder if they’ll come to LA this time and what would bring them there. With the scheduling of the shows next season they won’t have to tie them together so much time frame wise. They literally could just be popping in for a visit. I’m not gonna lie when I thought about another crossover I really wanted Bobby the self-taught chef to meet Charles the actual chef but now I can’t have that and it makes me so sad.

Putting all this out there is a really good way to insure it never happens, but still, they seem like logical places to go as of the finale.

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon, it makes me really happy and comforts me that you enjoy reading what I submit. It makes me really happy to write all of this and finally be able to tell someone my ideas. Thank you so much.

At first he kept trying to deny the father figure role, but when one night Jackie had a nightmare and came to him and ended up calling him dad, he stopped denying it and accepted it. And once he accepted it he did basically adopt all of them. Jackie and Grievous are literally chaos incarnate most days. They regularly love to prank the contestants and just act insane. Ran and Jackie just kind of hang around eachother, like Ran could be reading and Jackie training and they'd enjoy eachothers company. They do sometimes nap next to eachother, or play card games (which is a rare instance where Ran gets (playfully) rilled up and competitive). Grievous and Ran bonding sadly gets interrupted when Ranbob suddenly drops in, but before that Grievous would try to talk to Ran about what book he's reading and just try to make conversation with him.

Oh the height difference definitely remains. And its both terrifying and hailours to new people. It's even better when it's a 2v2 fight because Jackie has a habit of just climbing Ran like a monkey gym and sitting on his shoulders and its terrifying.

Well, since the drinking age is 3, I personally think the age limit is like 14 or something close. I believe I made their ages as Ran is 19 (almost 20. Maybe 4 months away), Jackie is 16, Watson is 30 something, Grievous is 22, and Ranbob is 28 (Ran is younger than his brother by 9 years) I have written down all their ages somewhere (and the ages where the events of Mizu took place) and if I got any wrong I will submit another ask with their ages. The other gladiators have managed to keep good relationships with most of eachother. A few like Grievous and Genevieve are close, Edward, Levi, and Watson are drinking buddies. Lagguis sadly isn't as involved cause he is sick and can't vist often at all. (I think I got everyone. Tell me if I missed anyone please, I cant check cause whenever I exit tumblr, tumblr deletes everything in my ask :') )

I dont have many rules for the Pit rn but I do have, no injuries that could cause long term or chronic damage, no sabotaging opponents, no teaming unless its a team round, no blackmail or anything of the sort to force an opponent to forfeit, and in order for a battle to end due to forfeit both sides must agree to it. But the Pit in general is a lot of things, there's fights for money, fame, and positions (like general). There's tournaments meant for nothing other than to show skill and just to fight your heart out. It's open to anyone above 14 and anyone under 80, to people from Subbin to those just passing through.

And there are different battles in the Pit, theres singles, the ones we saw in the Tales of the SMP episode. Teams, where teams of 2 battles against eachother. Free-for-all, where literally everyone fights against eachother. And Ion battles, battles where there are super powered weapons (like flame 2 iron sword. Or strength 3 potions) that spawn in the area at random. Typically Ran and Watson work best toghere, as their strategists and plan everything with back up plans, and they always call out warnings and watch eachothers back so its incredibly hard to actually hit them. And Jackie and Grievous work best toghere, with the two going insane and often taking people by surprise with their unmeasure and randomized movements and attacks.

At the start Ranbob was completely under Dreams thrall, not being able to really think for himself and even foregoing self care. When Ranbob starts to become himself again the fishermen are more than confused and hesitant, with Cletus especially stating multiple times that it may just be a trick. So it takes a while but Isaac actually is the one to suggest maybe it isn't a trick, and has to do with the mask that was found. This is later confirmed when the mask is brought to the group and Ranbob has a massive negative reaction that sets him back to how he was when they first met him.

Im honestly not sure yet, I think I want it to be a 'lets never go back' type thing but im not positive yet.

I dont have a solid backstory for the fishermen, but I know I want a little bit of it to tie to the story. Do you have any ideas for their backstory or nah? I do know I want them to have met eachother while they where in unfortunate situations and because of those they got family level close.

Ranbob doesn't take the little space well at first; staying outside when able too, even though that really upset Benjamin; and Ranbob has no idea how the outside works and has no idea how to read the weather or what he can and cant eat, but hey the enderman boi is trying his best to make up for everything he's done. And trying to build his own house to not impose on the fishermen (much like Ranboo did with Techno), but Benjamin wouldn't accept that and kept dragging him inside. It wasn't that hard for Benjamin, Isaac, and Charles to get used to Ranbob, already being used to sharing a small house, it was more Cletus with him refusing to leave Ranbob alone even for a second because he doesn't trust Ranbob at all.

The two groups actually get along surprisingly well! They like eachother and Watson once said, "It was like a family reunion. Or like long lost siblings finally found their way home."

I am once again not sure! Originally I planned for them to stay in Subbin and in the Pit. But the more I think about it the more boring that is and more I like the idea of the groups traveling toghere in the world.

I like this question! So enderman travel in groups called hauntings right? I personally headcanon the enderman in this group are basically family, biological or not. And ever since Ran and Ranbob lost their family they lost their haunting, which can be mentally damaging to a enderman. Once Ran found Waston, Jackie, and Grievous and started hanging around them more, he started feeling a connection ot them he hasn't felt on a long time. He's claimed them, as his haunting, his family. And he'll defend them with his life against anyone and anything. And then suddenly Ranbob came in, a enderman that should be part of his haunting but isn't, a enderman that killed his previous haunting. So Ran is incredibly defensive over his group, and is trying his best to keep Ranbob as far from his haunting as possible, to protect them.

Now Ranbob also got a haunting, his being Charles, Isaac, Benjamin, and even Cletus. So Ranbob is also defensive over his family. But unlike Ran, Ranbob still considers his brother as part of his haunting, his family (and yes, Ranbob did think Ran was dead when he first chased him out years ago, so he's shocked and relieved that his baby brother is still alive). And he sees how his family gets along so well with Rans family and then starts to even consider Rans haunting part of Ranbob's. Basically Ranbob has a big heart and is willing to accept almost anyone into his family, no matter what they've done.

Yep, the reason Porkius is so interested in Ran is because he's an enderman hybrid. And no one else is a hybrid expect for the two brothers (and Porkius, with him being a piglin hybrid).

Porkius is excited! He's excited to see what happens and is more than happy to agree to help as long as he is kept in the loop. Though unless he's directly asked to be involved he prefers watching from a distance at whats happening. Just so he doesn't get mauled by a pissed off enderman.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes (its late) and its so long! Im probably going to try to shorten them.

I’m glad you’re happy, it’s a nice thing to feel. Your ideas are really cool, and I hope I’ll get to see more of them in the future.

Now, can I simply say how adorable so much of this is? Jackie going to Watson when he had a nightmare, the Rans being protective of their groups, Jackie climbing Ran? I love that, it’s very heartwarming and cute, and it made me smile.

So Watson wasn’t really sure what to do with his new title at first, hm? And then Jackie called him dad? How’d he feel about that? How’d Jackie feel about the slip? Or did he even notice? He’s parenting them all, he’s gonna have a dad voice and everything. How do the adopted ones feel about him embracing it?

Jackie and Grievous, two people to truly fear when they wish to cause havoc. Tremble before them. Do they prank people, or do they just become absolute madmen on the battlefield? Or something else. Honestly, anything with these two just instantly makes me amused. 

Jackie and Ran being chill buddies. very nice. Ran getting competitive over card games is a funny thought. Does he win often? Does Jackie? What kind of card games do they play?

Rather sad Ran and Grievous bonding is interrupted, but it’s nice to hear Grievous trying it. Hopefully they’ll get there someday. 

Oh my god, it’s the height difference. Jackie getting on Ran’s shoulder sounds absolutely terrifying. Imagine being some poor new guy pitted against these gremlins and the short ones climbs on the tall ones shoulder-both look absolutely gleeful with the destruction they’re about to wreak, and you already know you cannot outrun them. 

Jackie...Jackie...he’s da youngest. He’s small, and young, and you have no idea how much I’m laughing at this. I don’t even know why, it’s just really, really funny to me. Probably something to do with what a complete force of chaos we all know this boy is. Oddly fitting, but hilarious. How does Jackie feel about this? 

How do the others? Are they a bit more protective over him? Does Ran like to flaunt his three years more over him? 

Grievous and Genevieve are buddies! Very nice, they seem to have a good dynamic. Watson, Edward, and Levi also being close? Very interesting, has a lot of potential. I bet they share a lot of funny stories.

So we’ve established the basics of The Pit. Doesn’t seem too bad, for a fighting arena, to be honest. Seems pretty popular, actually. Do the gladiators live there? In the palace? Or do they just have a house somewhere nearby? What kind of establishments and areas are around? Food places, stores? 

So Ran and Watson are the scariest team because of their strategy, and Jackie and Grievous are the scariest team because of their randomness? It checks out. I’m curious though, how do the other combinations work out?

Ranbob sounds like he has a less than fun time here, and the poor guy could really use some closure. What’s he like, free from the influence of the mask? He seems pretty close to Benjamin, so at least he’s got that going for him. Though he and Cletus don’t seem to have the strongest bond at first. How is that resolved?

And how does Ran feel about his brother’s new haunting, after everything? I imagine that he’s at least a little bit unhappy with it, for one reason or another-and there’s quite a few reasons for him to pick from.

How did that house-building attempt go, between Ran never being above water, and probably never building a house before? I can’t imagine too well.

Some ideas for backstory, well, hm. Isaac seemed dressed a bit fancier than the others, perhaps he comes from a richer family than the others? That’s about all I’ve got for now, sorry. 

It’s nice to hear they got along, who clicks the easiest?

Possible road trip? Always fun.

So, the enderman hybrids have adopted their respective groups as their hauntings. You’ve mentioned Ranbob’s pretty cool with this, how does Ran feel? Obviously, he’s less than pleased with Ranbob, but what about the fishermen? Protective Ran and Ranbob! How protective exactly? Is it subtle, or overbearing at times? Actually, how do their instincts lead to them interacting with their groups overall?

Porkius must not see Ender hybrids too often, if he’s so interested in them. It’s nice that he’s willing to help out though, and his concern is valid. I wouldn’t want an angry enderman hybrid after me either. 

Are hybrids not overly common, then, if there’s only Ran, Ranbob, and Porkius around currently, or are they just not mentioned a lot?

Thanks for the ask, a lot of it made me smile. I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you’ll be willing to send more when you have the time.