#anyway...does anyone want a 7pm coffee...let's get a 7pm coffee

[beskar33]

To the anon who asked if I consider myself plural...I'm so sorry I accidentally deleted your ask (and purposefully deleted the post that sparked your question out of embarrassment lol) but you've made me Think cos gonna be honest I had no real clue what that meant aside from an extremely misinformed surface-level understanding of what plurality is and have been spending some time these past couple days researching stuff...

My conclusion is ???!!!??!!?!??!!!

[oshi-nakadapiroki]

Nakada Hiroki Channel Nakacha no Ma #45 2023.8.25 Notes [Eng translation]

≫ Intro:

Again, he tweeted with very short notice soz

He only took one pic with Yuuta at Fuji-Q, although he feels like it's not a pic worth tweeting (at least we got the one Ryouga took)

He was set on not riding any of the attractions so he told Yuuta he'd be waiting instead while they stood in line and waited and waited and waited and then the moment both he and Rei got the safety bar lowered on them, it started pouring down like crazy lol ☔☔️

Hiroki is not the type to ride any of the attractions anyway, not just rollercoasters ❌️🎢❌️ And they only had a short time before rehearsals and all the attractions had like a 20 minute line (The spinning coffee cups are enough for him)

Again, he's wearing his zigzag headband ✨️ He just got home from rehearsals

His sideburns are looking fierce (also I feel like he's gotten a tan on his forehead and I can't unsee it)

The weather was hot but he feels it's still hotter in Tokyo. Besides, it was very windy around Fuji and they had rain the first day

There were lots of bugs but nothing crazy, lots of dragonflies

We get both talk of Fuji and his widow's peak 🗻 It's called Fujibitai in Japanese

This month's beer: Spring Valley White Silk Ale 500ml 🍺

He's gonna get more busy from now on with Suehirogari rehearsals and then Furuba which he hasn't gotten to memorizing his script yet

He doesn't know why he's bringing it up again but he's remembering how it was around the time when SRS22 had wrapped up and he had to cancel a play for the first time in his life (Hoshifuru Machi and Parade) and tabloids wrote that it was because he had "too many lines in the script" - which was absolutely not the case! He still thinks about the drama surrounding it til this day 💔 He won't make statements but sometimes he wants to just let it all out 🥺

It's not a matter of having an agency, he knew it was gonna be difficult to go freelance already

Sudden fireworks in the distance! 🎆 Then he realizes his house might get found out if he tells us there's fireworks in the surrounding area 🤫

He tries to convince himself that fireworks can be heard from quite a distance

Someone does the pinpon dash in the comment section lmao 🏃‍♂️💨💨

He decides to drink some more to shut himself up

Speaking of Shizuoka (someone mentioned in the comments), around 7PM last night he saw his first proper fireworks display of the year 🎆 Apparently they have fireworks when there's an event at Fuji-Q Conifer Forest

He tries to google how far fireworks can be seen heard from a distance - 4 km (and i oop)

He's already forgotten how much time has passed since Tensura performances, he loses track of time when he's deep in rehearsals

Even when ppl say they're freelance, they usually have at least someone tending to them somewhat - he doesn't have anyone like that

Chaba offers to act his manager 🙌

He's happy that we enjoyed his Benimaru and action scenes

He won't say that he looked cool on stage but he will admit his swordsmanship was beautiful

Apparently the old school he used to train under put alot of pressure on its elegance in particular, it's also important to have the right breathing technique

It's also about sliding your feet; in 2.5D, alot of actors are good at moving their upper body but has it go to waste because they can't move their feet just as well

"Everything you do starts with your feet"

"No matter how cool you look on top, if your legs look lame, it's lame"

When he went to see the Touken stage once, he thought that Suzuki Hiroki had a really beautiful technique

More talk about how to move your feet when wearing a hakama

He'll gladly tell us all more about how to stand properly

≫ Food corner:

This month's snack: Gorgonzola dipped in honey 🧀🍯

He used to be obsessed with gorgonzola back in the day, he has recently gotten into eating it again (but he can't have it without honey)

Recently, he's been having prosciutto ham, melon and burrata cheese (as seen)

Overall, he's been having alot of melon, peach and pear recently (shine muscat grapes are too expensive) 🍈🍑🍐

He also likes persimmons

Then again, he doesn't like the sourness of some peaches, and the pit is hard to remove

He finds the sweetness of some peaches compared to melon to be completely different

Peach pit = bouncy ball size

How to crack open a peach or avocado starring Nakada Hiroki

He thinks women particularly likes peaches

Someone calls him chef Hiroki in the chat, even though he doesn't cook that much; all he did was cut up the melon and ham, and poured some olive oil and salt and pepper on it lol

Okayama's specialty seems to be muscat grapes

Someone suggests that he'd do a Hiroki's dinner show but he thinks that would be alot of preparation

He used to eat an insane amount of pears when he was a child and then he got explosive diarrhea 💩

He likes his pears a bit chewy

≫ Tensura:

His hakama did indeed almost slide off during senshuuraku because he was hurrying up the stairs, he wasn't cautions enough with the hakama - they fixed it with magic tape/velcro though

He thought he had ripped it but he hadn't

He did stumble a few times off-stage

Benimaru wears two layered hakama anyways so he thinks it would be fine even if it ripped

Benimaru's outfits were super easy to move around in

Although the footwear were really difficult; he's more used to wearing tabi, so wearing setta (leather soled sandals) was a challenge (jumping was especially difficult)

Some suggested he'd wear rubber soles but it would just get flappy

He forgets what the second toe is called and calls it the ring toe

His toes would clench the setta straps 💢 but it would tingle like it was forming a bruise

Again, he's relishing in how easy it was to wear the overall outfit

At any rate, he finds heels super difficult to wear, particularly as Masaferry and his knee-high boots (they were sexy tho) - that might have been his most difficult one to wear when it comes to footwear

Shoutout to all the ladies who know the pain when the arch of the foot/shoe is rly narrow making it unstable

Shinonome was also difficult in terms of foot strain (the comments point out how he had to change footwear during the performance of Rusted Armor, idk if it was during the 1st or 2nd run)

He's contemplating whether it's more difficult to wear platform sandals or not

≫ Suehirogari:

Akashi is gonna be running this time!

He starts talking about the layout of the stage before realizing in the chat that it hasn't actually been officially announced yet lol (fans have sort of figured it out nevertheless)

The stage wasn't as big as he expected

Definitely bring a raincoat and towel in case of bad weather + lots of water

Shoutout to Beer Ball duo Kensuke and Akira lmao 🍻

He's done numerous live shows indoors already but being outdoors may bring a whole new set of difficult situation

The seats are really close to the stage but it's quite wide instead (unlike Yoyogi Gymnasium and Saitama Super Arena), however it's all same ground level

Also, the setlist is gonna be a bit of a challenge

He thinks it's because he joined rehearsals halfway through, his number of appearances might have decreased, but there's gonna be alot of songs with everyone in it (me: *praying it's not gonna be like Tori in SRS22 Fukuoka/Hiroshima/2nd half of Tokyo and he was off-stage for a good 50 minutes 😭*)

He apologizes due to the various circumstances that he probably won't be on stage much and seems to blame himself for it 🥺

Because of it, he'll show us his best Akashi when he's actually on stage 💖

If Akashi ever got a tanki, it'd just be him and the audience sleeping. He'd be playing relaxing music like when you're at the dentist lol

"Take a nap, have a snack, byebye"

He got a message on LINE from Ryouga

He went out to an izakaya with Ryouga and Nagata - stay tuned for what they had to eat!

Who gave him the banyanya cat - stay tuned!

He was also given a Snorlax Pokémon card because it looked like Akashi (it was not from Haru-chan, Kurumu or Kensuke; if it'd been from Imari, he'd been grossed out lmao)

He saw Mizue Kenta (Yamanbagiri Chougi's actor) again after a long time! (He used to also be at OscarPro)

≫ Birthday event etc:

He didn't do a gaming stream last month either but he's planning on making it up to us again

He thinks he looks like a yankee because he had his eyebrows dyed for Benimaru and it still shows. Since his own brows are rly thick and the colour comes out more naturally if they're more blonde, they ended up bleaching them a bit too much apparently

He seems proud to be complimented on his new shirt (it's a new Adidas launch)

It's not officially confirmed but he's 80% sure that he's gonna host this year's birthday event on Oct 21st (Tokyo) and Oct 29th (Osaka) 🎂

This might be his first local solo event - or not since he had one in Kyoto where Kurumu starred as guest (it was around the timing of Kishou Hongi)

He thought it'd better to have the two split up instead of the following day since they're in different places

"Don't force yourself to come" SIR I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE WORLD

Since the Osaka event is right around Halloween, everyone wants him to cosplay

He won't be bringing a guest (MC maybe?)

Cosplay suggestions: Uma Musume, Gojo, Akashi, Sephiroth, Haru (Rabbits Kingdom), Howl, Hamtaro, Goro Majima

He also wants to cos from Twisted Wonderland! Apparently some of the make-up/costume staff had told him he could do Azul (!!!) He doesn't know who he is tho 😭 When the chat tells him he's a megane character, he doesn't want to 🙅‍♂️ He doesn't think he's particularly suited for megane characters himself

Instead of Trey-senpai, he calls him Toilet-senpai

He wants to cosplay Malleus! And Idia

(Personally, I'd like to see him do Azul, Trey or Vil.. Some people suggested Cater as well. He'd probably do a good Sebek too)

Again, he's mentioning Meguro Ren and his hair (see Natsu no Jin Nagomi P2)

Happy Birthday to everyone born in August 🎉

"Enjoy your youth! Enjoy your birthday and your birthmonth this year and make the most wonderful summer memories, together with me!"

He's having trouble cutting the stream (as usual)

He calls Ryouga and Nakata his ochibi-chans 🥺 kawachii

≫ 2nd half of the stream:

Wife time!

He's having a particularly mouldy piece of cheese

Tori told him he went to the sauna yesterday

Shunya gave him the (secret) Pokémon card! He kept it because he didn't want to throw it away but then he passed it on to Ryousei

Apparently Ryousei has his seat right behind Hiroki at rehearsals (chat: it's like a school setting 😭 Touken Gakuen)

We get a short Ryousei impression, kawaii kawaii kawaii

Hiroki's off to pick some tea leaves and get some more beer

This month's second beer: Spring Valley Hojun 496 500ml 🍺🍺

He thinks it's fine if you don't cosplay for Halloween, just clipping something small in your hair is enough

No one would wanna take cheki with him if he cosplayed for real

The event is not gonna take place at the Hulic Hall Theatre this time

He still doesn't believe we want to see him cosplay

It might be the first event he's held in a while that won't require masks (it might depend on the venue though)

He asks if we want to go without masks or see-through partition screen; an overwhelming response for no partition screen!

What if he himself has to wear a mask if there's no partition screen?

He tries to take a peek at the cheese's calorie amount and end up dropping some of it on the floor

Cheese is low in calories so he thinks it's good for when you're on a diet (he himself is proof of it lol), protein is important as well

He hasn't been able to go to the gym at all recently

≫ Tensura and Suehirogari:

Someone mentions the Oni zap in the chat, it seems to have been part of the adlib scene in one of the Tensura performances (8.13 matinée; they had only done it once previously during rehearsals), they had way too fun with the adlibs, to the point they didn't even have to speak with one another

You can tell Hiroki rly likes both Ryo and Hagino, the three of them kept chattering away backstage

They wanted to do the adlib scene (w/ Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou) because it gave a glimpse into the everyday life of the Ogre clan, they wanted to show the warmth and bond they shared as a family, but scenes like that had to be condensed and kept getting cut down

He doesn't know who came up with the adlib idea but they kept it real each time because that's what it's like to be around family

He thinks it's super fun to do adlibs with the help of everyone, after all you can't do adlibs by yourself

It's the same with Toumyu adlib although there's more regulations and it has to be ever more condensed (probably considering how many they are by now)

That being said, he's not saying there weren't restrictions to Tensura but, he just wanted to try to convey what he felt like for the character

There might just be someone who breaks the adlib restrictions in upcoming Toumyu performances, it's gonna be hilarious (a few guesses in the chat it's gonna be Onimaru or Ichi-nii). It's gonna be something that they create together with the audience? (Like a call and response-type of thing??)

He hasn't been getting involved with the new swords at all (might be because he joined halfway through)

He thinks Rei is serious and hardworking, he doesn't understand how he's actually younger (Hiroki is 1 year older), he's always rehearsing, he's very conscious of hierarchical relationships and is very polite (speaking keigo)

But they're always being silly together lol

He really wanted Hiroki to go on the attraction but he stopped before even queuing up. Rui Kihara (Heshikiri Hasebe's actor) went on the ride too

He makes a comment about another Kihara (Minoru) who's a weather forecaster and disaster prevention officer together with the mascot Sorajiro (it's a well known evening weather programme broadcasted in Tokyo)

He and Rui has been talking alot lately

It's only been a few days since he joined rehearsals so there's lots of ppl he haven't talked to yet. He's shy around new people and have been told he's difficult to get to talk so he's been trying to reach out to them himself. He's often told that as soon as he gets talking, their impression of him changes

"Sake suki?" ww (if he'd said no, that would've been the end to the conversation lbr)

He feels like he's gotten closer to Ryouga and Nakata since last year

He invited Tori to come when they went to the izakaya but got rejected cuz he was sleeping lol

He's only seen Daigo once at rehearsals so far but he's nice

Hiroki likes polite youngsters 👶

Keita's also very polite

He thinks he's contradicting himself because he wasn't very polite when he was younger. He talks about how "back in my days", you addressed your senpai by using the -san suffix (This part of the stream was kinda confusing to me since I'm rly not into Johnny & Associates and their manners regarding the -san/-kun debate for senpai/kouhai)

Even he himself would've been pissed off if someone instantly called him by -kun back then

He thinks it's about 50/50 who calls him -san/kun atm; Ryousei says -kun, Sasamori Hiroki says Nakada-san (but that's probably since they're both Hiroki lol), the other Hirokis call him Hiroki-kun though, Seiichiro probably calls him -san

He can keep on talking about who calls who what for hours on end

Seiichiro taught both him and Nobunaga when they were trying to copy and rehearse the dances, apparently he was Nobunaga's caretaker of the day

Nobunaga recorded their dance rehearsal (looking at it from a bird's-eye perspective helps him notice things)

In short: they all get along well (he kept looking at them with a warm smile 🥺)

There aren't that many people around his age so he was happy when there was someone for once who was older (Hagino? Haru-chan?)

"Even though I'm getting older, I'm still on the older side"

He thinks he's the same as spi and Imari; Mokkun is 1 year older; Rei is 1 year younger, then Tori is 2 years younger. He thinks Araki is 3 years older (Imari is born in 1988 tho, Mokkun is also born in 1987, Tori is actually born in 1991, and Araki is 4 years older) And don't forget Haru-chan!

"Hiroki, do you like older or younger?" "Both" 👀

He hasn't seen Araki recently

He checks the message on LINE from Ryouga

He's reminded of the fated meeting he had with that old man in Malaysia, he'd like to make a DVD out of it (pls pls pls do a special one like the camping DVD). Apparently he did take some videos with the help of his tripod, he's just unsure of who he gave the video data to afterwards - turns out he put the data on a SSD and gave it to one of his usual cameramen

He needs to update his FC site and its banner pic (it's still featuring SRS22), we just have to wait a bit for it since he's doing it all on his own

He absolutely has no camping footage left ❌️🏕❌️

His nails have gotten long again! 💅 And they're shiny shiny (he has not painted them)

Some Chaba is bullying him in the chat to give up on the FC site already (he won't!)

"Don't give up!" This is related to a commercial quote by Maya Miki (a famous actress who is currently represented by Hiroki's former agency, Oscar Promotion). He met her at a year-end party some years ago, she was nice

He doesn't know how to remove the banner. It's difficult to do programming, even though he went to a tech high school

So what did he eat with Ryouga and Nagata at the izakaya? He's the senpai so of course he treated them (he then gets off-track again lol)

Someone wanted to eat at Bamiyan but they've got that in Tokyo

Apparently houtou noodle soup is a well-known dish around Fuji-Q (aka it originates from Yamanashi)

He makes up a word pun of houtou (the dish) being pronounced the same as 宝刀 (treasured sword) so if you come and see the houtou, you can also eat houtou! Let's make it go viral #Houtou mi ni itte houtou tabeta

Some Chaba worries he might say it during the curtain call but he assures us he won't. Then he starts thinking about it and realizes he might be able to say it. If he does end up saying it, all of us better laugh for him

He want us Chaba to take pride in being Chaba so don't be embarrassed if he says it

Not hokori as in dust but hokori as in pride

So what did he eat with Ryouga and Nagata at the izakaya? A. Basashi, B. Karaage, C. Umaki. Answer: Umaki!

He's had basashi too but he seems to like umaki more - although he didn't know what it was the first time he heard of it, he tries to play it off as he did know, he just had to ask about it (chat: that's the same as not knowing lol)

He saw quite a few of the uchiwa at Tensura (not so much on the second floor though because it was too high up)! If he had more time, he thinks he would have been able to see all of them

Since both Souei and Rimuru's penlight were blue, he felt a bit lonely having the red ones, but seeing the red scattered all around the audience made him feel very happy, supported and encouraged ❤️

It became a good memory for him so he'd be glad if we felt the same

"Thank you, but it's all thanks to you"

Red stands out alot more than Akashi's light purple, even he himself can't distinguish Akashi's purple (unless you have an uchiwa as well)

He'll be able to tell if we all wear purple jerseys, alt. Raiha jersey (he thinks they're quite fashionable) but he wants us all to wear what we're comfortable with

He doesn't know why Akashi gives off a jersey vibe (me: camp DVD)

Jerseys are perfect for people who don't want to work, and it shields you from getting sunburnt

If he'd be allowed to decide, he'd do the full performance in his jersey

He also wants to be able to get around the place on a bicycle or segway since the stage is so wide

Or a pulled rickshaw or roomba lmao

This month's rollcall was just an ordinary one 👋

He takes a moment to appreciate the snooze button on his phone

He hasn't been doing any gaming streams recently but the next one he's gonna do is gonna be a game called Only Down 🎮

The kitty cat from Stray is currently on hold

He might stream tomorrow (Saturday) or next week (Tuesday)

There had been a request for him to play Only Up so that's why he's doing Only Down

"I know that you are all busy and that it's not easy, but you made the time to come and see me, same as for spending money, and I'd like to thank you all. I am filled with gratitude for all of you, which is not something I take for granted. So I will continue to do my best to make you happy and create good memories with you."

"Thank you for ordering Natsu no Jin goods too!" 💖

He'll keep on working hard, even though Akashi might not appear much - then again he said the same about Benimaru and many said the opposite so maybe it's just him

Ah, necklace (iykyk)

Maybe it's because for him, behind the scenes, the amount of energy it took has been alot easier than in previous productions, so maybe that's why he felt like he was off-stage alot - the action didn't even tire him in the slightest

He judges the amount of his performance based on physical fatigue, but even if he doesn't appear in alot of scenes, he wants to impress and show you such wonderful scenes that it will be burned into your mind

"Maybe I have a presence, Idk. I am tall though"

≫ Furuba:

Ayame is a person with royal dignity 👑

This is the first time he's ever had so few rehearsals for a play (Furuba) so he's a bit scared. He'll have about a week of rehearsals (even fewer than when he did Motherland)

He doesn't think he'll appear more than he did last time (which means we'll get like three main Ayame scenes)

He also wants to wear the wedding dress!!!! 🚨🚨🚨🚨

He doesn't want to spoil it but he thinks this time it's more about Yuki's story

He hasn't had the time to properly look at the script yet

Let's enjoy the second half of the year together!

He's glad they got to tell a peaceful story with Tensura

He's gonna upload the picture of Yuuta later

Lastly, he blew us all a kiss! 💋

≫ Monthly curtain call:

Akashi fan ≠ Chaba 🍵

He's gonna sleep like a log tonight (especially after being outdoors for so long, but do take measures against the heat)!

[queen-haq]

Fic: A Woman Scorned - Part 5

Fic: A Woman Scorned - Part 5

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Rating: R for language and light smut.

Words: ~2000 words.

Summary: You’ve been sleeping with Billy Russo for a few months now. Knowing his aversion to emotional commitments, you’re satisfied with your clandestine arrangement until you catch him having dinner with Dinah Madani one night. Then it finally dawns on you. It’s not that he doesn’t want to commit, he just doesn’t want to commit to *you*.

Billy may think he knows you, but he has no idea what he’s just lost...

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

******

You didn’t grow up with hugs, so you never really understood the big deal about them. Nothing irritated you more than when acquaintances wanted to hug you. Over the years you’d learned to accept it and go with the flow but intimate gestures from people you barely knew made you uncomfortable. The only time you didn’t mind being hugged was by Davina and even then she was careful not to overdo it. But right now, with Billy’s arms locked around you, you pressed up against him, he felt so good, so solid, you never wanted to leave his embrace. You couldn’t remember the last time you felt so cherished, and the fact that it was Billy – you didn’t want to think about what that meant.

You wrapped your hands around the back of his shoulders, simply breathing him in.

At first the comfort Billy provided was enough to distract you from what happened today, but then you were suddenly struck by the memory of Adam pointing his gun at you. Thanks to your father’s outbursts you learned a long time ago to stay calm in hostile situations, and that skill came in handy this morning. While Adam spewed hatred at you and accused you of destroying his life, you kept him preoccupied and talking until the cops came up and managed to haul him away. But once the danger subsided, all of that unleashed fear came back with a vengeance and you hadn’t been able to shake it off since then. Shopping, and then Billy’s unexpected arrival, had provided a temporary distraction but it was still lingering in you, threatening to engulf you at any moment.

Your fingers trailed up Billy’s back. One hand cradled the nape of his neck while the other reached up to play with his hair. He was so tall you had to stand on your tip-toes to run your fingers through his silky strands. You dropped a soft kiss on his chest, over his sweater, then on his skin as your lips dragged up to the base of his throat. His hands caressed languidly down your back, and you groaned when he squeezed your ass. Your hips ground into his, needing more from him than he was giving.

Adam’s face flashed through your mind, his sheer hatred of you stamped across his angry features. Your chest felt constricted, like you couldn’t breathe.

Before you could change your mind, you reached up to kiss Billy.

Every thought in your head instantly dissipated.

You’d forgotten what it felt like to have his mouth devour yours, hot and wild and reckless, tongue on tongue, tongue against teeth, nothing about it soft or tender but simple, pure assault on your senses. He didn’t just kiss with his mouth, he kissed with his whole being, every movement of his reverberating throughout your body. Even something innocuous like his fingers fisting your hair heightened your desires, making you more frantic.

Usually he was very much in sync with what you wanted, he could read when you were in the mood for slow and sensuous, or when you wanted to be fucked hard and rough, and he always delivered. But today he seemed to want to take his time even though you kept pushing for more. Charging forward, you trapped him against the wall behind, kissing him ferociously while your hands rushed to the buttons on his jeans. As you tried to undo them your fingers shook violently, frustrating you so badly that you tore your mouth away from his just so you could focus on ripping them off.

“Y/N,” he groaned, panting.

You didn’t look at him, too busy unzipping his jeans.

“Y/N, slow down…”

Your fingers delved beneath his boxers to palm his cock. You missed the feel of him, the touch of him, how slick he felt in your hands when he was hard. Before Billy you never thought cocks were beautiful but his was thick, long and divine, made to give you the most incredible of pleasures. Your mouth and pussy thirsted for him-  

Abruptly, Billy grabbed your shoulders and forced you to back off.

Caught up in passion, your brain scrambled to figure out why he was no longer touching you. Breaths labored, you stared up at him, confused, as he pulled up his jeans. Before you could catch your breath he was whirling you around, forcing you against the wall, gripping your wrists tightly over your head. His penetrating eyes bore into you, like he could see right through you or something, and the thought scared you. Leaning forward you tried to kiss him but he angled back, rejecting your attempts.

“Hey,” he murmured. “Just stop. Okay?”

“I thought you wanted this.”

“I do but-”

“Isn’t this why you showed up here?”

“Look, you’re messed up right now.”

“I’m fine!” you snapped, struggling to release your arms from his grip. “I want this, ok? I want you. Let me show you. Let me fuck you.”

He focused on you closely, his eyes dark and stormy, before he finally loosened his grasp. When you moved to cradle his face, he retreated back. Forget kissing you, he didn’t even touch you. Instead, he knelt down to pick up your robe from the ground and cover you with it. That’s when you noticed you were naked. You hadn’t even realized your robe had slipped off.

You were naked and desperately throwing yourself at him and he was purposely rejecting you. It felt like a slap in the face. You were mortified.

Pushing him away you tightened the robe around you and tried to sidestep past him. Except he blocked your path.

You tried again, he did the same.

“What?” You snarled, swallowing the lump in your throat. You were embarrassed as hell but you’d die before telling him that.  

He tilted your chin, forcing you meet his stare. In turn, you glared at him.

“Sex isn’t going to make you forget what happened this morning,” he said softly.

“Maybe I just wanted to feel something good.”

“Doesn’t last long. Then you’re stuck feeling shitty again.”

You were tired of his sanctimonious bullshit. He of all people shouldn’t have been lecturing you on using sex as a distraction. “Like you’ve never used me for sex?”

“Fine, yeah, I have. And I don’t want to be used in the same way.”

“You’re such a hypocrite!”

“I don’t want you to regret being with me.”

The intensity in his eyes was spellbinding, piercing you right through to the core. You trembled when he brushed your cheek with his fingers, your heart pounding. Throughout your time together, you’d studied and learned many of his expressions and nuances. The excited bounce in his movements when Anvil booked a new client, the underlying bitterness in his words on those days he’d gone to visit his mother, how dark and glossy his eyes shined when he was about to come. But the way he was watching you now – this was new to you. This was dangerous territory. The last thing you wanted was to get caught up in Billy Russo again.

You wrenched his hand away. “If I have regrets, I wouldn’t bother you with them.” You shrugged your shoulders. “Anyway, I told you yesterday. If we have sex again, I’d see it as closure.”

The shift in his eyes was instant. A second ago there had been warmth in his gaze, now there was only disdain. “So you can move on?”  

“Not just me. You too.”

Molten eyes narrowed into slits. “Maybe I don’t want to move on.”

“What does that even mean?”

His jaw was clenched, his mouth set in a hard line. “Why do you have to make this so complicated? Why can’t we just go back to how things were?”

“I threw myself at you five minutes ago and you rejected me! And now you’re telling me you want to keep sleeping together?” You massaged your temples, feeling a headache coming on. “Are you purposely trying to fuck with my head?”

The sound of your phone vibrating loudly against the coffee table drew your attention. You marched over to see who was calling. Spotting Roger’s name, you tensed immediately. Why would he be calling you late at night unless it was to tell you Adam was being released? Your heart started pounding as you picked up the call. “Hey, Roger. What’s up?”

Billy snickered beside you and you cast him a dirty glance, turning away from him.

“How are you holding up? I was worried about you, I wanted to check in.”

You breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t calling with news about Adam. “I’m fine.”

“I received an email from HR. They said you refused an appointment with the therapist?”

“I don’t need to talk to anyone,” you insisted. You’d tried the therapy route years ago and found it to be a waste of time.

“Unfortunately, it’s not optional. You know how it is. Insurance. Liability. All of that. We just need to make sure you’re okay.”

You exhaled a resigned sigh, rubbing the side of your head again. Today was not your day. “Fine. I’ll make an appointment.”

“Good. I’m glad.” He cleared his throat. “And if you need to talk to me, I’m also here.”

“Thank you for the offer but I’m alright.”

“How about we meet for dinner tomorrow?  I want to run some ideas by you about the expansion.”

You groaned internally. You had a stack of work you needed to do and you were hoping to catch up on it this weekend, but turning down a work dinner with your boss wasn’t a smart idea. “Sure. Tomorrow night sounds good.”

“Any preferences?”

“How about Piatti’s?”

“You love that place, don’t you?”

You chuckled. “Yeah, it’s one of my faves.”

“I’ll make reservations for 7pm. See you then.”

“Yeah. Thanks for checking in, Roger.” You hung up and put the phone back on the coffee table.

“Yeah, Roger, thanks for checking in.”

Hearing Billy imitating your voice, you turned around to find him balanced against the edge of the sofa arm, his long legs sprawled in front of him. Arms crossed, he was staring at you with a stern expression. “Isn’t that sweet? First his negligence almost gets you killed, and then he checks in to play the hero.”

You frowned at him. If he was anyone else, you would have thought they were jealous – but you knew Billy didn’t feel that way about you.

His lips twisted into a sneer. “And of course you eat it all up. Because he’s such a fucking sweetheart.”

“What is your problem with him? He’s a nice guy, and he was actually really great with me today.”

“I bet.” Billy’s voice was laced with hostility. “Nice. Sweet. He’s checking of all the right boxes, isn’t he? But can loverboy get you wet? Would he even know how to make you come?”

You finally snapped. “Are you jealous or something?”

Silence hung in the air as he simply stared at you, his jaw ticking. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not my fucking girlfriend.”

His words may have hurt, but they also served as a cruel reminder of why you needed to walk away. “That’s right. I’m not. So this thing you’re doing…” You wagged you index finger back and forth between you and Billy. “This interrogation stops now. I don’t answer to you. Who I’m seeing, who I’m fucking, who I’m interested in, it’s none of your business. So stay out of my life and I’ll stay out of yours.”

He stood up to his full height, probably trying to intimidate you. However you held firm, leveling him with a heated glare as he closed the distance between you. His eyes were cold, contempt etched on his face. “Bring the vibrator on your date night with Roger. Probably only way he can get you off.”

“Fuck you, Billy!”

“Not interested, sweetheart,” he snarked back, walking past you.

When you heard the door shut a few seconds later, you walked over to lock it.

You spent the rest of the evening trying to distract yourself from the warring thoughts in your head. When it wasn’t Adam’s face haunting you, it was Billy mocking you. You tried watching a movie but that did nothing. You attempted working next, but you couldn’t focus. Eventually you realized there was only one thing you could do to lessen the fear. You needed to get ahead of it. Adam may have been angry and unhinged, but he came from a powerful family. Even if he couldn’t be controlled, they could be. So you did what you always did to protect yourself. You started acquiring information you could use as leverage against your enemies.

Part 6

A/N - Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the likes, reblogs, comments, feedback and the asks. I’m so grateful to have wonderful readers like you. As always, if you have the time, I’d love to read your thoughts on this chapter.

If you want to be added/removed from the tag list, please let me know. A few people have asked to be tagged, but for whatever reason, Tumblr wouldn’t let me. I still have you on the list, though you may not receive notifications.

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[hotpinkhoshi]

kiss it better | prologue

pairing: mark tuan x reader

genre: angst, smut, brother’s best friend au (sort of)

warnings: age gap (nine years), cursing, explicit sex, slow burn

summary: you were off limits for more reasons than mark could count. but everything changed for him the day you walked into his tattoo shop with those big innocent eyes and a laugh like his favorite song. he couldn’t. he wouldn’t. and yet…

✩ index here ✩

Your favorite thing about living on your own, hands down, was having the freedom to eat ice cream whenever you pleased. 

It had been a hot summer in Seoul, hot enough that you couldn’t remember the last time you’d gone out without being painfully aware of the sweat on the back of your neck and the space where your thighs touched each other.

Today was hotter than yesterday had been. Sticky and humid, like it needed to rain. You’d gone out with your new friend, Yiren, to shop for some new records. Well, she shopped for records—you bought a cheap ice cream bar from the convenience store around the corner. 

While waiting outside of the record store for Yiren to check out, you leaned against the side of a bench while taking in the area. 

You’d moved to Seoul at the start of the summer, and you still felt like a little fish in a big pond. The big, wide world awaited you, and you were desperate to see every inch of it. 

A couple giggled outside of a bakery next to you. You tried not to stare as the boy, tall and gangly, wrapped his arms around the female and pulled her into his chest. You wondered how it felt to be held like that. 

Across the road, a stark contrast to the pale pink and yellow scheme of the bakery, sat a tattoo shop. Paradise Tattoo, the sign read, in neon blue. A dark haired man, maybe your age or a little older, sat on the steps drinking an iced coffee while bobbing his head to whatever was playing on his earbuds. Even from afar you could make out the sleeve on his left arm, made up of swirls and lines of black ink. 

He lifted his head from his phone and caught your eye. You blinked and quickly looked away, gasping when your sudden movement caused the top scoop of your ice cream to topple onto the street.

“Noooooo,” you whined, a full pout forming on your lips. You’d barely even gotten to take a full bite. 

“Sucks,” you heard Yiren say from behind you. She had a plastic bag of records, so full you were honestly surprised she could carry it. 

You sighed, tossing the empty cone into the trash can next to you. “And I thought today would be a good day.”

Yiren laughed as she bounded up to you, linking her free arm through yours. “It is a good day. You got paid today, remember? What do you wanna do with all your cash?”

You snorted, fully prepared to make a comment about how you needed to save for a security deposit on an apartment. Your eyes drifted back to the tattoo shop, but the man sitting there was gone. You chewed your lip and glanced back at Yiren, nodding towards the shop. 

“I’ve never been in a tattoo shop before. Want to check it out?”

Yiren, as usual whenever you expressed one more thing you’d never done before, gasped dramatically. “You what?! I swear, Y/N, you should be in a museum. You’re so cute.”

When she moved to pinch your cheeks, you swatted her hands away. “Gah. Let’s just go.” 

You dragged her across the street and up the few steps that lead to the front door of the shop. You heard a ding once the door was halfway opened, signaling your entrance. The cool air of the shop comforted you immediately, offering you some relief from the sticky air outside.

It sort of looked how you’d imagined it, but brighter. There was hard metal blasting on the speakers above you, with framed drawings of all sorts of tattoo styles adorning the deep red walls. 

Doubling as a desk, on your left side was a glass jewelry display case with different earrings and bars that were used for piercings in various body parts. Sitting behind this desk was a girl with bright green hair and thick framed glasses. 

“Hi! Do you have an appointment?” she asked cheerily, her tone the complete opposite of what you’d expected. You’d never seen anyone with a neck tattoo, but she had hers proudly displayed—a snake traveling from her chest and around towards the nape of her neck, the head appearing on the other side. 

“Um,” you said, glancing towards Yiren. 

She jumped in. “No. Do you talk walk ins? My friend was thinking about getting a tattoo.” 

“I-” you started, your eyes widening at Yiren. “I haven’t decided yet.”

The girl behind the counter nodded and turned around in her swivel chair, reaching for a big black binder that was sitting upon a shelf behind her. 

“Here, we have some photos and drawings of previous tattoos our artists have done. We have five artists. Youngjae, Jackson, Mark, and Yugyeom. And me, but I mostly do piercings. Do you have any idea what you’re looking for?” 

You flipped open the binder, greeted on the first page by a portrait of a very voluptuous, very naked woman that had been tattooed onto someone’s leg. It took a conscious effort not to show your shock, simply because you didn’t need Yiren cooing at you again. 

“Well, I like…” you thought about it as you continued flipping the next few pages, until you came upon a drawing of a rose, a soft pink color that reminded you of the bakery across the street. There was a series of pages full of drawings of flowers, different types and shades of the rainbow. “Who did these? These are beautiful.” 

“Ah,” the girl nodded, leaning her chin upon her hand. “That would be Mark. He’s great at flowers, they’re sort of his specialty. Youngjae does beautiful portraits. Jackson’s shading is unbelievable. And Yugyeom is new, but his lines are incredible.” 

Yiren snickered next to you. “It must be great working with all these guys.” 

The girl raised her eyebrows, an amused smirk on her lips. “Please. They’re not exactly my type.”

Just as Yiren opened her mouth for a follow up question, a male voice called from the direction of the hallway to your left. 

“Dahyun, did you get any napkins from the coffee shop? Yugyeom spilled his shit all over-” 

Looking up, you saw a guy walking towards you. Perfectly styled hair, a chiseled jawline, and tattoos covering both of his very toned arms. He stopped in his tracks, then gave you an apologetic bow.

“Sorry, I didn’t know we had a customer.”

Dahyun rolled her eyes and grabbed for a stack of napkins next to her. “Here. And tell Yugyeom he’s on mop duty tonight.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” The guy saluted Dahyun, then turned on his heel and jogged back down the hallway to one of the rooms. 

“Anyway,” Dahyun continued. “We do take walk ins. It’s been slow today, honestly, so if you wanted to get a smaller piece we could probably make it work. Youngjae’s tattooing someone right now, but other than that, it’s wide open.”

You gulped. Now that it was real, you were feeling a bit panicked. But you were drawn to the image of the pale lilac flower on the page in front of you, as if it was calling to you. As silly as it sounded, just looking at it brought you a sense of calm. 

“Could I… could I get this?” you asked meekly. 

Dahyun turned her head to view the picture, then nodded her head. “Of course. Do you know where you want it?”

You looked at Yiren, a question in your eyes. It had to be somewhere you could hide it. Your parents strongly disapproved of tattoos. To be fair, they disapproved of every aspect of your life already, so how much worse could it get? Still, you wanted the option to cover it up if you needed to. 

“You could get it on your ribs, maybe?”

Dahyun inhaled sharply. “Ah, I wouldn’t recommend that. Hurts like a bitch. Shoulders and hips are pretty painless though, that’s where a lot of newbies get their first.” 

Worrying at your lower lip, you stared down at the flower once more, then up at Dahyun. “The back of my shoulder, would that be okay?” 

“It’s your party, princess. It shouldn’t hurt too much, and if you get it small enough it’ll be over before you know it.” 

Dahyun went ahead and printed out the sketch after you told her just how big you wanted it, and modified the color to a deeper purple. She went back to talk to the artist, Mark, then returned a few minutes later and told you to follow her back. 

“He’s ready for you. We’ll go over all the aftercare and fun stuff once it’s all done, okay?” she said as she led the two of you back to Mark’s room. You stuffed your shaking hands into the pockets of your shorts, not wanting him to see how nervous you were. 

Once you came to the threshold of the room, you first noticed all of the drawings on the walls. Not just flowers, but trees, portraits, still life sketches… all of it. Apparently flowers weren’t the only thing this guy could draw. 

Mark had his back to you, sifting through a box full of colored ink bottles. You realized without even seeing his face that this was the guy you’d seen on the steps of the shop earlier. Up close, you could see more of his sleeve. Right on the back of his arm was a large tattoo of a lion’s face, jaw wide open in a roar. 

“Sorry, go ahead and sit-” he started as he turned towards you, his jaw dropping once he made eye contact. “Y/N?”

It took you a long moment to realize where you knew him from, and it wasn’t just because you’d seen him across the road earlier. You hadn’t seen him in at least six years, but you knew him right away. How could you not have recognized him before? 

You’d practically grown up with him. He’d eaten countless dinners at your family table while your mom fawned over him and pinched his cheeks, asking why your older brother couldn’t be more like him. 

The last time you’d seen him was Taehyung’s going away party just before he left for his year-long backpacking experience in Europe. You’d only been sixteen at the time, but Mark was nine years older than you. 

Besides the sleeve of tattoos and the deep red hair he was sporting, he hadn’t changed much since then.

“Mark?”

full chapter one to be posted march 17th, 7pm est

[aphrodites-law]

A Bit of Clarity 🍂 (9/?) The visions had started last autumn, a year ago now. It had caused a bit of chaos for some, a bit of clarity for others. Two days ago, Clarke Griffin had been perfectly fine managing both her Café and her stress. But now she was curious - so deeply curious about the vision of herself entwined with the aloof Lexa Woods that it was leading her to complete distraction. (ao3)

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8]

When she opened the café the following week, Clarke didn't expect the first customer to be Gustus. He walked toward her with a slight hunch in his shoulders, holding a large paper bag in front of him.

"Hello, Clarke."

"Hi, Gustus. How are you?"

"Lexa said you were looking for help in the kitchen. Am I too late?"

Clarke blinked in surprise. "Not at all."

Gustus set the bag on the counter. "I don't have much of an education and I don't know proper baking terms. I haven’t worked for anyone in twenty-five years, but I have made and sold baked goods on my family's apiary since my childhood."

He pulled out several containers. "I've brought honey muffins, blueberry tartlets, and a chocolate-walnut pie. Please, have a taste when you can."

"You're… applying to work here?"

Gustus nodded. "I'd like to help in the kitchen."

It was certainly unorthodox, but they had yet to find anyone and Clarke's mouth had already watered at the smell of the pie.  

"Gustus, are you sure this is what you want? The hours can be long and we can't afford to negotiate on salary for now."

"Money doesn't matter to me. I have my own land and grow my own food."

"What about your apiary?"

"A hobby more than a business these days. The market made me realize how much I miss…" His eyebrows furrowed as he thought of the word.

"People?" Clarke guessed.

He stroked his beard. "But not so much that I would leave the kitchen."

Clarke chuckled. "I see why Lexa likes you."

"She may pretend otherwise, but Lexa enjoys company too. She would not write the way she does if it weren’t the case."

"No, I don't suppose she would."

They both looked toward the entrance when a customer walked in. Gustus moved to the side.

"I won't keep you longer. Thank you for humoring an old beekeeper."

"Wells will have the final word, but he's badgered me to get more of your honey so the odds are definitely in your favor."

Gustus inclined his head gratefully, a heartwarming sight given he was a foot taller than Clarke and quite intimidating at first glance.

"Have a good day, Clarke."

"You too. And thanks for the treats!"

* * *

Clarke walked over to Lexa's table later that afternoon, finding her deep in research on her laptop with her half-eaten croissant on her plate. They hadn't been able to speak much between orders, but Lexa had looked her way at times and Clarke had managed to catch her eyes. Each time made her stomach swoop, but Clarke was determined to be the one to surprise her for once.

She put her hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"Hi, you."

Lexa turned her head with a slight blush. "Hello."

Clarke sat in front of her, propping her chin on her hand. "Oh I get a hello today. Very formal."

"Is hello formal now?"

"With that tone and those glasses? Yes."

Lexa took off her reading glasses. "Am I being kicked out?"

"Not at all. Stay as long as you want. You can even stay after closing hours."

Lexa's eyes fell to her lips- Clarke's knowing grin. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Mm probably not."

Lexa closed her laptop. "So. Saturday. Doors open at 7pm."

Clarke sat up. "I'm excited. Though Wells has already warned me he'll poison my coffee if I drop any spoilers."

Lexa had offered tickets to Lincoln's play again, though this time she had made it very clear she intended it as a date. Clarke was thrilled to go to the theater after so long, especially since the play was fully booked for a solid six months. Nowhere Ground was a critical darling and word of mouth had worked like a charm.

"I was thinking we could hit Cocoa Street after," Lexa suggested. "Try some of the food trucks?"

"A woman after my heart."

Lexa smiled, her hand inching toward Clarke's on the table. "I figured I'd keep the upscale restaurant for our third date."

"Oh there'll be a third date?"

Lexa looked up from their hands, fingers not quite yet touching. "I would hope so."

"Well I don't know, I'll have to see if you have game."

"I thought you'd gotten a preview already." Lexa's fingers brushed against hers.

Clarke bit her lip. "Not that kind of game."

"What kind, Clarke?" Lexa asked smoothly as her thumb brushed over the back of Clarke's hand.  

Clarke shook her head and sat back, letting go of Lexa's hand. "Nu-uh. I'm not falling for that again."

"What's that?"

"That- look. And your voice. You know what."

Lexa let out a small laugh. "I really don't."

"It's like a switch you have. It drives me crazy. But I'm not falling for it. I see you."

"Alright, I'll just be broody and quiet then." Lexa cleared her throat, amused. "Did Gus stop by today?"

Clarke brightened. "Yes. Speaking of, very sneaky of you. Wells is already raving about the chocolate-walnut pie."

"I'm glad. Gus kept asking me if he should make more. I'd never heard him so nervous."

"I didn't even know he baked."

"Never in a professional setting like this, but I can vouch for his impeccable manners. And his food."

"How did you meet him anyway?"

Lexa picked up the last bite of her croissant. "When I was doing research on the Mountain Men, I found out his property is the closest to the bunker site. A few miles down the mountain but still - I figured he had some information that could help me. I introduced myself; said I wanted to honor their story…"

"And you charmed your way into his life," Clarke guessed in a fond tone.  She still had a few minutes before Gaia started side-eying her for flirting on the clock (not that it was a regular instance, but Lexa did come in often these days…) and then got Harper to ask endless questions to fuel their gossip mill. "I'm glad you did. I think he'd fit right in."

Lexa nodded, giving her a soft smile while they lingered in their last few seconds of privacy.

* * *

When Saturday night finally came, Clarke thought she might burst from the anticipation. Lexa lived close to the theater, so Clarke had suggested she be the one to pick her up before they walked over. She'd settled on her fancier boots, tights and a red dress, ever aware of the increasingly cold nights. She had her coat on but left it open when she finally arrived, fully leaning on the power of her own cleavage tonight. Slow didn't mean she couldn't have her fun.

"Wow. Um. Hi," Lexa breathed out as soon as she opened the door, eyes darting south of Clarke's lips.  

"Now I get a hi," Clarke replied with a grin. She extended the flowers she'd brought on the way. "For you."

"Oh they're beautiful," Lexa said, genuinely surprised. Clarke wondered if she’d ever gotten flowers based on that expression alone. "Thank you," Lexa murmured.

"You're welcome," Clarke hummed. She waited for Lexa to come closer to reach for the sleeve of her shirt. "This is new."

"You don't like it?" Lexa asked.

Clarke almost scoffed. She was fairly certain Lexa knew exactly what she was doing, with her tight slacks and her dark green shirt just a hint sheer enough to see the outline of her bra. Paired with her loose curls and faint perfume, Lexa was already making her dizzy and it was incredibly unfair.

"I didn't say that," Clarke replied, pretending not to notice Lexa was going to kiss her. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Lexa frowned briefly, only to smile a second later as she realized what game Clarke was playing. She'd asked for slow and it seemed like Clarke was taking it to heart. Perhaps a bit too much.

"Please, come in."

While Lexa went to find a vase, Clarke looked around. The apartment was on the small side, but during the day it was most likely brightly lit thanks to the two large windows. The balcony was filled with plants and flowers just as Gaia had once told her, but she hadn't mentioned the various hanging pots throughout the living room. Of course she couldn't have known. Clarke wasn’t sure if she was the first date Lexa had invited here since moving, but the progress in their relationship wasn’t lost on her. She’d never imagined being inside Lexa Woods’ apartment; not even when they’d started their little dance. It had seemed like another world. 

Lexa came back with a vase that she set on the table by the window. "They're lovely," she reiterated.

"If I'd known you were so into plants I would've gotten a succulent or something."

Lexa looked around. "Oh those - the hooks were already there when I got here. Indra said the woman before me used to hang candle lanterns. I think she's relieved this place isn't a fire hazard anymore."

"Gaia said you're her favorite tenant."

Lexa smiled sheepishly, but didn't further comment. She glanced at Clarke's neckline before clearing her throat.

"Are you ready?"

Clarke nodded. "Very."

Lexa stepped closer. "You know… I sort of imagined this going differently."

"Oh?" Clarke asked, rooted in place.

"I figured after we'd kissed things would become easier," Lexa explained as she stopped inches from Clarke.

"You imagined us kissing?"

"Yes," Lexa answered honestly. "But I told you that before."

Clarke remembered the confession Lexa had made that night at the café and felt desire pool in the pit of her stomach again. How she’d thought about her; how she’d wanted this- them. She reached for Lexa's shirt, pretending to toy with one of the small buttons.

"It seems like we imagined a lot of things you and I," Clarke replied, swallowing. 

Lexa brushed her nose against hers, testing her. Clarke felt her warm breath on her mouth and nearly tasted sweet mint. Her heart beat loudly in her ears until finally she gave in, tilting her head and pulling Lexa in.

The kiss was slow at first; Lexa's full lips pressing firmly against hers. Then Clarke felt her hand cup her neck and Lexa angle for something else, something deeper. She moaned when their tongues brushed and Lexa played with hers, chasing, teasing, while the lingering smell of the flowers mixed with her perfume and saturated Clarke's senses. It felt like she was drunk.

It wasn't the small hello or goodbye kisses they'd exchanged in the week; the hesitant pecks that had preceded the date that had seemed so far away on Monday.

"Are you sure this play is good?" She asked, slightly dazed.  

Lexa shook her head, kissing her once more. "It's horrible. Mediocre. Let's bail and stay in."

Clarke let out a small laugh before kissing her again, deeper and slower, wondering if her heart would ever calm down tonight.

"If only."

-

[part ten]

[unloved-cadillac]

Leather Jackets and Glasses: CHAPTER FOUR

This is a pretty long chapter. Probably the longest one in the series. Enjoy.

“Where have you been?”

My father asks me as I step out of the car.

“Somewhere.” I reply as I walk into the house passed him. I wasn’t in the mood for his arguing. I had been thinking of something on my way home, but I didn’t feel like asking him now. “Listen here.”, he grabs my upper arm, “I will NOT tolerate you coming here at this hour. Do you know how dangerous it is out there? And you had not one of your friends with you.” “Ugh dad, I’m not in the mood right now. Plus its not even that late, why are you making such a big deal outta this?”, I ask him. “Because...”, he sighs and lets go of my arm. I’m shocked right now. Why is he so worked up for me coming in at 7pm? “Come into my office. There’s something we need to discuss.”

I nod and follow him to the office. We enter and see Mike with a couple of guys talking. “Everyone but Mike leave.”, my father orders them. They men leave, leaving me with my father and his right hand. “Dad what’s going on?” I ask him. He rests his head in his hands and I look to Mike. He has his head down too.

“Zeke found us.” 

My eyes widen at those words. Zeke? Here? “How? We left no trace.” “I don’t know either. I wiped everything from the computors and burned the place down. But right now, Y/n, he might send someone after you. I can’t risk you going to school. You’re gonna stay here under my supervision at all times.”, he tells me sternly. “WHAT? Dad, no. I can’t do that. I have stuff to do at school. I got finals coming up and prom. I can protect myself. I have Mikasa too, the strongest out of all of us.” I say. “I dont care. you’re staying here.” I start to panic. No, I won’t let him do this. “Dad, dont let him have the winning card here. If he sees me at school, he will think that you have your guard down when actually you keep on eye on us.. This might make it easier for you in finding him. He would be exposed. You guys can keep an eye on the school too. Dad, he is going to need time. he is not going to take me so quickly.” I plead with him. “Please dad. Its my last year. Dont let him take this away from me too.”When I said that my dad lifted his head up. He knew what I was talking about. Mike watches us, quietly. He hadn’t said a word to us. But he knew better than to interrupt us. My dad sighs and wakes up and walks towards me.“I’m gonna have eyes on you at all times. Dont you dare try anything funny. Keep your knuckleduster with you and the emergency phone. I’m not losing you too.”He quickly pulls me into a hug which i return. “Dont worry. I won’t let him.” We pull apart and my dad tells Mike to escort me to my room. Mike and I walk up the stairs when I start speaking.

-You seem quiet. 

-I’m thinking. 

-Hmm. I wonder how he found out, Mike. 

-Are you scared?

-Hell no. That bastard can come at me with all his got and i will fuck him up. The only advantage he has is his size. He’s fucking 6 ft . 

We walk to me room and i open my door to see Mikasa sitting on my bed. “Kasa!” I hug her.  “Hey, Y/n.” “What are you doing here?” “Your dad told me to stay here for you . Also you left school early so I-“

Iquickly close her mouth with my hand. I look at Mike and he makes a zipper motion with his finger on his mouth and closes the door. “Where were you?” She asks when I remove my hand. “I was at Levi’s.” I say with a smile. Mikasa’s widen her eyes in shock. “No way. You finally did it, good job.” “Shut up. He invited me to dinner and...asked me to prom.”Mikasa does something I never thought she would EVER do: squeal. “Oh my god! Really?? Whoa!!” She says excited. I smile and sigh. “You heard about Zeke I presume?”, I ask her as I make the air bed for her. She nods. “I have no idea how he found us. Dad said he wiped and burned everything. It just..doesn’t make sense.”, I say confused. “Unless..”, Mikasa starts to say as she helps with the blanket.

“There’s a traitor.” She tells me. I pick my head and look at her. “You think so? But who in their right head would betray The Scouts?”, I ask her. Mikasa shakes her shoulders. “Dunno. Just a theory. But I’m gonna stick with that theory.”We stayed up all night talking about the future with each other and..boys. “So Jean seems pretty handsome lately,huh?” I ask her slyly as I watch her tense up. “With his long hair and growing beard.” I scratch my chin and raise my eyebrows at her. She drinks her Cola but she’s blushing. “I KNEW IT! You like him back, huh?” “No that’s not it. You described him like he was so hot I couldn’t help it.” She makes a pathetic excuse. “Oh please. Anyway would be fooled by your stoicness, but I can see that you’re blushing.”, I say which makes her choke on her drink. Have a taste of your own medicine. “Ok enough about me. Tell me about Levi.” “What’s there to say? He’s a guy. He’s cute. And I’m going to prom with him.” “Yeah. But there’s more to it. I know there is.Because you said that you weren’t gonna be involved with anyone this year. Just admit it already. You like him.” “I won’t until you admit you like Jean.”She blushes. And looks down.

-Touché

We laugh and we got ready for bed. Mikasa was out in about a minute while I laid down and thought about Levi. But my thoughts of him were quickly thrown out the window when I suddenly thought of Zeke. That son of a bitch. The things he did. He kidnapped me twice and if it weren’t for my dad stepping in, I swear I would’ve been dead or raped. I need to be careful tomorrow. I’ll tell Mikasa to keep on eye on everyone. Shit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday.

Mikasa and I made our way to school. But before we could go we stopped by Marco’s. “Hey bro”, I greet him happily. He smiles back at me. “Hey Y/n. Hi Mikasa.” She nods at him. “Came for breakfast?”, he asks me as he goes to ready the coffee machine. “Haha no. Just four cups of coffe to go please.” I tell him the order. He nods and Mikasa and I make our way to one of the tables to wait. We play with our phones when I hear the bell ring on the door to the cafe ring. I look up and I smile. Levi. “Good morning Levi. The usual?” “Yeah. Thanks.” He says and pays for his drink. As he turns around he catches my eye. I smile and wave at him. He waves back and comes towards our table. “Hey Y/n.” He greets me and Mikasa suddenly looks up. “Oh hey to you too Mikasa.” “Oh it’s just you. Hey Levi.” She replies to him and she returns to her game.

“Morning Levi. Wanna join us?”, I ask him. “Uh sure. Thanks.” He pulls out a chair and sits next to me. “Thanks for dinner last night. It was great.” I tell him. He smiles. “You’re welcome anytime, Y/n.” He looks at me. I’m taken back with his sincerity. He really got me whipped, huh? We stare at each other for a while when Marco comes with our drinks. “A black tea for Levi and four cups of coffee for the ladies.” He places the drinks down. “Alright, kiddos. Get to school now.”Marco tells us. “Chasing me out already, bro?”, I playfully ask him. “Oh wait. Yeah let me leave before your mother makes a big deal about me being here again.”My smile starts to turn into a frown and so does Marco’s. “Y/n. She has been asking about you.” “Yeah well I don’t care anymore. See you bro. Thanks for the coffee.” The three of us start to leave when Levi grabs my upper arm.

“Hey, uhm. Do you want to, perhaps, ride with me to school?”, he asks me. I smile and look at Mikasa. “Go. I’ll give the idiots their coffee. See you two at school.”

She says and takes the coffee from my hands. I turn to Levi and we make our way to his car. I jump into the passenger seat and Levi jumps into the drivers seat. He takes a sip of his tea and puts it into his cup holder.

“Wow. Car’s really nice.” I compliment him. “Thanks. I hardly use it since Farlan usually takes us everywhere.” “Why is he not here?” “Isabel picked him up. So I was forced to use this car. I’m glad I got to though.” “Why?”, I ask him as I sip my coffee.

“You.”

He answers simply and starts to drive. I smile behind the cup. For a shy guy, he’s quite smooth.

“Oh. By the way, I heard you called Marco “bro?” You two related?” He asks me. I nod. “Yeah. He is my half-brother. We have the same mother. But due to unfortunate circumstances, my mother didn’t want anything to do with me and so three years after having me, she left me with my dad. But we made our relationship work because no matter what happened between our parents it wasn’t our fault. So we became close. He’s practically my best friend.”, I reply smiling. Levi sneaks a quick glance to me and smiles back. “I’m sorry your mom did that to you. Was that...why you were so uneasy at dinner?”, he asks. “Yeah. A bit. Your mom’s cooking was really good.” He smiles at that. “Now you have a reason to come over.” Levi says. I laugh. He really was great.

Levi drives us to school with “Doubt” by Twenty One Pilots playing on his radio. I chuckle which captures his attention.

“What’s funny?”, he asks me as he turns into our school parking lot. “I didn’t take you for a TØP fan to be honest.” “Oh. Well I’m full of surprises, Y/n.” He smirks at me. I smile. He parks the car and we jump out. Levi gets his bag from his boot and comes to walk with me.

“Y/n, where’s your bag?” He asks me. “In the car. I’ll get it when I see Mikasa.” We walk into school and I see Mikasa with my two idiots. “Kasa!”, I yell at her to get her attention. She nods her head at me. “Y/n! I got your bag for you!”, an excited Eren comes up to me and gives me my bag. “Oh thanks.” Suddenly, I remembered that I need to speak with them. “Uh, what do we have first?”, I ask Mikasa. “The three of us have History while you have Physics.” I smile at Levi. That’s the class we have together. “I’ll see you in class?”, I ask him. Levi’s expression suddenly turns to a sad one. Shit I guess he wanted to walk with me to class. But that expression doesn’t last when he smiles a small smile at me. “Sure. I’ll save your seat.” “Thanks.”I tell him and gesture to outside for my gang. They follow me, leaving Levi to watch me go.

We make our way by the dumpsters on the side of the school. “I assume you two already heard about Zeke finding us?”,I ask Eren and Jean. Jean nods his head, pissed off. While Eren nods, slowly. Oh fuck. He wasn’t here the last time. “Alright, Eren. Since you don’t know I’m going to tell you who Zeke is. He is the leader of a rival gang of The Scouts. The name of his gang is called The Free. Stupid name, filled with stupid members. The last time he found us, he threatened my father for 50 million dollars and used me as a bargain. He captured me and tortured me. Not bad but..” I pull up my sleeve. “He gave me some pretty hectic cuts and burns.” My inner arm is filled with marks and scars. It’s part of the reason I use long sleeves and jackets all the time. Jean and Mikasa turn their head away from the scene. It was still a bad memory for them. Losing me.

“That’s not all. If my dad and The Scouts were a minute late in rescuing me, Zeke would’ve raped me and possibly killed me. They took care of him by beating the fuck outta him and lighting his place on fire. To keep us safe, my dad wiped out all info on us on the computers and burned our old house down and we all vanished from Shiganshina. Now, we got new information saying that Zeke made his way here, to Rose in order for revenge. That means that I’m in danger. If I’m correct in my allegations, Zeke will use someone who we don’t know to spy on me and report back to him. That means all of you should keep an eye out on anyone suspicious. Is that clear?”

I ask them. They all nod. “Good. Let’s go. Bell rang.”We all start to walk into school when Eren stops us. “Wait, so Y/n..” We all turn to him. “What is it, Eren?” “If you said that you removed all evidence from you being in Shiganshina, doesn’t that mean somebody told him you were here? Like..” “A traitor.” Mikasa continues his sentence. I look at Mikasa.

“Yeah, exactly. Listen, I know I haven’t been part of The Scouts for a while, but this seems a little fishy to me.” Eren says as he scratches his head. He and Mikasa had the same idea. And I’m sure Jean thought it too. Which means, I need to bring that up to my dad. But later. Now is school. “Alright. I’ll think about it. Remember what I said and be careful today. I’ll see you all later.” I wave goodbye and we part ways to our respective classes. I go to physics and I see Levi sitting with his bag on my chair. I walk up and Levi sees me. He instantly smiles and moves his bag.

“Hey, you. I thought you got into another fight. Everything okay?”, he asks me. I nod my head, smiling back to him. “Very funny, brainiac. But yes, I’m fine. Thanks.” “Alright, listen up.” Our professor starts to say. Levi puts on his glasses and starts to open his textbook. God, he looks so cute with those on. “On Friday, there will be a test on Newton’s Laws of Motion. One hour, 60 marks. I want you all prepared. This will be part of your final grade.” Oh shit. Damn. Fuck. How am I supposed to cram all that work in a span on two days? I start to panic when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey.”, Levi says softly. I look to him. “Want to study together?” He asks me. I smile. Of course he would ask. I was going to but he made my life easier. I nod. “Yeah.” “Ok. Now turn to page 89 of your textbook and do exercise 6.3. It’s a good revision exercise. Get to it.” Our professor orders us to do it. I look at the question and answer the stuff I know. Like the definitions.

1. Define Newton’s Second Law of Motion.

Easy. Newton’s second law of motion states that if a net force acts upon an object, the object will accelerate in the direction of that force.

I look at it and then at Levi’s work. Jesus, he is already on the fifth question. I nudge his shoulder.

“Hey.”, I softly say. He picks his head up looks back at me. “Whats up? Need some help?” “Uh yeah. Check this definition for me?” I hand him my book and he reads over it. He furrows his eyebrows. “Out of two marks, you would only get one.” I widen my eyes and my mouth opens. “Wha- Why?” “Well, see. You got the first part. The one about it moving. But then now, you have to state the proportions. So..”He takes out his pencil and writes.

“The acceleration is then directly proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.” He finishes. “Ohhhhhh. Ok I get it now. Thank you.” “No problem. So, do you know how to do the calculations?”

I look at the questions. Question 2 was to draw free body diagrams which I knew and the third one was on frictional force. What the hell is this?

“Uh....no.” I say softly, and a little embarrassed. “Sorry.” I say to Levi which made him raise an eyebrow. “Why are you apologizing? Come on. I’ll help you. Step by step, okay? You first need to understand what the question is asking you...”

Levi and I spent the whole period doing the examples from the exercise and more. I learnt so much in those 55 minutes than I did in two years of that class.

“Is this right?”, I ask him, handing my book to him for him to check. I see him looking at it, pulling his calculator out to check it. When he was done, he smiles and looked at me. “Yes. You did it. You got it right.” “Yes!” I say a bit too loudly and people turn to look at us. I cover my mouth and look at Levi. His cheeks are red. I laugh a little. “Good job, crazy.” “Thank you, brainiac.” We tease each other. Bell rings and I pack my bag. I feel someone bump into me.

“What do you have now?” Levi asks me. I take out my phone and look at my timetable. “French. You?” “English. Come on, I’ll walk you to your class.” I smile and sling my bag over my shoulder and walk out with him. When all of a sudden.. “Mr Ackerman.” Our professor calls him. “Yes, Professor?” May I speak with you for a moment? Alone.” Levi looks at me and I smile. “It’s okay. I’ll catch up with you later, alright?” “Okay.” I leave him and walk to my class. Well that’s what he thinks. I actually stayed behind to spy on the convo. Bad, I know, but I couldn’t help it. I hear the professor speak.

“How are you, Levi?”, he asks him. “I’m good. Getting late for my class though.” I snicker. Levi...

“I know. This won’t take long. Plus it’s not you will miss out on work. Anyway, I see you and Y/n getting comfortable with each other.” I make a confused face. What did I have to do with anything?

“Not that it’s any of anyone’s business, I’ve been helping her with work. Why?” He asks him. “Levi, you’re a good boy. A star student. I don’t want your name to be dragged down because of that girl. She’s not good news.” He tells Levi. I knew it. I knew from the beginning that that professor had some grudge against me.

“Sir, with all due respect, you don’t know her. She’s a good person and is trying hard to get her marks good so she could get out of this shit school where all people do is judge each other.” Levi defends me. I feel myslef blush. The professor speaks again. “Levi, she is part of a gang. A bad one at that. You could get in danger. I’m just worried abou-..” “No need to worry about me, sir. I’ll be fine. Now if we are done here I’ll be going.”

I quickly run down the hall to my class and go to my seat. I sigh. That professor is right, as much I hate to admit it. If Levi gets involved with me I might get him into trouble or worse. And with Zeke in town, Levi could get in serious danger.

The day drags itself until lunchtime. I walk out of my class and to the cafeteria. I see Mikasa and Jean sitting next to each other and laughing. Mikasa? Laughing? With Jean? “Don’t like him”, my ass.

“Hey guys. Whatcha doing?”, I ask which made Jean flinch. “Jesus Y/n, don’t sneak up on us like that.”, he says as he holds his chest. “Aww did I scare you? Sowi.” I mock him. I sit across them and look around. “Guys where’s Eren?” I ask them. “Went for a piss. He shot down that coffee like his life depended on it.”, Jean says as takes a bite of his fries. Mikasa giggles. That “joke” wasn’t even funny. I squint my eyes at her and she captures me looking and suddenly goes to her usual face.

“Yeah, so anyway. Did you guys see anyone suspicious lately?”, they shake their head. I sigh. God when is this shit going to stop? I think about my dad, Marco and everyone I think that could be in danger. But I’m quickly drawn away from my thoughts when I feel an arm around my shoulders. “Hi Y/n”

Reiner says. “Get your filthy hands off of me.”, I tell him. He doesn’t move. “Aww come on, baby. I haven’t seen you in ages. Let me just savour this moment.”, he says as he moves closer. Alright, that’s it.

“Reiner! Get your fucking hands off of me before I break them!”, I shout at him. Everyone in the cafeteria turn to look at us. I don’t even care, I just need this asshole away from me. “Reiner leave her alone, man.” “Yeah Reiner” some people start to say to him. He grinds his teeth and let’s go of me. He wakes up and starts to leave, but before he dies he leans down and whispers in my ear “You’re gonna pay for this.” And leaves. I scoff and flip him off. “Y/n what did he say?”, Mikasa asks me. I shake my head and tell her nothing to concern herself about.

Little did I know, Levi saw that whole fiasco and he runs up to our table. “Y/n. Hey. Are you okay?”, he asks me. I smile at him and nod. “I’m fine. Join us?”, I offer to him. Levi looks behind him and sees Isabel, Farlan and Hange sitting down. I follows his eyes. “Oh. It’s alright. You don’t have to sit with us. I see your friends waiting for you.”, I smile and tell him. “How about you come join me?”, he offers. I laugh. “Yeah. I’m sure these two won’t mind. Will you?”, I ask Jean and Mikasa. The shake their heads and I make my way with Levi to his table. Isabel looks up to us. “Hi, Y/n!”, she shouts happily. “Hi Izzy. Hi everyone.”, I say. They all greet me and I sit down next to Levi. “Say, Y/n.”, Farlan starts to say as he wipes Isabelle’s mouth, “Have you heard of the proms theme?” “Actually, no. What is it?” “A Dark Romance. The people in 12-5 came up with it. Pretty neat if you ask me.” Dark romance,huh? I look at Levi while he scrolls through his phone. “Whatcha doin’?” I ask as I lean towards him. It was almost funny how fast his cheeks went red. “Just looking through Instagram. See this.” he shows me some stuff. We all chat until the intercom goes off, surprising all of us.

Attention. Attention. Y/n L/n to the principal’s office with your bag. Y/n L/n to the principal’s office with your bag. Thank you.

I widen my eyes and look at Jean and Mikasa. “Oh are you going home early?”, Levi asks me. I shake my head. My guard is up right now. Dad never picked me up from school unless it was an emergency. “Levi. Whatever happens, I’m glad you asked me to prom”, I say which confuses him. “Y/n what’s going-..” I quickly place my lips on his and kiss him. It’s quick one. But it lasted long enough. I pull away and grab my bag and head to the office. Jean and Mikasa are quick to follow with Eren.

“Whoa Levi! She just kissed you!”, Isabel says happily. Farlan and Hange are bombarding him with questions but Levi just stays silent. He’s stunned. Sitting there, red faced he reaches to touch his lips. The feeling doesn’t last long when he realizes what she just said. “Whatever happens”...What is happening?

———————————————————————

<-Chapter Three

Here is the fourth chapter. Feel free to message or comment if you want to be part of the taglist. Thanks for reading!

-Caddy

Tagged: @windex-princess-gia @leviswife-of6years @french-girl-online

[heavenlysan]

Cruel Love [4]

Mafialeader!San | Detective!Reader | Soulmates | Choi San x female reader | NSFW | Explicit language? |

Words: 2,494

Chapters:

1 | 2 | 3

(Y/N's POV)

Through all my life I've been always treated like garbage but tonight… what a fucking night. What a fucking exhausting ugly night. I was kicked in the ribs and slapped on the face I haven't felt so humiliated in a long time if this whole fake identity is gonna keep me feeling this way I don't know what I'm gonna do and for how long I'll be able to keep it, I admit that it could've been worse but it wasn't and that was thanks to Choi San.

At least the way back home was in complete silence this man Wooyoung didn't say much he just gave me his jacket to cover my legs and after dropping me off at home he just waved goodbye and disappeared.

I decided to take a long bath and a shower after that mess. Being around men and being treated like meat and just like shit in general definitely made me upset. But then there was Choi San, his behaviour confused completely an old man got shot by him and then the same old man apologised to him and then the owner he called him Mister and I swear his hold felt shaky he was scared of him too. But to me he was a completely different man he didn't seem scary he was… a gentleman.

My old phone started ringing I tried to reach for it as it kept ringing and vibrating but when I finally got it whoever was calling hung up. I looked at the screen to see who it was. It was Irene. But I didn't call her back because I didn't feel like talking to people right now the exhaustion was draining me completely and I just wanted to sleep.

I dropped on the bed to try to sleep but the only thing on my head was Choi San. If he is a cold blooded murderer the big head of a Mafia and a most wanted why was he so nice and even charming? And why was he so nice to me.

As I kept moving and rolling on my bed to find a good position to sleep I abruptly got up remembering that I forgot to put on all the artefacts that were given to me to record my first meeting with Choi San. I fucked up big time. If I didn't die at the bar I'm surely going to die when the moment to give all my reports to Irene comes.

"You think somebody is going to love you? You really think that? just look at you you're nothing an animal has more value than you do. You're ugly and you don't behave like a normal human being. If someone ever shows affection to you is only gonna be out of pity." I look around and I'm in a big empty room the lights are pretty dim and across the room there's that man laughing hysterically at me, the room feels extremely cold and I'm shivering and crying, as I try to hug myself to make myself warmer I realise that I'm tied up in chair. Why? "y/n you're still pretty naive if you could only be smart enough people would consider adopting you" he laughs "But you're ugly and stupid and that's why you're still here and you'll always be here" The lights go off but they come back on in seconds but now I'm no longer tied up and the man is now dead in front of me. And then I hear in the distance "RUN"

I wake up abruptly when I hear there's someone knocking on the door. I get up to open the door and before opening I check the clock it's 10am? When did I sleep so much?

I look through the peephole and I fall on my butt. What is he doing here? He knocks harder after the noise I made by falling down and I'm unable to comprehend what's going on why is Choi San at my door?

"I'm coming" I run to hide all the papers and my old phone under the mattress making sure this place doesn't look like a detective is living here. And I try to look a little bit decent before opening the door.

I shyly open the door "Hey"

He looks so well dressed he's wearing all black and his shirt is unbuttoned just enough to expose a little bit of chest.

"Hi" He says with a smile on his face, "I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind, Wooyoung told me where you live, I just wanted to make sure you were alright"

"Oh you didn't have to, everything's alright after he dropped me off I just went to sleep" I say awkwardly and then I remember that we're still on the door "Shit I'm sorry you wanna come in? I can make you some coffee" He smiles again and just enters.

"You have a nice place" he says and I get so embarrassed because all my normal clothes and my fake ones are all scattered around.

"I'm sorry for the mess let's stay in the kitchen please"

I'm doing a terrible job I'm supposed to be a confident and sexy woman but instead I'm being my normal awkward self, he's gonna find out that I'm a detective and he's most likely going to kill me.

"Don't worry about that princess I don't mind, it's making you blush and you look adorable"

I don't even want to answer that "So how do you like your coffee?"

"Black is alright" He sits and stares at me.

I try to analyze him he's staring at me but it's not the way my boss stares at me or they way Dylan does or the way any other man has ever stared at me. His stare feels… Kind and just different and Choi San keeps confusing me. I snap back when I get embarrassed and turn around breaking our staring contest.

"By the way, it's good that you're here your friend gave me a jacket last night you can take it with you" I say still not looking at him.

"That was my jacket, before you got on your car I gave it to him for you, your dress looked like it was making you uncomfortable"

"Oh" I genuinely don't know how to keep the conversation going I turn around to face him and he smiles really big… he has dimples, beautiful ones "Thanks and thanks for everything last night" I give him his coffee and I sit down next to him.

He sips the coffee and looks back at me "You were new right?"

"Yeah it was my first day there"

"No no I mean new as a…" He tries to find a better word than prostitute.

"A prostitute"

"A sex worker"

"It's the same thing but yes I'm new why?" I try to figure out where this is going to.

"It's nothing princess" He smiles and flips back his hair "I just knew it the moment I saw you"

And then I laugh not so much since I don't want to offend him "Then I probably looked lost"

"Not exactly princess you looked fierce like you weren't up to let anyone touch you and if someone even dared to you'd probably jump on them, you have this gaze that amazed me"

I look at him almost confused and lost. Choi San what do you mean with that and why did you have to appear here. I know that he's lying just to make me feel better about myself If I had looked fierce like he said nobody would've touch me but two men did.

"But anyways, another reason I'm here is because last night I paid for your services" He looks at me and I freeze completely he wants to have sex? As in right now? If he tries something what am I gonna do? I realise that I probably look like a fool when he starts laughing.

"What things are you imagining in your head? I'm not here to have sex princess I want to take you out for dinner"

"Dinner?"

"Yes" He puts a single piece of my hair behind my ear.

He is so close I can see every detail of his face he has a mole close to his eye and I must admit Choi San is extremely good looking and I kind of want to punch him in the face for that nobody should be that handsome.

"I'll go" I say and he opens his eyes not believing what I just said I give him a shy smile and he does the same.

He finishes his coffee and gets up to the door "I'll come back tonight to pick you up at 7pm" he gently holds my chin and I thoughtlessly hold my breath. "I'll see you later princess" And then he walks away.

I close the door and I drop on the floor holding my legs astonished not knowing what just happened confused it's not even the word to describe what I'm feeling right now what am I even feeling right now?

My old phone starts ringing and it brings me back to this dimension.

"Hello?"

"Miss y/ln, it's Irene I called you yesterday but there was no answer everything went alright? We don't expect you to meet Choi San right away that would be impossible he's definitely unreachable but we'll get ther…"

"I met him" There's a silence on the phone

"You what? You recorded everything right? That's crucial for this investigation"

Fuck

"No I didn't" I pause and I close my eyes with fear "I forgot to put on the mic"

There's another silence. She's pissed.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, today you're completely free I want an extremely detailed report I told you this is important and you're not in the place to fuck this up"

"I'm actually not free I'm seeing him again tonight"

"That is not possible we've been trying to get slightly close to him for the last 2 years and you got this close in one night? There is no way" She pauses "You had sex with him didn't you? After all you're pretending to be a prostitute I guess you played too well your new role"

Her words are hurtful and I take a moment to absorb what she just said.

"Okay I want the report tomorrow morning" Before I speak she ends the call.

No I did not have sex with him you stupid bitch. "you played too well your new role" that was disrespectful and so unprofessional just because she has a higher position than I do more money than I do and more in general than I do doesn't give her the right to talk to me like this.

I get in the shower and after that I quickly grab something to eat if I'm gonna be busy with Choi San and I have to send my report in the morning I need to start writing now.

Choi San

…

Hours pass and absolutely nothing comes to my mind what should I even write? Choi San is a charming man that respects women? They would laugh at me. I can't write about him shooting a man it would be just like the people that tried to report him we have no evidence without evidence we're back to zero I don't know who's the man that he shot to have him as the victim so that's not really an option besides that man looked frightened he didn't even want to make eye contact with Choi San I'm pretty sure he would deny everything or blame someone else.

There's a knock on the door is that him? No way it's still too early and I look like trash. I see through the peephole and there's a delivery guy. He probably has the wrong address but I open the door anyway.

"Hello package for y/n" Says the delivery man.

What?

"You have the wrong y/n then, I didn't order it"

"No ma'am I got specific instructions to send it exactly here just sign here please" Oh shit I don't have a fake signature, I improvise one and the man gives me a big red box I say thanks and I close the door.

I've watched a lot of movies and I just know that this is from him but this can't be good a mysterious box out of the blue is a big red flag, he totally found out about the real me and he probably sent a snake, a deadly one to kill me. I stare for too long at the box across the room he was too nice to be real it was just a facade.

After over thinking for too long I grow a pair and I slowly open the box there's thin paper covering whatever it's inside but thankfully there's no sign of a snake I remove all the paper. It's a dress and at the bottom of the box there's a card.

Just a little something for tonight you can wear this or whatever you want, I know you'll look beautiful regardless of what you choose

San

Wait… I take a few steps back not believing what I'm seeing. I jump on the bed and I put a pillow on my face and I let out a big and loud scream. First of all what the fuck.

I get up again and I hold the dress pressed against my body in front of a mirror it's a beautiful tight black dress with long sleeves and exposed shoulders. It's so pretty and it isn't too short and that's such a relief it's the perfect length for me.

It's 6pm he'll be here in an hour so I have to hurry up. I put on the dress and must say I don't look bad at all it fits so well it's as if it was designed just for me I check tutorials on the Internet to do my makeup no the one I'd usually wear to work or any other simple day but something more fitting to the occasion. I look at myself in the mirror I feel weird in all this since I don't think I've ever looked like this but I feel confident and happy with myself.

I look up to the clock and I apparently took too much time on my appearance it's almost 7pm and he'll be here any moment now. I run back to the room opening the briefcase and search for the artefacts to actually record my meeting with Choi San this time I grab the mic and the mini camera that look like earrings and I put them on.

I hear a soft knock on the door and I stare at myself one last time on the mirror and I turn on both the mic and the camera before finally opening.

Oh shit

[t0ngue-tech]

All Yours | Seven

“’Was I not enough for you…?’

Seolhyun parted her lips but hesitated to say anything. She also dropped her head, possibly trying to get everything in her mind organized.

‘Yoongi, I’m so sorry.’ She said sadly.”

↠fluff, angst, universityAU↞

word count: 4.5k

↠series: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ↞

A/N: yall idk what’s gotten into me. i literally just uploaded a story and here i am with the update of all yours lmao. tbh ive also been working on this chapter for a while so tyj i finished it huhu. enjoy ^-^

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“Come on, Yoongi. Just text her.” You stood in front of your mirror and adjusted your hoodie.

From the moment you woke up, had a cup of coffee, took a shower, and changed into an outfit, Yoongi spent the entire time debating if he really wanted to text Seolhyun. You agreed to go with him to see her because it was his stipulation, but he was the one hesitating.

“You know what, maybe I don’t need closure. It’s all good.” Yoongi placed his phone on your nightstand and laid back down.

“Ugh. Yoongs.” You grumbled and strode over to sit beside him. “Sure you may not need closure, but I know deep down you want to talk about your feelings. You don’t deserve to be cheated on—nobody does. Please text her.”

Yoongi glared at you for a few seconds before he softened his eyes. He mumbled something along the lines of I hate it when you’re right and reached for his phone but took a detour to grab your hand first.

“So, you promise you’re going to come with me? You’re not going to flake out?” He kept his eyes on your fingers as you lazily grazed the back of his hand.

Could he get any more adorable?

“I promise.” You replied earnestly. “But I start work at three today, so keep that in mind.”

Yoongi squeezed your hand and locked eyes with you. Never in your life did you ever picture yourself to be in this position. He held your hands before, mainly to guide you around places when you were extremely drunk but nothing like this. Yoongi had a sweet look in his eye with a smile to match and you were so sure you were dreaming. Yoongi was perfect. Why would Seolhyun want to cheat on him in the first place?

“Okay. Now, go to class.” Yoongi lifted your hand and kissed it. Your cheeks flared a bit and you probably failed to hide the disappointment in him not kissing you on your lips instead.

“Fine. But go outside and take a walk,” you gave him your dorm key. “You need some sunlight.”

After listening to Yoongi’s bullshit excuse about how sunlight was never necessary for him in the first place, you left his side to slip on your sneakers.

Why can’t time just fast forward to later? I just want Yoongi and Seolhyun to meet already so it can all be over with and done. How am I supposed to even focus in class?!

“Wait.”

Yoongi’s voice broke your thoughts and you stood up from your floor. He scooped you by your waist to press your body against his before stealing a long kiss on your lips. You felt your entire body relax and you clutched onto his nape to support yourself.

“You may have more knowledge about people’s behaviors and shit, but I know you well enough that you were waiting for that, right?” Yoongi said with a smirk after breaking the kiss. Your face bloomed crimson and you playfully shoved him a few inches away from you.

“Bye, Yoongi.” You walked away from him with bliss coursing through you and just before you stepped out of your dorm, you caught the satisfied grin on Yoongi’s face.

↠↞

I will die in this developmental psychology class, I swear.

Time in your psychology class always ticked on like you had nothing else planned for the day. You jotted down chicken scratch notes, promising yourself to fix them up when you had time later; thank goodness your professor put up the lecture slides at 7pm on the same day of class. You began to mindlessly doodle at the bottom of your paper.

So many things could go wrong later.

Three stick figures were drawn at the bottom; one with a crude drawing of a beanie, one with hair just below its “shoulders”, and one with long hair blacked out with your pen. You drew scribbles of symbols around the drawing of the figure with long hair indicating how pissed off Seolhyun would be if she saw you two together.

Ugh. I can hear her voice now.

“Why did you bring her?”

“Unless you were cheating on me first!”

You scribbled all over the drawing and turned over the page.

The same stick figures were drawn at the top this time and instead of symbols, you drew tears coming from the figure with long hair and hearts around the beanie figure; Seolhyun would be in tears, apologizing and begging Yoongi for forgiveness and he would play right into her and fall in love all over again.

This time, you fiercely scribbled over the drawing.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Like clockwork, you drew the stick figures. Hearts were drawn around the beanie and medium haired figures while the last one had a giant X covering its face; Seolhyun is completely cut out of the picture and forced to watch how lovey-dovey you and Yoongi were.

This drawing caused your face to heat up a little. There was no way Yoongi would show any affection towards you in front of her because he wasn’t the type to purposely make matters worse.

One last time the figures were drawn back onto your paper and this time, you drew speech bubbles with squiggly lines inside that ended with periods and a few exclamation points. The most likely scenario would be a calm conversation with a few outbursts between Yoongi and Seolhyun. The last thing anyone would want is making a huge scene in front of everyone—

Wait, I don’t even know where they’re meeting!

[10:32] You: hey, where are you two going to have this conversation anyway??????????

Yoongi’s reply came through like lightning.

[10:33] Yoongz: You know the benches outside of the library?

[10:33] Yoongz: There.

Great. We’re going to be in public…

His texts didn’t stop there.

[10:35] Yoongz: I told her to meet me at 11:15 so that you have time to be here before she comes.

[10:35] Yoongz: I’ll be wearing the light brown coat you gave me for my birthday and the blue beanie you hate so much

[10:36] Yoongz: You’ll be able to find me pretty easily.

That damn beanie.

The mental image of Yoongi in the blue beanie made you snicker, but you quickly cleared your throat realizing you were in class laughing to yourself like an idiot.

[10:40] You: okay. i’ll see you then

[10:40] You: fuk that beanie doe omfg.

↠↞

“So you’re seriously going to be there? With Yoongi and Seolhyun? Possibly arguing in front of you? Right in front of your salad?!”

Walking to the library, you gave Hani a quick call to update her with everything that had happened since you told her about Seolhyun cheating on Yoongi.

“Yes, right in front of my salad.” You laughed. “To be honest, I’m kind of scared. Like why did Yoongi have to say he kissed me! Actually… I don’t know what would be worse, her knowing the truth or his lie.”

“Either way she’s going to raise hell, but if you need me, you call and I’ll come running!”

You smiled softly. Hani was serious in the most endearing way possible.

“I know—” Yoongi’s blue beanie stood out at a table underneath one of the large trees. “Yoongi’s there. I’ll call you later Hani or better yet, I work at three so you can come to the coffee shop anytime after that and I’ll update you on what happens.”

“Okay. Be safe. I love you!”

“I love you, too.”

You took a deep breath and approached Yoongi who had two cups of coffee and two sandwiches sitting in front of him. As much as you hated that damn beanie, he still looked as handsome as ever.

“Hi, Yoongs.” You smiled.

Yoongi instantly smiled at the sight of you. “Hey—no, sit by me.” He reached for your hand to stop you from sitting across from him and tugged you over to sit beside him instead.

The action startled you and almost made you lose your footing, but Yoongi supported you by the waist to let you sit down without injury.

“Th-Thanks.” You stuttered.

“Oh, here you go by the way.” He handed you a paper gift bag that he probably stole from your closet. “You left your work shirt and shoes. There’s also a water bottle in here because you need actual hydration and not just coffee swimming throughout your bloodstream.”

Everything he mentioned was sitting neatly inside the bag and your smile was impossible to hide. You’ve been nervous and jittery about meeting with Seolhyun that you completely forgot about your work clothes. Yoongi was a life saver.

“Thank you, Yoongi.” You breathed.

“Of course. Now eat, you didn’t even have breakfast this morning.”

As you had brunch, you spent the time complaining to Yoongi about how developmental psychology makes you want to jab multiple pens in your eyes. He argued that you say that about every class you have and even flicked your forehead.

“You’re doing great though, so keep on keepin’ on.” Yoongi rubbed the spot he flicked with the pad of his thumb.

You felt the weight of your school work elevate at the touch of his finger. Yoongi had the power to relieve any stress that you had in the palm of his hand and it amazed you. Maybe this was just the effect of you being whipped for him for almost a year. It sounded pathetic, but you enjoyed it nonetheless.

“A-hem.”

Both you and Yoongi tore your eyes away from each other to find Seolhyun standing at the opposite side of the table with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyebrows were furrowed and daggers shot from her eyes right into your own. The aura that came off of her was no less than intimidating and you felt as if your soul left your body.

Fuck.

↠↞

“What is she doing here?!” Seolhyun barked as she took a seat.

“I asked her to come so just leave her be.” Yoongi spat.

You silently observed Seolhyun’s outfit; she wore a casual black dress that stopped above mid-thigh and had a deep v-neck line. A cream cardigan hugged her frame and she even made time to put on makeup and curl your hair. If your suspicions were correct, she dressed that way on purpose to use her looks to win back Yoongi somehow. Seolhyun was honestly gorgeous which made you nervous. What if it reeled him back in? 

She cleared her throat again and avoided eye contact with Yoongi. “Thank you for meeting with me.” Her voice grew softer and softer towards the end of her sentence and she fiddled with the ends of her hair. This gave off a vulnerable look, almost “cute”. 

“Okay.” Yoongi said sharply.

The tension in the air was suffocating and all you wanted to do was run away, but Yoongi kept his hand on your knee underneath the table to keep you at bay.

“So? Anything else you need to say?” Yoongi kept the same tone of voice, annoyed. He truly didn’t want to be here.

“Sigh. I’m sorry okay? God, can we just talk without you being mad at me?!” Seolhyun raised her voice a bit.

“Of course I’m mad! How the hell am I supposed to be feeling? You cheated on me!” Yoongi raised his voice as well and you were even more nervous. You three were sitting in public with students walking by and you were praying to God that everyone was just minding their own business.

“Y-You cheated on me too! You—!” She pointed at him. “—kissed her!” Her finger was now on you.

Yoongi furrowed his brows and squeezed your knee. “Alright, fine. I kissed her once and like I said, I knew I had to tell you because I was feeling so fucking guilty about what I did. You were my girlfriend, Seolhyun! I had to be honest with you.”

Seolhyun tightly pursed her lips together, probably stopping herself from saying anything else.

“How…” Yoongi breathed. “How long have you been…”

Your eyes softened at the sight of Yoongi faltering. He didn’t want to say it. You reached beneath the table to hold that had that was on top of your knee. Instantly, you watched his shoulders relax.

“Um…” Seolhyun chewed on her bottom lip and picked at the skin around her nails. “Just-Just once..”

Bullshit.

“Don’t you think Yoongi deserves a lot more honesty that?” You boldly questioned. Talking was never part of your agenda, but it’s true, he deserved to know the truth after tearing himself apart from agonizing over his self-worth.

“Excuse me?” Seolhyun stared you down and you couldn’t back down no matter how much you wanted to.

“I–I don’t think you’re telling him the truth.” You tried to sound confident, but your stutter gave it away.

Seolhyun scoffed and crossed her arms. “Who do you think you—”

“She’s right. I don’t think you’re telling me the truth either.” Yoongi interjected. “For Seung Ho to talk to y/n about our situation kind of shows how close you two really are.”

“My thoughts exactly.” You said softly.

Seolhyun aggressively scratched the back of her head. “Ugh. Two months!” She blurted out. “Two-fucking-months! There’s the truth! Happy now?”

Your eyes widened then turned to Yoongi who was looking in Seolhyun’s direction with an empty expression. After remaining quiet for about a minute, a low chuckle pushed past his lips.

“Is that why we’ve been fighting so much lately?” There were hints of both sadness and anger in his tone. “This was why you’ve been so short with me? You would cut our dates short—it was because you would rendezvous with Seung Ho?”

“Y-Yoongi.” You whispered and gently rubbed the back of his hand, trying to calm him down.

“Do you know what the fuck I’ve been going through because of this?! I continuously questioned what I was doing wrong—was I not making you happy anymore? Did I do something to piss you off? Was I not buying you enough flowers on the weekends? Altering my class schedule to match yours wasn’t enough? Skipping class to spend time with you? I talked my friends’ ears off trying to figure out why I didn’t seem important in your eyes anymore…” Yoongi kept his head down and squeezed your hand to the point where his nails could draw blood from your skin. “Was I not enough for you…?”

Seolhyun parted her lips but hesitated to say anything. She also dropped her head, possibly trying to get everything in her mind organized.

“Yoongi, I’m so sorry.” She said sadly.

For the first time in a while, she sounded genuine.

“You were enough for me, but I—I guess… I guess I was being selfish and I wanted more.” Seolhyun lifted her eyes in search of Yoongi’s but he still kept his head down.

“You could’ve told me.” Yoongi choked out. “You could’ve talked to me about how you were feeling and maybe—maybe things could’ve worked out.”

It was your turn to lower your head. This was truly an issue between Yoongi and Seolhyun. There was no reason for you to inject yourself into the conversation anymore.

“Is there any way we could work past this?” Seolhyun asked.

Yoongi finally met her eyes. “No. No way in hell.”

He fumbled with your hand to let go and reached into his pocket to pull out his keyring and wallet. He detached Seolhyun’s dorm key and pulled out a polaroid photo of her from inside his wallet. “Here. I don’t need these anymore.”

Yoongi reached back underneath the table in search of your hand and you stealthy met him halfway.

“Please. Just go, Seolhyun. We’re done here.” Yoongi said firmly.

Seolhyun sat there for a couple seconds and then reached forward to retrieve her belongings. As she stood up from the table, she kept her eyes on Yoongi hoping he would say something else, but he remained silent. Shortly after, Seolhyun took her leave without Yoongi sparing her a single glance.

↠↞

Even with the hustle and bustle of students walking all over campus, the world had never been so quiet. Yoongi had his head down, face buried in the crook of his elbow while still holding onto your hand. You weren’t sure when was the best time to speak, so you kept quiet waiting for him to break the silence first.

It almost physically hurt staring at Yoongi. He had been bottling up so many painful emotions to the point where it almost consumed him. He didn’t deserve to go through this.

“Y/n?” Yoongi finally spoke, but the rest of his sentence was muffled behind his coat sleeve.

“I-I’m sorry, Yoongi. I can’t really hear you.”

“Thank you for coming with me.” He turned his head and made heavy eye contact with you. “Saying all those things… I don’t think I would've been able to do it on my own, but you being here gave me strength to do so.”

His words caused a noticeable blush to form on your cheeks. He chuckled and sat up straight to tuck a few of your hairs behind your ears.

“I think you have enough time left to get to your next class from here. I’ll walk you.” Yoongi lifted you up by your arm and you almost didn’t want to go to class. All you wanted was to sit around and hold his hand all day. The thought of that made you blush even more and this made Yoongi laugh a little harder. “What’s the matter with you? Come on.”

Unfortunately, Yoongi didn’t hold your hand when he walked you to class. This was probably because it felt too soon to do so in public. It’s not like he and Seolhyun were the campus couple, but people might get the wrong idea if they knew they were dating.

After the whole thing with Yoongi and Seolhyun, it made it even harder for you to concentrate. Now that they were broken up, who knows if Yoongi still had anymore underlying feelings for her. They were together for a year, so there had to be some leftover right? Plus, Yoongi made a comment the other night about how he thought about why you kissed him and that he “figured it out.” This meant a whole new conversation, a whole new reason to be nervous.

Fucking great.

This was a conversation you weren’t looking forward to. You needed to prepare yourself somehow, but it seemed like no matter how much you could mentally prepare yourself, you still wouldn’t be ready. After knowing Yoongi for roughly a little over two years and falling for him like an idiot, never in your life did you imagine him finding out about how you felt about him.

You would be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t even a little happy. You kissed Yoongi, held his hand, and even shared a bed with him with your feelings unknowingly exposed in the air. It made you giddy; butterflies roaming around in your stomach, fighting the urge to smile whenever you thought about him. If only the circumstances were different, life would’ve been near perfect for you.

Class dragged on, notes were written down, doodles were drawn, and next thing you knew, you were tying your work apron around your waist.

“Where’s Yoongi? He didn’t walk you here?” Seokjin asked.

“Nah. His energy gauge was pretty much empty by the time he was done talking with Seolhyun so he decided to just nap for a few hours.”

“Okay, so, what’s the tea?” Seokjin stood near you, eagerly waiting for you to tell him all the juicy details.

You playfully shoved him away and walked over to the espresso machine. “I’m not saying anything until Hani gets here.”

“Aw, come on, y/n. She won’t be here till like five or something!”

You chuckled to yourself and continued to ignore all of Seokjin’s pleads for information.

The moment Hani walked through the coffee shop doors, the first words she shouted was “okay bitch, bring forth the tea!”—this was said with a shop full of students. You were immediately put on the spot, but Hani’s intentions meant well.

You made sure to include all details of the confrontation when you told Seokjin and Hani about it. You also made sure to keep your voice low because you weren’t sure who knew Seolhyun, Yoongi, or even Seung Ho. This wasn’t your story to tell, but both Hani and Seokjin were there from the beginning so it seemed fitting for them to know it all too.

Evening came just as quickly as your shift started. Hani didn’t mean to stay so late, but she got pretty invested in the situation between Seolhyun and Yoongi. Both you and Seokjin did his best to keep all of Hani’s reactions at bay, but you had to admit, it was entertaining. At least she was nice enough to help the coffee shop employees close up.

“Wouldn’t your knight in shining armor show up by now?” Hani joked. 

“You need to relax—oh, bye!” You chuckled and threatened her with a broomstick and waved two of your co-workers who were heading out.

“It’s true, y/n. He’s supposed to waltz in here and be like ‘my lady, I have arrived. Your chariot awaits.’” Seokjin pranced around the room and even bowed and took your hand in his.

“And by ‘chariot’, you mean his legs right? Because the dorms are within walking distance?” You laughed.

“Well, yes, b-but anyways let me finish,” Seokjin cleared his throat. “So your knight in shining armor swoops in—” he went from holding your hand to picking you up bridal style. “—picks you up and saves you from the dungeon aka the coffee shop! And then Yoongi says—”

“Seokjin, what in zakum’s name are you doing?”

At the mention of his name coming from behind him, Seokjin froze in his tracks and turned around to find Yoongi staring at him with a questionable look.

“I—uh—” Seokjin panicked, almost dropping you on the floor but he still managed to place you back on your feet. “Alrighty-roo, well, Hani—babe, shall we take our leave?”

All Hani could do was laugh until her stomach hurt and Seokjin dragged her out of the coffee shop by her hand; she laughed so much that she could barely properly say bye to you and Yoongi.

“Do I even want to know?” Yoongi asked hesitantly.

“No, you really don’t.”

Yoongi helped you flip up the chairs onto the table while you continued to sweep the floor. As you two cleaned up, you proceeded to tell him about your day and apologized for telling Seokjin and Hani what happened in the afternoon. He brushed it off because he also trusted them.

Unlike your busy day, Yoongi spent his entire day eating, sleeping, and watching netflix; he exaggerated that it was a packed schedule. He even mentioned that Seolhyun still tried to call and text him, but he ignored every single attempt.

“You know, I think she dressed up that way today to lure you back to her with her looks.” You confessed.

“Huh. You think so?” Yoongi walked behind the counter where you were wiping around the sink.

You shrugged your shoulders. “Yeah, I mean, it’s been pretty cold lately and she shows up in an outfit that could barely keep her warm. She curled her hair, put on makeup, like why is doing all of that necessary to meet up with you? It seems so—what?”

Yoongi was just staring at you with a smirk plastered on his face. “Were you worried that it was going to work?”

A blush bloomed on your cheeks. “N-No. I just think it was ridiculous, that’s all.”

He stepped closer and stood behind you, placing his hands on the metal countertop to cage you in between his arms.

“You know, you observe others pretty well but from my observations from knowing you, you kind of suck at lying.” Yoongi laughed and you forced a chuckle out. You weren’t going to even deny it.

From the counter, Yoongi lifted his hands to secure them around your waist, hugging you from behind. You made a few attempts to move around to clean the counter properly, but he remained.

“Yoongi, I have to clean.” You chuckled.

“Just—” He briefly let you go to spin you around so he could hug you from the front. “Five minutes. Let’s stay like this for five minutes, please.”

It was such a genuine request, how could you say no?

Yoongi was leaning into you with his face buried in the crook of your neck. You had your arms lazily slung around his shoulders and just listened to his faint breathing. The blonde tips of his hair tickled your nose a bit, so you gently slide your hand across his nape to brush down his hair. He hugged you tighter at your sudden action and sighed.

“You’re really going to touch me like that, y/n?” The teasing tone in his voice was enough to raise your temperature and cause a blush to appear on your cheeks.

“Y-Yoongi!” You tried to push him away, already feeling embarrassed, but he just continued to hold you.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Yoongi snickered. “It’s fine, keep touching my hair.”

You were still feeling embarrassed because that was the first time Yoongi used that tone of voice with you. Nonetheless, you listened and continued to stroke his hair. Thankfully he didn’t wear that awful beanie.

Yoongi didn’t say another word and every once in a while, he’d caress your back and readjust himself. Small sparks ignited at the simplest touch and for some reason you wanted to laugh. This was everything you wanted but it did confuse you as to how comfortable Yoongi was doing all of this to you. All you did was kiss him once and the next moment he’s acting as if you two were dating for years.

“Okay, I’m recharged. Continue your cleaning.” He emerged from your body and cupped your cheek. Even if you were the one embarrassed, Yoongi still had a hue of pink displayed at the tops of his cheeks.

For the next ten minutes, you swiftly cleaned up the stations and tossed out the garbage in the dumpster out back. Yoongi waited patiently and even gathered all of your things for you from the back room.

“So you’re opening tomorrow?” Yoongi asked whilst helping you adjust your hoodie.

“Sadly, yeah. So we can talk first then I’ll head straight to bed.”

“We can talk tomorrow, it’s fine. You need your rest.”

“B-But—”

Yoongi stole another kiss from you, probably to shut you up and it worked; it left you utterly speechless. You had to get used to this somehow.

“Tomorrow.” Yoongi whispered. “For now, let’s go home.”

Home?

There was no doubt that Yoongi was referring to your dorm as home since he stayed there the entire day. The idea of him considering your place as “home” gave you butterflies.

Home was a safe sanctuary. Home was a place where someone can easily unravel themselves to be at peace. Home was where the heart was and Yoongi was there with you.

“Yeah.” You blushed. “Let’s go home.”

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♡ rae jagi

[ds-ts-smut-fics]

Sweet On You [Chapter Four]

Summary: Moxiety sugar daddy/sugar baby au [Daddy Patton, baby Virgil, transboy Virgil, switch Virgil, dom Patton, fwb analogical, romantic moxiety, sympathetic Deceit, romantic loginceit], hurt/comfort

Trigger warnings: Nsfw, “female” body parts described on Virgil, everyone- including virgil -jokingly calls Virgil a slut, dysphoria mentions, shitty parenting, lmk if i missed anything

A/N: Sorry for the late chapter!! ~Virgil

When Patton wakes up the next morning, Virgil is gone. On the kitchen counter is a note and a few twenties. 

Daddy, 

Parents needed me for something, didn’t want to wake you. Text me later. 

~Virgil

Yawning, he smiles softly, taking the money and thinking of foods to make with it. "Going to have to do an inventory of the cabinets and go shopping." Soon completing it, he grins, adding to the note with a nearby pen.

My darling baby, 

No worries, I've done an inventory of cabinets and headed out for dinner supplies!

~Patton 💙

*** 

Virgil meets Logan at the cafe they always meet at between classes, finding him at a table near the window. He slouches down in the chair across from Logan, groaning and hitting his head on the table. 

Stirring his coffee and raising an eyebrow, Logan hums. "That good or that bad?"

Virgil raises his head long enough to glare and say, “I saw my parents this morning,” and drops his head back down with a painful thump. 

Logan's eyes widen. "Fuck."

“One of their business partners or friends or I don’t fucking know, they’re getting married in a few months and my parents were invited to the wedding.” Virgil sighs, pulling Logan’s coffee towards him and stealing some. “They want me to come,” Virgil says after swallowing. “It’s in the next town over, so I’d be with them all weekend.” 

"Oh dear… would they accept me as a date and all that? You could take your daddy, but… Could he survive your parents?" 

He thinks for a minute. “I don’t know… That they would accept me bringing a date, I mean. Obviously Patton wouldn’t be able to survive my parents."

Arching an eyebrow higher, Logan hums. "Can't survive or you don't want to subject him to…?"

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s never meeting my parents.” 

He eyes Logan suspiciously. The bags under his eyes are a little darker than usual, and he seems tired. He keeps zoning out. 

“Have you eaten today?” 

Humming, Logan waves him off. "Why wouldn't I have eaten? You're being ridiculous again!" 

“Logan.” Virgil leans forward- He doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to argue. “Do I look like someone who likes to be lied to?” 

Wincing, Logan deflates and rubs his face tiredly. "What day is today? I think I ate an apple on Wednesday and some chips Thursday…"

“I gave you money for dinner last night,” Virgil snaps. He gets up, grabbing Logan’s hand and throwing down some money for the coffee. He drags Logan out of there. 

"I forgot until it was too late for places to be open… I'm sorry?" Letting himself get dragged, he stumbles after his friend with a yawn.

“You could have at least gotten some fast food,” he grumbles, ushering him into the passenger seat of his car. 

Before he can even blink, Logan’s sitting across from Virgil at a restaurant, a huge plate with big portions sitting in front of him. Virgil ordered for him, and had done it well- It was all of Logan’s favourite foods. 

Sighing as he nibbles at the toast, Logan shrugs. "That would have meant leaving the library and thus losing access to a place to sleep."

Virgil stares at him. “Your dorm can’t be that bad.” 

Before he can stop his sleepy tongue, Logan laughs. "That implies that my parents sent the school money for me to have a bed in the dorms." 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Virgil looks furious. “You didn’t tell me that! You think if I knew you didn’t have a bed that I’d send you out of the apartment for the night?! What else haven’t you told me?” 

Shrugging, Logan eats more toast and eggs. "Told you they cut off everything they could… If it wasn't in my name, I don't have it anymore. So, no car, credit card… nothing but what the scholarship gets me and my savings account? Don't worry about the bed, all the libraries have decent couches and it gets me more study time."

“They took everything?” Virgil is in shock. When Logan told him his parents cut him off, he thought he meant his allowance. As much as his parents couldn’t stand the way Virgil lived, they would never completely cut him off. “Have they even checked in at all?” 

Sighing, he nods slightly. "Does yelling count? They didn't stop my cell, so they can call occasionally and 'talk' about me stopping the sugar baby thing."

Virgil rolls his eyes. “Because that’s so easy to do now that you’re fucking broke. You don’t even have a sugar daddy!” He cries. “They just saw the forum app on your phone!” 

Blushing, Logan admits softly, "I had been chatting with a daddy… They scared him away and I think he told others that I'm cold and impersonal because my father sent some messages from my phone."

Virgil frowns deeply. “Really? God, I’m so sorry.” He shakes his head. “Well, nevermind that. After we eat, we’re gonna swing by your dorm and grab your stuff. You can have one of the guest bedrooms.”

His head snaps up and he stares like Virgil has two heads. "Really?! But, what about… Patton?"

“Logan,” he laughs, “you’re my best friend. If you think I’m going to let you continue on like you have, you’re fucking crazy. I’m already planning on revenge on you for waiting so long to tell me. If Patton can’t handle you being there, then tough. You come first.” 

Blushing, Logan plays with a napkin, grumbling. "It's only been like a month!" 

“Eat your food.”

"Fiiine…" Eating slowly to savour it, Logan hums. "So… How'd the date go? Did Patton live up to the expectations?"

Virgil grins deviously. “You have no idea. Lo- He’s perfect. He’s so great.” 

Smirking softly, he nods. "A perfect fit, hmmm? Tried him out already?"

“Well, duh, but I wasn’t talking about the sex! I mean, I know in a normal arrangement like what you’re looking for, the sex is kind of important, but-” Virgil shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. “He’s great, Logan. He’s so cute and sweet and funny.”

"Compatibility is important to any relationship. I know it's not the full picture though. I meant to ask how your relationship requirements meshed with what he provided…" 

“He’s perfect. He’s so cuddly and affectionate. Between going from the restaurant to my apartment, he bought me a flower.”

Whistling softly, Logan sighs. "Does he have a tall, dark, and handsome brother?"

“Pfft. Maybe.” Virgil laughs. “We’ll find you a daddy. Promise. Just keep checking your profile. Have you gotten any messages today?” 

Pulling out his phone, he sighs softly as he checks messages. "A couple… Sound kind of 'used car salesman' type, ick!"

Virgil makes a face. “Yeah, don’t trust those guys, they won’t treat you right.”

Sighing, he deletes the messages. "Yeah…" At some point I'm going to have to, though, just for money. 

“Come on.” Virgil covers the bill and the tip, getting a box for Logan’s leftovers. “Let’s go get your stuff. You might not believe me, but your new room has a bed.” 

*** 

Huffing a little, Logan sets down the last box of books. "I'm sorry… I hadn't realized I had this much stuff? I'm a bit surprised that my former roommate let me store them under his bed!"

Virgil just waves him off, starting to clear the guest bedroom’s bookshelf so Logan can fill it with his own stuff. “Not a problem. We’ve got enough room here.” 

"True…" Pushing his suitcase and backpack over, he smiles at Virgil. "Still, thank you for extending a welcome? Are you sure it's okay with your new daddy?"

“I’m about to text him right now.” Virgil rolls his eyes. “Honestly, Logan, if he’s not okay with it, I don’t care. I care more about you.”

Anxiety: 

I’ve got something to tell you 

Patton:

Go ahead, baby… everything okay? 

Anxiety:

Logan’s situation was worse than I thought. He’s moving in with me. 

Patton:

Oh my, but of course! Does he have any favorites that I should get at the store, baby?

Virgil sends him a list of Logan’s favourite foods, mostly healthy foods aside from his favourite jam, and a little extra money. 

Just as he’s about to put his phone away, it rang. His mom’s face comes across the screen, and he holds back a groan as he answered. 

“Yeah?” 

His mother's half-bored tone rings through clearly. "Darling… do remember your date tonight at the Sea Scallop? 7pm, with Shane…" 

“What if I’m busy tonight? You could have let me know ahead of time.”

There's a small huff and the sound of a glass being set down as she replies. "What could you possibly be busy with? You don't study, and Logan knows that your dates come first. You need to find someone, tick tock, darling!" 

There are two things that gave Virgil dysphoria faster than anything else. 1- His period, and 2- His mom talking about his fucking biological clock again. 

“Hold on. Why the hell would Logan think my dates come before him?” Virgil’s eyes flick nervously to Logan, who’s still unpacking, and now watching Virgil talk curiously. 

"His mother said she told him that if he didn't want to marry you then he had to learn to step aside for your dates. Why would a friend be more important than your duty anyway?" The sarcasm on the word friend hung heavy as if implying there was a secondary motive for the relationship or she had trouble believing that anyone could have a friend.

Virgil is at a loss. He has so much he wants to say to her, yet, in this moment, he can’t remember any of it. “Whatever,” he mumbles tiredly. “I’ll be there.”

"Of course you will… Just ask for the Alfred reservation or for Shane's table and be there at 7pm sharp, darling?" Her tone a clear dismissal, she waits for an acknowledgment before hanging up.

“Yeah, whatever.” 

Virgil shoves his phone in his pocket and sighs. “I have a date tonight,” he tells Logan. “Just- Don’t tell Patton, okay?” 

Sighing, Logan offers a hug. "Okay… he does know, though? About your parents setting you up on dates, right?"

Virgil cuddles into his arms. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned it? That’s a whole, long talk that I don’t want to have yet. We’ve agreed not to be exclusive, though, so I’m not cheating on him or anything. I just don’t want to upset him.” Humming, Logan rubs his back gently. "Not saying it has to be today, or soon… but at some point, tell him? Let him support you, V."

“I mean, what’s the point?” Virgil groans, burying his face in Logan’s shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, who cares?”

Smiling softly, Logan pets Virgil's hair with a hum, leading them back to the bed for easier cuddling. "Perhaps it's because my parents cut me off, but… it could happen to you, too? You should have someone other than me in your corner, someone who can support your voice and give you strength for when they're assholes, V. I don't want you to be alone when facing their bullshit?"

“Logan, if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that as long you’re alive, I’ll never be alone.”

Laughing softly, Logan nods, pressing their foreheads together. "That's true!" 

Virgil grins widely, cupping Logan’s face in his hands and squeezing his eyes shut. Logan never fails to make him stupidly, euphorically happy. 

Whistling softly, Patton knocks with arms loaded with grocery bags. "Virgil, my darling? I need a little help!"

Virgil pulls away from Logan, kissing him on the forehead. “Get some rest. I’ll get you when it’s ready.” 

Logan nods, settling back on the bed. "Okay…"

Virgil comes back downstairs, helping Patton bring the groceries into the kitchen. “So what are you making tonight?”

Setting bags down, he hums. "I was planning on tofu and veggie stir fry, setting it over rice and making a garlic sauce for it… how does that sound?"

Virgil hums, smiling. “It sounds amazing. I do have somewhere to be by 7, though, just so you know. I only just found out or else I would have told you earlier.”

"Oh! Okay… hmm, I think several of the veggies and tofu can keep for a later time? What kind of a thing, work, parents, or ...?" Putting groceries away, he keeps out his ingredients, starting to wash veggies.

“My parents are forcing me on a business meeting,” he says easily, shrugging It isn’t a total lie… 

Nodding, he sets up the pans to start cooking. "Should I wait for you, keep Logan company, or should I head out after food and see you later, baby?"

Virgil thought for a minute. “I think Logan might want some alone time tonight. He’s been through a lot, I think he needs time to digest it. We’ll find time to hang out tomorrow.” Virgil got up to make himself a mug of coffee, humming. “What about you? Are your parents as nightmarish as mine?”

Chuckling as he works, Patton shakes his head. "Nah, I think mine could only be described as wacky hippies? Dad is a therapist and Ma is… a sweet ditz of a housewife?"

“They sound great,” Virgil says sincerely. “I guess they must’ve been, to raise you.”

Blushing a bit, Patton nods, leaning over and stealing a kiss. Virgil’s face turns pink. 

Humming into the kiss, he slowly pulls back to stir the veggies. "So, how did you and Logan meet? He seems like a good friend to you!"

Virgil blushes. How was he supposed to explain this? “Well, our parents set us up on a date- Before Logan’s parents cut him off -and we just really liked each other. Only not romantically.”

"Huh! Well, I guess your parents aren't doing too well on being dating help, but I'm glad you found a friend!" Stroking Virgil's cheek, he hums softly. "Are they… They support your identity at least?"

Virgil hesitates. So many landmines to avoid… “Oh, you have no idea about the dating thing.” He forces a laugh. “They’re constantly trying to set me up with people. They get mad if I try to refuse a date.”

"O-oh… They don't know about us, do they?" Squeezing Virgil's hand, he sighs.

“... No,” he says quietly. “And they probably won’t. At least for a while.” God, he was going to end things, wasn’t he? They agreed already to be open, but… 

"I can practically see your mind working, baby… relax. It's, it's okay. If it helps smooth things with your parents, you can keep dating them and me." Taking Virgil's hand, he kisses his knuckles. 

“It’s not like that,” he promised. “It’s just… A bunch of one night stands, pretty much. Nothing ongoing.”

Looking over Virgil a moment, he nods. "Free meal and sex, nothing more serious?"

“Pretty much.” He laughed. “They’re pretty much just queer kids their parents are trying to unqueer, like me.”

Chuckling, Patton sighs. "Well… I'll try not to be jealous of my baby's other dates so long as you come home to me?"

Virgil gave him a soft kiss. “Of course, daddy.”

Hums, turning the heat down a little as they kiss. "Good boy…"

Virgil moaned softly, pressing closer and winding his fingers in Patton’s hair. 

"Mmm~ dinner on hold for now, baby?" Gently grabbing a handful of Virgil's ass, he chuckles.

“As much as I want to say yes,” he checked the time- it read 5:30, “I really don’t have that much time.”

"Why do I feel like cursing your mother?" Kissing him softly, he tucks Virgil into his side as he finalized the sauce, warming the stir fry. 

“Should I go get Logan?” 

"Set the table first, baby. Then you can get your friend." 

Virgil grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you telling me what to do?” 

Raising an eyebrow at him, Patton grins. "It's a reasonable request from your daddy, baby…"

Virgil came up to him and chuckled. “I don’t listen to orders,” he said, gave Patton a soft kiss, and went upstairs. 

He knew he’d pay for that later. 

Snorting softly, Patton set a hand on his hip, planning out a light punishment in his mind as he set the table and got food ready. Virgil came back with his hand in Logan’s, hiding a smirk. 

Logan looks between them, seeing his friend's defiant posture and Patton's light frown. "Oh my… You're testing him, aren't you, V?"

“Are you really surprised?” Virgil took a seat at the table, in between Logan and Patton. 

Rolling his eyes as he sat, Logan hums at the lovely smell of the dinner. "Not really?"

Patton takes Virgil's plate and fills it, grasping his chin to pull him into a kiss as he sets it down. "You're not leaving your chair until you finish your food, baby boy… and you have earned a punishment for later with that defiance earlier."

Virgil’s face turned pink. “But that portion is huge!” 

Leaning close, Patton smirks. "So am I, but we know you can take me, baby~!"

Virgil only blushed harder. “Let’s just eat, before we kill Logan,” he grumbled. 

Logan snickers, taking some food and watching the exchange. "Oh, don't stop on my account… this is hilarious!"

Virgil glared at him. “Patton, if you happen to know any daddies, Logan’s looking for one.”

Patton grins. "Oh really? I don't, sadly… well, not any good ones."

“Ah, lame,” Virgil grumbled through a mouthful of food. “He’s been lookin’ for ages.” 

"Sorry, love. If I see a decent one, I promise to send him Logan's way?" Patton shrugs, eating his food with a low hum. "Chew before you talk, baby…"

Virgil raised an eyebrow, chewing with his mouth open and then swallowing. “What?” 

Patton points with his fork. "Baby, if you don't want to go to this date with a red ass, you best behave! I will take you over my knee and spank you!"

Virgil blushed. “Daddy,” he hissed, “Logan’s right there.”

Patton leans in closer with a slight smirk and pats Virgil's cheek. "Then you best be on your best behavior, love!"

He huffed and continued eating. “Fine.” 

Logan giggles, eating with a happy smile.

"Good boy!" Stroking Virgil's cheek, Patton grins and kisses him before turning back to his plate.

Virgil finished eating, watching Patton and Logan interact. He couldn’t help but smile. Logan was the single most important person in the world to him- It meant everything that the two of them could get along. He wanted more than anything to stay, and just hang out with them, but he knew his parents would make him regret it if he skipped out on this date. 

“Alright,” Virgil sighed, his plate cleaned. “I’m gonna go get ready. I should leave soon.” 

"Alright, baby… Thank you for cleaning your plate. Put it in the sink on your way to get dressed, darling? Oh, and if you don't kiss me before you leave, I will follow you until I get one!" Patton grins, winking at him.

Virgil bit his lip to stop from giggling, hurrying up the stairs. He hurried to throw on clothes that his parents would just barely approve of- A black blazer over a purple shirt with a cat face on it, and some black jeans - sitting down to do his makeup. 

Once he had on his signature eyeliner and eyeshadow, he headed back downstairs. 

Patton was just finishing dishes when he saw Virgil coming down and whistled. "Wow, baby… C'mere, darling, give your daddy a kiss!"

Virgil grinned and came over to him, cupping Patton’s face in his hands and standing on his tiptoes to kiss him. Leaning in, he hums as he kisses Virgil deeply as he slides his arms around him. 

Virgil reluctantly pulled away. “I should get going.” 

Nodding, Patton strokes his face. "I know… I'll head home soon after giving Logan a tour of the food I brought for you two, okay? Have a good night and message me when you're home safe, baby boy."

Virgil leaned into his touch, nodding. “Okay, daddy. See you soon.” 

Virgil forced himself to pull away. He grabbed his wallet and keys, offered Patton a small smile before leaving for his date.

Tag list:

@useless-gay-baby @nsfsanders @sinfulstorytime @felicianoromano @xpouii @chocolocosstuff @lexi-love99 @dn-fan21

[taeguboi]

BTS as... ‘ordinary’ employees

Okay so when I say ‘ordinary’ I mean as in not famous basically. This is more what I just have personally imagined them doing and I think I’ve lost that somewhat ‘realistic’ touch I used to have a few years back when I was more of an avid writer for this blog and could have an idea of their actual personalities, current likes, etc. This is also in no way a reflection of what I think they are and aren’t capable of so please don’t scream at me if your bias has a ‘lower’ role than you might have expected.

Sorry I do like to blabber on before these things, don’t I? 

I hope everybody is staying safe anyways and happy imagining!

BTS as... Masterlist here

RM

Pawn Shop Sales Assistant

learning everything about every thing

if you have an object to sell for cash

he probably knows everything about it

or at least like a lot about it

his career is in early days right now

because it’s a family trade

but he learns from the best

but asks not to be favourited over other staff just because he’s the manager’s son

like you know he wants someone to tell him if they think he didn’t get a good deal for that ring

no special treatment please

sometimes uses a bit of the old charm to get a good deal

many girls like that

some of the guys not so much

especially the boyfriends

whoops

meets his wife there

she’s a fairly regular customer

buying good finds from charity shops

or finding stuff in the house

and taking them to the pawn shop to get by and save up a little

they really click

after like the 11th visit he finally plucks up the courage to ask her out

“so, uh... I clock off soon and I was wondering if....

uh....”

and he gets quite flustered because he really likes her

“... would you like to maybe grab a coffee with me?”

and she sort of teases him to fluster him

“I don’t like coffee”

“Oh erm....”

“Just kidding”

and inside he’s like “don’t DO that to me!”

fast forward a few years and he’s got a kid with her

but anyway back to joon as an employee

has many many friends in and around the industry

just people over the years who he’s needed to contact to double check some stuff about an item

sometimes there’s the odd nutter who comes into the shop

like any shop really let’s be honest

but oddly enough, Namjoon has a calming effect on them

maybe he’s just really patient

maybe he has great negotiating skills

but if someone kicks off at one of his colleagues

it’s resolved in under ten - fifteen minutes

he reasons with people who are shocked to find out that their gold isn’t actually real gold

or negotiates with those who thought they had something worth more

or sometimes just has to outright sass back at the aggressive ones

but most people find him to be an agreeable guy

banter with his dad / manage

rand although he gets on with everyone there

there’s that one colleague that just becomes his best mate

and this mate is also in on the banter

but again, there’s no staff feeling left out or not getting the same treatment

it’s a family business

and anyone that helps them along the way is family too

Jin

Sales Assistant

in a big supermarket

stacking shelves

helps customers that can’t reach the higher shelves

such a gentleman

lovely customer service

some wish they could give him a tip

but he wouldn’t take it most of the time even if it was allowed

he doesn’t need to be paid to show basic kindness

it’s just manners really

but he doesn’t fully realise how much he goes above and beyond

very patient at explaining stuff to people

he’ll repeat directions 10 times if he has to

and he helps the elderly make smarter shopping choices

not that his manager knows that though

because he’s supposed to focus on building up bigger transactions

but what can he say

he’s just a people person

empathy and understanding levels are like 1000/10

a good bean

wish you could be served by him all the time

people purposely queue up at his lane when he’s on tills

because he just provides a friendly smile 

and pleasant conversation

“how was your day?”

and he’s not saying it because he has to

he’s genuinely interested in what everybody has to say

takes forever but becomes a supervisor

some of his workers often mistake his kindness for dumbness

is that a word, ‘dumb...ness’?

but actually he more than knows what he’s doing

cashes up faster than anyone else ever

has solid ideas to help both business and customer

and whilst it’s a bit difficult getting them out there to higher people

they go for it

from ideas about what customers have previously asked for that the store doesn’t - didn’t - have

to community projects courtesy of tokens from shoppers

even a park that gets set up nearby is named after him

he may seem like just a sales guy to an outsider

but really he’s the heart of the local community

Suga

Tech Support

the funniest you could come across

you know, if you were listening in to the way he deals with some

just pay attention and there won’t be any problems

sometimes he’ll have those days where he’s like

*sigh*

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

totally not an IT Crowd reference oops

but seriously that can work like half the time

used to work in some dull office

but took his work to his house

he can basically work wherever and whenever he wants now

as long as he’s got a laptop and a connection

that is the one change he made in his life that made him a lot happier

because although some might turn their noses up to a job like this

it suits him down to the bone

and he doesn’t really care to change career paths any time soon

is up to date with all the tech trends

owns one of everything

well most things

he even has like a drawer of many phones

it’s like a museum of the company he works for lmao

has this spare room that he turned into an office

which definitely could be mistaken for a man cave

the ultimate problem solver

in work and in life

like he can get a phone call about a super complex problem 

and he knows what to do just like that

or a mate has a problem with some relationship

and the reply he gives them is just wow

and he’ll have just made their problem sound a lot less stressful or problematic

loves to help people in and out of work

he understands that the people he is helping might be at their worst moment in their work

or it’s an older person desperately wanting to contact family

he doesn’t just solve the technological problems

he calms you at the beginning of the call

he motivates you at the end and wishes you luck

he talks you through the technology in layman’s terms so you can understand what it is you’re doing

and that attitude continues in his social life

he’s the sober friend when you’re crying in the club toilet drunk

he’s the friend that comes knocking on your door because he hasn’t heard from you in a while and he wants to check everything is okay

he will drop you a phone call the day after to see how you’re hanging

or just because

just because he’s an absolute sweetheart

J-Hope

College Tutor

the type that is fairly laid back

but won’t take any shit 

so go through your assignment at your own pace

just don’t take the mickey

like he will understand that you might have some personal shit going on

and he’ll extend a deadline under special circumstances

but don’t push your luck by lying to him

happy to have banter with the students

makes lessons fun

but also productive

actually the most productive class(es) of anyone’s day

he’s just one of those tutors you’d love 

because he’s engaging

and there’s that one other tutor that no one really likes

because this other guy is boring, dull, basically almost jealous of the students and their ambitions

and although Hoseok won’t say a bad word about his colleague

he can teach you more in half an hour than the other guy does in the entire year

and when you pass the unit he won’t even take credit for the significant part he played

really fucking modest

but he really is one of those teachers that builds lives

keeps quite to himself generally though

has just a small group of friends outside of the college

it’s important to him to keep professional and personal life different

just an overall cool guy

very fair

some say a bit boring

but he’s just sensible really

no one from colleges knows he has a wife

some girls swoon over him and speculate he could be single

and usually he’s oblivious to / ignores any flirting

he’s just here to do his job

he’s here to educate

and he’s here to help you

and he’s happy to help you

Jimin

Dance Instructor

yes, it’s a bit of a typical idea, sorry

but come on

dishy dance teacher whilst you try to learn a style of dance

some students may or may not purposely so bits wrong

because they know Jimin can sometimes be quite physical in his teaching

“Okay, no worries, let’s go back to that bit... It goes like...”

and he’s just behind you to guide you

nice

has his own dance school

holds sessions in the local community centre every weekday night

Monday: contemporary

Tuesday: Street Dance

Wednesday: Musical Theatre

Thursday: Tap

Friday: Ballet

the little un’s are in from 4pm - 5pm

preteens 5pm -6pm

teens / young adults 6pm - 7pm

and finally the adults at 8pm

it sounds like hard work

but dance is all Jimin knows

he’s more than used to is

his stamina is so good

and once his business as a teacher gets up and running

he can afford to put on shows 

to showcase all the hard work his students have done

every year, some time in spring

the nearest theatre in town

it’s not as successful as, say, the pantomimes at xmas

but there are plenty of family and friends of the students interested

parents come to watch their kids

adults come to watch their friends

and so on

He has so much faith in everyone

and is proud of every little achievement 

at kid’s tap class he’ll be like “wow Sally! that’s amazing! you did a pick up!”

or “keep it going Amanda, you can do it!” at adult ballet

but it’s not just dance achievements he’s interested about

the things you do in your life matter too

sometimes he can be like a therapist

pulls you aside after class if he doesn’t think you were quite as on it as usual today

“are you okay today? you seemed distracted”

yes by your beautiful presence

just kidding

kinda

and you can just tell him

he’s always there to listen if you need to talk about something that you don’t want to tell friends or family

he’s there for anything really

like maybe a teen is struggling with exams 

and his encouragement really contributes to them pulling through

“you passed maths! I’m so proud! I knew you could do it!”

and there’s always the big squeezy hug that follows

he loves everyone

everyone loves him

no one can say a bad word about him

like seriously, no one can

V

Vintage store owner

Tae always wanted to own a shop

ever since he was a kid

he didn’t quite know what it was that appealed to him

but just the idea of running a store that’s your own

that’s the dream he worked towards

ever since school

weekend jobs

errands for neighbours

he saved every penny

and invested it on the cute little building 

on the block before the high street

Not like a charity shop

well some of the stock is second hand

but that’s because it’s real vintage

actually not just vintage, further back than that

like some of his stock can be referred to as ‘antique’

anything that has history

everything in his little shop has a story

the decorative chandelier that belonged to a middle class family in the early 1900′s

a vase made in Japan that someone brought back from touring the country years ago

velvet upholstery that could have been part of a noble household in Europe

glassware from the 70′s with intricate design

just cool stuff

you could spend hours in his shop

knows a lot about antiques, collectables, etc

blink and you’ll miss if you want something there

if you see it and you love it the first time you go in

you better buy it

because it’ll be gone even by this evening

his knowledge makes him a brilliant sales person

because the way he delivers the information about an object

just makes you want to buy it

so as you can imagine, sales are always good

everyone within a couple miles radius probably has something in their home bought from Tae’s store

Jungkook

Firefighter

because phwoar

lmao sorry

wait, no I’m not

can’t you just imagine it though

the uniform

the muscles

okay sorry not sorry

a true hero 

like sure, all of his colleagues are too, of course

but he goes that little bit extra

takes more risks

he doesn’t let much scare him

passionate about what he does

can mean he gets a bit extra in other aspects of his life

because he knows the dangers of literally anything

like you leave the hairdryer plugged in a few minutes after using it and he’s like

“NOOO!”

*dramatically, almost full takes a leaping dive to get there, unplugs it*

adrenaline rushes

he lives for those

a very can do attitude

feels amazing after rescuing anyone from anything

it could be a cat in a tree, evacuating people in a flood, or a person from a house fire

if he has helped them, it’s all rewarding

just good at everything

the job of course prepared him for lots 

but he’s just like REALLY good at everything

first aid pro

ultimate calming skills

navigation and driving - smooth

excellent judgement

even the science behind it all, he knows more than enough

all that jazz

he often gives lessons to younger people

because it’s important that incidents can be prevented

he’s very popular when he makes appearances in schools

because all the girls fancy him

obvs

some guys too hahaha

and I don’t just mean the ones that are quite sure they might be gay

anyways

pretty close to being a real life super hero

like he has to work at unsociable hours

but everyone in the area knows him

there’s hardly a street he walks down without someone saying hello

and even when they’re experiencing some of the worst possible situations

he just brings smiles to people’s faces 

[ciarawritesmarvel]

a worthwhile catfish - steve rogers x reader

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Language maybe, I’m not gonna check tbh and dating app usage which in itself is a goof

A/N: Welcome to Day Eleven of Hello Spring by @ibwhellospring! Here’s a little something something for ya, with Steve and tinder and all around fluffy goodness. There is scope for a part two here so let me know if that’s something you’d read. Lots of love to youse all <3

Prompt: “Where should we meet?”

masterlist in my bio and tags in the reblog! please drop me an ask to be tagged in bucky, steve or all the hello spring pieces!

---

It was just a regular day, or so it seemed. You were sat in a little coffee shop, a cup of tea at your right hand and a delicious half eaten pastry at your left. Your laptop was perched in the middle of the table and you were getting on with some work that, strictly speaking, should have been sent off two days ago. You were rather lucky your boss was so understanding.

After an hour or so, you finished off the work and sent it off with a triumphant smile, clapping your laptop shut and then looking around as if someone else had done it when a few eyes glanced up from their plates. As you were finishing off your own drink, you haphazardly pulled your phone out of your pocket and your focus landed on the little app in the top corner.

It couldn’t hurt to have a little swipe.

You had a serious love-hate relationship with Tinder. Every few weeks you’d go through a cycle of a few days where you swiped with abandon, started conversations with a variety of different people and enjoying most of them. But invariably, it always ended the same, with you agreeing to a date with the one you liked the most and it going horribly. You’d swear off the app for a few weeks and then the cycle would start anew.

Clearly it had been a month since your last disaster date and it was time for you to find a new one.

You swiped left many, many times, mostly down to people’s bios rather than their looks, a couple of right swipes thrown in here and there but nothing spectacular.

After about five minutes, you swiped left again and found yourself on a page that brought the ghost of a smile to your lips involuntarily.

Steve Rogers. 100+.

The picture was of one Captain America, in a dark blue button up and jeans and taken in front of a gorgeous lake as he smiled.

It was clearly a catfish because there’s no way that the actual Steve Rogers would have tinder of all things, you expected he was probably more of a match.com kind of guy if anything. However, the bio was interesting and even concluded with a little America’s Sweetheart joke and you couldn’t help yourself. You swiped right.

Y/N: I know there’s an age difference here but I think we could make it work.

You decided you’d probably found the best you were going to find today and clicked your phone off, stuffing it into your back pocket and tidying up your table in preparation to leave.

You couldn’t wait to get home and put some fluffy socks on. Couldn’t. Wait.

---

It was just a regular day, or so it seemed. Steve was sat on his balcony at the tower, which he’d covered in plants and climbers just to ensure he had a little more privacy. The small window in the middle of these invasive plants offered him a beautiful view that he sketched from time to time. A chance to measure his progress, and mark his ever changing style.

Bucky was sat beside him, scrolling mindlessly through his phone and occasionally glancing over to Steve’s paper with a smug smile. Steve had asked to draw Bucky for a bit of a change and a bit of a challenge, but he’d politely declined and said that he didn’t need anyone staring at him intently as he went about his business. Steve certainly understood that.

“Wanna go for dinner later? Nat suggested this new place downtown, I don’t remember the name. Just the four of us, y’know, with Sam?”

Steve looked up from his work and smiled at his friend warmly.

“I’d like that Buck. 7pm?”

“Seven it is. I really want to eat a good-”

Bucky was cut off but a buzz from Steve’s phone, a familiar buzz that had both pairs of ears pricking up. Steve fumbled in his pocket to pull it out and check it.

Y/N Y/L/N. 30.

He read your message and Bucky saw his eyes light up and the corners of his mouth perk up just the slightest. His grin was huge.

“Found y’self a pretty dame, Stevie?” Bucky teased, drawling the words in a tone that had Steve rolling his eyes.

“It’s the first match I’ve had in ages. Don’t know why you even set this up for me.”

“It’s only ‘cause people think it’s not really you. You need to get yourself out there and Sam and I can’t trust you to do that yourself,” Bucky explained and Steve’s brow furrowed.

“Why would they think it wasn’t me? Who else would I be?”

“Think about it Rogers,” Bucky said, almost but not quite exasperated, “You’re the Captain America. That’s a pretty good way to get matches. I bet there’s hundreds of Caps on there.”

A quick and frantic search from Steve had him finding, much to his horror, the hundreds of Caps that Bucky had described, each one with different photos of him and different bios, mostly consisting of things he would never write under any circumstances. A few even made him choke back a gag. He looked back at his friend with a horrified gape.

“This is theft!”

“Not much you can do about it,” Bucky shrugged, “I’m surprised someone’s actually messaged you. She must either be really gullible or really desperate.”

Steve glowered at him.

“James,” he warned, “That’s an insult to her and to me.”

“Oh, you knew what I meant, just show me what she said.”

Y/N: I know there’s an age difference here but I think we could make it work.

Bucky stood up and crouched beside Steve to read the message and then turned his head to Steve, eyebrows raised with a smug grin adorning his face. Steve’s brow furrowed.

“What?”

“She doesn’t sound gullible,” he said, an amusement in his tone that Steve couldn’t place, “Or desperate.”

“...your point?”

‘Message her back, dipshit!”

Steve elbowed Bucky away from him and he stumbled back into his own chair with an over dramatic thud. He quickly started typing though, and Bucky’s grin only grew wider than before.

Steve: 70 years is nothing. The real problem here is that you’re way out of my league.

He briefly considered showing his response to Bucky before he sent it, but he was unwilling to have him change it and then it be sent without being fully his so he hit send and then held it out for Bucky to see. He nodded slowly, eyes alight with a shine of their own.

“You’ve got more game at 100 years old than you ever did at 20.”

A pause.

“Shut up Buck.”

---

Y/N: Morning sunshine. Any plans for the day?

Steve: I’ve got a super top secret ‘hush hush’ mission but other than that, not really. You?

Y/N: Ah right, of course. A mission. ;)

Steve: Still don’t believe I’m Steve Rogers, huh?

Y/N: Nope. But I’m talking to you anyway, so I think you should be flattered.

Steve: If you say so, sweetheart.

You looked up from your phone to make sure that none of your colleagues were watching you with a silly grin on your face, the slightly flustered look in your eye. Just one text with the word sweetheart in it from your current tinder crush ‘Steve’ had you an absolute mess, whether that be at work, at home or out with your friends. So far, you’d been caught grinning twice and full on laughing out loud once. That was a low point.

Y/N: I do say so. And I’ve got the day off, so I might have a date…

Y/N: ...with Netflix.

Steve: I’d be lying if I said you didn’t scare me for a minute there.

Y/N: And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to scare you for a minute there.

Steve: If you’ve got the day off and my super top secret hush hush mission should be wrapped up early afternoon, why don’t we actually meet up today?

If it was possible, your heart completely stopped. Your eyes went wide as you read and re-read the message on your screen, making sure you hadn’t seen it wrong, hadn’t made up what was happening. You were worried. Three weeks of talking to this guy practically all day, every day and you were already slightly smitten. But at the same time, you were 95% sure you were being catfished. If you agreed to this, you probably weren’t agreeing to meet Captain America, but instead some random man who was pretending to be him, and doing a damn good job at it too.

But he was sweet. Kind. Funny. You felt there could be something there, if it was given time.

Steve: Didn’t mean to scare you off, don’t worry, it was just a suggestion.

“Did you just double text? God, Steve, I have told you before, quite a number of times, that you don’t double text.”

“She wasn’t replying Nat, what was I supposed to do.”

Nat fixed him with a glare.

“Oh I don’t know, have some fucking patience?”

He rolled his eyes and left the room, flipping her off behind his back as he did and she chuckled sardonically at his retreating form. Men.

Y/N: Didn’t scare me off. I was just double checking my calendar. Where should we meet?

Where should we meet? Where should we meet? Where should we meet?

The words played over and over in your mind as you read them back to yourself. You were really doing this. Going with your gut wasn’t exactly a common occurrence for you, but then again, your love life hadn’t been that great. Maybe it was time to change things up.

Steve: Wherever you want. Ladies choice.

Y/N: I know a place that does great burgers.

Steve practically punched the air, and considered himself very lucky that he’d gotten away from Nat when he did. He would’ve really been in for some teasing otherwise.

Steve: Sounds perfect. :)

You quickly sent over the details and agreed to meet there at seven, effectively cutting the conversation short before you lost your cool at work. 7pm. You’d be meeting your mystery man. You quickly fiddled with your phone, making a decision.

You needed to call in a favour.

—-

Now, at 6:55pm exactly you stepped out of your car and walked into the restaurant, trying to ignore the way you felt you teetered in your heels and the irrational urge to pull your skirt down. It was unnecessary, as you’d chosen a just-above-the-knee red skater skirt with a white off the shoulder top for the occasion. Not too much, not too little. At least you hoped so.

Walking up the stairs inside to the actual restaurant area, you mused that at least you felt vaguely comfortable. This was one of your go-to spots with friends and dates alike, with its range of burgers, beef, chicken and non-meat that seemed to satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. One waitress skimming past gave you a bright smile, one that you returned as best you could, and even that was enough to bolster your confidence a little more.

One waiter saw you hanging around the door and came up to you, the smile on his face just a little too manic for your liking. In fact, looking around, everyone seemed a little...giddy.

“Hi, can I help you?” he asked, almost excitedly and you smiled kindly, if a little worriedly.

“I’m here for a date, he booked the table so…” you paused, unsure whether to say this but going for it anyway, “It might be under the name Rogers?”

The man gasped. Audibly. Incredibly loudly, in fact, to the point where other people eating in the vicinity looked up at you and you felt yourself getting more and more anxious, dropping your gaze to the ground. The moment you heard the giggles and whispers around you, though, your head snapped up again and your brow furrowed.

What the everloving fuck was going on here?

The man seemed to collect himself with a stern cough and a deep breath.

“Right this way, madam,” he said, in a far more deliberate voice than previously and your mind was going a mile a minute. You followed him through the restaurant, taking a right and then a left and then one final right before…

You were lead outside onto the terrace that nobody was ever allowed to eat on, the one reserved for VIPs and ridiculously rich people and there, through the double doors, sat a man who quickly stood up as soon as he saw you and in doing so, knocked his chair over.

You bit your lip to stop your giggles as he mumbled apologies and leaned down to pick the chair up. Huge biceps, broad shoulders and an incredible a-

He turned around.

“Holy shit!”

The expression was an involuntary one and you clapped your hand over your mouth in utter shock as you stared at the Captain America, who was looking equal parts embarrassed and smug. Capt- Steve, rather, asked the waiter to give you a few minutes and though he looked reluctant, he hastily left the balcony area. Just the two of you.

“Sorry about the balcony,” Steve said after a few moments of silence that you couldn’t fill, “I tried to stop them but they insisted.”

He still looked kind of embarrassed by this and you decided then and there that whatever strange awe you were in had to stop, for his sake rather than yours. The way in which he spoke was so familiar due to his texts, anyway, and it gave you a much needed reminder that this was the man you were developing a crush on.

“Probably for the best,” you said, taking your hand away from your mouth and smoothing out your skirt just to give it something to do, “There’s a lot of whispering going on in there.”

Steve winced and you realised that probably wasn’t the right thing to say but before you could apologise and change your story, he made the few steps over to you and the words died in your throat.

“You look-” he trailed off as he looked you up and down and you actually shivered, “-even more beautiful in person.”

His words sounded genuine even if you were in a perpetual state of disbelief that this was really happening. You spoke before you thought.

“And you’re actually Captain freaking America so this is going well so far.”

He laughed then, a freeing and somewhat gorgeous sound that didn’t look quite right coming from the lips of a man you had seen in such a serious light so many times on the TV or in the news. You quite liked it.

He moved over to pull your chair or for you and finally you moved, thanking him softly as you let him tuck you into the table. Once he had taken his own seat on the other side, he spoke up.

“So,” he began, and already there was a teasing note in his voice that had you smiling, “You agreed to come out on a date with me even though you were that sure I wasn’t who I said I was.”

You bummed thoughtfully, beginning to see where he was going and your lips parted, smile morphing into a grin.

“I did.”

“Well, it begs the question: why?”

You sat further back in your chair and pondered how to answer it. But truly, the only way you could answer was honestly.

“Because I liked you, whoever you were. You were sweet and funny. We had a lot in common. I had to find out whether this could be…”

You trailed off, unsure of how to finish but by the look shining in Steve’s eyes, you decided that maybe you’d said the right thing after all.

“Nice,” he said, sincerely though, not just as a throwaway comment, “Although this won’t be anything if these burgers aren’t good.”

And just like that, you were out to dinner with Steve and not Captain America.

And, as it turns out, you liked Steve an awful lot more anyway.

[superthiccthighssavelives]

Oceans

anonymous  asked:

could you do one where taron & his wife haven’t been intimate in a while because of their newborn and their getting kind of stressed, so one night he plans a super romantic night with just the 2 of them and it’s sweet and passionate? xx

Ok so, this was now my 2nd fanfic, and usually the kind of topic I am not good at writing, I wanted a challenge, and it took me all day, but I present this to you, anon, I hope this is what you wanted and that you love it! Please let me know. Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to branch out and expand my story palette.

So again, music played a giant part in the overall emotion and tone of this story, I suggest listening to these couple of songs to set the mood:

Oceans - Seafret

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpdXBjwXbMg

Angel - Massive Attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiK2JlBpzvI

I have a whole playlist, if anyone is interested, anyway, enough babbling! Here we go...Oh, obviously there is sex involved, some sweet nothings and a bit, very small bit of depression and insecurity. Onwards!

I stumbled sleepily down the hall, rubbing the remains of sleep from my eyes. I'm on autopilot now, no thinking or questioning it anymore. If you asked what I've done this month since (baby) was born, I could not tell you. Other than the obvious. I don't know when I've last spoken to my friends, or even my mom. It's been exhausting. Tiredness was now just 75% of my personality. The nightly tasks were routine;  change, feed, burp, rock. Like clockwork. Sometimes I fell asleep in the rocking chair to be woken by Taron in the early morning hours. He'd take over and I'd collapse back in our bed. I don't think we've spent too much time together in months. I can't lie and say it's been easy. If we talk, which is rare, it's about the baby. He's just returned from a movie shoot, and while I'm thankful he's home, it doesn't fix the distance between us at the moment. I don't even feel like a person right now. I'm just...here.

I never imagined my life going this way. Don't get me wrong, I was happy, I had a beautiful new baby, a lovely home and an amazing husband, but something was definitely missing lately. We hadn't been out just the two of us in over a year, I don't even remember when the last time we were intimate. Not that I've thought about it much recently, who has the time? I lived in leggings and tops covered in baby spit-up. I didn't bother to do my hair or makeup, I was permanently and officially a mom. I didn't want to complain, nothing was actually wrong. I was, for the most part, as previously mentioned, happy. When Taron was away, we'd facetime or he'd give a quick call before a shoot that day. But it was a bit few and far between. The last trimester of pregnancy made me tired all of the time. I'd go to work in the morning, and come home crashing to bed at 7pm. I missed him, he's here, and I miss him. I wouldn't blame him if he wasn't attracted to me anymore. Look at me. Permanent eye bags, messy hair and post-baby body. I've lost most of the baby weight with all the running around I do, but getting to the gym was out of the question. I barely have time to shower. My insecurities were becoming more prominent.

It was a rare afternoon where the baby was asleep, the house was quiet and we were both home. I sipped my coffee, staring out the window. I'd say I was lost in thought but my mind was blank. I wanted to stop thinking and enjoy a moment to myself. I was startled by Taron's arms encasing me from behind. He kissed the top of my head stating he was going to run some errands. I wanted to be mad, why does he get to go off and do whatever he wants and I have to sit at home alone, taking care of everything? I knew my emotions have been a little, well a lot, heightened lately. I tried to keep them in check, but my mouth tends to run before I think. "Oh, great, yeah go ahead, I'll just sit here and do everything" I felt my face getting hot, and a million awful words running through my head ready to spit out of my mouth. I don't remember the last time we had a fight, it definitely was not a regular occurrence, if it all. I was stressed out, tired and I wanted to feel human again. I was ready for a battle. He stood there looking a bit stunned. "I won't be gone long, I promise" I could tell he was trying to keep the peace. He had this look in his eyes, I couldn't tell if it was pity or guilt. Either way it wasn't making me feel any better. I was starting to see red. My heart began thumping loud, and hard, so hard I could feel it pulsing in my ears. "Well go on then." "Go...do whatever it is that's so important" I felt my eyes begin to water, but I refused to cry. I knew this was coming. He wanted to get away from me. I've failed. His mouth was open, words trying to escape. "Y/N ...I..." "GO!" I was a bit louder than I intended to be and pulled myself back, I was going to wake up the baby. I got up and headed up the stairs.

I broke down a bit, tears flowed a little more now. I somehow ended up in the bathroom on the floor. What was happening? How did everything change so drastically? What could I do to fix this? I stood up, taking a long look in the mirror, which made me want to cry more. I didn't recognize this person. There was a gentle knock on the door, Taron's voice calling my name. "Are you alright love?" I squeezed my eyes shut tight, trying to stop the salty flow of pain coming down. "Y/N?" I opened the door, slowly. I almost couldn't bear to look at him. "I'm fine" I said rather coldly as I walked past him. I didn't want to keep this argument going but my mouth wouldn't shut the fuck up. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I still couldn't look at him, I knew if I did, I'd melt, and I did not want him to see me looking like this. "I promise, It will be quick, I'll be back before you know and we can have a nice night together later yeah?" "Taron! God, go already, just fucking leave" I knew I was being irrational and probably seemingly insane, but that control to stop didn't exist.

I felt him behind me, rubbing my arm, he placed another kiss on the top of my head. "I'll be quick" He turned and walked out, leaving me a mess.

I let out a heavy sigh and sat on the bed, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my Gerber banana encrusted sweatshirt. God, I felt awful, why am I like this? I gave myself a minute to get it together before I checked on (baby). She was still fast asleep looking like a tiny angel. She was beautiful and carried so many of Taron's features. I pulled her blanket up to cover her and crept out back downstairs.

I dumped my cold coffee into the sink and just stood there. I didn't know what to do with myself. I was startled by a knock at the door. 

Taron's mum was cheerfully grinning, hugging me right away. "Hello dear, I am here for the baby, it's time to share her with the world." I was confused. "What?" "(Baby) needs time with the grandparents, not to worry sweetheart, she will be in good hands, we've been dying to take her for a night" I was still confused, and a bit reluctant. (Baby) was only a few weeks old and I haven't let her out of my sight since we brought her home. She gave me a gentle pat on the arm and a sympathetic smile. "I will collect her things, go have a seat dear" I plopped myself on the sofa, I couldn't tell her no, and as much as I hate to admit it, it would be nice to take a long bubble bath and relax. She appeared again, diaper bag in hand, fully stocked. "I'm going to put her things in the car, I'll be right back for the baby"

It's been an hour since she's left with (baby) and I think I may have fell asleep sitting here. Has it been an hour? Two? I checked the clock, it's been three. I don't know how I fell asleep sitting up, but my neck was aching. 

I slowly made my way upstairs to the bathroom to draw myself a bath. I felt so relaxed I thought I might fall asleep again. I could certainly use this time to catch up on a bit of sleep. It was still early in the day, and I was at a loss of what to do. 

It's been ages since I was alone. My phone caused me to slightly jump as it went off. There was a text from Taron simply stated "Tonight" "What?" I watched for the 3 dots to appear, but nothing did. "What are you talking about?" Still nothing. I resigned myself and dressed in something the baby hadn't been near, which didn't give me a lot of options. The sound of my phone rattled through the room once more "Get ready" "Taron, what the hell are you on about, get ready for what?" I am once again, confused. "Us" This was frustrating. He stopped responding after my numerous "WTF are you talking about?" texts. I had no idea what I was supposed to "get ready" for. Are we going out? Are we staying in? Is he going to drive me out in the middle of nowhere and murder me? Who knows!

After mulling it over for much too long, I styled my hair, once I remembered how to. I threw on some makeup, giving me some color back in my cheeks and dressed myself in a cute floral sundress, I almost felt like 'me' again.

I sat at the table again, looking out to the perfectly blue sky, feeling a small sense of excitement for the first time in quite awhile. "Come outside" I grabbed my denim jacket and wondered what awaited me when I got there. Taron was in the car motioning for me to get in. I climbed in and felt a twinge of nervousness, we hadn't been alone together in so long. "You look lovely" He smiled so heartily, it made my heart flutter. I was struck with butterflies dancing around my belly. He encased my hand in his and brought it to his lips, giving it a sweet kiss. "Where are we going?" He smiled again, not answering. I rolled my eyes, knowing at this point, he wasn't going to tell me anything. It was really cute though. He looked so happy and excited. I couldn't help but smile, and feel a hard lump of guilt inside of me.

Honestly, it didn't matter where we went, as long as we got this time together. He was my favorite person in the entire world and I had almost forgotten that. Time tends to rip you apart in places if you let it. 

We ended up somewhere in the countryside. It was absolutely breathtaking. Taron led me out of the car and held my hand as we walked. He carried a basket in his other. It was quiet for a moment, I was unsure of what to say. I felt terrible for how I was behaving earlier but I didn't want to bring it up and potentially ruin what we were about to have. We made our way up a large lush hill, resting at the peak for a moment before heading down to a secluded beach. Taron laid out a blanket and unpacked a picnic lunch. It was still rather quiet between us

"This is amazing" I felt overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. He had left earlier to put this together and all I did was give him a hard time. I felt a bit emotional again and tried my hardest not to let my tears push through. He took my hand again, gently tugging me toward him where he placed the sweetest kiss on my lips. My head was swimming, the smallest touch of his lips gave me life. I'd forgotten what this felt like. It took me a moment to open my eyes to see his gorgeous face smiling back at me. "I miss you, Taron, I am so..." He cut me off. "Let's have some food then, shall we" I wanted to apologize and tell him how much  he and all of this meant to me, how much I loved and appreciated him, but instead I shoved a triangle shaped sandwich slice into my mouth. The waves were crashing causing gentle chaos around us. There was a slight warm breeze blowing through our hair, it was so perfect. We sat finishing our food, just taking in the beauty around us. Taron stood up, reaching down for my hand. "Let's take a walk"

We strolled down the beach, the sky glowing golden and spectacularly changing to pink and orange and purple as the sun was setting. We remained quiet, just enjoying being by each other's side. "Can we stop please?" I looked at Taron, I needed to say something, it was eating away at me. He quietly nodded, looking at me with a bit of worry on his face. "Thank you, this has been wonderful, I know things have been...off, but I wanted to tell you how sorry..." He put his finger to my lips. "I know" "Let's not worry about that, let's enjoy our time"

I agreed, but still feeling somewhat melancholy. We were frozen, staring out into the vast ocean. I wanted to hold on to him forever. He was my home. I leaned into him, my head falling to his shoulder, our hands still entwined. He squeezed my hand tightly and tugged me back towards our picnic. He quickly packed up and we began our trek back to the car. 

I was hoping this night wasn't over yet, and we'd get more time together. Taron had a new movie shoot coming up and he was leaving in a week. The night was looming, the sky fading into greys and navy blue darkness. Taron drove for a bit, and finally reaching a destination that lead us to a car park downtown. He lead me to an elevator, I had no idea where we were but I trusted it would be wonderful. The doors opened up to a hotel lobby, with marble floors and extravagant furnishings. He checked us in and again, back into an elevator, making our way to a room. The room was small but cozy, the bed took up a good portion of it, which was easily the most comfortable bed I had ever been in, in my life. I sank right in, the mattress curving to encase my body in pillowy contentment. I felt sleep creeping up and quickly sat upright, I was not wasting this night with my eyes closed, at least, not in that way. Taron excused himself for a moment and I took to the window to check out the view, it was a dazzling display of lights making the city look like it was shimmering. 

A moment later he was back at my side, with another gentle kiss on my cheek. "You don't have to do all this, I am just so happy to be with you, alone" He turned me to face him. "Sweetheart, I know it's been difficult these past few months, but I want to have this, I want you to have this" "It's been increasingly harder to be without you and now with (baby) I can't bear to be away so much" His eyes bored into mine, searching, his hands reaching up to rest on either side of my face. "Look how beautiful you are, I can't believe how lucky I am to have you" "Are you kidding? I think you have that backwards, I'm the lucky one...and I'm sorry, I know you haven't  been attracted to me lately, and I don't..." "Stop, Y/N, you are just as beautiful to me as ever, you're incredible, how can you think that?" "I...we haven't...I mean, look at..." I gestured vaguely at myself He shook his head, "You are absolutely mad!" "You. You are gorgeous, everything about you makes me wild, please believe that, I am completely enamored by you." I watched his lips as he spoke, craving them on my own. "Look at me Y/N" "You, are, everything" He took small pauses between words to emphasize their meaning.

My eyes were glued to his, the intensity in his stare giving me goosebumps. "Taron" I don't even know if it came out of my mouth loud enough for him to hear, my voice was cracking. I said it once more, whispering. 

His lips were on mine in an instant, I felt the crave in his kisses. I wanted it just as much. Our mouths moved in a sweet rhythym, never getting enough. Our breaths became heavier, with want and intention. I pulled back, just long enough for him to miss my lips near his, making him lunge toward them again. I made this a game, the tension growing stronger. His mouth hastily found its way to my neck, languidly moving to the most the spot near my ear where he knew it drove me crazy. His tongue peeked out, licking the soft, sensitive skin there. His breath was hot and full of need whispering in my ear, drawing out my name.

I let out a small moan, my head falling back to give him full access. His hands moved up my body reaching my waist, squeezing me tight. I tore off my jacket and wrapped my arms around to caress the back of his neck, my fingers kneading up and through his hair. It's been so long since we've touched like this, it felt new but so familiar. He released his lips from my skin, leaving me desperate for his contact again. 

In an instant my legs were around his waist as he picked me up. I felt the cool wall on my back and Taron's hands holding me up under my dress. His body pressed into me firmly, once again his eyes searching mine. "Y/N" was all he could say before his lips came back to mine. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, the feeling was so much more intense than I had imagined. It was like the first time.

I slid slowly down as he let me go. He reached for the zipper in the back of my dress and watched as it fell to the floor. I felt a bit exposed, as I had not felt confident about my body since the baby, but that feeling was quickly forgotten when he dropped to knees to kiss my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair once again, pulling him closer. His hands caressed my hips, reaching further back, running his palms over my ass. He looked up at me, his eyes so full of lust and passion, it made me shake. 

"You are absolutely fucking amazing" 

I wanted to freeze this moment, and live in it forever. I had never felt such intense love like this before. I couldn't believe I had it now, with him. 

He watched his hands move over my body with incredible attention, slowly, taking in everything. My head fell back against the wall, never wanting this feeling to end. I felt his lips on my thigh and fingers so so slowly and softly tracing the lace detail of my panties. I shivered when his tongue moved from my thigh to my most sensitive spot, eliciting a quiet, breathy show of pleasure. The feeling was so heightened I thought I might explode. His mouth felt like heaven as it licked, nibbled and sucked until I was ready to fall apart.

He sensed I was close and was quickly up again to place me on the bed. He undressed, his eyes never leaving mine. He crawled slowly toward me, a look in his eyes I can't explain. His eyes trailed my body, his hands following, removing what was left clinging to my body. I heard him whisper "Gorgeous" before his lips met my breasts. His body was pushing me down, his mouth giving me the sweetest bliss. I felt his hand grip my thigh, bringing it up to meet his waist and hook around his back, his fingertips gracefully moved up it, leaving goosebumps. 

I was most definitely ready to bust. I grabbed him to bring his face back to mine and allow me to show my gratitude. I nudged him to roll over so I could reciprocate and show him how good he made me feel. I wanted him to experience it too. I kissed his lips, then moved them to his forehead, gently placing the most softest quiet kisses on his cheeks, his nose, his jaw. I drank him in, this perfection below me. His hands never left me, his breath hitching when my lips met his neck. I couldn't help but let out another moan, enjoying the feel of him against me. 

My tongue was eager, ready to please. I left a trail of wet kisses down his chest and stomach and finally to where I know he wanted it the most. I took all of him in, hoping I was giving him as much gratification as he had given me. I was drunk with want, enjoying every moan and staggered breath that was released from his lips. I moved back up, placing myself close to where we were about to join. His hand reached up, caressing my cheek, with that look in his eyes again. I felt his hand move down between us to feel what he had done to me. I was ready.

We both let out an exclamation of intense pleasure as I felt him slide slowly inside me. My head rolled back, wanting more. He gripped my hips, moving me how he wanted me but not letting me go as fast as I had craved. It was excruciating, I wanted to cry. It felt amazing, and dizzying, I just wanted him. He quickly flipped us and covered me with his firm and heavy warm body. HIs lips made their way back to me, his tongue tasting mine and then moving down again to my neck. I felt his teeth grip the delicate skin as he moved in and out of me. The tempo picked up slightly, the air getting heavier. To hear my name coming from his sweet soft lips in an all-consuming display of revelry made me even more turned on than I've ever been. 

It was even hotter when he whispered "Fuck, baby, you feel so fucking incredible" while bringing his hips farther  down to meet mine. I couldn't control myself any longer, I dug my nails into back while my head flung back, thrusting upwards to feel the increasing momentum. I couldn't stop saying his name, over and over, until my voice turned into quiet whimpers begging him not to stop. Watching him over me, his face dressed in ecstacy, was the most beautiful and amazing thing I would ever see. 

Our pace slowed, neither of us wanting it to end. Our lips met again,  a slow cadence of breaths expelled into one another. The pressure was rising, I could feel the heat creeping, my body tingling like I was being set on fire in the most delectible way. "Y/N, look at me" I could hardly open my eyes, the feeling was so amazingly intense. His eyes gazed down at me, feeling like he was staring into my soul, I trembled. Our bodies were in perfect rhythym, our eyes only fixed on one anothers, the burning grew, and I was ready to come undone. 

It felt like time stood still, all I saw was him, his eyes, his lips saying "I love you", the pressure became too much, I shattered. I let out a gutteral whimper as I reached the apex of this moment. Taron gripped my hips and gave one last fervent thrust. I had never heard such sweet music from his lips as when he let himself go and gave into the moment. He fell to my side, out of breath, smiling. "I've missed you" I couldn't help but smile back, turning to him to caress his face. "I love you, I'm sorry" "Shush, come here" He enveloped me into his arms, planting tiny sticky kisses on my lips. "I feel like I could sleep forever now" my words trailing lazily as I drifted off. Taron settled into my side, giving me one last squeeze before sleep took him over.

[smolfangirl]

Moving along

This is almost exclusively based on what my tired, (almost-)sleepy brain is coming up with at ungodly hours but hey, I finally wrote this au for real. Ideas from this amazing set of prompts, title from the 5SOS song (hach).

Word count: 1.6k, not proofread

///

Wrinkled sheets. A rumbled blanket. A pillow that isn’t cold on either side because she keeps turning it, hoping for a cure to her restlessness. It’s useless, Luna is aware of that. But even someone drowning must carry a spark of hope, and so she can’t help but try again and again.

Sleep still refuses to knock on her door.

When she gets up, her bones are heavy, yet not as heavy as her heart. Not even coffee makes it easier to prepare for the lectures. Maybe she’ll take a nap in the last row, wouldn’t be the first time. And quite possibly not the last time, at least until the left side of her bed stops haunting her with its emptiness and coldness. Her whole flat is cleaned of his memory by now, just her bed clings on to the shadow of his love, two months after they broke up.

Just her bed and this huge chunk of her heart that seems to be reserved solely for him.

The doorbell saves her from wallowing some more in bittersweet memories. A package is supposed to arrive today, and she hurries to the door with a smile. Her friends insisted on ordering one of these ridiculous baking sets for her, promising the “man of her dreams” and although she’s not too fond of the idea, she craves a freshly baked treat out of the oven. It’s what she deserves after all this hurt.

Except that there’s no delivery waiting for her.

“You’re not the man of my dreams,” Luna blurts out. Realizes the implications of her words. Blushes furiously.

Matteo stares at her, dumbfounded. “Wow, okay, thanks for making that clear, I had no idea,” he then snorts and turns to leave.

“No, wait!” He stops, back turned to her. “I didn’t… I mean… He’s fake. Or baked. Both? They got me this set. My friends.”

Matteo doesn’t look too convinced. Luna clears her throat. “Anyway. Hi.”

“Hi.”

Her unspoken question is left hanging in the air, so she hides half behind her door before she asks out loud, “How come you’re here?” A sigh follows. His hand ruffles through his hair, and he avoids her gaze. “I wanted to ask you something.” The seriousness in his tone takes Luna aback. Not because she wouldn’t be used to it, on the contrary, in the last months she heard it more often than she could bear, but because the shyness, the tenderness in it is new.

“Come in.”

Matteo back in her apartment is a sight so heartbreaking it steals her breath away. Two days ago, Sebastián stood in the same spot, resembling a lost but over-confident puppy up to the moment she watched him walk out of the door again. The youtuber is nice, without a doubt, and she likes hanging out with him.

But he’s not Matteo, who fits in so perfectly like this is the place where he belongs. Belonged, Luna reminds herself.

“Look, I know this might sound weird,” he now begins, “but I didn’t sleep much in the past weeks and I have this super important presentation today and I need to get at least a little rest.”

“And that’s why you came to me?”

The shrug he gives her speaks of helplessness, of nights wasted away and the same grogginess in the mornings that she fails to shake off. “I guess.” His voice drops, breaks. And so, Luna forgets about classes, about lunch breaks with her friends, about anything and everything, as long as she gets the chance to find peace again, with him. If only for a few hours.

“Okay.”

///

As soon as he lays down next to her, her body calms down. Relaxes. Breathing gets easier. The sleep that avoided her so successfully now welcomes her with open arms. Just a touch is enough to reassure her mind of his presence, a knee bumped into her leg, a fingertip lingering on her arm. But apparently, it’s not enough for Matteo. His arm wraps around her, pulls her closer. The left-overs of his cologne linger in her nose.

“I still hate you,” Luna mumbles as she snuggles against his chest.

But does she?

///

She wakes up to the smell of coffee and scrambled eggs. His scent is engraved into the sheets, and Luna presses her nose deeply into the pillow without a second thought. Regret will join her sooner or later for sure, but in this moment, she allows herself to travel back to the good memories of their relationship, while ignoring one dangerous question creeping into her thoughts.

When she trots into her kitchen, Matteo greets her with a soft smile and tousled hair. He’s always been the prettiest in the mornings, today is no different, even though the dawning sun long passed to cast him in golden light.

“Thank you,” he says and puts a plate with eggs and toast in front of her.

Out of words, she nods. Grabs a fork but can’t eat. So many questions burn her tongue, how he slept, what this presentation is for, if he still spends most of his days in the library, if he plans to come over more often.

If he still loves her, or if he could love her again. Hypothetically. Because she knows she hasn’t stopped loving him yet.

Before just one sentence slips out of her mouth, however, he tells her he should go now. Mustering a smile, she replies, “Have a nice day then.” Weirdly enough, she means it, with her whole heart.

And then, he presses a kiss on her lips.

It happens too fast. For both of them, according to the shock on his face. It happens too fast, the sensation of his lips on hers disappears too fast to treasure it, to feel it. But it did happen, and not even the stammered apology or the quick escape he makes can undo this moment.

Now, Luna is a mess.

///

Classes and lectures pass her by without leaving any lasting impression. She couldn’t recall as much as the topics if her life was on the line.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sebastián unexpectedly waits for her when she leaves the campus, and once she spots him, Luna considers running away. But it’s too late, he already walks closer with that grin that probably made him a star on the internet.

How she’d love to wipe that smile away today…

“Hey, my favorite little lady,” he grins even more.

“Hi.”

“How are you doing? You look like you finally got some sleep, congrats!”

Internally, she groans. On the outside, she chuckles and pretends her heart isn’t going on a rollercoaster ride at the mere thought of sleeping next to Matteo. In his warm embrace, to the melody of his calm breaths.

“Yeah, guess I caught up a bit.”

“Cool.”

She nods. Silence. He obviously feels uncomfortable with it, he must have come here for another reason other than pouring salt in a freshly opened cut but Luna is tired of guessing what he’s trying to achieve. His mouth opens to say something. Closes.

Her phone buzzes, a new message. While Sebastián searches for words, she glances at the screen.

Matteo: I’m really sorry, I know I made you uncomfortable and I hope we can talk this out if you want

“Luna?” Sebastián grabs her shoulder, gently shakes her. Blinking, she finds a way back to reality, to here and now, although a part of her still feels far, far away from this plane of existence because of one simple text message. “Huh?”

“I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out with me.”

///

Yeah sure. 7pm at my place?

///

He waits by the door.

“I hope this isn’t a bad idea,” she announces as she pulls out her keys and lets him in. “I’m sorry,” Matteo says in return. A bad feeling spreads in her gut, or maybe it’s a good one, either way she has a hunch where she’ll end up tonight, and she can’t feel sorry about it.

They sit down on the couch. A flashback pops up, of this time two months ago on this very sofa, when they were arguing for a reason that escaped her mind. When he walked out without looking back and she cried the whole night and no ice cream in the world could diminish her pain.

“I guess old habits die hard,” Matteo now explains. One stubborn curl falls into his forehead. His eyes meet hers, hesitating. They remind her of why she fell in love with him, years ago. “I have no idea where it came from, really.” Just like Luna has no idea where her impulse to pull him closer is coming from now. But does it really matter when she leans in and they’re suddenly kissing?

///

She knows it’s wrong.

She knows she just rejected someone, that she just told Sebastián that she needed a break from everything, that she needed to make sense of her feelings. She knows she shouldn’t be making out with Matteo instead.

But it makes sense. Her feelings make sense, like this, with him. When Luna focuses on the movements of his mouth and the shiver they cause all over her body, she doesn’t doubt everything like she did with all of her friend’s hints at a relationship. Sebastián is nice and an exciting person to be around, sure.

But Matteo is exciting all on his own.

He’s a little too much of a snob sometimes, a little too stubborn. He’s a little too gentle with her, or too rough, but she knows him better than anyone else. He’s a constant in her life. When she presses her hips closer to him, he groans, and it comes as no surprise for her. It’s familiar and comforting, too, like hiding under her favorite blanket.

He’s her blanket, and it’s getting too cold without him.

“Why did we break up again?” she asks with the next breath she lets out.

“I work too much, and you leave a mess everywhere?”

Luna snorts and kisses him once more. “Screw that.”

[mysteli]

Soulmates (Jake X MC)

A/N: Heya! So this is yet another Jake and Logan fic. Kind of obsessed from I was inspired to do this by a prompt request from @brightpinkpeppercorn! She helps me out a lot and I hope you like this. It gets pretty angsty so be warned.

Warning: T

PERMA TAG LIST: @brightpinkpeppercorn​ @cocomaxley@hopefulmoonobject@alesana45@jellybean-marshmellow@mymandrake@regrettingnathan@dobie2112@princesstopgun@mechaspirit@skyila@mind-reader1 @xo-endlessmayhem-xo@sakaily @justboredtrash@regina-and-happiness@flyawayblue56@annekebbphotography@endlessly-searching-for-you@reginasayeed@zigortega4life@zackzilberg @eileendannie@alesana45@diamondoasis@speedyoperarascalparty @liam-rhys

Let me know if you wanna be tagged! 💗

Masterlist

Jake clutches the piece of information in his hand desperately, his mind going to the worst possible places. He doesn’t wanna believe this but it just might be true. Logan may be planning on leaving... and for good as well. Jake can’t go with her. Not now. Not when there’s so much at stake for him. With his name not yet being cleared and the struggle of trying to keep Logan happy with their troubled life. It’s all so damn difficult. 

Logan always reassures Jake that she’s gonna stick by his side through this always. And never ever leave him because she loves him. Married for almost ten months now and Jake wishes they were closer to clearing his name but he hasn’t received any new information for almost a month. Now, it’s all kind of a cycle. Logan visits every weekend and they spend two days together, never leaving each other’s side because that’s pretty much all they wanna do. 

Jake has tried to give Logan the life she deserves but maybe she’s finally realised that he can’t fulfil a perfect future for her and that there are better things for her out there. Logan isn’t even supposed to leave for the states until tomorrow but reading this, it seems like she won’t ever be coming back after this. 

Logan promised to be with him forever. It’s a legal vow but her own personal promise. She believed in him and reassured him during the darkest times - when Jake only felt useless and allowed his doubts to consume him. She’s always here and she never gave up because she cared him and she loved like a loving wife should. She treats him like a soulmate. A one of a kind type of love that you’d only find in fairytales. Like something in a movie except so much more complicated. But she always saw it as simple and comfortable and the kind of life she always dreamed of.

Something thrilling and risk-taking, where she’s always on the run and living a life of adventure and unstoppable love. But Jake always wanted her to have what she deserved. Something simple and wholesome. A healthy life that only gave her the best opportunities and the best kind of future. Because that what’s she deserves. 

But instead of living her life to the fullest... she’s here. With a man who’s got little to no future left. No hope remains unless his name is cleared and that seems like such a far away resolution that’s miles and miles away. 

What if this is it? What if this is their life forever? 

He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he was the reason that she was unhappy in any way. His heart would ache just being aware that she’s only here for the sake of his solitude. Jake would never have guessed however. Logan always has a bright smile on her face when she’s with him. Drinking and talking. Kissing and making love. Confessing and exploring. That’s all they really do anymore and Jake likes it that way. At least he thought Logan did too. 

But this piece of evidence suggests otherwise.

She isn’t saying goodbye exactly but she has a ticket for a flight scheduled for 7pm tonight and it’s half past 5 right now. So any minute... she could be arriving back from her shopping only to tell him that’s she’s leaving. That isn’t the only thing. There’s a post-it note stuck to the ticket and what it says is what reveals the cold and harsh truth to Jake.

‘Last ticket home. Can’t do this anymore.’

What the hell does that even mean? Don’t even try and justify this. He mentally kicks himself for being so reckless and pathetic. She’s leaving. That’s the bottom line. She won’t stay anymore because she’s realised the deadline of her careless youth is drawing near and now she has to start worrying about the real world and what her future is gonna be.

The fun with them is over, even though Jake thought he knew that a marriage wasn’t just fun. But fugitive fun seems like the perfect way to describe where they are right now.

And it kills Jake inside that he hasn’t been giving her all he can. He feels like he’s almost been neglecting her... 

All of a sudden, Jake’s self-loathing is interrupted by the sound of keys clicking and hooking into the hole of the door. He snaps his head to the direction of where the sound takes place and he’s fully aware that Logan is finally home. Home for only one reason. To tell him that she has to leave. After all this time... she’s just gonna go. 

After what seems like forever, the door swings open and Logan lightly steps inside, casually shutting the door behind her and throwing her set of spare keys on the counter carelessly. She’s carrying four shopping bags, two in each hand and the tense expression resting on her as she paces in softens when she catches sight of Jake. 

She throws the bags onto the counter and wanders over to her husband silently - seeming unusually happy to see him. Jake quickly stuffs the ticket under the coffee table and forms a weak smile, as he turns to meet eyes with his wife, who is sitting on the armrest of the chair by the time he glances at her. 

“Hey, you.” Logan smirks as she tenderly brings her lips to Jake’s, her plump lips feeling cold from the frosty weather outside. The new season wasn’t taking a liking to Costa Rica, even though it’s always supposed to be hot. 

Jake struggles to respond at first, confused by her sweetness and kindness. Maybe she’s just trying to ease him in to the torture that is still to come. However, he does accept the kiss. How could he refuse? Once he pulls away, he tries to maintain that weak smile that he doesn’t know how he’s keeping up. 

“...Hey darlin’.” Jake whispers as she rests her forehead against his, a longing look in her ocean blue eyes. 

Logan slowly climbs onto Jake’s lap, as he takes a long sip out of the half-empty beer he’s been using to drown in his sorrows with. If only she knew. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.” Logan mutters in a husky tone, her palms planting onto his chest and roaming up painfully slowly. 

Jake hesitates, arching his head back as he tries to focus on what she’s planning to do. What he doesn’t understand is why she’s being so romantic for someone who is about to break his heart. 

“You were only gone for an hour, Princess.” Jake corrects, succeeding in suppressing a smirk. Instead, he just arches his head back as he attempts to avoid her seductive gaze. 

Logan giggles, not sure why he’s so reluctant all of a sudden. “So what? Doesn’t mean I don’t spend every damn hour thinking about... what I wanna do to you when I get home.” She whispers in that raspy tone that drives Jake so damn crazy and he swallows hard, struggling to dodge the rock planted in his throat. 

Her hands move down to Jake’s stomach and start to drift up under his shirt, as she caresses the bare skin of his chiselled figure. Jake hisses, biting down on his lower lip as he attempts to control his desire. 

“Damnit, Lo.” Jake mutters, cursing under his breath as she works her way up his chest, his pecks twitching at her touch as he unwillingly shivers. 

Logan smirks at the effect she’s having on her husband and she moves her lips to his neck, leaving a trail of featherlight kisses in her wake. “You like it, huh?” She whispers against his skin, nibbling softly and that causes Jake to grip the armrest of the chair.

“Princess...” Jake struggles to talk as she continues to have her way with him and it sure as hell is working. “...you really wanna do this now?” 

Logan nibbles harder this time, causing an accidental groan to escape from Jake’s mouth. Something he just couldn’t control in that moment. He swears he can’t remember a time when she was this forceful with him or insistent on sex. She’s already been the one that likes to tease and play hard to get but something has definitely gotten into her tonight. Maybe it’s that guilt finally hitting her. Maybe she’s having second thoughts.

“Yes...” is all she responds with, moving her hands to his hair, tugging on a few strands playfully.

“Lo... stop.” Jake pleads with her as calmly as his voice will let him, slowly easing her grasp off his hair and attempting to move her off his lap but she won’t budge, straddling him even more.

She leans away, completely bewildered and she raises an eyebrow at Jake. “Is something wrong?” She questions and the typical innocence in her tone causes Jake to feel so damn guilty that it becomes too hard to function. 

“Nothing’s wrong, darlin’. I just... don’t wanna do this right now.” Jake tries to lie but the strain in his voice gives it all away and he can’t help but huff in annoyance at his stupid attempt at a lie. Besides, Logan can see right through him anyway. 

“Jake... what are you hiding?” Logan enquires, confusion flooding her gaze as she scans the shaking state of her husband, as his nerves to activate and it’s pretty damn obvious. 

“It’s nothing.” Jake assures, retrieving his bottle of beer that Logan had shoved aside before and he takes a long, desperate swig. Like it’s the only source of saving him from the pain of his confrontation. 

“You should know that you can’t lie to me by now.” Logan reminds him and Jake just sighs heavily, refusing to give his vulnerability away. He hates being emotional in front of anyone. She lovingly cups his face, noticing how watery his eyes. That curious look in her eyes that always shows she cares is almost enough to make him relent. “Come on, Jake... tell me what you’re thinking.” 

Jake bites his lip almost instinctively, enraptured by the beauty of his stunning wife. Her ocean eyes burn into his cerulean eyes, orbs desperate to connect and never break contact. He can’t believe that maybe he’ll never get to see those beautiful eyes again if she leaves him. Or be able to kiss her plump, puckered lips or playfully tap her small, button nose or tangle his fingers in her long, platinum hair or even touch her smooth, pale skin. 

It almost comes down to this, this moment... and whatever choice Logan chooses to make. 

“Fine,” Jake relents and gestures to Logan to get off him. She obeys immediately, curiosity taking over completely as she eyes Jake with intrigue. He leans over the armrest of the couch and reaches under the coffee table, pulling out the plane ticket with the post-it note attached to it. 

Logan’s eyes immediately widen with shock, like that of a cartoon character, when she spots the familiar item in his trembling hands. Jake doesn’t even need to say anything or explain what it is or what he is thinking. Because she knows. She’s known him long enough to be aware of all his doubts and regrets and what he’s scared of and what he feels threatened by. Just seeing that look of point in her eyes lets Jake know that she’s aware of the mistake she made by not telling him about this.

An unspoken amount of pain invaded both hearts, as they sank into their chests, their heart strings falling apart with a wave of realisation washing over each exterior. Jake hates it. Feeling that amount of disbelief and knowing that she’s about to do it. She’s about to leave him. For good.

Logan leans against the wall, clutching her chest to stop the shivers running down her spine and startling her. She can’t take this. Seeing the delusion in his cerulean eyes as he processes what she’s about to tell him. What she’s about to reveal. It’s painful that she may choose a proper future over her soulmate. 

“...You found the ticket.” Logan finally breaks the icy silence, fiddling with the uneven ends of her platinum hair, her nerves building up like bricks in the background. 

Jake avoids her gaze, keeping focused on the ticket in his tense grasp. “...Yeah. In the bottom drawer next to the bed. You could have hid it better at least.” Jake can’t seem to make that sound like any sort of sarcasm or joke. He’s too pained and full of stress. 

Logan doesn’t take it as a joke. She just shrugs, her shoulders slumping back awkwardly as the rest of her body tenses up. “...I know.”

Unwanted tears slowly rise in Jake’s eyes and a whirlpool of doubt circles around his mind. He can’t quite understand why she’s doing this. Or he just doesn’t wanna understand or admit that he’s just not good enough. He arches his head back, trying to wipe the sobs away before Logan can notice them. 

“...You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Jake assumes, realising it hurts even more to say out loud. Logan feels instantly like she’s been hit by a thousand bullets but her instincts have been numbed by the emotional impact of Jake’s torturous words. He really thinks that. 

“I’m just... keeping my options open.” Logan answers rather vaguely, knowing that Jake’s frustration will rise soon enough and that a serious argument is about to take place, no matter how much she doesn’t want it too. 

Jake’s eyes snap up from the ticket and land on his shaking wife, complete and utter disbelief rising. “What options, darlin’? Have I done something wrong?” He questions, rising from the chair and placing a hand through his hair out of stress, strands of his sandy hair slowly falling over his knees. His eyes are now sunken in and his lips are chapped and dry.

Logan doesn’t know what to say. This is all her fault. Just one stupid mistake she made out of frustration. “No... it’s not you.” She assures, avoiding his desperate gaze as he takes a cautious step closer to his wife. 

“Then what the hell is making you wanna buy a fucking plane ticket for tonight?” Jake questions, gritting his teeth as anger and frustration begins to rise within him, the temperature increasing with the pace of his pounding heart. 

“Jake... it’s not what you think.” 

Jake huffs in irritation. “You have a note by it that says this may your last time here. What else could that mean? You’re leaving me, aren’t you?” He assumes once again, his blood starting to boil. 

“Look, I still love you more than anything but... it just feels like we’re stuck in the same place. And we have been since we got back.” Logan admits part of the truth, throwing her hands on her hips and trying to match Jake’s level of annoyance but her nerves seem to be getting the best of her. 

Jake’s eyebrows collide out of confusion. “...What? How are we stuck in the same place?” 

“It just feels like all this time... we haven’t been moving forward at all. It’s been the same always. I come here. We’re together for two days. And then I leave again and I’m without you for another five freaking days. You don’t realise how unbearable it is, Jake.” Logan confesses, pouring out her true feelings about all this. The way they live. The way they are. How unbalanced the future is. She can’t take it anymore. 

“I don’t realise? You saying I don’t know what living without you is like? Cause I know it too damn well, Princess. I love you so much damn much and being without you five days a week just makes me fall back into old habits and lose control of what mistakes I make. You’re my guide and when you’re not here... I feel useless. Then when I see you, it gives me hope. Hope I thought I never had. You. You’re my future and if you leave now...” Jake trails off as he notices the shock and horror stabbing at Logan’s heart strings, as she buries her face in her hands - trying so hard to not think the worst. 

“You wouldn’t do that. You wouldn’t do that.” Logan repeats those words a few more times, trying to convince herself that Jake wouldn’t have the guts and amount of pain to lose himself like that. Her stomach turns at the thought with nausea and she falls back against the wall, staggering aimlessly. 

“Goddamnit darlin’. For one second... try not to think the best of me. Cause that’s one reason why I love you.” 

Sobs pool from Logan’s sky blue eyes as her head creases with concern for the man she thought would never let love ruin him. But turns out... she may have made his mental state so much worse than it originally was. 

“...I wanna stay here, Jake. With you. Forever. Even if we don’t get your name cleared.” Logan confesses, her request appearing more like a petty plead as she paces over to Jake and cups his face as reassuringly as she can.

“No, darlin’.” Jake dismisses the idea like he always does, easing her grasp off his face and kissing her forehead softly. “I told you. Not until you finished your degree.” 

Logan expected that answer but she still had a slither of hope that he just might be desperate enough to need her every day. Instead, they’re both just as naive as each other. They’re more similar than they choose to be. They’re both troubled and they both struggle with the absence of each other. But Logan knows deep down that if she keeps this up... she’s gonna lose herself and her future. She’ll give it all up... for him. 

“...Then I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” Logan whispers with unintended regret. Regret she attempts too hard to hide but Jake can spot it from a mile away, as shock clouds over him upon hearing the words he’s dreaded to hear since they made their wedding vows. Just hearing it out loud and in reality is complete torture all in itself. Now it’s really happening. He’s gonna lose her. He’s gonna miss her too damn much to stay. 

Jake’s shoulders slump back hopelessly and he just shakes his head, completely in denial. “Damnit, I need a drink.” He states suddenly, trudging away from Logan and heading over to the fridge and swinging it open in a harsh manor. He’s so heavy handed when his temper is at its peak. It’s almost concerning.

Through Logan knows not to mess with him when rage is consuming him. Jake has a right to be upset anyway. She told bluntly revealed to him that she may be leaving and who really knows how much his heart is shattering right now? His eyes tell her that he’s about to break down like a weak branch but his motionless exterior says he’s trying to hold it all in. For his own sake and pride. 

Silence invades, an unbearable silence of torturous solitude. It’s not even silence when there are shrieks of mocking laughter echoing in Jake’s ears, the devil in his head judging him on how pathetic he’s being. Acting all macho and tough. Unfazed and blank. He should just cry, shouldn’t he? It sounds so much easier and healthier. But it’s not. It’ll only make him feel worse. Bottling it all up will make it so much easier to let her go, no matter how much he doesn’t want to.

Jake takes a long swig out of the fresh beer he’d just retrieved from the fridge, refusing to even look at Logan and leaning stiffly against the kitchen counter. Maybe this is all a stupid nightmare. He’s had dreams about how painful this moment is before. Logan always left in the end but he always knew, deep down, that she’d be there when he woke up but now... where will she be when he finally has to admit that she’s gone?

He won’t be able to do it.

Jake stiffens and tenses up when he hears Logan take a cautious step closer to him, her heavy breaths echoing in his ears, even from a safe distance. 

“Jake...” 

“Look, if you wanna go then just go.” Jake interrupts her, refusing to hear any excuses as his tone remains dull and cold, almost zero emotion in his pained eyes. 

Logan sucks in a sharp breath, stunned by his harsh words. “I know that’s not what you really want.” She tells him, sending him a pointed look that he doesn’t care to notice.

“You don’t know what I want. You never did.” Jake counters in a colder tone, clear arrogance in his ragged body language as he sips out of his bottle of cold beer. 

Logan takes another wary step closer, arching her eyebrows in disbelief. “You do realise why I’m having doubts, right?” 

Jake scoffs at that. “Oh yeah. You hate this life. You’re tired of the same old shit. If you were so damn bored, then why did you stay for so long?” He questions, raising an eyebrow at her with intrigue.

“Because I love you!” Logan answers almost immediately, feeling her veins pop with frustration as she runs her hands through her hair in a stressed out manor. She’s lost. She can’t take this anymore.

“Yeah?! Well that seems to be your excuse to leave.” Jake states, the volume of his pain increasing with every word, as the lump in his throat widens. 

“I wanna leave because this isn’t working anymore, Jake! Not because I don’t love you!” Logan assures, slamming her counters against the counter as a why to get the message to stick in his mind so he knows that she still loves him, no matter what. 

“Then fucking leave!!” Jake snaps, shouting in an extremely loud tone that echoes throughout the room, causing a mixture of negative emotions to erupt in his heart. He lashes his bottle of beer at the wall, watching as it shatters into dozens of little shards. It’s like watching their relationship fall apart at the same time. Jake has a deadly look on his face. One that Logan has never seen before and she definitely hates this type of anger on him.

It looks almost unstoppable. 

Trying to show no fear, Logan arches her eyebrows and folds her arms in a solemn manor, trying to cover up the real tension running through her body. “Fine.” She mutters, as she paces into the bedroom, pushing the door slightly ajar. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Jake questions, peering into the bedroom even though he literally snapped at her for leaving.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Logan says in a sarcastic tone, grabbing her half-full suitcase and placing it on the double bed, a stressed look on her expression. “Packing.” 

“You’re leaving now?” Jake asks, swimming to have calmed down but there is still hidden rage lurking in his eyes. Something he may not have even noticed himself. 

“You told me to. So I’m leaving. I can’t take this anymore.” Logan states rather harshly, matching Jake’s frustration from before and that seems to silence the broken down man.

Feeling hopeless, Jake exits the bedroom and seats himself on the couch, aware that there is no way he can convince Logan otherwise while she’s in that kind of mood. She never listens to anyone when she’s frustrated. Maybe he can fix this when she’s more calm. For now, he just lets her pack, spending the next hour in a silent living room - contemplating and worrying that Logan might just leave him. Go back to the states and never come back. Well, he kind of just told her to and now she’s really doing it.

He can’t believe he let his anger get the best of him and that may have just cost him the opportunity to fix all of this and maybe he still can but right now... he has to let her calm down. Hell, he has to let himself calm down. Jake can still the rage boiling his blood and exploding in his veins. Causing all his muscles to tense up and his breathing to grow heavy. His stress levels reaching their peak and his mental state getting close to its breaking point. 

He messed up so bad and all he hopes is that Logan can find a way to realise that this doesn’t have to be over and he can fix it... somehow. He has to. To remain with his soulmate. Or he won’t be able to live with himself. Never again. 

After what seems like forever, Logan paces hurriedly back into the living room, clutching her suitcase with tension as sweat spreads off her palms and soaks the handle. She doesn’t even take one last glance at Jake before reaching for the door handle. 

Jake doesn’t know what to do or say. Should he stop her or let her go? It all comes down to this moment. He tilts his head slightly, noticing how slow Logan is being to leave. She’s hesitating. Hell, she might be panicking. Does she really wanna leave? 

Jake suddenly rises from the couch and lets his desire control him for once, listening to the angel in his head rather than the devil. “Wait. Princess.” He pleads as he calls her name and Logan pauses but she doesn’t turn around. Her nervous grasp on her suitcase weakens at the sound of the desperation in Jake’s humble tone. She remains silent, expectantly waiting for another one of Jake’s excuses. “You said you’re going to leave... but I don’t want you to go. And if I don’t say something now...” Jake trembles with fear and nerves. Something Logan has never seen on him before. He’s actually being vulnerable with her. Showing his sensitive side. “...I know I’m gonna regret it for the rest of my damn life. Because you’re mine. And I’m yours. And I don’t want this to end over uncertainty. It can’t...” Tears rise in Jake’s cerulean eyes and he finally sets them free, unleashing all the emotions he’d been keeping bottled up all this time. Logan almost drops her suitcase at the surprising sight.

Paralysis locks her and she just freezes, unsure how to react to something she’s not used to. He’s so desperate for her to stay and this is way of letting her know just how much he loves her. How must she means to him. Everything.

Without hesitation, Logan drops her suitcase and rushes over to Jake’s side, wrapping the damaged man in a comforting arms as he sinks into her embrace almost immediately - just happy to know that she’s really there. With him. In that moment. He clutched her tightly, his hands touching every inch of her to become familiar with her once again and once again make sure he isn’t just imagining things. She didn’t leave. She’s right here with him. 

Jake leans away and wipes his tears as quickly as possible, his watery eyes burning into hers as he holds her like he’s missed her forever. He just wants to look at her, even though she never really left. What he chose to feel made it seem like an eternity. With burning desire, Jake swiftly crushes his lips against Logan’s and she responds almost immediately, startled at first before sinking into his touch. The feeling of his lips is what made her so hooked. The taste of raw alcohol and tangy flavours. Strands of his fawn hair fall over his ears but Logan gently brushes them back as the kiss deepens, before winding her arms around his neck. 

Passion, desire, hunger, want, need, fear, confusion, worry, rage, happiness, grief. All these emotions being poured out into this one kiss. This one moment of unbreakable power and so much emotion that not even a god could break such a love. 

They’re soulmates after all. And they’d do anything to never let each other go. This is a love no mortal can even attempt to stop because it’s all fire and passion. Tenderness and commitment. Something so damn good that it has to last forever. 

Jake leans away and rests his forehead against hers, smiling so genuinely and taking her in once more. “...I love you so damn much, darlin’.”

Logan returns with her own grateful smile, kissing him once more and grinning against his lips. “I love you too and trust me... I ain’t ever leaving you again.” 

[icebirdsmateforlife]

reach for the sky (part 1)

Sid works a shitty job and uses his free time to put workout videos on the internet. Geno does the same, from the other side of the world.

A/N: Hello! :) Anybody still here? I promised new fic, and I finally have something for you. This is part 1 of a multichapter story and I’m going to update it as frequently as I can manage. Chapter 1 is just over 3k. Low rating, but it’s most likely going up to Explicit in future parts. This is going to be a SidGeno fic, of course, but there will be mentions and later an appearance of an ex-boyfriend/sometimes-hookup, just in case that’s not your thing. Okay, I think that’s it. Special thanks to @sheepassisted for the encouragement. And thank you also to everyone who’s sent me nice messages while I was gone, that really meant a lot. <3

“So,” Sid says, smiling into the camera. “You guys did a great job, making it through the whole thing. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like to work on and I can put something together for you in one of my next videos. Have a great day, and I hope to see you back next week.”

He’s been saying those same sentences so many times by now it comes out on autopilot, and he knows it probably sounds a little rehearsed, but he still gets enough views on his channel. So all things considered, it probably doesn’t matter that much. He gets himself a bottle of water from the kitchen and leans back against the counter — he’s going to have to get in a proper, longer workout for himself later, but doing these little videos is fun. More than he’d expected when he started doing them, honestly. It’s fun to do something that he hopes will inspire at least a few people.

He doesn’t bother showering. He’s headed for the gym anyway once he’s watched through the video to make sure it’s usable. He doesn’t usually do a lot of editing, unless he screwed something up during the routine and has to start over. But today’s video should be fine; just a quick fifteen-minute thigh workout for beginners.

His phone rings, and he goes to pick it up off the coffee table.

“Hey, Flower,” he greets, and takes another long drink of water.

“Dinner tonight,” Flower says without greeting. “7pm, my place. Bring wine.”

Sid laughs. “What if I have plans?”

Flower huffs out a breath. “You will cancel them. It’s rude to turn down a dinner invitation from your best friend.”

Sid doesn’t have plans, and he doesn’t feel like cooking either, so this works out rather well. He also doesn’t feel like being alone. “Don’t you teach yoga until 7?” he asks, and Flower sighs.

“Cancelled. Burst pipe in the wall. Looks like we won’t be able to use the room for at least a week.”

“Oh. Well, that sucks.” Sid puts down his water. “Is it just the yoga studio, or -”

“The rest of the gym is fine,” Flower assures him. “You can go work out right now like I know you want to.”

“Okay,” Sid says, relieved. “I’ll see you at 7, okay?”

“See you then,” Flower says. “Don’t forget the wine,” and hangs up.

Sid smiles, drops his phone onto the couch, and gets his camera. He has a video to check and upload and then he can go and have some fun. He also has to put all the furniture back where it belongs, since the only way to have enough space for all this in his tiny apartment is to shove everything to one side of the room, allowing him to film in front of the empty wall by the window. It’s not the most convenient, but it works.

***

There are a lot of things that Sid enjoys about doing his videos. Reading through the comments isn’t usually one of them. But it’s a necessary part of this whole thing, since he needs to know if what he’s doing is helpful at all, or if anyone has comments or requests.

It’s not that he gets any hate in those comments. Most of them are very nice, just the usual “great workout!!” or “I’ve been doing this every day for a week and I’m feeling much better already, thanks!” He likes those. It’s why he’s doing this. To help people feel better in their own bodies, especially people who maybe can’t afford a gym membership or anything like that. People should be able to do stuff and learn about ways to exercise without having to pay money they might not have. Exercise is for everyone, after all. So, yeah. Most of the comments are really nice. It’s the few that comment directly on the size of his arms or butt and specific things they’d want to do with them that make him uncomfortable. Luckily, he’s learned to mostly ignore them when they happen.

He’s back home early and has some time before he needs to leave for Flower’s place, which is just down the block anyway. So he settles in with his laptop and finally tackles the comments from last week’s video: a simple 20-minute core strength workout.

It’s all a lot of the same. The nice stuff that makes him smile, and then there’s one request for a cardio routine that makes him wince — he’ll do it but it’s not his favourite thing to do — and one comment in what looks to be Russian, judging by the letters. And because it might be something important, some legitimate criticism or maybe another request, he copy and pastes it into Google translate.

“Nice workout,” it says. “I’ve been looking for something like this and it’s perfect. Thank you and greetings from Russia! Sorry, my English isn’t good. Maybe I’ll study for next time.”

Sid smiles. He’s not one of the popular people on YouTube and having a viewer from all the way across the planet is kind of nice. He types a message into the translator, “Thank you for watching! I appreciate it. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to record next!” and copy and pastes it into a reply. He doesn’t do replies often, but he wants to this time.

***

“Did your ass get even bigger since I saw you two days ago?” Flower greets him, pulling him into a quick hug and then slapping his butt as Sid walks past him into the house.

“Haha,” Sid says, and hands Flower the wine. “What’s for dinner?”

He likes hanging out here, in Flower’s small house. It’s comfortable and welcoming and he’s been here a lot since he moved into the city and met Flower. Who immediately took him under his wing and befriended him with a determination that Sid truly admires. Sid has other friends, but he sometimes thinks he’d be lost without Flower.

“Hi, Sid,” Vero says, and Sid smiles at her and hugs her, too. She moved in not that long ago, and he’s still getting used to her being here when he comes over to hang out. She’s nice and he likes her and considers her a friend, but it feels like Flower is settling down, maybe starting a family soon. He’s a few years older than Sid, but the thought still makes Sid’s head spin a little bit. He still feels like he barely even has his life together, still struggling to even pay rent some months, and his best friend has a house and a career and is probably going to get married in the not too distant future, to the same girl he’s been dating since he was a teenager. It’s all so stable and safe and grown up. It’s not that Sid is jealous, but...okay, maybe he is a little bit jealous.

“We’re ordering pizza,” Flower says. “I was going to make chicken casserole, but I think the oven’s broken.”

“Oh, that sucks,” Sid says.

Flower waves a hand. “We still got a microwave until we can have it repaired,” he says. Sometimes Sid envies his ability to always stay positive no matter what.

It’s a nice evening — the pizza is good, the wine is good too, and Vero has the best stories about the customer’s at the small boutique she works at.

And yet Sid can’t help feeling a little down all through dinner, and even when they move to the couch to keep talking until a second bottle of wine is gone as well.

It must be nice, he thinks, to have somebody to come home to. Somebody who is happy to see you. He’s never lived with anyone like that and hasn’t even dated in...well over a year now, and he’s lonely.

But at least he has friends who love him, and he knows that’s worth a lot. So he keeps smiling and ignores the worried looks Flower keeps throwing him.

***

It’s a little after 10 when he gets home that night and finds he accidentally left his laptop open earlier. He just means to close it, but when the screen wakes up as his finger brushes the touchpad, he thinks it can’t hurt to refresh the open page just once to see how many views he got on his new routine so far.

There are a few already, but also a notification. He has a message. He doesn’t get messages often.

When he sits down on the couch and opens it, the profile photo is the same one from the Russian commenter earlier, but this time, the message is in English.

“Hello Sidney,” it says. “Sorry bad English. You are very nice. I like video. Watch more from you, also very nice. I write you to practice English. Sorry if this strange. But I like your video. Have a nice day. Greetings. Evgeni.”

Sid reads it, then reads it again, and then hits reply. He may not reply to comments much, but with messages he always makes a point of writing back to people to say thanks or give advice if they ask for it. Evgeni’s message definitely deserves a thank you.

“Hi Evgeni,” he writes. “I’m glad you like my workouts. And don’t worry, your English is fine. Way better than my French for sure. I hope you have a nice day too and I hope to see you back here in the future.”

He hits send, then puts his laptop down and stretches his arms up over his head, stretching out his back before he gets up and heads towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. He has to be at work early tomorrow to open up the store. He’s not really looking forward to it — hates his job, to be honest — but he does have bills to pay and food to buy so it’s not like he has a choice. So as much as he’d love to stay on the couch for another half hour and listen to this podcast about random funny facts that he’s found a few weeks ago, it’s definitely bedtime for him.

***

There is a new message when he checks his phone over breakfast the next morning. It’s from Evgeni. Apparently he took Sid’s “I hope to see you back here” as an invitation to keep talking to him, and Sid can’t really say he minds. He likes talking to people. And he admires Evgeni’s dedication to learning English.

“Thank you Sidney,” Evgeni writes. “I’m glad you think my English not so bad. I’m work hard, try be better. But not have people for talk with English, so maybe much is wrong. You say to ask if there’s video we want. I’m think do some warm up maybe. Is very important. People forget sometimes. Greetings from Evgeni. Have a nice day.”

Sid thinks about it. It’s not actually a bad idea. He always focuses on the actual workouts; he’s mentioned the importance of warming up and cooling down a number of times, but he’s never actually made any videos for it.

He hits reply and writes back.

“Hey Evgeni, that’s a great idea, thank you! I’m going to think of something and put together a video. Two videos I guess. One for warming up and one for cooling down? I think there should be both. You’re right, people shouldn’t forget about it. Thanks again, I appreciate your input. Have a great day too!”

He has no idea what time it even is in Russia, but when he thinks about it he realises that Evgeni lives in the future and it must be the middle of the day for him already. Whatever. It’s never too late to wish somebody a good day.

He has to leave for work then, to spend his morning offering advice on running shoes and protein powder while his coworker is working the counter. It’s exhausting, having to smile and answer the same questions over and over all day, re-folding clothes that customers leave in a heap somewhere, and explain patiently that no, he can’t conjure those shoes out of thin air in size 10, but they can be here in two days if he orders them now, okay? It’s the opposite of fun most of the time. But it’s what he gets paid for, so he has no choice. It’s just not exactly what he dreamed of doing with his early 20s.

He doesn’t get a chance to check his phone again before lunch, and he’s not even surprised to find a new message from Evgeni. He’d sort of been expecting it at this point.

“Hello Sidney, I’m glad you like idea. I think is very important. I’m sure you don’t need idea from me, but some yoga is good stretches. Easy. Can be good for start. I’m do some videos also, lot of warm up I get idea from yoga. But is all Russian. Sorry. But I’m sure you will have very good idea without me. I will watch for sure. Greetings from Evgeni.”

Sid bites his lip and puts his sandwich down. He’s never much liked yoga, no matter how much Flower keeps poking him to try it, but now he’s curious. He follows Geno’s username to his channel, and yeah, there’s quite a collection of videos up there. He can’t read any of the titles, so he just clicks on the shortest one, which is just a little over six minutes.

What he sees is...not quite what he expected.

Evgeni is tall. Really tall. With long skinny legs and a quite impressive upper half. And his face is...Sid knows he should probably focus on the video instead of staring at the guy’s face, but Evgeni has gentle, sad eyes and a smile that makes Sid smile too, and there’s just a sparkle of something a little mischievous in his expression. His nose is a little big and his lips are chapped and his hair looks just a bit sweaty and he’s beautiful.

Sid doesn’t think he really has a type. But he does like tall and athletic. And, apparently, also a kind face and bony feet and very large hands. And a really nice butt, honestly.

Evgeni’s voice is soft, and the gentle rhythm of Russian is almost soothing to listen to as he does a lot of the same stretches that Sid likes to do, but worked into a nice, easy flow that looks a lot like Flower’s yoga.

Sid watches the entire video and then locks his phone and goes for a walk around the block before his break is over.

He knows he should reply, but it suddenly feels weird, now that he knows that this guy who’s been sending him messages looks like...like that.

He feels shy, all of a sudden. Which he usually isn’t. Only around very attractive Russians, apparently.

He will write back later, he promises himself. It’s just been a while since he’s really allowed himself to look at people like that and Evgeni really has very impressive shoulders. Sid feels a little ridiculous.

It was just a dumb workout video, for fuck’s sake. So what if the guy has a kind face and really large hands.

Maybe he should call David, see if he’s dating anyone right now. It’s been a while since they last saw each other, and obviously Sid’s loneliness and need for physical contact that’s more than a hug has reached a critical level. David would laugh at him for years if he found out that Sid got turned on by watching a stretching video, even if Flower used to tease him that “Perron is perfect for you, he’s as sexually attracted to gross and sweaty as you are.”

But no, he tells himself. He’s just frustrated in a lot of ways right now, but he’ll get over it. And write back later.

***

Later turns out to be that evening, once he’s home and has had dinner and nothing more to do for the night.

“I’ve checked out your videos,” he writes to Evgeni. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, but maybe I’ll try to follow along to one anyway. It looks fun! Maybe I will get some new ideas for my own warmups from that. A fresh perspective and everything. Thank you, Sid.”

He doesn’t expect a reply that night because of the time difference, so he leaves his phone in the kitchen, settles in front of the TV, and puts on a hockey game.

Hockey is always a nice distraction from everything. He’s been in love with the sport ever since he was a little kid. Never had the money to actually play it for any long stretch of time, other than with friends on frozen ponds, but it’s still his favourite.

So yeah. Hockey is always a nice distraction. It just can’t distract him tonight from the thought of a beautiful man with a kind face and a soothing voice, doing athletic things in extremely short running shorts that leave nothing at all to the imagination.

***

There is a message the next morning. Sid reads it sitting up against the headboard, before he has even made it out of bed.

“Hello Sid! So happy you like video! Sad we live far, maybe sometimes we can make video together if closer. But I’m sure yours will be very good. Maybe I’m make video in English one day for you. Need much practice first. If this too much, sorry, but this messages not best way for talking. So I’m give you email. Ignore if you don’t want, I will not be angry. )))) Greetings from Evgeni.”

And then there’s an email address at the bottom of the message and Sid puts his phone down on his pillow and hides his face behind his hands, grinning, takes a breath. Are they becoming friends? Because that’s what it feels like. He’s not sure it’s such a great idea, but...

But it would be rude to turn down an offer of friendship like this, wouldn’t it?

The weird sort of melancholy from yesterday has left him, too, and with it the uncomfortable feeling of embarrassment at noticing the simple fact that a person he’s talking to is quite objectively attractive.

He feels like himself again.

So Sid does the only thing he can do, picks his phone up, copies Evgeni’s email address, and opens his email app.

It’s only polite. That’s the only reason he’s doing this. Anything else would be crazy. They’re pretty much living on opposite sides of the planet. So he’s just being nice to someone who was nice to him first and who is nice to talk to. Making a new friend in the process wouldn’t be the worst thing either.

And learning more about Evgeni’s thoughts on mixing yoga with regular workouts definitely can’t hurt. It’s a sport. All sports are good. He can always get into a new sport. Evgeni knows more about this particular one than he does, obviously, even if he seems to use it sparingly judging from the videos Sid has definitely not marathoned in bed before falling asleep last night.

“Hi Evgeni,” he starts his email. “This is Sid. I agree that emailing is much easier than talking through those messages. I’ve been thinking a lot about learning more about yoga, now that I’ve watched your video. Since you say you’ve based some of your stretches on it. I have a good friend who is a yoga teacher. He’s been trying to get me interested for years. If I tell him that I saw your videos on the internet and now suddenly want to learn, he’s going to be so mad. That’s going to be a lot of fun. Do you do any actual yoga off the internet? Or is that just what inspires you? Thanks again for giving me your email address. Sid.”

He hits send and feels pretty good about everything as he rolls out of bed to start his day.

Part 2

[nebulous-frog]

Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Summary: Phil sings with the door open while he’s folding laundry and Dan overhears. Phil’s completely tone deaf and doesn’t know any of the lyrics, but that won’t stop him, dammit, no matter how many times people ask him to seriously just stop. Dan thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard.

Rating: G

Warnings: Dan swears

Word Count: 3391

Challenge: Disney Challenge

Pairing: Phan

Genre: University AU, Fluff, Getting Together, Strangers to Lovers

Author’s Note: Thanks so much to @imnotinclinedtomaturity​ for betaing and generally being fantastic! This was written for @phanfichallenge’s Disney Challenge

Link to AO3 Fics Masterlist

“Pregnant women, sick of swimmin’, ready to staaaaaaaaaand!” Phil sang as he folded his laundry in the living room. “And ready to go where the people flow! Ask him high questions and get them answered!”

“Phil, stop!” whined his friend, Nate. “Those literally aren’t the words at all!”

Phil turned to grin at his friend. “So? Mine are better.” He turned back and continued folding his laundry, humming to himself.

“They make no sense, though! Besides, you’re completely tone deaf and I think you’ve killed the cat that lives in the place across the street. Look at it! A few minutes ago it was standing but now it’s lying on its back with its feet in the air! Poor thing. Ruined by Phil’s atrocious singing.”

Phil scoffed. “That cat is alive and you know it. It’s just having a comfortable lie-down.”

Nate rolled his eyes. “Whatever, mate, just knock it off. I’m trying to write an essay. You know, that thing you invited me over to do?”

Sighing dramatically, Phil continued folding his trousers in silence. He was always more willing to do laundry when someone else was in the room because it felt like time flew by faster and he didn’t have to think so much about the work.

Unfortunately for him, nobody would agree to hang out just to watch him fold laundry, so he’d tried to come up with lies like “Hey, let’s do homework together in my room!” to get his friends to keep him company. Nate was the very first person he tried this lie on, but the result wasn’t exactly what Phil wanted, as Nate was clearly irritated by Phil’s singing and would have much rathered to actually do homework in peace and quiet. Phil decided to try again with someone else next time to see who might be the most willing to put up with him.

As it turned out, nobody was willing to put up with him singing badly while folding laundry when they were meant to do homework. The next several weeks consisted of Phil trying and failing to trick his friends into hanging out while he folded laundry until he finally gave up. He would just have to deal with the boredom of laundry by himself.

To make up for the lack of company, Phil took to singing constantly and loudly throughout the folding process. It wasn’t as good as having somebody in the room with him, but it worked alright. He’d generally leave his door open, as well, letting anyone walking down the hallway hear his magnificent renditions of classic Disney.

Unbeknownst to Phil, this practice gained him a secret admirer…

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long day. Dan had gotten an essay back from a professor with a series of disappointing comments and a note to visit office hours, took an exam he felt woefully underprepared for, and skipped lunch to complete an assignment he had totally forgotten about. It was late, he was tired and as he trudged down the hall feeling sorry for himself, all he wanted to do was eat some shitty uni food and just go to bed.

As he walked, however, he approached an open door and heard something incredibly enticing.

Am I going insane now or did I just hear singing? Like, surprisingly angelic singing? Dan thought. He slowed to a stop outside the open door and listened for a moment.

Someone was singing “Circle of Life” from The Lion King but with the wrong lyrics.

“It’s a llama, penguin and a llama. It’s a llama penguin and a llama. It’s a llama penguin and a llama.”

Dan giggled. Hearing such incorrect lyrics sung unashamedly was extremely endearing. He peeked into the room and saw a young man with black hair and pale skin folding a pair of trousers and singing. He was completely off-key and actually pretty bad at singing, but Dan thought his voice was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. This mysterious man’s voice and confidence was utterly entrancing and uplifting after the day Dan had had.

The man started to turn around and Dan panicked. He didn’t want the man to know he’d been there watching him, so Dan quickly jogged down the hall before he could be noticed.

As he fled, Dan wondered if he would hear the man sing again someday.

A week later, he did. This time, the man was botching the lyrics to “When Will My Life Begin” from Tangled.

“And so I’ll read a Nook or maybe two or three, add a few new pizzas to my kitchen sink, I’ll play guitar hero and eat and a plus b just wonder when will my life begin!”

Dan held back a snort at the lyrics, unsure if the man just didn’t know the lyrics at all or made up ones he liked better. Either way, the man was folding laundry with his door open and singing again and Dan was in love. He watched the man as he folded his clothes and sang for a few minutes, then decided to sit outside the room and down the hall a little bit, just far enough away to still hear but not be obviously listening in.

Pulling out his laptop to work on homework, Dan grinned. He’d found the perfect study spot with an attractive man singing wonderfully right nearby. What more could he want?

Every week, the man would do his laundry and leave his door open while he folded it and sang. By the fifth week, Dan had figured out the man’s schedule enough to know the exact time the singing would start and he would sit in the hallway, just to listen. It became a habit and a relaxing evening activity for Dan. The singing man was something he could depend on.

He would always fold laundry with his door open on Wednesday nights at 7pm, belting completely incorrect lyrics at the top of his lungs. Dan began pining after this adorable man purely based on his habit while folding laundry.

Dan told his friend Melody all about it over coffee in a cafe near the dorms.

“So, you’re telling me that for the last month you’ve creepily sat outside some guy’s room listening to him sing badly and with the wrong lyrics? And you still haven’t talked to him?”

Dan opened his mouth to reply, then paused, wrapping his hands tighter around his coffee mug. “Well, when you put it like that it does sound kinda weird, I guess…”

Melody scoffed. “Yeah, definitely weird. Are you gonna talk to him sometime soon?”

Dan’s eyes snapped up to Melody’s before darting around nervously. “What? Of course not! Why would I do that?” he said in a rush. He took a quick gulp of coffee then cautiously looked back up at Melody.

Melody stared blankly at him for a second, then shook her head, as if to herself. She took what seemed to be a steadying sip of her coffee, then looked Dan directly in the eye. “Daniel Howell, you’re unbelievable.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “And you’re just now learning that?”

She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You’re so oblivious it hurts. You clearly like this guy, so you should talk to him.”

“Ha ha, very funny. I don’t like him, I just like his voice and how he gets all the lyrics wrong. He’s interesting.” Dan took another sip of his coffee, avoiding eye contact with Melody.

“You just said he sings way off-key. What do you mean you like his voice but don’t like him? Also, any time I accidentally sing the wrong lyrics to a song you freak out and correct me. You definitely like him and you definitely need to talk to him.”

As Melody spoke, Dan shrunk down further and further in his seat and found his mug more and more interesting.

“Okay, fine. Say I do like this guy, which I don’t-” Dan ignored Melody’s eye roll and glare, “- What do you suggest I do about it? You know how bad I get when trying to talk to guys I like for the first time.”

Melody nodded and snorted a laugh. “Remember that time you tried talking to that barista and accidentally spilled three separate coffees on him and-”

“Thanks, Melody, I did not need a reminder! That was not an invitation for you to shame me!”

Stifling her laughter, Melody took another sip of coffee. “Okay, okay, I’m done! Promise.” She giggled again. “Anyway, you need a plan to talk to this badly-singing, laundry-folding cutie. Well, if you don’t want to immediately launch into conversation you could always leave flowers and a note or something and eventually reveal yourself. Cliche and cheesy, but effective.”

Dan nodded thoughtfully. “I could leave notes. Yeah, that might work.”

“Glad to be of assistance. If you need help writing them, let me know!” Melody smiled brightly and drank more of her coffee.

“Thanks, but I think I have some ideas already. I guess I have to go write one down now if I want to leave one for him while he does his laundry this week. I’ll see you later, okay?” Dan said. He finished off the last of his coffee then stood, quickly leaving the cafe for his dorm.

About an hour and several crumpled-up sheets of paper later, Dan finally had a note to give to the man. It was written on a bright green sticky note, since that was all he had. He was inspired by the man’s generally incorrect lyrics, so the note featured a slight parody of “Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping Beauty:

“I know you, I’ve listened here once upon a dream, I know you, with such a familiar melody, And I know it’s true, you’re just so alluring when you sing, But if I know you, I’ll love you so true! And you’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream!”

Reading it over a few more times, Dan decided it was good enough. Maybe a little bit cheesy, but he couldn’t help it when the man of his affections always sang Disney songs.

Dan picked up his bag with his laptop and the note, then headed over to the hallway with the man’s room.

He could hear singing before he even turned the corner, and he grinned. He was ready to do this.

Settling in about two meters away from the open door, Dan pulled out his laptop and began working on homework, as normal. He had decided not to give the note to the man until just before Dan left again so he could maximize his time listening to the man sing before he had to run away to maintain his anonymity.

Today, the man sang a few more songs from The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, still with the incorrect lyrics and off-key. As time passed, Dan grew more relaxed and content, just as he had every week so far.

About five minutes before Dan would normally leave, he packed up his stuff and put it all in his backpack. Note in hand, he approached the man’s room carefully and peeked in.

Luckily, the man was busy putting his folded clothes away in his chest of drawers with his back to the door. After ogling the man’s ass for a few seconds, Dan snapped out of his trance and put the note on the floor as far into the room as he could reach and quickly fled the scene. He speed-walked down the hallway as fast as he could without looking too suspicious (hopefully) and turned the first corner he could.

Dan checked the time and saw that he still had three minutes or so before he would usually leave the hallway, so he decided to run back to his room and drop his stuff off. He would then come back and casually walk past the man’s room again to see if he had noticed the note yet.

When Dan got back to the man’s hallway, he could tell that the man had definitely already seen the note, as he could hear the man singing with Dan’s lyrics.

“And I know it’s true, you’re just so alluring when you sing. But if I know you, I’ll love you so true! And you’ll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream!”

Dan stopped in the hallway as soon as he could hear it and bit his lip, trying (and failing) not to grin too widely. Apparently the man liked the note, which had Dan absolutely ecstatic. He wasn’t sure where to go from here, but figured another note might not be a bad idea.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Dan wrote more and more notes with short parodies of Disney songs that the man adopted as the lyrics he would sing for those songs. Eventually, Dan included little compliments outside of the lyrics and he stuck around a little closer to the room to wait for the man to find the note. It was risky, as the man almost always ran out of his room to look both ways down the hallway for his secret admirer, but it was perpetually worth it to hear the cute little giggle before the man would burst into song again, this time with Dan’s lyrics.

About a month after the first note, Dan fucked up.

He was bent over to place the note carefully on the floor and run off when the man started singing “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride” from Lilo & Stitch, a song he hadn’t sung before while Dan was around.

“Take off your shirt, boy, I wanna see! Fingering me, the ocean blue. Daddy, if I had one wish, he’d come true.”

After a moment to process what he’d just heard, Dan absolutely lost it. It started out as a snort of laughter, but quickly exploded into a full-on hyena laugh that had Dan desperately grasping the doorframe to keep himself standing.

The man whipped his head around, eyes wide in surprise, to see Dan doubled over with laughter, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. The man’s pale skin darkened to a deep pink blush.

“Um, can I- can I help you?”

Dan hadn’t noticed the man turn around, so the voice startled him out of his laughing fit for a moment. That is, until he saw the man’s flushed face and sheepish expression, at which he began laughing hysterically once more.

“Uh…” the man said awkwardly. “Why are you laughing?”

That just added fuel to the fire. Clearly, the man felt uncomfortable and confused, probably even embarrassed, but all Dan could do was laugh.

“Do- do you really- hahahahaha- do you really think those- hahahaha- are the actual- hahahahahahaha- the actual lyrics?” Dan managed to get out.

“I’m- I’m sorry? I don’t really… I don’t really know what I said?” the poor, confused man said.

“Oh my god- hahahahahaha- okay, okay, hold on,” Dan said. He took in a few deep breaths that were interrupted by a few giggles, but eventually his breathing steadied enough to actually try responding. “You said- hehe, hooooo- you said, ‘Take off your shirt, boy, I wanna see!’ Ahahahahahaha!”

The man’s face now was all just a single shade of deep red. “Oh.”

“No, no no no that’s not all! Hahaha! You also said, ‘Fingering me, the ocean blue. Daddy-’ hahahahahaha,” Dan spat out through laughter. “‘Daddy, if I had one wish-’ hahahaha- ‘he’d come true!’ Ahahahahahaha!” By now, Dan had doubled over again and was hitting the doorframe.

The man awkwardly watched Dan falling apart. He seemed to have no idea how to proceed with this bizarre stranger laughing at him in his own doorway, so he just stood there with an increasingly embarrassed expression.

A few minutes later, Dan had sobered up enough to realize a few things. First and foremost, he had been discovered. For the last two months, he had effectively kept himself a secret from this man, but now he had most definitely been spotted. It was also entirely possible that the man had noticed the note Dan was still holding in his hand - a note that was written on the same bright green sticky note all the other notes had been written on. Dan not only might have been discovered as the secret admirer, but also as just some weirdo that happened to be passing by and stopped to laugh at this poor man’s misheard lyrics.

Second, Dan was laughing at the man he had been crushing on for two months. The man who now looked horrifically embarrassed and uncomfortable. Shit, Dan thought. Shit, shit, shit, you’ve ruined everything. He knows it’s you and he definitely thinks you’re mocking him. Pull yourself together, Howell!

“Um, I- I am so, so sorry for laughing at you like that. Oh my god,” Dan began. The apology was made a little less effective by the occasional giggle, but he was trying, dammit, and that had to count for something. Right? “That was totally out of line and you look really uncomfortable and embarrassed, so I’m really sorry.”

The man nodded. “I mean, I’m sure I’ll find this hilarious in a day or two. I can’t believe that’s what I was saying! There’s no way those are the actual lyrics.”

Dan giggled. “No, they’re not the actual lyrics. Not even close, really.”

Sighing, the man continued. “I usually say the wrong words to these songs, but that was a really bad one.”

“Yeah, kinda.” Dan swallowed another giggle, then remembered he was still holding the note.

Well, I guess now’s as good a time as any to tell him. I’m already talking to him. I’m relatively relaxed. This’ll never happen again. Seize the moment, Howell, he thought.

“Um, so. I wasn’t really planning on saying this right now, but here we are.” Dan fumbled for the right words, then decided actions might be easier. He raised the note in his hand so the man noticed it, then smiled as his eyes widened in surprise. “I’m the one who’s been giving you these things the last few weeks. I know it might seem like I’m making fun of you now, since I just laughed at you for, like, ten minutes, but I promise I’m not. Everything I’ve said in those notes has been true. I find everything about you incredibly endearing, especially your singing and your interpretation of the lyrics.”

The man just stared at Dan for a few seconds, mouth slightly open. “I- you- what?”

Dan giggled again, this time more from nerves than actual amusement. “Here’s your note for the week.” He handed it over to the man, who took it and looked down at it.

“This is- this is incredibly sweet. Thank you,” the man began, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “I’ve been wondering who it could be, and I saw you around a bit so I thought, you know, maybe it was you. But I wasn’t sure. I- uh- I had hoped it was you, though.” The man stared at the floor.

Now, it was Dan’s cheeks that were heating up. “You did?”

The man nodded.

Dan grinned. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Dan. It’s nice to actually meet you.”

“I’m Phil, and it’s nice to meet you, too,” Phil said. He shook Dan’s hand.

“Well, Phil, what would you say to getting a coffee with me sometime?” Dan said with a lot more confidence now than he probably would have been able to any other time in his life.

Phil grinned back. “I would love to, Dan.”

“Fantastic.”

They exchanged numbers and Dan promised to text, then turned to walk back to his own room.

“Oh, and Dan?”

Dan turned back to see Phil in the doorway to his room.

“Next time, come on in to do work instead of sitting on that old carpet, okay?”

Dan mock-gasped. “Phil, are you offering me front row tickets to the concert that is your weekly laundry performance?”

“I am indeed. I expect you there at 7pm on the dot.”

Dan smiled and nodded. “You can count on me.”

With that, he turned around and walked back to his room, giddy with anticipation for his upcoming date with Phil.