#yes i went back to find what the hell they had named that one bear HAHAHA

[chronicbeans]

Romantic Lucifer x Cutely Flirty Reader

We're not using "Hey babe" here. Here, we got that "You're a cutie patootie, pookie". That's the best way I can describe the Reader's vibes on this.

TW: None, unless you hate fluff

• You both met when he visited the Hazbin Hotel. You actually met him as he was leaving and you were heading back to the hotel with some supplies you were buying. You were more than a little surprised by the carnage that had occurred while you were gone... However, you noticed Lucifer, and decided you might as well say hello.

• He's surprised by how polite you are compared to, say, Alastor. You talk for a bit, before you let him go back to his place. The first thing that you end up telling Charlie, once you talk to her, is pretty simple! "Your dad is adorable-"

• Thus begins your flirtation, whenever he is around. However, you do try to make sure he's not uncomfortable with it, to you keep it very low-key at first. The most you'll do is wave to him, saying "Hey, pookie!" as a greeting. He's probably a bit confused, at first, but shrugs it off.

• A bit confused means very confused, in this case. Especially when he notices Charlie looking embarrassed by it. Sure, he's heard pookie used romantically, but he's also heard it used platonically, so the fact that you're flirting hasn't hit him... yet.

• You both become friends rather quickly, sharing a love of things you find cute, like rubber ducks, Razzle and Dazzle, and Keke. You decide that, since you've become such good friends, it's time to up the ante a bit. You are now more prone to waving him over, saying things like "Hey there, sweetie!" or "Pookie bear, look what I've found!"

• It's at this point, he feels he's getting the hint. You're definitely flirting, in your own way. He likes you back, yes... However, he doesn't want to ruin such a good friendship. That, and he wants to be sure you like him for him, and not his looks. So, he starts waiting for you to show signs that you truly like him outside of flirtation - things that have more of a meaning than that, or cliche love tropes.

• And he gets that sign. One day, you come running up to him, holding what looks to be a rubber duck. "Pookie! Look! I found a duckling!" "Oh, that's such a cute little thing-" "quack" Oh, it's not a rubber duck... It's a real, living, breathing duckling. He's rather impressed by the fact that you found one in Hell, of all places. It's not even a demonic duck, either! It's a normal duckling! You must've went through a lot of work to get it, just for him...

• He takes it from your hands, looks down at it for a moment, before saying "This is our child now." And with that, you're dating. And you have a duckling baby, now. He's named it Charlotte, and it has it's own bedroom.

• He loves your flirting, to be honest, and may start to mimic it. You both call each other pookie all the time. You love to call him random names you come up with, like sugar bear, baby bean, cutie patootie, pookie wookie, and he loves all of them. His face practically burst into flames whenever you call him something like that. He likes to call you his little honeycrisp or apple pie. You two are drowning in fluff and Charlie is watching in pure shock, wondering how she got a duck sister and how you managed to rizz her dad by using cutesy flirting and ducks.

[penny00dreadful]

STWG Prompt: star

Steve blinked, the cogs finally sliding into place.

"You're the star! You're the star?"

"Yes! Obviously." The star rolled his eyes. 

He was all idiosyncrasies. Gorgeous but downright snippy. A shock of long dark hair and dark eyes to go with his pale skin. Black tattoos up and down his arms and a heavy silvery cloak shrouding his lithe body.

Steve frowned. "You don't look like a star."

The star scoffed. “Heard that one before.” He muttered before scowling back at Steve. “Well why don’t you tell me then, in your infinite human wisdom, what stars are supposed to look like?”

“I don’t know! Like,” he waved his hand up towards the sky, “like a big clump of burning rock or something. I’m not a fucking astronomer. Why do you look so… human?”

“Why do you look so celestial?” The star raised his wrist to his mouth, trying to chew through the tether Steve had managed to secure him with while he was still getting his bearings, feeling that strange pull, telling him that this human shaped lump at the bottom of this crater was what he was looking for. "Can you take this fucking thing off me?"

"Uh… sorry, no. I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because… well because I promised Nancy I'd bring her back the star as a show of… love?" He sounded more unsure the more he spoke. Back when the star was just a meteor or some dust, this was all so simple but now…

"Some girl has demanded you go out and bring back a fucking captive as a show of love?"

"No, that's- she didn't ask me to do anything!"

Actually thinking about it, Nancy had looked almost resigned when he'd suggested it. And a little sad. Like that wasn't really where she had wanted the conversation to go.

Fuck.

Had she been trying to break up with him?

“So you just decided to go into slavery on your own?”

“No! I- I have a way to send you home after… when I show Nancy what I’ve done for her. When I prove it to her. She won’t want to keep you after… she doesn’t abide by slavery.”

The star huffed, crossing his arms and pulling Steve forward a little with the restraint. He didn’t even seem to notice. “And what if I don’t want to go home?”

“Why wouldn’t you-” Steve stopped. He supposed it wasn’t really his place to ask. “Then I’ll free you, you can do whatever the hell it is you came down here to do.”

The star looked at him, thinking, turning it over in his head with a little side to side motion. "Okay, how about this? We help each other out. You let me go and I promise to come with you back to Nancy and then you help me find what I came down here to find.”

Steve frowned again. He wasn’t sure. The star could be lying to him but Robin always told him he was a great judge of character. And it didn’t seem like this star was going to run away. He wanted something down here, on earth.

“What are you trying to find?”

The star’s face went a little pink at that.

Interesting. 

“I… I’ve been watching humans for hundreds of years, your wars, your hate for each other, your petty differences, the natural disasters that devastate your people. But through all that there always seems to be a thread of love. Even if it’s just one person plucking her sister out of the floodwaters or two lovers on opposite sides of the fight meeting in secret… love is always there and I… I want… that.”

“You came down here to find love?”

The star turned his back on him, embarrassment radiating off of his body in waves. “Yeah. So what if I did?”

How could Steve ever say no to that?

He pulled at the lash around the star’s wrist, allowing it to slip free and dragged it back towards himself.

“Okay.”

The star turned around, his big brown eyes wide in shock. “Okay? Just like that?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”  He held his hand out. “I’m Steve. Do you have a name? I’m sorry I didn’t ask before now.”

The star looked down at his hand as he took three steps closer, looking back up at Steve’s face then down again, extending his own hand, slim fingers and all.

“Eddie.”

Nancy had wanted to break up with him as it turned out and hadn’t known how to do it after Steve had adamantly told her he'd travel outside of Hawkins to find her the star.

When he came back to her to tell her he’d found his own love in Eddie on his travels she beamed at him, placing a kiss against his cheek.

“I’m glad." She said. "You deserve it.”

Eddie, who had never come across a ring or necklace at a market stall that he didn’t like, always drawn to the shine. Eddie who had shed the bright almost white silvery cloak for blackened leathers and heavy boots, as dark as the night sky. Eddie, who had gifted Steve a single lock of hair to bring back to Nancy, promising to meet up with him in a few hours, once he’d finished spending all of Steve’s money at the closest bookshop beyond the Gate that separated Faeria from Steve’s world.

Eddie’s lock of hair that Steve now handed over to Nancy who looked into the handkerchief with confusion.

“Steve?”

He looked down.

Eddie’s hair had turned to stardust.

“He can’t cross the Gate.” Steve whispered to himself, horrified before turning and running with everything he had back the way he came, Nancy’s shouts fading out behind him.

He wasn’t sure how long it took him to run through the old cobbled streets, out into the field but just as the Gate came into sight, he saw Eddie on the opposite side round the corner and start walking towards it.

He could do it, he could make it, he could-

“Eddie!” He shouted, stopping Eddie dead in his tracks before his boot could cross the border.

“Ste-?” 

His words were cut off as Steve bodily slammed into him, throwing them both into the grass and away from the Gate.

“Fucking hell, sweetheart.” Eddie groaned, rubbing the back of his head. “That excited to see me?”

“You.” Steve panted, clinging on as tight as he could. “Can’t cross. Gate. Hair. Turned. To. Lump of rock.”

“Oh shit, really?” Eddie ran a hand up and down his back, settling into the grass. “That would have been awkward. And you came to save me?” Eddie sighed, fluttering his eyelashes. Steve could feel it against his cheek. “My hero.”

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking at Eddie spread out below him, dark curls fanning out around his head and a cheeky grin on his face. He lowered himself down for a kiss, muttering into his mouth “You’re damn right I came to save you. Can’t have anything taking my star away.”

Continued

[thechaoticdruid]

[Delicious]

Astarion x Named!Tav

Plot: After setting up camp in the Underdark the weirdos start to reminisce of past lovers, which also brings a curious question to light. How come Winnie had no lovers before Astarion?

Content/Warnings: MDNI SMUT

F!MC, MC uses she/her pronouns, insecurities, chubby mc, flashbacks, unrequited love, bullying, Little Winnie being feral, Winnie is just feral in general, violence, blood, gore, some piv smut at the end, fingering, conflicted Astarion, angst, comfort.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“Arrg! You asshat!” Winnie shouted hanging onto the back of the minotaur as it bucked and jerked around, trying to shake the druid off. The brunette-haired woman grabbed hold of the horns as she held on for dear life. “I could use a little help here!” She said with annoyance, her scimitars had been discarded onto the ground, leaving her weaponless and it was honestly too risky to try to cast a spell while being slung around.

Astarion aimed his bow at the beast, arrowhead trying to align with the minotaur’s head. The arrow came fast, but unfortunately the bull man jerked out of the way. Winnie let out a yelp as the arrow grazed the armor of her shoulder.

“Astarion!” The druid growled out.

“Apologies darling, it's hard to aim when the stupid cow keeps moving!” Astarion replied with a hint of annoyance.

“AHHHH!” Karlach suddenly screamed, flames surrounding her as she went into a rage. The fiery tiefling charged forward with her great ax, taking a swing at one of the minotaur’s legs and hacking it right off. Winnie let out a shout as the beast fell forward, dragging her along with it! Winnie fell right onto Astarion, sending him tumbling over as Karlach proceeded to repeatedly hack and slash at the monster, each swing separately another limp from the beast's body with a sickening crunch sound. The tiefling let out another loud scream as she just kept hacking and slashing into the beast, turning its body into a bloody pile of viscera. 

“Oh for gods' sake, it's dead Karlach. Now you're just getting the blood everywhere!” Astarion complained, getting up as he held the dazed druid up along with him. Karlach eventually cooled off, panting heavily as she stepped away from the battered corpse, boots drenched in blood.

“I could have drank that.” Astarion murmured under his breath. Winnie rubbed her head a bit as she gathered her bearings.

“Mystra’s blood! What happened here?!” Gale exclaimed as he appeared out from behind a large stalagmite.

“Oh, you know just getting some fresh Underdark air.” Winnie said sarcastically.

“Gale, where in the hells have you been?!” Astarion demanded as he crossed his arms, glaring at the wizard in annoyance. 

“I was helping the others find a water source to camp by. Unfortunately, we still haven't found anything yet.” Gale stated. 

“Ah, so being of no help as usual.” Astarion huffed a bit.

“Ignore Fangs, Gale. He's just cranky we weren't able to get him lunch.” Karlach piped up, finally calming down from her rage. 

“Hmm, wait a minute.” Winnie said before scurrying over to what was left of the the minotaur corpse. 

“Eh..What are you doing?” Gale asked with grimaced of disgust as Winnie took out a jar from her pack and grabbed hold of one of the severed minotaur limbs. 

“Getting some blood for Star.” Winnie said before squeezing out what blood she could from the minotaur leg. 

“Ah, you're such a sweetheart, Winnie.” Astarion gave her a flirtatious wink, causing the druid to blush as she gathered blood into a jar. 

“Awe, that is sweet, soldier. A little gross, but sweet.” Karlach smiled. 

“Ah yes, collecting blood from a mutilated corpse. A very romantic gesture.” Gale exclaimed.

“I…I'm just trying to help.” Winnie murmured, before filling up the jar completely with blood, her hands covered in red.  “Besides, it's crucial that we help each other since we are in this together.” 

Winnie walked over and handed Astarion the jar.

“Well, since you are in a helping mood. We still need to find a better spot to set up camp.” The wizard said as Winnie wiped her hands off with a handkerchief. 

“Hmm…I could wildshape into something with wings and scout out ahead. Surely, I should be able to get a better look around in the air than on the ground.”  Winnie hummed.

“Excellent idea!” Gale chimed.

Winnie soon transformed into an owl and flew upwards and across the cave, staying low enough to avoid the stalactites. Her eyes scanned the area surrounding them before taking note of what looked like a large abandoned shack on a cliff. There also happened to be a stream running past it which dropped off into a small waterfall. It seemed suspiciously convenient, but was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Winnie flew a bit closer, scanning the area for any signs of danger and found nothing in sight aside from what looked like humanoid bones, next to a hook horror carcass. 

Well, that explains the abandoned camp, but how did that beast die? 

Winnie wondered to herself. Whatever the case, this area had shelter, water and possibly supplies. It was the perfect spot to set up camp for the night. The druid quickly turned back to quickly reunite with her companions who had all been following her halfway there. She circled around them hooting a couple of times before leading them towards the abandoned campsite. Once everyone had arrived Winnie landed on the ground, returning to her human shape. 

“I checked around the area. There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous aside from some human remains and a dead hook horror.” 

“Oh, and that's supposed to mean this place is safe?” Astarion huffed in a skeptical tone.

“Well, whatever killed them isn't around anymore. And I can't smell anything around here that could possibly be a predator of any kind.” Winnie said before sniffing the air. 

“I was unaware humans had such a keen sense of smell.” Lae’zel exclaimed.

“Normally we don't.” Gale added with a raised eyebrow at Winnie.

“I suppose I've spent so much time in wolf form it's rubbed off on my human side.” Winnie explained.

“So you're practically a puppy?” Astarion said in a teasing tone. 

“Wolf.” Winnie corrected, “the point is. The area is clear. For now anyway.” The druid sighed. 

“I'll survey the area again just to be sure. The rest of you should make camp.” Lae'zel said. 

“Sounds good to me.” Winnie said before looking around in the abandoned shack. She went through the entrance which had a curtain as a makeshift door. Inside she set down her things as she took in the surroundings. There was a fire pit in the middle of everything, surrounded by chairs made from long logs. Winnie started a fire before making herself comfortable.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The party later gathered around the fire in the abandoned shack after everyone had finished setting up camp. Winnie sat quietly as Astarion took a seat next to her, his red eyes looked her up and down. The group one way or another ended up sharing some stories. And somehow of all things the stories turned into tales of old lovers.

“Ah, I remember it was like yesterday when 15-year-old Wyll snuck off into the Blushing Mermaid and had his first kiss.”

“You didn't have your first kiss until you were fifteen?” Astarion piped up, “how pathet-” he suddenly stopped mid-sentence as he realized he was still sitting next to Winnie who was giving him a look. “Never mind that! My first lover was tremendously handsome! Like a dashing prince from a fairytale!” Astarion exaggerated. Winnie just rolled her eyes at the elf’s tall tale.  She didn't know who his first love was, but she knew damn well he didn't either.

“I'm sure he was Astarion.” Shadowheart said in a teasing tone. “What about you Winnie? Who was your first love? Before Astarion I mean.”  Winnie paused a bit. Before Astarion there wasn't really anyone. Maybe an unrequited passing fancy here and there, but nothing mutual. 

“No one.” Winnie said shyly, hands nervously fiddling with her pants. 

“You must have at least fancied someone before?”

“I suppose...When I first came to Baldur's Gate, there was Vesperr.” Winnie said, beginning to reminisce about her time in Baldur's Gate. “He had to be the most beautiful man I had ever met.” Winnie blushed a little, her mind thinking back to her first real crush. Vesperr was a high elf druid with long beautiful blonde hair and stunning blue eyes. 

Astarion scoffed at Winnie’s fond tone.

“Most beautiful back then perhaps.” He muttered under his breath. 

“He helped me with some of my druid training, taught me what he knew. He was very wise and smart.” Winnie smiled.

“So why didn't you hook up with him?” Karlach asked.

“Well…. I was a teenager for one….and he's only interested in men.” Winnie chuckled nervously, “so you can see how that wouldn't have worked.” 

“Ah, well I for one am rather glad. More of you for me. ~” Astarion flirted, running his hand over Winnie’s thigh and making her shutter.

“Funny, I would have thought you'd have more suitors. You seem like quite the romantic.” Shadowheart hummed.

“I suppose I'm just not very desirable.” Winnie shrugged with a sad look. Mind going back to her younger years. 

~~~~~

Winnie’s time spent in the Lost Grove was peaceful, but not always pleasant. She often found herself the target of many of her peers' torment. She could remember running through the grass alongside her friend Demi, both of them in wolf form. The Grove's beautiful lush landscapes stretched as far as the eye could see. Winnie galloped further on ahead, claws kicking up dirt as she sprinted towards the village’s huts. The two were rushing to their training after goofing off and playing around in the forest all morning. Winnie was the first to arrive, returning to her human form with a smirk. “I win!” The ten year old cheered as Demi arrived a few minutes afterwards, changing back to her gnomish form. 

“Of course you win, your legs are longer than mine!” Demi huffed, catching her breath.

“Not in wolf form they're not! We're practically the same size in wild-shape.” Winnie chuckled playfully as she looked down at her friend before hearing a laugh behind them.

“Ha! That's funny, because I'm pretty sure even in wolf form you're the fattest one here!” One of the other children, a male human, mocked.  Two elven girls who'd been standing with him as they waited for their teacher, laughed loudly, not even trying to hold back.

“Haha..No one asked you Rowan.” Winnie growled, crossing her arms. Demi suddenly stood in front of her friend, glancing back at Winnie as if to say, ‘stay calm, he's not worth it.’ 

“That was mean, Rowan. You should apologize!” Demi scolded the human boy. 

“Why should I!? We all know the truth! Just look at her! I don't think I've seen anyone as fat and ugly as her in the entire grove!” Rowan exclaimed.

“No one cares about your opinion Rowan. It's not like anyone wants to be your girlfriend so shut up!” Winnie snapped at him. Rowan chuckled with a mischievous shit eating grin on his face.

“It's not an opinion, it's a fact. You're so ugly that I doubt anyone will ever want to be with you without throwing up!” 

Demi looked over and noticed the enraged expression on the human girl’s face. “Winnie don't!” She warned. 

Winnie gritted her teeth and let out a wolf-like snarl before lunging at the rude boy, socking him right in the nose before pouncing on him and repeatedly punching him in the face. As Winnie nearly beat the snot nosed brat to death one of the elder druids rushed over. 

“What's going on here!?” She demanded. The druid was an older half-elven woman. 

“Winnie’s trying to kill me!” Rowan sobbed. The half-elf druid dragged Winnie off the boy. She glared at the woman like a feral animal, teeth bared.

“Get off of him you wicked unruly child!” The old half-elf hissed and suddenly smacked Winnie across the face.  The sound of a slap got the attention of the Grove's Archdruid who'd just arrived to help with the apprentices’ lesson for today.  The old human woman's eyes immediately landed on Winnie who had a red mark across her face. 

“What in the hells do you think you're doing to my granddaughter, Myra!?” The Archdruid demanded.

“That girl of yours is a rabid beast, Winnifred! She just attacked my nephew!” Druid Myra stood in front of Rowan protectively. 

“I thought I was going to die!” Rowan added. 

Winnie’s Grandmother turned back to look at Winnie who was panting from the scuffle. 

“Is this true, Winnie?” The Archdruid asked calmly.

“I-I…” Winnie muttered, feeling rather ashamed for her outburst. Demi quickly scurried over to the Archdruid and tugged on her robe. Winnie’s Grandmother leaned down and  allowed the gnomish girl to whisper in her ear. 

“Demi here says that boy of yours provoked my granddaughter. Perhaps you outta teach him some manners so he doesn't get his arse kicked.” 

“You're letting her get away with this!? After she assaulted my nephew!? Unbelievable!” Myra hissed before tugging Rowan along.

“That girl's nothing but a weed amongst the flowers. Ugly and vile…” The old druid hissed. 

“Yeah, yeah blow it out yer arse, ya old bitch.” The Archdruid rolled her eyes as she stood in front of Winnie and Demi.

~~~~

Years later Winnie was prowling the streets of Baldur's Gate alongside her tressym companion Madeline. Winnie had a sack full of food in one arm and she and the winged cat sprinted across the cobblestones. 

“Hurry Winnie! He's coming!” Maddie called hopping up and hovering over the ground. Winnie glanced back seeing the merchant running after them.

“Come back here you thieving whore!” He shouted. The merchant had been a large human male with a thick beard. Winnie had seen him arrive on a boat a few days prior and just couldn't help herself when tempted to poke around his ship.  Unfortunately, the young woman was definitely no rogue, so the merchant was able to spot her sneaking off the boat with a sack full of goodies. A wheel of cheese, some fine cuts of meat and wine! The contents were just too tempting to pass up! Not to mention there was enough in there to feed her and the rest of her crew. Arva would be proud of her for sure! She just had to make it to the sewers. 

Unfortunately just as Winnie dashed for the man-hole that would be her ticket back to the undercity she bumped into a tall handsome half elf man, with jet black hair and green eyes.

“What's going on? Is someone hurt?” The man asked. 

“I-I…I um.. I'm in trouble…” Winnie blurred, both confused by the collision and flustered by whom she collided with. His features were soft and nearly flawless. 

“There you are, you ugly bitch!” The merchant suddenly caught up to Winnie. Maddie quickly dropped to the ground in front of the human girl and hissed, protectively. 

The half elf man quickly stepped between Winnie and the merchant. “Afternoon sir, does there happen to be a problem?” He asked.

“That wench stole from me!” The merchant hissed. 

“I need to feed my family!” Winnie exclaimed, stepping back behind the half-elf. 

“Sir, can you not find it in your heart to give to the needy?” 

“Needy!? She looks like she eats twice that much in a day!” The merchant shouted. Winnie glared at him, sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry.

“Here, how about I take care of the expenses? Say 50 gold pieces for your trouble.” The half elf offered, taking out a coin purse.  The human man grumbled under his breath.

“I suppose…But I better not catch that bitch around my ship again or I'm getting the fist!” The merchant snatched up the money before stomping off. Winnie let out a sigh of relief as the half-elf turned towards her. 

“Thank you, sir.” She responded, her pink eyes lingering over his handsome face. 

“You might want to be a little more careful next time, miss. That merchant’s not likely to forget having to chase you across town.” The handsome man smiled at her warmly.

“Y-Yes! Of course! I-I'm very grateful you came to help.” Winnie sputtered, face turning pink as her heart pounded in her chest. “I-I uh…..Here…Take this!” Winnie said, taking a bottle of wine out for him. “It's the least I could d-”

“Feris! The hells have you been!?” Suddenly a woman’s voice shouted, loudly. Winnie looked to the side to see a very unhappy looking elven woman. 

“Sorry my love. I was just speaking to this kind young woman!” Feris replied, his face growing nervous. 

“Again!? This is the third time you've ran off with some harlot, Feris!! You cheating wretch!” The elf hissed. 

“N-No my dear! It's not like that! I-I would never jeopardize our love for someone so repulsive!” Feris sputtered out frantically. Winnie’s eyes widened and her heart sank. It seemed the handsome stranger who'd come to her rescue was just like all the other shallow prick’s she's met. 

“Well I suppose my repulsive ass will be taking the wine back then.” Winnie said flatly, snatching the wine back before stomping off, her tressym quickly following. Winnie proceeded to climb back into the sewers, leaving the unfaithful man alone to be berated by his wife. 

The teen girl and her winged cat carefully wandered through the rank sewers before making their way into the undercity. Eventually they stopped in front of what appeared to be a seemingly normal brick wall. Winnie placed a hand over the bricks, taping them firmly to a specific rhythm before suddenly pressing down on one far to the right. The wall began to sink down, opening to a large cavern. Winnie walked inside with Maddie following. The bricks quickly closed behind them as they entered. 

“Guys, I'm back!” Winnie called, walking into a large room with a bright shining ball of light floating above it, Illuminating the cavern. Under the light was a lush garden, with a small tree at the center. A tall effeminate looking high elf male was tending to the garden, long luscious blonde locks draped over his shoulder as his beautiful blue eyes glanced up at the girl. 

“Winnie! Sweetie, welcome home! I hope Fi’s errand didn't give you too much trouble?” He asked, voice soft and sweet sounding. 

“Ah..No Vesperr. I didn't have any trouble at all. I got the meat and wine she wanted.” Winnie looked off shyly as the high elf druid approached her. A gentle hand ruffled her hair, affectionately.

“Well, that's good. I was worried she was sending you off into danger. I don't see why that bard can't just eat the food from my garden instead of…dead animal flesh.” Vesperr grimaced. 

“It's not an issue really. I'm happy to help everyone.” Winnie forced a smile. 

“And that's why you're the best, sweetheart!” Vesperr said, pinching Winnie’s cheeks. 

“Ah..Thanks um…Is Bekk back yet?” Winnie asked, cheeks turning a bit red, from the elf’s affection.

“Oh, my darling won't be back until later. He and the boss are taking care of some private matters. Troubles with one of the guilds I suppose.” Vesperr said, flipping his long blonde locks. 

“Well…I want to talk to him when he gets back. He promised to help me practice some sword fighting.” Winnie stated as she began to walk away, eyes glancing back at the elf with a sad longing.

“I'll make sure he finds you when he arrives home, sweetie!” 

~~~~

“None of my peers ever took interest in me growing up. Honestly a lot of them found me repulsive and had no problem telling me to my face. Eventually I just gave up on the prospect of romance entirely.” Winnie leaned back, taking out a bottle of wine from her pack and chugging it. 

“Ah what do those assholes know! You're fucking gorgeous Winnie! I'd date you in a heartbeat!” Karlach huffed, steam coming off her body.

“Thank you Karlach.. I'm flattered but…. I just…erm…” Winnie wasn't sure how to put it. 

“Winnie isn't interested in the fairer sex, Karlach. I doubt she'd like being burned alive either.” Astarion chimed in, leaning closer to Winnie.

“Oh, don't worry Fangs. I'm not about to try to steal Winnie from you.” The tiefling winked at him, noticing his arm slinking around Winnie’s waist.

“As if you could steal anything from me.” The elf rolled his eyes. Karlach just smirked at Astarion's blatant jealousy.  

“She is right though. Only an idiot would find you less than enticing.” Astarion purred in Winnie's ear. His hand moved some of her messy brown locks out of her face. Winnie blushed a bit, a small smile forming on her lips. 

“Such a pretty smile.” Astarion leaned closer to the druid female almost climbing on her. His face was full of lust and seduction, but for a moment Winnie could catch a glimpse of what looked like sadness. Astarion quickly resumed his alluring persona, not wanting Winnie to catch on to his intentions.

“Well, I believe it's time I retired for the evening.” Gale said standing up and exiting the shack. 

“Me too. We'll need our strength for tomorrow.” Wyll said as Lae'zel silently followed him.

“Yes, rest would be good. Come along Karlach.” Shadowheart said getting up. 

“Awe, but I was comfortable here.” Karlach whined.

“Come on, I'm sure Clive will be missing you.” The half elf said. 

“Oh alright.” Karlach hopped up and followed after them, leaving Winnie and Astarion alone. 

The pale elf smirked and climbed on Winnie’s lap kissing her neck as soon as the others left. 

“You don't have to do this, you know.” Winnie said, shivering as she felt the vampire’s lips moving down her neck. “You don't have to touch me just because you feel bad for me.” Astarion stopped and grabbed her chin, making her look at him.

“This isn't about pity, my dear. It's about lust. I want you. All of you.” He pushed her down on her back, causing her to squeak as he hovered over her. “I honestly feel insulted that someone would even think of calling your lovely body repulsive.” Astarion said, cupping Winnie’s breasts gently, causing the human woman to gasp. “So soft and sweet. It's on my mind ceaselessly these days.” Astarion leaned down and licked Winnie’s neck. 

“Astarion…” The brunette breathed out, feeling her vampiric companion grinding himself against her.

“Yes, my sweet?” Astarion breathed against her neck. 

“Kiss me?” She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Astarion simply smiled and pressed his lips to hers. He couldn't fathom why, but he felt the need to comfort her, to let her know how beautiful he thought she was. It was a strange urge; one he wasn't quite sure he liked. Perhaps he could use this to keep her wrapped around his finger at the very least. Winnie’s arms made their way around his neck, hands playing with his soft ivory curls. 

“Ahh!” She moaned, feeling his cold hand slip into her pants and begin to stroke her wet folds. A single finger sliding inside her and making her whimper. Astarion took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, silencing her with his kiss as he continued to play with her womanhood.

That was it, he was just ensuring her loyalty. He needed her to fall for him after all. To make sure she'd never betray him. The elven vampire pulled down her pants, along with his own. He broke the kiss, looking down at her with soft eyes. He could hear his master's voice whispering in the back of his mind. 

She'll hate you for this.

Astarion ignored it, forcing a smile as he looked down at his lover, his hand cupped her face as he positioned himself at her entrance.

“Look at me, darling. I want to see all the beautiful faces you make while I take you.” And with that he slowly began to push in. Winnie gasped, biting her lip as he stretched her walls. Definitely not as painful as the first time, but there was a slight sting as he pushed all the way in. Winnie gripped his shoulders, taking a moment to adjust before she pushed her hips up against him, edging him on. Astarion needed little encouragement before he began to thrust into her, beginning slowly and gently. The druid pulled him in for another kiss, licking his bottom lip as he rolled his hips with a soft groan. She peppered his mouth with sweet loving kisses as her hands returned to his hair. Their tongues wrapped around one another as the pale elf began to pump himself harder into her, making her moan into his mouth. Winnie threw her head back and cried out as she felt him hit her sweet spot. 

“Oh gods…” Winnie gently tugged his hair, resulting in Astarion thrusting into her once again, hitting the same spot as he bottomed out. 

“Ahhh…Ahhh..” Winnie tilted her head, exposing her neck to him, and giving him an invitation to bite. Astarion almost immediately bit down into her neck, fangs piercing her flesh as her sweet, delicious blood filled his mouth. “Fuck!” Winnie cursed, feeling a mix of pleasure and pain. Astarion moaned against her neck, hips bucking against her harder and faster with each thrust.

Others might have been completely repulsed by the wolfish druid, seeing her as not worthy of even a lustful glance. But to the vampiric rogue she was absolutely delicious.

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

Phew! Finally got this out. Sorry for the hold up on fanfics, burn out is rough. Thought it would be good to delve into Winnie's backstory a bit. Hope you enjoyed this one!

~Druid

Taglist: @vixstarria , @paganwitchisis , @kerwin290710 , @anukulee

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Congrats on 1k!!

for the ask game!

J: “dont touch me, get away from me”

in Someone who cares

hurt/comfort

book

and if I can make a special request that Eddie is the hurt party?

Thank you so much! 🥰 Always thrilled to write more about my favorite family.

Some dreams come true

Words: 954

Rated: G

Tags: Modern AU; No UD AU; Established relationship; Married Steddie; Steve is Dustin’s dad; Author Eddie; Hurt/comfort; Fluff

Notes: Set in the same universe as Someone who cares

“Eddie?” Dustin knocks on the door of the study. It’s slow and hesitant, and that alone is enough to tell Steve that the kid was not exaggerating when he called and told him to get home immediately. “It’s me. I’ve brought Dad. Please open the door?” 

There’s no answer. 

“Damn,” Steve murmurs. “What the hell happened?” 

Dustin scowls.

“No idea. He opened that package that arrived for him, and then he went all silent and weird and locked himself in there, like- … oh, do you think it’s a bomb?” 

“A what?” Steve squawks. “What the fuck, Dustin? Of course it’s not a- who’d even send us a bomb?” 

“Dunno, grandpa?” Dustin is wibbling in his spot, weirdly elated with the notion. “He must still be pretty damn pissed, right? I mean, last time you saw him, Eddie punched him in the-” 

Steve groans. “Jesus Christ, Dustin, I promise it's not a bomb. Go do your homework or whatever, I'll handle this.” 

Dustin deflates, but sulks off towards his room, grumbling under his breath. Steve sighs and turns back to the door.

“Eds? I'm not leaving, just so you know.” 

For a few seconds, everything stays silent. Then, something shuffles and footsteps approach. The lock clicks, but the door doesn't open. When Steve steps into the tiny room, Eddie is already back in his desk chair, elbows bracketed on his knees, head almost level with his hands. He's holding something. A book.

A familiar mix of feelings stirs in Steve's guts. Alarm. Worry. The overwhelming need to find out who hurt his husband and slowly tear them limb from limb.

“Eddie? What's-” 

“Don't touch me. Get away from me.” 

Eddie doesn't raise his voice. Steve catches himself wishing he had, because the quiet brokenness of the words is somehow infinitely more scary. His feet stop dead in their tracks, halfway between Eddie and the door. From where he's standing, he recognizes the book Eddie has in his hand. 

“Author's copies arrived,” Eddie says, almost as if he read his mind. His head jerks weakly at the package sitting by his feet, holding a stack of identical books, all bearing Eddie’s name on the cover. 

“But…” Steve mutters while his brain is still parsing through the situation. “But that's amazing, honey. You've been looking forward to this so long, why-” 

“I know,” Eddie groans. The book flops to the ground as he brings his hands up to cup his own face. “I was. I am. It's just that …” 

He exhales a long, shaky breath. 

“It's all real now, Stevie. It's here. And- … and next week, it's gonna be in stores, and everybody will be able to pick one up and what if it sucks? I've been dreaming of this for as long as I can think of, but that's all it was - a dream. But now … I dunno, I'm just … I'm scared.” 

“Hey,” Steve whispers, sinking to his knees to bring them face level. “Hey, look at me.” 

Eddie does, big brown eyes peering out from between long fingers. Steve chuckles, reaching for those hands to pull them down into Eddie’s lap. 

“Do you remember the pizza party?” 

Eddie blinks at him. “Huh? What are you-” 

“That was the first time I wanted to kiss you. I had only known you for a few weeks, but somehow, I was already falling in love with you.” Steve smiles, running his fingers over the familiar shape of Eddie's hands and arms, tracing the black ink of his tattoos. “I didn't do it then. Do you know why?” 

“Because Mike puked on your sofa?” 

“Yes,” Steve says automatically. Sputters. “I mean no. I mean- God, you're such an asshole.” 

Eddie’s mouth twitches. Steve sighs. 

“The reason I didn't do it,” he clarifies, “was because I was scared. Because I thought I'd rather spend a lifetime dreaming of having you than turning it into a reality and somehow messing it up. But you know what?” 

“Hm?” Eddie hums, melting into him as Steve leans in to touch their foreheads together. “What's that, love?” 

Steve smiles at the pet name, pressing a kiss to the dimple at the corner of Eddie’s mouth. 

“I'm so incredibly fucking glad we got our shit together in the end,” he says. “Because the reality of it is so much better than anything I ever could've imagined.”

“So much fucking better,” Eddie whispers against his lips, and then neither of them says anything for a while. When they pull out of the kiss, Steve presses the fallen book into Eddie’s hands. 

“This'll be fantastic,” he promises, smoothing over the wrinkle in Eddie’s brow with his lips before he can argue. “You just wait. Now, come down and help me with dinner? Dustin’s convinced you have a bomb in here.” 

Eddie snorts a laugh and stands from his chair, carefully putting the book back with the others before slipping his hand into Steve’s. “What, seriously? And here you are, wondering why I’m doubting myself. With the things that kid comes up with, he should be the author in this family, not me. A bomb, fucking hell!” 

Steve laughs softly as they make their way down the stairs. “You just wait until that book blows up and it turns out he was right.” 

“Yeah, as if,” Eddie says, but there’s no bitterness left in his voice. He smacks a noisy kiss to Steve’s temple, pulling him into the kitchen with a dorky spin and twirl. “Keep dreaming, honey.” 

He definitely will, Steve thinks as they get to work between a constant stream of bickering and kisses. His dreams have a habit of becoming true, after all, and he's no longer afraid of that. 

More celebration ficlets

[companionjones]

Copenhagen

Pairing: Luca x Fem!Berzatto!Reader

Fandom: The Bear (Hulu)

Summary: You go to Copenhagen with Marcus, and meet Luca.

Warnings: SMUT, Cursing

*******

    “I don’t know why you’re coming with me,” Marcus stated in the airport. “You know I can do this by myself.”

    “I do know you can do this by yourself,” you agreed, “But I can’t explain it. I have to watch you do this by yourself...and going to Copenhagen is pretty great, too.”

    Marcus smiled. “Yeah, right.” He rolled his eyes.

    You were a Berzatto, Bear and Sugar’s little sister. It was Carmy’s idea to open a new restaurant when you all found Mikey’s money, and you and Nat were just helping out where you could. You threw yourself into this new project, though. A lot of it was to honor your late brother, but there was something else involved. You couldn’t put your finger on it, no matter how hard you tried. For some reason, you were as driven to open up the Bear as Carmy was, and you weren’t even involved in the kitchen.

    Copenhagen was a beautiful city. Honestly, you loved anywhere that wasn’t America, but Chicago was your home.

    “Who are you?” a British voice called out as you entered the pastry section of the kitchen.

    You caught the eye of the man wondering who you were and quickly answered, “My name is Y/n Berzatto, are you Luca?”

    He nodded, “That’s correct. You’re here to ask me questions?”

    “About Marcus and your time together today, yes,” you confirmed.

    Before you could get your first question in, Luca had a query of his own. “Why didn’t you come in with Marcus today?”

    “We’re opening a restaurant back in Chicago. There’s a lot of stuff I have to do,” you smiled.

    Luca smiled as well. “Alright. Fire away.”

    You had a few questions to as Luca regarding Marcus and the craft, and that took you about ten minutes. “Thank you,” you bid genuinely when you were done.

    “No problem,” Luca was still smiling at you. “Can I ask, why did you come all the way to another country when you could have sent those questions in an email?”

    There was that same line of questioning Marcus had been asking you as you got on the plane over there. “Because...I just want everything to go right for this restaurant. I can’t explain it...but...”

    “You care about everything, more than anything,” he finished for you.

    That was the best you had heard your reasoning be explained, and you weren’t even the one that explained it. “Yeah,” you smiled at him in return.

    “Yeah.” Luca went on, “Do you cook?”

    “No, no,” you laughed off. “That’s my brothers’ thing. My-my sister and I stick to the paperwork side of things.”

    “I find that surprising,” Luca revealed, “Carmen is the best chef I’ve ever worked with.”

    You laughed again. “Yeah, I get that all the time.”

    “Do you want to help me out with something?” Luca offered.

    Daring forward, you peaked at his work. “What is it?”

    “It’s called a compote. I could teach you how to make it, if you’d like.”

    “Haven’t you done enough teaching for today?” You referenced Marcus.

    Luca just smiled at you. “I don’t consider this work. Especially involving someone as beautiful as you.”

    You felt your cheeks heat up. “Well, how could I say no to that invitation?”

    Making it was easy enough. It involved boiling mixed berries, sugar, and honey...and that’s about it. You knew he went extra easy on you.

    “Do you make this dessert for all the girls who wander into your kitchen?” you teased as you and Luca shared the compote.

    He was quick to quietly respond. “No. Only you.”

    A chill ran down your spine. You decided to remind him. “I’m only in Copenhagen for a week.”

    “Darling, I’ve been wanting to do this since you walked in here.”

    Without another thought, you leaned in and kissed him.

    Almost everything about him was soft. His hands as they caressed your face, his lips as they danced with yours, everything was soft except for his chest as you racked your hands down it, aiming for his belt. His chest was hard as hell. You could feel his muscles flex as your hands came in contact with him.

    Luca stopped you as you reached his belt. “Not yet,” he told you before standing and lifting you up onto the counter with little effort, “Can I take these pants off, darling?”

    You lifted your hips as he slid the clothing down your legs. He planted a few kisses on them as he rose back up to meet your lips again.

    Luca stood between your legs and slid his fingers up your folds as he kissed you. He held the two fingers up between you. “All this for me?”

    “You weren’t the only one who wanted this to happen as soon as I walked in,” you revealed.

    Luca put his two fingers in his mouth and sucked, all while keeping his eyes on you. “Now this is the best thing I can remember tasting in a long time...you ready?”

    “Please,” you nodded.

    Luca kissed you again before inserting his two fingers inside you.

    You whined against his lips, and grabbed onto his shoulders.

    Slowly, he started pumping them in and out of you with you rocking your hips along with him. Luca made out with you as he did that. You could barely keep up with his tongue. Soon, he brought in three fingers, and suddenly, you couldn’t keep up at all. You decided to wrap your legs around Luca and to just sit there and let it happen to you.

    You felt your orgasm rising in your stomach. You were almost there when Luca pulled his fingers out of you.

    “Fuck, darling. Can’t take it anymore,” was all he could say. He pulled his pants down enough to free his sizeable dick before shoving it inside you.

    You let out a yelp, but Luca cut you off by covering your lips with his again.

    Luca immediately started thrusting in and out of you. “That’s more like it,” he said when he broke away from kissing you. At a certain point, he just held you close as he, almost violently, made love to you.

    “Luc--!” Your voice broke off as you came.

    “That’s it. Squeeze me just like that--Good girl,” Luca emphasized as he came inside you with one final thrust. He brought his forehead back to yours before holding you in another kiss.

    When that kiss broke, you asked Luca, “Can I have my pants back, please?”

    “Of course.” He broke away from you with a laugh as he quickly readjusted his pants and belt and found your clothes lying on the floor.

    You took the last bite of the compote as you waited.

    With everyone’s clothes back on, Luca extended, “You’re more than welcome to come back any time you’d like, and not just for...that. Though, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

    “I wouldn’t be opposed, either,” you returned, mocking his accent.

    Luca cracked a smile as he looked at you. He slowly leaned back in for another kiss.

    When you returned it, Luca leaned you against the counter.

    The kiss eventually ended and you bid, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Luca.”

    “See you tomorrow, Y/n.”

    Two of your hands touched as you walked away, only breaking contact when you were too far to keep it.

    You left Luca alone in his kitchen.

Sequel! Chicago

*******

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, I have more stories over on my page, you should check it out. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you!

[crisiscutie]

It's does remind me this one song, Christmas Kids. Yandere Sephiroth tried babytrap his s/o for not leaving him. Christmas kids represent the triplets. Which is Yan!Sephiroth tried to make his s/o pregnant. They tried best to escape hell away from their own prison house. Even, they're change their name and move other country, Sephiroth will find them no matter what.

Yandere domestic Sephiroth AU? Yes, please. I've listened to the song, I really like it. Something about sad songs with happy beats always gets to me. I may have heard it before in some YT shorts... Anyways, it fits a domestic Yandere Sephiroth and a Pregnant!Darling very well. Just imagine the darling coming back to her new home and finding Sephiroth waiting...

Companion fic here.

Content Warnings: Slight NSFW, Emotional abuse, Pregnant Darling. Long headcanons under the cut.

Grocery shopping for the week wasn't easy, but it had to be done. The boys won't be happy that their mother went shopping without them, but school must come first.

Plus, the darling wasn't in the mood to hear Loz and Kadaj arguing and begging for certain foods that week. But regardless of their squabbles, they are her precious gifts. Her Christmas kids, as they were born on that day. The happiest day of her life.

The darling opened the door to her new home, taking a deep breath and feeling the exhaustion from the errand. The ache in her swollen feet, aching back and sensitive milk-filled breasts was overwhelming.

But the pain and discomfort she felt in her pregnant body was a small price to pay for the freedom she and her boys gained.

The young, naïve triplet boys were confused of why their mother wanted to move suddenly, but they obeyed her with little hesitation, anyway.

The darling didn't want them to turn out like Sephiroth. His possessiveness and control were too much to bear. When he took to killing innocent people in the misguided attempt to "protect" her and the boys, that was the last straw. She knew she had to leave that fucked up place called "home" behind...

She grabbed her young boys and left their prison house when the stars aligned...

Despite her unexpected pregnancy by Sephiroth, her journey brought her here. She kept pushing forward, and the reward was a peaceful, cozy home for her and her children. Until today.

As the darling placed items on the shelves, she felt a cold, eerie sensation, as if something was watching her from the darkness.

She forced herself to ignore the eerie chill, opening the window blinds slightly as she resumed her normal stocking pace.

Even though the sun was shining brightly on this beautiful day, the eerie chill still lingered in their new home.

But it has nothing to do with what happened in their past. Definitely not. It's probably just a cold flash from her pregnancy getting so close to the end.

As she tippytoes, she strained her body to place the last few items.

As a response, the backache from her pregnant belly intensified. She could feel her baby's sporadic movements, ranging from gentle kicks to violent jolts. Maybe the darling should've invested in a step stool...

A wave of heat washed over her, a heat that was neither comforting nor from the sun, but a heat that was harsh and oppressive.

Now she's having hot flashes? Oh, the perils of pregnancy. At least this little one inside her should be much easier to have than the triplet boys.

The darling softly smiled as she recalled the adventurous banter among the triplets during their journey to a new home. They were debating the sex of their new sibling.

Loz longed for a younger brother to wrestle and play games with, knowing that he would have a better shot at winning against him, unlike his other brothers.

Yazoo, with his level-headed and composed outlook, predicted it would be a girl, welcoming the possibility of her tempering the wildness of his brothers (what a hypocrite).

Kadaj didn't care either way, as long as they didn't challenge his position as the leader and his status as his mother's (self-proclaimed) favorite.

The darling let out a deep groan as she paused her stocking. Her unborn child ended the sporadic fetal movements with the hardest kick yet. Something just isn't right... Perhaps she will see someone later this week after she and the boys finish moving in.

Suddenly, the dark, icy chill behind her shifted to a menacing heat, like a furnace blazing from the shadows. It felt so familiar, like… No! It's impossible! That chapter was a distant memory.

The darling is just imagining things. It should be no surprise that the human brain likes to play cruel tricks like this.

Like how Loz kept running to his mother, crying about seeing mysterious dark feathers around his school, the grocery store and other places their family would visit. He would complain that Sephiroth was too good at hide and seek.

The darling figured the strange dark feathers were simply a product of his mind, missing his father in his own way...

But it became alarming when Yazoo began to murmur and point out the smallest details of every single dark feather as he brought them to her.

Kadaj was getting frustrated, beginning to wonder why their father wouldn't help them finish moving in.

The darling refused to believe the boys. It could just be the ravens shredding their feathers, right?

With trembling hands, the darling slowly reached out for the final item. When she completes this simple task, she can lie down and relax. All of her stress, and the aching in her back especially, would soon be gone.

Just before she could grasp it, a large, gloved hand appeared and delicately placed the last item on the top shelf.

The darling felt a strange, unwanted sense of relief as she felt the slow and gentle strokes of another hand on her back.

...His presence could not be denied any longer. She felt his chest expanding and contracting against her head, and heard the gentle thump of his heart.

Sephiroth… No matter how many miles they traveled or how many times they changed their names and minds, he still had the determination to find them. He'll always know.

His silver tresses brushed against her skin as he hummed his sinister lullaby, pressing his lips to her ear.

His free hand grazed one of her sensitive, milk-filled teats. His hand then slowly descended, aiming for the treasure below.

His darling's swollen belly, where the new life within her stirred and grew.

He rested his hand on the center of her large belly. Warm, twisted happiness now radiated from him. His plan worked.

His darling refused to turn around. Struggling to contain her sobs, His darling averted her head from him and wept in silence.

His fingers glided over the stretched skin of her stomach, while his other hand moved lower to caress the small of her back.

As he opened his mouth, his warm breath tickled her ear.

"A touching reunion."

I wasn't sure if the prompt ask had the darling pregnant with triplets or already had them and was pregnant with a spare child, so I just combined a little of both concepts, but regardless, thanks for the great inspiration.

Yandere Domestic AU chronology: Christmas Kids | The Reunion is Nothing to Fear | Wait for me | Homecoming | The Crowning Moment

[itsscromp]

FNAF animatronics x reader

Did I go see the FNAF movie earlier today... yes. Am i going to write something about it, Hell yes !!! I may be open to writing for the fazgang maybe in the near future but this is just something for me to branch out and get out of my comfort zone. But anyways, Enjoy. Word count:815

One of the many things that clears your head after a day at school is riding your bike around town. It was the major thing that helped calm you down and clear your head. You usually take the same path every time, But today for some reason you decided to mix it up and went down a different road.

Upon riding down the unfamiliar area, You stumbled upon a building that looked abandoned for a long time. It looked like an attraction from back in the day. Under the name of 'Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria' and the mascot caught your attention.

You wanted to continue on your ride through the area but a part of your head wanted to know if there was anything inside, and why it had been abandoned for so long. The many questions in your mind and there was only one way to satisfy it. So you pedalled around the pizzeria and then found a potential opening at the back.

Parking your bike, You then jimmied the wooden panel and got it open, leading you inside a vent shaft. Pulling out your phone flashlight, you crawled inside and then kicked the vent off. Stumbling inside into what you'd expected. a restaurant and arcade, Still somewhat intact, despite the dust of course.

Continuing to explore the place, you then saw red curtains, A stage ??

"What do you have in the back of their ??' You said to yourself as you went to the one on the left and peeled open the curtain, Jumping when you saw what looked like an animatronic of a fox... wearing an eye patch ?? It didn't look in too good of shape too, seeing the holes on the skin.

"How long have you been here ??" You turned to the other stage peeling back the curtains and saw a bunny, a chicken and bear animatronics too, they weren't in too bad of damage like the fox, but they looked like they did need some TLC.

"Why didn't they take you guys, they could've helped you find a new home..." You closed the curtains as you backed away, having enough of your adventure.

But as you began to walk away, you heard a child's laughter. Now you were starting to get spooked out.

"Who's there ??" You called out.

But before you could react, the place sprung to life as the lights and sounds then shimmered and blared, You then noticed the curtains being pulled back as the animatronics started to dance and sing 'Talking in your Sleep' you were completely mesmerised by what was happening, you froze and watched.

You then found yourself tapping your feet to the beat of the song and then began to lightly dance, this was pretty fun.

Once the song was over, you couldn't help but smile at them.

"That was fantastic guys" You said to them as you picked up your backpack and began to walk out, But you were stopped again once you heard heavy thumping. Turned to see the animatronics moving of their own free will. Was this apart of the show ?? Nevertheless, they walked up to you and just looked down at you, Holy cow they were tall. Your anxiety slowly rose when they circled around you. they reached out their hands to you. But what you didn't expect was they started to tickle you.

"Guys... Stohohohohohop" You giggled as you squirmed around.

Your laughs grew and grew until it started to echo throughout the entire pizzeria. The animatronics had their mouths open, Maybe in a way to show you they were happy ??. That someone has finally interacted with them for so long.

They let you go as you smiled up at them, Whatever was going on. You were pretty happy you did interact with them. The fox gently took your hand and brought you over to a nearby poster and pointed at it with its hook. Showing you a poster with each of them, showing their respective names. The pirate fox is named Foxy. Bonnie is the bunny, Chica is the chicken and the leader Freddy Fazbear.

"It's nice to meet you all" You turned back to the others who had their mouths open, smiling again.

You heard your phone go off as your mom texted you to come back home. oh man.

"I gotta go now..."

They started to look sad, they were sad that you had to go.

"I'll.. I'll come back tomorrow ??' You suggested to them and they perked up, mouths opening again. yaaaaaayyyy !!!!

Foxy then wrapped his arms around you, gently hugging you as you hugged him back gently. Being mindful of the parts and everything, You gave the others a hug as well before waving goodbye to them and crawling back through the vent. You were excited to see them again the next day. They were pretty fun.

Taglist: @callofdudes @fun-k-board @gooptoshi

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System pt. 9

Roy Kent x Reader - domestic fluff and hints of further spice to come 😍

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8

MASTERLIST

~~~~~~~~

You're enjoying the hottest shower you can bear and also not looking forward to going back to your poor water pressure trickle when he taps on the door. 

"Why you knocking?" You laugh over the pounding water. 

"Don't want to catch you doing something you don't want me to know about, " he says with a wink. You turn the shower off and step into the towel he's holding out. "Your phones been going mad, I hope you don't mind but I wanted to check it wasn't Lexie?" 

"Thank you, course I don't." You take the phone and look through the notifications. "Lots from your sister, she's seen the red carpet pictures… shit, the pictures!" You keep scrolling, reaching with your other hand to hold onto his t-shirt. He takes you hand and kisses the palm. "Ah. Here we go." You hold it up to show him. A slew of messages and missed calls from Andy. 

"Fuck. What a knob. Come on, I've made tea. Do you want to read them while I get angry or the other way around?" 

"Ooh we can switch and both get angry."

"Can't do that, you look really hot when you're mad and we haven't got enough time for that."

"Uhh you need talk? Jamie asked me last night if permanent concussion was a thing from all the times you've headbutted him." He holds his hands up, backing out the door. 

"I deny everything." He leaves you to pull on some leggings and one of his Richmond t-shirts (no name on the back). You bounce down the stairs, your heels from the night before discarded at the bottom. Your dress had been left there too but Roy's obviously rescued it and draped it over the back of the sofa. 

"Thank you for saving the dress." You tiptoe to kiss his cheek. 

"It's only down here so I can put it on you again and then take it back off." 

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't think we had time for that this morning?" You tease. You sit up on one of the barstools and he steps between your legs, holding out a piece of toast.

"We don't, but I can look at it and dream." He sneaks a kiss before passing your breakfast and moves to stand behind you. 

"I see what you're doing, feed me, put me in a good mood before I have to read these stupid messages?"

"Is it working?" He kisses your neck. 

"No."

"Yes," a laugh which makes you shiver.

"Fine, yes. OK, what have we got…" You unlock the phone and open Andy’s contact page. "Ready?" He nods into your shoulder.

" Now I see why you said no to getting back together. Starting tame, also he's not wrong. I'll allow it. You look like a slag in that dress. Juicy, god I haven't heard the word slag for years!" Roy growls. " I'm guessing Lexie doesn't know. She will when she wakes up. Hmm. OK. I mean, she likes you so I think we can cope with that situation. I think she'll be OK?"

"She's a fucking great kid, smart as hell. She'll be OK." He assures you. 

"There's more. He must have been pretty drunk by these I think. Bet he can't even fuck you with that dodgy knee. Uhhh, better than anyone. Ever. Ever." You feel his grin against your neck. "Don't get a big head."

"Not my head." He laughs, his beard and warm breath tickling you. 

"Ohhh stop doing that. Moving on. I'm sorry you dint really look like a slut. or slag. Ah, spelling and memory are becoming an issue. Oh god, he's back to sex. No idea why, he has literally zero to brag about. can't believe that wanker gets to fuck you in that dress bitch I wud fuk u better. Wow, that one is a real mess. Its the last one, I'm guessing he passed out after that because that last bit is just wishful thinking on his part."

"Didn't he have Lexie?"

"She went to his mums I think, he was going to the West Ham match."

"Good fucking job, if I find out he's getting wasted while she's with him-" You spin the seat around to face him again,

"You'll do nothing. I'll rip his dick off with my bare hands though." 

"Fuck me, you're hot when you're angry." 

"I should go and get her. I just need to check where from. Are you with Jamie today?"

"Yeah, but I can see him later if you want me to come with you?"

"I'll be OK. How shall we tell her? Do you want to be there?" 

"Your call babe, whatever you think she'd prefer? I'd rather not scare the shit out of her." 

"I'll get her and go back to mine. You could come over when you're done later if you want? If she asks me, I won't lie to her but if she doesn't, then we can tell her together? I'll cook for you for a change." 

"Perfect. Do me a favour?"

"Anything." 

"Wear this when you pick her up." He traces over your heart where it turns out, his name is on the shirt embroidered above the Richmond logo. 

"Baby, I would turn up in a full kit with your name on the back. Knee socks included, and football boots, just to piss him off." He kisses you fiercely, 

"Now you're just talking dirty to me," he mutters. 

"Yep, you love it. Come on, I bet Jamie's dying for gossip and I've got to get going." You text Andy while throwing only the important things in your bag. You're sure you've left a breadcrumb trail of your belongings around the house, but you know Roy won't mind. You head out together, the walk taking you both in the same direction for much of the journey. "Did you need to do anything about the photos?"

"Nah, no point in retracting them now and you look fit so the whole world can see them for all I care."

"Including your mum."

"Including my m-, shit, yeah I'd better call her. And your parents? Are they gonna wonder what the fucks going on?"

"I'll take Lexie round that way on our way home I think. Appease them."

"Nice one. Right, this is the Tartt's palace. See you later. Good luck, don't fucking kill him without me there to watch."

"Hmm I'll try. Don't make Jamie vom, he was trying really hard not to get too drunk last night but I don't think he was very successful."

"Story of his life. Love you." You smile up at him, 

"Love you too." Jamie has the door open before Roy's even hallway through the gate, waving at you. You wave back and carry on up to Andy’s mum's house. She had been largely on your side up to now, annoyed with Andy for breaking up the family and worried that she'd see less of Lexie because of it. You'd reassured her repeatedly, taken Lexie in for tea on the way home from school, picked up bits of shopping for her and gently tried to let her know that nothing had to change between them. You weren't so sure that would be the case this morning. 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Andy’s car was on the drive so you braced yourself. 

"Darling girl, come in! Tea?"

"Hi Daph, yes please. I've only had time for one this morning." So far, so good. 

"Sore head?" She asked knowingly. 

"Not too bad. I suspect someone else is more hungover than me."

"You're not wrong. Did he give you crap?"

"A bit. How was Lex?"

"Oh golden, we had a lovely night. She's none the wiser by the way." She leads you from your hushed conversation in the hallway to her kitchen where Lexie sat eating breakfast and Andy hovered with a coffee in hand.

"Morning poppet, did you have a good night with Gran?"

"Yeah, we watched the new Matilda film!"

"And she hasn't stopped singing the songs yet!" Lexie grinned at her Gran.

"Show me later. Did you do your homework with Dad?" She nodded through a mouthful of cereal. Andy had yet to acknowledge you so far. "Shall we pop and see Nanny and Pop-pop on the way home?" Her face lights up, Andy grunts from the corner of the room. 

"Something to tell the folks eh?"

"Nothing we haven't already talked about." You quickly come up with the white lie. You don't want him to have the satisfaction that you're on clean up duty today. Lexie finishes her breakfast, puts her bowl in the sink and gives Daph a big hug. 

"Thank you Gran."

"Anytime pickle. Have a lovely week at school."

"And bye to Dad?" You prompt her, finishing your tea. You manage to leave without being cornered by Andy, it's pretty clear that his mum has told him to keep his mouth shut, so the short distance to your parents is a happy one. Your dad is already in the garden checking his plants and you can see your mum in the kitchen window beaming at Lexie. "Morning!" You call out, Lexie runs straight in so you go to your dad first. "Hiya dad." 

"Morning poppet," the same nickname you use for Lexie makes you smile. "Saw the paper."

"Hmm I thought you might have."

"Isn't he an almighty arsehole? I saw him on Sky Sports news, proper miserable bugger." You laugh at your dad's straight to the point question. 

"I still need to talk to Lexie, so I can't really talk about it too much, but he's so lovely dad. He's a grumpy fucker but he loves me, and Lexie too. It's early days, but he makes me very happy." Your dad stays quiet, just a grunt of acknowledgement. 

"I'll see about that. You'll bring him?"

"Soon, let's get the season finished first. It's a busy couple of weeks."

"Any luck on the job front?"

"Not yet."

"I hope you're not planning on just letting him support you? I didn't raise you like that."

"Dad! Course I'm not!" It stings a bit that he'd even ask that. You leave him to his tomato plants and go in to your mum. 

"Morning, love. Good night?"

"Yeah, thank you." Lexie is distracted by the baking your mum has already started, "you're not going to ask if I'm in it for the money as well are you?" Your mum laughs, 

"Don't be daft. Nice t-shirt," she notes. "Does the situation make you happy?" She asks cryptically for Lexie's benefit. 

"Very."

"Well that's enough for me for now. More details to follow though please. And you looked beautiful, my sweetheart."

"Thank you."

"He's very handsome. The only reason I'd put up with your dad watching Sky Sports news, really. Don't tell him I said that."

"I'm not telling either of them. Don't want him leaving me for my hot mum!" You stay long enough for Lexie the bottomless pit to have one of your mums famed apple muffins and pack up a couple to take for Roy, thankful that they can't ask too much with Lexie around. You plan to walk home via the park so text Sara who meets you with Phoebe. 

"How did the parental rounds go? Roy called this morning, said you'd have to deal with Andy's mum as well?"

"The mums are fine, I think. Turns out he's got a good fanbase in older women." 

"Oh that'll be his yoga women theory rumbled then. So confident they have no idea who he is! Like their husbands aren't all glued to weekend football."

"My dad asked if I was a golddigger."

"Ouch, rude!"

"Just making sure I'm not throwing my career away."

"What career?" She sniggers. 

"Oi, cheek!" 

"You looked so great together last night. The pictures were amazing."

"It didn't even cross my mind that they'd get attention like that. I wasn't expecting damage control this morning, or to have to tell those two so soon." You look over at where the girls are playing. 

"Phebs hasn't mentioned it yet, but it won't take long. You haven't got to see the playground parents tomorrow have you? That'll be fun, they love a bit of extracurricular shagging!"

"No, she's at breakfast club thankfully! I'm going to tell her this afternoon." 

"Good idea, gotta do it before anyone else can." You say goodbye with plans to watch the following week's Man City game together with the girls and to catch up in the week at school. 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

You're considering tackling the mountain of washing and more job applications when the front door knocks. Lexie, who's been quiet all morning, jumps up to open it. You can just about see the front door from the kitchen, so the first thing you see is Roy handing Lexie a bunch of pink tulips. 

"For me?" She squeaks, "really?"

"Is that OK?"

"Only mum has ever brought me flowers before! Mum! Roy brought me flowers!" She rushes in to show you, shaking the bunch in her little fist.

"Oh honey, they're beautiful! Shall I help you put them in water?"

"Can you do it? I'm making friendship bracelets."

"'Scuse me?"

"Pleaseee?"

"That's better, yes, I can do that for you." She puts the flowers on the table and runs back to the living room, high fiving Roy on the way past. "Someone is on the charm offensive." 

"Oh big time," he pulled another bunch from behind his back, peonies.

"How did you know?"

"Dunno what you're talking about." He checked the door before kissing you lightly, you cock your head to one side, "alright yeah, Lexie told me last week when you were out shopping with Sar."

"I knew you were a softy really."

"Only for you, don't get destroying my fucking tough man image."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I like that side too. Did you make Jamie vomit?"

"Unfortunately no. Did you kill anyone?"

"Unfortunately no. Bad mornings all round." He hasn't moved from your side yet and keeps looking to the door. "I think you're safe. She's making Richmond coloured bracelets for the match, we're watching with your mum and sister."

"So I've heard, means I'd better tell my mum about you then." At the knowledge that you shouldn't be interrupted for a few moments, he takes the opportunity to crowd you against the counter and really kiss you. You tilt your head to give you both better access and he sweeps his tongue over your bottom lip before biting it. The small gesture sends a wave of pleasure through your body and your hands go to the hem of his t-shirt of their own accord. You slide them just underneath enough to feel the warm skin on his stomach. The lightest scratch of your nails so close to the waistband of his jeans makes him growl into the kiss. "I've got to stop," he groans, pulling away from you. You can't help the desperate, needy moan at the loss of contact, and the look he gives you from that sound alone is enough to leave you trembling. You take a second to get your breath back and go back to sorting out the flowers. "Has she asked?" He questions once it feels safe enough to talk again. 

"Not yet. I'm going to go and talk to her, you're welcome to come with me?" He squeezes your hand reassuringly but makes sure to let it go once you're in the living room. "Hey, Lex? I need to tell you some that you might end up hearing about from someone else, I wanted to be able to tell you first though?" She sits up and starts measuring your wrist for a friendship bracelet.

"Is it about Roy?"

"Uhh yeah, how did you know?" She shrugs,

"He's here. And he brought flowers." You nod, 

"Right, of course. Yeah, it's about Roy. He asked me out to a fancy party last night. You might see some pictures of us-"

"Have you got them, can I see now?"

"Sure, I just need to get my phone." You're about to stand when Roy passes you his phone instead, and you see the lockscreen is one of the pictures from the night before. You hold it out to her, 

"You guys look so cute." Roy grunts at being called 'cute', "It's true!" She says, taking up his wrist to measure him for a bracelet. "So he's like, your boyfriend?" You steal a quick look at him, his eyebrows raise in anticipation of your answer. 

"Yeah. Is that ok?" Lexie shrugs,

"Sure, you're cooler than dad's new girlfriend but they broke up already. And now I get to meet footballers and hang out with Phoebe even more. She said we could be cousins and I told her I didn't have any so she said we should definitely do that. Can we?"

"Let's ummm… cousins is a very big step for you both. You really need to make sure you're ready so just slow down a bit there." Roy is sniggering at the big deal you've made cousins out to be, but Lexie is having none of it. 

"Mum, I think we'd be OK. We're nearly 9. We're not babies. I think you should just be brave and let us do it."

"Thanks for that input bunny, I'll take the cousins thing super seriously, ok?" She accepts your suggestion and thankfully drops the conversation. In the safety of the kitchen, you lean into him and let his arms wrap around you. "That was so scary. Why are 8 year olds so fucking terrifying?!"

"You were the shit, I fucking loved that." He laughs, his chest rumbling against yours. You stand together until Roy's phone rings and disturbs you. "It's Phoebe. Alright love?" He asks her. You can hear the squeal through the phone but can't make out what she's actually saying. You move away from Roy and give him a big thumbs up and a: you got this ! He doesn't look convinced, despite you only just telling him how scary it was. You can only hear his side of the call. "Nan saw the pictures? Yeah it was a fucking great dress. Yeah alright, I owe you. Worth it. No, this doesn't mean you're cousins now. You can be cousins when I tell you so. Cos it'll be up to me! Phoebe, put nan on the phone. Mum? Yeah she's OK. I'll come and see you tomorrow. I will, love you." He hangs up and you wait. "Phoebe is suddenly obsessed with cousins and mum wanted to check you were ok." You smile,

"I think that went well then. All the mums are on board, all the kids, I'm claiming the win." 

 

You cooked dinner, as promised and let Lexie watch a film with Roy afterwards while you packed her school bag and your work things. He left at her bedtime, leaving you with a kiss at the door. 

"Maybe Roy could have a sleepover next time, mum," she said halfway to sleep, "but you can't steal all the covers or he'll get cold."

"Thanks poppet, I'll make sure I don't steal the covers."

~~~~~~~~

[soobuneary]

sour - choi soobin x fem reader

college au! best friend!soobin x fem reader; slight beomgyu x reader

ANGST, heavy angst and some fluff, heavily suggestive themes

Summary: After you begin toying with the idea of dating someone, your best friend Soobin begins to act strangely toward you. Highkey inspired by the song Sour by The Rose (I probably listened to it 1000 times on repeat while I wrote this haha.)

Warnings: swearing, drinking, sexual content

Words: 2.8k

“I know it hurts, but it’s the truth

My heart’s so sour without you.”

Lips were locked and tongues battled for dominance. You kissed him roughly and fervently, tasting the alcohol you both had been drinking all night. His hands roamed all over, starting at your breasts before eventually finding their way to your ass. He broke away from the kiss, “Are you sure you want this?”

You looked at the handsome stranger you had met just hours before. All you knew was his name was Beomgyu and he was part of the frat holding this party. Was this a smart decision? Probably not, but the idea of getting laid sounded good to your intoxicated mind. Why the hell not? It might even help you in getting over your stupid crush on your best friend.

“Yes.”

His lips attached to your neck and you let out a small moan. The heat pooling between your legs was a welcome distraction from your anxious thoughts. Was this really a good idea? Beomgyu’s lips, along with the alcohol, made those thoughts begin to melt away. His kisses went lower until he was lightly sucking on your collarbone. “Beomgyu.”

“Beomgyu?”

In the heat of the moment, you hadn’t noticed the door swing open. Soobin stood in the doorway, his face a mix of betrayal and shock.

You and Beomgyu quickly detached yourselves from each other. The awkwardness hung heavy in the air before Beomgyu started, “Soobin-”

“Whatever. Y/N, let's go.”

His hand roughly grabbed your wrist and he dragged you out of the room. You looked back at Beomgyu but it was no use, Soobin was walking fast and taking you with him. “Wait.”

He didn’t let up, so you decided to quietly go along with him. When the cold air outside hit you, you finally resisted and caused Soobin to stop and turn around. The two of you stood in front of the house. “What the fuck was that?”

You feigned confidence because inside you were a wreck. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You don’t see the big deal of hooking up with one of my friends?”

“Would you rather me get with a stranger?”

“I’d rather you not get with anyone at all!”

“Why are you being such a cockblock? Am I not allowed to have fun?”

He huffed in frustration before moving closer to you. “You’re drunk, and you would’ve regretted it. I’m just trying to protect you.”

You took his challenge and took a step closer to him. This close, you could truly see the fury in his eyes. “I never asked you to protect me.”

The anger began to fade and you saw sadness slowly take over his demeanor. “Is that not what best friends do?”

It hurt a lot more than you wanted to admit. Being called his best friend was a heavy burden to bear. Because while it was true, the two of you have been inseparable since you were thirteen, it hurt. In the past two years, you had begun to see Soobin in a different light. If you were being completely honest, he was the kind of man you always dreamt you would be with.

He looked down, and you realized you had been silent for too long. “C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”

You didn’t have the energy to argue so you let him silently lead the short walk back to your apartment.

-

It had been a week since the incident at the party, and Soobin had been avoiding you. He said he was feeling too sick for your weekly study session, yet you saw him the same day on your friend Yeonjun’s Instagram story. If he was going to lie, he might as well lie well, you thought bitterly.

To make matters worse, Beomgyu had been messaging you every day wanting to meet up. What for? You had no idea. You had exchanged numbers with him before you… yeah. You figured if anyone wanted to avoid you it should be Beomgyu, who you had almost made a drunken mistake with. But, as much as it was going to be awkward, you agreed to meet up with him today.

You sat at your vanity and carefully applied your eyeliner. Your thoughts were everywhere, but mostly you thought about Soobin. What he was doing, where he was, if he had been eating well, if he felt just as miserable as you; these thoughts plagued your mind.

It was then your phone lit up. Seeing his name on your phone made your heart lighten up a little bit.

Soob: what are you doing?

You answered quickly.

i’m getting ready. why?

His reply was not even a minute later.

Soob: what for?

You decided that maybe honesty wasn’t the best policy.

i’m meeting up with someone

After that, he didn’t respond. It was probably for the best, you thought. He probably wouldn’t be a fan of you meeting up with Beomgyu after what happened.

You walked into the small café on campus and saw him instantly. You went to sit across from him, “hey.”

“Hey Y/N.” He smiled, and you couldn’t help but admit to yourself that he was charming. “I already ordered, but do you want me to get you something?”

“No, I’m okay.” You decided to not beat around the bush, “What did you want to see me for?”

“Straight to it then, huh?” He laughed, “there's something I wanted to say to you that night, but I didn’t get the chance. The truth is,” he sighed. “To be honest, I didn’t want to just hook up. I’ve heard a lot about you from Soobin, and you seem to be a nice person. I’d love to go on a few dates and get to know you more.”

You didn’t know what you had been expecting, but it was definitely not that. You tried to not show your shock. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You can think about it. I don’t need an answer right away.”

-

In all the time that you and Soobin have been friends, he had never approved of any of your crushes or partners. At first, you had suspected that he had feelings for you, but you always shook the thought away. Soobin was looking out for you like any friend would, because as much as it annoyed you, he was almost always right. They had been jerks, mostly, and every time you cried Soobin was the one who picked you back up. For that, you would always be grateful to him.

But Beomgyu didn’t seem like a jerk. Throughout your text conversations, he seemed to be quite the opposite. He was funny and sweet, constantly asking if you were having a good day and messaging you good morning. The problem was, however, that you couldn't stop thinking about Soobin. Disregarding your crush on him, you missed your best friend.

There was a knock on your door, and much to your surprise the boy you were missing was right in front of you. “What are you doing here?”

Soobin gave you a small smile. “It’s Tuesday, we study on Tuesdays, yeah?”

You moved out of the way, allowing him to enter. “I thought you were going to play hooky again.”

He laughed quietly, “Sorry about that.”

The both of you walked to your room. “It’s okay.” You sat at your desk, and Soobin took his usual spot on your bed. He pulled out his laptop and a textbook to begin studying, but you couldn’t help but tell him what you’d been thinking for a week and a half. “I’ve missed you.”

He just hummed in response, and it hurt your feelings a little bit that he didn’t say the same. Instead, he turned on the usual study time playlist and the two of you began to silently study.

After an hour or so it was time for a break. He pulled out his phone and began to absentmindedly scroll through Twitter. “So what have you been up to?”

You shrugged. “Not much.” The only thing you could think to talk about was Beomgyu, but you weren’t sure if that’s what he’d want to hear. Then again, he was just mad you were going to hook up. Maybe he’d be happier to know you had different intentions? You tested it out. “I have a date this weekend.”

He stopped scrolling and looked at you. “You do? With who?”

You couldn’t meet his gaze. It’s not like you were doing anything wrong. “Beomgyu.”

The silence that followed hung heavy in the room. After a long pause, he finally spoke. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what, Soob?”

“Why does it have to be one of my friends?”

You finally looked at him again. “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal. Why aren’t you happy for me?”

He sat up. “You want me to be happy for you? Are you serious right now?”

You stood up from your chair. “I’m tired of being one of my only single friends. They all talk about love like it’s the greatest thing to happen to them. Am I not allowed to feel that too?”

He got off your bed and stood in front of you. “You are, but why does it have to be him?”

“Why can’t it be? You know he’s a good guy, why does it matter if you’re friends with him? Shouldn’t you be happy that two of your friends are getting together? It could be a great thing-”

“No, I’m not happy!” His nostrils flared, and in the years you had been friends you weren’t sure you’d ever seen him this angry. “I’m not happy at all! Why are you so blind, Y/N?”

This caught you off guard. “What?”

“I like you!” His confession made the air in your lungs feel thick. After a few seconds of silence, he breathed out, “I think I love you.”

Soobin appeared to be just as surprised by his confession as you were. After staring at each other for a few moments, he quickly gathered his stuff. “Soobin, wait.”

He left your room and walked toward your door. You quickly caught up with him and grabbed his wrist to stop him. He didn’t turn but just stood there. “Soobin, wait just a second.” You gathered all of your courage, “I-”

“I can’t stand this, Y/N.” There was an overwhelming sadness in his voice. “I like you so much, I feel sick.”

He shook his wrist from your grasp and left. You had never felt so alone.

-

“I think you need to come get him, Y/N.”

You were on the phone with Yeonjun. “Why me?”

“Because he’s asking for you. He’s really fucking drunk.”

“Just call him an Uber. He’ll be fine, I’m not coming.”

You hung up, not wanting to hear any more of it. At first, you had been sad after you and Soobin’s fight, but the more you thought about it the more angry and bitter you became. Who did he think he was? To confess and then not let you answer? On top of all that, he had been ignoring your texts and calls. Now that he’s drunk he wanted to see you? Yeah right.

It was Saturday, and you had canceled your date with Beomgyu. You didn’t know when, but you were going to confess to Soobin. He needed to know that you reciprocated his feelings so the two of you could stop playing this avoiding game. As much as you wanted to see him, you couldn’t face him right now when he was drunk. 

But it seemed you didn’t have a choice.

Because one, highly intoxicated, Choi Soobin showed up at your door. “Y/N.”

You sighed. “Why did you come here?”

“Needed to see you.”

He pushed his way past you into your apartment. You shut the door and turned to face him. “You can’t just show up when you please.”

His words were slurred together. “Please, can’t wait.”

“I’ll let you sleep here, but we aren’t going to talk like this.”

He approached you wobbly and placed his hands on your shoulders. “I like you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

His serious demeanor made butterflies swirl about in your stomach. You knew you couldn’t give in to whatever he was saying because he was drunk, and you needed to be sober to have this conversation. But fuck, was it hard. The way he was looking at you with so much emotion made your resolve weak, as well as your knees. He spoke again, “Don’t know when, but I like you. So much.”

“Soobin-”

“Wait.” His hands slipped off your shoulders and down your arms, taking your smaller hands into his big ones. You looked down to where your hands met, but only for a moment because you heard a quiet sob come from your best friend. You looked up and saw tears streaming down his face. “You don’t know. Don’t know how long I’ve had to wait. Don’t know how many times,” he paused, and took in a big breath. “Don’t know how many times I’ve had to keep my mouth shut. When you liked someone. When you told me about your first kiss. When you looked at someone else like they were your whole world.”

You finally broke, a single tear falling from your eyes. You took one hand away from his to wipe the tears on his cheek. “You’re my world, Soobin. I’m so sorry.”

“Still don’t think you get it.” He surprised you by pulling you into a hug. Your face was tucked into his chest and you felt one of his hands stroke your hair. “I’m sick of watching you look for love when it’s right in front of you. Want you to be mine.”

You pulled away from his chest and looked at him with tear-stained eyes. “I already am.”

You watched as his eyes flicked from your own to your lips. Temptation had you in its grasp, but you had to be strong for his sake. He came closer, lips plump and wanting. You put a finger to his mouth to stop him. “You’re drunk, and I want you to remember this.”

You could tell he was a little disappointed, but he slowly nodded in agreement. You gently guided him to your couch, intending on helping him settle for the night, but he had one more request. “Please, I want to stay with you.”

That’s how you ended up cuddled into his chest once again, this time under your covers in bed. Fully clothed and innocent, you went to bed with conflicted emotions. Happy your best friend was also in love with you, but sad at how torn up he had seemed about it.

The next morning you woke up before Soobin. You watched as his chest slowly rose and fell, and contemplated waking him up. You had so much you wanted to say to him. However, you didn’t have to wait long, as his eyes slowly fluttered open after a moment. “Y/N.”

“Soobin.”

He smiled softly, “Thank you.”

You looked at him with slight confusion. “For what?”

“For letting me stay. For letting me say everything I needed to.”

“You remember last night?”

“How could I forget?”

“You were stupid drunk, Soob.”

He laughed quietly, “True. But I meant everything I said. I want you and only you.”

“Are you going to let me speak this time?” He just looked at you lovingly, waiting to hear you out. “When we started college, I knew something was different.” You paused and took a deep breath. It was time to let it all out. “I started to see you less and less, and it affected me more than it should have. I found myself missing you when you weren’t here, and getting more excited to see you than a friend would.”

His hand came up to caress your cheek, and you continued. “I don’t know when and I don't know how, but you stopped being just a boy I grew up with and became the kind of man I want to be with. I want to be with you, Soobin, and only you. You said you like me so much you feel sick. I don't want you to feel that way anymore. No more pain and no more pining, the only thing I want is for us to be together.”

You couldn’t take it anymore, you slowly captured his lips with yours. His lips were softer than you had imagined they would be, and you had imagined this many times. None of those daydreams were as good as the real thing. Soobin deepened the kiss and held your face in his hands. You don’t know how long you stayed like that, but it didn’t matter.

You were his, and he was finally yours.

[mimisempai]

The end of loneliness 2/7

Chapter Summary

Professor Crowley finds it hard to concentrate on his lessons after spending the night with Aziraphale. Even if it was just a one-night stand, he can't stop thinking about his one-night lover. 

So much so that he imagines all sorts of solutions to find Aziraphale.

But fate sometimes has surprises in store...

Notes

👀👀👀👀

On Ao3

Rating G - 3322 words

Masterpost here

As soon as he entered the coffee shop, Aziraphale saw Muriel sitting at a table in the back, waving their arms to let him know they were there.

He went to the counter to order his breakfast, and when he had it, he joined them.

Once he was near them, he said softly as he sat down in front of them, "Good morning, Muriel.

"Hi Zira!"

He couldn't help but smile in amusement at the diminutive name his new friend had given him. 

When he'd introduced himself during their first Modern Literature class together, Muriel had said bluntly, "Well, I'm going to call you Zira, if that's okay with you, of course, because Aziraphale, while lovely, is way toooooooo long!"

Aziraphale had immediately agreed, because even though he didn't hate his name, well, not really, sometimes he felt it like a shackle fastened to his foot.

"Aziraphale, my boy, you bear the name of an angel, so you must act like one. You must prevent evil from tarnishing you and stay pure. If you don't, hell awaits you."

For a long time, Aziraphale had done everything in his power to conform to the rules laid down by his mother and her church. To live up to his name. To be the perfect angel. Until one day he opened his eyes and realized that the principles he had to follow were making him hate a part of himself, and worse, they were making him hate himself.

"So have you been to Serenity?"

Muriel's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he saw them so excited they couldn't even sit down.

Smiling mischievously, he simply replied, "Yes, I was there."

Muriel, seeing that he had no intention of saying more, sighed. 

"I won't have to worm it out of you, will I?

Aziraphale only replied with a smile.

Muriel took a sip of their coffee, then clapped their hands after putting down their cup before saying, "Okay, so you were at Serenity last night, and when I called you this morning, you weren't alone.  Does that mean you met someone there?"

Aziraphale nodded and again answered simply, "Yes."

His friend insisted, "And what were they like?"

Aziraphale replied, "He was..." 

Then he paused, realizing that in all the things he'd revealed to Muriel, he'd never mentioned his preferences. 

But he'd decided not to hide anymore, so he continued, "He was very nice.

Muriel replied, "So?"

Seeing his friend's reaction, or rather non-reaction, Aziraphale breathed a small sigh of relief that Muriel, being perceptive, didn't miss. 

Aziraphale's friend placed a hand on his arm and said gently, "It's all right, Zira, after our first conversation, when you opened up to me about what brought you here, I more or less guessed where your interest lay. And even so, I wouldn't have been surprised or even shocked. We love who we love, we are who we are. As for me, I love you very much and I am very proud of you.

Aziraphale couldn't hold back a small gasp as it was the first time anyone had known and approved of who he was. Much more moved than he could express, he simply nodded. Muriel squeezed his arm gently before continuing in a lighter tone, "Don't think we're changing the subject. I want to know more about HIM."

Then, a little more seriously, they added, "I mean, if you don't mind talking to me about it, of course."

Aziraphale, a little embarrassed but encouraged by his friend's sincerity, wanted to confide in them anyway. Leaning forward, he said in a slightly lower voice, "First of all, HE is incredibly handsome, and when I say handsome, it's because I don't have an accurate adjective to describe him. Let's just say he's the stuff dreams are made of."

"Aw..."

Muriel giggled and kicked thei feet under the table as Aziraphale continued to tell them how the evening had gone, at least as far as he could remember. Of course, he didn't go into detail about the night itself, but his blissful expression at the mention of it was enough to give Muriel enough indication that it had been more than pleasant. 

Just as he finished his story, his friend asked, "And will you see him again?"

Aziraphale's expression was sad as he shook his head before answering.

"No, it was just a one night stand."

"Oh, that's too bad." 

Muriel gave him a little kick under the table and added, "But you told me he was a regular at Serenity, so who knows? Maybe if you go back, what's a one-night stand could turn into more?"

Aziraphale shook his head and replied, "I don't know. Last night was easy, we both knew what we wanted. At least I know what he wanted. It was clearly just a one-night stand to stave off loneliness. So trying to get more, I don't know. I don't think he's interested. Honestly, we're not in the same league at all. What would a guy like him want with someone like me?"

Muriel gave him another kick under the table, this time much stronger.

"Ouch! What's the matter with you?"

Muriel pointed a finger at him and said in a scolding tone, "You're going to stop talking bad about yourself right now. I've only known you for a short time, and I can already tell that you're an extraordinary person. You're adorable and very kind. You said you wanted to turn your back on your past, so I think you really need to forget everything you've been told. I don't know this guy, but I know that whoever he is, you are worthy of him. Because you're you."

Aziraphale, again speechless and moved by the way Muriel spoke of him, thought for a few moments in silence before replying, "I don't know, Muriel. In any case, I've had a good time tonight, and that's more than I could have asked for. As for the rest, we'll see."

He emptied his cup and grabbed his bag.

"We have to go, classes start soon."

Muriel just nodded and told him gently as they followed him, "Just don't close a door that's just been opened."

**********

A ringing jolted Anthony awake and he wondered for a few seconds where he was. As he fumbled for his phone, memories began to come back to him.

"Crowley, are you awake? I just need to know your schedule for the classroom occupation."

It was Nina, a colleague and friend. 

Shaking off the fog of sleep, he replied, "Morning... yes, the schedule is ready."

"With the class list?"

"Yes, with the list.... Yes, it is. See you later. "

"See you!"

Anthony put his phone back on the nightstand and sat up in bed before turning to face the most adorable sight imaginable.

The man he'd just spent the night with was standing in front of him, blushing, hiding part of his anatomy with his clothes and looking everywhere but at Anthony.

In a hesitant voice he said, "Ahem.... uh... Good morning... uh."

Realizing that his one-night lover didn't know his first name, he chuckled slightly and replied, "Anthony.

"Well, uh... Good morning, Anthony."

"Good morning...? I don't think you told me your name either. "

"It's... Aziraphale."

"I've never heard of that name, but it's really nice. It suits you anyway. So, Aziraphale, did you sleep well?"

The other man blushed adorably at the compliment and nodded before turning away, seemingly searching for something. When Anthony was confronted with the second most beautiful sight imaginable, he realized what the other man must be looking for and after looking around, called out, "Aziraphale?

Aziraphale turned sharply.

"Yes?"

"I think I found what you're looking for."

Anthony reached for the boxers he'd just seen on his side of the bed and held them out to the other man. Aziraphale took them, blushing, but Anthony couldn't help but hold them back as he said, "I didn't see them last night in the dim light, but... really? Tartan?"

He realized he'd cut Azirapale to the quick when he snatched the garment out of Anthony's hand and replied, "Tartan is stylish."

Anthony, not wanting them to part with the wrong impression, crept up behind Aziraphale and, placing a hand on his shoulder, said gently, "Hey, I wasn't mocking you. In fact, I think it's kind of sweet."

What Anthony realized was true. In fact, everything about his one-night stand was sweet. He shook his head and stood up.

"I'm going to go freshen up in the bathroom." 

When he came out a few moments later and saw that the other man was almost finished getting dressed, he couldn't resist his instinct and spontaneously asked, "Would you like some breakfast?"

Sadly, he saw the other man shake his head and Anthony felt the need to justify himself, "Maybe it was a strange thing to ask. I... one-night stands aren't my habit, so I don't really know the rules. Sorry."

"Well, as you know, it's not my habit either. So I don't know any more than you do, and I don't know if it's strange to ask. But if I say no, it's because I promised a friend that I would meet them for breakfast."

Anthony, a little disappointed, nodded before saying as he approached, "Well... uh, Aziraphale, that was... that was nice."

What an idiot, it was more than nice. It was the best night he'd had since... he didn't want to think about it.

"Yes, it, uh, it was. Thank you."

Anthony shook his head. 

"I'm the one thanking you."

They exchanged an awkward smile, then Aziraphale held out his hand.

"Goodbye, Anthony."

"Goodbye, Aziraphale. Take care."

Then Anthony watched his one-night lover walk toward the door, and the sound of it closing made him realize it was all over.

"Professor? Professor Crowley?"

The voice of one of his students snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Class is over, can we go to our next class?"

Anthony coughed before answering, "Yes. Let me give you your homework for the next class," then turned to the blackboard to hide his blush before continuing to write instructions on the board.

"Don't forget the commentary due to me by the end of the month, and I want you to have answered these three questions for the next class."

He waited until all of his students had left the room before he fell back in his chair and sighed. It was no less than three times that his students had caught him lost in thought, and twice in the same class. What's more, it was only his third lesson this morning.

The problem was that he couldn't get Aziraphale, the man he'd met the day before, out of his mind. 

He'd thought several times about having a one-night stand to stave off loneliness, but each time something had held him back, a remnant of attachment, the feeling of betraying his lost wife, even though it had been four years.

Then, yesterday, Aziraphale entered the bar and Anthony was immediately drawn to him. He didn't know if it was the other man's aura of innocence, the fact that he didn't look like the usual customers, or simply the same loneliness he had seen in Aziraphale's eyes, but the attraction had been immediate and undeniable.

Aziraphale was so expressive.

Anthony saw his face again and again at different times of the evening and night. 

What a night. 

The innocence, the eagerness of Aziraphale once he'd felt comfortable with Anthony, had been simply intoxicating. 

To say he'd been disappointed when he'd declined Anthony's invitation to breakfast would be an understatement.

Why hadn't he asked for his name? His contact information?

Wait, he'd said he was a student at the university, and Aziraphale wasn't a common first name. Maybe if Anthony did some research...

Anthony laughed to himself. He didn't even know what university the other man was attending.

But since Aziraphale knew that Anthony was a regular at Serenity, maybe he'd come back. But what if he came back looking for another one-night stand? Anthony didn't like the feeling of jealousy that washed over him at that moment. 

He laughed at himself again. How could someone be so jealous about someone he didn't know.

Though they did know each other. Anthony had told Aziraphale more than he had told his closest friends in the four years since his wife's death, and it seemed to him that the other man had revealed a lot about himself that he hadn't told anyone.

"Professor, may we come in?"

Once again pulled out of his thoughts by his students, Anthony motioned them in.

Then he shook his head. It was time to focus on what was important. 

His work.

**********

At noon, Aziraphale and Muriel left their classroom together.

"By the way, Aziraphale, I forgot to tell you, I'm going to meet Eric, my boyfriend, who's also on break, so I won't be able to have lunch with you."

But Azirphale's attention was drawn to the conversation between two girls walking ahead of them.

"It was really weird, today I had an advanced astrophysics class and the professor wasn't paying attention at all."

"Who's your professor?"

"That's Professor Crowley."

"Never heard of him."

"But you have, even though you're new, you must have heard of Professor Anthony Crowley! The one all the students are in love with."

"Aaaah you mean the professor I've heard is special with his gorgeous red hair, golden eyes, and he never smiles, which makes him even more mysterious?"

"Yes! That's pretty much it. And that's what's weird, because this morning we saw him smile three or four times in our class and also twice we had to call him because he was lost in thought."

Aziraphale paused.

Anthony, teacher, red hair, golden eyes, that was a lot of coincidence. 

"Hey Zira! Are you listening to me?  I just told you I won't be joining you for lunch."

Azirapahle shook his head, turned to Muriel, and replied, "No worries. Make the best of it. Besides, I'd like you to introduce me to him one day, this boyfriend you're always talking about."

"Yes, I will, don't worry! He wants to meet you too, since I've only talked about you in the three weeks we've known each other."

Muriel patted him on the shoulder.

"I really must go. I'll leave you here, okay?"

Aziraphale nodded and watched in amusement as Muriel took off at their usual lively pace.

He headed for the exit of the establishment, before walking to the usual little corner that he and Muriel had become accustomed to occupying for lunch. It was a bench at the far end of the campus green, shaded by a weeping willow, which made it the perfect spot when the midday sun was shining brightly, as it was today. Not to mention the sense of security this improvised shelter gave Aziraphale, who was still not too used to the crowds of the university and the city.

A few moments later, he sat down on the bench and began to unwrap his sandwich, which he ate while observing the nature around him and the few birds flying nearby.

He had just finished the last bite when he saw a blackbird land on the grass nearby. Without making any sudden movements, Aziraphale took the few crumbs left in the wrapper of his sandwich and threw them not far from the bird, which had not yet flown away.

He watched as the little bird approached the few crumbs fearfully before pecking at them hungrily, casting a few glances at Azirapahle, who didn't move.

When the blackbird left, Aziraphal leaned back against the bench and looked at his watch.

He still had three-quarters of an hour before the next lesson, so he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm rays of the sun streaming through the leaves of the tree.

*********

Crowley tucked his belongings into his bag and, as soon as the last students had left, he left the classroom to take his lunch break.

For once, he didn't want to be around the hustle and bustle of the university restaurant and decided to find a quiet spot outside to spend his break.

Since he was one of the last to go out, all of his usual spots were either occupied or too exposed to the sun. With a sigh, he made his way to the university's green area.

He was about to despair when he spotted a bench under a willow tree in the distance.

But as he approached, he saw that this bench was also occupied. So much for a quiet break. He sighed again and was about to turn around when he noticed the familiar silhouette of the person sitting on the bench. 

He took a few steps towards the bench and stopped dead in his tracks.

Even from behind.

Even though he'd known him for less than twenty-four hours, there was no way he could have mistaken him.

His one-night stand.

Aziraphale.

He was sitting on a bench a few meters away from him. 

At his university.

Anthony's heart started beating faster.

Go forward?

Walk away?

It was one of those moments when he knew deep down that the decision he was about to make could change the course of his life.

Then he took a few steps forward and whispered, "Aziraphale?"

The other man straightened as if startled awake, looked left and right before turning around.

Anthony first saw the same surprised shock on his face that had been his own, then Aziraphale whispered, "Anthony?"

Anthony joined him and, pointing to the empty seat next to him on the bench, asked, "May I?"

Aziraphale picked up his bag and set it on the other side before nodding.

"Yes, yes, please."

Anthony sat down next to him and for a few moments they remained in silence.

Suddenly they both spoke.

"What are you d-"

"Why are you h-"

Then they both laughed, embarrassed, and Aziraphale motioned for Anthony to speak.

Anthony asked, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're a student at this university?"

"Yes, I am a student here."

Then he seemed to catch on and continued, "Oh, you're a professor here?"

Anthony chuckled.

"Of all the serendipities... what classes are you taking?"

"Literature."

Anthony couldn't hold back a sigh of relief under Aziraphale's puzzled gaze. Seeing his expression, he explained, "I'm an astrophysics professor."

Aziraphale didn't lose his puzzled look.

"Why do you look relieved?"

"Well, it would have been complicated. If I'd been your professor."

But what was he talking about? He was talking as if it was a given that they would continue to see each other. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Anthony tried to correct himself.

"I meant it would have been complicated by the fact that we had a one-night stand. Since I'm not your professor, it won't be a problem."

You are a professor of astrophysics and you look like a babbling idiot. 

Aziraphale, still looking a little confused, replied, "Oh, okay.

Anthony started to unpack his food to avoid Aziraphale's gaze, which he could feel on him, when he heard the other man mumble something he didn't understand.

Intrigued, Anthony looked up to see Azitaphale biting his lips before looking away.

He asked softly, "What did you say? I didn't understand."

Aziraphale, his eyes now downcast, asked, "You mean in the hypothetical case of us having a relationship, it would be no problem because you're not one of my teachers?"

Anthony immediately replied, "No, no problem at all." 

Then he froze, understanding the implication of what the other man had just said, and impulsively asked, "Would you be interested?"

Aziraphale raised his head sharply and asked, "Interested in what?"

Anthony asked in a more measured voice, looking Aziraphalein the eye, "Would you like to go out with me?"

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable fan fictions Masterpost : here

[lunehong]

Tethered

college student! Jongho X college student! fem oc

Soulmate AU, just cuteness and fluff

warnings : mentions of anxiety, illness, pregnancy.

word count : 6.9k

synopsis : what happens when your soulmate bond is finally activated but it doesn't fall under any of the existing types? Jongho and Yunhee try to establish their connection with no clue and minimal examples to follow. Would they succeed in meeting each other and seal the bond or would they fall gradually ill?

a/n : okay so my first ever oneshot, and I'm glad I could write one for our baby bear jjong cuz there aren't many jongho fics on here PLUS I miss him so much :(( I hope he's recovering well and also his birthday is coming up next month! feedback is always appreciated!

----- A reblog would mean the world to me <33 ------

Yesterday was Yunhee’s 18th birthday, which meant that she was finally an adult according to society’s standards. It also meant that she could watch netflix shows that were adult rated without feeling guilty about her age and of course, call chronically online minors out on their behaviour as someone who’d automatically be deemed more mature and responsible.

However, this also entailed that her soulmate bond was activated. 

Yunhee did feel a tingly sensation and the butterflies in her stomach like the others said she would, but after that everything went back to normal. No tattoos were etched onto her body, nor did she see a flash of her soulmate’s face in her mind and there was no response when she thought of a bunch of things to test if they had telepathy. 

She really didn’t know what went wrong but it made her anxious. Also the fact that she had no way of knowing if something happened to her soulmate, as their soulmate bond was still unidentified. 

“You should really calm down, Yunhee.” said Minha, her best friend of 7 years. 

“What if I don’t find him soon enough? We have to meet each other as soon as possible after our soulmate bond has been activated or else we’d both gradually fall ill! Don’t you remember what happened to Nina and her boyfriend?” Yunhee muttered anxiously. 

“It has only been a day! I don’t understand why you’re panicking so much. Give it a week and if there’s still nothing after that, then we can panic.” She concluded.

Taking her best friend’s advice, Yunhee decided to leave the matters into her soulmate’s hands, thinking if she was frantically trying out different confirmation methods, it was safe to assume that he was also doing the same. 

“Dude, I’m telling you, your soulmate bond is telepathy! There isn’t any other type that matches!”  Wooyoung exclaimed, while flailing his hands around to prove his point. 

“But I haven’t heard anything from my soulmate so far! Nor do I know if the things I thought reached her!” Jongho yelled back. 

“Okay… Well, try again later! Don’t give up on this, because I’m a hundred percent sure it’s telepathy of some sort even if it isn’t the common one.” Wooyoung got up to leave. 

“How are you so sure? Are you a soulmate specialist or something?” Jongho scoffed at him. 

Wooyoung smiled at that. “Remember how my soulmate bond was telepathy?” Jongho nodded, “I never told anyone this but, mine wasn’t your typical telepathy… It was one-sided.”

“What? No way!” Jongho stared at him in disbelief.

“Yes, our bond was such that I couldn’t hear anything from her but she could hear everything I thought about. I was ready to give up when I got this idea and decided to give it a last shot.” Wooyoung continued.

“What did you do?” Jongho asked.

“I sat down and started revealing my full name, my social media handles, my address and other details in my head, so if there really was anyone listening they’d know how to find me. She showed up on my doorstep with my favourite snacks not long after. The rest is history.” Wooyoung grinned while recalling the memory. 

“How the hell did we not know this before? It’s literally a story worth telling!” 

“Yes, I’m aware but the topic never came up and I can’t just randomly reveal that my soulmate bond was flawed you know?” Wooyoung tried to reason with Jongho. 

“Okay, fine I got it. I’ll try thinking of different things and hope it’ll reach my soulmate somehow” Jongho sighed, giving in.

“That’s the spirit! Let me and the other guys know if you feel anything and I’ll see you later. Bye!” 

Jongho headed to bed early that day, feeling exhausted. As he was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, an idea came to him. ‘What if I focus on one topic to think about instead of multiple things at once? It might be a more organised approach and less strenuous for my brain.’ 

So he sat up and started consciously thinking about one topic, but phrased them in various ways. 

‘What is your name?’ He waited a bit but there wasn’t a response. 

“At least I know this won't work,” he said out loud. 

‘Can you tell me your name?’

 No response.

“Okay, that’s crossed out too then. How else can I phrase it…”

 If anyone saw him then, they’d think he had gone mad by the way he was talking to himself.

‘Could you speak your name?’

‘Could you spell your name?’

‘Could you trace your name on your hand?’

Jongho tried phrasing it as many ways as he could, even if some sounded ridiculous. 

‘Telleth me thy name.’

 He paused before laughing at himself. 

“So, Shakespearean English is crossed out too it seems.” 

When he ran out of all the ‘tell’, ‘spell’, ‘speak’ and ‘think’ questions he took a different route. 

‘Can you write your name?’

No response. 

Jongho yawned, feeling sleepy. Lying back down on the bed, he tried thinking of a few more sentences before deciding to continue again the next day. 

‘Could you write your name on paper?’ 

No response. 

“Okay, then” he said.

‘Write your name down on paper for me please?’ 

He paused, just about to fall asleep. 

That was when the most unexpected thing happened to him.

Yunhee was tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep. She had just finished her college assignment, due the next day and all the stress she took for it made her extremely tired. 

Assuming sleep would come easy to her, she finished her nighttime routine and headed to bed. But alas, sleep was nowhere to be found. It was one of those days where her body was tired but her mind was wide awake and she despised when that happened because it meant that she would not be able to fall asleep anytime soon. 

She started counting sheep in her head as a last resort.

 When she was on her 29th sheep, Yunhee heard something resonate in her head. The first noise sounded like an incoherent crackle and she almost dismissed it as her mind playing tricks, when she clearly heard a soothing male voice telling her to write her name on paper. 

She sat up on her bed abruptly and tried to reach out to the guy, but to no avail. Her heart was beating very fast at the prospect of finally receiving a telepathic message. She was able to hear her soulmate’s voice and it was a feeling like no other. 

After waiting a bit, she decided to do what the voice told her to: write her name on paper. 

Yunhee got up, retrieving her notebook and a pen from the desk. Sitting back down on the bed once again, she opened the notebook to an empty page and scribbled her name on it. She also wrote “What is your name?” underneath.

She waited for a bit in case another message came through but there were no other responses. 

Yunhee was completely unable to sleep that night. 

Jongho couldn’t believe what he just saw. It was like a flash that only lasted for a few seconds, but he saw a vision through someone else’s eyes. He saw a hand pick up a light blue notebook with the words “hakuna matata” written in a corner with golden ink. The hand also picked up a pen and wrote down something in the notebook. What it wrote, Jongho couldn’t make out because the writing became hazy and blurry. He could only read out ‘Park’ and the writing underneath that said ‘what is your name?’.

He was sure the person wrote her name down but he could only read her surname. 

Jongho felt something unexplainable in his gut. He was finally able to reach his soulmate, even though he couldn’t see her name. Thinking about the vision brought out a sense of longing inside him. He wanted to see more, feel more and know more about her, but he didn’t yet know how.

 ‘At least this is progress’ he thought. ‘I need to tell the others about this and figure out what I should do next.’

The doorbell rang but the sound went unheard by the group of guys inside the apartment. The person standing outside got impatient after a while, and had to bang on the door to gain everyone’s attention. 

“Geez, Hongjoong-hyung why are you banging on the door like that? The bell exists for a reason.” Wooyoung tsked while opening the door for him.

“I rang the bell like 10 times already! None of you brats could hear it over the noise pollution! I swear y’all can be heard from down the hallway!” Hongjoong yelled at him. 

“Cut us some slack though, Hongjoong. We met up after almost a month!” Seonghwa reasoned with him. 

The seven guys excluding Jongho made themselves comfortable in Jongho’s living room, catching up with each other. Meanwhile, the resident of the apartment arranged some refreshments for the eight of them, bringing them over to the living area before plopping down between Yeosang and Mingi. 

“So let’s come to the reason why I called you guys here–” 

“You called us for a reason!?” San fake gasped. 

“You wouldn’t have invited us if you didn’t have a use for us!?” Yunho butted in. 

“Guys let the poor boy speak! I can kinda guess what it’s about.” Wooyoung tried to defend Jongho. 

“Yes, thank you Wooyoung-hyung. The reason why I called you here is because I was able to contact my soulmate yesterday and I still don’t know what type of bond this is.” 

At the revelation, everyone started yelling over each other and asking questions, of which Jongho was unable to decipher a single sentence.

The seven looked like a bunch of chattering baby birds that wanted food from its mother. He sighed and shook his head, thinking how the people in front of him were supposed to be older in age. 

“Guys, one at a time!” he yelled. 

“Okay, so it’s telepathy right?” Wooyoung asked.

“Yes and no.” Jongho paused to sort out what he wanted to say, “It’s telepathy, yes, because I consciously thought of something and it went through. But, only one kind of conscious thought out of all the other ones I tried to send, elicited a response.”

“That’s…weird?” Hongjoong muttered. 

“And not just that, hyung. The response I received was in the form of a glimpse, showing me a vision through my soulmate’s eyes!”

“What?” exclaimed Mingi.

“So, it’s not just telepathy, it’s specific and supposedly one sided, while you receive sporadic glimpses through your soulmate’s eyes. That’s a very odd combination.” Wooyoung said, in deep thought. 

“This is more complicated than yours was, hyung.” Jongho muttered.

“What do you mean?” Yeosang questioned, being able to hear what he said. 

Jongho proceeded to tell them all the details regarding what he thought and what he saw in the glimpse, meanwhile not forgetting to expose Wooyoung and how he hid such crucial information about his own experience. The rest reprimanded Wooyoung for it, making him sulk, but they also collectively tried to figure out exactly how the bond worked. 

“What happened!” Minha burst into Yunhee’s place, panting like she just ran a marathon. 

“Why hello there best friend, why do you look as if you got chased by a dog?” Hayoon, their other best friend, asked sarcastically. 

“Dude? I came here as fast as I could! I got Yunhee’s text a while ago that said ‘EMERGENCY’ in all caps! I thought some code blue shit happened to her!” Minha exclaimed.

“Wow, and I thought the text I received was bad… she sent, ‘come over, I have something to say’ that made me rush here because I thought she was pregnant or something, which would’ve been really bad considering her soulmate bond just activated.” Hayoon laughed. 

At that very moment, Yunhee walked in with tubs of ice cream, suddenly feeling like she entered a lion’s den. The two girls yelled at her for being so dramatic over nothing but calmed down once she handed them their favourite ice cream. 

“So, the reason I sent those ‘dramatic’ texts as you two so eloquently put it, is because I got contacted by my soulmate and I freaked out.” Yunhee revealed while rolling her eyes.

“What?” Minha yelled. 

“When? How?” Hayoon followed. 

“At night yesterday! I was trying to sleep after finishing the assignment and that’s when I heard his voice in my head telling me to write my name on paper. I don’t know why that was so specific but yeah I did as he said.” 

“Did you hear anything in return?” Hayoon inquired.

“No, unfortunately. That was the only thing that came through.” Yunhee sulked. 

“But hey! You got contacted by your soulmate! So we are sure that nothing happened to him and he’s probably trying to figure out how the bond works as well right?” Minha tried to cheer her up like the mom she was, unable to see her kid sad.

“Yeah, that’s true. I hope he figures it out though because I’m at a dead end here.” 

“I’m sure he’ll figure it out! We currently have nothing to do but trust him and cheer him on. So don’t stress too much, Yuns. Stay alert and just wait for him to make the connection again.” Hayoon exclaimed, in a cheery voice. 

“Exactly! Let’s trust him on this one and we can think more about it when he manages to contact you again. Meanwhile, tell us how he sounded! What did you feel?” Minha shook Yunhee in excitement. 

So, the three girls spent the rest of their time discussing the interaction and other’s soulmate experiences while they enjoyed their ice cream.

Jongho recalled the conversation that he had with the guys earlier, who managed to come up with a few hypothetical situations for him to experiment. 

He sat down on his desk with a notebook before him, taking notes like he would for a science class. The guys did have a few different ideas but Hongjoong’s idea made the most sense to Jongho. 

Hongjoong proposed that the message that went through was a command rather than a suggestion or a question. And what Jongho received as a glimpse was the completion of said task that got sent as a command. 

So what Jongho had to do was make his soulmate do tasks for him and if it worked out every time, then eventually find a way for them to meet face to face. 

He relaxed himself and thought of a task for her to do. 

“Okay, so I know that I’d probably not be able to know her name or see what she looks like through the bond so I can’t ask anything related to that.” He spoke out loud. 

After thinking for a while, Jongho got an idea. He decided to send his soulmate to her favourite cafe and order her favourite drink. In this way he’ll be able to figure out which cafe she frequented and what drink she liked as well. 

‘Go to your favourite cafe and order your favourite drink first thing in the morning.’ He thought, hoping that his soulmate heard it. 

“Did it sound too rude? But I can’t send anything other than a command and commands don’t particularly sound nice though.” He spoke to himself again while scratching his head.

Before he could overthink more, Jongho wrote down what he said and headed to bed as he had classes to attend the next day. 

Taking a last minute impulsive decision, Minha and Hayoon chose to stay the night at Yunhee’s house. The three slept over at each other’s places quite often, making it a regular occurrence in their lives. Yunhee let her mother know about it and she told her to grab the extra mattress that they had for such occasions. 

While she was dragging the mattress to her room, she heard a crackle resonate in her mind like the last time. Yunhee dropped the mattress, focusing intently to see if her soulmate’s voice came through. 

Minha was walking back with a glass of water when she spotted her by the living room standing as if she saw a ghost while the mattress was abandoned on the floor.

“Yuns, what happened–” 

“Shush! I think I’m getting another message.” Yunhee quickly cut her off. 

Indeed, the soothing voice she heard the first time spoke to her again, making the darn butterflies in her stomach return to torment her. She unconsciously smiled, the emotions that hearing her soulmate’s voice evoked in her being all very new. 

Minha stared at her from the side, relating with the lovesick look on her friend’s face all too well. 

“Go to your favourite cafe… and order your favourite drink first thing in the morning?” Yunhee repeated what her soulmate said to her out loud. She looked at Minha, tilting her head in obvious confusion.  

“That’s what he said?” Minha looked equally perplexed. 

“What is taking you two so long– why are y’all standing there with the mattress on the floor?” Hayoon came out of her room to check on the two. 

Minha told her what happened while they dragged the mattress to Yunhee’s room. They sat down to think why her soulmate would send in yet another oddly specific message asking her to do something. 

“You know what I think?” Hayoon said in a serious tone, unlike her usual carefree demeanour, “The only form of message he can send are the ones that tell Yunhee to do something. ‘Cause think about it! He probably already tried saying the common stuff like ‘what is your name’ or ‘where do you live’ like we telepathy types did, but in our case all the things we tried to send went through.” 

 Yunhee and Minha looked at each other for a few seconds before directing their attention back to Hayoon, who was raising her eyebrows at them. 

“Wow dude, what’s up with you? You’re actually making sense today!” Yunhee exclaimed with fake enthusiasm while patting Hayoon on the shoulder, who rolled her eyes and pointed her middle finger towards Yunhee in return.

“Yeah! But Yoon’s right. Can’t relate though, ‘cause I was the tattoo type but she has a point. And I also think that he can somehow sense if you have done the given task or not or else he wouldn’t have any way of knowing if his messages are going through.” Minha added while laughing at Hayoon.

“I mean, the task is simple enough. I do visit cafe Aurora before heading to class anyway, so it won’t be anything out of the ordinary, I guess.” Yunhee muttered. 

The three girls started their movie marathon, when Minha’s phone rang. It was a facetime call from her soulmate Changbin, who was also their childhood friend since middle school. 

When Minha turned 18, which was three months back, she invited all her friends to attend the party, including Changbin. He was out of town that week so he couldn’t attend her birthday party. 

The tattoo that appeared on Minha’s wrist was supposed to be the first thing her soulmate told her after it was activated, which said, “Happy birthday! Sorry I couldn’t make it, Min.” 

 Minha looked absolutely bewildered while Yunhee and Hayoon laughed at it like maniacs. She got teased by the other two the entire day, while she tried to appear nonchalant about it. 

When they were younger, Minha never liked the concept of soulmates and always complained about the idea of getting paired up with a complete stranger for the rest of their lives as it seemed unnerving to her. But when she realised that her soulmate might be good old Changbin, she didn’t hate the idea anymore. It was true that Minha never saw him as anything more than a friend but he was an amazing guy and she did think he’d make a good partner. 

At night she received a call from him and indeed, the first thing he said was “Happy birthday! Sorry I couldn’t make it, Min.” 

Minha laughed and said, “Thanks, idiot.” when it dawned upon Changbin as well that his soulmate was none other than Minha.

 They met up when Changbin returned (he basically scrambled to return as fast as he could) and made it official.

 Among Yunhee’s friends, Minha and Changbin were probably the fastest soulmates to seal the bond which made a lot of them jealous because of how easy it was for them to find each other. 

Back to the present, Changbin facetimed Minha who received the call. 

“Hey Min, are you staying over at Yunhee’s today?” 

“Yep. Sudden decision.”

“Oh okay, have fun! And pass the phone to Yunhee please.” Changbin spoke. 

Yunhee peeked from the back and waved at him. 

“You! What were you thinking when you sent a text like that, dumbass? Who sends ‘EMERGENCY’ and dips without explaining what happened?” He exclaimed.

“Ugh, okay fine sorry. I won’t send texts like that again. I got nagged enough by these two, I don’t need you to add anything to it, Binnie.” Yunhee whined. 

“At least you’re fine and dandy so I’ll spare your ass today. How's the soulmate situation going?” 

They told him everything that happened and gossiped with him for a few more minutes before hanging up. 

Yunhee left to talk to her parents about something, only to come back to the room with her brows furrowed at the screen of her phone. 

“Uh, Yoonie? Why is Eric texting me saying if I decided to keep the baby or not, and if I did he’ll help me convince my soulmate to keep it too?” 

At this, Hayoon and Minha looked at each other, before they burst out laughing. Yunhee was still looking at them in bewilderment but the two were not being able to stop. 

After two minutes of them laughing without break and Yunhee standing like the clown that she was, they finally stopped. 

“Remember the text that you sent me? I showed it to Eric and he was the one who said ‘why does she sound like she’s going to announce her pregnancy or something’ and we realised that it could be a possibility, because dude, everyone knows that you write paragraphs when you text. So, such a thing was not to be taken lightly.” Hayoon shrugged.

At this Yunhee threw a pillow at her, yelling how her love life was as barren as the Sahara desert (because she couldn’t fall for anyone else when the thought of having a soulmate later in life hit her) and how she and her soulmate shared the same braincell. 

“Come on! At least he’s supportive!” Hayoon defended Eric.

“Yeah yeah, I can see that. Let me call him and explain the whole thing, or else he’ll start preparing to be an uncle.”

Eric was Hayoon’s soulmate that she met 3 weeks after her 18th birthday. They were the telepathy type, being able to contact each other almost immediately after the soulmate bond was activated.

The two had a few bumps on the road, as Eric wasn’t cooperative in the beginning. The reason being that he liked this other girl and he couldn’t accept the fact that his soulmate was someone else. But the said girl found her soulmate a week after, which finally pushed Eric to move on and seek his own soulmate. 

Minha and Yunhee didn’t like him, as he made their best friend suffer and put her at risk of getting ill due to the unsealed bond, but he redeemed himself eventually. Now they were a pretty wholesome couple.

After clearing the misunderstanding, they resumed the movie marathon, falling asleep in the midst of it. 

Jongho didn’t feel like getting up. It was a cold winter morning, which made sleeping under the warmth of the duvet all the more enticing. But he had to wake up as he had an important class to attend that day. 

He reached college early, so he was waiting inside the classroom when he saw it.

a glimpse of an awfully familiar cafe. He was able to hear her voice this time, when she spoke to order a regular hot mocha. A shiver ran down his body when he heard it, realising how sweet her voice sounded to him. Keeping his emotions at bay, he noticed two very familiar faces through the glimpse before it ended. 

“Cafe Aurora, huh.” He smiled to himself. His soulmate was nearer to him than he thought. 

As he entered through the door in a hurry to get away from the cold, Jongho noticed that the cafe was busier than usual. He figured that it was due to the freezing weather outside, while the cafe provided the warmth everyone including himself was seeking. 

Upon reaching the front he spotted Soobin behind the cashier counter, taking orders like he usually does with a smile on his face. Beomgyu was in the middle calling out names and distributing drinks while San was at the back making them for the customers. 

He eventually spotted Jongho and called another worker to take his place, so that he could go greet his friend. 

“Jongho? Fancy seeing you here.” San spoke up in a playful tone. 

“Why? Can’t I visit my dear hyung during his shift?” Jongho retaliated. 

“No, of course you can but you usually don’t frequent this place. Remember when you told me it was far from your house and you already found another place to get your iced americano from?” San raised his eyebrows making Jongho avert his gaze.

“Okay, fine! You got me there. I came here to ask you something.” he pouted. 

“Ei, don’t feel bad! I was teasing you! But do visit me more often from now okay? What did you want to ask?” San laughed while patting his back.

“So, I saw another glimpse this morning. I’ll tell you the details later but I think Hongjoong hyung’s theory worked. Can you tell me if you remember any girl, possibly a regular here, ordering hot mocha around 8 am?” 

“I make the drinks dude, I wouldn’t know. Hey, Gyu? Can you come over for a sec?” San yelled. 

Beomgyu, who finally got to breathe after distributing the drinks, clicked his tongue and walked over to where the two were standing. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” 

“Do you remember any regular female customer that came today around 8 am to order a hot mocha?” San asked him.

“Okay first of all, I have been distributing over hundreds of drinks, at least 30 of which were hot mochas. And if we are talking about 8 am then a lot of people came in to get their morning fix before college so I don’t think I can help you.” He paused.

“You could check the server but I doubt that would be of any help either, because a lot of female regular customers order hot mochas in the morning so…” Beomgyu shrugged. 

“Okay thanks, Gyu. We’ll figure something out.” San sighed.

“Why? Did anyone take a drink without paying again?” Beomgyu inquired in a concerned voice. 

“No, no. We’re trying to find Jongho’s soulmate.” San and Jongho laughed at Beomgyu’s expression.

“Oh, thank god. Good luck searching for her, bro.” Beomgyu gave Jongho a thumbs up before resuming his work. 

San looked at Jongho, who was deep in thought. 

“How’d you know she came to Aurora?” 

“Oh, come on hyung, I’d recognise the interior anywhere! Plus, she gave her order to Soobin and you were at the back making drinks. I saw you two in the glimpse.” Jongho poked San in the shoulders, making him swat his hand away. 

“Moreover, I think I found out how the bond works. So, I’ll increase contact and try to get her to meet me somehow.”

“That’s the spirit! I know you’ll succeed Jongho-yah.” San said with a proud look on his face. 

He asked Jongho if he still wanted to order an iced americano in a weather like that, to which he said yes. San shook his head at the boy but proceeded to make him what he wanted, yelling how he wouldn’t take any responsibility if Jongho caught a cold later. 

He just smiled and gestured at him to continue making the drink.

Two days have passed since Yunhee received the last message from her soulmate. She was trying not to think about it, distracting herself with other things but every now and then her mind would fleet to the honey-like voice which evoked an unexplainable sense of longing in her. She wanted to hear his voice again.

During breaks, the trio made a point to gather whenever their schedules coincided, to catch up and complain about college, even though it was just their freshman year. 

Yunhee was walking towards their hangout spot with Hayoon when she felt like another message was coming through. She stopped walking and tapped Hayoon on the shoulder to do the same. 

The now familiar voice reverberated in her head saying “Write the name of your favourite flower on your notebook.” 

She stood there with a faraway look in her eyes, while the girl beside her extended and retracted her hand awkwardly, not knowing if she should shake her best friend or not. 

Hayoon didn’t have to suffer in indecisiveness for long, as Minha approached them and did the job for her by back hugging Yunhee, bringing her out of her trance.

“Why are you two standing here? Let’s go.” 

“Wait, Yunhee received another telepathic message. What is it bro?” Hayoon asked Yunhee. 

“He asked me to write the name of my favourite flower. What is he up to?” 

“It’s just flowers Yunhee, he probably wanted to know basic stuff like that so that he can be prepared when he finally meets you.” Minha reasoned.

“Okay let’s go sit, so that I can write it down.” 

The three headed to their hangout place. As soon as Yunhee sat down, she reached for her bag to bring the notebook out. She opened it and wrote, ‘sunflowers, but pink roses are great too’ after much thought. 

The other two teased her saying they already knew she was going to write sunflowers so she really didn’t have to ponder so much, but Yunhee disagreed by saying how she found all flowers pretty so it was hard for her to pick one.

The following day, Yunhee received another message that asked her to write yes in the notebook if she was available on the weekend and no if she wasn’t. 

She ended up writing a ‘YES’ in capital letters on her notebook that probably covered the whole page, out of sheer excitement. 

Jongho on the other hand received a glimpse of it, laughing at how adorable she was. It was as though he felt the excitement of his soulmate and that made him more eager and impatient to meet her. 

Yunhee immediately informed Hayoon and Minha about it, who were equally thrilled for their best friend and promised to help her get ready for the occasion. 

Weekend arrived faster than the two soulmates anticipated. Jongho made sure to send her a message saying “Go to cafe Aurora at 4pm” before he started preparing to meet her. 

He got ready at three and sent a message to his group chat asking which flower he should pick between sunflowers and pink roses. Most of them suggested him to buy both and get them arranged in a nice bouquet. 

What Jongho didn’t know, however, was that the seven were already camping at cafe Aurora (excluding San because it was his shift anyway) to watch the scene unfold. 

Yunhee finally finished getting ready with the help of her two best friends. She opted for a classy but casual look: flared jeans, puffy sleeved black top, minimal pearl accessories and light makeup. 

She kept stressing and overthinking about the entire situation like the worrywart she was. At first Minha and Hayoon were trying to reassure her and alleviate her concerns but after a while it became frustrating for them so they nagged her and threw her out of the house before it was too late.

Yunhee, although still anxious about the whole meeting up with her soulmate situation, took deep breaths and reminded herself how much she had been wanting to meet her soulmate for the past few days. After calming down a bit, she headed towards the cafe. 

Jongho arrived at the cafe, the bouquet of flowers in hand. It seemed as though he attracted quite a bit of attention, because of how big the assortment of flowers looked due to the big and vibrant sunflowers. He didn’t think much of it however, opting to find a suitable seat while he waited for his soulmate to arrive. 

San on the other hand, went inside the storage room upon Jongho’s arrival to alert the other six who were hiding in there. The guys were trying to find a suitable position to peek in through the door; bickering in low voices to prevent being seen. Yunho had to hold his hand over Wooyoung’s mouth in case he yelled unintentionally and gave out their position. 

Meanwhile, San explained the whole situation to Beomgyu and Soobin, who finally understood what was going on.

“Here goes nothing.” Yunhee muttered to herself while she pushed the door to the cafe open. Upon entering she noticed that the cafe was moderately busy– an unusual sight for her as she always visited early in the morning during the rush hour, when all the seats were occupied and a huge queue present.

She didn’t know what to look for as her soulmate hadn’t really mentioned anything that would help her identify him in the crowd, but she hoped that her ‘soulmate senses’ would assist her with it (if such a thing existed).

Soobin noticed her standing awkwardly by the door and called her.

“Hello! Yunhee, right?” he said. 

“Oh, hi! Yeah, I usually drop by before going to college. I’m glad you remember my name!” Yunhee was grateful to him for striking up a conversation. 

“You seemed like you were searching for someone. Do you perhaps need some help?” He inquired. 

“I was, actually! To be honest, I don’t know what he looks like.” she paused. “It’s… my soulmate and today is supposed to be our first meeting.” Yunhee said truthfully.

Upon hearing what she said, Soobin immediately yelled at San to come to the counter, who was standing at the back. 

Yunhee saw Soobin whisper something to his ear and he looked at her with his eyebrows raised in shock. He then moved back to allow the guy to stand in his place.

“Hi! I’m San and I usually handle making beverages at the back. Soobin here just told me that you are looking for your soulmate, is that right?” He asked politely. 

“Nice to meet you! And yeah, I am.” She replied. 

“Looks like we’ll meet each other more often from now on, Ms.Yunhee.” San said while smiling. “And you might want to look there, on the right side, where a guy is sitting with a huge bouquet of flowers. Good luck!” He instructed while pointing towards the table. 

Yunhee approached said table and immediately noticed the assortment of sunflowers and pink roses along with a few other flowers. She tapped on the table to get the guy’s attention, who was on his phone with his back to her.

Jongho looked up, only to find, arguably, the most beautiful girl he has ever laid eyes upon. He seemed to be in a trance, everything but the girl in front of him becoming a blur.

Yunhee wasn’t faring any better, feeling like her heart was beating out of her chest as she stared at the guy that was supposed to be her soulmate. 

Both of them felt like something clicked in place, like the final piece in a puzzle that they didn’t even know was missing all this time.

Jongho recovered first, standing up to move the bouquet so that Yunhee could sit in the seat in front of him. Once she settled down, he swiftly handed the flowers to her, to which she thanked him in a bashful way. 

“I did think your choice of flower was unique, but now that I saw you face to face, it suits you.” Jongho said, after clearing his voice. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thanks.” Yunhee replied. 

“I’m Jongho. Choi Jongho. Sophomore in college.” 

“Park Yunhee. Freshman.” 

“Yunhee… a pretty name for an even prettier person it seems.” Jongho replied playfully, making her blush. 

They carried their conversation, feeling quite relaxed and comfortable after a while. Yunhee asked him a bunch of different questions, as she couldn’t do that with their bond earlier and Jongho patiently answered every query that she had with a smile on his face, not missing to ask her some in return. 

The more they communicated, the more they realised how similar their values and preferences were, which dispelled all the concerns they had about liking each other.

Jongho got up to collect their order when he noticed the six heads peeking through a door in the distance. He made his way towards the door and swung it open, to see the six guys trying to hide behind carton boxes. 

Jongho folded his arms and glared at them while they stuttered trying to explain the situation. Meanwhile, San pretended he did not see anything and continued his work.

Being discovered already, the guys came out from the storage room and greeted Yunhee, who was taken aback at first but reciprocated their enthusiasm almost immediately. 

She could see how embarrassed Jongho looked because of them so she tried to console him by saying that her friends were like this too and they’d all get along really well once they met. 

The guys started leaving one by one, seeing how Jongho’s death glare was still quite evident and they didn’t want to be at the receiving end of their youngest’s wrath. 

Jongho sighed and apologised to Yunhee again for his friends’ sudden intrusion to which she was fine with and said that it was quite nice to meet the people he was close to.

They finished their beverages and chose to take a walk outside before heading home. 

As they were walking along the pavement, Jongho felt a sudden urge to hold her hand. He tried to appear nonchalant and brushed his hand with hers, to which Yunhee responded by grabbing his hand while looking the other way. 

As someone who hated skinship with all his being, Jongho didn’t quite fathom why he felt the need to initiate physical contact with the girl walking beside him. Something as simple as holding hands was making his emotions go haywire. 

'So this is what having a soulmate feels like.' Jongho thought. 

“Right? I always felt like it was a foreign concept to me, which I couldn’t relate to at all when the people around me shared their stories. But now that I’m experiencing it for myself, I get what they were saying.” Yunhee replied, while swinging their joint hands back and forth. 

Jongho looked at her, perplexed about how she knew what he was thinking when their soulmate bond was supposed to dissipate once they met; not to mention it wasn’t regular telepathy to begin with.

Yunhee glanced back at him, to see his head tilted endearingly towards her in confusion.

“You said that out loud, Jongho.” She pointed out while giggling at his expression. 

“Oh, I didn’t realise that.” Jongho turned his head away to hide his embarrassment but Yunhee noticed how red his ears were, making her chuckle again. He figured that he really loved how her laugh sounded. 

After their impromptu stroll, Jongho took Yunhee home. 

They were at the gate, when the girl turned around and held both of Jongho’s hands.

“I had a lovely time today, so thank you so much for that. Thank you for not giving up on me even after knowing how complicated it was trying to find how our bond worked, as I completely started depending on you after not having a single clue about it. I know that our life was kind of on the line too but still I’d like to express my gratitude. And also… thanks for not turning out a jerk I guess?” Yunhee ended with a mischievous smile, making Jongho laugh. 

“Then I’d also like to express my gratitude for the fact that you chose to trust me on this and I’m so glad that you’re my soulmate.” Jongho smiled warmly while squeezing her hands tighter. “Also, thanks for not being a snobbish Karen.” He ended with a wink. 

Both Yunhee and Jongho felt all warm inside just by looking at each other. Every emotion that they felt just by doing the bare minimum seemed heightened and it was a complete new experience for both of them. 

The day ended as Yunhee hugged Jongho despite him telling her he hated skinship, and surprisingly Jongho didn’t mind it and hugged her back. 

Yunhee promised to introduce her parents and friends to him some other day, to which Jongho wholeheartedly agreed, saying he’d do the same. 

At last they parted ways, Yunhee entering her house and Jongho on his way home even though they didn’t want the day to end. 

Unspoken promises of a life together at each other's side lingered on. A life, where they were bound to be together, chosen as each other’s counterparts by fate itself. No matter how many lives they lived, the red string of fate would always bring the destined souls to one another; such was the way of the universe.

[my-castles-crumbling]

omg okay, I feel like u caused a revelation. 

probably one I should’ve already had. 

“I think it’s possible for you to have had a great childhood AND not be supported now” - You. 

I thought I was. Supported. Now. Because they’ve been doing everything they’ve always done, right? So it was normal. BUT, if they were really supporting me, they’d be supporting me. In the ways I need to be supported, not just the ways they want to support me. 

It’s Purple anon btw :) Ur really good at this advice thing. Like genuinely. Thanks. 

Also you ready? I HAVE NEWS. 

Ask her if it was a date. You make it sound so easy Cas. 

But I decided it was infinitely more embarrassing for it to be a date and I didn’t realise than if it wasn’t a date but I asked if it was. So I asked… 

you ready? (also please be prepared for how absolutely incredibly dumb i’m about to seem. benefit of hindsight and all?) 

Me: *in the kitchen with her, drying the dishes she’s just washed after dinner cause we don’t have a dishwasher- background music was my Chappell Roan playlist, just to set the scene* Hey so, I had the best time on Wednesday. Thank you for planning all that, you’re amazing. 

Daisy: You’re welcome. I had the best time too. Oh and I named the bear, which is getting more adorable everyday, just so you know. I named it Candy. After the road we met on. 

Me: The road? 

Daisy: Yes. The road. I cannot believe you. You don’t remember? 

Me: I- how do you remember that? 

Daisy: I met you. Of course I remember. A invited me to that adorable house party at her friends place, and as if it were in a movie, when I went outside to the street to get some air, on the left was the road sign, and on the right was you. I mean A was there too but who cares? I’m pretty sure she introduced us but I don’t remember what she said. 

Me: And you’re offended I don’t remember? I might not remember the name of the damn road, but I do remember everything she said about you. And your ridiculous outfit that night.  I never did find out where the hell you got that purse from.

Daisy: I stole it from my mum.

Me: But you told everyone a few months later that it got ruined at that party? 

Daisy: Oh yeah it got stained bad. And it was all your fault. 

Me: All my fault? How exactly? 

Daisy: You, you flustered me. 

Me: I? I flustered you? Now that’s hilarious. When did I fluster you, when I rambled on about the moon while we were stood outside?

Daisy: You don’t remember, do you? 

Me: Remember? I remember that night. You had that cardigan on, and you were very sensibly drinking water. 

Daisy: Yeah. And you definitely weren’t drinking water. Plus don’t get me started on outfits. I had on a silly brown cardigan, one of my favourite shirts and joggers. You had those boots, and glasses that everyone swore were a fashion statement, it took four months for me to realise you actually need those. They just fitted perfectly with your look. And your hair, don’t you remember how long it was back then, all wavy in the wind. God it really was like a movie. 

Me: Oh come on, i’m not buying that. Those glasses were dull and my hair was horrifically tangled that evening. Plus, “dumb brown cardigan”, don’t disparage my favourite cardigan of yours. I know you still have it. You wear it when you read. And it matches your eyes. Plus it has little caramel flowers, like the specs in your eyes. And that random shirt had Tori Spring on it. That’s how I knew we’d be friends. 

Daisy: Yeah I remember. You really don’t remember what happened that night? 

Me: I am literally talking to you about how I remember every detail, what have I missed? And pray tell how it was my fault your adorably weird bag got ruined?

Daisy: I- you are quite something. Okay so firstly, I brought up the moon and you not only indulged my random facts, you then gave your own. Then you trailed your hand down my chest, pointing at Tori and left your hand just resting on me as you chatted about how much you adored Solitaire and loved a book that surprised you with twists. THEN you trailed your hand back up my neck to my chin and pulled my face towards you, and whispered something about how amazing my eye makeup was. And then you downed your beer or whatever was in that horrific cup, grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house. Where we then spent an hour or so dancing, closely. Then your phone rang and suddenly you had to leave. You shoved your newest drink into my hand, kissed my cheek, and ran out the fucking house. And then I didn’t see you again for a month. So yeah, I dropped the stupid beer you shoved in my hands onto my mums bag when you kissed my cheek and then I had to explain that I of course wasn’t drinking, which I wasn’t. And then I had to tell her about you. It’s still stained, the bag. That’s how I remember it anyway. 

Me: I- erm- okay you must be exaggerating parts of that. And I wanted to see you, I had that family crisis, I disappeared to everyone. A freaked the hell out. Wait, is that we barely spoke that year? Our friend groups were overlapping so much but- besides a few moments- we didn’t talk much. Christ when you say it all like that I sound like a dick. I didn’t mean to-

Daisy: Flirt with me? 

Me: I didn’t mean to flirt with anyone back then. I was walking, talking mess. 

Daisy: And yet you charmed everyone. 

Me: Oh please, they put up with at best. But I charmed you?

Daisy: At first. Then you disappeared. Then i was less charmed. But it worked in the end, i’m still here aren’t I? 

Me: Yeah. You are. Look i’m sorry if that hurt you, I didn’t intend to but honestly that does sound kind of shitty of me. Why did you start talking to me, after like a year? Cause I tried starting conversations, I really liked you. But that whole year you couldn’t care less. 

Daisy: Couldn’t care less? I had a massive crush on you and you clearly weren’t in a place to be dealing with that. Hell, you’d barely figured out that you weren’t straight. And your parents were being extra dicks. After a year, I thought it’d be fine to be friends with you without getting a silly crush. 

Me: It took you a year to get over me? But 16 to 17 year old me was such a dickhead. How did you ever like her? 

Daisy: I like all of you. 

Me: That was cheesy. But same. For the record. 

Daisy: You like all of you too? 

Me: I obviously met you. You’re the worst. 

Daisy: Thought I was the best? 

Me: You can be both.

Daisy: Can I now? What an honour. 

We carried on in silence for a bit. I added this bit so you could see what gave me the final courage to ask her. Cause- clearly i’ve always been this much of an idiot. 

Me: *a few minutes later, I don’t remember how long it was tbh, Chappell Roan is STILL playing cause she’s iconic* Can I ask you something? 

Daisy: Sure, I guess.

Me: Wednesday. It was a lot of fun. 

Daisy: It was. That happens to not be a question though. 

Me: I- was it maybe, supposed to be a date? 

Daisy: What? 

Me: Shit i’m sorry, it didn’t- I just- It’s okay if not, I just thought i’d ask. 

Daisy: And, if it, if it was? 

Me: Then i’d say you really should’ve told me outright cause evidentially I can’t take social cues and I would’ve been way more romantic. 

Daisy: You held my hand. 

Me: You’re a touchy person. 

Daisy: You won me something.

Me: It made you smile, I always want you to smile. It wasn’t specific to Wednesday. 

Daisy: I’m sorry, are you saying you do all the lovely things you do to see me smile?

Me: Not to see it, that’s a bonus, just to know, that you’re smiling. To know you’re happy. It makes me happy. 

Daisy: I- shit. You can’t just say stuff like that.

Me: Why not? 

Daisy: You are and will always be the weirdest person i’ve ever met. You send crazy signals you know? 

Me: To be fair I don’t think i’m aware that i’m sending like half of them

Daisy: That much is evident 

Me: I was trying to send one now though. See, now you’re the one who can’t pick up signals 

Daisy: And what signal were you sending me? 

Me: You know you’re making this really difficult right? 

Daisy: Have I not proved that half the time I have no idea what you’re saying or doing? 

Me: Fine. I’ll make it easy. Wednesday was not a date because when we go on a date I want us both to know it’s a date. 

Daisy: But you do… want to go on a date. With me? 

Me: I would love nothing more. 

Daisy: You’re an idiot, you know that.

Me: With all the proof you seem to have that I don’t know what’s going on all the time, you’d think you’d have told me it was a date, you know, so that I knew. 

Daisy: This isn’t even the first time this has happened.

Me: I’m fairly certain this is the first time we’ve had this conversation.

Daisy: Maybe but it’s definitely not the first time i’ve taken you on a not-a-date date before.

Me: Don’t act like I don’t also plan nice shit for you.

Daisy: No you do and that’s worse cause then I have to spend ages trying to see if you realise you just planned us a date.

Me: Well obviously I did not realise. 

Daisy: Obviously 

*Small bit of silence*

Daisy: Just to check, this isn’t just a one time thing right?

Me: What? This conversation or our date that i’m gonna plan, and totally upstage Wednesday by the way, just watch me. 

Daisy: You’re an idiot, I meant the date. I don’t want one date with you and I need you to know that. I know you’ve got a lot going on with your parents and I don’t ever want to seem or feel like some kind of pressure against you so if-

Me: Look, Daisy it’s been made abundantly clear to me by A, all our friends, your mum, a tumblr blog and my professors that I could fuck up us, while trying to deal with my parents. At the end of the day, you’re the person I imagine being by my side for like- forever. And if my parents can’t get that, then they’re the ones who are wrong. 

Daisy: Sorry did you just say, my mum, a tumblr blog and your professor? 

Me: Yeah? 

Daisy: What? 

Me: Well- your mum called me last month with a super cryptic message about her supporting me, and that she’d have my back if I needed a parent and that she “loved us together”. In hindsight  I realise she was trying to hint to me to ask you out. 

Daisy: And the others? You told a blog and one of your professors about me? I thought you used tumblr for your cute Harry Potter obsession.

Me: Oh I do. There’s this blog that answers advice and stuff, I just told them I was in love with you and told them about my parents and stuff and they told me that I need to realise my parents don’t accept me, oh and that I need to ask you out. And technically two of my professors know about you. I told my favourite one, it came up during office hours cause were kinda buddies now and turns out she’s a lesbian, and she’s friends with this other professor and he came in and we all chatted about it for a while. So yeah.

Daisy: Sorry, just back up a second, this blog, you told it- you- you told it you’re in love with me? 

Me: Yeah? 

Daisy: You haven’t told me that yet!? 

Me: Oh- sorry I thought it was obvious. I’m in love with you.

Daisy: I- same I guess. Shit Purple- I am being bombarded with information right now.

Me: Sorry? I can stop. Also, “You guess”? That seems a little offensive. 

Daisy: I love you too. I’m in love with you too. But mine is obvious. I have been obviously in love with you for at least two years.

Me: YOU HAVE? 

Daisy: You didn’t know? 

Me: Clearly I never know. 

Daisy: Yes well i’m starting to realise to what extreme now.

*slight silence*

*laughter*

Me: Holy shit i’m so stupid.

Daisy: We both are. And we thought we were so good at communicating. 

Me: I- I don’t even know what to say. 

*we’re very close to each other now*

Daisy: I don’t have to wait until our first date right? 

Me: Wait? For what? 

Daisy: *rolls her eyes* for you to kiss me idiot.

Me: Oh. No. Unless you want to and then-

Daisy: Shut up.

*We kissssssssss!!!!! Guess what? Heartstopper level fireworks ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Called it*

Daisy: Better plan that date fast.

Me: I wish i’d pulled my head out of my ass faster, I can’t take you on a good date right around exams

Daisy: Well then maybe i’ll just have to keep best date title until after uni exams, then you can upstage me.

Me: It’s a draw at best, if we count Wednesday then we have to count when I jumped through hoops to get you those concert tickets, and then went with you and was super enthusiastic at your dance party.

Daisy: You loved that concert. And if you didn’t intend it to be a date, I don’t think it counts. 

Me: I’m pretty sure we’re gonna be in weird water if we try and figure out whether all the shit we’ve done over the years has been dates or not. So, even? 

Daisy: I’m totally winning

Me: I hate you.

Daisy: No you don’t. 

Me: You’re right. I don’t. I love you. So much.

Daisy: Oh my god.

Me: You’re blushing.

Daisy: Shut up! 

Me: I can’t believe I waited so long to tell you. I can’t believe you love me back.

Daisy: Of course I do. 

There was a lot of smiling and giggling and she teased me for singing Chappell Roan at her and I had to tell about your blog and my whole talk with my professors (I don’t remember if I told you about that).

But I have a girlfriend now. AHHHHHHHHHHH (happy excitement btw). 

Ugh this is so great. She’s been watching me write this over my shoulder and been correcting the parts of our conversation I got wrong. She also says i’m cheesy for giving her such a cute nickname and giving A a really basic one.

Also apparently A knows Daisy loves me? She told you, didn’t she? That stupid ask she sent. Damn her.

Anyways, the love of my life is my girlfriend nowwwwwwww!!!!!!!!

I haven’t decided what to do about my parents fully yet. Me and Daisy agreed to keep this between us (and A, and her mum, and you and my professors) during exams and then over the summer we’re gonna tell our friends and i’m gonna tell my parents and deal from there. So we’ll see.

I seriously cannot thank you enough Cas ❤️ (Daisy says your blog is adorable by the way). 

AHHHHHHHH

I need you to know that I went feral when I read this. I told my wife the whole story and she told me I need to get out more, but I'm just so excited for you <3

Also A did tell me Daisy loves you, yeah. I couldn't just tell! You guys had to figure it out on your own, or you'd never be able to communicate!

Sending you guys all the love and keep me updated!

[idkelly]

RED NAILS

• Lalo salamanca x fem!reader, with some nacho too (best of both worlds), HEAVY on slowburn, and i love hurt comfort so bear with me

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

CHAPTER TWO

The casino was a safe space, for (Yn) at least, because it was her favorite skill—gambling and playing with predictions and percentages. She was known for it, and everyone knew her hands always pulled the best cards in the game.

Yes, the new Mexico casino was nothing like the one back home in Mexico, but business is business. Walking in, she didn’t grab any attention, which was better for her sake at the moment.

Only her father and brothers knew of her existence right now, plus Mike and a few others. but to the outside world, the new family was long gone from the public’s eye.

She hummed along to the music as she made her way to the back office, opening the door slowly, "Pa?"

“Hola bonita," as always, a cigarette was between his fingers and a book was spread in front of him. The lights were pretty dim, and the doctor told him it was better for his eyesight.

"I found him."

"Varga?"

"Hmm, when’s the next step?"

 "Tomorrow"

It was perfect. The plan and her needs were aligned. Her car needed a checkup, and she herself needed to check up on someone.

She found herself at the front desk of Ignacio's dad's workshop, and she was quite surprised he had some good business going despite his age.

 “Hola," the old man greeted her as soon as he heard the bell ring.

 "Hola.  ¿Cómo estás?" 

"Welcome. How can I help you?" He switched to English so fast, do I really look that white-washed?

"I was hoping to get a checkup on my car."

He nodded and turned to the back, where he yelled his son's name, telling him to go up front.

(Yn) couldn’t help but smile when she saw the look on his face when he recognized her; his steps slowed for a second as he gathered his thoughts as to what she was doing here.

The man brought his son only to be a translator between the two; therefore, Yn  didn’t need to show her ability to speak Spanish.

 In the middle of talking, the dad was called back in. with an apologetic look, he said, "I'm sorry, Senorita. My son will help you, okay?" and with that, he walked off.

 "How’d you find me?"

 (Yn) scoffed, looking to the side, though she could feel Ignacio's stare burn holes through her skull.

"Why are you here?"

"I can't get my car checked out now?."

 The man kisses his teeth in annoyance. What the hell was she doing here? "We both know you’re not here just for that."

 "Well, a little birdie told me that not only you’re a drug dealer, you’re also a card thief. I mean, shit, if you wanted some, I would’ve given you my Pokemon collection; it’s very exclusive."

 If someone were to animate the view from (Yn)’s eyes, they would’ve drawn steam out of Ignacio's ears.

 "I'm just saying you underestimated how big of an idiot you were. He went to the police for those cards, and now they’re snooping around."

 "Sounds like you have a problem, young lady," he said, taking a step back, ready to leave.

 "First of all, it’s an us problem; second of all, I'm pretty sure I'm older than you," he continued along his way until she stopped him dead in his tracks.

 "Are you really not that scared of Tuco Salamanca?"

 And there he is again, right in front of Yn, with his hands crossed over his chest.

 "I know you don’t play ball, so to speak, and Tuco finds out about your little side business. I think we both know the end to that."

 "Who are you?" he finally asked; that question had been on his mind for the whole day yesterday.

 "Me? I'm nobody," same dumb smile she always uses.

 "To put an end to this before it even starts, you give me the baseball cards, 10,000 in cash, and you net roughly $60,000."

 Ignacio chuckled then went back to his serious face, "And how exactly does that work?"

 (Yn) stayed quiet for a bit, saying, "Before I continue, you really have amazing eyelashes, im jealous."

Well, that took him by surprise; he didn’t show it obviously, but still, it startled him. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted by her continuing her speech.

He was impressed by her plan, and more so by her way of convincing him so easily to take part in it.

What stood out about her to him was the way she held eye contact; sure, it was common in the business to establish power and shit, But with her, it was almost more to get even with whoever she was looking at. He couldn’t put a finger on how he felt about it, her.

(Yn) wasn’t there when the final deal was happening, but Mike was, and she told him about the plan as she dropped him off near where he worked; it wasn't hard to find that one either.

The rest of the day she spent at the casino with her brothers; her father was now back home. The place was her brother's, where she was carrying out her business, which was her casino back in Mexico.

Here, the family was invisible, though; it wasn’t common knowledge who owned this place.

After a few hours, Yn  finally decided to head back home to her cat and maybe watch a movie while cuddling. The woman’s schedule was really, really empty; she could do as she pleased day and night.

As she unlocked the door, she could hear her cat calling her through the kitchen, but instead of coming to her, she had to fully realize who was sitting down on her sofa.

hard eyes.

 "Do you want coffee or tea?" she said as she kicked off her shoes and walked over to the kitchen.

 "Is this really your response to finding a stranger in your home?"

 "A stranger is someone you don’t know."

 A scoff could be heard, along with footsteps indicating he followed her to where she was; to his surprise, she was already making dinner, pasta, he presumed. with two plates set on the table.

 Was she serious? "Well, I don’t know you."

"So you willingly barged into a stranger's home, pretty clever," she laughed. "Did you follow me?"

“No, I dug a bit and found you," she couldn’t help but laugh more at his attempt.”I noticed the van that was following me yesterday, plus, if you dug around about me, you wouldn’t be here."

"Why are you here, anyway?" she said as she filled up the two plates with salsa and set the remaining in the middle if either of them had wanted seconds.

 He sat down, examining the dish. It was nicely made and fairly appetizing, especially after a long day of work. On the other side of the table, she sat leaning over to him, and there it is,  her stare.

 "Why do you do that?"

 "Do what?"

 "Stare"

"Does it bother you?"

 It was definitely a no, but he couldn’t say that, and on the other hand, he couldn’t say yes either.

 "Does Tuco not pay you enough so you make money on the side?" With that, Ignacio let out a big sigh and set his utensils aside.

 "The problem isn’t my salary or anything; Tuco is a ticking time bomb; he didn’t mind putting a bullet between a guy’s eyes just because he got a weird look from him, let alone me."

 "Your face has good bone structure; keep it that way," she said as she slipped the pasta into her mouth again. He didn’t know if these were compliments or not; she didn’t say them in a flirtatious manner, definitely more like she stated facts from a powerpoint presentation.

 After a moment of silence, he said, "Your cooking is amazing; where’d you learn it from?" She could tell he liked it by how he was devouring what was presented in front of him.

"My father’s an amazing cook, but I was the only one who got his talent; my two brothers

They learned to gamble from me instead."

 So she does have a family. Though she was an orphan or something.

"gamble?"

"Yes! My favorite hobby is real. I could do it for hours, plus I know all the tricks."

"okay show me sumn' "

 "I’m in a good mood today, so I'll  show you a few."

The rest of the night was filled with laughter and jokes. (Yn) gave the guy a lesson on games and cheats while his eyes filled with interest in what she was showing him, but either way, they both knew the night had to come to an end.

As Ignacio was at the door, ready to step out, he looked back to the woman who had greeted him goodbye a few seconds earlier, sitting on her couch peacefully petting her cat while watching TV. He really forgot why he came here in the first place.

Yn'’s mind filled with what she could do now to avoid her boredom, but as soon as she received a certain voice call from a specific person, she knew the next few days were going to be eventful.

She watched as Krazy-8 walked out of that door looking like his legs were about to give out at any given moment, yet he was sure fast enough to drive away in his vehicle. giving Yn her moment to shine.

She dresses nicely for the occasion for once, letting her hair down and doing her makeup, just taking care of herself before this whole shitshow goes down.

Parking her car next to Tuco’s and purposely bumping into it a little bit was the easy part; now she has to go in and embrace what’s going to happen.

Tuco was already staring at her in disbelief; he definitely saw what happened through the big classroom window, looking absolutely furious, while Nacho turned around after a few seconds and did his heart drop— is she everywhere?

"Hey!" She heard Tuco call out when she walked by their table to the register, but she pretended she didn’t hear them.

"Hello! Um.. can I get the number four, please, on the go?" She said this while smiling to the man before her, who went to work right away in order to avoid the scene that was about to happen.

"Yo chica, hey," she felt a hand guide her to turn around as she was met by none other than Tuco, who stood beside him, Ignacio. "You just hit my car."

"Huh? I hit your car?" Tuce chuckled at Varga. This bitch’s acting dumb.

"See, that car that you parked your piece of shit next to?" That’s mine, and you’ve just run into it."

"Oh well, I guess I could’ve and I didn’t notice, so my apologies, sir," she smiled and turned around, collecting her order and mumbling a small thank you before rushing out.

She could hear Tuco yelling not to get away from him, but the altercation needed to happen outside.

"Don’t you walk away from me!" Ay, puta!"

All the talking was done by the salamanca, while Varga stayed awfully quiet. Even Tuco noticed a slight change in demeanor on his end.

"You see that! You did that!" he said, pointing to the tiniest dent known to mankind.

"That’ll buff right out, now if you’ll excuse me—

As she was getting ready to open her car door, she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder and swing her all the way around, face to face with Tuco.

"You’re not leaving until you pay for this."

"If money is all you need, I've got great insurance."

Once again, with his hand that’s still glued to her, he shakes her to stop talking that nonsense.

"I ain’t messing around with no insurance, bitch, cash."

"Listen, I've barely got cash on me, so if you just give me your information, I’ll send it to you through insurance."

Thud.  Now (Yn) was sandwiched between Tuco salamanca and a wall; her head began to hurt already; maybe doing this herself was a bad idea, but she knew Mike would follow up with the deal, and she couldn’t let that happen; it won’t help her in the long run, and she needed all the salamanca alive.

So she'd have a black eye from one of them—not a big deal.

"You’re pretty, but a pretty awful liar." "I saw your wallet earlier; you've got plenty."

"That’s for my rent; it’s due today, and I can’t— ugh

Tuco’s ring was sure to leave a mark on Yn'’s cheek. Her head is already spinning. Why do I do this to myself?

"Just give him the money." This time it was Ignacio who spoke; no emotions were displayed, though his voice was almost like a whisper.

(Yn) looked at him and then forward to meet the loco eyes of Tuco Salamanca. she chuckled.

"I ain’t giving you shit."

The police sirens could be heard coming this way. "It’s time to bounce," Ignacio said, but his partner didn’t budge; instead, he ordered Nacho to leave and let him finish this business.

[cosmolog]

Date Night and Simon the Babysitter

Soap and Y/n go on a valentine's date after not being able to be alone ever since they had kids. Ghost is willing to give them their alone time free of charge. He's going to mind the two kids.

I listened to some of Harry's House when I wrote this so yeah.

Enjoy!

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

"Don't you worry about a thing. Okay?" Simon said.

"Are you sure? I mean, they can be quite the handful-" Y/n started but Soap rested his hand on her waist.

"He's a lieutenant, honey. If anyone can discipline them, it's him." He said before quickly reassuring Ghost. "Not that they'll need it or anything. They should be good"

"You got your coats?" Simon asked, both parents nodding. "Okay then. Get out" He shooed them out of the house. "Go have fun, you both deserve it"

"Aw, I can't thank you enough, Ghost-" She started.

"Simon" He immediately said.

"Simon" She chuckled at his correction.

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. "We'll be back before eleven-ish. Is that okay with you?"

"Y/n, it's more than okay with me. Enjoy yourself and stop worrying about the time it takes for you to do so. Goodnight, Y/n, Johnny" Ghost said, before walking back into the house and closing the door, locking it.

Y/n turned to Soap and smiled. "One hell of a friend you got there" She said.

"One of a kind, anyways." Soap opened the passenger door for her, making her kiss his cheek before getting into the car. He then went to the driver's side and got in, starting up the engine.

"Let's go have some fun, darling!" He grinned, starting to drive to the best restaurant he could find with rooms painted with her favourite colour. It was her favourite restaurant.

As they arrived Soap turned to Y/n, the two smiling at each other like they teenage sweethearts again. "Are you ready to have all the desserts on the menu?" He asked.

"Let's see if we can make it through the main course first. I hear they've added new food to their menu since the last time we were here" She said as they got out of the car.

"Well, in that case, we can try some of the new stuff they have. How about that?" John suggested.

Y/n took his hand in her's. "Sounds like a plan" She grinned.

-------

"Okay, and what's this one called?" Ghost asked, picking up the 50th stuffed animal of the day. Unlike most of the animals, that were ones you would keep as pets, this one was a giant panda almost half the size of Simon.

"Oh, his name is Fred" Alicia said. "He looks like you!" She said.

"Really? I don't see how he looks like me-" Simon began but Alicia spoke over him.

"He wears makeup around his eyes, just like you. And he's big and strong, just like you. And he's the best at hugs," She hugged Simon. "just like you!"

Simon chuckled, hugging her back. "I guess he is like me, isn't he?"

Alicia nodded happily before picking up two dog teddies.

One dog was dark brown and looked like German Shepard and the other was a Golden Retriever. "This is Rupert and Poppy" Alicia introduced as she handed the two teddies to Simon, who held them delicately.

"Who do they remind you of?" Simon asked.

"They remind me of Mommy and Daddy. Daddy is tough and wise like Rupert and Mommy is gentle and caring like Poppy" Alicia said, petting the animals fake fur. "Mommy and Daddy love to play with them when we all play 'Animals'. Oliver likes to play with Fred and some of the other bears"

"And who do you play with most out of all these?" Simon asked, gesturing to the hundreds of teddies surrounding them on the floor.

"I play with them all. Nobody is left out at playtime, that's what Mommy told me" The six-year-old replied.

Simon smiled before looking around, not knowing where Y/n and John's second child was.

"Where did Oliver go?" He asked, standing up and walking around the house, searching for the young boy.

"Ollie?" He called out.

"Yes, Uncle Simon?" Oliver said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Oh, there you are. Do you want food now? are you hungry?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, can we have chips?" He asked.

"Yeah, let me see if you have any-" Ghost started walking towards the kitchen, not really knowing how to cook chips.

"We usually order from a takeaway if we're having chips" Oliver said. Ghost didn't miss the lie that fell from the twelve-year-old's mouth. But it was Valentine's. That and Ghost can't cook.

So he took out his phone and started to lookup the nearest takeaway.

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

"That was delicious" John said as they finished their main course of steak and other stuff.

(I hate steak. If you're the same just change it using your mind powers)

Y/n took a sip of her wine. "Do you think Simon's okay?"

John gave her a look. "You said you'd stop worrying. He's fine, love" He said.

"Sorry, I just can't help but worry. Not that I don't trust Simon I just...I don't know" She sighed.

John rested his hand on hers. "Do you want me to call him?" He asked.

"No. He won't answer, I know he won't. He'll know I'm only worried" She said.

"Maybe for a phone call but he'll answer a text"

John took out his phone, going into the messaging app.

"Hey, how is everything going?" He sent.

"All good" Ghost replied a few moments later.

"Oh, he sent a picture" John started.

"Ooh, show me" She said. John chuckled before showing his wife the photo. It was of their two kids asleep, using Ghost's chest as a pillow as they sat either side of him. Simon looked very focused when he took the picture so it looked like her was glaring at his phone screen like a mom trying to understand a meme.

"Awe, send that to me. Simon's the best babysitter" Y/n smiled.

"Who bloody knew?" John chuckled, sending the photo on. "See? You got nothing to worry about"

"Yeah, I just needed some proof that all was okay" She said.

"Right then" John smiled, changing the subject. "How about that desert?"

Y/n chuckled. "I'll have whatever you're having" She said.

John nodded, calling over a waiter. "Can we get two F/Dessert, please? Thanks, mate"

(What are you getting?)

The waiter took down the order and smiled at the couple before walking away.

While their desserts were being prepared, Y/n spoke up. "Has Simon got himself a girlfriend yet?" She asked.

"Believe it or not, I think he secretly has got one" Johnny chuckled. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you know, it's Valentine's. I don't want to be keeping them apart" She said.

"Knowing him, he probably already took her out to dinner last week for Valentine's" John shook his head.

Y/n nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right"

She looked around the room, seeing everyone dressed up way fancier than she was, their dates matching with the same colour suits and dresses. It made her self-conscious of herself. "Do you think I'm a little underdressed for this place?"

John titled his head, giving her the same look again. It was the look he always gave her when she doubted herself, which was alot. A look that said 'Stop doubting yourself and your abilities. Do that for me, please'. "You're the most beautiful person in this room. I know, I've seen you. All of you" he gave a cocky grin with his last line.

Y/n rolled her eyes, though a smile settled on her face, as well as a blush. "I could argue that you're the most beautiful person I ever laid eyes on" She complimented back.

"For that, sweetheart, I'll be the one to get the cheque" John smirked, just as the waiter came up to their table with two F/ds. "Thanks, I'll pay now"

"Oh yeah, sure" The waiter said, taking out his payment device.

(What do they call them?)

"Uh, no. I already told you I was paying" Y/n immediately said to John.

John raised an eyebrow at her before telling the waiter they would pay after they ate instead. "You wanna do a rock-paper-scissors or what?" He laughed.

"Staring contest. If I win, I pay. If you win, you pay" Y/n smirked, knowing she was going to win.

"Alright. 3...2...1..Go" John counted them in before the game started. They lent in close so that they could clearly see if one of them blinked.

"You do realise that I'm gonna win, right?" She whispered so no one would hear but Johnny. "I'm an ex-sniper, the first thing we learn is how to keep our eyes open"

"Yeah, well I had to learn how to spot a sniper. I'm winning" Johnny whispered back.

Meanwhile, some couples sitting around their table took notice of the game and either rolled their eyes, chuckled, or watched to see who would win.

John suddenly lent forward and kissed her, making her instinctually close her eyes. When he pulled away, he laughed as Y/n looked shocked.

"You little cheater" She said, hearing some people around them awe or laugh.

John shrugged. "That was too easy. Seriously honey, you gotta make it challenging for me" He joked, shaking his head in fake disapproval.

"Now let's eat this before it goes cold"

"It already was cold, Johnny. It's dessert" Y/n laughed.

John laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Love makes me say stupid things, such as that. You got that effect on me, baby. Makes me wanna add another member to our family" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ah, I see what you're trying to do" Y/n smirked, narrowing her eyes.

"And what's that?" He asked innocently.

"You'll find out when we get home, Johnny" She wiggled her eyebrows, copying his actions.

"Can't wait" Johnny grinned. "But that's only if Simon isn't there when we get home"

"Maybe Ghost will join us, you never know" Y/n joked, though Johnny looked offended. "I'm only joking" She laughed. "The look on your face right now is priceless"

Johnny shook his head. "I want no talk of Simon while we're on this topic" He muttered.

"Awe, come on, Johnny. I was only joking. No need to get jealous" She said. "Simon is great and all but you're the one I want, you are the one I want, ooh, ooh, ooh" She started singing.

John smiled at her before they both started eating their desserts.

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

Simon turned his phone off, resting it on his lap, looking to the leftovers on the coffee table before his gaze rested on the two kids either side of him. A little, teeny, tiny part of him wanted this kind of life, but with his line of work and his background, things like getting a partner were complicated. He was a little surprise to hear when Y/n was pregnant with Johnny's kid, since the couple had both been working in the task force before they got married and settled down.

Maybe he'd just have to find himself another soldier, someone who could understand him so much he could love them. He'd find his 'Y/n' eventually and maybe he'd have kids of his own.

But, for now, minding Y/n and Johnny's kids was the best filler for the giant hole in his heart.

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

"Just look at them, all three of them" Y/n pouted as she took multiple pictures of the two children cuddled up to Simon, who had dozed off from a tiring day of babysitting. "Adorable"

"Yes. Very cute." John smiled fondly of his kids, while snapping a picture of his best friend to show all his mates tomorrow. Price and Alejandro would love it. Y/n and her husband both kissed their kids foreheads lovingly. Y/n also gave Simon a kiss on the cheek as a 'thank you' for minding the kids.

"Do you thing we should move them to their beds?" He whispered to his wife.

She waved it off. "If it's not broken, don't fix it. They haven't slept for this long in ages, they could use some rest." She took his hand. "Speaking of rest-"

John cut her off by picking her up bridle-style and carrying her to their shared bedroom. She smiled and as soon as their heads hit their pillows, they were out like a light.

[imzsuzsis-blog]

I stood and watched the team, totally shocked, I didn't realize I had won the first training session.

"Did I win, guys?"

I was swallowing large ones, I really couldn't believe it, I thought my friend was going to win.

"Yes, it looks like you won, Lando."

I slowly sat back up there and shook my head.

"Honey are you okay?"

Loki looked at me, he was shocked, like me, he also said that if we make the top ten, we are good in this weather. It's just that I overshot the whole thing and won.

"Well, I think you should get dressed."

"Why, it's raining... Mother, how can we English people be so damned talking about the weather."

I pulled up the zipper, it was so cold outside, but we were all freezing inside, but unfortunately my cute belly was still visible and right on the projector.

"My belly sucks, it looks like gas."

I grimaced and got up because they called me to look at data.

,,Your baby is cute... As long as it rains, let's talk about other things, you are pure stress. Again.”

"Even though I was stressed all night, I didn't sleep a damn wink."

,, How much?"

"How would you solve it if you had twins... That is, would your boyfriend be pregnant with them? Suddenly they need two or more of everything, and we're even talking about moving."

"Moving? Where? What?"

Both Will and Jon looked at me confused.

"Lando, we know you're pregnant, but not twins, we're sorry. And also that it stimulated your brain in this way."

They hugged me while I cried because even the others didn't know about it.

"They will be girls, it will be difficult to choose a name. I know it should be special, but beautiful, unique, and the family will like it too."

I whispered to them and then with help I started to get dressed because they were really talking to me.

"FUCK ME, YOU NOBODY FUCKS!!!!!"

He got out of the car and the heat of the earth pissed off his gloves along with his shoes. I have never seen my boyfriend so angry.

"Lando calm down. By doing this, you are also harming the girls, not just yourself."

I followed him and grabbed his shoulders from behind and started kissing his neck. It wandered down, I clasped it under my hands and started rocking it, it calmed down, we intertwined its wandering down too.

"You feel a kick."

"They are a little too cute."

We started to smile, he put his neck on my shoulder and started blinking sleepily.

"I can't bear to watch, I'd rather go on."

"Who was he? Just by looking at him, he looked disgusted."

"Just Lance don't mess with it."

He yawned and closed his eyes and almost fell asleep on my shoulder.

"Sleep now baby."

"I know, I know... But I have to give an interview soon, I don't feel like it and I'm tired."

Mobile by mobile, I took photos of them again and, yes, put them online again.

"Fuck Oscar!!!"

A voice came from behind and I suddenly shuddered.

"Who the hell are you?"

I turned to my heart, crossed my two palms and calmed down. It was just Daniel, he has a stupid habit of making fun of others just like that.

"That wasn't funny."

"Well, it's not like you're uploading your teammate in an unmistakable situation on Insta again. Bullshit.”

"But, but this is not intentional on my part, believe me."

"How much do you suck????"

,,Hello!!!"

I started running so that Lando wouldn't find me, but he still found me because his imperfect, ex-teammate showed him where I was.

"You idiot animal... What do you think of yourself?"

"Nothing..."

I stuttered to him in horror.

"It's a good thing I put these up by accident."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

I stroked his hair and saw that he was afraid. And also that they call me gay again and fat gay pageant and tell me to fuck them, hence this is a sport for skinny people, and heterosexuals are not for cocksuckers. I held my mouth and started sobbing because it didn't even go as far as a death threat.

I saw that Lando was crying about something, then I went closer, showed him and hugged him.

"Once you survive, you will survive."

,,This?"

"Yes, this."

"But then it was written by horny guys and now by acne-prone teens."

I stroked his messy hair, I know he hates it, but now he's unhappy because of so many idiotic, jealous teenagers.

"Carlos, what happened?"

I don't see so many fucking bored teenagers.

"Fuck, my girlfriend sent me the whole thing, I'm going to fuck you!!!! Not only threats, but also bullying."

,,Hey... Hey George? Bullying?”

I read everything from the fat pig, the gay, to the whore, and these were only mild ones.

,,I said. Now I can only talk about fucking suicide, the only way out for me!!!!"

He ran away sobbing, we all went after him and didn't let him do that.

"Lando, that's crazy, many people like you even here in the field, many even look up to you, we won't let you do that."

He stood with his back to us and was shaking, but we couldn't understand a word he said because of his sobs, then he ran away.

[headinthestaticsky]

The Dusk Calls For Me: Chapter 0: Home

December 2002, Phoenix, AZ 

I was sick of this abrasive heat, amongst other things. I was tired of living in a place that never truly felt like home. To feel absolutely sick to my stomach whenever my house came into view. And, I couldn't bear the thought of hearing my mother moan and complain about another thing I did. It was all so... smothering, almost too much to stand anymore.

It had honestly gotten to the point where I couldn't even-

"Fleur!"

Stand to hear my name anymore.

The second I heard my mother's voice, a deep pit formed in my stomach. The heft of which left me nearly frozen in my tracks, willing me with everything it could to keep me still. 

"Fleur, I know you heard me! Get down here now." My mom's voice called out again, sounding stronger than before. 

Begrudgingly, I got up from my bed, trudging out of my room and down the long set of carpet-covered steps. Once I reached the living room, I was met with my mother's usual, cold stare.

What the hell had I done now?

"What's going on?" I questioned surprisingly cool, though on the inside my heart was beating rapidly through my chest. 

My mother chose not to say anything at first, instead opting to reach behind her, grabbing at an unfamiliar-looking bag. "You know." She simply replied, her tone quiet but deadly.

"Not rea-" My sentence stopped in its tracks as my mother poured out the contents of the bag. Money fell out of it unceremoniously onto the table and floor. 

How could she have found it? 

"You wanna tell me how you got all this money?" Mom asked, eyeing me with great suspicion. 

"You went through my room?" I replied, my voice trembling as I spoke. 

"Don't deflect things... where did you get all of this?" She asked again, tension seeping through her voice. 

"Just... side jobs. Cutting grass, walking dogs, waitressing." I finally answered, my eyes still locked onto the few bills that had slipped onto the floor. 

Mom took in a deep breath, clearly (but poorly) trying to retain some level of calm within herself. "Now, you better be... truthful in your next answer. Because I've already been told what's going on." Mom explained, I could imagine the strained look on her face as she spoke. "Why are you saving all of this?"

I finally found the nerve to look up from the floor, my gaze met my mother's cold stare. "I just... want to see my father." I meekly answered, preparing myself for the inevitable, rage-filled blow that was bound to come my way. 

Mom scoffed quietly, the grimace that she had turned into a forced smile. "You're not going to." She spoke definitely, chuckling lightly under her breath.

"Yes, I am... it is my money, I can do whatever I want with it." 

Mom sucked in another breath, though this time around the calm she had made was crumbling before her. "You... always, have to be a troublemaker, don't you?" She gritted out.

"Wanting to see my father doesn't mean I'm a troublemaker, Mother," I replied sardonically. "And I doubt, seriously doubt that if Bella were the one doing this, you'd be this angry about it."

Mom couldn't even think of a reply. She just glared at me, her eyes full of pent-up anger. 

"Ain't got much to say now do you?" I asked her, finding a bit of satisfaction in her silence.

"You know what? If you think things in Forks are... so much better than they are here." Mom began, stalking me slowly. "Then I will give you the rest of the money for that damn plane ticket. But you ain't getting one back down here."

I should've been heartbroken at her words, distraught that she was so willing to just... leave me in a sense. But the only emotion that had consumed me was joy, pure joy.

Finally, I'd be able to see my father again.

"Fine," I spoke up. 

"Fine." Mom repeated. "Just... go." She added, turning away from me instantaneously. 

I listened to her without hesitation, collecting the money Mom had dropped. As I turned the corner to go up the steps my sister, Bella, caught my eye. Of course, she was listening in on us, Bella would never miss an opportunity to hear me get chewed out. 

I stared at her briefly before shaking my head at the ludicrousy of her behavior. "You got what you wanted sis," I spoke up plainly. 

"I'm finally out of here."

January 2003, Forks, WA

The airport was bustling with people, making it hard to find where my father could possibly be. No matter where looked or turned, I was met with the faces of strangers... damn tall strangers. 

I guess being 5'9 ain't as tall as I thought...

I moved as quickly as I could through the crowd, partially due to the fact that a lot of them were pretty disgruntled. The last thing I wanted to do was get in the crossfire of some of their foul moods.

"Fleur?"  A voice called out, not too far from me. As if the crowd of moody people began to clear like clouds. My dad finally came into view, looking at me with a bittersweet smile. I was quick to make my way over to him, completely overjoyed at the sight of my father.

"Hi, Dad." I greeted him, taking in a stuttering breath as I hugged him. "I missed you... so much." 

I could feel my dad's body shake slightly, a slight sniffle following soon afterward. "I missed you too petal." He admitted gruffly, quickly wiping his face one we had pulled away from on another. "Let's get outta here." He added, swiftly taking one of the bags I had brought with me.

I of course, eagerly followed him out. 

Though I had to admit, the strong, cold wind did make me falter slightly. Being in Arizona for so long definitely... lessened the resistance I had to Fork's usual bone-chilling weather. And well, I guess it didn't help that mom had refused to at least buy me some clothes that weren't tank tops and shorts. But, thankfully, my dad was wise enough to leave the heat on in the car, so I was able to dethaw pretty quickly. 

"So, how have you been?" Dad asked, breaking the brief silence the car had been filled with.

"A lot better than I've been in a while," I replied, smiling fondly at all of the familiar sites I had grown up with. 

It was as if this place had been preserved in a time capsule, waiting for me to return back to it again. The old ice cream shop, the reservation, and the beach where I spent all my time at. The sight of it all hit me with waves of nostalgia. 

"And... your mom?" Dad said, clearly reluctantly by the sound of his voice. 

"Well, you know how she is..." I muttered, turning toward him. "She's pretty much still acting the same," I added a bit more bitterly than I would've liked. 

Dad seem to notice the disdain I spoke with too, his eyes carefully flickering over at me curiously. "There's something else you're not telling me, huh?" He questioned.

"Is it that obvious?" I spoke with a forced chuckle. 

"You read like a book, Fleur."

"You got me there." I sighed. "Well, all I'll say is that Bella's kinda starting to pick up on our mother's lovely... traits."

Dad shook his head, clearly disappointed at the news I had announced. "That's a shame." He grumbled.

"Yeah, it is."

Another bout of silence came through after that. The only thing that could be faintly heard was the sound of the other cars rushing by us. 

"You know," Dad began, out of the corner of my eye, I could see him begin to smirk. "I heard you just got your license."

"Yeah, I did..." I replied, curious as to what my father was hinting at.

"Well, I thought, as a little homecoming present to you. I got you a car-"

"What?" I questioned him incredulously, sitting up from my seat. "Are you serious?"

"Now, don't get too excited," Dad said quickly, as to try and curb my enthusiasm. "It's a pretty old car."

I scoffed at him before letting out a chuckle. "Dad, a car is a car. You did not have to do that. What kind is it?"

"It's an old Mustang, a Fastback." He answered. "It's in the shop right now getting some last-minute repairs in. So, for now, I'll have to drive you to school."

"That is perfectly fine," I replied, leaning back into my seat again. "I have absolutely nothing to complain about."

"Glad to hear it, Petal..."

As we pulled into the driveway of our small but beautiful home. The nostalgia fully set in. The colors were exactly the same, and the grass, of course, was just as muddy and dead as before. 

"Just as you remember it?" Dad asked as we walked into my childhood home.

I nodded in reply, finding it hard to say much. 

"I cleared off a couple of shelves in the bathroom for ya. And, your room was pretty dusty so I cleaned it up for you." Dad explained as he placed my bags onto my bed.

"Thank you... it looks great." I muttered as I looked at my pretty much bare room. 

"Well, I let you get settled in..." He said, and though he tried not to sound awkward, his delivery still came across as such. After giving me a light pat on the back he left, quietly closing my door behind him. 

Finally, I'm back home...