#M notebook 14 offers

[autistic-gale-dekarios]

BG3 OC Lore: Hugo

Meet Hugo :) The first character I made in BG3 and still probably my fave. This post is all about him.

Basics

Full name: Hugo Lightquill (His chosen name -- he can't remember his birthname)

Race: High half-elf

Gender: M (trans) (he/him)

Birth date: 14 Flamerule 1451 DR (age ~41 during game events)

Class: Evocation Wizard

Background: Haunted One (Dark Urge)

Stats: 8 STR | 13 DEX | 15 CON | 17 INT | 12 WIS | 10 CHA

Moral alignment: NE (pre-game) / CN (early game) / NG (endgame)

Personality (MBTI, Enneagram): INFP, 6w5 ((self-insert spotted))

Neuro stuff: Autism, depression + anxiety, C-PTSD, dissociative amnesia

Sexuality: Gay

Romanced character: Gale (ship name: Weavequill)

Media

Tags: #oc: hugo (my posts about him); #hugo core (posts that are him coded)

Pinterest board

Character playlist

Weavequill playlist

A full rundown of his story is under the cut (CW for brief self-harm mention; spoilers for Dark Urge & general BG3 storyline)

Pre-game

Early life

Hugo was the only child of two high half-elves living in the Upper City of Baldur’s Gate. His father was a sorcerer and his mother was an apothecarist. He took an interest in arcane magic as a child and was encouraged by his parents to pursue it. He had a fairly sheltered upbringing, largely homeschooled by his father and private tutors.

Hugo was born and raised female, but from a young age he felt different. He struggled with many aspects of his identity and sense of self. By his early teens, he was suffering not only crippling gender dysphoria, but also intrusive thoughts of violence that seemingly came from nowhere. The dysphoria and the Urges were equally distressing to Hugo, and slowly became intertwined, inseparable -- the desire to remake himself, and the desire to unmake others.

Deeply confused by and ashamed of these feelings, Hugo never confided in anyone, and grew increasingly withdrawn throughout his teen years. Hugo didn't understand where the Urge came from, but he knew he had to conceal it at any cost. What few friendships he’d made as a youngster disintegrated, and he avoided getting close to people in an effort to protect himself from the world, and the world from himself.

Hugo began writing as a coping mechanism. He would bring a notebook wherever he went, write down his most shameful thoughts and feelings and urges, and hide them away. He would draw, too -- producing increasingly grotesque illustrations that came so automatically, it often felt like his hands had a mind of their own -- and he would terrify himself with some of the things he created.

For a time, pen and paper were his lifeline. But despite his best efforts to vent in this way, the Urges eventually proved too much, and Hugo sought more material ways to satisfy them. He started by hurting himself, then moved onto small animals -- mice, birds, anything to quiet the screaming in his head. It was getting harder to control his behaviour, and Hugo noticed he'd started losing himself sometimes -- blacking out and then coming to minutes later with little to no memory of what just happened.

To the rest of the world, Hugo was growing into a promising young wizard -- a bit of a weird kid, perhaps, but undeniably talented. At 18, he applied to Blackstaff Academy but didn't make the cut (to the disappointment of his father). Instead, Hugo pursued an apprenticeship in the literature department of Sorcerous Sundries. He was getting by, just about, but he felt like he was constantly hanging by a thread, and the slightest push could tip him over into the dark.

Cult of Bhaal

The final push came when Hugo was walking home from work one night. Sceleritas Fel approached him on the street and promised him everything he wanted. Sceleritas somehow knew all of Hugo's secrets, and spoke of a "powerful god" who could offer him a new body and a new life. He promised acceptance and belonging -- a place where Hugo wouldn’t have to hide who he was. Afraid and desperate and with little fight left in him at this point, Hugo followed Sceleritas to the Temple of Bhaal, and never returned home.

Hugo had known very little of Bhaal and his followers before this point, but he was re-educated quickly. He was told of his birthright and his "purpose" as the one true Bhaalspawn. He agreed to become the new leader of Bhaal's cult. In return, Bhaal resculpted Hugo’s body into a male form, and offered him a new name, which was to be respected without question within the Temple. Hugo felt truly himself and truly seen for the first time in his life. He believed this was proof of Bhaal’s love for him, and felt indebted to him.

With his new corporeal form, a sense of purpose, and nothing of sufficient value to return to outside, Hugo remained in the Temple, where he was groomed into a Bhaalist poster child, a merciless killer. Violence was rewarded, everything else stamped out; his magical abilities honed to enact the Dread Lord's will. Even in the depths of depravity, he retained his habit of writing -- he became known for writing and drawing in blood, even using it as quill ink. Hugo spent the next two decades as Bhaal’s Temple leader and, eventually, Bhaal’s Chosen.

During game

When Orin infected Hugo with the tadpole, the damage to his brain made him regress to an earlier state of consciousness. He lost not only his memories and much of his powers, but also the ruthless aggression that he’d learned from Bhaal. When he woke up on the nautiloid, he was his fragile younger self again -- alone, afraid, and tormented by shame and self-loathing.

Hugo began Act 1 with no moral compass, and tended to act in self-preservation above anything else. Meeting Gale and bonding over magic with him helped Hugo relearn what it meant to be good and rediscover those principles within himself.

Gale was Hugo’s first love and his first healthy sexual relationship. They were both grounding forces for the other: Gale’s gentleness was a foil for Hugo’s violence, and Hugo’s caution a foil for Gale’s hubris. Despite them both being wizards, their first time was decidedly free of magical enhancements. Hugo just wanted to be close to Gale, to feel loved in the purest and simplest way. They didn’t just bring out the best in one another, they saved each other from their respective catastrophic acts of self-destruction. (I Can Fix Him, He Can Fix Me, Fixing Him Will Fix Me, Fixing Me Will Fix Him, etc.)

Throughout game events, Hugo suffered incessant nightmares, flashbacks and hallucinations of the horrors he'd inflicted in his past. These were especially distressing early on, when he had no context for them. While he did his best to control himself, the bloodthirsty side of him would sometimes emerge. (He’d always get a little crazed in the heat of battle, which Gale found disconcerting and also kinda hot.)

After the revelation about Hugo’s past involvements with Gortash and the Absolute, Gale distanced himself from Hugo for a while, and Hugo fell deep into depression, convinced he had blown his only chance at finding real love. However, the two became close again toward the end of Act 3, when Hugo convinced Gale not to pursue godhood and Gale realised how much they really needed each other to not lose touch with themselves.

Aside from Gale, Hugo got along well with the rest of the party. He became especially close friends with Shadowheart, bonding over their similar experiences of being groomed into a cult, losing their memories and having to relearn how to be good.

As Hugo regained his powers and his memories, he felt more and more able to resist his Urge. After defeating Orin, he rejected Bhaal and went on to destroy the Absolute, saving Baldur’s Gate from the evil he had once created. Only then did the weight of Hugo’s guilt finally begin to lift.

After their victory, Hugo persuaded Gale to leave the Crown of Karsus where it fell, and with it any prospect of ascension. Walking away from their respective pasts, Hugo and Gale decided that their ordinary, mortal love was more powerful and valuable than anything their former gods could offer. <3

Post-game

Shortly after game events, Hugo and Gale got engaged and went back to Waterdeep. In a long letter to his parents, Hugo apologised for leaving all those years ago, came clean about who he was, and invited them to his wedding. They both attended.

With the orb quelled, Gale returned to Blackstaff as a professor, with Hugo initially staying at home and helping Tara clean up Gale’s neglected tower. After a year in Waterdeep and with a shining commendation from Gale, Hugo secured a position on the Blackstaff faculty as a co-director of their magical archives, specialising in blood magic and evocation scrolls and tomes.

Hugo stayed friends with Shadowheart for many years, and she became like a surrogate sister to him. She came to visit him and Gale for dinner every so often, where they'd talk her ears off about their work while she fussed over Tara and only half-listened.

Hugo continued writing, and went on to publish a memoir and several text books on what he’d learnt from his dealings with Bhaal and the Absolute -- all of which took pride of place on Gale’s bookshelf.

Trivia

Hugo’s favourite colour is powder blue, his favourite season is spring, his favourite food is mushroom soup and his favourite animals are pigeons.

Hugo is a good cook and he and Gale regularly cook together.

Hugo is a nerd. He loves to learn and, once he comes out of his shell, he loves to talk about things he has learned (though he'll never compete with Gale's levels of infodumping).

Hugo has a soft spot for animals, perhaps partly out of remorse for hurting them in the past. Once he settled down with Gale he decided to stop eating animals, volunteered at a local stray shelter, and cooked vegetarian meals for Gale until he liked them too. He also conjured his first familiar -- a large black raven called Leopold.

Hugo is a very subby bottom and he has a praise kink

Characters that inspired Hugo include: me, Viktor Hargreeves (TUA), Frodo Baggins (LOTR), Donnie Darko, Father Paul (Midnight Mass), Will Byers (Stranger Things) and the Tin Man (The Wizard of Oz).

If you're still reading, thank you for being interested :') Feel free to send asks about Hugo (or any of my OCs!) because I will always welcome the opportunity to yap. I'll make similar posts for my other 3 tavs at some point soon.

[lumaconstante]

Ok, I couldn't resist, un(fortunately) the writer is anxious so here are some headcanons with Shoto Todoroki and Izuku Midoriya related to the fanfic Star:

Shoto Todoroki

1. Daily messages: Shoto sends Alice messages every day, even if they’re short, to remind her that he’s thinking of her. Simple phrases like “How are you today?” or “I hope your day gets better” are a constant in their conversations.

2. School memories: He often reminisces about fun or special times they shared at school to make her smile. He might mention something like, “Remember that time we got lost at the school festival and ended up eating all the sweets from the stall?”

3. Letters and gifts: Even from a distance, Shoto makes a point of sending handwritten letters and small gifts, like Japanese tea, lucky charms, or personalized items that he knows Alice likes. He finds that receiving something physical can help comfort her.

4. Sharing silence: Shoto knows that Alice may not want to talk all the time, so he offers a calm and comforting presence, even from a distance. Sometimes, he suggests video calls where they just sit together in silence, each going about their own business.

5. Musical Memories: Knowing Alice’s connection to music, Shoto makes playlists with songs he thinks will cheer her up or calm her down, including some he remembers her liking back in school.

6. Direct Advice: Despite being a more reserved person, Shoto is direct when he feels Alice needs support to deal with haters or pressure. He encourages her to be firm, reminding her of her strength and how much she has overcome.

7. Unexpected Visits: Whenever his schedule as a hero allows, Shoto makes a point of visiting her, even if it’s just for a short time. He shows up unannounced, bringing something special like a Japanese dessert or a comforting gift.

8. Silent Defender: If Shoto notices someone attacking Alice online, he discreetly intervenes. He doesn’t get into arguments, but uses his influence to report content or even mobilize fans to support her.

9. Subtle motivation: Shoto, as someone who has faced a lot of family pressure, shares his own experiences and how he found the strength to keep going. He never pressures Alice, but shows that he understands her feelings.

10. Pet names: To create a sense of normalcy and comfort, Shoto uses pet names for Alice, just like he did in school, calling her something like "Hoshi-chan" or "Ali."

11. Checking in with Tommy: Shoto makes a point of checking in with Tommy to see how Alice is really doing and, when needed, offering emotional support or ideas for practical help.

12. Escape points: He suggests activities that Alice can do alone or with Tommy to escape the pressure, such as drawing, writing, or even exploring the city. He reminds her of the importance of taking care of herself.

13. Special message for concerts: Before every performance, Shoto sends messages of encouragement. Something like: "You are amazing, Alice. Just shine the way only you know how."

14. A special amulet: In one of the gifts sent, he includes an amulet he bought at the temple they visited together as children, believing that it can protect her and bring good energy.

Izuku Midoriya

1. Detailed check-ins: Izuku sends messages asking how Alice is doing and listens attentively to everything she has to say, offering sincere support and encouragement. He asks about her health, her routine, and even small things like what she ate that day.

2. Support strategy notebook: Izuku creates a “support notebook for Alice,” where he writes down things she enjoys, hobbies that can help her relax, and even strategies for dealing with haters and media pressure. He shares these ideas with her in a low-key and loving way.

3. Words of encouragement: He frequently reminds Alice of how strong she is, comparing her journey to that of heroes who have overcome challenges. He says things like, “You may not be a hero in the traditional sense, but you’re facing an inner villain with just as much courage.”

4. Uplifting audio messages: Izuku sends Alice uplifting audio messages before her shows, with messages like: "Remember that everyone who loves you is rooting for you, including me! Do your best, you can do it!"

5. Regular virtual visits: He suggests video calls where they can just talk or watch something together. Izuku also shows her his notes about heroes, which often distracts Alice from her problems and inspires her.

6. Inspiring stories: He shares stories of heroes who faced extreme challenges but kept going, showing her that she can overcome their difficulties too. He does this carefully, without seeming to belittle her problems.

7. Support on social media: Izuku never fails to like and comment on Alice's posts, genuinely praising her to boost her self-esteem. He also reports negative comments when he sees something toxic.

8. Sentimental gifts: Izuku sends small, personalized gifts, such as a green bracelet (her favorite color) with an inspirational quote engraved on it or a keychain that represents a memory from their time together.

9. Hero books: He suggests books and stories that can inspire Alice, especially those that he believes have messages about resilience and hope.

10. Expanded support network: Izuku enlists the help of other friends, such as Ochaco or Iida, to send Alice encouraging messages or small gifts, creating a support network for her even from a distance.

11. Shared journal: He suggests that they both write in a shared journal, where they can exchange thoughts and feelings. This helps Alice express herself in a more intimate and less public way.

12. "Daily missions": Izuku suggests daily "missions" to help Alice stay active and focused on something positive, such as "take a picture of something that makes you happy today" or "write down one thing you like about yourself."

13. Memories of Japan: He sends Alice souvenirs from his hometown, such as traditional sweets or small objects with cultural symbols, to remind her of her roots and his support.

14. Emotional escape plan: Knowing that Alice is under a lot of pressure, Izuku suggests that she imagine happy places or memories as a "mental refuge" whenever things get tough, something he uses in his own battles.

15. Promise to meet again: He promises that, as soon as he gets the chance, he will visit her in person so that they can spend time together and she will have someone with whom she can feel truly comfortable and protected.

And for those who haven't read the fanfic yet, it's available on Wattpad in Portuguese and English, these characters will appear soon:

Check out the list pinned on my profile, I'm accepting requests to write for you! ✨

[eclecticreviewpeace]

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[i---dag]

Work Diary. entry 2 (Monday 11th of March, 2024)

First woke up at 07:18, then fell back asleep and got up at 09:32. Now I'm drinking my second cup of instant coffee in front of my computer, looking into the city archive of Maribo in Denmark to find some pictures I can use for a graphic freelance project I'm doing. At 11:00 I have to call the new communications employee at one of my jobs to talk about who does what, since I am also a communications employee - slight conflict of interest maybe. My friend recommended me two texts I would like to read today: Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam by Bruno Latour, and Outing Texture by Renu Bora. Lets see how it goes.

So after writing this I was crying until now, it's 13:14 now. I felt like this day has nothing to offer, I wanted to cancel all the plans I have this week, feeling insecure about doing the work etc. But I think today is the day were doing the work starts. I have afew things on my to-do list:

Go to the inner city to ask how expensive it will be to fix my camera, and maybe find a notebook exclusively for the purpose of mapping, and

Go to a café to read, research, write, and do my job, and

Go to my friends place where I currently have my studio (it's not working out) to pick up some paper and drawing things, and

Pick up a dress from my other friend that I sold her 5 years ago that she has now sold back to me.

This list will be concluded with the following statement: I'm tired of rich nepotist curators. To be continued and updated.

-

It's now 16:56. I did ritalin and went out of the door with M. We took the bus from home to Sydhavn St., switched to the S-train and got off at Copenhagen Central Station were we parted. I then walked to Tutein where I did some intuitive shopping for materials, paper in the color I call "sale yellow", 4 sheets of tracing paper, 4 sheets of pvc, neon yellow dot stickers, and a roll of grey tape. I pocketed some transparent tiny human shaped models for architecture modelling, 2 translucent elastic bands and 2 white elastic bands. I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet but I hope it will make sense to use in this mapping project. I then went to Photographica and was told that my camera is too old for them to be able to fix it. It saddens me that electronics have a life and death in the sense that they just cannot be fixed when they are outdated. I'm going to walk around in Nørrebro another day to see if any of the electronic shops there can help me, not giving up just yet. A hippie dude who seems to be obsessed with me wrote me on Instagram that I can have his old camera, I'm not sure if I feel like taking him up on the offer. After the disappointment I went to Kunstbiblioteket at Charlottenborg to get Fifty Years of Recuperation by McKenzie Wark, a book she wrote on the Situationist International (SI) and the movements influence on our contemporary understanding of art, culture and politics. I had trouble finding it but a very sweet librarian helped me locate it, and it of course turned out to be just where I couldn't find it. I can't walk around the city without going to at least one secondhand shop, so I went to Blå Kors Genbrug and got a neon yellow running jacket. I was thinking about the G4S security guards walking around in their neon uniforms, imagining they had wings like angels, maybe it will turn out to be something. I then texted with I and we agreed to meet at Tjili Pop. I cut through Kongens Have and felt very anti-social, not sure if it would be a good idea to meet, today is pessimistic as fuck. Walking by Nørreport to swing by the genbrugsstation at Nansensgade where I found a crystal-glass candlestick, then proceeded to walk by the lakes to get to Tjili Pop where I am now writing this. I met someone I know on my way to get cigarettes, they looked at me with a weird look on their face and so did the lady in the kiosk. I'm not sure what to take from that.

[thetechdigger]

Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition laptop sale today at 12 noon Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition laptop sale is going to start on Amazon and Mi.com from 12 noon today.

[dari-ede]

In the Middle of the Night: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: “Midnight into Morning Coffee”

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30

MASTERLIST

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

Summary: As Bangtan prepares for a new chapter in their lives, they head to their private property in the forest for a songwriting workshop. As a songwriter and producer they have worked with for years, I’m asked to tag along. I was ready for the heavy workload and small amount of sleep during the workshop week. However, I wasn’t ready for the storm that came that changed my friendship with Namjoon forever.

Genre: Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Smut

Pairing: Idol!Namjoon x Female Reader

Rating: M (future sexual/explicit scenes)

Status: COMPLETE

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

-Night One-

The workshop that evening had gone well. No song had been created by the end of it, but it had worked as a good practice round for future ones. Despite the long drive and little sleep, everyone was invested and in full work mode. After a few hours of satisfied work, we ended the shop and decided on dinner.

Yoongi took lead in the kitchen once again and managed to cook something fast for us.

As we shared our meal and the guys talked amongst each other, I played a melody in my head. The melody had been on repeat since waking from my nap. Believing it was the key I needed to fix a gap in the song I was presenting tomorrow in the workshop, I felt the urge to head to the backhouse and work on it. However, I knew it would be rude if I didn't wait until after dinner. I finished as quickly, stating I wanted to work on the upcoming workshop. Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok all said they were going to do the same.

Yoongi was using their old trailer as his personal studio. He invited Hobi and Namjoon to join, but only Hobi took him up on his offer.

“I’m going to work out for a bit first,” Namjoon explained.

“I'll join you,” Jungkook said.

“Me too,” Jimin piggybacked.

“You guys just ate,” I pointed out with slight worry.

“It'll be light work. And we'll wait half an hour before we do,” Namjoon promised. He got and headed to the exit so he could head to the back house to put on his workout gear. I was right behind him.

Once we got to the house, I set up my station as Namjoon got ready.

“I'm feeling a bit tired. Hopefully, this workout wakes me up for a few hours so I can work,” Namjoon said as I finished setting up my workstation on our shared kitchen table. “Care to join me?” he asked with a teasing smile.

“I’ll pass,” I said, rolling out my keyboard and connecting it to my computer.

He left with a smile and I stared after him through the window. I did my best to not allow my eyes to linger on his ass for too long.

I shook my head and went to work on the song for tomorrow, trying to fix in the melody that had popped in my head earlier.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for my focus to be solely on this project. For almost two hours I worked on it on my keyboard, trying different chords to see what flowed well. I had been so engaged in the task that I didn’t realize Namjoon had arrived and set up shop on the kitchen island. He had even taken a shower; I could tell from the water dripping off his dark grey hair.

Seeing him sitting there on the island startled me a bit. “When did you get here?” I asked, trying to settle my heart rate.

“A bit ago. You were so focused, I didn’t want to interrupt.” He had his laptop, headphones, multiple notebooks, and an iPad in front of him.

As I looked at him, I noticed his attire. He had on joggers and a black, muscle t-shirt. That was it. There had been a few times I’d seen Namjoon’s bare arms, but it was rare, and the last time had been months ago. The guy just kept growing. I could see the outlines of his pecs from the t-shirt he was wearing, could see the sharpness of his collar bones, and the mountains that were now his biceps.

I took a sip of water, feeling my throat a little dry. “What are you working on?” I asked, looking down at my notes and away from him.

He explained some of the ideas he wanted to discuss in the workshop. He had printed out a few pages with literacy passages he felt might go well with the feel of the music. He had come up with some melodies and lyrics but was unsure what he wanted his main focus to be on.

I let him do most of the talking, knowing full well he sometimes needed to talk out an idea until he figured it all out himself. I knew this because we had written several songs together. Sure enough, after only two questions prompted by me, he had a full strategy for his song.

Looking satisfied, he wrote in his notebook and closed his laptop. He came over to the table and took a seat. It didn't pass me in noticing he chose not to seat in the closest chair to him—which would have been direct across from me—but had gone around the table to take the chair next to me.  “What are you working on?”

I took another sip of water as he leaned over and picked up one of the worksheets I had printed earlier.

I disconnected my headphones from the keyboard so I could use the speakers. “I've had this melody in my head most of the day. At first, I thought it would go well with the song I wrote for tomorrow's workshop, but now I have a feeling it's an entirely different song. I know I should focus on what I wrote for tomorrow, but I kind of want to chase this new song.”

“Play it, girl,” Namjoon encouraged as he placed his elbows on the counter, readying himself.

I looked away from his bulging upper arms and played the music. It started with the D6 chord, followed by Em7 and then G. Bm and Em7 and D. I repeated the set a few times before stopping. “That’s all I got.” I ran my hand through my hair and scratched my head, a thought creeping its way to my full consciousness.

“What seems off about it?” His voice was quiet, but I could clearly hear him.

I turned to him, not understanding. “What do you mean?”

He held my gaze. And like so many times before, I felt he was looking into my soul. “You tell me. Something about what you played isn’t sitting with you.”

“What makes you say that?” I hunched my shoulders, trying to hide as much of myself from him as I could.

“You scratch your head when something is bothering you—but it’s only when it comes to music. When it’s something that’s not music, you put your hair up in a bun. And if it’s already up, you take it down only to put it up all over again.”

I honestly didn't know how his words made me feel so naked. He saw so much of me when I thought I was doing a kick-ass job in hiding. He never used this gift of his against me; always said it so nonchalantly as if he was telling me I had something on my face—like it was no big deal he knew my private habits. At times it felt like he knew me better than anyone else in my life. And being the private person I was, it made me nervous that someone knew me in such detail. However, I was quickly reminded that this was one of Namjoon's many gifts. He had a tendency to read his members just as easily. There really wasn't anything special in the way he read me.

After reminding myself I wasn't special to Namjoon, I decided there was no point in telling him he was wrong about his observations. I let out my thoughts regarding the song. “It seems personal. It's not for someone else. I don’t think I want to give up this song.”

Namjoon’s face turned bright. “A song for yourself?”

I gave a slight nod.

He placed his big, warm hand around my shoulders and gave me a tight hug of excitement. “That’s awesome!”

He knew it had been a long time since I had created a song for myself. If I was being honest, I was feeling a little excited myself, but I didn’t want to get too ahead of myself. This song could lead to a dead end and stay in my folder as an unfinished project—like so many other countless songs.

“Do you have everything ready for tomorrow’s workshop?” he asked, his arm still around me.

I looked over the checklist I had made for myself. “As much as I can.”

“Then just work on this song.” He rubbed my arm softly and gave me another squeeze before pulling away.

A chill made its way through me, making me shiver.

He must have caught it. “You cold? Want some coffee?”

There was a sweater next to me that could help, but I could never turn down coffee.

“I’ll go make us some.” He got up from his seat and made his way to the door, exiting the house.

As soon as he left, goosebumps made their way across my arms. This time, it was for a different reason; I had the sudden thought the house was too dark and lonely. And quiet. I looked around the dimness of the kitchen and living room and felt uneasy. No more than two seconds later, I was dashing out of there and hurrying after Namjoon.

He stopped for me, having heard me bail out, and snickered. “You live by yourself, how are you afraid of being alone for a few minutes?”

Once I was at his side, he resumed walking. “That’s a house I’m familiar with,” I explained. “I don’t know the ghosts that live in that place.”

I could feel Namjoon rolling his eyes in the dark.

As we entered the main house, we were having a small banter about the belief in the afterlife. I wasn’t religious, hadn’t been since my 20s, but I liked to argue with Namjoon.

And he knew I liked to rile him up, but he always took the bait.

Tae, Jimin, Hobi, and Jin were in the living room, half hanging out, half working.

Namjoon turned to them. “Does anyone want to trade me rooms? She’s bound to drive me nuts by the end of this week.”

“Punishment is punishment,” Hobi pointed out.

“Weren't you working with Yoongi?” I asked, arriving at the kitchen.

He was about to answer me, but Jimin beat him to it. “Yoongi-hyung was being too quiet.”

Hobi laughed but didn't defend himself. “How are you driving Namjoonie nuts this time?”

“He doesn't believe in ghosts,” I said simply. “He's judging me because I do.”

Namjoon pretended to ignore me from the espresso maker.

“We all have our difference of opinions when it comes to religion,” Tae tried to rationalize, trying to be the peacemaker but also doing it sarcastically. He knew I was exaggerating.

“She doesn’t even believe the stuff she is arguing for,” Namjoon said with slight irritation.

I took some mugs and set them around the coffee maker. “No, but it’s annoying you.”

Namjoon just glared at me, unamused.

“Maya is the only one who can bug Namjoon this much,” Jin said, then went back to his notebook. “It’s fun to watch.”

For the next hour, most of us had coffee and hung out in the living room.

Yoongi and Jungkook joined when I sent them a message that coffee was ready. Yoongi had given up caffeine but took the decaffeinated one I made.

I was currently sitting on the couch with Tae and Jimin. Namjoon was sitting in front of me on the floor. The conversation was on tomorrow's workshop. It was getting past midnight, and no one seemed to be the slightest bit tired.

Jin had just finished making one of his cow puns—why was it always cows?

Only Yoongi and I were the ones left with straight faces.

Jin caught on and began scolding the two of us for not having a sense of humor.

“It wasn’t funny,” Yoongi stated, looking at Jin as if he was crazy to think it had been a good joke. “Do you want me to lie to you?”

“Yes, it would boost my self-esteem,” Jin said with a straight face.

“Oh, yes because you’re lacking in that department,” I said sarcastically.

He dismissed my comment. “Ok, I got another good one.”

I dramatically rolled my eyes at him. “You are so bad at these—god help your future children.”

He gave me the question and didn’t even wait for me to give an answer before he started to laugh at his upcoming joke.

“You haven’t even said the pun yet. How are you already laughing?” I teased.

Jin gathered up some composure and pretended to be outraged. “Ah! Maya, why are you always so mean to me?”

“Why are you calling me out? Yoongi isn’t laughing either.”

We went on bickering back and forth for another good minute before Jin turned on Yoongi. Then, it was the pair of them going at it as the rest of us laughed.

I noticed Namjoon rolling his right shoulder and then moving his neck back and forth. Since I’d known him, he had an issue with his right shoulder—something to do with an accident from back when he was a kid.

Instinctively, I reached over and put my palms on his shoulders.

He stayed still and let out a small sigh once the bottom of my palms began to rub his shoulder blades. His neck hung, allowing himself a good massage. I pushed my body forward and pulled his upper body closer to mine. He got the hint and backed up closer to me.

I straightened my arm as my fingers did circular motions on his right shoulder. I found a couple of knots and focused on them. His muscle shirt was making it easier for my fingers to move freely up and down his upper back. Once the knots had gone, I focused on his neck, where I could feel tension.

I placed my legs a little more comfortably on either side of his body. I then wrapped my arm fully around his upper chest for leverage. He let me push down his neck as I worked on the back of it. He let out a few moans and voiced compliments toward me.

“How’s your head feel?” My mouth was level with his ear, so I didn’t really speak up much.

He replied with a deeper moan.

I sat a little straighter and pulled his neck straight up, my fingers then slid through his short, dark, grey hair in circular motions. His heavy head then fell backward, my chest catching it. I kept him there as my hands went to massage his shoulders again.

He was doing a lot again. His visit to the UN, the upcoming concerts, and the workshops were working him to the bone. And I’m pretty sure this “rough patch” Yoongi had mentioned was adding to the stress. He loved his job but his body needed a breather.

His face looked so serene as if he was dreaming. “I could stay here forever,” he mumbled.

I scoffed. “I’d have to charge you.” He was so close; that I didn’t have to speak up.

This only made him snuggle closer. “I’ll give you all my money right now.”

No more than two seconds later, those chocolate-brown irises of his sluggishly opened and looked so intensely into mine.

“Your laugh is cute,” he whispered.

Had I been laughing? I felt my cheeks get a little warm. “I snort when I laugh.”

“That’s what makes it cute.”

I was so close to Namjoon’s face that I could see the lines on his forehead clearly. I was reminded of the years that had passed since we first met. Back then, Namjoon had some baby fat on his cheeks, but the plump features had left him, being replaced by fine lines. I knew he wasn’t the ideal handsome type by Korean or world standards, but to me—at this very moment—I don’t think I had ever seen a man look more handsome.

“There is an empty house behind us for you guys to have some lovey-dovey time.” The voice made us both pull away from each other.

I looked up to find the guys looking at us with teasing smiles. I wasn’t sure who had interrupted us, but it didn’t matter. They all looked to share the same sentiment.

I pulled myself up on my seat, feeling some embarrassment for the way things might have looked between me and Namjoon. But Namjoon stayed where he was at. He slouched a little and lifted his arm to place it above my thigh. Both my legs were still on either side of him.

I didn’t understand why I stiffened as he got into a more comfortable position. We had sat together like this before. Why was it feeling so awkward with him all of a sudden?

I tried not to allow my thoughts to drag me away from the guys. I didn’t want to make it awkward for anyone—including myself—so I pretended to listen in on their conversation.

I heard bits and pieces of it. They discussed their upcoming concert, the next album, and what we were going to eat tomorrow. But my mind was too focused on Namjoon. My feelings for him were intensifying. I wasn’t able to ignore my attraction to him like I used to.

The guys caught on to my silence.

“Mai-Mai, what is it?” asked Hobi.

I looked up and found five pairs of brown eyes on me. When had Yoongi and Jungkook left?

I made some excuse that I was thinking about needing to get work done. I checked the time and saw it was past midnight. I said my goodnight to the guys and headed to the backhouse.

Once I was sitting down at the dining table, I decided to focus on the sample music I was going to be using at the morning’s workshop. Music always settled me.

I played the workshop music on my keyboard with the speakers at full volume. As I played the guys' song, the new chords I had crafted earlier kept coming up. My fingers felt an urge to play them.

After working for a good twenty minutes, the backdoor opened and Namjoon stepped into the house. “Why not work on your song?” he asked as I continued playing.

I waved it off. “It’s ok. I really should focus on this.”

He made his way to his station on the island. “You got the itch, Maya. Chase it.”

I knew what he meant. There were always those songs that caught your full attention and wouldn’t leave your mind alone until they were complete. This song felt like one of those.

Namjoon put on his headphones, put on his glasses, gave me a smile and wink of encouragement, and started to work on his own.

I took his advice. I put on my headphones to not disturb his own work.

Surprisingly, the chords came rather easily, but I was getting annoyed by hearing the music only in my ears. The music called for this to be louder. I got Namjoon’s attention. “Is it alright if I leave the headphones off? I kind of want to hear it fill the room.”

Namjoon nodded. “Yeah, I have my headphones on anyways. Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” I took off my headphones and put the speaker on full blast. I wished there had been a piano on the property. An actual piano. The keyboard just didn’t hold the same feel under my fingers.

I played what I had created and allowed my fingers and intuition to take over. For the next half hour, I found the notes that flowed well together. I played it over and over, a feeling of familiarity coating me. Had I written this song before?

After a few seconds of no longer playing, I heard a deep voice. “That was beautiful.”

I honestly had forgotten Namjoon was present. I was so lost in the song that I thought I had been in my apartment rather than this old house.

Namjoon’s headphones were hanging around his neck and staring at the keyboard in front of me, a puzzling look on his face. “Almost sounds like something you would hear at a wedding.”

That’s when I knew why the song sounded familiar. I had created a melody similar to this song years ago.

I didn’t say anything, but Namjoon caught onto my enthusiasm by my facial expression. “What?”

I immediately went into my files to find the song. Thankfully, I recorded everything and kept it all organized. It didn’t take me long to find the file.

Namjoon was waiting for me patiently. “Found something to go with the music?”

I nodded as I opened the file and hit play. My voice came out of the speaker that had a melody with a faster pace than the piano piece I had written.

“Don’t want to feel weak in love, give up control. I’m never gonna let down my guard, be vulnerable. Don’t want to feel helpless or be too comfortable. I’ll make it on my own.”

My voice sounded too rough for the softness of the piano and, again, the melody was too fast for it, but it was all in the same key as the music I had created. Plus, the emotions and words felt right for the music.

I uploaded the lyrics to the song and thought of how I could change them to fit together.

Namjoon had the same idea as I did. “Slowing down the tempo could work. What are the lyrics again?” He asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose. He looked super adorable. Almost like a nerd.

I repeated the lyrics back to him. He thought for a moment as I hummed the lyrics again. I played the piano music and worked on the lyrics I had for the other song. It didn’t take long to find the right formula to mesh both creations. I did a quick, rough recording of it and played it back.

“That works,” Namjoon nodded in approval. “How did what I say about this being a wedding song make you think of those lyrics?” he asked curiously.

“I wrote those lyrics after Jerry and I broke up,” I said easily.

Jerry and I had been together for two years. He had been my last serious relationship—the only happy and positive one I had. But, in the end, we wanted two different things. Everyone I knew didn’t understand why it hadn’t worked between us. And as much as they asked, I was too private to share why we broke up.

“Oh,” Namjoon said simply. He had asked about my breakup with Jerry right after it happened. I hadn’t given a sincere answer and Namjoon was too respectful to pry, so he had never asked again.

This time, though, I felt compelled to finally give Namjoon the full story. “He proposed to me.”

Namjoon’s eyes went wide with shock. “For real? When?”

“It was right after Ana’s wedding. We got back to the hotel that night and he proposed. Big, diamond ring and everything.”

“You hate diamonds,” he said quickly, with a confused look on his face.

It felt nice to know at least my best friend remembered. “I think he forgot.”

Namjoon shook his head to the side, in a 'that sucks' kind of way. “How bad was it?”

I tried to think back to the exact words I had used that night. “Well, seeing that the first words that came out of my mouth right after he popped the question were: ‘This wedding is not making you think straight', I will say it was kind ofbad.”

“Maya….” His tone had a hint of reprimand and disappointment in it.

I groaned at recalling my bad behavior. “I know, it was not the best thing to have said. That, of course, led to a big argument. Found out we wanted two very different things. We had never really discussed the future, which is why the proposal was so out of the blue. We broke up that night.”

After a moment of silence, Namjoon asked softly, “Do you mind if I ask a personal question?”

“Sure,” I said without hesitancy.

He looked to think about the right words to use before he spoke up. “I thought after that breakup—because you appeared to be content and happy with him—that it was going to inspire all these songs. But the whole reason you came to Korea was that you said you had no inspiration for your music. You honestly didn’t get any songs out of that breakup or relationship?”

I nodded. “These lyrics are the only ones I wrote about our breakup. I don’t even think I wrote a full song during our relationship that was about him. Yeah, he inspired a few lyrics and maybe some melodies. But never a full song.”

“Why did you say no? Didn't you love him?” He was very direct.

I thought about it for a moment, even though I knew the answer. “Yes. But not enough to marry. He was kind, a hard worker, got along with my family, smart, successful…and the sex was really good,” I said with a laugh. I felt the need to lighten this heavy conversation.

It worked because I heard a deep chuckle from Namjoon.

“How about you, Namjoonie? Did you love your ex enough to want to get married?” It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about Jerry anymore, it’s that this was a genuine question I had wanted to know about my best friend. And for whatever reason, I had never asked until now.

He nodded. “I did love her. A lot” He didn’t look up at me but kept his eyes on the ground. Almost looking shy.

This made me feel happy. Love was such a beautiful feeling. I wanted everyone I cared for to experience it.

“What happened?” I asked. We had never really talked about his breakup.

He took a breath, still avoiding eye contact. “It was far too complicated. When it was great, it was great. But then when we were at our lowest, it seemed like the world was going to end—too dramatic. We had that attitude that 'love will save it all' kind of way. I was too naive to see that it takes more than love to make things work.” There was a slight sadness in his eyes, but there was a heavy amount of serenity—he held no regrets. “In the end, we started becoming different people. Our goals were no longer the same. It ended when it needed to end.”

“How long were you guys together for?” I asked, not remembering.

“Four years.” It was half the time he had been in Bangtan.

Another question popped in my head, but my stomach kept me from speaking it out loud.

“What?” Namjoon asked, clearly reading me like he always seemed to.

I couldn't not ask now. “Do you miss her?”

Namjoon took a breath and appeared to think about his answer.

I don't know why my stomach felt as bad as it did, seeing his reaction. I tossed it to the stupid, idiotic crush I was trying to move past.

“Not her, necessarily. I miss being able to feel good about myself.” He shook his head and made a look of slight disgust. “It's going to sound bad, but I don't see any other way of wording it. But, being with her made me feel like I was good enough. Before her, I always had this sense of almost worthlessness. Being in Bangtan has given me confidence in music, but she gave me confidence in something else.” His eyes looked sad and my heart squeezed for him. “Like I said, when it was good, it was great. During our great moments, I felt on top of the world. And that's what I miss. I miss the love. And I don't think I'm going to have it again.”

This threw me off. “What would make you say that?”

Behind the frames, Namjoon's warm, sad eyes looked straight into mine. “I'm too well known. I'd have to find a girl that knows nothing about me to think she's actually interested in me. Most would probably be with me for the status.”

Namjoon's insecurities and self-loathing would swim onto the surface every once in a while. He usually was good at keeping it down himself, but there were times one of his loved ones had to try to drown it themselves. It was my turn this time. “Believe me, most girls interested in you would be genuine. I say 'most', because there's always crazy bitches out there.”

“Again, that's because of who I am. If I wasn't part of Bangtan, no girl would give me the time of day. I'd be too ugly for them. They would think I was too long and slim to be considered good-looking.”

“Is that why you got all bulked up?” I asked, curiously.

“I think that was the inspiration behind it,” he answered honestly. “But the more I worked out, the more I found I enjoyed it. Feels good. Plus, I can now eat more since it helps me build muscle.”

“I can never understand you guys,” I said. “All of you except for Taehyung and Hobi. I know you love your food but my dislike towards working out is greater than my love for food. I think that’s why I prefer to eat healthy and box or bike rather than exercise.”

Namjoon shook his head, disagreeing with how I viewed food and exercise. “My love for food led me to enjoy exercising.”

We were quiet for a moment, allowing our newly discovered facts about each other to sink in. I liked how almost every day I learned something new about him.

“You were handsome before you bulked up, Moni.” It wasn’t often that I used this nickname with him. His old nickname I only used when I was feeling extra sentimental with him. And then, I have no idea what possessed me to say it, but I admitted something that I never thought I would. “I actually had a crush on you back then. I thought you were really good-looking.”

He looked shocked and confused.

It was because of his reaction that I didn't regret being honest with him. He needed to know. Needed to realize that he wasn't the ugly duckling he thought he was. “You’re pretty hot now, but you didn’t have to bulk up. I always thought you were handsome.”

Still looking shocked, he began to speak, “You thought of me as a kid back then. You treated me like one.”

He was right. Upon first meeting them, I treated them like boys. It was the reason why it took many of us a long time to form a genuine friendship. The guys took issue with the way I addressed them—as if they were all teenagers. The maknae line enjoyed it mostly, but Namjoon, Yoongi, Hobi, and Jin made remarks on my treatment of them. In the beginning, it was what kept us from having a full, honest friendship. Due to our different cultures, we both acted in ways that prevented us from being close.

Over the years, I changed my demeanor with them. I still babied Jungkook, Tae, and Jimin occasionally, but I learned to speak to the others on a more equal level. As the eldest, I was the one who insisted on the use of banmal when we were alone. The maknae line didn’t take long to convince, and my friendship with Hobi had naturally gotten to that point after a couple of years. Yoongi didn’t take long to convince. But it had been Namjoon who kept up the boundaries for a lot longer. Out of all the members, it was Namjoon who was the most straight-edge and conservative when it came to manners—at least with me.

“May I remind you that you’re the one who refused to drop honorifics when speaking to me? It took you years to finally drop the noona with me,” I accused.

“Jungkook, Jimin, and Tae still call you noona,” he threw back.

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“They’re like my baby brothers.”

“So the rest of us aren’t your brothers?” he asked with a teasing tone.

“Jin and I are the same age, so he's always been like a normal brother to me—except when he acts like a child, then he's more of a younger, annoying little brother. Yoongi and Hobi are like my older brothers,” I said the phrase in English. “It never felt right when they called me noona.”

“What about me?” he asked. “Did you ever think of me as your brother?”

I could feel my face scrunching up in disgust at the thought. “Not at all.”

There was a slightly hurt look on his face. “You didn’t think of me as part of your family?”

“I always thought of you different than the others,” I said simply.

Before he could actually get upset from my words—and not just pretending he was—I began explaining myself, “What I talk to you about, I would never be able to tell the other guys. Not even my actual brothers. There are things that I don’t even share with them.”

This didn’t seem to make things better. “So, I’m one of your girlfriends?”

The thought of it made me giggle. “Definitely not a girlfriend. Believe me, I’m well aware you’re male.” My eyes automatically went to his muscular arms.

“Then what am I?” he repeated.

I smiled widely at him and made my way over to him. “My best friend. I can tell you everything. I can hang out with you all the time and not get bored. You’re the person I know won’t think of me as uncool when I analyze a book or a movie or a character. You don’t poke fun at my journaling. You challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone. You’re the reason why I like going to museums now and exhibits. I touch amphibians now because of you. I get excited about bike rides. How sad is that?”

He gave me a shy smile.

I walked over to him, glad that he wasn’t bothered with me anymore, even if it had only been for a moment. “You still mad?”

He looked taken aback. “I didn’t get mad.”

“Good. I don’t like the idea of you being mad at me,” I said, feeling the corners of my mouth rising. I leaned over and poked his side.

He pretended as if I had hurt him.

I did it again.

He dodged me and took hold of my hand before I could poke him a third time. “Your giggle is cute.”

I hadn’t noticed I had giggled, but I smacked him with some force. “Don’t call me cute. Makes me think I'm a puppy.”

“But you are cute,” he held both my hands away from him.

I pretended to struggle to get out of his hold. “So, I call you hot and all you got for me is cute? That’s not fair.” I managed to free one hand and slapped his leg.

He was still sitting on the stool. He managed to take hold of both my wrists in just one of his big hands. With the other, he pulled me against his chest and used his legs to wrap around my own legs to keep me still. I was now looking into his chocolate browns. “I also think you’re hot,” his volume was low, but due to my proximity to him, I heard him clearly.

I felt as if I was on one of my bike rides with him, my pulse was picking up. “Liar.”

He pulled me a little closer and dismissed my words. “Especially when you braid your hair because the next day you let it down and your curls make you look pretty fucking sexy.”

“Sexy?” I could feel the warmth on my cheeks now. I knew he was playing with me, but I couldn't help but hope he was being honest. It felt good to know I was attractive to him.

This fucking crush was definitely out of control now. Here I was allowing myself to fantasize.

He stopped manhandling me. His hands were holding my own and his thighs rested along my hips, no longer wrapped around me. I was now leaning onto him of my own volition. And the woodsy scent coming off of him filled my senses.

There was a sharpening and intense look in his eyes. Even with the spectacles on, his eyes drew me in. His monolids were low as his dark irises looked intently into mine. The shape of his eyes reminded me of a dragon's, one getting ready to strike. “Very sexy. And then when you wear yellow or purple…nothing about you is cute anymore.”

Looking into this predator's stare felt too intimidating, my eyes pulled away. But as they made their way down, his full lips filled my view. A smirk danced on them and I felt a need to lean further in.

But the sound of an alarm snapped me back to reality. I jumped back, startled and feeling embarrassed.

I heard a low grunt come from him when I stepped away. I walked to my phone, turning off my alarm. I had set up a reminder to be in bed by 3 AM. I had to slightly tug my hands from Namjoon’s and walked over to my phone.

I took some deep breaths as I turned off my alarm. The distance between us was making me think a little clearer. “I should really head to bed.”

I didn’t wait for him to answer as I closed my laptop and cleaned up a little. The workshop tomorrow was going to be held here anyway, so I didn’t have to disassemble anything.

“I should get some sleep too,” Namjoon said as he also tidied up.

After we cleared things up in dead silence, we made our way up the stairs.

When we reached my room, I mumbled a quick “Good night.” I made a step to my room.

However, Namjoon had other plans. We usually hugged goodbye at the end of the night after hanging out. But because we were going to see each other again in a few hours, I hadn’t thought about hugging him. I mean, we hadn't hugged that night I had slept over at the dorms. He, on the other hand, wanted to continue our ritual.

He was so smooth I didn’t notice him leaning over to wrap his arm around my back until I was in his cozy embrace. I tried to lift my hand and wrap my arms around him, but I was too in shock to move.

“Night.” His voice almost sounded one with the night, so calm and still.

I felt his full lips brush against my forehead, leaving a feeling of warmth behind.

In all our years of being friends, we had only kissed a handful of times. And it had always been on top of the head, where there was plenty of hair in the way of us feeling lips against flesh. I should be questioning why he was kissing me on the forehead right now, but instead, I was wondering if he was going to wrap his other arm around me and pull me closer. Maybe lean down more to place those lips against mine.

But, as quickly as I had found his warmth against me, I found it cold as he stepped back. Even in the darkness, I saw the smirk on his face. The light glistering from the window allowed me to see the wink he gave me behind his glasses right before he went into his room and close the door.

I took a few steps back into my own room and shut the door behind me, completely baffled by what had just occurred.

Had he just put the moves on me?

That smirk, the hug, the wink…. I had seen Namjoon interact with other girls before. I could tell when he was interested and working up the courage to ask a girl out. His whole persona had felt and looked like that.

Was Kim Namjoon into me??

MASTERLIST

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30

[moondustis]

one more time (m)

pairing: jung jaehyun + reader genre: smut, angst, fluff / friends to lovers | wc: 9,4k summary: Maybe this right here is a story about growing up and finding yourself, or about finding love and being vulnerable. But it definitely is a story about friendship, skating, pancakes and Jung Jaehyun learning how to deal with his feelings. song rec: and july - heize ft. dean / i think - tyler the creator / thinking about you - frank ocean 

Jung Jaehyun is born on February 14 of 1997, valentine’s day. He is a cute and healthy baby, as he should be and cries from being outside the comfort of his mother’s belly for the first time. 

He grows up well, loved and cherished by the ones around him and filling his mother’s heart with joy and pride. He’s a happy child, then a smart teenager, just a little shy but still outgoing enough to be surrounded by friends all the time. 

He meets Seo Johnny at school and learns a lot of things from him, but most importantly he learns how to skate. And Johnny is a good friend, a good example as his mother says, because even if sometimes they skip school, he teaches Jaehyun that crying after he falls a bit too hard from a trick doesn’t make him less of a man. And Jaehyun embraces that, thinks that he always had too many feelings inside of him to begin with and he deals with all of them. 

And he’s okay, for the most part but somewhere along the way something shifts and it’s not as easy anymore. It’s not as easy as falling down on the hard concrete of his sidewalk and getting up again because college had a way of changing people, and it does a good job on him. He shuts down a good part of himself to other people, stays in his closed circle of friendships and leads his life like that, hoping that he can finally graduate and do something he actually enjoys, but at the same time dreading that day, because he wasn't sure if he was ready for the pressure of having to know exactly where to go in life. 

Maybe this right here is a story about growing up and finding yourself, or about finding love and being vulnerable. But it definitely is a story about friendship, skating, pancakes and Jung Jaehyun learning how to deal with his feelings. 

✿

Jung Jaehyun is a fuckboy. 

Ok, not literally, but he fits the stereotype suspiciously well. For starters he’s one of the guys that like to skate around campus, and dresses like someone that probably listens to Mac Miller or Tyler, the Creator, with his vans and oversized t-shirts. To make matters worse he looks like a model, walking around with his perfect face and perfect body, making literally every girl in the class you share together swoon every time he walks into the room.  And honestly that’s all you have against him, because he doesn’t actually sleep around all that much and breaks girls hearts. Not that you have heard of at least and it was a relatively small campus. 

But see, Jaehyun is a confusing person, because even if he goes around the campus screaming as his friends do flips or whatever they’re called and sometimes wears t-shirts that say things like ‘fuck cops’, he’s also incredibly quiet and kinda shy from the interactions you had seen him have with your classmates. And on top of all that, he’s majoring in education to become an elementary teacher, like that isn’t the most adorable career in the world.

So yeah, he confuses you. Even more when your first interaction ever with him goes like this: 

You’re in the middle of Psychology 101, the coffee in your system being the only thing keeping your two eyes wide open as the teacher goes on with the lecture. You are not sure if you are really paying attention or just writing down whatever he says, because underneath all that coffee you’re actually very tired from staying up late writing an assignment, and soon the caffeine boost will go away, leaving you with the weird feeling of exhaustion. 

The ‘pssts’ start low. So low that you don’t even notice, but when a very insistent one is accompanied by a finger poking your back, you have to turn around to see what is going on, being met with Jung Jaehyun, cheeks pink, looking at you with a bashful look. 

“Hi.” Is all he says and nothing else, in a rushed whisper as the teacher continues on with the talking.

You blink slowly because the coffee doesn't actually make you think faster, before you’re whispering back “Uh, hi.” 

“Sorry for interrupting you.” That’s very considerate of him to say, your mind provides. “But I skipped the last class and was wondering if you took notes of it? So I can, like, copy them. Please.” 

He adds the last word quickly, as if he’s afraid you’ll think of him as rude otherwise. You haven’t done that much thinking about Jaehyun in the past, just the here and there thoughts, but none of them had been about him being anything but nice. And a fuckboy, but that’s beside the point.

“Oh.” You just look at him for a second before you’re snapping out of it, shaking your head as you turn to your notebook. “Sorry. You can, sure.” You flip your notes until you’re on the page you had messily written down the notes for last class, overreacting for a second that he would think you are stupid because of your terrible handwriting. But all he does is take your notebook when you offer it to him, quickly snapping a picture with his phone before he’s handing it to you again.

He thanks you with a smile that’s almost not there but that still makes your heart flutter involuntary. You had a thing for cute boys what could you do? So you smile back and it stays like that for another second until he decides to break the awkwardness. 

“Uhm, are you going to Taeil’s party this weekend?” Multiple questions fill your mind at that. Who’s Taeil? What party? Why the fuck was he asking you that? Are you hallucinating this from your lack of sleep?

“I’ll probably drop by to see how it is.” Is the lie you reply with, a shrug helping you play the unbothered act too well. It’s a little pathetic if you think about, but that’s the thing, you’re not thinking at all. 

“Oh, cool. I’ll see you there, then.” And that’s it, that’s the entire interaction and it leaves you confused for the remaining of the lecture, wondering if that actually did really happen because it sure felt a bit unreal. 

When you get to your dorm room after your class, the coffee high is completely gone and you feel ready to plop down on your bed and sleep for 5 hours until you have to be up again to finish assignments. But before you can do that. you see your roommate, Jungwoo, eating cereal on the kitchen counter and you can’t help but ask. 

“Do you know a Taeil?” Again, it was a small campus so there were probably not many Taeils around. That and Jungwoo actually knew a lot of people, from his connections, as he liked to say.

He thinks about it for a second, over a spoonful of cereal before he’s saying “Moon Taeil? Yeah he's in my class.” You can’t even be bothered by him speaking with his mouth full and the fact that you’re absolutely not sure if that’s the Taeil you’re looking for. 

“Nice. Do you wanna go to his party this weekend?” A bold invitation that makes Jungwoo raise one eyebrow at you. 

“What? Why do you wanna do that?” In all honesty you don’t know either, probably something about a really attractive man and your very out of usual interaction with him, but you won’t tell him that because facing Jungwoo’s teasing was exhausting. 

You shrug. “Just because.” 

That makes him squint his eyes at you. “Okay…. It's just that you don't go to parties.” In your defense, you do. You just hadn’t been to one since your freshman year, a whole one year and a half ago. 

“Jungwoo it’s a simple question.” You huff in annoyance because you’re tired and every moment that you spend in his presence is another step closer to just spilling everything about your short and weird interaction with Jung Jaehyun. “Do you want to or not?” 

“Yes.” He replies quickly, still giving you a weird look. “I can't miss the opportunity of seeing you drunk again.

“I'm not getting drunk.” You simply say before you’re walking to your room.

✿

You get very drunk, smashed even, from something pink and slightly citrusy that you and Jungwoo had downed shot after shot of. The party was, well, a party. It wasn’t full but there was definitely more people than there should be at a house this small, and the songs playing weren’t exactly that bad, you even recognized one or two. 

And Jungwoo was as splattered as you, but he still offered to fetch you some water, with a promise of staying glued to the wall coming from you. And that’s where Jung Jaehyun finds you, barely standing still from how drunk you are. 

“___!” He says happily, catching you off guard and you wonder how he knew your name. But again you knew his and you shared a class together. 

He looks good, is the first thing you notice, with a snapback and a t-shirt that has a small bear on it and is too big for him. “Jaehyun!” You reply in the same fashion as he said your name and it makes him smile, a different one from the last time. 

“It’s nice seeing you here.” He says, moving to stand next to you on the wall and you’re just slightly overwhelmed by how good he smells. The world around you spins for a moment and you giggle for no reason. “Are you having a good time?” 

“Ugh!” First of all, a disclaimer. Drunk you was absolutely and completely stupid, a fool that liked to say nonsense and that’s why you say the next words. “Do we really have to do small talk right now?” 

He laughs at your childish whine, looking at you with eyes filled with amusement and appearing just a little drunk. Definitely less drunk than you. “What should we talk about, then?” 

Maybe he’s a bigger fool than you are for even entertaining your silliness. “I don’t know.” You look at him through hooded eyes, probably pouting from trying to think of something to say to a guy you just talked for the first time a week ago. “Don’t you miss, like, when we were kids and could just talk about whatever? Like what’s your favorite color, you know? Why did we stop doing that?”

In the back of your head, the sound of clown music starts playing. He on the other hand seems amazed by your blabbering. “Favorite colors?” His voice is just about teasing and you groan in slightly embarrassment. 

“You know what? Forget it. Shhhhh.” You drunkenly press one finger to his lips as if to emphasize your shushing. His lips twitch in the want to smile. “Let’s just do something else.” 

You don’t realize that your words sound suggesting but he does, raising one eyebrow and smiling at you. “Hmm, like what?” 

He moves closer to you but before you have the time to react, Jungwoo is coming back, water bottle on his hand and a look on his face that says he thinks you’re up to no good. He eyes you up and down before looking at Jaehyun and doing the same. He looks slightly more sobered up, but still tipsy.

“Jungwoo!” You exclaim, holding your hands out for the water bottle. 

He looks between you and Jaehyun before saying “Hello. Who are you?” It would have sounded slightly rude if it weren't for the cute tone he uses. 

You’re quick to say “This is Jaehyun, he’s-“

“I’m her friend.” He says it naturally and you wonder when you had gained that title, the giggle you let out against your own will, too drunk for you own good. 

Jungwoo says something to him that you don’t quite catch but then he’s dragging you away with a whine coming from your lips as you wave a sad goodbye to Jaehyun from behind your shoulder and he does the same with an amused smile.

“I leave you one minute alone and you try to act a fool in front of a man that good looking.” He whispers as you walk away and all you can do in return is laugh out loud.  You would probably not even remember any of this tomorrow, anyway. 

✿

You remember everything, of course. And Jaehyun starts saying hi to you every time he sees you around campus after that, always with a smile and his dimples showing up, making you blush in a silly way. But it’s only after two weeks that you finally talk with him again.

You had met Taeyong on your freshman year and after finding out he was really similar to you, you had become friends quickly. He was someone that everyone immediately felt comfortable around, that’s why it was no surprise when you find out at his birthday party that he’s friends with Jaehyun too. 

When you arrive at the party, Jungwoo by your side, there’s not many faces that you don’t know and after you hug Taeyong with a kiss to his cheek, you spot him standing by the kitchen counter. There’s a beer in his hand and he’s wearing all black, a sight that you don’t mind looking at.

He doesn’t notice you at first, his focus on a taller guy talking to him, but when he does he greets you with a wide smile that is enough to turn your legs into jelly by itself, but then he’s making his way towards you. Your heart starts beating a tiny bit faster, your hand moving to fix your hair in habit. 

“Hello.” He greets and Jungwoo decides that’s a good time to leave you side and go talk to his other friends, not even sparing you an explanation. He knew what he was doing. “Didn’t know you were friends with Taeyong.”

You smile like a silly girl. “Yup, he’s like my soulmate.” 

His smile grows wider at that, a pair of dimples making their way to his face and you almost groan because there’s no way he could get any more charming than this. “That's how I know you are a good person.” He jokes and you let out a snort, giving him a funny look. 

“Our first interaction was me letting you borrowing my notes, that should've been enough.” You point out in a teasing manner, not really meaning the words. 

“You’re right.” The ghost of a smile graces his lips as he defends himself, the faint sight of a blush gracing his cheeks as he avoids your eyes.

He offers to get you a beer after that, leading you to the kitchen with a hand on your back that feels weirdly nice. You were never one to get stupid crushes but that’s exactly how you feel around him, like at any moment you will say or do anything really dumb because of your infatuation. You wonder if it’s because of his looks or the way he seems a little shy around you.

“By the way, you never told me your favorite color that night.” He says, eyes twinkling with mischief as he offers you the beer, which you gladly take after immediately letting out a groan.

“Ugh, shut up. Don’t remind me of that.” You are sure your entire face is red from embarrassment at just the thought of the things you had said that night. It wasn’t even that bad, Jungwoo had said, but you like to overreact, so you cover your face with your free hand.

“Why? It was cute.” His voice is filled with amusement and when you peak from under your hand you can see his face is as well. “I like how funny you are.” 

The words only make your face get hotter as you smile awkwardly. You were far from funny, your friends liked to remind you of that fact. But how could you be when you had friends like Jungwoo that absolutely made everyone in a room laugh without even trying. But still, his words make you feel a little proud, that at least you were able to make a pretty guy think that. 

“I don't have a favorite color, it always changes.” You say suddenly, going back to the previous subject to avoid making the conversation about you. Even if you had to talk about something like favorite colors. “I like when the sky turns pink during sunset, I guess you could say it’s that one right now. ” 

He hums, taking a sip of his beer before saying “It's a good one.” 

You huff, he was really trying hard for a conversation about such a stupid matter. Still, you continue to entertain it. “What's yours?”

He pursues his lips, think about it for a second. “I don't know… I like black.”

“Obviously.” You deadpan and it makes him laugh like you actually said something funny. 

Jaehyun stays by your side for the rest of the night, trying his best not to make small talk and it surprises you how easy he is to talk to. He asks you about your favorite everything, from animals to movies and it’s really nice to find out you two have more in common than you would ever imagine. By the end of the party you are glued to his side on a probably too crowded couch, his close proximity making you warm all over and only bothering the butterflies on your stomach more.

It’s when he lets out a loud laugh at something Jungwoo and Yukhei are going back and forth about, hiding his face on your shoulder as his whole body shakes with laughter, that you know for a fact you’re fucked. Completely fucked.

✿

Jaehyun and you become friends very fast after Taeyong’s birthday. It’s almost weird, because both of you seem to be just a little too shy for you own good, but things just happen naturally when you are with him.

It starts with silly jokes passed around in notes on your shared lecture, with your face turning red from how hard you try not to laugh out loud and sharing your favorite songs with each other. Then it becomes grabbing a coffee after class, and sharing something sweet because you both deserve it after enduring such a boring lecture. It all leads to what it is now, two months later and your days are filled with Jaehyun’s comfortable presence, his laugh and late nights texts about any subject that comes to mind and sharing your biggest dreams and some of your fears with him. 

It scares you at the same time it makes you extremely happy, because you had never been someone who had many friends, letting people in and connecting was hard, so you decided very early that navigating life with a few close friends was enough. But Jaehyun makes it all seem very easy and it’s suddenly like you can’t imagine your life without him anymore. 

That brings you to where you are right now. You have both had a long week and decided that it would be nice to have a movie night, and after you had ate the chinese takeout you ordered, you settle on on his couch as romantic comedy movie plays. You’re both comfortable, his eyes stayed glued on the screen, laughing as a character makes a joke about oral sex. Maybe that’s why you ask your next question out of nowhere. Or maybe you’re just stupid. Probably the last one.

“Have you… Have you ever gone down on a girl?” The words are stammered out as you look down your lap, cheeks going pink. You immediately regret asking because you can feel his eyes on you as he searches for a response.

“Wha -- Where did that come from?” It’s even more unsettling that you can’t pinpoint exactly what he’s thinking. Sometimes Jaehyun was hard to read, and that bothered you. 

The small laugh that leaves your lips is fake. “It's a silly question, right? Sorry, I wasn't thinking.”You continue avoiding his eyes, picking at the nail polish that was already chipping on your fingers. 

“Its okay.” He’s quick to say, always making sure you’re not unsure of yourself.  “And, yeah. I mean, I have, of course.”

He says as if it’s obvious. As if it’s something that he absolutely needed to do and all you can say back is “Oh.” 

“Why?” It’s a good question, really. Because you have no idea where you are trying to go with this conversation, but now it got him to pause the movie and to look at you with expectation on his eyes. So you can’t do anything but continue. 

“I don't know…” You gulp down, slightly shaking at what you’re about to say. “I have never — No one has ever done that to me.” 

“Never?” He sounds surprised, annoyed even, but you wouldn’t know what he looks like because you continue to avoid his face, playing with the hem of you skirt instead now. 

There was no reason that you two should be having this conversation, because you were friends and nothing else. But again, friends talked about this all the time. Friends could talk about sex right? Friends could share experiences and joke about it without getting awkward or making a complete big deal out of something so normal. 

Jaehyun lets out a deep breath and then it’s silence for a second. You feel small and embarrassed, because deep down you know that you didn’t say this just as a normal friendly comment. It’s like somehow, you knew exactly that he would say what he does. Or better yet, proposition it. 

“I could…” His words are tentative, almost a whisper as if he wants to put the two of you in a bubble that no one can break in. “I could show you.”

Your eyes widen as you look at him “What? You — What?” 

And Jaehyun is so gentle, as he slides over the couch to be next to you, and give you the comfort you need, and as he cradles your cheeks with his hands. “W-We don’t have to.” He assures, but something on his voice that says he really wants to. “But I'll take care of you. If you let me.”

He’s too much, you think as you stare at his face with glossy eyes. There’s a line that’s been placed on your friendship, a very fine line between what it is now and what it could become. Right now that line is wavering, even more when all you can do is nod your head slowly, giving him all the agreement he needs to press his lips against yours.

It’s a sweet kiss, his lips molding to yours and you can’t help but sigh. It feels right, even if it maybe isn’t. He kisses you with the delicacy of someone who knows this could ruin something good, but at the same time with the determination of someone who wants this too much to care. 

He tilts his head, deepening it as he sucks on your bottom lip before he’s swirling his tongue on it, asking for entrance that you so gladly gives. And you’re not completely inexperienced, you had done this before and knows, how it feels to have someone on top of you, how it feels to have someone try to make you feel good, but when his tongue slides against yours you can feel your head spin and the arousal on the pit of your stomach only grows. 

It’s with slow and calculated moves that he gets you to lay on the couch, with him pressing kisses all over your neck and wherever he can. You watch with your heart beating too fast as he moves down, lifting your shirt a bit past your navel so he can kiss there too, and then he’s slipping your skirt off. 

It makes you antsy being in only your panties in front of him, even more when it’s just a simple cotton and pink material, but he pays it no mind. Instead he continues to press kisses all over your thighs, holding them apart when you try to close them and you shiver in anticipation.

“Are you nervous?” He asks, with fingers hooked on each side of your underwear, about to pull them down. 

You huff because isn’t it obvious? You’re about to have someone eat you out for the first time. Your friend out of all people. “Y-yes.” 

He smiles at you, a smile too sweet for what he's about to do but you still smile back. “Don’t be, I’ll make you feel good.” 

And you know he will because he’s a man of his words.

You close your eyes tightly as he slides your panties off, resisting the urge to completely close your legs because he’s so close and you feel so exposed. And he wastes no time, face just above you and when his fingers come in contact you jump a little. 

You feel as he parts your lower lips, a puff of breath making a shiver run down your body and then he’s pressing a kiss to your most sensitive spot. A whine leaves your lips because of the new feeling, and it only gets higher when his lips close around you, sucking like he has a purpose. It’s almost overwhelming, both because it’s him and because it’s the first time. He licks at your clit, with swirls of his tongue that are kitten like before he’s flattening his tongue down to your entrance, lapping at it and gathering your wetness so he can move to your clit again. 

You trash around and wail, too sensitive but too into it, even more with the way he grips at your thighs to keep them open. He seems to enjoy it, humming against you as he licks you like a starved man before he’s saying with his face still pressed to your center “Taste so good.” The words are muffled and they send vibrations to your core, making you blush as you let out a loud moan. 

You come easily, with laps of his tongue and the knot on your stomach getting tighter and tighter until it snaps completely and you cry out, a mess of curse words and his name and white spots blurring your vision. And he continues his ministrations, tongue pressing inside of your entrance as if he doesn’t want to let any of it to go to waste. 

When he comes up again his lips are red with your arousal making it and his chain shine. You don’t even have the time to feel embarrassed because he kisses you, a strong press of his lips against yours and then his tongue, that was just a second ago inside of you, invades your mouth and slides against yours. You can taste yourself on him and you can feel his hardness pressing against your exposed thigh, your head spinning as he moans in the kiss.

You try to move your hips to press against his in an almost shy movement, but he feels it. A groan escapes his lips as he breaks the kiss, looking completely disheveled. It’s a sight you would probably never forget. “Fuck, I don’t have anything on me.”  He breaths out  and you realize he’s talking about a condom and just the thought of him being inside of you is enough for you to close your eyes as a new wave of pleasure runs through your body. “I want to fuck you so bad. God, so fucking bad. Would you have let me, huh? Would you let me fuck your sweet cunt?”

He noses at your cheeks as you throw your head back. This is not something friends should be saying to each other, far from it. But you still nod, because you would without a thought. And maybe that’s your first mistake. 

✿

Jaehyun fucks you for the first time on the first day of summer. Not that any of you knew that, it’s just something that if you were romantic enough you would think about. 

It’s hot inside his messy room, that you pretended not to notice for his sake. Even hotter with the way he presses kisses against your neck and thrusts into you in a pace that is as calculated as it is maddening. He’s good at it, not that it surprises you. 

He eats you out after he finishes inside the condom and you cry out his name because it’s like he’s trying to make sure that you should never settle for anything less than this. And he’s so willing, with his tongue pressing hard against you and with movements that make you grip at his hair for leverage. 

It’s as clear as day that he’s experienced at this, at least more experienced than you are, because your body count number doesn’t go higher than two and you had just gotten head for the first time a week ago. It makes you feel almost inadequate at the same time it makes a thrill run through your body, eyes glossy and wide as you stare at him practically devour you. 

Your second orgasm hits you with a loud gasp and your whole body shaking in his hold. He holds you like he won’t let you escape, and he doesn’t. 

It becomes a regular thing, the fine line you had drawn between your blooming friendship and something else completely gone as Jaehyun calls you on a thursday night, asking you to come over and then fucks you for the second time with the window open, because summer this year was almost unbearable and sweat clings to both of your skins as he makes you come with a shout of his name. 

It’s an unspoken arrangement, that when one of you needed it you could always call, be it because you’re so stressed from assignments that you need a way to let it all out or because you had a little too much to drink at a party and needed to feel it. 

It goes like this for the whole duration of summer and you think you don’t go three days without seeing Jaehyun. He basically memorizes everything that makes you shake and teaches you everything that he likes, and it’s good. It’s good and it’s easy, no strings attached and you’re fine with it. 

But here’s the catch, because there’s always a catch. You’re not really fine with it. 

You remember one time, when you were around 8, that a teacher made a joke about you and a classmate being more than friends. The mere thought of a romance at that age had made you cry out loud until your mother arrived to pick you up. 

The moment stayed with you, because even at high school, relationships were something you would rather not focus on, not until college at least. But when college came around you didn’t change, still putting your love life aside so you could focus on things that you considered more important.

Now at 21, and still single, it was easy to realize, even if it took some time to finally get out from the denial, that you were scared. Scared of commitment and of being completely vulnerable to someone, even if sometimes when you laid in bed you felt extremely lonely and when you saw your friends getting in loving relationships, it made you just the tiniest bit jealous. It wasn’t a great feeling.

You had never dated before, only had flings that didn’t last much. And you weren’t a romantic, not at all, didn’t think that a relationship would make you happy and definitely weren't willing to give up your dreams for one. But still, it hurtsj ust a little to see your friends settle in while you stayed alone and it hurts just a little that intimacy had become something you desperately craved.

And maybe at the begging of your relationship with Jaehyun you had thought that this would finally be it. And maybe you were also just stupid and too naive to let you relationship get to where it is, but it becomes something more. Somewhere between the first kiss your shared and him fucking you on the bathroom of some party, because you just couldn’t wait, Jung Jaehyun caves a place for himself inside your life and you let him, the feelings blossoming in your chest getting too big to handle every day.

And he is still confusing, because he is too nice, too gentle. He sends you silly pictures of himself during the day, tells you about the skate tricks he finally got right even though you have no idea what he’s talking about. He buys you sweets when you say you had a bad day and sometimes, the times you dread the most, he kisses you like he means something more with it. Sometimes he fucks you with unplaced gentleness that if you closed your eyes you could believe this was something more. 

But it isn’t because at the same time you hear whispers about a girl he was with at a party, you see his phone light up with texts that you don’t read, but your mind can’t help but overthink as something that makes your stomach turn.

But you let it happen, because in your mind maybe having him like this is better than nothing, at least for now. And maybe, even if you were craving for it deep down, you weren't ready to have it. So summer comes and goes and you wish your feelings went away with it. 

✿

Watching people skate becomes an entertaining activity. Something about the movements and the sound of the wheels rolling on concrete made you extremely calm, putting aside the noises of screaming boys and all the curse words they said. 

Even with the direction your relationship took, Jaehyun still seemed to consider you a close friends, something you found extremely bittersweet. He still complained about his classes, still texted you stupid things during the day and he still took you to the skate park to watch him and his friends do tricks for hours. 

The only things that had changed were the sex and the fact you were falling in love with him. No big deal. 

You watch as Jaehyun’s tall friend, that had been introduced to you as Johnny, goes for a trick that involves him jumping and ends up falling, making everyone around him laugh and scream jokes. It was extremely amusing to see a bunch of 20 years old act so carefree and boyish, a small laugh escaping your lips.

Jaehyun helps Johnny up, a wide smile on his face as he says something you can’t exactly hear but it must be funny because it makes Johnny laugh. You’re so entranced with the scene that you don’t notice the red hair man approaching you.

“Whats up, ___?” Yuta says with a grin as he stands tall in front of where you’re sitting on a bench. He was one of the few of Jaehyun friends that actually tried to make you feel welcome when he brought you along to their skate sessions, always making conversation and offering to keep you company. 

“Hey, Yuta.” You smile back, shielding your face from the sun so you can see him better. 

“Just gonna sit here by yourself?” Shrugging you watch as he drops the skate he had been holding down and steps on it as a habit. “I can teach you how to skate if you want.”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, making you laugh. “No thank you, I've seen you fall too many times to consider that.” Jaehyun had already offered you the same thing too, but you had absolutely no interest in getting up that four wheeled thing and ending up with a broken bone.

“Please, I'm just falling to get your attention.” His flirty words are not a surprise. He had been like this from the moment you met, saying things that made a blush set on your face. At first it had made you confused but now you knew it was just how he was. “Besides, I never fall as hard as I'm falling for you.”

The last words are said in a sultry voice that makes you laugh even louder, hand coming to your face as you shake your head in disbelief. “Pfft, you’re so corny.” 

The sound of your laughter must have attracted attention, because next thing you know Jaehyun is approaching the both of you with his skate underneath one arm and a weird look on his face. “What’s up?” He asks when he gets close enough, dropping the skateboard down and lifting the snapback he has on to run a finger through his hair. 

Yuta rolls his eyes, feigning annoyance. “Jeez, nothing. Mind your business.” 

You laugh, giving him a pointed look that seems to amuse him to no end. “Don't be mean.”

That makes him smile and he winks at you before saying “Just ‘cause you asked nicely.” And then he’s skating away, leaving you and Jaehyun alone. 

He looks at you and smiles just shy from letting the dimples you liked so much show up. “Was he bothering you?”

You scoff. “Or course not, Yuta is harmless.”

“Yeah, right.” His tone drips in sarcasm as he sits down right next to you, legs spread open and an arm coming to rest behind you. Sometimes his actions screamed masculinity and it made you feel a weird thing inside of you. 

“He was just messing around, he says flirty stuff to everyone.” 

He huffs, looking around everywhere like he’s trying to avoid your face. “It’s just.. they keep talking about you. Pisses me off.” The words are barely audible, like he’s just saying it to the air and not to you. 

You’re confused, eyes dropping as you pick on the green polish on your nails. “What do you mean?” You didn’t think most of his friends even cared about your existence so knowing they talk about you in the way he’s suggesting is a surprise and it makes you antsy. 

He shrugs, giving a small laugh that’s merely another huff. “Doesn’t matter.” You want to ask more but just then he looks at you again, the sunset making him look almost angelic. He’s quick to add another question, as if to not give you the opportunity to say more. “Do you wanna go to IHop after?”

It catches you off guard, but you still nod. “O-Okay.” 

Jaehyun confused you some times and that’s what happens when he slides a hand to your cheek after nodding. The kiss he presses to your lips is chaste, not quick but also not long. It feels like something casual, like a couple would do out of naturality. 

It’s the first time he kisses you in front of his friends or outside of his room, for that matter. It makes the butterflies in your stomach go crazy but you’re not stupid and you would have to be to not realize what this is. He’s trying to show his friends that they shouldn't mess with you. 

It’s a bittersweet kiss, like most things seem to be these days with him. He walks away after breaking the kiss, with the excuse of saying his goodbyes before you can leave and you watch him with a twisting feeling in your stomach. 

The kiss is not mentioned again as you two walk side by side to the restaurant but the weird feeling sticks with you. Most days you try to act like nothing's wrong, because if you think rationally about it, it isn’t. But there’s something about the look on Jaehyun’s face when he talked about his friends, and there’s something about the way you want desperately to hold his hand but can’t, that makes you want to cry just a little.

He orders huge pancake pile that you both share, making you laugh when he stuffs his mouth too full and offering you the last piece because that’s just how he is. It makes you forget about the lingering feelings for a while, the warmth of having a friend like him settling in instead and you can’t help but wonder if it would’ve been better if it just stayed like this. 

When the pancake is over and you’re both too full to even have a conversation he slides his hand to where yours is placed on the table. It’s just a small gesture, him picking your hand up in his and eyeing your fingers before saying “I like when you paint your nails like this.”

He means the colorful setup you got going on, with each finger a different colors because you just liked how it looked and it made you happy. “Maybe I can do yours one day.” You say around a smile. 

And he agrees, of course he does. “That would be nice.” He continues holding your hand but you don’t think much of it.  “That movie we wanted to watched came out, wanna go watch it at my dorm?” 

In your mind you think that’s clue for something else so you just laugh, shaking your head. “I don't know Jae. I’m so full i don't think I can have sex without like throwing up.”

The laugh he lets out makes you heart feel full.  “We are just going to watch a movie.” He says while squeezing your hand softly. 

And you do end up just watching a movie, like old times. It’s fun and you feel happy, but the feelings in your heart come back in full force when you go back to your dorm and you can’t help to wonder what it would be like if you could just stay at his and cuddle like a couple would do. Then you wonder what it would be like if you hadn’t crossed the line.

If you cry yourself to sleep, then that’s beside the point.

✿

Three days later Yuta asks if you and Jaehyun are dating, out of curiosity. The question makes your stomach turn, and when you say no he asks you out on a date. It’s weird, mostly because you think at first that he’s just joking as always, flirting with you to make you laugh. But when it dawns on you that he isn’t, you say you would think about it. 

You say that for two reasons. Just yesterday, you had to sit on a lecture while some girl whispered about how Jaehyun had a big dick and how she knew that was obvious. You had heard about people talk about him before, and it always made you feel weird but now, when every time you’re with him you can’t help but feel your feelings get stronger and stronger, it makes you feel almost sick. That’s reason number one.

Reason number one is that you have realized that you deserved to be on dates and have fun, and just feel like your feelings mattered and were reciprocated. 

So you say you’ll think about it and you do, and the realization you come to is far deeper than you expected. And in retrospect, maybe it was a bit out of impulse. 

You’re laying on Jaehyun’s bed, right after you two fucked, with you on top because he fell down and hurt his ankle. You’re wearing a big t-shirt of him and he has one arm across his eyes, recovering his breath and basking on the glow that is an orgasm.

You don’t know why you say it, but next thing you know you’re sitting up on the bed and letting the words out. “Yuta asked me out.”

His arms slides to his side as he looks at you, eyes swirling with something you can’t quite place yet. “What?” His voice gives it out, jealousy. “And what did you say?”

“I said yes.” You don’t take your eyes off him. It’s a lie because you didn’t know what you were going to say yet. But you felt like you had to say something to him before you made any decisions. Like you owned him something. 

“Why?” His eyebrows are furrowed and you can’t help but scoff.

“Because I wanted to.” You suddenly remember the girl from your class, and the other rumors and it just makes you feel bitter. He just mutters a low okay, like he doesn’t know what else to say right now and it just pisses you off. You wonder if it would be better if he protested against it. 

A lump forms in your throat as he avoids your eyes, and you decide that you need to be brave enough for once. “I think… That maybe we should stop doing this.” It’s tentative, the lump only growing as you watch him close his eyes tightly. There’s something you want him to say but you have a feeling he isn’t.

“Because of Yuta?” Your head drops as you shake it. He’s unbelievable. 

“No, what the fuck? Of course not.” You hiss, looking at him and wishing he would just look at you. Maybe that would make this better. “I- I just don’t think I can do it anymore.” 

It’s the truth. But why do you feel like crying? There’s a pain in your chest that makes you want to run from here and hide forever, a headache starting to form from holding back your tears. He takes a deep breath, finally opening his eyes but still not looking at you. “Okay. If that’s what you want.” He sounds pained but it’s all that he says. 

You get up from the bed slowly, gathering your things in complete silence and you know then that everything from now on will change. You wish he would say something, beg you to not leave, tell you that he doesn’t want to stop it. Wishes that he would just hold you and comfort you like he always does, but he doesn't. “We… We can still be friends.” You mumble out, because that’s the thing you’re scared to lose the most.

He lets out a sad little laugh that breaks your heart. “Of course. We’ll never stop being friends, ____.” 

And you can’t help but laugh quietly too, before you’re muttering out your goodbyes and leaving the room before you turn back on it like you want to.

✿

Jung Jaehyun was not a big romantic, despite being literally born on the day that glorified it. It’s not that he doesn’t care about it, he’s still soft hearted after all, but the big gestures and all the dramatics that seemed mandatory to it just didn’t do it for him. He always thought that love should be something easy, that came naturally and without much thought not something that served to rip your heart of your chest and leave you restless.

That’s why he probably has so much trouble dealing with it, because it usually wasn't easy at all. 

He remembers when his parents got a divorce when he was in high school, something that he saw coming but still managed to mess with him. At the time he refused to cry about it or even acknowledge the whole thing was happening, instead staying out of home until late hours and deciding that some things weren't worth enough to bother about.

He went like that until Johnny said the words he thinks about sometimes even now. “You have to own your feelings.” He had said as they sat side by side on a sidewalk, sweaty from skating but with the adrenaline, that only feeling the wind as you go down a slope can make you feel, pumping on their bloods. “If you don’t you’ll never be able to be yourself. Or know what you want.”

Right now, as he thinks about that moment he gets a bit nostalgic, even feels like crying a little bit. Doesn’t help that he’s close to being high out of his mind. 

Johnny sits by his side, just like he did that day, only this time it’s at the balcony on the apartment they shared. He takes a drag from the blunt they had been passing back and forth for the last hour, watching the sunset and not really talking about anything in particular. 

“Do you think we can find love here?” He asks suddenly, the words escaping his mouth because he just couldn’t contain them anymore.

“What you mean here?” Johnny’s voice is slurred and he seems just as cloudy as Jaehyun is. If they weren’t high they would probably think this was far from a conversation to have in this state.

“In college I mean. I feel like every relationship that happens in this place is doomed to become just a passing thing.” He stumbles over the words, gesturing around with slow motion and it’s probably the deepest thing he has ever said, high or not. “Something to forget about after graduating.”

All his past relationships had gone away like wind, like something that never really even happened. It never felt important, like something that he would take him for the rest of his life. That thought bothered him for a reason and he always preferred to not think about that, but right now he feels like he can’t escape it anymore. 

His friend thinks for a second, the look on his face indicating he’s long gone as he stares outside. “I don't know man. I think you can find love anywhere if you are open to it.” He says simply and all in one breath. 

It’s silent for a moment and he watches the sunset, the sky a mix of orange and pink and it makes him think of you. These days his thoughts are all over the place, but your presence in them is constant. It had been just a week since the last time he saw you but it had definitely been getting to him, and it’s not hard to know why. 

“I think I’m in love.” It’s easy saying it than he thought it would be. “With ___. 

Johnny smiles knowingly. “Why do you think that?”

Because he can’t look at a sunset and not think of you. Because there are songs he can't listen without thinking about how you would probably like them. Because he catches himself thinking about the way you laugh with your cheeks turning pink when he makes a joke that is not even funny. Because of how you always have something smart to say back to his teasings. Because the thought of you being with someone else pisses off and because it feels safe and easy when he’s with you. 

“Because I miss her.” It’s what he decides on. “And I've never missed anyone like this before.” 

He feels like he has just let out a breath he's been holding on for a long time, his mind fuzzy and he can’t help but let a silly laugh.

“I think you should probably tell her that, then.” Johnny says simply, laughing too. 

“Yeah, I think so too.” 

✿

You see him for the first time again two weeks after what happened. It had been enough time for you to get over it, but you don’t. Only further proof that your feelings ran deeper than you wanted them to. 

Even with the promise of staying friends, the need for a time to collect yourself was obvious, so you stay out of touch with him for these days and it’s hell. And you think about Jaehyun more than you want to, his face appearing in your thoughts every time you close on your eyes, no matter how busy you tried to keep yourself. That’s why your heart basically somersaults out off your chest when you see him on campus when you’re making your way to your dorm after a very boring lecture.

It’s cliche and something that would probably fit on a movie, the way his eyes go wide as he sees you all the way from where he’s skating with some friends, not even minding that Yukhei was in front of him and collapsing into him almost in slow motion. You watch as he falls down with your lips in a comedic ‘oh’, Yukhei coming with him as everyone around them falls into laughter. 

It doesn't seem to faze him, though. Because next thing you know he’s getting up, seemingly not hurt, helping his friend and picking his skateboard up. He practically runs to you after that, baggy clothes moving with him. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Is what you ask when he finally gets close enough to you that you can hear his heavy breathing. His cheeks are fully red as he pants. 

You look at him with wide eyes as he catches his breath, arms crossed in front of you. The antsy feeling on your gut only gets worst by the second. 

“Don't — Don’t date Yuta.” Is what he says after a while, the words rushed as if he couldn’t keep them in anymore and all you can do is gape, confusion painted all over your face.

“What?” 

He sighs deeply, hand running on his face. “I — Fuck. I know I sound like an asshole but I don't want you to date him, please.”

You narrow yours eyes. He hasn’t talked to you in over a week and this is the first thing he decides to say. “You’re making no sense right now.” 

He seems stressed, mouth opening and closing as if he really doesn’t know what to say. Like this is what it is, an impulsive action. “Listen, I’m not good at this relationship thing.” Is what he starts with, looking at you with eyes pleading and feet shuffling. “But I… I wanna try.” 

He pauses, taking a deep breath as you let the words sink in. Your head spins with his confession, to stunned to say or do anything but look at him with parted lips and softening eyes.

“Can you give me another chance?” He continues, voice dripping with something that sounds a lot like begging, but you know that’s not like him to do. “Just one more time. I promise I’ll do it right this time.” 

When his words finally settle in you can’t help but let out a laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. “Are you stupid?” His head drops immediately, ears turning red as he rubs the back of his neck.

“Come on please, don’t do that.” His bottom lips jut out when he looks at you again, you still smiling because he really is stupid. He really has no idea. “I- I’m in love with you. Fuck, I really am.”

He says the word in a sigh and it surprises you, catches you off guard because even if he just said he wanted to try again, you didn’t think that he was feeling the same way you were. You look at him for a second, eyes wide before your lips turn into a smile. “You really are stupid.” Another laugh and he looks defeated, until you continue. “I don't want to date Yuta. I never did.” 

He tilts his head, confusion gracing his features. “No?” 

“You wanna know why?” It’s a rhetorical question because you quickly add the words you have wanted to say for so long. The feelings that scared you but at the same time made you feel extremely alive. “Because I'm in love with you too.” 

It’s blissful watching his face turn into one of completely adoration as his lips turn into the biggest grin, dimples showing and you heart beats with all the love you feel for this stupid, stubborn and lovely man. “You are?” He asks, hopeful and around a smile.

You barely have the time to nod before he’s letting his skate fall to the ground and he’s coming forward to give you a hug that lifts you from the ground, a yelp coming from your lips but it quickly turns into a giggle as he twirls you around in his arm in pure happiness. 

For a second you forget about every doubt you ever had. You just let yourself bask in the wonderful feeling that is being held by him. 

He wastes no time to press a searing kiss to your lips when he lets you down, holding your cheeks in his hands and you kiss him back with as much passion. In the back you can hear the cheers of his friends, and even if you flip them over, you are still smiling.

[itsmeevie01]

Bio!Dad Bruce Day 9- Last Name (Wayne)

ok, so, if youve paid attention, the you know that i can’t write dialouge for the life of me lol.so today…i bring you dialouge in the form of texting :)

Marinette didn’t make a big deal about who her father was. Of course, when she had just met the man, she had relied on her friends to help her navigate the tricky situation. Since then, the teen had gotten good at only saying what she needed to. Chloe knew. Nino knew. Kim ands Alix knew. Max knew. They all knew and didn’t bring it up. They knew that she had processed it and moved on. To her, Bruce Wayne was just her father. She didn’t talk about the money, or all the work her father did. Marinette made a point to just be herself, and not worry about what names were attached.

At school, of course, she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. On her ID? On her ID, she was Marinette Cheng-Wayne. Only those who needed to know knew. That how Marinette liked to keep it, at least, if she could help it.

When Marinette was 14, a new girl joined her class. The girl was sweet, if a little delicate. She said she had a lot of different injuries and conditions, but who was Marinette to judge? When the girl started to cling to one of the boys, Adrien, Marinette got a little worried. It wasn’t the end of the world, if he had offered to help, but he looked uncomfortable. When she mentioned this to Chloe, the girl had snarled. “That leech has been worming her way into his head. If you could hear what Gabriel was telling him to do- “her friend shook her head. “If I step in, want to help?” Marinette felt a smile crawl its way onto her face.

“gladly.”

Over the next few weeks, the girls watched what their new classmate, Lila, did. By that point, Nino had brought up his own concerns at fit far too well with theirs. Finally, Chloe decided it was time to take action. The blond stormed into the class and settled into her seat with a scowl. When Sabrina hurried over to join her, Chloe shook her head. Marinette took pity on the redhead and tugged the girl to the back of the class with her, whispering a quiet “watch”. When Nino and Adrien came in, Nino made his to the back, where he plopped down next to Kim. Alix and Max sat across the aisle, and all of them were ready for the explosion that was bound to happen. As Lila and Alya slipped in together, chatting and giggling over some story, the others exchanged glances. They had all been pretty close for years. Because of that, it was hard for others to join their group. The newest addition was Sabrina, and that was only because of her tendency to hang around Chloe. A ding on Kim’s phone drew the groups attention, making them all glance down at their own phones. In the group chat, Alix had sent a video linked to the LadyBlog.

Alix: saw this, this AM. Might be worth looking into. (video attached from the LadyBlog, Titled The Secrets of the Wayne Family)

Mari: wtf

Mari: what is she trying to do

Mari: her ass will get lawyered so fast

Max: she obviously hasn’t thought this through

Kim: is she claiming to know them????

Chlo: oml

Chlo: SLANDER

Chlo: please Mari, please tell me that she doesn’t know your family?

Mari: I mean

Mari: she might? But I think her family name would have come up when Tim and I were planning world domination if she did.

Max:!

Mari: don’t worry, its been put on the back burner. Dad has a new kid that keeps trying to stab Tim w/ a Katana lol.

Nino: Mari, aren’t you supposed to go visit soon? Maybe you should just stay here, dudette.

Chlo: ITS SHOWTIME

The friends hurriedly stowed their phones away and returned their gazes to the front of the room where Lila had approached a confused Adrien. The boy had been deposited next to Chloe in the first row, confusion evident in his green eyes. The Italian girl leaned over the desk, trying to garner as much attention as possible. “Adrien, why don’t you come sit with me? I was hoping you could help me keep up with the lesson.” The dangerous flash of her eyes was so fast that most would have missed it. Marinette narrowed her eyes in suspicion. It looked like Chloe hadn’t been exaggerating about what was going on behind the scenes. Moving before things could get out of hand, Marinette skipped down to the desk.

“I can help, Lila! Literature is one of my favorite subjects!” the anger that glowed behind Lila’s eyes was worrying, but Marinette wasn’t worried. She grabbed the other girl by her elbow and tugged her towards the seat the brunette usually occupied. “I’m sure that Alya wouldn’t mind sitting next to Sabrina!” as Marinette settled into the new seat, Lila folded herself onto the bench and pulled out her notebook, shunning her new seatmate. As Marinette got her own supplies ready, she mentally prepared herself for an hour of clod anger directed at her.

After the bell rang, Marinette slowly started to collect her things. The girl next to her was moving faster than the noirette expected. For a girl who was supposed to a wrist injury, Lila sure wasn’t trying to avoid the pain. Shaking her head, Marinette finished collecting her stuff and went to join Chloe where she was waiting at the door. As they linked arms, Marinette realized that there was a sharp voice behind her, crying. “Oh Alya, it was awful! Marinette wouldn’t answer any of my questions, and told me that if I didn’t understand it, I should keep my mouth shut!” Chloe sniggered next to her and strode away towards the lockers, pulling Marinette with her.

“Honestly, Mari? I wish you had told the brat to shut up, maybe then she would be scared of you.” Marinette rolled her eyes at her best friend.

“your only scared of me, because you’ve seen me with Tim, and know that we already are on the path to world domination.” Chloe shook her head and closed her locked with a soft thud.

“Mari, you are worse than all of your brothers, simply because you don’t use your fathers name to back you up. If you did that, then you would have the same royal brat rep I do.”

Chlo: so, is anyone going to put a stop to the liar’s yapping?

Adrien: wait what? Chloe, who are the other numbers?

Chlo: Adrien, please.

Chlo: do you really not have these numbers saved already?

Nino: yeah dude, that’s a little mean

Mari: lol yeah, I’m insulted, Adrien!

Adrien: Wait, Nino?

Adrien: who…is in this chat?

Alix: Me!

Max: Markov and myself

Kim: and me, man

Adrien: that…doesn’t help.

Chlo: oh honesty!

Chlo: you idiot, its Mari, Nino, Max, Alix, and Kim.

Chlo: you are Ridiculous

Chlo: UTTERLY RICICULOUS!

Mari: Chloe, chill. I don’t think he’s been in one of our…unique chats before.

Max: affirmative. Adrien usually spends time with Nino, Alya, and Lila if he isn’t with Chloe and Sabrina

Chlo: back to the topic at hand!

Chlo: the brat has to stop

Mari: I mean…she hasn’t done anything we can stop her with yet.

Nino: we need solid proof

Alix: are we just going to forget this AM? (video attached from the LadyBlog, Titled the Secrets of the Wayne Family)

Adrien: is someone going to tell me what’s going on?

Mari: we can’t drag them into this, Alix. it’ll make it worse, not better.

Alix: M, are you sure? we could shut her up real fast. Your fam, mine, Chloe’s?

Max: theoretically, it would be the path of least resistance.

Mari: THEY ARE A LAST RESORT

Mari: I AM NOT LETTING JASON MOCK ME FOR THIS

Mari: bc that ass totally will.

Adrien: ok, but what’s going on?

Max: Lila is trying to use you to catapult herself to fame

Kim: haha yeah, its not going to work if we have anything to say about it.

Chlo: also, very happy Mari never brought Alya into the fold

Mari: fuck no

Mari: do you see the way that girl doesn’t research anything. She latches on and never lets go.

Nino: so, you’ve said, Mari. I still think your over exaggerating on that one, lol

Mari: lmfao

Mari: Nino, she thinks I have a crush on ADRIEN of all people.

Mari: sorry, Adrien, bc you’re my friend? But she latched onto something and won’t let it go

Alix: shit I remember that. She tried to get us to set the two of you up. Those plans SUCKED.

Mari: remember how I kept sabotaging them lol? She just thought that fate was against her

Max: logically, shouldn’t that be a sign that you two aren’t meant to be?

Mari: haha I wish. After that, she tried to set me up with Chat Noir.

Chlo: WAIT

Chlo: that’s what Lady Wi-Fi was about?

Mari: yesssssssss

Adrien: um…should I be concerned about this?

Kim: I mean…no? its normal at this point.

Max: Chloe, plan #3 might work for taking down Lila? We wouldn’t need Mari’s family to join in if we do that.

Mari: if that fails, I’ll call Tim.

Mari: but ONLY if #3 fails, and we can’t make say…#5 work.

Chlo: you got yourself a deal, Marinette.

When the group entered the classroom together the next day, Chloe and Marinette were chattering excitably together. Adrien and Nino were talking about something on his phone while Max was keeping sore for whatever competition Kim and Alix had going on. When Lila approached Adrien and tugged him over to her seat, the others tracked her movement wordlessly.

When Alya came in and found them watching, she smirked at them. “those two make a cute couple, don’t they? Lila was practically glowing earlier when she was talking about the date they went on last night.” The friends exchanged telling glances but otherwise brushed the girl off as they dispersed to their seats. As she made her way to the seat she had claimed at the back at the beginning of the year, Marinette paused by Lila’s desk.

“Lila, do you need help again today? I know that the topics we’re covering are a little difficult if you’re not familiar with them.” The brunette scowled up at her.

“sorry, Marinette, but you can’t really keep up with the help I need.” The smaller girl shrugged.

“I’m sorry that you feel that way, Lila. If you ever need help, feel free to ask.” as she made her way to her seat, Marinette could hear Lila say loudly

“She’s just jealous that I have connections like the Wayne’s and Jagged stone and she’s just a little miss nobody.”

Mari: fuck it, it’s on bitch. I’m calling Jagged and Clara. These are slander charges now.

Chlo: should I expect your family’s lawyers too?

Mari: hell no. Tim is a last resort.

Mari: dad’s friend tho? THEY are defiantly going to be getting a few phone calls.

Mari: hey Jagged, Penny. I have just a tiny question.

Penny: Marinette! We were getting ready to contact you! What’s going on?

Mari: what kind of slander would be bad enough to sue over?

Penny: why?

Mari: this (voice file attached. Label reads SeNd To JaGgEd ASAP)

Jagged: little lady…where did you get this?

Mari: I recorded it during class today

Jagged: this liar is your age?

Penny: Marinette, would you mind if I send this to our lawyers?

Mari: go right ahead.

Tim: so…

Tim: would you like to explain why Jagged Stone is ranting to B in the entryway about a “little lying brat” who is in his “favorite niece’s class?”

Mari: wat

Mari: idk what you’re talking about

Tim: Little Bit, you can’t possibly think he hasn’t name dropped you yet.

Mari: WHAT.

Mari: fuck

Tim: ummmmmm

Tim: WHEN DID YOU START CUSSING?

Mari: tim. Please remember who my brothers are.

Tim: OH neverminded

Tim: why didn’t you get me involved?

Mari: theres no reason for Marinette Dupain-Cheng to know the Wayne fam

Mari: also, we wanted to use #3 and #5 first. If they didn’t work (they are) we were going to rain fire lolz.

Tim: fine. When your ready for the power that comes with the name, lmk

Tim: aslo, I insist on being included in the planning.

Mari: also*

Tim: fuck off

Tim: I wan to be ready for whatever damage control might be needed with the press

Tim: also, I live the kind of chaos that you and Chloe create together lolz

When Adrien turned to Marinette during lunch that day, there was clear confusion in his eyes. “Mari?”

“what’s up, Adrien?”

“who was that guy…Tim? That Chloe kept mentioning?”

“oh? She didn’t tell you?” the blond shook his head, looking worried. Marinette smiled ruefully and sighed.

“he’s my older brother on my father’s side.” When Adrien furrowed his brow, Marinette elaborated. “My father lives in the United States and runs a big corporation. He spends a bit of time in the limelight, but he keeps us all out of the press.”

“the…Dupain family?” Marinette laughed before smoothing over her friend’s confusion.

“no, Tom is my dad, but Bruce is my Father. He lives on the east coast, and I spend most holidays and breaks with my siblings over there.” Adrien nodded and smiled at her.

“I guess that makes sense. Its really cool at you get to spend your time with both sides of your family like that. What is your father’s last name then? I don’t think I’ve heard it.” Marinette winced.

“My father’s last name is Wayne. Anywhere except school, I use the name Marinette Cheng-Wayne.”

ok, thats a wrap. for once, this could be read by itself with almost no context. this will fit intothe overall storyline, but i had to go back and set the stage (this) for when Mari is 15. here, its the begining of the school year that she turns 15. (her b-day is in April bc i want to mess wiht cannon even more than i already do.)

[tealenko]

You know I can never get enough of Mass Effect what other fan fics do you have planned?

Oh... You don't know what you just did lol Let me grab my Mass Effect headcanon notebook ehehehe

I'll start from the beginning

Mio Shepard

Earthborn / Sole survivor / Infiltrator / Paragon

Blonde, green eyes, fair skin with freckles, taller than the average, hardly ever wears makeup

Used to dye her hair until she joined the Alliance, where she shaved it and let it grow blonde for the first time since she was a child (she looks a lot like her father and she doesn't feel worthy of neither the last name nor the resemblance until she joins the Alliance)

Parents: James and Hannah Shepard

Scars: Right leg and left shoulder (Akuze) A few in the stomach (gang days) upper lip and right eyebrow (during N7 training / Alliance missions before ME1)

Tattoos: left leg, on the calf (gang days tattoo) -> [In hell & heaven, In darkness & light, Our blood remains the same: RED], right arm (before ME1)-> [N7 symbol], right leg, on the calf (after ME3) -> [Alliance symbol, the 3 stars are replaced by the letters 'A' 'V' 'W' and on top of it there's another 3 'M' 'T' 'L' ](Anderson, Vancouver and Williams -> Inside the Alliance) (Mordin, Thane and Legion -> Outside the Alliance). Left forearm (inside) -> [Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives] (During ME3, same time Vega is getting his N7 one)

Trinkets: his dad ring (wore it in a necklace until she joined the Alliance, then she put it with her tags) bracelet (from childhood friend - lost after ME1) ring from Kyle (gang lider), engagement and wedding ring (after ME3).

Nicknames

Angel (7-13 yo)

Lucy / Fall (13 - 17 yo) -> from fallen angel / lucifer (gang name)

Dee / Detroit (18 - Akuze / 23 yo)

Shepard / Shep (24 - ...)

Fun fact: She's only ever called Mio by 2 persons (her dad and Kaidan)

Meaningful relationships

Her dad

Thea, childhood friend

Kyle, in charge of the Tenth Street Reds

Shawn Smith aka Vancouver -> best friend from Alliance training to Akuze

David Anderson -> practically convinced her to join the Alliance (I wrote this when I was 14th lol, I know it's too cheesy but I kinda love it so it's staying)

Kaidan Alenko (... I mean... you had to see that one coming lol)

Garrus Vakarian (Best friend in ME1)

Thane Krios (Only reason my Shep didn't kill herself in ME2... but I'd like to also give a special mention to Legion and Mordin)

James Vega / Joker -> party buds

Victoria Alenko (Kaidan's mum) -> she ends up becoming like a second first mother to her

Aries Alenko (daughter, named after Thane -> Aries in Greek is pronunced Krios // My Shep missed her friend and Kaidan liked constellation names, so he came up with the idea for the name and she loved it)

Her story (I'll try to make it as short as I can lol)

Born in Detroit (Michigan / USA)

Her mother leaves when she's a baby (she doesn't remember her), she never hears from her in her entire life

Her dad raises her until she's 7yo, he dies in a car crash

Spends a few weeks in an orphanage until she decides to leave (being there was definetely worse than being on her own)

Does whatever she needs to survive for a while (stealing things for minor gangs mostly)

Meets Thea when she's 10 yo, she and her sister try to help her, she gets off the streets and lives with them for 2-3 years

Thea is killed because of Mio's old life, so she goes in a hunting spree and kills all the culprits (you can see why she gets along with Thane later on lol), first time killing someone at 14 yo

Almost dies doing it, is saved by Kyle (lider of the Reds in the area), he offers her a job.

He teaches her to fight, handle a gun, etc... With time she becames her right hand man (he falls a little for her, theyvboth know, but they don't say anything because for her he's just a friend)

He dies trying to protect her and so that she can abandon that life (gives her his "gang boss ring" right before it) 17 yo

Spends a year in between poorly paid jobs.

Saves a random person one day, Anderson sees it (that's how they met) and convinces her to apply for the Alliance

Meets Shawn first day of training -> He's so nervous that when she asks his name he anwers "Vancouver" thinking she asked about where is he from, he's about to freak out when he realises his mistake, but she laughs and answers "Detroit" and that's how the nicknames are born lol (everyone calls them that in the Alliance) They became best friends. (18 - 23yo)

Here it would go my Shep's relationship with my Ryder (but I'm going to save that for a future post)

Akuze happens, Shawn dies in her arms (aw my heart)

ME1 happens.

ME2 happens.

ME3 happens (Insert here my "Somebody that I Used to know" fic)

Insert here my "Don’t Leave me Behind" fic

Let's talk about shenko now

Finds him atractive when they met, but she doesn't give it a second though for a while

Starts to get interested in knowing more about him because he's from Vancouver (aw my heart)

Finds really amusing the fact that he blushes when she flirts with him, so she starts to do it in a regular basis

Falls into her own trap little by little and without even noticing

She starts to realise all she's exited about in between missions is going to talk to Kaidan

She's never had a feeling like this for anyone in her life, so at the beginning is quite overwhelming (sex, lots... a meaningful romantic relationship, never -> up until that moment she thinks she'd never find out what is like to have one)

Eventually she can't deny her feelings anymore, so she goes for it

Madly in love with Kaidan by the ending of ME1

He's the first thing she asks about to EVERYONE at the beginning of ME2

Stays pretty mad with Anderson for a while for not telling her nothing about him and not telling him she's alive

She has a bit of a drinking problem after Horizon (not directly because of Kaidan, as I explained before she understands how he feels... but because of the stress of the mission, thinking he would probably be death or worst, and feeling now even more alone than before) -> here's when Thane is key for her mental state (should've been Garrus, but I guess he was dealing with his own stuff in ME2 lol)

I always say that, in another timeline, where she hadn't meet Kaidan and Thane wasn't still mourning the death of her wife, is quite probable they would have fallen for each other... but giving the circumstances they meet, they end up having a lovely relationship based on friendship and a little bit of platonic love.

She writes a letter for Kaidan the night before the end of ME2, to be send by EDI in case she doesn't make it back. (She'll read part of it in her wedding votes T-T awww my heart)

For ME3 stuff, well, check my fics XD

The both left active service after ME3, but stay in the Alliance and also specters of the council. They focus more on reconstruction, stablishing relationships, etc. and they do it in both Alliance and Council space.

You better bet that Hacket is promoting her after the war btw... basically the Alliance creates the title "Commander Admiral" just for her lol -> also cheesy, but I still don't care

Almost everyone is surprised to see they keep the relationship after the war (thinking Kaidan is a "safe port in a storm" kind of relationship to Shepard... but oh my, how wrong they are)

Last time I wrote their wedding, they get married at the Normandy lol -> the wedding scene changes a lot with time, that's why I haven't writen it yet... The thing I know for sure is that Hackett is oficiating it, Garrus is her best men, Joker is Kaidan's, and that Wrex takes her to the altar (and she cries very hard when he offers after finding out it's a human tradition -> Wrex is the only "father like" figure left in her life... poor thing)

Mantains her last name but adds his to the mix: Mio Shepard Alenko

It takes her years to be pregnant, in fact (because of all the times she's been rebuilt) they kinda think and have accepted that she would never be, so it takes them by surprise.

Has a few complications because of her implants when she gives birth to Aries

Aries is just like her, fair skin and blonde wavy hair, but she has Kaidan's eyes

And I guess they live happily ever after (with a little bit of post traumatic stress here and there), The End

[vanaera]

The Heart Holiday | Act 1 | myg

Synopsis: Valentine’s Day is declared as an official holiday. However, private companies’ standards dictate it’s only for the people who are currently in a relationship. Unluckily for Y/N, she doesn’t have this year’s PRS’ (Proof of Relationship Status) “in a relationship” box ticked – the only ticket out she can have to enjoy one paid week of holiday leave away from her hellish job. And more unfortunately for Y/N, everyone around her is oh so conveniently currently committed in a relationship. Except for one person: Min Yoongi, Y/N’s biggest critic in every pitch meeting, the picky guy who always picks on her, and the most annoying jerk of the century. Desperate for that holiday leave, Y/N strikes Yoongi up with an offer: Fake date each other two weeks before February 14, just enough time for the Department of Relationship Management (DRM) to consider processing your PRSs. After Valentine’s Day, they will go back to their own ways and never speak about whatever that may happen during the plan. Good, plain, and simple. That is until, Yoongi uncharacteristically oh so enthusiastically agrees to Y/N’s offer, leaving her thinking that she may have bitten something too much more than she can chew.

Characters: Yoongi x Female Reader

AU/ Trope: Office AU (Creatives manager!yoongi x PA!reader), enemies to lovers, fake dating

Genre: fluff, angst, comedy (the triple t(h)reat)

Wordcount: 11, 798

Warnings: Lots of curses from two emotionally-constipated characters (PG-15 Rating)

A/N | This fic is in part with FWL’s Valentine’s project, The Luv Library: Romance. I had this premise about a Valentine’s holiday for a while and finally, I got to use it for this fic.

next  | series masterlist

             Ten seconds are enough to look at Min Yoongi. Two seconds to look at his unkempt, unprofessional, and stupid fringes that nonsensically cover his already small eyes. Three to look at his stupid, smug smile. Another two for his overly-confident stance—leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the table, hands clasping together—as if he’s better and of higher power than anyone else around the room when he’s just a measly representative of the day for the Creatives Team. And the last three seconds—they are enough to look at his mocking eyes, his jeering gaze, and the arrogant quirk of his brow.

               This is the same look he gave to Y/N when he got promoted ahead of her. This is the same look he flashed to Y/N when he berated every word choice in her reports. And, this is the same look in his face when he ruined her presentation which could have been her ticket way out from this hellish job. Smug, arrogant, and proud, Min Yoongi is set to ruin Y/N’s life. And all Y/N could do now is glare at him and hope her eyes could set him on fire so it will be easy for hell to swallow him up and—

               “Y/N?”

               Y/N whips her head to her right, “S-sorry?”

               Nancy Kim clicks her tongue, “Why are you just standing there, glaring at the windows? I told you to distribute the copies among the room.”

               “R-right,” Y/N gulps and rushes forward. She hands the copies of last month’s Travel Loca issues among the representative of each department. Gracie from the Marketing Team sneaks her a small smile, which Y/N returns. However, that smile falls into a frown when she reaches the devil himself.

               “Good morning, Y/N,” Min Yoongi greets, chin rested on his palm. When Y/N doesn’t greet back, Yoongi takes it upon himself to wink at her. With a huff, Y/N slams down the copy on the table in front of him, enough for the glossy, firm cover page to hit his pile of notes and cause some pages to fly off the table.

               “Thank you, Y/N,” Nancy calls out, sighing. She waves away at Y/N and the latter takes it as a cue to sit back on her chair. Nancy leans back in her huge black chair, “Okay, let’s get the ball rolling. Now tell me something I don’t know.”

               Y/N seats herself on the chair by the corner of the room, behind Nancy’s chair, far from the round meeting table. Every team representative starts to report their progress last month and their suggestions for the next, next month’s issue. Meanwhile, Min Yoongi is still busy picking up his notes on the floor. When he’s gathered them back, now in a sloppy stack, he looks from his crouched position and flashes Y/N his middle finger. She flashes back a finger at him, grinning. Y/N looks down at her small pocket notebook.

               “Y/N – 1. Yoongi – 0.”

               So far, this morning is really good.

               Y/N hates Min Yoongi, and this is beyond an understatement. She hates him so much that the word “hate” started to become insufficient to describe her tantamount distaste for that man. Y/N blames his last name for that. “Min” should not be how his last name spelled. It should be M-E-A-N because that man is beyond mean.                

               When Y/N first met Yoongi, she knew there’s something off with him. He stands so arrogantly, so prideful as if he deserved every bit of the floor space of Travel Loca’s Main Office when he just got hired because there’s no other job-seeker that has actually applied. Yoongi looks at other people as if he’s any much greater than them. Lazy eyes, far-off gaze, indifferent façade—he just looks at you as if he’s listening when he’s actually just hearing so he can make some witty comeback. And Yoongi talks like a dictator know-it-all. He corrects every word people say here and there, like “Y/N, are you sure it’s ‘demonstrate,’ not ‘visualize’? We can’t physically see something if there’s nothing to see,” or “Y/N, you shouldn’t say ‘Xerox.’ It should be ‘photocopy.’ Xerox is just a brand, our junior high teacher told us so,” as if every word anyone says but him, will always be wrong. Yoongi talks as if no one but him will always be right and that everything around him does not deserve a bit of his attention unless they prove their worth to him.

               And it frustrates Y/N to no end that no one seems to see his real form but her. Because apparently, Yoongi is “amazing.” Yoongi knows a lot of foreign places, having traveled to Malta, New Zealand, Hawaii, and yaddah yaddah, making his first-hand knowledge essential to the Writing Department. Yoongi has a lot of expertise in various editing apps, and he’s willing to teach the tricks and nicks to it to anybody. Anybody but Y/N. Because behind closed doors, Y/N knows his true face:  Min Yoongi is a thick-skinned, double-faced bitch. That even if his name is on the tip of the tongue of anyone around the office every single morning, his quick promotion as manager of the Creatives Team a never-ending topic starter, Y/N knew the real story. Because Min Yoongi started out as Nancy’s Personal Assistant…just like Y/N.

               Nancy Kim is the best photojournalist in the history of travel magazines. God-tier even, because when Nancy is just an intern in The Traveler’s Foot, she wrote the best articles Y/N has ever read. It didn’t matter if they were about a cliché tourist spot that has been featured over and over again or something bizarre that could make anyone wonder someone in their right mind would actually go there. Nancy is the goddess of travel journaling and Y/N obsessively consumed every article she wrote during her entire senior high and college life. So, to be able to get accepted in a company Nancy built, as Nancy’s personal assistant, is a sweet as fuck dream come true. Y/N didn’t care if she has to go home by 12 A.M. or 1 A.M. as Nancy said PA’s always have to leave the office after their bosses left. Nancy just shows the dedication to work one must have. Y/N didn’t find it tiresome when Nancy has to send her back-and-forth for errands both for work and personal life. She’s learning how to be resourceful while being good at time-management all at the same time. She’s learned a lot from Nancy. So, seeing Min Yoongi be so lax at work after getting hired frayed Y/N’s nerves to no end.

               Yoongi doesn’t keep a tab on Nancy’s schedules just like Y/N does. He says there’s no reason for such rush to keep every event on track because Nancy will just cancel or push forward them anyway. It’s true, Nancy does sometimes mess up the week calendar Y/N arranged for her, but still, not tabbing anything on your work diary is still an evident proof Yoongi slacks of.  He even takes a nap in between work hours for God’s sake. Yoongi also likes to talk behind Nancy’s back: of how inconveniencing, overbearing, and unnecessarily over-the line abuser she is as a boss. He tells this to Y/N day in and day out. Yoongi even mocked Y/N’s work ethic as a “willing subservience to work slavery.” He mercilessly reduced her dedication to work as blind obedience to an authority for the sake of monthly paychecks instead of hard, honest efforts to learn the essential skills in travel journalism.

               And, it’s not a miracle no one finds out about this. Because when Yoongi is indeed caught, he finds one loophole in his and Y/N’s dynamic as co-PA’s for Nancy and implicitly, oh so subtly, turns it around against Y/N. Y/N remembers one time when Nancy berated them two for not inserting her friend Rosa’s son’s first birthday party into the 6 PM slot of one Monday in March. After her long sermon, Yoongi apologized for not encoding it into Nancy’s Schedule Work Sheet. Y/N handles Nancy’s Schedule Work Sheet, not Yoongi. Nancy knows this. So, after her 9-12 shift that same Tuesday, Nancy reminded Y/N of her replaceability in Travel Loca during one of the most tension-filled elevator rides in her life. She went home to her flatmate, Mina, in tears which did not permit her to get an ounce of sleep. Y/N turns up the next day at work, red eyes and red nose close to make Rudolph the reindeer run for his title, only to know from the call logs that Yoongi did not receive Rosa’s call because he was sleeping when Y/N outright told him to take over the phone because she needed a bathroom break.

               Min Yoongi is mean and Y/N has seen the last straw of her respectful tolerance to people ticked off by this insufferable man one cursed Thursday night of September.

               Thursdays are horrible. It is always assured to be the worst day Y/N will have in a week. Either an investor will change their mind about a deal with Travel Loca, or Nancy will lash out at her because of stress from stupid shenanigans of her rebellious teenage daughter—Thursdays always have it out for Y/N. Y/N can already tell this so when Nancy called for her at 10:30 P.M. to give her a run-down of her schedule for the weekends and the upcoming week. It is already an established routine that Nancy will have Y/N over to her office to give a schedule report at any time of the day. It’s just happened this day that Yoongi took a leave and Y/N shouldered every task to be done, easily wearing her out in the afternoon.

               Y/N is close to crying right now because of exhaustion and it does not help that Nancy is wearing a sour face. She does not even look up at Y/N from her laptop when she said, “Tell me this week’s schedule.”

               Y/N pulls up her notebook and traces her pen over her notes, “Tomorrow you have an 11 AM meeting with investors from VanTae Apparels. At 1 PM you will have an online meeting with our overseas partners, JM Restaurant Group. We also have to submit the Kim Yuna special feature by 2 PM and at 3 we have the Travel with RM to interview. And–”

               “Push the Travel with RM to 2. We’re holding the Yuna feature ‘til next week because Jennie is writing as if she’s still in college.” Nancy presses a hand over her forehead and huffs, “The Writing Department has been consecutively disappointing me with boring, generic articles. Are fresh pieces non-existent nowadays?!”

               Y/N looks up, eyes wide, hands sweaty.

               Nancy turns back to her laptop, “What else is on my sched?”

               “Um, O-on Saturday 4 PM, you are invited to your friend’s, Rica’s baby shower, and for 5, you are invited to Jungsoo’s son’s 1st birthday party. Then Sunday 2 PM is Hana’s sister’s daughter’s 1st birthday party. You are also invited to Nick and Ken’s wedding on Friday and–” 

               Nancy clicks her tongue, “Cancel them all. I have no time for these parties and meaningless chit-chats that always have these housewives bragging how great their husbands are or their children’s stupid what-nots.”

              Y/N nods and slashes through her notes, “Okay.”

              “So send them my apologies and give them a $300 gift instead.

              “Okay, ma’am.”

              Nancy turns her swivel chair to face her, “Did you get my daughter the unpublished sequel of The Swallowing?”

               “Yes, ma’am,” Y/N smiles, recalling her last week’s adventure and success. Maybe Nancy’s mood will lighten up if she knew how she accomplished such an impossible task. “I got to grab a copy after weeks of talking with R. Lewis’ manager. Luckily, R. Lewis caught wind that it’s for your daughter. So he agreed to give me the copy. I actually have it right now, let me go back to my table –” 

               “You don’t have to. Suzie changed her mind. She doesn’t like The Swallowing anymore. Return the copy and get her the unpublished sequel instead of Bird and Foe.”

               Y/N’s jaw nearly falls as she stammers, “S-sure, no problem.” Deep inside, Y/N cannot help but think to herself, “Yes, Nancy may be fickle-minded and forgetful of differences in company protocols that intervene with such transactions, but she cannot just disregard my hard work! All the money in my train tickets and brain cells have gone all in the drain for nothing—Okay, calm down, Y/N, this is Nancy. Nancy can help you to write the best articles in no time. This is just training for the real deal—

               “Y/N, did you hear me?”

               “S-sorry, what?”

               “I said, where’s the USB I told you to get from my laptop at our home? I need the files for the JM Restaurant Group.”

               Oh shit. The USB. Y/N told Yoongi to get it since he lived nearer to Nancy’s residence in West Street than her. And since, Yoongi’s on leave, the USB is—!

               “And first thing in the morning, I want you to go to the Writing Department to get some fresh stories. I do not want to personally see them or else I will be able to fire one whole department in a day.”

              At this, Y/N fiddles with her fingers. “Umm, I think I have a story.”

               Nancy quirks her brow.

               Y/N wrings her hands behind her back. “I-it’s not yet polished and I still have more to cover on–”

               “So, you’re already telling me it’s bad before you even pitch a formal proposal –”

               Y/N’s eyes widen and she rushes to Nancy. “No! I-it’s about the Write and Backpack Trip Club. The-they’re a club of unpublished writers, usually late 30s, who met on Facebook and decide to travel together to the countries or places their stories are supposed to take place.” Nancy tilts her head and Y/N picks up her tone. Her hands start to quiver with her voice as she says, “People think—people think it’s hopeless. Like, like, they’re wasting their lives on something so trivial instead of focusing on their jobs. But this club gave them a purpose to still reach for their dreams even when people tell them it’s already too late. And I just,” Y/N wipes a stray tear on her cheek–which she doesn’t know if it’s because of her attachment to the club, Nancy’s new orders, or her frustration at Yoongi for leaving all their responsibilities on her–but she sucks them up and breathes out, “I find it really inspiring to have the courage to seek out your purpose when everything in the world is against you.”

               Nancy stares at her, brows furrowed. Another drop of tear falls from Y/N’s eyes. Nancy fixes her eyes back on her laptop. “The USB, Y/N, I need it now. A.S.A.P., capiche.”

               Wiping her cheeks again, Y/N nods, “Ye-yeah, capiche.”

               Y/N could not remember any time she’s rushed out the office as fast as now. Yoongi’s cell is out of reach and nothing is present in Y/N’s mind but to just run out of the building. She needs to clear her mind. She has to think of a solution. She can’t go back to Nancy empty-handed. Nancy’s already unimpressed of her sloppy work for this day, much more at her uncalled emotional breakdown in her office. She will definitely get fired for sure this time.

               The cold dry wind hits Y/N’s face the moment she pushes past the large glass doors of the Rockfort Building. The night sky has blackened into dark indigo and the establishments that dot the neighboring grounds of the building have blurred into monotonous dim shops. With just their solar lights left on, the rest of the complex looked like a washed-out commercial center. The only thing that stands out has to be the small mango tree just a meter away from her—the center-piece and quite the only humanizing element of the harsh Rockfort Complex.

               Okay, this is great. Y/N always tend to get the best ideas and solutions when she’s standing near this tree. She proved this twice. First, when Nancy demanded her to re-do all their presentations for VanTae Apparel. Y/N managed to slay it by getting inspired by the mangoes and editing the templates to look like nature’s rendition of Van Gogh’s starry night, which happened to be the favorite painting of VanTae’s CEO. And second, when Yoongi messed up Y/N’s schedules for Nancy’s personal events by misnaming each invitation, this mango tree provided her peace to quickly fix everything up before Nancy gets to the office.

               Put your thinking cap on, Y/N. What should you do? Should you rush to Nancy’s house now? Oh no, maybe Yoongi already got the USB. Should you go then to Yoongi’s house? Shit, I don’t know his house address—

               “Here’s $25, sir. Thank you!”

               Y/N freezes. It can’t be.

               Y/N turns to her right only for her eyes to land on a man with a familiar jet black mop of hair, standing about two meters before her, talking with a blue-vested delivery man.

               No. No. No. NO. Min Yoongi cannot just swoop out of nowhere and sound so chirpy like that while I have to stress over a problem that I DID NOT create. I cannot get fired in a company I’ve spent my life on for two years just because of this man’s unreasonable incompetence!

               Fueled by the purest form of aggravation, Y/N stomps ahead and brushes Yoongi’s shoulder, making him turn back to her.

               “Oh, hi, Y/N.”

               “‘Hi?!’ ‘Hi,’ yourself, Min Yoongi!—"

               “Oh my God,” Yoongi rolls his eyes, “she’s Adolf Hitler again.”

               “Adolf Hitler?!” Y/N scoffs, “Say it for yourself, Min! You’re Hitler because you’re twisted enough to ruin my career because doing shit in yours is not enough. Where’s Nancy’s USB?!”

               “If you’re going to talk about work again, I gotta leave. If you didn’t know, a ‘leave’ is a leave.” He emphasizes the last syllable as he starts to walk toward the street.

               Letting common sense knock into her, Y/N momentarily disregards her pride and runs after him. When he rounds the corner of a clothing boutique, she slips by his side and places herself in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking him.

               Unlike his usual work attire, Yoongi is clad in a black hoodie and denim ripped jeans, an ensemble that remarkably turned to look horrible in 0.5 seconds just because he’s wearing it. Y/N deduces it’s just Yoongi ruining fashion because he 24/7 looks like an asshole.

               “What, are you just gonna stare at me?”

               Yoongi’s voice brings Y/N back to her purpose. “No, I’m here to tell you, you forgot to do your job—Nancy wants her USB for JM Restaurant Group right now.”

               “Well, I don’t have it, sweetheart. Work hours are already over so practically, I’m in no responsibility to do whatever the fuck Nancy wants,” the man quips back, smiling.

               Y/N cannot help but snap. “Why are you even here in Rockfort, then? You didn’t turn up for work and now you’re just casually strolling in front of our building. You didn’t take home at least a quarter of our tasks and dumped everything on my shoulders like an irresponsible, signature free-loader high school groupmate. And now you think it’s okay to tell me ‘sorry, I don’t have the USB’ when I told you yesterday to bring it today?! I cannot believe what an asshole you can be, Yoongi.”

               Yoongi raises a hand. “Okay, chill, tiger. To answer your question, I am here because my friends and I hung out at a bar near here. Not that you will understand, of course, considering your whole life revolves around work, work, and work. Ooh, and Nancy,” Yoongi grins. “How can I forget you idolize Nancy? Actually no, you worship her.”

               Y/N’s face falls into an indignant scowl, “I do NOT worship Nancy! I respect her. Which you also should do because she employed you, not the other way around. Also, I have friends! Mina is my friend!”

               “Correction, Mina is your only friend at work. And she happened to be your flatmate and college buddy first before you both had luck to also be co-workers. So no, your friendship with Mina is out of the equation.”

               Y/N opens her mouth to tell him Mina cannot be out of the equation when Yoongi beats her, “And second, how could I be a free-loader? A leave is a leave. Our job description did not say we should also take work home. You are the only one who does that because you’re paranoid. So don’t impose your so-called work ethic, that is actually masked obsession, to me because I am a mentally healthy person. I don’t want to have a stick in my ass like you do.”

               Y/N steps closer to Yoongi, making the latter cock a brow at her. “I’m not paranoid, Min. It’s you who is the problem. You don’t take this job seriously. You don’t take on responsibilities like a mature adult. You think you’re so great just because no one told you you suck at something when you were a kid. Well, let me tell you now. You suck at plain human decency, something that should be innate in every people. You’re so high up your ass you think you can just do anything and get away with it and you–”

               “If you’re just going to insult me, can you do that tomorrow? My food is getting cold.”

               Oh no. Nancy’s USB. Y/N closes her eyes and releases a long sigh. She thinks her eyes already did a 360 by the time she managed to fix her composure. She looks up at the man in front of her, currently giving her an amused look. Y/N’s voice cracks as she says, “Yoongi…This is the only time I will ask a favor from you. Please help me with Nancy’s USB. I just want to end this night and go home peacefully without her chewing my head off further more. So please, please, please, can you just help me for once?”

               “Hmm,” Yoongi scratches his chin, “let me think about it first.”

               “Yoongi, please!”

               “Okay, fine,” Yoongi grimaces, “considering you practically begged to me for dear life, I, as a human with pure soul will help you out despite all the shits you said to me—”

               “Just help me out!”

               Yoongi slaps your reaching hands, “Stop, I’m not yet done with my speech. Anyway, considering this as a favor, not a request, I expect a return of favor, too.”

               “Sure, fine, anything!”

               “Okay, I think I may or may not have slipped in Nancy’s USB in my bag,” Yoongi breathes out as he reaches for his black satchel. “Oh yeah, I totally have it,” he says, flashing the orange 32 GB USB in front of you.  

               What the fuck. All this time-!

               “Why didn’t you tell me you already have the USB?!”

               Yoongi nearly guffaws, “Didn’t I tell you a “leave” is a leave? Wait, oh my god, you should see yourself, sweetheart. You’re about to pop a vein.”

               “Min Yoongi, I fucking hate you!” Y/N snatches the USB from Yoongi’s hand and stomps back to the direction of the Rockfort Building. The man doesn’t seem to go on his own way though because Y/N hears him holler “Same sentiment too, Y/N!”

               Y/N doesn’t turn back. She just raises a middle finger up that she’s sure Yoongi will not miss. And he did not, for the man’s faint chuckles only continued.

               The travel back up to the 12th floor seems like the longest elevator ride Y/N has ever been on. Every additional second into the constricted metal box feels like a one-second deduction from her own lifetime. So when the elevator doors open to Travel Loca’s floor, the air is immediately knocked off Y/N lungs. But not because of relief. Nancy stands in front of her, bags in hand, and obviously upset.

               Y/N quickly steps out of the lift. “Nancy, here! The USB!”

               “You took too long. Just e-mail them to me. I have to cram-reading them in the morning anyway because a certain someone forgot to do their job.” Nancy brushes by her shoulder and steps into the elevator. “You know, Y/N, if I’m paying you to make my life easier for me and instead, you’re making it harder, your position in this company is useless.” Nancy presses the button for the parking lot. The doors close in front of Y/N, letting her see the disappointment on Nancy’s face for the last second of the night.

               Y/N goes home twenty minutes later, worn out, and ready to sleep the second she reaches her floor. But when she opens the door, Mina’s smiling face greets her, and she immediately rushes to the sofa next to her bestfriend.

               “Mina, oh my god, I have so much to tell you.”

               “Me, too!” Mina giggles, wrapping her arms around Y/N’s arms, “Can I go first though?”

               “Yeah, yeah, sure,” Y/N smiles, fixing her seat.

               “Well, remember last week when I told you I finally confessed to Mark?”

               “Mark, as in, the café barista Mark Tuan?”

               Mina jokingly hits Y/N’s arm, “Yes, what Mark would I be talking about?”

               “Sorry, you know how I get so spaced out when I’m tired and groggy. Anyway, what happened?”

               “Well, Mark finally said yes!” Mina bursts into a wide grin, arms outstretched in joy. “I finally get to date Mark!”

               “Oh my god, I’m so happy for you, Nana,” Y/N engulfs Mina into an embrace, “I can’t believe you’re finally in a relationship! I mean, who would not want to date you? You’re smart, pretty, and funny. The boys have missed out on you for seven long years. And now, there’s finally someone who has eyes and can see what a gem you are. And damn right, Mark would see that. It’s not every day he can have a gorgeous girl court him for six months after getting rejected twice.”

               “Oh my god, stop bringing that up!” Mina playfully slaps her back and Y/N chortles.

              “Okay, okay, I’m just joking. What I really mean is: Mark is a lucky guy. I’m glad he finally realized what an idiot he will be if he rejects you again for the third time when you’ve been with him through all his problems. He won’t find another beautiful girl willing to ride his motorcycle with him in a huge-ass dress just to help him deliver orders in time. You’re the total package Mina and I’m so happy Mark has realized it.”

              “Oh, Y/N, you’re making me blush,” Mina laughs. She sways the both of them in their hug, “Mark has an impossibly high standard to meet now because of you.”

               “Mark doesn’t have to meet any standards,” Y/N snickers, “You already drool at his face the moment we enter The Daily Bean.”

               Mina detaches herself from Y/N and dramatically places a hand over her chest. “How can you remember that so well and not who Mark is?”

               Y/N shrugs, “Because I’m not staring at Mark and eye-fucking him 24/7.”

               “Oh my god, I do not!” Mina giggles, making you laugh again as she hugs you tight once more. Mina’s fingers card through your hair as she murmurs “But you do know, Y/N, even if I’m in a relationship now, I’m not gonna leave you alone. Even if Mark will start to occupy the top priority in my life, it doesn’t mean you will lose your spot in the top-pest part of my list. You know you’re still and will forever be my number one, right?” Y/N hums at that, closing her eyes from the head massage Mina is currently giving her. She feels Mina nod, “Right, you should because you’re practically my baby.”

               “No, I’m not.”

               “Yes, you are! Who would wash the red stain on your pants and underpants in the girl’s CR while you prance around the cubicle only in a top because you bled through your bottoms during your period, much more, on our Christmas Party, other than me?”

               Y/N grimaces, “Oh god, you didn’t have to bring that up.”

               “You hit right through me when you said I eye-fuck Mark so yeah, eye for an eye, bitch,” Mina cackles as she finally unlatches her arms around her friend. “Anyway, I’m finished with my story of the day. Your turn. What happened tonight?”

               Y/N bites her lip, unconsciously easing an inch between her and her bestfriend. Mina is in a good mood today. Y/N doesn’t want to ruin it by ranting off about how horrible Yoongi is again. She knows Mina. She will listen to her rant about another bullshit done by her co-PA and she will also indulge in an insult-fest against the man. That’s just their dynamic: Y/N’s enemy is Mina’s enemy and vice versa. So as Y/N looks at Mina’s smile which doesn’t do much covering up her dark eyes, which have grown from staying up late to wait for her to come home for multiple nights on end, Y/N decides it’s enough negativity for the day.

               “It’s nothing, Mina,” Y/N shakes her head, forcing a smile on her face, “just another tiring day from work.”

               Mina tilts her head, “Are you sure?”

               “Yeah,” Y/N flashes her another smile as she heads for her room, “I’m totally fine. Just tired. Congratulations to you and Mark again.”

               “Yeah, thank you,” Mina replies, but the look on her face tells Y/N she’s unconvinced of what she said. Seemingly aware that her friend needed space, Mina turns back the TV. Before Y/N closes her door, she hears Mina chuckle to a punch-line in the airing sitcom.

               Y/N flops on her bed face down. If Yoongi didn’t put much of a fight and just handed her Nancy’s USB when he knew he already had it, then maybe this night won’t be so horrible. Y/N would have given Nancy her USB in time, and her boss could have acknowledged it as a peace offering to her unremarkable work performance that day. Y/N would have totally rejoiced with Mina with her full heart into it and not force a smile on her face when such an announcement deserves much more celebration.

               Y/N releases a stifled scream into her pillow. Thursdays are really the worst and it’s all Min Yoongi’s fault.

               However, what Y/N didn’t expect is that the following week will get much worse. The Writing Department is late in their deadline, causing the online publication of the September issue to be pushed in the first week of October, a big deal late to the releases of their magazine competitors. Thus, Nancy became more pissy and naggy, giving Y/N a cold shoulder for the longest streak in her work life. Nancy became more frigid when Y/N failed to get Nancy the copy of the unpublished sequel of Bird and Foe. Y/N tried her best, she really did. It’s just that the publishers of Russell Park refused to give another copy because they said they cannot give out two unpublished copies at the same time. Of course, this turned out as a lazy excuse to Nancy, making her dump additional workload on Y/N’s already staggering pile. But that was not what made Y/N’s last week of September the worst week she’s ever had. It was Min Yoongi getting promoted as a staff member to the Creatives Team after giving Nancy the unpublished Bird and Foe sequel.

               Ringing phones, staff members running to- and fro- the beige faux wood office floor, and the occasional requests for coffee from the break room–Travel Loca is buzzing with life as usual. But not for long though, because the clock hands are currently on 12:49 P.M. At 12:57, it seems everyone on the floor have gone silent. Almost everyone taps their foot against the floor. All eyes were set on the digital wall clock. Some have even glanced on their own wristwatches to check if the wall clock was right. The hands start to move. Everyone gulps.

               The hands hit one o’clock. Everyone scrambles off their swivel chairs. Some have bee-lined for the break room.  Meanwhile, a huge mass had created a bottle-neck of office workers at Travel Loca’s main door. No one is left on the staff chairs, except for one: Mina Young.

               The accountant slides her swivel chair to the left. Her hands meander through her large file cases and when she feels a cold, ribbed metal surface on her index, she smiles. Mina pushes the on-button and immediately, the then-silent office space has now become a replica of her own flat.

               “Good morning everyone! Today seems an extra sweet day than yesterday because you know what? I can smell and see the sweet aroma of those dark, chewy chocolates and those pretty pink balloons surrounding our streets. That’s right folks, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Which also means–drumroll for me, Alexa–Holidays are about to sweep in! It’s just three weeks to go, folks, note that! So, for our dear, sweet listeners, I hope you already got your hotels booked and your plane tickets ready so you can finally have that amazing buffet, relaxing spa, or a fun tour around places you’ve never been with your very lovable significant others! I’m sure all of you will have that wonderful, exciting, and pleasurable rendezvous away from school, work, and any responsibilities. Just make sure to channel in on our station if you want the best playlist to get you in the mood for some steamy, passionate, and intimate time–”

               “Mina, will you turn off that radio?”

               The short-haired brunette frowns at her friend, whose also frowning at her. Mina pushes up her glasses on her nose, “Why? You know I always listen to this station during break time. Plus, Nancy is not here.”

               “Still, it doesn’t excuse how irritating that DJ sounds.” Y/N rolls her eyes as she plops herself on another swivel chair. “His voice sounds like there are two styrofoams gyrating each other in a sweaty club.”

               Mina’s jaw drops as she turns off her portable mini-radio on her desk. She faces Y/N with a frown this time—actually a scowl now. “Kim Seokjin’s voice is like creamy velvet to the ears! Also,” she scrunches her nose in disgust, “you did not just sexualize non-living objects so casually as if you’re not aware that the mental image you’re painting is so disturbing.”

               “First off,” Y/N turns to her, swivel chair squeaking in her abrupt movement, “you’re already seeing Mark Tuan for you to have any weird fantasies about Kim Seokjin and his voice or how cute his laugh is when it literally sounds like he’s an old man dying on a choked-out old joke. And second, sexualizing objects is not illegal by law and even if it so, I did NOT sexualize them. They are just the perfect representation of how Seokjin’s voice sounds.”

               Mina purses her lips and props her elbow on her desk to cup her face. “Cut to the point, Y/N. Just tell me what is with you today. You barged in furious in here for no reason, threw a fit at the break room, and now you’re ruining lunch by insulting Seokjin for something so trivial.”

               “Trivial?! His voice is fucking irritating! Just because he’s handsome does not mean his voice will also sound good on the radio. It’s like listening to a whale dying while making mating calls–”

               “The point, Y/N?” Mina cuts you with an unamused look.

               You deflate in your seat. “Fine, it’s Min Yoongi. He made it a point that he is more intelligent and capable than me in our 10 AM meeting with Nancy for this month’s spread. Said he knows more about weird facts and trivia about Sweden because I never got to travel outside this fucking country when I damn well know he only uses some advanced search engine to look for info like the computer whiz that he is! I went so many times on his Facebook to know he posts nothing in his wall but his work achievements—and his dog! Of course, if you went outside the country, you will post pictures in your wall, ‘cus social media sites are just platforms masked as an outlet for free expression when we damn well know it’s just a place where you can brag and be not called out for being arrogant. And damn hell, Min Yoongi does not have any out-of-the-country pictures posted there. What only comes close is his picture of that gumbo he said he made—yeah, quotation marks—because it looks too good to be made by his ugly crooked hands and even if it’s got this aesthetic background not expected to come from this fucking country, I still think he just photoshopped it.” Y/N crosses her arms, “Bet that gumbo did not even taste good.”

               Mina scrunches her forehead, “Are you the only flawed person Min Yoongi sees? Why does he always have to nitpick every single bit of your work? He just criticized your last week’s report because of your ‘poor articulation.’”

               “Right?!” Y/N leans back on her chair. She groans, “I still remember how he sabotaged my files for Nancy’s professional and personal events. Who in their right mind would change the contact names to mythical creatures? Rica’s 2nd baby shower was named ‘Merlin’s Demon Baby’s Party?’ It’s a baby event for God’s sake!” Y/N looks at her friend, “I swear Mina, one day I will get a brain hemorrhage because of Yoongi’s shits.”

               Mina winces, “Please don’t. I don’t want to be the one to tell your mother you already died before you even managed to pay your housing loans.”

               “Hey! Don’t attack me like that,” Y/N slaps the back of her friend’s chair. Mina, choking on her spit first, erupts into a fit of giggles.

               Unfortunately, it seems lunch’s fun will be cut short as Y/N hears Nancy’s megaphone’s speaker start up, “Calling for Y/N to come into my office. A.S.A.P!”

               Y/N scrambles from her seat as Mina sees her off with a sad wave. Pushing through Nancy’s glass door, Y/N could see the lines of ridges forming on Nancy’s forehead before the latter can even eye her.

               “Y-yes, Ma’am? You called for me?”

               Nancy pins her a look, “You’re asking me if I called you? Are you deaf? Did you not understand what I said?”

               “Yes!—I-I mean on the understanding part, yes, not about being deaf or something hehe-“

               “Y/N,” Nancy clasps her hands on her table, “I called you here because I have something important to tell you.”

               Y/N nears her table, pulling up her notebook and pen.

               “I need you to work in the Creatives Department for the next two weeks.”

               Y/N’s fingers freeze. She looks up at Nancy with eyes as wide as a goldfish. And before she can brain-filter out her words, they’ve already escaped her mouth. “What do you mean I have to be in the Creatives next week? I’m your personal assistant, not Min Yoongi’s!”

               “Y/N, I didn’t say you will work for Yoongi. He’s not the head of the Creatives. Steven Spielberg is,” Nancy gives the girl an unamused look, waving her off from her desk. Y/N bites her lip as she takes two steps backward. She didn’t know she’s rushed up too close to Nancy’s table just at the prospect of Yoongi and her working together came from her boss’ lips.

               Nancy leans back on her chair, “I know you two have this petty children-in-the-playground fights ever since the start of October last year. I get that your differences are too great to be bridged anytime soon, thus the reason why I grew tired telling you to stop doing your cat and dog thing because I know you two wouldn’t listen anyway. You two just like to bang heads whenever you like—”

              “But, it’s Yoongi’s fault-”

              Nancy raises a finger, “But, Y/N, this is really important. I will be out-of-the-country for the next three weeks for both some business and family matters. Hence, why I cannot bring you with me as usual. And why I will need you to work under Steven for the meantime: to report to me about any of their progress. The Creatives’ current designs will have us late into this month’s deadline and I do not want this business going down anytime soon because of a weak holiday cover. So, as my PA, you will report everything about their progress to me, and you will report my feedback to them. At the same time, you will tame your childish fights with Yoongi to a minimum so Travel Loca will function as well as it can be while I’m not physically here. Understand?”

               Y/N nods, “understand, Ma’am.” She doesn’t have a choice even if she wanted to object. Whatever Nancy dictated is already set in stone.

               “Also,” Nancy looks at Y/N, “since I will be off the next three weeks, my schedules for the weeks in my absence will be pushed and packed on the following week. So, I expect you to still work on your station—and work even harder after I came back. Understand?”

               More workload? Y/N internally groans. She doesn’t like work getting reduced early into the week then doubling into hell in the latter part of the month. She likes them evened out—everything is balanced, familiar, and predictable. Nevertheless, Y/N only nods, “yes.” “No” doesn’t exist in Nancy’s dictionary.

               Nancy returns to her laptop and waves her off, “Okay. Then, capiche.”

               “Yes, ma’am, capiche,” Y/N makes a quick bow and scampers out of her boss’ office.

               When Y/N reaches her station, she sinks herself into the cushion of her seat. First, Min Yoongi belittles her researching ability in the morning meeting. Then now, she will work with him for the majority of three weeks. After that, another hell will start because of Nancy’s incoming packed schedules.

              Y/N’s eyes land on her laptop and she immediately sees her calendar. January 16, 2020. Thursday.  Y/N releases an inhumane groan. Of course, the goddamn Thursday curse. When will she ever live?

.

               “When will I ever die?” Y/N sobs into Mina’s shirt. Her friend keeps her arms around her tight as she cards through her hair.

               “Hey, don’t think so negative,” Mina coos, “Think of this as an opportunity to finally have Nancy off your back.”

               “Yeah, as if working with Min Yoongi is better than that. He already ruins my life when we only physically encounter each other in meetings and breaks and lunches. Imagine working with him for a whole fucking day!”

               “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I take that back,” Mina hugs her friend tighter.

               Y/N continues, “And after enduring all that, my workload will quadruple when Nancy comes back after three weeks! I already experienced this during her daughter’s debut last year. When Nancy said a pile of work will come, it fucking means four metal file cases of work. I spent the last two weeks of August plunging myself into an abyss of papers. I did not sleep for two weeks straight! And now— I will have three weeks-worth of hell work to come after spending three weeks working with the personification of Satan. Can the world just eat me up?!”

               “Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Mina pulls away to hold her bestfriend at arms-length, “What did you say will happen in three weeks?”

               Y/N closes her eyes, “Another hell will come because a shit-pile of work is coming in three weeks! Mina, I’ve been telling you this since morning-”

               “Y/N, after three weeks, it’s Valentine’s Day.”

               Y/N’s eyes immediately shoot open, “What?”

               “Look,” Mina clicks on her phone and flashes Y/N her calendar app. “Today’s January 17. Exactly after three weeks is the Valentine’s week.”

               Y/N’s jaw drops ajar, “Oh my god.”

               “Yes, Y/N, oh my God. It’s the fucking Heart Holiday.”

              “…The country’s long-time problem with their low birth rate has driven the government to build another department that will help its citizens build, manage, and maintain healthy relationships. The Department of Relationship Management was established in 2015, and ever since then, there have been impressive developments in our country’s birth rate. One of the best programs of DRM behind this wonderful growth is the Heart Holiday, the holiday held in the week of Valentine’s Day. It grants any person employed in a private sector one week of paid holiday vacation leave as long as they are currently in a relationship. Meanwhile, education establishments and students are given one week off their academic calendars without regard to their relationship status. Isn’t that sweet? The only downside to that, folks, is that government employees can only have two days of paid holiday leave on the 14th and 15th. But, still, a holiday is still a holiday! So for our lovely listeners, start planning your vacation trips and hangouts! Especially when Cloud 10 Airlines is there to make your holiday week even sweeter with their 70% discount on local trips! Just contact 675-9859 and 568-987—”

               “Mina, can you turn off the radio?!”

               “Again?!” Mina heaves, “What’s with your aggravation streak these days against Kim Seokjin’s voice?”

               “It rattles me,” Y/N half-screams, plopping into the swivel chair next to her friend’s cubicle. “Yesterday, he already announced that goddamn timeline of the DRM and ‘all hailed’ importance of the Heart Holiday. Why does he have to repeat it again today? In that overly-enthusiastic voice, too, as if he’s never read of that script again and again?!”

               “Y/N, it’s how broadcasting works. It’s one of the most awaited holidays in the year, so of course, they will nab as many advertisement deals as they can.”

               “Well, I don’t like how they work!”

               “You cannot just tell a radio company to stop working,” Mina turns in her chair to face her friend, “Also, stop venting your frustration on Seokjin. He doesn’t even know you hate his voice. Routinely doing this noise pollution doesn’t do anything at all. Just tell me what made you upset today.”

               “It’s Yoongi!” Y/N scowls. “He won’t explain to me the technical editing terms on Steven’s report for Nancy! He said a five grader can even know what they are. I went through fifth grade, Mina, and I did not freaking know about any photoshop shit!”

               “Well, that’s because you’re old.”

               Mina looks up and sees Yoongi hovering her cubicle.

               Y/N’s scowl deepens, as she turns her chair to the direction of the intruder.  “As if you’re any much younger. From what I know, you’re four years older than me, dumbass.”

               “Well, at least I know what Steven is talking about,” Yoongi props his chin on Mina’s cubicle.

               Y/n rolls her eyes, “Because it’s your freaking line of work! Of course, you’ll know about it!”

               “Well, you’re now working most of the time in the Creatives Team and you don’t know it. What does that make you, then? I’ll give you a hint: It’s what you called me three seconds ago. Starts with the letter ‘d’ and ends with the letter ‘s.’”

               “What? You think you’re so smart now just because you know that vector-mask-thingy?! News flash, Yoongi, you did not graduate with any Latin honor. I did! So, who’s the real dumbass?!”

               “You damn well know Latin honors doesn’t actually have any effect on real life. Practical knowledge has—especially knowledge about terminologies used in digital designing. Which you need because you won’t be able to report anything to your god Nancy. Because, well: You. Don’t. Know. Anything. Like. Always.”

               “Min Yoongi, fuck you–”

               “Guys, guys, guys, can you stop?”

               Y/N gives Yoongi another glare before fixing herself back in her seat. Mina puffs, “Yoongi, can you leave us alone for a while? We’re talking here and you just invited yourself in our conversation.”

               Yoongi chides, “Well, tell your friend that if she wants to shit-talk a person just a meter away from her without the said person barging in the conversation, she should keep her voice on the down-low. Not screaming around like a crazy ape.”

                Y/N’s jaw drops open, “What crazy ape?! You’re the crazy ape! You look like a fucking gorilla who accidentally get dwarfed by a tooth fairy and-”

               “Min Yoongi, just leave us alone,” Mina gives the man a pointed look.

              Yoongi shrugs and detaches himself from her cubicle. He heads back to their office but he doesn’t completely leave the room without giving Y/N a middle finger.

               Y/N’s mouth drops open in disbelief. She turns to Mina. “See? Isn’t it obvious he just wants to make me the bad man to Nancy again? What kind of person are you to not cooperate with your co-worker like a goddamn adult? I don’t get why no one sees this bitch’s true face but you and me! I just want to freaking tear off his face, make him wipe it in his ass, then place it back on his head since he’s such a literal ass—”

               “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mina clasps a hand over your shoulder, “don’t get too homicidal. What you just said, aside from disturbing, is very disgusting.”

               Y/N slumps in her seat and crosses her arms.

              Mina sighs. “Okay, yeah, I know, Min Yoongi is the worst. But I don’t want you to do anything stupid so let’s not talk about him for a while, ‘kay?” Y/N nods. Mina leans back in her seat with the nth sigh for the day. “Okay, I got some update from Jaehyun.”

               Y/N leans forward. “What did he say?”

               Mina gives you a sad smile, “He already has a fiancé.”

               “So soon?” Y/N scoffs. “He was just courting me two months ago.”

               “Yeah, well he’s getting married this week. Whatever,” Mina waves off, “I don’t like him for you anyway. He dresses like a college fuckboy.”

               “Okay, what about Dahyun?”

               “Already married.”

               Y/N’s eyes widen, “and she didn’t tell us?”

               “Yeah, I already nagged her on the phone. She said it all kinda happened too fast–her and Sana. And the marriage was in New York. We’re too broke for out-of-the-country trips to attend anyway if we were informed.” Mina smiles, “She said she’s gonna invite us to the Christening of their baby.”

               “Okay, I’m glad she still cared about us. Oh,” Y/N pipes up, “what did Jackson say over the phone?”

               Mina gives you a tight smile. “Getting married, too. And guess what, the invitations were already in our mail box when I went to get our bills.”

               “Momo?”

               “Engaged. She and Heechul just broke out the news a week ago.”

              “Sam?”

               “Married. And 4 months pregnant.”

               “Jongdae?”

               “Engaged. Also has a baby in way.”

               “Hana?”

               “Engaged.”

               “Changmin?”

               “Engaged.”

               “Jaebum?

               “Engaaaaaged.”

               Y/N throws her hands in the air, “Why is everyone getting married?!”

               “Well, we’re in our late 20s. It’s the “marrying age” they say. It got more enphasized when DRM’s programs had succeeded in encouraging hundreds of people to marry in the recent year. Even my mom already expects Mark to propose by next month. We’re just dating for 6 months!” Mina cringes. She pulls Y/N’s chair closer to her to hold her hands. “Y/N, I’m really sorry. It kinda slipped my mind that we always apply together for the Heart Holiday every year. It’s just that Mark and I—”

               “Hey, hey, don’t blame yourself. You’ve been pining after Mark for about two years and now look at you—together, stable, and in-love half into the year! I don’t want you to fret having a relationship with the boy you liked for so long.”

               “Yeah, Y/N, I know,” Mina closes her eyes. “It’s just sad and unfortunate everyone we know are already in relationships.”

               “Yeah…” Y/N nods and the two fall into silence. Why is everyone conveniently in a relationship just in time with the Heart Holiday? What, the whole world suddenly knew the loophole in DRM’s program? Y/N and Mina studied that for a whole year! This is unfair. Y/N cannot be the only single person out there who’ll miserably work in the office while everyone gets to have the time of their lives—wait.

               Y/N grabs Mina’s hands. “Hey, Nana, I know we said co-workers are off-limits because Nancy will definitely know it’s a ruse. She’ll block my application form before it can even have the seal from the HR. Especially when she found out our lesbian “relationship” was fake after you and Mark updated your civil statuses.” Mina winces and opens her mouth to apologize again but Y/N cuts her with a finger to her mouth. “Nancy will definitely call me a liar and grill my head if she finds out what we’re planning to do now. But look, Nancy’s out of the country. Teddy is the general supervisor and she’s the next in the hierarchy. We damn well know her 45-year-old heart is soft for some nicely-woven romantic story. Even more, in an office setting—the bane of every middle-aged woman’s sappy romantic heart. So, what do you say?”

               Mina lets out an exasperated breath, “That crossed my mind, too, you know. But, Y/N, the thing is—the whole Accounting Department is in a relationship. And the same goes for the Writing, Marketing, Logistics, and HR.  All of them are either in a relationship, married, or getting married.”

               “What?” Y/N’s eyebrows curve up high, “How come I didn’t know this?”

               “Uh, because you’re busy working for Nancy day-in and day-out?  Also, I just happen to be friends with Jisoo from HR. She’s in charge of the company’s relationship records. Sometimes, she slips in everyone’s stories while we listen to WWL Radio during break time.”

               Y/N bites her lip. This can’t be happening to her. Not now. Not when the most un-objectifiable reason for a break from Nancy is about to slip through her fingers like fine sand.

               Mina scratches her nape, “I…may have someone in mind though.”

               Y/N’s eyes look straight into Mina’s. “Tell me.”

               “Well, the entire Creatives Department is either married or engaged save for one.”

               Y/N holds Mina’s hands tighter. “Who?”

               “Min, Yoongi.”

               Y/N must be going crazy. She thinks she must be growing a nest of vultures in her brain now, the mother routinely picking on her numerous dead brain cells to feed to her young. It doesn’t help that the bags under her eyes have started to droop like a waterfall, forming a sad saddle of grey on her cheeks. She cannot even remember the last time she had a decent meal. All she remembers is the finger foods Mina hands to her station every once in a while.

              The universe is being unfair to her and it is all taking a toll on her body. They weren’t kidding when they said adjusting to a new environment is an entire whole work in itself. The Creatives Team runs a completely different routine. Large monitors crammed with multiple editing softwares Y/N cannot understand surround the studio-size office space. There are drafted papers and previous issues scattered in every possible corner, some even gathering dust by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Y/N is not even sure if anyone has re-arranged their desks in the last few months. The Creatives’ work ethic is loosely bound on schedules and everyone seems to be doing everyone else’s job.  Except for Y/N, because Steven is the only one willing to share their team’s progress to her. But that alone is not enough for her daily report to Nancy because Steven is always busy in his computer. More unfortunately, everyone is wary of her. Y/N’s sure she even saw Kim Myungsoo clutch their design folders closer to his chest when her eyes glanced at his cubicle.  

              Sure, Y/N expected everyone will have their guards up on her. Who wouldn’t be when they know Nancy still has eyes on them even if she’s countries away? But still, it doesn’t lessen the pain on Y/N’s self-esteem and the stress on her back. If Y/N can’t get someone to talk to her, she won’t be able to provide a more substantial report to Nancy more than just reading Steven’s printed reports verbatim.

              Y/N is desperate to find a workmate to discuss everything happening in the Creatives with her, but unluckily for her, she only has someone she wishes to not even breathe the same air with. Of course, no one in the Creatives wants to talk to her except for Min Yoongi. He’s an insufferable ass who doesn’t know when to shut up.  He welcomes Y/N every single day with an annoying “Yo, Y/N” and an unneeded commentary about her outfit, like how yesterday he told her “I know retro is in but I didn’t know grandma blouses are deemed stylish again.” He blabbers about his unnecessarily extensive general knowledge about every South Asian country, even if Y/N countlessly told him she didn’t care.  He brags about the cover designs and templates he did in the previous issues, flipping the pages too close in Y/N’s face while he speaks about colors and mixing like Y/N is an imbecile about basic color combinations high school students used in their PowerPoint presentations. Yet despite them all, Yoongi still refuses to explain to her the jargon in Steven’s reports.

              Y/N tried her best to keep herself from bursting and giving Yoongi an earful of sense. Yes, everyone knows she does not like Yoongi but Y/N doesn’t want them to know to what extent she can go to express them, afraid of embarrassing herself.  But in her defense, three days into the first week without Nancy, Yoongi has gone as far as to chip a small bit off Y/N’s mug in the break room. The mug with the “creative juices” in cursive printed around its body—Mina’s gift from college. Y/N’s patience meter was blasted off the roof. It will be safe to tell that at the end of the day, Y/N has screamed the hell out of Yoongi that everyone can be sure the latter’s ears may have fallen out of his head. Steven was close to reporting to Teddy what just happened. It was just Y/N’s remaining luck that helped her successfully and implicitly begged Steven not to do so by telling him calling Yoongi “a mean, inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerk who should eat his shit because people are what they eat and he is obviously the biggest shit in her life,” is just her “unique” way of expressing co-worker appreciation to the man.

              Aside from putting up with Yoongi’s Satanic attitude, Y/N has to endure Nancy’s intermittent calls with her forever pissed voice coming in first thing in the morning until in the late, ungodly hours. And despite Teddy’s patient guidance over Y/N’s “transition” to the Creatives Team, Y/N’s still close to digging a six-feet deep hole in her station. No, not because of Teddy or Nancy. It’s because she poured her remaining effort dedicated for work by spending the entire week going through every staff member of Travel Loca. Y/N thought Mina must have overlooked a face. That it’s possible Jisoo skipped on a detail she told to her friend. But despite learning Lee Minyoung from the Writing Department is going to call it quits to her boyfriend just after Valentine’s, or how Michael Park from Marketing is about to pop the ring to his girlfriend just right on Valentine’s Day, the looming fact Y/N dreads presents itself on January 24, two weeks before Valentine’s: No one else in the office is single but her…and Min Yoongi.

              Of course, it didn’t surprise Y/N, Yoongi must be single. With that know-it-all façade and condescending tone wearing you out like a 24/7 walking instruction manual no one even asked for, who would even like to date him? One week with him as a co-worker alone already makes Y/N want to throw herself into the flaming hot pit of the nearest volcano.

              But it’s only two more weeks before Valentine’s and Y/N is desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. Y/N did a last-minute check-up on her and Mina’s lists of contacts—phone, social media, e-mails, everything under the sun—only to come up with nothing. Mina’s “marrying age” theory must be true because everyone, every single one, of their acquaintances are already married or getting married. Y/N then changed up her game.  She started to opt for resources she never thought she will ever use in her life: dating apps. Tinder, Bumble, The League, Grindr—name it, Y/N had made every account for every conceivable dating site. She even spent the most of her break time this week hiding her phone beneath her desk and swiping right. But even this last considerable option proved to be pointless as all the replies she received are either honest “sorry, not interested,” rude “you’re no fun,” or out-right salacious “suck my dick.”

              This then left Y/N no choice but to consider the most unspeakably horrendously unfortunate option she didn’t even want to have. Min Yoongi is her only choice left. And for that, Y/N spent two days making an elaborate plan. She can’t afford any loose threads or plan-holes that can further make her at the mercy of the infuriating jerk. However, even if she made everything as seamless as it can be, Y/N knows it will be the worst decision she’ll ever make in her life. Mina also expressed the same concern, even apologized for planting that small information about Yoongi in her friend’s mind. But even her friend’s day-by-day discouragement to push through with her plan is not enough to deter Y/N.

              Because even if just thinking about the plan makes Y/N feel the world is about to crumble and swallow her down in its unending, fathomless depths; even if it makes her want to set up an appointment with an exorcist, Y/N knew she won’t back out. It’s not viruses or bacteria, it’s a seeded idea that is the most contagious living entity that can take hold of any human being. And the moment Y/N realized there’s no other ticket way out of her dilemma but Yoongi, she knew this thought will haunt her for nights on end.

              This is the reason why Y/N’s currently standing by the corner of the Creatives’ office when it’s already 6:46 P.M. while almost everyone has left the office. Almost, because Yoongi, apart from her, is the only one left in the office as Steven requested him to finish a color palette by tonight. Y/N gulps a thick blob of saliva. Sweat runs thick on her forehead. God, if Mina could see what Y/N’s about to do, she will be already by her side, yelling for her to just give up. Y/N shakes her head. This is Mina’s fault anyway. If she didn’t plant the idea in her head, she wouldn’t have to do this. She wouldn’t be creeping behind a door like a disgusting stalker. She wouldn’t be profusely sweating in an air-conditioned room like a guilty murderer. She wouldn’t be-

              “What the hell are you doing behind the door?”

              Y/N shrieks and jumps a half-foot away from her spot.

              “The hell—what’s gotten into you?!” Yoongi frowns, “And why are you even here?”

              Y/N’s brows meet together in her forehead. But before she can speak, Yoongi’s snickers drown out the words in her throat.

              “Wait, don’t tell me you’ve come as far as spying on my work. I didn’t know you’re going to be this petty,” Yoongi sighs and puts his hand on his waist, “Well, if you think going through my work laptop will get you to understand Steven’s report, I’m sorry to say you won’t get anything, little girl.”

               Yes, it’s true. The words did die out in Y/N’s throat. It’s just flames of anger sweeping in the valleys of her mouth. Y/N surges forward, fists clenched tight, “‘Little girl’? I am not a fucking little girl!”

               Yoongi grins, “Then what should I call someone who’s a foot smaller than me?”

               “What fucking ‘foot’?! We’re just inches apart! Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror? You’re not even that tall!”

               “Says the one who’s looking up at me just to level her eyes with mine,” Yoongi raises his brows, “and who’s now standing a little too close to me because apparently, standing a socially-decent foot away won’t enable her to see my face.”

               Y/N’s eyes widen and she immediately takes a step back. She doesn’t get how easy it is for Yoongi to rile her up that she instantly forgets how to control her body. When she looks up at him, the man is smirking at her. Her mouth aches to tell him he actually looks stupid with that lopsided smile if he thought doing it will make him a tad bit inch sorry excuse of “sexy.” But then, Y/N remembers she has a purpose tonight. She didn’t just waste an hour waiting in the excruciating office space of the Creatives Team just to get nothing done.

               Y/N closes her eyes and breathes out. When she opens them again, she looks at Yoongi in the eyes. “I’m not here to fight with you, Yoongi. I’m here to make an offer.”

               Yoongi scoffs, “An offer? You? Are you hearing yourself right now? In case you weren’t informed, I don’t need anything from you. And I didn’t—”

               “You’re single right?”

               Yoongi gawks at her, “W-what?”

               “Well, I’m single, too. And Valentine’s week is coming in two weeks.”

               “So?”

               Y/N tries not to grit her teeth, “So, that means the Heart Holiday is also coming. Nancy is bound to come back during that time, too, with an obvious incoming large workload to come for me. I can’t afford to hole myself up in this office while everyone gets to enjoy a paid holiday week. And since you have an affinity for disliking your job, I figured you also wouldn’t want to go to work during Valentine’s week.” Y/N crosses her arms, “So I’m here, Min Yoongi, to give you an offer: Fake date me for two weeks to make it to DRM’s PRS’ application deadline. When our application gets approved, we part ways and never speak about what happened in these two weeks. It’s a win-win situation. I don’t get to work during Valentine’s. You also don’t get to work, and we both will still get paid. So, what do you say?”

               Yoongi just stares at her. Y/N could feel cold sweat running from her scalp and down to her back. Why is he looking at her like that? Why is he being so silent? Is he about to make fun of her and bring it up to work tomorrow? Oh God, Y/N shouldn’t have even gone through with this plan. This is a bad idea. A bad, bad, bad, idea that should have never been entertained and buried in a trunk of embarrassing memories, never to see the light again—

               “I’m in.”

               Y/N freezes, “W-what?”

               Yoongi takes a step closer to Y/N. He leans forward, closing the distance between their faces into mere six inches. Y/N doesn’t need to crane her head up anymore because this time, their eyes are finally leveled with each other.

              Yoongi smiles, “I’m telling you, Y/N, I’m in in your plan.”

              Y/N looks at him. She just looks at him. Five seconds have already passed. Yoongi should be laughing in her face right now. But the man did not, and takes a step back away from her. He fixes his satchel on his shoulder and closes the Creatives’ glass door behind him shut. When Yoongi looks back at Y/N, he gives her a shrug, “Hey, if you’re not going home, I am.” He heads for the main door, hands dug into his pockets. Y/N’s eyes just follow his figure. Before Yoongi completely gets out of the office, he hollers, a hand cupping over his mouth, “I said I’m already in in your plan. You can go now. See you tomorrow.” He sends Y/N one last smile.

              It takes Y/N five more seconds before she breaks her frozen stance. What did just happen? Yoongi didn’t laugh at her. He didn’t put up a fight. He….agreed? Just like that? This is impossible. This cannot happen! Yoongi doesn’t agree, he argues! Always! And he just doesn’t bid her goodbye and “see you tomorrow.” Yoongi annoys her with one last hit of “goodbye, grandma.” And Yoongi doesn’t smile. He smirks. He just pulls up one side of his lips, squints his eyes, and snorts. Y/N must be going crazy. This is not Yoongi!  A whole different man has suddenly appeared before her. This cannot be!

              But despite all the things going back and forth in her head right now, there’s only one looming thought on top of them all that had Y/N release a staggered breath:

              What the fuck did she just get herself into?

next  | series masterlist

Disclaimer: This first chapter is based on Netflix’s Set It Up (2018), particularly Nancy’s briefing scene and the USB scene. Netflix’s Set It Up (2018) is the inspiration for this fic and so I based Ms. Nancy’s personality on Lucy Liu’s portrayal of Kirsten Stevens! Ms. Lucy Liu was fantastic in her performance! That being said, all scenes and references from the movie used in this story are the property of its respective owners. The rest belongs to the author. This work is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Anyways, if you wish to watch the movie, don’t worry about encountering any spoilers in this fic!

A/N pt. 2: Hi hons! I decided to cut this fic into parts as this will be very long (hello banter dialogues). Writing a 25+k wordcount (so far, this is my assumed final wordcount) may overwhelm a lot of readers and make them not want to read this anymore ☹ Anyway, the succeeding parts will be released soon as I already have a detailed storyboard and outline for this mini-series so you don’t have to wait that long. Thank you for giving this fic a chance, hons. Also, feedback is more than appreciated. Tell me what you guys think!  ♡♡♡ \(> u

Taglist: @fangirls94​​ @ditttiii​ @chogiyeol-utopia​​

All Rights Reserved 2020 © Vanaera. Reposts, modifications, and translations of content are not allowed.

[bakudekuficlibrary]

Do you have any fics with a deaf or blind Bakugou or Midoriya? Doesn't matter if it's angst, fluff, or whatever, I love all types ^w^

All righty, here we go. I found a ton of these! The tags are riddled with Koe no Katachi AUs, as to be expected (KnK is The Sob-Inducing BombTM). But there’s a ton of really cool and interesting fics that diverge from that. Thank you for your patience^^ I hope you like.

Also, be sure to check out the Disabled Bakugou list curated by Jay!

~Gabs ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

25 works.

Actions Speak Louder by TsunaidaMay( E | 38,438+ | 10/14 )

When Bakugou Katsuki meets Midoriya Izuku at a Pro Hero fan event, he’s intrigued by the intricate way Izuku’s hands move, emphasizing every word and phrase. After another chance meeting, Katsuki will soon come to learn that sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

The Way You Used to Do by edema_ruh( T | 347,037+ | 20/? )

“We’re really sorry,” his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. “But your friend, Izuku, he’s… He’s gone, son.”

Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, indignation.

“What the fuck are you two talking about? The damn nerd is standing right beside you!”

During a battle, Midoriya gets hit by a villain whose quirk detaches his soul from his body. Stuck in a ghost-like state, the boy enters a race against time in order to save himself from permanently dying. Much to his luck - or lack of it -, the only person who can see and talk to him in this state is no one other than Kacchan.

Alternatively: Deku and Kacchan are soulbound.

[PTSD]

Some Wannabe Hero! by Superior_Mustache( M | 50,792+ | 14/25 )

Katsuki had bullied Izuku for nearly all his life for being deaf and Quirkless. After middle school, they went their separate ways, never to see each other again. Ten years later, however, when Izuku moves back into his old neighborhood, a familiar face jumps back into his life. But neither of them are sure if they want to reopen old wounds.

Senses by Phayte( E | 22,294+ | 6/? )

In a freak accident through battle, Bakugou loses his sight. This is the story of his struggle, downward spiral, and the friends that get him through it. 

Hand Speak by crackmonster( E | 30,350 | 12/12 )

“You think you’re some hotshot, huh? You’re not going to even apologize, are you?” Bakugou folded his arms, waiting for him to get on his knees with grief, but he turned around and picked something up from the counter inside. “Hey! Hey are you serious? I’m talking to you!”

Bakugou had no qualms about barging into his house uninvited. “I said I’m talking to you! Are you Deaf-” 

Blue snow by Darkshadow( T | 908 | 1/1 )

A bullied Izuku meets a blind Katsuki in the park.

I guess… I’ll just… fuckin read this by TheGeekProblem( G | 1,533 | 1/1 )

Izuku works the graveyard shift in a diner and he’s really tired. A group of people come at 2 a.m. What could go wrong? 

Dull by choimarie( G | 714 | 1/1 )

“What? Never have seen a hot dude before?” 

Learning A Thing Or Two by overworldpumpkin( G | 654 | 1/1 )

Bakugou meets somebody new and interesting on his first day. 

love is blind (and deaf) by kagehinataboke( T | 789 | 1/1)

Izuku hesitantly opens the door, wielding an umbrella and ready to square up against a mugger. but it’s only one of his neighbors: a new one, in fact. Izuku faintly recalls him moving in a few weeks ago, but one unfriendly glare was enough to stop him from approaching.

he discreetly drops the umbrella behind the door. “can i help you?”

— a bakudeku one-shot

Learning Curve by iknewaman( G | 10,304 | 1/1 )

“Izuku.” Uraraka repeats as she motions at the person stood next to her. Green curls, average height, and, well. Up close, not such a bad smile. Uraraka points a thumb at Bakugou and enunciates slowly, “This is Bakugou. He can speak sign language too.”

Wait. Sign language?

The stranger— well, Izuku— looks at him with a raised brow. Their free hand lifts up as they make a slight motion of the hand.

‘Really?’

*

Bored out of his mind at a house party one night Bakugou is introduced to Izuku, a deaf student who offers to help teach Bakugou sign language in exchange for a favor– or well, is prompted into asking for a favor.

Missed Connections by Labellevita( M | 9,765 | 3/5 )

Deaf Uni student Bakugou can’t catch a break, but he does catch the scent of a fantastic smelling omega. 

Hackles Raised by Sanctioned_Chaos( T | 3,357 | 1/1 )

Twenty-six year-old Midoriya Izuku takes a trip to the past in the middle of grocery shopping for him and his mate, Bakugou Katsuki. It’s happened before but it’s always managed to be different each time. Still, doesn’t change the fact that he usually only travels when he’s needed. He shouldn’t be surprised coming face to face with a teenage Katsuki mid-panic attack.

His inner alpha bares his teeth and Izuku worries.

Silenced. by RJDAZE( T | 2,644 | 1/1)

When Bakugou was bit, he didn’t die. He was one of the few people that lived. But he lived for a price, and that price … it was his quirk.

OR

Bakugou runs into Deku while he’s in a bad situation and helps him. They talk— they really talk.

transfigured night by bittermoons( M | 6,044 | 1/1 )

An unexpected hospital trip changes things between Izuku Midoriya, age forty-four, and his longtime roommate, co-parent, and co-composer, Katsuki Bakugou.

Do You Hear What I See? by SilentJo( M | 2,156+ | 1/? )

Nearly deaf from the use of his own quirk, Bakugou fights to keep his dreams alive, despite knowing his career will only last as long as his hearing.

When a villain’s attack takes Midoriya’s sight, Bakugou is overwhelmed with guilt that it was his fault Midoriya’s hero career was over.

But Midoriya was never one to just give up, now was he?

No Warning by DeafBakugou( G | 10,375 | 1/1 )

Bakugou survives a natural disaster and has to navigate the world without the normal accommodations he depends on as a Deaf individual.

To Fight and Protect by HapSky( T | 2,566 | 1/1 )

The officer laughs then, and claps Katsuki’s shoulder. “You guys really fit the ‘go big or go home’ attitude! If I weren’t on the job right now, I’d praise you. Really nice teamwork there–every villain got caught and every citizen was protected,” he clears his throat and retreats his hand, “but I’m on the job right now so you didn’t hear any of that,” he winks then and adds, in a forced serious voice, “You could do better regarding own safety and quirk overuse next time.”

Katsuki grins, because he knows he didn’t kill the villains yesterday, and knows the villains didn’t get past Izuku to kill anyone either.

Lost the Fight by Katt1848( T | 1,733 | 1/1 )

Every Hero remembers the first time they weren’t able to save someone. This is Katsuki’s.

Angel Down by Baltic_Breath( M | 16,008 | 3/3 )

After Midoriya Izuku throws himself out of a window because of him and almost dies, Katsuki comes down from his high horse real fucking quick.

He decides to be responsible for what he caused.

(glimpses into the lives of Katsuki and Izuku in the aftermath of Izuku’s suicide attempt in middle school.)

[Graphic Depictions of Violence]

Finding Out and Confessions by Needle_In_A_NeedleStack( G | 605 | 1/1 )

Bakugo is deaf, that’s why he’s always so loud. He hasn’t told anyone. So when Midoriya Izuku accidentally finds out Bakugo’s secret, how will things change.

[Discontinued] Listen to the Heart by milkcandie( M | 25,682+ | 5/? )

Katsuki wants to remake what he had demolished (broke, cut, destroyed), every little thing that he had single-handedly set on fire and every moment that he had crushed under his foot. The past is irreparable, but when he sees Izuku, he feels like he can believe in the impossible again.

☆ A Koe no Katachi AU where Izuku is deaf and Katsuki dedicates his entire being to see him smile.

Omniscient Eyes by everlastingspaghetti( T | 11,285 | 1/1)

Katsuki wasn’t sure what to say about this. All his life, he'd— he was a horrible person; both inside and out.

He didn’t deserve whatever this is. He didn’t deserve anything, not when the boy he’d tormented relentlessly was shaking in front of him, with outstretched limbs a sincere smile dripping down his face, tears smacking the concrete.

Katsuki wanted to say something— anything, but then Deku had looked up at him - through a tearful gaze of forest green - and softly gasped, “I forgive you, Kacchan.”

Silent Voice, Loud Gestures by ReadingHell( T | 10,001 | 3/3 )

“My name is Bakugou Katsuki”

“If you need to talk to me, use this notebook”

“I can’t hear”

Koe no Katachi AU

Say Something by limesicle( T | 4,520 | 1/1 )

Katsuki pushes and pushes until he pushes too far. He is left guilty until Izuku returns to give him–not a second chance, or even a third–another chance.

[designatek]

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[gamelove]

Gaming Laptop Buying Guide: Find the Right Rig

With their powerful components, colorful designs and premium prices, gaming laptops are a different beast than typical mainstream notebooks. And they need to be if you want to play demanding games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Grand Theft Auto V, explore virtual worlds with either the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift and enjoy smooth gameplay on high frame rates. They're also a different beast when it comes to design, offering chassis with more aggressive lines and multicolor keyboards.

Quick Tips Don't buy a gaming laptop for low-end titles like World of Warcraft or Candy Crush. These games can easily be supported by an integrated graphics card. Avoid touch screens. They're more expensive and drain the battery. 17- or 18-inch laptops are typically more powerful, but the least portable while 13-, 14- and 15-inchers are easier to carry but often lack higher-end components. Make sure the keyboard is comfortable. If you can, take a trip to the store and try out the keyboard before you buy. Ditch the M. Thanks to Nvidia's 10-series GPUs, mobile chips are a thing of the past. These new GPUs are faster, more powerful and are VR-ready.

Best Portability (13 - 14 inches): If you're constantly on the move, you'll want to consider 13 or 14-inch laptops like the Razer Blade. Notebooks in this size range typically weigh under 5 pounds and tend to have longer battery lives with an average endurance of 7 hours and 38 minutes. However, 13 and 14-inch gaming laptops usually don't come with the most powerful CPU or GPU, because they just don't have enough space to dissipate all that heat.

[mystic-kitten-writer]

Limerence [M] ︳14

Pairing: Zuko x OC

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with future smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 4900+

Notes: Chapter 14! Please enjoy, and thanks for the love everyone <3

Masterlist ︳13 ︳ 15

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.

The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

Forelsket

(Norwegian/adj.) The euphoric feeling you experience when you’re in love with someone.

~ Azula ~

            “I have been waiting for five days Azula. Five. Fucking. Days.” He hissed under his breath. His chest heaved as he ran his fingers through his messy brown hair, no longer pulled back into his classic ponytail. Someone feeble would have cowered under such a glare, his blue eyes looking like a tsunami itself.

            I smiled and pushed back my hair, placing it into my classic updo with ease, not a care in the world. Oh, how the tables have turned. To think that just last week it was me, being all angry and puffy. I could see his temple pulse in irritation, not amused at all that I gave zero fucks to his temper tantrum. “You told me you had a plan. That everything will be ready when I arrived. Well?” he spoke once again as if I hadn’t heard him the first time.

            I rolled my eyes, letting out an exhausted sigh, “The plans changed, and I adapted.” I said with a quick flick of my wrist. His jaw clenched in annoyance, “That’s fucking great you can adapt, I don’t care. What happened to the plan?” He stepped closer to me; his chest swelled in annoyance. I smirked, he was about to snap, “I have a new plan already set, right before the Earth King arrives. It’s going to be quite a delight; either everyone dies or…we watch drama unfold.”  

            “End of the week? Drama? Delight?” He raged with a huff. He spat on the ground and kicked the dirt under his feet. For a split moment, I thought he was going to jump over the edge of the cliff at which we stood. He turned around sharply, with a pointed finger, “Fuck this, fuck you, fuck everything. I don’t have time to wait around like some lap dog Azula. I have business I have to deal with in the Earth Nation.”

            I scoffed, and crossed my arms, only for him to glare. It was time to stop playing around or else he was going to have an aneurysm. “What was your sister’s name?” I said vexedly. His eyes widen, taken about by my question before he sneered. “My sister? Why do you care?”

            “Tell me,” I said with a hint of playfulness in my voice. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched the way I swung my ponytail from side to side. “Kasa.” He said sharply, and I smirked. “Wrong.”

            “W-what-”

            “Kasa Jiang.”

            “H-how did you know that.” He said hurriedly. The muscles in his arms tensed as he eyed me cautiously. “I have my sources,” I said with a smile as I twirled the end of my ponytail around with my fingers. “Sources? No one besides other Earthbenders knows that Azula – that’s how I found out.” I rolled my eyes, “Next question. How did she die?”

            “She died protecting a village. Fire Nation troops were attacking and-”

            “Wrong. She died because she was fucking a Firebender.”

            His eyes widen, and within seconds I could hear the bones in hands crack as they balled into tight fists. I grinned, I got under his skin. “How dare you say that- my sister would never-” he raged, but I lifted my hand, interrupting him mid-rant.

            “‘be with a Firebender?’ Your sister was no Avatar – don’t be such a fool.” I said with a laugh, watching the way he grounded his teeth, trying his hardest not to lash out. It was ironic, given that within a flash, he could easily be the one manipulating me - literally. “You know, she looks nothing like you…” I said with a smirk as I pushed my ponytail behind me. “Must have gotten everything from her father, General Axe. Well, almost everything - rumours say she is a Waterbender. But based on how nervous she was with me, seems more of a fact than speculation. Think about; a Waterbender. Just. Like. You.”

            His mouth opened and closed, confused and unsure as to what to say next. His eyebrows pinched together before he finally spoke calmly, too calmly. “What are you going on about Azula?”

            “Your niece.”

            “What niece?” he sneered.

            I scoffed, “The one that’s fucking my brother.”

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

            “Have you seen it anywhere Sokka?” I whinnied as I crawled along the floor of my bedroom like a toddler. I pouted in disappointment, where could I have put that stupid notebook? I was outside with Sokka, and I wrote ‘go out to eat’ a bunch of times. Then I went to see Zuko and Aang…and now it’s gone! Did I drop it outside? But a maid would have for sure have found it and given it to me by now. “Sokka~! Come on, yes or no?” I cried out once again. I raised my head slightly, only to see Sokka comfortably lying on my bed, eating something – all this man does is eat!

            I grumbled and reached over my bed to grab a pillow, only to fling it at him. “Sokka~!” I blubbered out in annoyance. His eyes widen as he winced as the fluffy pillow hit his head - as if it actually had hurt him. “What do you want from me now?” he complained. I rolled my eyes, “My notebook, have you seen it? I seriously wrote a single page in it, and it’s gone.” I huffed. Sokka shrugged before stuffing his face in…cookies? Did he find my hidden stash?! This MAN.  “If you only wrote a single page in, who cares. Just get a new one. No point fussing about it.” Sokka spoke as he chewed on another cookie.

            To distract myself from killing Sokka for the nth time this evening, I went back on my hands and knees, looking underneath my bed. Gosh…where did I put the damn thing? I knew it was silly but it was my notebook, and I wanted it. I lifted the blankets that hung off my bed as I gazed around. Just dust – hey…was that a cookie? How in the world did a cookie get left under my bed?

            “What are you doing?”

            My head shot upwards, knowing that deep, husky voice all too well at this point. It was the only voice in the world that could make my knees weak and make my heart beat a million times per second. “Zuko?” I spoke, well more like questioned.

            His arms were crossed across his chest as he leaned against my door frame. A look of interest danced in his eyes as he watched me scramble upwards, dusting off my dress. A grin painted his face before he let out a charming chuckle, “What are you doing?” I blushed and nervously scratched my head, why does it seem like he catches me at the worst of times?

            “I’m looking for my notebook. I think…I lost it.” I said with a pout.

            “Oh, you must be talking about this.” He reached behind him, pulling out a small notebook. It’s tiny. It’s white. It’s mine! My eyes lit up with excitement as I dashed towards him, grabbing it from him in an instant. “IT IS! Thank you, thank you, thank you~!” I gushed as swung my arms around his waist and hugged him without a second thought.

            Zuko chuckled before gently patting my head, while a muscular arm wrapped around my waist, “You left it in my room, although you didn’t seem too preoccupied with it during that time.” Zuko teased as I blushed and hid my face in his chest. Gosh, I could get used to this. There was something safe about being in his arms, even though it was usually to hide from the embarrassment Zuko always managed to inflict upon me. But despite it all, I felt happy and safe. I breathed in deeply, smelling his natural woody scent, almost like firewood. Is it creepy that I know his scent like the back of my hand?

            “What are you doing here so late into the evening? I thought you and Aang were working.” I mumbled into his chest. We had two days left. Two days before my party, but that also meant that we were two days closer to the impending arrival of the Earth King. I knew it was a big deal, but as the days got closer, the more stressed out Aang and Zuko seemed. In fact, they were so busy that I didn’t even get to see Zuko all day yesterday, not in the morning nor for a goodnight kiss.

            “Well…we managed to finish early. And I can do whatever I wish for tonight and tomorrow.”

            “W-what! Really!?” I said excitedly. The thought of Zuko unwinding for a bit was a blessing. Also, the fact that I may get to spend more time with him may or may not have something to do with my happiness… Zuko chuckled and nodded, “So what is Aang doing now?” I asked as I danced happily in my mind. “Hot springs.”

            “Aang and hot springs?” I said in unison with Sokka. It was then I remembered that Sokka was still here, eating my cookies, on my bed.

            “He isn’t feeling too well. His nose has been stuffy since yesterday, and he has a dry cough. Figured some heat and relaxing could do him some good.”

            “Sick?” Sokka spoke with worry as I heard him shift around on my bed and standing behind me. I frowned and quickly pulled away from Zuko, I was definitely no master healer like Katara was. Even though my mom was an amazing healer, I just never caught as on as fast as I did with combat skills. But even my rusty skills could do something to help relieve some of the symptoms Aang may be experiencing. “Can you bring me to him? Maybe I can take a look? Heal-” But Zuko shook his head and slowly brushed my hair behind my ear, “I figured you would offer. But he said no. He didn’t want to take you away from our date; he’ll feel guilty.”

            “Date?” I repeated with a tilt of my head, confused by what he meant. Did we plan a date…and I forgot? Oh my gosh, please don’t tell me I forgot. Zuko already probably thinks I’m the most neediest and clumsiest human being on the planet, let’s not add ‘forgetful’ to that list. As if the confusion on my face was evident enough Zuko laughed, “What’s wrong? You don’t want to go on a date with me?” He said as he placed his hand on his chest as if I had hurt him.

            I blushed and furiously shook my head, “N-no, that’s not it! I just don’t remember…us planning one.” I said honestly. I pouted and felt guilty, how could I forget a date?

            “Of course you don’t remember. I just decided like, twenty minutes ago.”

            Sokka snorted, and I could hear him fall back onto the bed, “This guy.” He said between laughs. I glared at Zuko, and he gave me a grin like a Cheshire cat. “You made me feel like poop!” I cried out and slapped his chest. He laughed and poked my nose, “Come on, grab a sweater, it’s going to be a bit chilly by the time we get back.”

            “Excuse me, but you aren’t taking my sister anywhere without telling me.” Sokka butted in. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “Oh please. I’m old enough.”

            “And I said I don’t care. You can be 100, 200, 1000 for all I care. You’re under my watch.”

            “You’re just bitter cause Suki isn’t here,” Zuko said with a scoff. I giggled watching Sokka look hurt but nod, “You right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to know. I swear if she comes back with any more of those damn marks on her neck-”

            “You saw!” I whinnied out while Zuko laughed.

            “Love, you could see those marks from a mile away. Although…they do seem to be disappearing no thanks to Lia’s efforts…hmmm…maybe I can add some more elsewhere on you...” Zuko hummed as he leaned awfully close to my ear. The butterflies in my stomach started fluttering, and I could feel sparks dancing along my skin from his warm breath on my neck. Just when I thought I had my raging hormones in check, it all came bubbling up once again.

            I blushed and in a quick motion bolted to my vanity, “You – keep it in your pants,” I said sternly as I pointed at Zuko. “And you-” I started with a pointed finger at Sokka, “Get out of my room and you owe me cookies!”

            “Where in the world are we going Zuko?” I whinnied out, although, in my defence, I had every right.

            It was late in the evening, purple and orange hues painted the sky, almost as if a painter just leisurely brushed the horizon with fresh paint. The sun was almost completely hidden behind the mountainous range, settling in for the night. If you looked far enough, you could see a few stars starting to peek out from the black curtain of nightfall – ready to shine and say hello to all of the night owls. It was crazy how different the landscape was in comparison to the Southern Tribe. Besides the obvious, the greenery and nature of the Fire Nation was almost equal to that of the Earth Nation, which came to a surprise.

            I didn’t really expect to see such lush landscape, and I found myself once again distracted by the dark green hues of the trees and shrubbery that decorated the forest. I could already start hearing a few animals waking up from their slumber, while others dug away to rest. I was utterly captivated by the scenery; it wasn’t normal to roam a forest during the dusk, well, more like night. How beautiful this must all be during the daylight…

            I glazed up at Zuko, only to find him lost in his own thoughts. I smiled as I studied his features. Zuko really was a work of art. The way his brows pinched together in deep thought or the gold in his eyes that twinkled whenever a new idea came to mind. Although I knew better than to say it out loud, I found it adorable how he would unknowingly pout whenever he was in deep thought. His soft pink lips all pressed together in thought. I smiled to myself remembering us with Kiyi playing in the water, another wave of admiration engulfing me.

            It was mysterious how my heart felt like it was being squeezed whenever I looked at Zuko, or better yet, thought of him. Like a thousand fireworks were being blown at once and it brought me so much joy, it hurt. I knew it was silly, to adore someone so much. Infatuation, limerence; all words meant to explain strong feelings towards someone whom you just met. But Zuko was more to than just that, more than just a ‘honeymoon’ stage or love interest at the moment.

            What was this? I’ve known him the least amount of time, just a little bit over a month, yet it felt like I’ve experienced everything life has to offer with him. I’ve had fickle crushes throughout my time, but Zuko, he was different. I could read him like a book, recognize his subtle gestures and decipher his intentions with just a huff. What was this feeling? Was it normal? Am I just crazy? Love? I scoffed to myself. Love. What a funny word, mainly because no matter how hard you tried to define it – you couldn’t.

            ‘You just know’ Aang said when I asked him at what point in time he knew he loved Katara. ‘The moment I saw her. I…I think I loved her before I even realized it.’ Aang said with a laugh. I looked back at Zuko and pouted, “What’s on your mind Zuko?” I asked quietly. It was then he seemed to snap out of it and gazed downwards at me. His grip on my hand tighten, and he smiled, “Nothing, we’re almost there.”

            I raised a brow, not wholly believing him. There was something off with him, even at my bedroom. As if something was hiding behind his thoughts, as he anxiously zoned in and out of the conversation. I let it go and allowed him to continue guiding me through the forest. “Since I can’t know where we’re going…can I at least know how you know of this place?” I asked.

            Zuko laughed and nudged my shoulder, “Why? What’s wrong, tired?”

            “We’ve been walking for almost an hour! I really do like the nature walk, but I enjoy my bed a bit more.”

            “Well, if you wanted to get into bed that bad, you should’ve told me earlier.”

            I gasped and hit his shoulder while Zuko laughed at my rosy cheeks despite the dark skies, “Zuko~! You know what I meant. ”

            “Not really, tell me, what would like to do to me in bed babe?”

            “I swear Zuko, we’re in the middle of nowhere, and it’s dark. I'll not hesitate hiding your dead body somewhere.” I glared as he teased me without remorse. Zuko chuckled before letting go of my hand and instead lazily draping his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer, “You wouldn’t hurt me. You like me too much.” He hummed pleasantly.

            “…oh shut up,” I grumbled as I crossed my arms and pouted. I hate it when he is right; I couldn’t even kill a fly even if I wanted too. Zuko’s hand tighten around my shoulder, halting my movements suddenly. I looked up at him as he looked down at me with a look of joy, “You trust me, right?” He asked unexpectedly. I raised a brow, “Of course I do, why do-”

            “Good. Shut your eyes and let me guide you. I want it to be a surprise.” I opened my mouth to protest. It’s not like I didn’t trust him, but I could barely walk without falling during the day with eyesight, let alone in the night with my eyes closed. But the look on Zuko’s face looked like a child during the winter festivals. I let out a breath of submission and closed my eyes, how can I say no to a face like his?

            I could feel him come from behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist while his other hand carefully covered my eyes. He pressed himself from behind me before he leaned into my ear and whispered, “Walk forward, I’ll guide you.” Hesitantly, I found myself tightly gripping Zuko’s arm that was hugging my waist. Move forward? Is this man crazy, I can’t see where I’m going!

            “Trust me; you’ll be safe. I promise,” Zuko muttered in my ear, his lips grazing as he spoke. I found myself relaxing feeling his steady heartbeat on my back. Trust him…of course I trust him. “I trust you...” I whispered as I began moving forward. Zuko chuckled at my baby steps, as I ever so wisely kept walking forward, step by step, “A-am I close?” I asked, but my question was answered as Zuko firmly held me in place.

            “On the count of three, I’m going to move my hand for you to see, okay? Ready…one…two…three.” The sudden warmth that engulfed my eyes left and I fluttered my eyes open.

            A pathetic gasp escaping my lips was all I could muster up as I looked around me. We were so high it felt like I was in the skies itself, just another star that had the privilege to graze the air. My feet were right at the edge of the cliff, not even a hair away from the end, but I was so overwhelmed with the sight to be anxious at all. I could see everything, coast to coast of the Fire Nation. The way bodies of water trickled down the ridges of the hillside or the illuminating lights of towns that scattered throughout the land…

            “Zuko…I-I can see everything,” I said breathlessly. Zuko chuckled as he pulled me closer against his body, feeling his warmth melting onto my cold skin. It was then I noticed just how chilly it had gotten from being so high in the sky. I could faintly see the mist that formed just below us, “The royal palace is built on the highest mountain, well, an extinct volcano to be exact. But, this is the highest ridge of the crater…you can see everything.”

            I turned around, noticing that nothing but stars were above, “H-how did you know.”

            “How did I know what?” Zuko asked with a small smile.

            “That I would love this.”

            Zuko chuckled before letting his fingers tenderly graze my face, “Seems like I know you better than yourself. Don’t you remember?” I titled my head to the side as I tried to read his face. “Remember?” I repeated. Zuko laughed and poked my nose playfully, “It wasn’t hard to figure out you love nature. You showed me the Southern Lights in the middle of the night, took me to see those trees, what are they called again…ahh, quince! And I always see you taking walks in the garden almost every day.”

            “You know I take walks in the garden?” I said a bit taken aback. Zuko grinned and nodded, “Every morning, you go for a walk around the gardens, usually with Kiyi or my Mom. It makes me smile since you always seem to be in your little world during those walks. I can see you perfectly from my office.” I blushed and found myself smushing my face once again in his chest; he watches me during my walks? I make him smile? “Don’t say stuff like that….” I grumbled into his chest. I could feel his chest rumble as he laughed at my expression and I looked up at him.

            “So tell me Zuko. Why did you bring me here?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Zuko sheepishly looked away, and I could see a faint tinge of pink starting to paint his cheeks. “No reason…” he said unconfidently. I pouted and shook my head, “Nope. Somethings up. You were zoning out the whole walk here. What is it?” I spoke light-heartedly as I ran my fingers through his hair mindlessly. Soft and silky, as his hair slipped through my fingers effortlessly.

            I could see his eyes dart nervously back and forth, failing to stay on me and I grinned. He was nervous, and suddenly the need to tease him grew. It was rare for Zuko to stumble, to lower his guard and be as vulnerable as he was now. Logic would argue not to tease him when he is finally opening up, but I also knew that based on how our relationship was, teasing meant we were comfortable enough to be with one another. “Aww, cat got your tongue?” I pestered, mimicking the same words he once told me when I was tongue-tied.

            Zuko frowned and I heard him grumble under his breath before speaking, “H-have you ever thought about, what, uh, we are?” Zuko muttered. I raised a brow before shrugging my shoulders, “I’m your Imperial Consort.” I said, but Zuko seemed dissatisfied with my answer based on the huff he released. “N-no. I mean, like besides that. Don’t you ever wonder what, you mean to me, and vice versa?” What in the world was he trying to get at?

            “Uhh…Zuko, you’re losing me here. I’m your consort, and you’re my Fire Lord. Did you forget?” I said with a nervous laugh. Zuko groaned before letting his head fall against my forehead, “You’re really not making this easy for me…” I laughed and poked his chest, “How can I if you aren’t making any sense!” Zuko pulled away before hastily running his hand through his hair.

            I giggled watching him look so flustered. If there was one thing I knew by now, he was not a man of words. Zuko had no shame teasing, flirting, even being too cocky for his own good in front of everyone. Yet, here he is, the same man who just moments ago teased about giving me more hickies, having a hard time formulating a sentence.

            With a heavy breath, Zuko finally attempted at speaking once more, “It has been…brought to my attention that I haven’t exactly been …forthcoming revolving my feelings.”

            “‘Brought to my attention,’ ‘forthcoming’ – Zuko what in the world-”

            “You know what, forget it. Just pretend I never said anything!” Zuko grumbled as he angrily threw his arms in the air and turned on his heels. I rolled my eyes exhaustedly before walking over to a defeated Zuko, “Just say it already! What are you trying to tell me.” I grumbled as I poked his shoulder.

            Within a flash, he turned on his heel, “I’m trying to tell you how I feel about you for fucks sakes!” He blurted. My eyes widen as he crossed his arms irritably and huffed. Tell me about his feelings? Before I could utter a word he continued speaking, “You don’t realize how much I think of you. That the moment I wake up till the moment I sleep, hell, even my dreams, all I do is think about you. That you somehow managed to consume every fiber of my mind, body, and damn soul.” Zuko ranted.

            “And I realized that it only took a second of knowing you to know that I wanted you. I gave you that seal, thinking that it would be enough. That you having the seal was in a way sealing our relationship. But I realized that it isn’t enough.” Finally, he cupped my face before placing his forehead against mine, “What I am trying to say is I want you to be mine. I want us to be official official. Fuck the seal, fuck the whole consort bullshit, I want you to be my girlfriend. I want you to be mine, only mine..”

            His cheeks at this point were aflame, so red that despite the nightfall it stood out like a sore thumb. His chest heaved from spilling out every single thought and emotion that seemed to consume him from the moment we met. But without thinking twice, I let a small giggle slip my lips. Zuko’s eyes widen in disbelief before he pulled away, “Are you seriously laughing at me? I just poured my heart and soul, and you're laughi-”

            “You’re an idiot Zuko. A giant idiot.” I said with a smile. I quickly pulled Zuko back towards me and pecked his soft lips. I could feel his body relax instantaneously as I smiled into his lips. Ever so slowly I pulled away and found myself caressing his face; my hand falling from his forehead, over the ridges of his scar, his sharp cheekbones, his high nose, down to his soft lips.

            “Zuko. I was always yours. I was yours the moment you walked off that ship. The moment you kissed my hand, and even the moment we fought…” I whispered as I gently pecked his lips once again. “I know you’re not a man of words, but that’s okay. Because you show how much you care about me through your actions. The way you hold me close to keep me warm, giving me the seal, the fact that you introduced me to your family…” Zuko pulled me close as I snuggled my face into his neck, “They say actions speak louder than words, and you Zuko, my boyfriend, are a living example of that.”

            I pulled away to look at his eyes, only to see a sense of relief and a proud smile on his face. “Yue, I like you. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you’re safe. To make sure that nothing will ever happen to you.” I smiled and found myself pressing my lips against his. A sweet, innocent kiss. My hands found it’s way around his neck while he pulled me closer to his body and indulged on my lips. “Zuko…��� I muttered. Zuko pulled away slightly, “Hmm?”

            I love you.

            “I like you so much,” I said. Zuko smiled before placing another peck upon my lips, “I think like is not strong enough of a word at this point babe.”

~ Azula ~

            I scoffed to myself as I watched Zuko embrace Ying Yue. He chastely kissed over her, as they muttered to themselves, completely oblivious to their surroundings. It was a fluke that we managed to find these two lovebirds trailing along together at this time of night. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep brother,” I said with a taunt as I turned around on my heel and back into the darkness.

            After not hearing footsteps behind me, I swiftly turned on my heel, “Mai, let’s go.” She frowned as she walked behind me, her head held up high as she trailed along. But despite her prideful walk, I could see the look of hurt and betrayal lingering in her eyes as she watched the way Zuko locked lips with another woman. I smirked as we walked into the night.

            Hurt, betrayal, anger – emotions that only help fuel the fire. Feelings that can even motivate the purest-minded to the dark.

            Oh, how I love the dark side of the moon.

Copyright © 2019 Mystic-Kitten, inc. all rights reserved. No reposting, modifying, or translations of any kind allowed. Thank you for your cooperation.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

[kurtty-drabbles]

Ocean au (part 14)

N/A: Here we go. The Ruby part is almost over.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling @bamfoftheundead

Walking on New Gotham in the daylight, and being a pretty woman as MJ knows she truly is, can be dangerous as a super-hero may fall for you or a super-villain will kidnap or you can be mutated into a new type of monster, but, MJ is testing her luck by going to the most popular points of New Gotham.

Her red hair is free being slowly touched by the soft winds of such madcap city and she´s on the cellphone as she´s getting closer of a nice cafe shop that has little to no accident of villains or mutations. Of course, due to the nature of her work, and people do take notice of what a pretty woman as MJ speaks on the cellphone, she has to use some code words.

"Sweetie, which outfit you´ll wear for the party?" MJ asked with a sweet smile and being nothing more than a woman talking with a friend about a cool party they will go later.

Peni, on the other line, is typing violently on the notebook to the point MJ,  and the Korean girl replies. "Wakanda has a tough firewall, but, I manage to plant a bug and I can control a bit the geo-gun, but, MJ....the gun is too unstable at the moment...if it went insane..."

MJ flashes a nice smiling and continues to her brilliant charade. "Don´t go too overboard, sweetie is just a party and nothing else!"

"Look, the geo-gun is unstable as it is...I may try to make sure it won´t kill the entire city, but, MJ this is a dangerous weapon" and she stops typing "but I thought in something, if something went wrong, you think Killmonger will really help us?" there´s sarcasm in her tone and MJ can see how the Korean girl knows the answer already.

"No, of course not, silly, that´s not his style" MJ is not breaking the character even with the possibility of being on her own and having to face Wakanda on her own.

"So...I would prefer to not use the weapon...but I have a different idea, how about we lead to someone the truth about the ruby?"

"That seems a sensible idea. Who will take you?"

"Kurt Ryder comes to mind but MJ, I think I have a better candidate" and as the conversation ends MJ is already on the cafe shop facing a chair being used by one Peter Ross.

Reporters love stories like this and MJ is an excellent actress.

"Hi, excuse me, are you Peter Ross?"

"Yes, I´m"

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Kitty Pryde is stepping out of the elevator with a big bag, one full of food and other goodies, when she spot Kurt Ryder ending a conversation on his phone and Kitty narrow her eyes slightly. Peering into his form for one minute, one minute exactly, as she goes to her house and leave the bag there and goes talk with Kurt Ryder.

Is he really Nightcreepr? Yes, but what does this mean to Columbina and Kitty?

"Ryder!" she speaks as the man was no longer speaking on the phone and is looking at her in that cocky style of his. She´s looking at his hair, to be exact, is just like Nightcreeper.

She moves her hand, once asking if she could touch Ryder´s hair and to his own surprise he agrees, and Kitty is messing with his natural curls and as she let a hair lock fall to the side, she can see he´s Nightcreeper.

"I´m a fan of colleague's movies, I´m a big fan and I noticed that among all those treasures of bad plot and acting...you were there in the movie 3 wishes for one night" her hand is patting his shoulder for a moment. "Why you didn´t go full actor? You had potential!"

And that break his cocky attitude, not really but it reduces so that´s something, as the man pouts and asks one thing of total importance. "You never saw my TV show but you know I was in that trash movie?" and there´s a disappointment in his tone and Kitty merely shrugs.

Now, is Kurt´s tone to narrow his eyes at her as he makes another question. "Gambit is a professional poker player. He told me you´re not....so, what you truly work with, Kitty Pryde?" and crosses his arms trying to look intimidating but it is such a backlash to Kitty because it gives more proves that he is Nightcreeper.

How...How did he turn into that green wacko?

"I know how to play poker. I tend to play more poker than do my usual job" not a lie, per se, but she can´t give all the details to Mr noisy reporter. "I´m a sexologist and I attend people in my home...my home is my office, and trust me, I´d not have money to keep two places" again, not a lie and is almost comical how a thief is being honest to a Mr noisy reporter like him.

Kurt Ryder blinks at her for a moment. "Aren´t you worried about your safety?"

"I´m. Always. But...let me put this way, I have more chances of meeting a green wacko in a speedo than a lunatic breaking in my house" and again, that´s true and she beam at this as for once, Kurt Ryder has no response to such statement.

"Still...That can be dangerous" Ryder stated and Kitty has such tranquillity in her posture that confuses the reporter. "Besides, even if no one went to your house...what if someone steals from you? Columbina is walking around this city and we don´t know her plan"

Kitty blinks and chuckles as she replies. "I plan to make chilli and if you want a piece of that you´ll have to offer something really good, Mr noisy reporter"

"I´ve Bavarian Beer. We can share"

"Damn you and your beers. You got again"

Ryder makes his mission to protect this naive woman and Kitty makes her mission to keep a watchful eye on Mr noisy reporter aka Nightcreeper.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Felicia Hardy, Oracle and Columbina are ready to complete the mission and stole the ruby and sure, they aren´t shocked to see the security in this museum, but, one thing takes Felicia´s focuses away. "Why Ororo wants this ruby?"

Columbina does not know many details of the political warfare of Wakanda and the world but she can make a hazard guess. "Wakanda wants their secrets to remain secrets and I think we shouldn´t make more questions" and soon the plan begins.

Felicia would distract the guards prompting them to take their eyes from the ruby. Oracle tackle with the security camera making it seems that the image on the screen is the same and does not show one sneaky Columbina.

And Columbina phases the lasers. She hates lasers. As she caught, she put in her bag(a special one for the crime) and put a fake one, this ruby was made by Icy Woman and her fakes are perfect. Sadly, the trio of thieves didn´t see one sneaky spy watching the scene.

"P, inact plan B"

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Ororo and T´Challa got the ruby back in record time and thanks were given to Kitty and her group as well a promise of confidentiality, which no one dares to break it, and T´Challa then announced he´s needed in Wakanda.

Sure, T´Challa would rather take a more discreet route, but, he´s the King of Wakanda, people are bound to reconize him whatever he wants or not, and as a crow of reporters and even fans gather around his presence, making the typical questions about Wakanda, his bag starts making a sound and the ruby is activated.

A geo-gun was exposed and Ororo was called to solve the problem and Wakanda now has to do RP to keep the bad press and image out of their beloved nation.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"A geo-gun that was placed in New Gotham is owned by Wakanda and was stole by their high-security facilities with easy. If that gun did fall for the wrong hands...we all would be in great danger, one that could be bigger enough for The Amazon to contain" Peter Ross is giving the news and more details that no one was aware before.

Meanwhile, MJ is happy that her plan does not lead in death and even Columbina´s death(what MJ can do? She´s a fan of this thief) but one problem arises.

"MJ, we can´t leave New Gotham so soon"

"I know, Peni, some sacrifices should be made here" and MJ has her cellphone ring and is not surprising to see Columbina aka Kitty Pryde´s number on the screen.

"I know it was you. Was this the plan all along?" she asked and MJ chuckles.

"No, the initial plan would get you and your friends dead. I rather avoid killing and make enemies"

"I think Wakanda think differently"

"Did you rat me?"

"As much you did"

"Oh, Columbina, this is our business now. Can I do anything to make up for this?"

"You own me big. And I mean, really big for this"

"And like all Lannisters, I pay my debts, Columbina"

"I know"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The JLX is talking about the ruby´s incident. The way Wakanda can produce such dangerous guns and others weaponry was a debate back and forth and the fact that now New Gotham has a spy of this calibre means one thing.

"We must do something...arrest her" one of them suggested, but, the heroes aren´t keen to this decision.

"Why? Because she told us what Wakanda was planing? Well, if Columbina can be a, what´s the word again, oh right, a good candidate, why not MJ and Peni Parker...no, we´re not related" Peter Ross announced as Nightcreeper would make a question like this. Peter Ross´s secret identity was undercover by the team in their last mission together and they promised to keep a secret.

"I agree" Dark Claw states shocking everyone as is extremely rare Dark Claw agrees with Spider-boy. "We don´t need to make more enemies. If this MJ and Peni Parker are merely hired to do their jobs...why we couldn´t be their clients?" and adds "of course, there´s no guarantee she would be a good employee and stab us in the back. We don´t know why Killmonger hired those two...maybe they are the best or maybe this was a last resort, either way...let´s not be too hasty"

And Dark Claw´s eyes are locked on Spider-boy. "And let´s use our minds to think over this and not be lead on by a pretty face" and this make Nightcreeper giggles and Spider-boy just rolls his eyes.

[marriedandttc]

One of the themes for this year’s National Infertility Awareness Week is Infertility Uncovered - an opportunity to speak about the realities of infertility, raise awareness, and shed an overwhelming stigma.

So, here’s Our Story

💕

Stephen and I began trying to expand our beautiful little family in January 2015. I had previously been on Depo-Provera for two years, which has a reputation for taking a while to leave the body. Because of this, we assumed it would take about a year! Six months to wear off and up to six months to conceive, a pretty average time frame.

Except... after a year nothing happened, even though my body regulated quicker post-birth control than we expected.

In January 2016 (22 & 25) we made our first appointment to get help. That discussion with my primary care physician left us literally laughed out of the exam room with messages of, “You’re too young.” “Just relax.” “You are trying too hard.”

I was absolutely gutted but we took comfort in the fact that the doctor was not concerned. They’re the ones that spend years of post-education doing this, not us.

In June 2016 (22 & 25) we had been trying for 18 months (well past the one year required for an infertility diagnosis). I made a second appointment, this time with an OB/GYN! Unfortunately, this experience went similarly.

The doctor insisted that we were too young to be having problems and it would magically happened if I suddenly quit worrying. They shoved an unnecessary Pap Smear on me and sent me away.

In October 2016 (23 & 26) I was prepared to try again, 22 cycles in. I made an appointment with a second OB/GYN at the same office we previously used. At this appointment I came armed with a notebook containing a year of cycle notes, OPK tests, intercourse tracking, and symptom spotting. I was determined for someone to see the problem that was so blatantly obvious to me.

This appointment brought the most infuriating response yet. The doctor barely took note of the information I provided and simply told us, point blank, “You are the last appointment of the day and I’m running late for a family dinner so I’m going to make this brief. You are too young to be worried about this. The birth control you were on can take years to expire (even though the proof it already had was in her hands). I could run some tests and send you to a specialist in Sioux Falls but they’re too expensive for you, and it will take lots of time. You will walk in here pregnant by Christmas.”

There was no time for discussion, consideration, or compassion. We were dismissed with blatant disrespect so she could get to her family dinner.

It was at this point I knew we had been failed by the medical community.

We had nearly doubled the amount of time required to pass before we were entitled to testing and treatment. I had done everything I could from home and it wasn’t working. We needed help and took every necessary step to begin - but we kept getting turned away based on our age and assumed financial status as newlyweds.

My spirit was shattered and I gave up on ever receiving infertility testing, let alone treatment.

In February 2017 (23 & 26) a friend pushed me to try one more time. I was hesitant and dreaded the appointment but figured it was time to try being 26 cycles in.

This time we went to not only a new doctor but a new office entirely - and that’s when everything changed. Dr. E walked into the room and asked us to explain why we were there today. I sucked in a large breath of air determined to spit out over two years of tracking and information to plead our case before he could cut us off. I was red in the face, breathless, and overwhelmed when when he kindly said, “Something here is not right. I’m prepared to help you as soon as you are ready to get started.”

I could hardly wrap my head around the words coming out of his mouth.

Unfortunately, this is when we ran into our second type of stigma.

Being an overweight woman.

Since I had never confirmed I truly ovulated after a positive OPK we began by doing hormone panels. The doctor thought they were fine but perhaps I wasn’t ovulating properly. We put my body through four months of Clomid and one month of Femara with ultrasound monitoring and timed intercourse in an attempt to get pregnant.

During this treatment there was no consideration given to my husband, I was the one being prodded, poked, and pestered at every turn. It was worth it in the search for answers.

In July 2017 (23 & 26) a full 32 cycles into trying to start our family we finally went into a full fertility workup. Both Stephen and I did two pages full of tests to dig deeper into what was happening - and our worlds were turned upside down overnight.

The results of my tests came back within normal ranges as expected, but the same could not be said for my husband. What we saw was a severe case of male factor infertility.

With these results we immediately got transferred to a reproductive endocrinologist 200 miles away.

The following month we would have our intake appointment where Dr. M let us know the only option for treatment is IVF (an advanced reproductive technology). Unfortunately, we were remarkably far away from the parameters for IUI.

One cycle of IVF runs anywhere from $14,000 - $20,000+ out of pocket because our insurance offers zero coverage.

This is the financial restrictions everyone believed we couldn’t overcome.

But in September of 2017 (24 & 27) after 33 cycles of trying to have children we went through our first cycle of IVF. We had 21 eggs, 16 embryos, and on transfer day had one early stage blastocyst and one morula to transfer. While these results were disappointing we held onto hope.

Eight days after our transfer we found out that the results were negative and our first IVF cycle was a failure.

Over the next year we fundraised, entered grants/scholarships, and invested every extra cent we had into paying off our failed loan.

Thankfully we were able to undergo our second round of IVF in February 2019 (25 & 28). This time we collected 14 eggs, had 5 embryos, and on transfer day had two morulas to place.

Again, the results were far from what we wanted but hope prevailed. Eight days after our transfer we found out it was another failure.

Today we are 52 months and over $37,000 into trying to conceive.

Despite the hurdles we have dealt and the inevitable struggles that come with it we are proud of the foundation we are building and the expanded family that will surely follow.

A lot of people think that infertility is a state of mind - we need to stop thinking we are infertile and instead focus on being fertile.

But I disagree.

I believe in acceptance of infertility. It’s not a dirty, bad, or negative word. It’s the reality of what we have been going through. It’s a word that reflects endurance, strength, and durability. Infertile people can be parents - we are capable, and we WILL.

It’s not a matter of if, but when.

And that’s totally okay.

#InfertilityUncovered #NIAW #NationalInfertilityAwarenessWeek RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association