#((I panicked for a bit with Stufful but once I got the head right it was smooth sailing <3))

[antihibikase-archive]

Your uber is here; a peculiar exploration team!

Art trade with @mhizzberry!

[jaylver]

BREAK THE ICE — S.JY

SYNOPSIS: Punching a guy in the club then kissing him not long after at a hockey game wasn't exactly a fairytale, but for you, it was your reality. The worst part of all it wasn't even the incidents that happened, but the fact that you didn't know him or his name. That was until another stir of events that happened which caused you and him to actually meet, so what was the best way to break the ice after a disastrous punch and a shocking kiss together? A date. It could be love at first sight, or more accurately, it was love at first punch, or … kiss?

PAIRINGS: ice hockey player!jake x afab!reader

GENRE: strangers to lovers, college sports au, romance, angst

WARNING(S): profanities, violence (fight), mentions of drinking, alcohol and partying, slight miscommunications, lots of overthinking

WC: 25k

AUTHOR'S NOTE: coming back w another cheesy hockey romance hehehe, here's a spin-off of jake's part in no competition that has a little bit of elements from each part! please leave a feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated! muah xx

part 3.5 of 'no competition' series | series masterlist | masterlist

© jaylver 2024 all rights reserved.

You weren't expecting your first landed punch to happen on a random Friday night. 

The club was packed with people, overly stuffed to the brim that it eventually became sauna level hot. It didn't help that you had to squeeze past the crowd either, trying to keep your balance and not topple over your own two feet was a hard challenge. Which one of your friends said that it would be a fun idea having a birthday party in a popular club? Now, you've got to face the repercussions of their impulsive planning. 

It was also common knowledge that the club was one of the unsafest places to be, so when you felt someone grab your hand from behind in the midst of you squeezing through the crowd, tugging you and causing you to stumble, your first reaction wasn't exactly friendly.

Maybe it was both a rash decision and reaction, but you turned around, the hand no longer on you to even determine who had held onto you, then proceeded to throw a quick punch at the guy you're facing. You didn't even know if he was the actual one that did so, the amount of anger and rage that coursed through your veins had spurred you on to thrust your fist forward before a second thought. Judging from the guy's reaction, he was not the one, and it only clicked once he held his nose in pain.

"What the hell?" His yell above the music was audible to distinguish the confusion and annoyance in his voice. "Are you crazy?"

In the dimness of the club and the hat on his head, you couldn't fully tell who he was, or if he was bleeding from the punch to his nose, but you do know for sure that he was angry. The hat that he wore had the letter 'J' on it, and it was tilted upwards from the impact. He fixed it as immediately as you had noticed it. 

"I'm so sorry," you were panicking, trying to meet his eyes that were basically impossible to make out in the darkness and the cover of his hat. How were you going to pull your infamous puppy pleading eyes to get yourself out of trouble? "Look, I felt someone grabbing me from behind, and you were … behind me, so I turned around and punched you thinking you were the one who pulled me," 

He could tell you were panicking, though your reason was quite reasonable, he was also rightfully mad at you. The guy before you took a minute before responding, most likely figuring out what to say next. "It wasn't me who grabbed you, it was probably some guy in between us that fled away once you turned around. I can understand your reaction but please don't punch people as your first instinct,"

You winced, mostly in embarrassment. "I know, I'm sorry, really. You're not hurt, right?"

"It's just a punch, I'm not bleeding.  I've gotten worse, don't worry," he waved you off, the tension in the stuffy club air was lifted. You couldn't tell if he was actually being serious or just trying to make it situation less serious, either way he was convincing to say the least. However, it was hard not to feel the aftermath of guilt for punching someone accidentally.

"I can get you drinks—"

"Nah, it's fine, really. Go buy a drink for yourself instead," he cut you off, waving his hand once again in dismissal. "I'm just glad you're safe. Even though I got a punch out of it,"

He might've laughed, but you could only let out a small chuckle, still embarrassed. It was amazing how the man was able to recover himself this quickly. "Thanks for not pressing charges or anything. Have a good night,"

"You too, sweets." 

Him leaving right after calling you that was not nice at all. You found yourself stunned and replaying the moment. You just punched a guy, he was actually nice to you instead of being mad, and he called you 'sweets'? You might have just fallen in love. 

Breathing out a sigh of mixed astonishment and relief, you regained your composure and continued your way out of the crowd. You've never been so glad to find the booth your friends were at, the panic did take a toll on you and all you needed was a shot. 

Wonyoung was the first to approach you, her arms outstretched to pull you into a brief hug. "Hey! What took you so long?"

"Punched a guy. Don't ask."

She made a face at what you said, but decided not to question it either. "Okay? Was he cute though?"

"He was…I think?"

This wasn't how you imagined your first hockey game to turn out.

Thanks to your best friend, Anton's constant convincing and overly exaggerated praises for the school's hockey team, you were eventually dragged to one of their games against a big rival of another college. With the way he was explaining the rules and the rivalry, you were surprised at how the swimmer was an actual big fan of the sport. Even as you sat in the stands, successfully turning up to the game, he could, however, still sense your doubt.

"You're going to enjoy this one," he nudged your side, sounding confident till the point where it had you convinced for a second. 

You raised an eyebrow at him, crossing your arms. "Would I?" 

"Come on! Don't be a hater. I'm trying to welcome you to the world of sports," 

"I just don't get the hype of watching a bunch of men skating around with sticks and chasing after a puck," you huffed, standing your ground. Anton should be lucky you tolerated swimming enough to watch all his tournaments. "It's like football but on ice,"

"Either way, at least you'll still get to see some hot guys," he gave a small shrug, seeing your face morphing into that 'you have a point' type of look. Maybe that part had you convinced, even if it was the slightest.

You didn't need Anton to specifically point out which player was cute either, your eyes were already straying to them warming up on the ice. Although you were seated far up, you were able to tell from the glimpses on the jumbotron that number seven, 'JAEHYUN MYUNG', was a total cutie. 

"Time to turn up to every game for number seven," you murmured quietly to Anton, watching him roll his eyes in response. But apparently, it wasn't whispered with enough silence. 

A cough coming from beside you  immediately made your smile drop, an awkward smile made its way to your face to try to diffuse the momentary embarrassment. You turned to glance at the stranger slightly. The hat he had on shielded most of his face, especially when he was staring down on his phone, it only made it harder to make out his identity. Has he been listening all along?

Wait. That hat. 

The same hat with the letter 'J' sat on the stranger's head. The one that was on the man you encountered (punched) the night before. Could it be …?

You didn't think much of the guy next to you, not when he was busy with his phone and hiding his face away from you to figure out anyway. Once the game started, your attention had been averted to the ice and all of the moving figures on it. The roaring crowd left you in awe, it seemed the players, too, were basking in the limelight and trying their very best in scoring. 

The first two periods had raised the tension in the arena. You, and everyone, including Anton and the guy next to you, had jumped out of your seats too many times. The stranger was the most passionate amongst the bunch in your area. Shouting tactics and cursing at every missed chance, he might as well be the coach. 

The nearly scored goals were too much to handle. You got the adrenaline of watching the team play against their rivals with such ferocity, joining the crowd in every 'ooo' or 'ahhh'. Soon enough, you finally understood the passionate love Anton had for the sport. 

"See? Hockey is fun," Anton sat back down after the second period was over and the short break commenced, the scoreboard displaying the current leading scores of the home team.

"Yeah, yeah, I take it back," you waved him off dismissively, hating his shit-eating grin that screamed 'told you so'. You turned away from him to avoid that exact expression, gaze drifted up towards the jumbotron instead, spotting an interesting sight. "Hockey games have this?" You pointed up at the screen.

'KISS CAM' 

Written in bold pink, cursive font, it was almost like a slap to your face. Look, you've seen this everywhere online, those clips of people being on kiss cams, but to think you're going to be witnessing it in flesh, that's new. You weren't going to be the victim of it … right?

"Oh, the kiss cam? It's a frequent thing they have here. It started off as some charity thing but people loved it so they made it permanent," 

"I can see why they love it," you mumbled, watching the screen panning to a pair that was caught off guard, the rest of the crowds cheering for them once they shared a kiss. 

One thing about paranoia was that it's either just a bugging anxiety or a premonition that your gut had. For you in that present situation, it was the latter. Your paranoia foreshadowed your biggest nightmare.

Your conversation with Anton in that moment had distracted you completely from whatever that was happening. That was until you heard the crowd cheering and saw Anton's widening pupils, you soon realised something was up, something not good. 

The camera of that kiss cam had its focus on you, but unlike what you predicted, it wasn't you and your best friend that occupied the screen, it was you and the stranger next to you. Speaking of him, he was staring directly at you, the hat was tilted back a little more to reveal his face. The shock of the kiss cam couldn't amount to the shock you had when the man's identity was revealed. It was him. The guy you punched.

The darkness of the club had hid the beauty of his face, the hat itself was shielding you away from the entirety of it. No matter what, you could still tell he was attractive, very attractive. That alone caused your anxiety to increase ten fold. The minor bruise beside his eye was questionable, but the bruise on his nose was easily recognised. 

The matching shock in his eyes slipped away, an amused smirk replaced that initial surprise. "It's you again. Not punching me again, eh?"

"Stop staring and kiss already!" A voice yelled out from the crowd before you could respond, followed by a chorus of agreements. 

You hate people.

"Are you okay with me kissing you?" The smooth, yet unexpected accent that rolled off his tongue caught you off guard, it was something you just registered despite the multiple times he spoke to you, but you nodded nonetheless. As he leaned in closer, the features on his face magnified, becoming clearer. His eyes were a shade of muddy brown, plump lips pulled into a slight frown and thick eyebrows furrowed. The last thing you expected from him was his hand making contact with your face, the smoothness of his palm cupping your cheek, everything was happening in slow motion. "I need your words, sweets,"

"Kiss me," 

That was all the stranger needed to hear to pull you into the kiss. The softness of his lips melted on yours, moulding it to fit against yours. It was just like a scene brought alive from the movies. The cheers from the crowd was deafening, but the sound of it soon tuned out. 

It lasted almost a few more seconds longer before the stranger pulled away, the look of bewilderment evident in his eyes. You were stunned, and so was he. Thankfully, the kiss cam was no longer on you two, instead finding another pair to target. By then, you were still trying to compose yourself. He broke into a smile, one that was so sweet it actually made your heart skip.

"Wow," he breathed out, scratching the back of his neck out of embarrassment. 

"Wow," you echoed, falling back onto your seat, feeling a set of watchful eyes from your best friend, who you knew was probably holding in a laugh on your right.

The last period of the game concluded a win for the home team. Everyone was left in high spirits. You, in particular, were feeling the same way but due to different reasons. Before you could utter another word to the guy you kissed, he was already making his way out of the stand and left no traces behind for you to follow. Was he cinderella? Well, there goes your potential soulmate. No, you were being delusional.

It was rather embarrassing to admit that you were actually disappointed. Not mildly, but by a lot. Considering the past encounter you had, you expected the guy to initiate some sort of conversation, yet he fled without trying. He didn't owe you anything, but the small hope you had internally was, undoubtedly, crushed. 

 "You're telling me now you're sad because of some guy?" Anton snorted loudly into the night as he walked you back to the dorms. Obviously, he started off by laughing at you, then asking for everything as if he wasn't making fun of you in the first place. 

"He's not just some guy," you grumbled. "He's cute and a good kisser,"

"So you just want to kiss him again?" 

"Hey!" You landed a firm slap on Anton's shoulder, earning a loud yelp from him. "I mean, a little but I just wanted to know who he was. He's that guy I met at the club,"

"Oh really?" That piqued Anton's interest, his eyebrows flying high, lips then turning into a flat line. "I guess that's the beauty of kiss cams. Kiss a stranger, or in your case, kiss and punch a stranger and live with that memory forever," he shrugged, pursing his lips thoughtfully. 

"You're horrible,"

Your grumble only pulled a snort from him. "Plus, I thought I could help identify him but the way he wore his hat basically hid his face, how am I supposed to tell who he was?" 

"I can," you pulled a doubtful frown, wondering if you even remembered his face entirely, speaking of which seemed a little hazy in your memory. It was the shock that made everything a mush, you blamed it on the anxiety and panic. "I think,"

"You think?" Anton practically snickered at your poor choice of words and the lack of conviction in your tone. You, yourself, were equally unconvinced. "Good luck finding your prince charming, princess."

His shout of laughter was quickly drowned out by your string of thoughts. You genuinely needed that luck, because how were you going to find him again in the sea of students that roamed the campus? You could almost feel the ghost of his lips on you, and you swear you're not just ovulating. 

Good luck in finding him, indeed.

Turning up to the next game wasn't because of player number seven that initially caught your eyes, nope, not at all. Pathetically so, you were actually hoping to bump into the guy you kissed. Call it fate or something your delusional mind would end up concluding. 

Anton managed to bag you and him front row seats, meaning a closer look at the players and a nearer distance to the rink. How did your best friend successfully pull tickets out of his ass? You had no idea but you're not complaining either. 

"Don't tell me you're looking around for the guy," Anton caught you in the midst glancing around the area, a rather desperate glint in your pupils giving it away. 

"I'm … not," you said unconvincingly, flashing an innocent smile at a doubtful looking Anton. 

"Sure you're not," he mumbled, crossing his arms. "How can you even recognise him? Okay, what if he doesn't have his hat on and he's bald, then what?"

"I know for a fact that he's not bald, thank you, there were hair strands peeking out under his hat,"

"Hair cap, it's on Amazon,"

"Please shut up."

The topic of your mystery man eventually dissolved into debates of the oncoming hockey game that was about to start in a while. If you told your past self that you'd be turning into a hockey fan, you'd probably laugh out loud. But, there you were, character development going great. 

There was still a handful of time before the warm up, so you took the opportunity to slip away and out of the stands to locate the restroom. You passed some familiar faces, course mates or mutual friends, but none of which were the guy you were searching for.

Being a new fan came with a disadvantage: not knowing the place well enough to tell which way led to the restrooms. You walked down the corridor, passing the food stalls and countless students, looking like an absolute fool. 

By the time you finally located one from a distance, you were stopped by a voice coming from behind. All it took was a tap on the shoulder for you to turn your head, quick enough for a momentary whiplash upon meeting the person's eyes. 

"Hey,"

It was a man dressed in a formal suit, a backpack hung on his shoulders. He was tall and lean, but muscular enough to have an athlete's build. He could almost fit the hockey players there. But there was something about him to you that seemed familiar, yet you couldn't put an identity to the face. 

"Hi. Do I … know you?" You said, uncertain, though you knew you shouldn't be. 

The man before you cracked a small smile, tongue poking at the insides of his cheek. He shook his head, probably in disbelief, but there was also a mix of amusement. "No, not quite … yet, but you do know how I kiss, and I know how you punch, so that makes us something, right?" 

Pause. It clicked. The hat wasn't there on his head, and he was not bald. That proved Anton something, but he had made a point that you had to admit was right. You forgot how the man that kissed you looked like. 

Hat guy. Kiss cam guy? Wait, first punch guy—

"Wait, you're—"

"See you," he let out a laugh, shooting you a wink, purposefully not giving you the chance to fully realise his true identity. Annoying asshole. Just as fast as he had appeared, he was gone with the wind. The initial shock only bloomed bigger, going through several stages of it. The times you prayed for his appearance led up to this moment just for it to pass by quicker than expected, rather underwhelmingly you must add. You didn't even manage to get his name!

Begrudgingly, you made your way back to your seat after the long journey to the restroom. Luckily, the warm up hasn't started and you got to mull in your own disappointment for the time being. The smell of fresh popcorn and corn dogs only made you sink into your seat further.

"Got something flushed down the toilet? Why do you look so sad?" Anton caught onto the frown you had displayed absentmindedly. You narrowed your eyes at him.

"The one that got away,"

"Katy Perry?"

"No. The guy, my guy, I saw him just now and he said 'hi' but left after saying that, what's he in a rush for?" Your questions didn't have a concrete answer to them, but Anton sure knew how to provide some bullshit answers.

"To get away from you, maybe," 

"I'm giving everything in me to not stand up and strangle you right now."

The players of both teams were soon filing out onto the rink for warm ups. The players of the home team were easily recognisable to you after that first memorable game. There was number seven, the captain, the ace, all of which were standing out to you amongst the rest. However, an additional number five that you didn't see prior was standing with the team. His back was facing towards you, the number five sitting comfortably on his back under 'JAEYUN SIM', presumably his name. 

"Who's that? Number five. Didn't see him last game," you pointed out to the frequent game goer, Anton, who pursed his lips, nodding slightly.

"That's Jake Sim. Defender. He got suspended for the last game since he committed a foul during the game before the last one. It was quite a scene,"  

The players were skating around the rink, moving the puck as they went, shooting goals into the nets as practice. Given the clear view of everything before you, you got the chance to put your focus on player number five, Jake. The speed he was going kept you away from seeing his face, the headgear was only an additional deterrent.

Your curiosity only heightened everytime he passed, the urge to stand and knock against the glass, but that would just get you into the blacklist without doubt. The focus you kept on him was insanely intense, you wondered if he could feel you staring considering the next time he passed your section, turned his head, making a second worth of eye contact with you before skating off.

That split second had the gears in your head running. His eyes were familiar, not to mention, that face … It was him. The one that got away. And he was on the ice? As a player?

Everything made sense now. He was suspended last game which totally explained why he was sitting next to you, and that led him to kiss you and you realised he was also the same person you punched. All in one go.

By the time warm ups ended and the match was about to begin, you were able to finally swallow everything you just processed. The look on your face paired with your anxious finger taps against your lap caught Anton's attention.

"You're finally getting the pre match hockey fan anxiety, huh?" He nudged your side, startling you a little from your train of thoughts.

"No," you breathed out, eyes still trained on the rink that players were currently filing out on. Anton raised his eyebrows at you. "I found out who my guy is,"

"What?" Anton snapped his head to fully look at you now, widened eyes scanning your shock ridden features. "Who is he? Is he some guy that shares the same class as you?"

"He's the one skating on the ice right now—over there," you nodded towards the rink where players were taking their positions. Anton's eyebrows only furrowed at your lack of sufficient information.

"You're fucking kidding. Which one?"

"Jake Sim, it seems," your eyes strayed to the defender that wore the number five, upon the whistle blow, he skated off and you were left wondering. "See? He's not bald,"

"Not the point," Anton snorted, sounding nearly amused and astonished. "You punched him and kissed him all in two days? That's genuinely a meet cute,"

"You're insane. If anything, I'm just hoping he's not filing a restraining order against me,"

"Dude, he willingly kissed you and went up to you just now. I don't think that man wants a restraining order, maybe something more," he started wiggling his eyebrows, smirking playfully at you. You wanted to wipe that look off of his face. 

"Dream big, Anton, dream big."

Dreaming big was definitely what the team did in order to secure another win. Jake Sim had thankfully kept his fouling records free so far, and from what Anton mentioned, it seemed Jake has a knick for getting into fights on ice while being the opposite off ice. A man with a stark duality does sound interesting.

The team lingered on the ice after the win, making rounds to bask in the victory and greet the crowds in exchange for their endless support. You watched as the captain approached your side, calling out for Anton and waving at him.

"You know him?"

"How'd you think I got my front row tickets? We're literally party bros," he shrugged nonchalantly while your mouth dropped at the fact that he left you such crucial information. "Which means, I can set you up more easily with your man and we're also getting free booze at the after party,"

"There's an after party?"

"There's always an after party,"

The unexpected part of the night after several surprises along the way was Jake skating towards your side of the crowd, just as Heeseung did. You thought he was doing the same as his captain by greeting everyone, but you knew it wasn't exactly that when he pointed at you, eyes trained on you specifically. It was one of those moments where you looked around and went 'me?' rather embarrassingly. Your genuine confusion made him laugh and he beckoned you to come close to the glass that separated you from him. 

You obeyed, casting Anton a reluctant glance, but upon seeing his excited expression, you knew he was egging you on. It was weird, seeing Jake up close this time knowing who he was, unlike the previous encounters, this was definitely a lesser odd one.

'Catch' he mouthed multiple times until it clicked for you, the puck in his hand telling you to watch out. He threw it over the glass and lucky you, your catch was as good as his throw. Jake didn't say much, all he did was point at the puck that was in your possession, smiling sweetly before waving you goodbye and skating away to join the team.

You glanced down at the puck, pupils blown at the sight before you. It wasn't just a puck, it was one that had his number written on it in white marker ink, writings all messy but still readable. 'Text me -Jake :)' was what he signed off with, the lopsided smiley face got a snicker out of you.

"Look who's a true fan now, getting a puck and all," Anton got up to join your side as the crowd started dispersing now that the game was over. 

"I didn't just get a puck alone, I also got one step closer to him," you waved the puck in front of Anton's face, grinning pridefully. 

"I guess Cinderella's about to accomplish her search for her lost lover prince charming."

Anton truly had a way with his words by convincing you to go to the after party with him, claiming you'd reconnect with Jake and somehow a spark would happen between you two, whatever rant his delusional self came up with. To your dismay, you actually believed him. Not that it wasn't completely untrue since the hockey team would always turn up, but to approach him with everyone around when he's literally a known figure? You might need a couple of shots beforehand first.

You eventually saw Jake and the bunch of hockey players file into the room as the hollers and cheers got louder for them. Pressing yourself closer to the wall, suddenly intimidated by the strong concentration of testosterone filling the room. The constant thoughts of finding the guy you kissed and punched didn't prepare you to legitimately talk to him instead of just daydreaming about him.

As if on command, you attracted the player's attention like a moth to the flame. Anton had disappeared off to somewhere, you were left alone in a corner minding your business and playing tetris on your phone when you felt a presence behind you. 

"Boo," The presence confirmed itself and you turned around, too fast till the point where you gave yourself a whiplash, in complete disbelief at the thought of him being there. 

"Hey," you breathed out, resisting the urge to back into the wall behind you. This was not the time to start being nervous around a man.

"You didn't forget me this time, right?" Amusement flashed across his face at the mention of your blunder from earlier. You knew it was something he wasn't going to let go easily. 

"Of course not,"

"Well good. I'm Jake, Jake Sim. Engineering major and a part time hockey player," he extended his hand out, waiting for you to accept, which you did, casting him a small smile.

"Impressive. What are you? Spiderman? Living with two identities?" You joked, his confidence absolutely taking you aback. "I'm Y/N L/N, nursing major,"

"Let me guess, you minor in punching?"

You scoffed, but laughed. "How did know? I suppose yours is kissing strangers that punch you!" 

He snorted, shaking his head, the banter between you and him flowing ever so naturally. It was almost as if you two had been friends since the beginning. "I'm just playing. I'm glad to see you again, I'm sorry I didn't stay back after the game that night. I guess adrenaline got to me and I raced away to find the boys only to realised what a dumbass I was to not ask for your number,"

It was hard trying to hide your shock that he was apologizing. You didn't even expect an apology from it, let alone prepare for it. Yet, the explanation from him set your worries and overthinking to rest. "It's alright, you didn't owe me anything. I'm glad to see you again too. Congrats on the win," you were more than just glad.

A smile made its way to his lips at your words, to him it was hard resisting against a smile when it came to you. He barely knew you, yet you had a charm to you that he was not immune to. "I hope that puck was a good move,"

"It was smooth, definitely caught me off guard but it worked on me," 

Relief was evident on Jake's face, but he played it off coolly. "It didn't strike me that you're a hockey fan,"

"Well, I'm not exactly one, but my friend is and he's the reason why I'm there,"

"Who's your friend?"

"Anton,"

"Anton?" Jake repeated his name, visibly surprised. "He's your friend?"

"You know him?"

"More than just that. How come we've never met?" 

"I'm just as confused as you are. He was literally next to me that day where we—you know—appeared on the kiss cam,"

"Really? I didn't see him!"

"Well, that's because your hat practically covered half your face, I couldn't fully recognise you too. He didn't know it was you either," you snickered at the mention of his famous hat that was burnt into your memory by now. "I only found out today that he was friends with Heeseung,"

"He's friends with all of us," Jake chuckled, mostly in disbelief. What was Anton doing hiding all his hot, attractive hockey friends? He wasn't just a fan, he was friends with them. "He loves hockey, so when he found out we played for the school team at this random party, he started coming to cheer for us. Sometimes we would watch his swim tournaments too,"

"What?" You gasped, finding it surprising that you had done the same, except never once had an encounter with the group. "I went to a lot of his swim tournaments too!"

It had rendered both you and Jake speechless, the two of you staring at each other with a look of starstruck filled gazes. All this time, had there been an invisible string that tied you two together? The thought was pushed to the back of your mind as you and him laughed after a pause of silence.

"No way!" Jake exclaimed, laughing in between. 

"I'm serious! I don't know how we've never come across one another before," 

"Maybe it wasn't the right time, so fate set us up in a more … unconventional way," Jake said with a hint of playfulness that you caught on. You snorted at the realisation, knowing the incidents were something he was going to hold over your head for a long time.

"It's better than not at all,"

"You're right," he said softly, gaze dropping down to sweep over your body just to come back to meet your eyes once more. "I want to see you more actually, not just at my hockey games or some one time thing. Can I bring you out on a date? What do you say?"

"A date?" You didn't expect Jake to immediately whip out the date card, expecting him to take it slow and build up to a date that you would eventually expect. There was something in you then that invoked a sudden confidence to say such things. "I'm not just some girl you can easily score dates with,"

Jake's lips curled into a small smirk. It was his turn to be surprised and rather amused by you pulling out a surprise attack card, purposely playing hard to get which he caught onto instantly. "What can I do to score a date with you?" He wanted a challenge.

"Show me that you mean it. Earn me," you were gladly setting up something testing for him. "One week. Then I'll decide,"

"You know how to play, L/N," Jake shook his head, but didn't shy away from it either, brazenly taking it on with his head held high. "Just wait, I'll prove it to you. By the end of the week, we're going to be on a date,"

"I'll be waiting for you to swoon me over, Sim."

Jake bit back a smile, ideas already churning in the back of his mind as the both of you moved onto other topics. He was going to win you over, he was sure of it. The first step of breaking the ice had been done, now it was onto getting you, the girl he had unknowingly fallen for after unfortunate encounters that he believed to be fated.

Despite the many difficult games Jake played in or the countless troubles he faced on and off ice, for the first time in ages, he was actually challenged, and he was going to overcome it to make you his. 

"You scored yourself a man?"

Telling both Wonyoung and Anton about Jake at lunch was equally comical and confusing. Anton was the one who knew the whole timeline while Wonyoung needed a lot of catching up, resulting in many back-and-forths in the conversation. In the end, you finally reached the conclusion with both fully caught up. 

"Well, yes but not officially?" You didn't even know how to put it. 

"Y/N wants a yearning man, that's what," Anton snickered, earning a firm slap on the shoulder from you, though you didn't deny.

"You never told me you were friends with Jake too! Or with the whole hockey team," it was your turn to point fingers at Anton, staring accusingly at him.

"Last time I checked you weren't interested in hockey and jocks," he shrugged, which you couldn't deny wasn't entirely wrong. "Plus, I didn't think it was necessary,"

"They're his party friends," Wonyoung added, earning a guilty eye roll from Anton. 

"Okay, pause, they're more than that. They even came to my tournaments, but that's not the point. Look, honestly, they're the last people I'd set you up with," Anton threw his hands up.

"Are they really that bad?" 

"They're not bad, they're good people, just … the single ones tend to have more fuck boy tendencies as cliche as it sounds," Anton clicked his tongue, leaning back into his seat. "You know, when you're hot, single, and a quite known collegiate athlete, girls are going to be chasing after you,"

"Great, now I have to think about him being perceived by other girls," you muttered, supporting your chin on your palm. 

"But he only has his eyes on you now," Wonyoung interjected immediately, trying to salvage the originally sweet and romantic scenarios of Jake. "He wants a date with you and he's going to go out of his way to prove that he deserves it. It shows enough that he's serious about you,"

"Yeah, don't let my words get to you. That's just a general idea people have on them and their romantic lives, but you have a chance to find out the truth," Anton tried his best in mending the cracks of your perception, realising he probably said too much for your own good. "Worst case scenario the date flops, you can just ghost him,"

Wonyoung narrowed her gaze at him. "Shut up, Anton."

The rest of the day consisted of classes that got you away from your friends' constant bickers and distracted you from the thought of Jake. Not to be that overthinking person that you were, but to know how Jake was perceived probably crushed the small idea you created of him. You shouldn't have even created the idea in the first place, but a crush was a crush no matter what, wasn't it?

"What's got you so deep in thought?" 

The owner of that voice which startled you appeared before you as you walked out of the lecture hall, completely in a daze until the man you couldn't keep out of your mind somehow read your ongoing thoughts. You stopped in your tracks, finding yourself standing face-to-face to a smile that radiated the sun's energy. 

"Hello to you, stranger,"

"Stranger? You wound me," he joined your side almost immediately as you picked up your steps again. 

"Hello, Jake," you corrected lightheartedly, resisting a smile once his laughter reached your ears. Is it normal for someone you barely knew to have such an effect on you?

"Hello, Y/N," he greeted back, going along with whatever that's happening. "You're really pretty today,"

You raised an eyebrow at him, though the tightening grip of your hand on your bag strap betrayed your nonchalance. "You say this to other girls?"

"Only to the ones that punch and kiss me, which is none, other than you obviously," 

"Real charming, Sim," you chuckled, nudging his shoulder with yours, eliciting a playful giggle from him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm walking you back to the dorms," he said nonchalantly in a matter-of-fact manner. 

"Don't you have classes? Wait—how did you even know I was here?" You turned to stare at him, both puzzled and shocked. 

"I had classes, but that doesn't mean I can't free up my time to come find you, no? And don't worry, I've got an insider," he winked, and by that, you knew it could only be Anton that served as his insider.

"You didn't need to, you know?" 

"I do want to though," Jake slid his one hand into his pocket, glancing at you briefly. "You might think I'm just doing this for the sake of earning a date but I honestly just want to see you,"

You blinked, eyes softening at his words. Looking at him was the only reaction you could get out of yourself, not knowing what to do or say. You failed to even realise your heart had skipped a beat. 

He smiled at your reaction, shaking his head slightly. "Don't take me so lightly, sweets," he said rather lightheartedly, but genuinity lied in every letter. You still needed to wrap your mind around the fact that Jake was actively chasing you. 

"You're doing that thing again,"

You snapped out of your thoughts, curiosity flooded your features. "What 'thing'?"

"The thing where you seem to be caught up with your thoughts," Jake had completely read you like a book, way faster than any of your friends had. How? "You know what, let's stop by that bakery first for some sweet treat to clear your mind. How does that sound?"

A sincere, sweet smile spread onto your face, the slightest of nods as a response as you tried to compute a sentence without malfunctioning. "I'd love that." I love you. Too soon, but God, you just had to put that out there somewhere even if it's in your head.

You let Jake whisk you away to the bakery, then back to the dorms where you held onto him until it was ultimately a few seconds too long to be just a casual hug. The momentary silence after was filled with your quiet smiles, followed by hushed goodbyes that trailed past your door, leaving you in a lump of mush whose heart was beating too quick for your own good. 

Was this how liking someone felt? Well, it was something to be discovered as you failed to come to terms with it just yet.

Somehow, Jake knowing your class schedule and coming to your lecture hall at the end of each day became something you didn't question eventually. The shyness from both sides melted with every encounter, soon the space between you and him seemed to become smaller, and your bag would be on his shoulder instead. It was unimaginable how quick you and him got along in a short period of time as if you had been friends since the start.

"You didn't come to the game yesterday," Jake pointed out rather sulkily, flashing you those signature puppy eyes that you learned in a span of three days was actually just a trick to milk some pity.

"Jake, it's a school night. Why is the team even playing twice this week?" you deadpanned.

"Who says you can't have some fun on school nights?" He raised his eyebrows expectantly at you just to be shot down by your blank stare. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm convinced your appearance is pure luck for our team,"

"Now, what BS are you trying to use to convince me to go?" 

"It's not bullshit! The last game we played that you didn't come to resulted in a near loss. We were lowkey shit. The times you were there, we were somehow the next contending NHL team," 

"I think that's just a coincidence," you poked his arm, shaking your head in pure disbelief. 

"To me it isn't. Come to the next game, and to the pregame party with me on Friday,"

"Pregame party?"

"It's this party we have once in a while—you know what—it's actually almost before every game, but as I was saying, a party,"

"Full of jocks?"

Jake opened his mouth, then closed it. "Not only jocks, Anton will be there too,"

"Wow, like that's any better," you said sarcastically, knowing your best friend was the worst party goer to be with. Despite his shy personality and persona, all it took was one cup of alcohol to get him absolutely buzzed and become the opposite of his usual demeanour. That explained why he would usually ditch you though it was unintended. Wonyoung then became your party partner in crime, you suppose Jake was now trying to make a spot for himself now.

"I won't get drunk, I promise, I won't even touch a single drop of alcohol. I'll be by your side the whole time. It'll be a good opportunity to meet the guys too," he raised his eyebrows expectantly at you, the smile on his face persisting. He could tell you were conflicted. "You do the drinking, I'll do the driving, how about that?"

"Modern day romance, cute," you snickered, gradually letting the feeling of FOMO get to you but you also wanted to actually hang out with Jake. "I'll go,"

"Great—"

"No funny business," you pointed an accusatory finger at him, to which he reacted with a mock salute, flashing a satisfied grin. 

"Absolutely no funny business." He reaffirmed, the sparks in his eyes increasing by tenfold. "I'll be by your doorstep at 8 sharp."

Jake was a man who stuck to his words. He was, in fact, on your doorstep at 8 PM that night, ringing the doorbell a minute earlier until you swung the door open to reveal yourself, already ready to leave. 

"Hey," 

"Hi," you greeted back after a second's pause, stepping out to close the door behind you. "You're on time,"

Jake pulled a face, following your pace as you two started making your way to wherever Jake's car was parked. "Why wouldn't I be?"

You shrugged, pursing your lips. "My past dates never came on time,"

"Well, they suck and I'm glad it didn't get serious because you deserve better," 

You took a glance at him, smiling at the way he had his eyebrows furrowed, looking as if he was mad on your behalf. "I have you now,"

It took a couple of seconds for it to dawn on Jake's face. Watching his features twist and morph upon realisation had you giggling deviously. "I'm your date? Are you calling this a date? What—"

"Come on, let's walk faster." You looped your arm around his, pulling him along and giving him zero chances to collect himself as he tried to dissect everything happening. He didn't question it further once you two got into his car, only a faint smile remained on his lips all the way there.

You practically clung onto Jake almost like a koala bear upon entering the threshold of the frat house, reminding you of why you barely go to parties in the first place. "How about you do all the socialising too?" 

Jake threw his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. It was an odd feeling when you noticed people having their eyes set on you and him, the hockey star player with just some girl. "Come on, the guys will love you,"

"I have social anxiety,"

"That's too late to confess now," he gave your shoulder a small, reassuring squeeze. "We can leave anytime you want,"

"Really?"

"Really. It's not about me tonight, it's you. Plus, coach will kill us if he knows we're at another one of these parties, so I'm saving my ass while we're at it," 

"You're an idiot," you snorted, but all he did was mirror your smile without your knowledge.

Out of all the things you've witnessed at this party, you found the most fascinating thing was Jake knowing practically everyone there. Every person he's passed by would greet him or he would be the first to greet them, the popularity of his was evident.

Never in a million years would you be able to predict the fact that you would meet the school's hockey team, let alone Jake himself. You were too used to seeing their tiny figures skating around on ice that when Jake brought you up to his friends, you had to blink a couple of times.

"Hey! Oh—you're the one that gave little Jakey a kiss," Heeseung's attention immediately turned to you after Jake introduced you to his small circle of friends. 

"Dude!" Jake swatted Heeseung's shoulder, the reddening tips of his ears gave himself away. 

"I'm Y/N," you casted a pointed look over at Jake while you introduced yourself to his friends, shaking some of their hands and letting them give you a half hug. Anton was amongst the bunch, occasionally nodded over at Jake to purposely tease you. 

The amount of drinking games the circle of hockey players pulled you in was admirable even for a person with high tolerance like you. There were wins and losses, by the end of the night, you could barely stand on your two feet. Thankfully, your personal chauffeur and date was there for you to lean on. 

"I want to see you around more often," Sunghoon drunkenly pointed over at you. "Jakey, don't hide her, okay? She's lots of fun,"

The rest hummed in agreement and Jake reassured them he'd do so before saying his last goodbyes of the night. His attention was now fully on you as he tried his best to get you into his car, somehow managing to also safely drive back to your place and guide you into your dorm. 

"I'll go in myself," you protested against him as you crossed the threshold, his hands holding onto you firmly. 

"You can barely walk properly, Y/N,"

"I'm just a little drunk," you defended, earning an amused snort from Jake who was entirely unconvinced by you. He eventually set you down onto the couch, wandering into the kitchen area and you didn't bother questioning, not when he came back with a glass of water. 

"Here, drink," he handed you the glass of water that you downed in one go. You expected him to leave right after, but he didn't seem to be going anytime soon from the way he stayed glued to his spot next to you. "You alright?"

"I'll manage," you reassured, knowing how your roommate was going to have to put up with your hungover state the next morning. "You should go and get some sleep, you're playing tomorrow,"

"You're right," he stood up, though seemingly reluctant as he stared at your tipsy state. "Are you going to be okay alone?"

"Yes, I'll be! Now stop nagging," you followed suit to stand up, holding onto his arms for slight support. "I'm back home safely thanks to you and that's all that matters. Now, you, home, sleep, okay?"

Jake threw his head back, biting back a smile that was threatening to make its way to his face. "Okay. Who's the one nagging now?"

You pulled a look, punching his shoulder softly in a lighthearted manner. "Whatever," you murmured, excusing the rate of your heartbeat picking up. "You need to rest to score goals,"

"Goals? Why are you suddenly talking about goals?"

"I want to see you score,"

His lips curled into a knowing smirk, an imaginary light bulb flashed bright as an idea did in his head. "And if I score … will I get anything out of it?"

You caught on immediately, rolling your eyes with an incredulous smile. "Maybe an answer to a certain question,"

"Are you raising a bet with me, L/N?"

"Am I? It depends if you're up for it, Sim,"

"I'm always up for a challenge. A goal, a date,"

"You have my word."

Jake was soon out the door, your figure leaning on the doorframe for support as you bid him goodbye. "Good luck for tomorrow," 

"My heart will be at peace knowing you're going to be there. Come find me after the game … which I will score in," 

You stifled a laugh at his response. "I will,"

"Great, I'll see you then," Jake couldn't even hide his excitement from the way his face beamed. He acted nonchalant by shoving his hands into his pockets. "Goodnight," 

You smiled, "Goodnight." It was a daring move, but you took the chance of him being completely caught off guard to swiftly press a kiss on one side of his cheek. You didn't allow him to process this before closing the door, hiding the shade of burning scarlet on your cheeks. 

Were you crazy? Yes. Were you starting to feel something more for Jake? Definitely.

"So … you and him are officially in the talking stage?"

It was the first time Wonyoung accompanied you and Anton to a hockey game. Her lack of interest in the sport didn't fathom neither of you, all you two needed was extra emotional support. So, now you were stuck gossiping instead. 

"Something like that," you shrugged, eyes automatically landing on said talking stage who was warming up on the ice. This time around, Anton managed to score some good seats, though it wasn't front row, it was still considerably close. 

"'Something like that'? Dude, you gave him a kiss on the cheek and you guys wouldn't stop texting, you're literally advancing at this point," Anton crossed his arm, shifting in his seat. 

"You did what? Since when did you get so bold?"

"Since I got drunk. I swear I wasn't in my right mind,"

"Drunk words are sober thoughts, or in your case, drunk actions, that was probably what you've always wanted to do," Anton chipped in, earning a nudge from you.

"And you still haven't given an answer to that date yet? It's been almost a week and it's the weekend already," It was Wonyoung's turn to cross her arm and stare accusingly at you. Guilty. If only they knew the secret bet you had with Jake too.

"Don't worry, I've made up my mind," you, in fact, officially did make up your mind the night you went to bed screaming into your pillows at your action. It was a blessing he hadn't intruded on your dreams or else you'd be doomed.

"Well, what is it?" Wonyoung egged on, but all you did was smile deviously at her.

"I'll tell you after I give him my answer, but I think you'd already know it."

There was no mistake that Jake had spotted you in the crowd multiple times. The first time he glanced over, you thought it was a mere coincidence, but when there was a second, third and fourth time, you knew it wasn't. You didn't miss that lingering smile on his lips each time he spared a glance in your direction. If he kept going on, you felt your heart was about to burst. 

The first period started with a bang. It was barely a few seconds in when the home team already got possession of the puck, Jake playing a big role in it. As if on cue, Jake was the one leading the possession, swerving past the opposition's defence line. Before you knew it, the puck was at the back of the net, a goal by Jake was scored under a minute. 

Naturally, you and your friends jumped out of your seats in celebration. You, however, were hiding a bark of laughter once you remembered the bet you made with Jake. He really had something to prove to you, didn't he? To rub it into your face much more, Jake just had to skate past your section and purposely blow a kiss at your direction. 

It wouldn't be Jake if he didn't have more tricks hidden under his sleeves, which explained why in another minute, a second goal from him was scored. At that point, you were both shocked and amused, realising how you should probably not second question his determination and dedication to securing a date with you. Two goals in two minutes, there was no denying his utmost desperation was apparent. 

The first and second period soon ended with the home team leading. It was a pretty laid back game all thanks to Jake's contributions, so once the third period came around, everyone wasn't on the edge of their seats as much as before. It didn't excuse the surprises that continued to ensue time after time, the next one included Jake. 

The clock was ticking and the atmosphere was gradually getting intense. The sounds of hockey sticks clashing into one another to win over the puck was loud, the home team succeeded in taking possession. That possession was soon passed onto Jake who quickly speeded past the oppositions. In a blink of an eye and a swift movement of his hockey stick, the puck was in the back of the opposition's net. 

The crowd in the stands erupted into shouts of joy, pieces of popcorn flew into the air, drinks were flying everywhere, but nobody cared. You and your two best friends jumped out of your seats at once, shouting and hollering madly. The team on the ice was equally high on energy too, every player was jumping on Jake, but there was no mistaking his eyes being trained on you even if you were a distance away. 

You expected him to turn away right after, but he never averted his attention on you. In a place full of people, you felt as though the lights were focused on you and him only. The camera zoomed in on him which was displayed on the jumbotron screen showing his smiling face, only then he turned his gaze onto the camera, blowing a kiss. This action managed to get many screams, but what came next was unexpected. He held up a gesture with his hand and it was clearly the first letter of your name. 

Jake turned to look back at your direction, showing the letter of your name gestured by his hand proudly. Just from seeing his beaming expression, you found yourself smiling too, unable to resist his charms till the point where your friends were staring at you dumbfounded at the side. Frankly, no man has ever made you smile this way, ever. 

"Did he—" Anton glanced at Wonyoung who looked back at him with a rather nonchalant expression compared to his confused one.

"Dedicate a goal to her? Yeah," it was something everyone could see, even if they didn't know you personally, they'd know Jake was dedicating it to a specific someone. "I wish a talking stage of mine would do this too,"

Anton shook his head. "Dream on, Wony."

Once the game was over, you sent him a text to meet you at the same location you bumped into him, aka somewhere along the food stalls. You took your time hanging around with your friends until you got a response back saying he's on the move, until then your friends decided to leave first and you were left with multiple 'good luck's from them. 

Thankfully, by the time you got there it was mostly empty and there wasn't any crowd, because the last thing you needed was someone overhearing. It didn't take long for Jake to arrive after you did. His hair was still wet from the shower, a backpack slung over his shoulder. 

"Hey," he said casually, stopping right before you. "I didn't keep you waiting, right?"

"Nope, you didn't," you shook your head, pursing your lips. "Great game, by the way,"

"Thanks," Jake's hand travelled to the back of his neck, a small tinge of red making its way to his cheeks. He was shy, especially since you were inadvertently hinting at the celebration that came after the goal. 

You smiled, but the nervous habit of fidgeting your ring betrayed your rather nonchalant expression. It wasn’t supposed to be something so scary, yet it’s a much needed step in your talking stage with him. “Yes,” That wasn’t exactly how you wanted to execute it, here you were making a fool out of yourself instead. 

Jake tilted his head to the side in confusion, almost looking like those golden retriever puppies you’d seen online. “What?” If it wasn’t for your shamelessness and determination in that moment, you’d have already ran away from the embarrassment. 

“Yes, I’d like to go on a date with you. That’s my answer and also a part of our bet,”

Jake’s lips parted, the initial confusion morphed into surprise which he soon fully digested and that realisation resulted in the biggest smile that crept its way onto his face. You couldn’t help but find his reaction endearing, laughing softly. "Nice goals,"

"Thanks. Does that mean I get three dates now?" 

It was easy to laugh around Jake, there was something freeing and warm about his presence. There was a feeling you experienced only with him, you didn't know what it was, but you wished to be able to have it all the time. "Take me out on one date first then we'll decide,"

Jake laughed quietly, looking away to avoid your eyes, because to him, one more glance at you was about to make his heart burst in nervousness.  It took a few seconds for Jake to gather his composure back. He was the complete opposite compared to the person he was making that bet with you, shy and cheeky, unlike the confident and suave person he was from that night, the stark difference was what warmed your heart. 

The obvious giddiness of his was eventually masked by an attempt in casualness. "I–tomorrow, seven, I'll pick you up,"

"Sounds good,"

"Great. Amazing," Jake mindlessly said, unable to take his starry eyes away from you. It looked as if Jake was completely enamoured by you from the way he stared at you with fascination. Whatever was going on between you and him then, it was some kind of love that was undeniably innocent. 

Almost in a single blink, Jake snapped out of it, somehow being self aware as a shade of pink painted his cheeks at the realisation of his own thoughts. "It's getting late, how about I take you back to your dorms?"

"That'd be great, thank you." you suddenly felt shy under his gaze, the thoughts in your mind were yelling at your heart to stop beating so quickly. 

Under the bleak night sky, you and Jake made your way back to your dorms with the stars as an additional companion. For the first time in forever, you found yourself wishing the night would never end and the road stretched further just so you could listen to his laughter for another minute. Falling in love was scary, but realising it was another story.

"It's been three hours and you still haven't made up your mind yet?"

Calling Wonyoung over and having her help you in getting ready was actually just her seeing you entering your demise as you overthink every little single detail. The outfit you chose had been changed over and over again till the point where Wonyoung was exhausted just by watching you do so. 

"I haven't been on a date in ages, cut me some slack," you groaned, sitting down on the edge of your bed in defeat. "Plus, I think what's different about this date compared to the others is that I actually like him,"

"You—what?" Wonyoung practically scooted over in a hurry to join your side, purposely looking at you in shock.

"What?"

"You admitted it. You never do, amd it's only been a week," 

"Didn't need you to call out my emotional avoidant issues but yeah, I do like him. Well, not like 'like' him, confession kinda level yet. It's getting there but I think there's probably a chance," you sighed in defeat, basically raising your hands up in surrender, liking someone could be ever so thrilling but also an emotion filled rollercoaster. "He's sweet, genuine, funny, cute, everything a girl could ever dream of, it's no surprise how he's so easy to love. But I just hope I'm not another one of the girls in his roster,"

"Hey!" Wonyoung nudged you hard in the ribs, you sat up straight, head snapping to see her disapproving frown. "You're not, okay? I doubt he even has one from what I heard,"

"What?"

"I did some digging and from what my sources claimed, he hasn't been seeing anyone since his last break up, which was over a year ago. Not like the ones on his team, okay? They're fucking everywhere and he's been practising celibacy, alright?" Wonyoung's reassurance might've been slightly lighthearted, but it still held a certain weight to it. "Don't think too much. Are Anton's words getting to your head?" 

"Well, no, but you already know my traumatic experiences with guys like him," by that you meant your exes and past dates, who were coincidentally friends of Anton's and the reason how you got to know them in the first place, also explaining why you doubt your best friends' judgement at times. Dating in the 21st century was tough. "I'm just saying. It feels too good to be true,"

"Or maybe it's because he likes you for who you are. You're you. Don't care about him being some hot shot hockey player, in the end, he's the one who wants a date with you."

You replayed Wonyoung's words as you waited for Jake to turn up at your doorstep, the clock ticking close to seven. As much as you had a great time getting to know him  throughout the week, you couldn't help but have doubtful thoughts. He was Jake, the star player of the hockey team, there were probably many girls on campus dying to be in your spot right now. 

Maybe Wonyoung was right, Anton's words were getting to you. You shook the badgering thoughts from your mind once you heard the doorbell ringing, all of the doubts disappeared the moment you opened your door to see a nicely dressed Jake Sim, who had a small bouquet of flowers in his hands. 

Jake stared at you, his eyes sweeping over your body, lips parting in what you think was awe. The black dress Wonyoung picked really was the best choice it seemed. "Wow," he breathed out, pressing one hand on his chest. "You look like a dream,"

If what people described as having butterflies fluttering in your abdomen was exactly how you felt when he said that, they were probably right. You could feel the heat rushing up to your cheeks, painting them a light shade of pink. It was cliche, something typical a man would say, but somehow when it came to him, it had an effect on you.

"Thank you. You look handsome too," you smiled at him, momentarily getting distracted by the first few buttons of his button down shirt that was undone. It was most likely on purpose, wasn't it?

"Thank you," he bit back his smile from becoming wider, then raised his arm which held onto the flowers. "I got you flowers,"

You raised an eyebrow at him, both pleased and surprised. It might've been a simple act, but it was certainly a way to your heart. "You really know how to charm me, don't you?" You accepted them and quickly ran to place them on the counter, mentally noting to store them away later. 

"I have my secret ways to get to your heart," he slipped his hands into his pockets, watching you make your way out and offered you his hand, which you gladly took. "And today, there's going to be another one that will lead me there,"

"I'm intrigued."

The car ride was quite longer than you had expected. It was a good thing that the whole journey wasn't filled with complete silence. Here and there, either Jake or you would tell the other about something going on in your lives, sometimes even the most random things too. The occasional silence wasn't awkward at all. With him, you realised the silences were always comfortable, as if his presence was what made everything reassuring. 

The car eventually came to a stop at a building. You prayed it wasn't some shady building you were about to get abducted in, but knowing Jake, it should be the complete opposite of so. He held the door open for you at all times, even the car door, such small gestures made you smile secretly and your heart skipping. It was quite a torture, however, for his hand to brush against yours but never once intertwining. Maybe it was because he didn't wish to go against your boundaries and you were also too shy to suggest it, so either of you were left being stuck in agony hoping the distance between would disappear.

The elevator reached the top in no time. You were rather relieved, the tension in the whole journey up was palpable. It was obvious the both of you were aware of it, the only problem was no one dared to act on it. From Jake's frequent glances and his intense gaze, you knew his hand was itching to reach out for yours.

You were surprised at what Jake had planned once you stepped out of the elevator and into a restaurant with open air. It was a rooftop dining restaurant. Jake didn't bother to hide his knowing smile even as the server led you both to a reserved table. 

"Dinner and sunsets," Jake smiled cheekily at you, seemingly looking proud of himself and the idea behind this location. 

You narrowed your eyes at him lightheartedly. How could he have known that this was an ideal date of yours? "How did you know?" 

Jake paused, then he shrugged, feigning casualness that you knew was the opposite of his true feelings currently. "I have my sources," Anton. Again.  

You snorted at the common phrase you've grown to understand, shaking your head at the thought of Jake constantly pestering your best friend for information. Yet, it wasn't exactly a bad thing. Knowing Jake would frequently ask your friends about you and your likings showed his efforts. Plus points. 

"I've never had someone put this much thought into a date with me before," 

Jake's gaze softened following your words, the littlest of the edges of his lips curled upwards. He let out a small endearing laugh and looked down a second to hide it. "I just hope you'll get to enjoy this date to the max. It's all about you after all,"

"Of course I will! The restaurant's amazing, the view over the city is too perfect. The fact that we'll get to watch the sunset in a while too? Ten out of ten,"

"I'm glad. You have no idea how much panic and anxiety I had planning this out,"

It was your turn to smile, the image of Jake being all panicked asking Anton to try and plan a perfect date was absolutely fitting to what you expected. "I wouldn't mind even if you took me to a seven eleven to eat cup noodles together if it meant we got to spend time together,"

You didn't know what it was exactly hidden behind Jake's expressions. He was resisting the urge to smile wider, the look of appreciation and adoration flashed across his eyes expressed otherwise. "I guess that's going to be our next date. I still have another two, don't I?"

"I don't remember that being in our deal exactly," you tilted your head and felt your heart beating with an increased tempo, accepting the effect he has on you by now. "But I don't mind seeing you more actually. Maybe I can promise you more than two dates,"

A look of relief was evident on Jake's face, he smirked in disbelief at you almost causing his heart to stop thinking you didn't want more than this one date. He was wrong, so wrong to doubt you. "Scared me for a second, thought you wanted this to be your one and very last date with me,"

"How could I? The restaurant's not the only reason I'll enjoy this date, you know? It's because of you," you averted your eyes away for a moment, suddenly scared to meet his gaze and the intensity of it. "You're the main reason, Jake," 

Once your confession had escaped your lips after holding it in for a suffocating amount of time, you realised you were not only professing something that was blossoming, but also gradually opening up to him, being completely honest and vulnerable while speaking your mind. It was odd. You've only known him for a week, but it was the most you've ever felt for a man you were romantically involved with. Maybe the part where he kissed you before you even knew one another played a role in the speed of your feelings' development, but you rather not come to terms with that. 

There was another side of you which bugged you negatively. You had a feeling falling so fast for somewhere could eventually lead to a dismay. Some of your friends were evidence you could attest to, the amount of tears shed onto your sleeve was enough of a memory for you to recall. It was also a lesson on not moving too fast that you learnt.  Were you going to get your heart broken? 

But, the heart does want what it wants. You were a victim of listening to your heart over your head, and so were your friends who would tell you the same continuously. Seeing the man opposite you being completely stunned at what you said made the thoughts in your head panic. Oh God, did he not feel the same? Were you the one moving too fast and misreading the room instead? You turned away to look at the view of the city as a way to avoid his gaze, your heart feeling as if it was about to explode at any minute.

The view before you was exactly what you were feeling at that moment. The golden orange mixed with a pale pink painted your emotions of a complicated longing and attraction towards Jake, the softness of the colours were exactly how you felt for him, adoration and affection. "Pretty," you said mindlessly as you watched the sunset. 

Jake followed your sight to take in the beauty of the sunset over the city, smiling to himself before turning back to look at you, taking the chance while you were paying him no mind. If only you could see the amount of pure fondness in his eyes which travelled to the corners of your face under the reflection of the orangey pink sunset. "Pretty,"

In that exact moment, it was a scene out of a movie and you weren't even aware of it. The hidden intimacy of it all was something you couldn't find reciprocating with someone else. That was mainly because Jake wasn't just someone to you.

You pushed the whole load of thoughts going around in your mind to play a little game of twenty questions with Jake. It was probably not the best idea, but it was also a convenient way to get to know someone. You soon learned that Jake had a dog back in Australia and he played football before getting into hockey, which explained why he held onto the jersey number five for a long time. His favourite colour was black, spring was his favourite season and that grape was his favourite flavour. There were many occurrences in which you and Jake yelled 'me too' in between the things you two revealed about yourselves. There was one out of many you two shared a belief in: love at first sight.

You were surprised at how compatible you and him were. There were slight differences but also a lot of similarities between you both. Maybe it was fate for you to find someone that fits you like a puzzle. Throughout the dinner, everything was going smoothly with nothing but laughter and interesting conversations to go with your food. That was until a foreign voice came towards your table.

"Jakey!" The familiar voice you've encountered once during the party came from behind you. You could tell by the smile faltering from Jake's face that he was not happy with the appearance of this person. Actually, it wasn't just one, there were multiple. 

"Jaeyun!" There came another and soon the three stars of the hockey team appeared by your table. At first, their attention was all on Jake, their precious best friend and teammate. But judging from Jake's death glare, they only got the gist once they noticed your presence there, taking them a second to process everything. 

"Hey guys," you greeted with a pinch of uncertainty, but you wanted to be nice and it would be rude not to greet them. 

"Y/N," they acknowledged you in unison, their glances going back and forth between you and Jake. "Looking good," Heeseung added, followed by a hum of agreement from the other two. This only earned a sharp jap on the side from Jake. 

"Thank you," you covered your smile with your hand, the urge to burst into full blown laughter was getting strong. 

Looking at the knowing smirks appearing on every one of their faces, you knew all of them were sharing the same amount of brain cells which had identical thoughts. "Are you guys on a … date?" Sunghoon, the rather cheeky one, was the first to ask. 

"Yes, we are, and you guys are crashing it," Jake narrowed his venomous eyes at his best friends, his gaze were enough to convey a message: he was going to strangle them to death after the date. "Why are you guys even here?"

"Well, Heeseung kinda overheard you asking Anton about a good restaurant or something like that, then he told Jay and Jay told me, so we thought it'd be nice to check it out on the same day you're going," Sunghoon scratched the back of his neck, realising how awkward this whole situation was. 

At that point, Jake was rubbing his temples as if his head was about to burst at any second. The three hockey players turned to look at you for help, to you, they were almost like three helpless puppies who were about to be scolded. "We're sorry," Jay immediately gripped the other two by their shoulders, "and we're going to get out of your hair now. Enjoy your date, bye!" He rushed his words out then instantly dragged Sunghoon and Heeseung away, their hushed whispers audible until they eventually disappeared as a whole.

You turned over your shoulder to see their retreating figures until they were completely out of sight. You had to stifle your laugh as you turned back, seeing Jake shake his head before he met your eyes, cracking a small and rather embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that. I didn't know they were going to appear,"

"You don't need to be sorry. I think it's funny they made a sudden appearance and it definitely took me by surprise—in a good way. Plus, it's cute they came here wanting to join you thinking you were alone,"

The initial annoyance and embarrassment melted from Jake's expressions, he smiled with full genuinity, chuckling lightly. "Yeah, it was,"

You leaned your front against the table, placing your head onto your palm for support. "So, you asked Anton about me, your 'source'," you began carefully, "how long has it been going on?" 

Jake flushed a light shade of pink that matched the hues of the sunset from earlier. He let out a cough then masked it with a lopsided smile in embarrassment that you had caught him straight on. "Ever since I found out you were friends,"

You couldn't stop yourself from grinning at his truthful confession. "I figured,"

"You did?" He tilted his head in curiosity and surprise. You supposed it was normal for some men to be oblivious. 

"It's not hard to catch on, Jake. I only have two close friends," you poked light fun, though in reality it was pretty much the truth and you were not going to talk about that. 

"Two close friends? What about me?"

You shrugged, surpressing the laughter that was on the edge of escaping your lips. "Well, yes, but you're more than just a friend to me,"

Jake's eyes lit up, a twinkling sparkle decorated his pupils. However, his playful grin said otherwise. "Best friend?"

"Get out."

Other than the cameo of Jake's friends, the rest of the date has been relaxing and calm, going smoothly as you continued on with more jokes and throwing fun facts about yourselves. The person you saw on ice was a contrary compared to the one sittinf opposite you. Although he was much rougher and aggressive on ice, even till the point where it landed him several suspensions, you knew he wasn't like that. He showed you his true, softer side with nothing but honesty and trust. There was only mutual respect and truth between you two, that was how easy it was to be with him. 

By the time you got back to your dorm room, it was already past midnight. Time was no longer a concept when it came to being with Jake. Neither you nor him realised how late it was until the servers told you they were closing soon, being completely immersed in each others' presence and conversation to even pay attention to your surroundings. Jake had walked you to the door of your dorm room, the exact spot where he probably stood knocking your door earlier.

"Thanks for tonight. I don't think I'd ever forget about … everything. The sunset, your friends—" you smiled at that moment when Jake snorted when his friends were mentioned, "and you,"

The grin he had on his face faltered a little, his eyebrows raising and head tilting slightly. "Me?"

You couldn't tell him the truth. The sight of him with the sunset was when you realised your heart was feeling for him more than you could control. It was as if your heart was speaking for you. The hues of the evening sunset painted his face with a slow glow when he was watching it unfold before you, it was then you looked over at him and felt your heart stop. He was beautiful, his smile was something you wished was embedded in your mind even when you closed your eyes. 

Instead, you hid the truth. "You put so much effort into planning this whole date till the point where you asked Anton about me. I'm grateful that you cared this much, it's something I'll never forget,"

The smile on his delicate features only grew wider, the light tinge of pink was making its way to his cheeks. "I'll never forget about this too, our first date. I never knew I could feel this way,"

"What way?"

"In a way where I feel too much, and I feel like my heart is about to burst at any moment just watching you," Jake bit his tongue, stopping himself from letting all his inner thoughts pour out and overwhelm you, the last thing he needed was you running into your dorm and never see him again. Little did he know you would do the opposite of that. 

"I feel the same too," it was your turn to confess your truth. From the looks of Jake's reaction, that was probably the last thing he expected as a response which reciprocated his thoughts. You couldn't help chuckling softly at his expressions, he was definitely someone who had a rich set of reactions for each situation. 

"Do you want to know what I think we should do next time?" There was an edge of humour in his tone, you didn't know what he was going to say next. You narrowed your gaze at him, particularly at the way he said it. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yeah, why? Is it something dirty?" You scrunch your face up, shooting daggers at him. 

"It's disgusting," he punctuated, pausing for a few seconds after. "I think we should go on another date sometime, go bowling or whatever, get some ice cream,"

The glint in his seemingly mischievous looking stare met the roll of your eyes. He snickered at your reaction and you almost punched his shoulder out of spite. "You idiot," there was no chance of you hiding the growing smile, "I'd love to. It's a no brainer,"

Jake smiled in relief, breathing out a sigh. "I'll hold you to it," he snapped his fingers. There was a short pause, realising something shifted in the air ever since the moment you and him both confessed each of your inner thoughts. 

You took the chance to divert the conversation away in an attempt to make everything less awkward. "You should head back already, it's late. Thanks for driving me back. I'll text you, okay?"

"Right," Jake said rather mindlessly, the gears in his head seemingly turning and still stuck on the conversation a few steps back. 

"Goodnight, Jake," your hand was on the doorknob, giving it a twist to open your door, but you didn't walk in just yet. 

"No goodnight kiss?" Jake said teasingly before you could even take a step past the threshold. The slight raise in his eyebrows and the smirk on his face was what made you recalled Anton's words of them having fuckbiy tendencies. Well, there was that side of him. 

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head. "Nice try, I'm not intoxicated this time, Jake. Maybe I'll give you one on our next date—just maybe," you sent him a blowing kiss, which he caught as you closed your door shut, the sound of his sweet laughter was audible enough for you to feel a smile mindlessly making its way to your lips.

You hoped this would never end. The feeling of overwhelming joy, the giddiness as if you were a teenage girl all over again, the pure emotions of liking someone. All of this, you wished it would have a fortunate outcome.

Days turned into weeks where weeks turned into months. The time you've known Jake was no longer just a week, but months now. During those months you've spent together, there were countless of dates he brought you out on. Amusement park, cinema, ice skating rink, roller skate rink, the list of location went on and on. At that point, there was nothing but transparency between you two given the amount of time spent with each other. He wasn't just becoming your best friend, but also someone your heart was yearning for. By then, all your negative overthinking thoughts from the first date had completely vanished. Wonyoung was right, you thought too much.

Over the months, he has been proving to you that he was just a loser in disguise, you were saying this with full affection, of course. The initial fuckboy reputation that everyone claimed him to be just because he was part of the hockey team proved the complete opposite. He was probably a victim of rumours, stereotypes and generalisation. 

"Aim better!" 

It was one of those weekends reserved for date nights between you and Jake. It was a little something special that you and him shared. This had become a tradition before you even realised. The bowling alley nearby became the talk of the conversation about your next date not long before and here you were now, beating him while he continued to sigh in defeat.

"I am! You can't just say that while you're here winning. How are you so good at this?" He was gripping onto the bowling ball tightly, his eyes trained on the pins ahead of him. "I didn't know there was this side of you. You should consider a career in bowling," his aim definitely didn't land right when all he managed to do was knock two pins down. "I give up,"

"Don't be a sore loser here," one throw of the bowling ball from you showed Jake your true talents when every one of the pins came knocking down. 

He turned to face you while still standing in his own lane, hands on his hips with a look of disbelief and admiration. "You know what, that's probably one of the hottest things I've seen,"

You screwed your face up, letting out a snort. "Your switch up is crazy,"

Jake threw his hands up in mock defence, shrugging. "Hey, I might've not win in bowling but I did win here with you by my side,"

Him and his words. He sure knew how to work them to his advantage and make you flustered. You turned away from him to hide your grin, the bowling ball in your hold suddenly feeling ten times heavier. "You're such a tease, Sim,"

He picked up a bowling ball too, contrary to his claims of giving up earlier. At your response, he laughed lightheartedly, giving it a few seconds before speaking again, as if to let everything soak in. "Just speaking the truth, sweets."

The next and last location to end the night of competitive bowling was the ice cream shop down the street. In classic Jake style, he got the flavour with the most complicated and weirdest name out there just for it to be chocolate, whereas you got a simple strawberry flavour. Strawberry and chocolate, a match made in heaven which represented you and him coincidentally. How cliche. 

Amidst the silent exchange of reactions to each of your ice creams, Jake placed down his cup after taking one small scoop. "I have something to propose,"

You paused, glanced at him with suspicion before halting your actions completely. "What is it?"

"Be my plus one for Sunghoon's birthday party,"

You displayed some apprehension. "Is it some crazy frat party like the one you brought me to last time?"

Jake let out an amused sounding snort, then shook his head. "The opposite—"

"Thank God," you breathed out a sigh of relief.

Jake, however, looked rather offended. Maybe because the party was his hockey team's pre-game party. "Hey! The party I brought you to wasn't that bad," 

"It's the most beer and shots I've consumed in a night. I would say I'm lucky for having a solid tolerance but I'd also rather not think about the morning after,"

Jake smiled at that. You didn't know if it was simply because you brought up a past memory or that memory reminded him of your certain actions that night. Either way, you didn't miss his sly smile. "Okay, okay. There's no frat parties at all for Sunghoon's birthday, don't worry. We're going to throw a dinner party at our place and that's all. Pretty simple,"

Your face lit up at the idea of a birthday party, contrasting the look you had minutes ago thinking it was going to be another party with sweaty frat boys. "Wait, that's actually so cute. Count me in,"

"Really?"

"Really. When is it?"

"Next Saturday,"

"You know exactly when to pick me up."

It wasn't even Saturday yet when Jake turned up on your doorstep unannounced in the middle of the week. He had an unapologetic smile, a bouquet of fresh flowers in one hand and a box of donuts in the other. The confusion on your face to the unamused stance you had while staring at him was enough of a response on your part. Look, you liked Jake, but whoever ruins your sleep at nine in the morning was not an exception when it came to you cursing them out. 

"Is this a courtship or a bribe?" You leaned your side against the doorframe, doing anything but inviting him at that moment. 

"Both?" He shrugged, the awkward twist of his smile told you he had an explanation ready,

"Come in," you moved your body away to let the starry eyed Jake in, a certain plan he had concocted was soon to be revealed. "Had breakfast yet?" 

"I did. But I know you haven't had breakfast, so I got you donuts," he nodded at the box in his hand, then raised his other hand that held onto the bouquet. "And flowers. I know the last one I got you is wilting," he pointed over at the vase sitting on the counter, the previous bouquet he got you on your date was indeed slowly wilting. How did he know? You didn't ask that. 

You watched Jake's movements as he set the box and bouquet down onto the table, standing in a stance which reminded you of your mother when you were in trouble. "What brings you here at nine in the morning on a Thursday, Jake? I thought you had practice and I thought I would have extra sleep," 

Jake flashed you a sheepish smile, rubbing his forearm out of habit. "That got cancelled, so I wanted to take the chance to run an errand I've been holding off. This errand, however, requires your help," 

You raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "My help? What could it possibly be?"

The question you asked was answered when Jake drove you to a mall nearby. Turns out, he didn't know what he should get for Sunghoon's birthday, which was just in a few days. Not to mention, they were anything but prepared for the party. So, a trip to the mall with your guidance was a way to lessen Jake's bundle of worries. 

"You said Sunghoon needed what?"

"A new bottle of aftershave," Jake trailed off with a hint of uncertainty, but also some embarrassment. 

"Right," you nodded slowly, scrunching your nose up at the choice of gift Jake wanted to pick out, but alas, he knew Sunghoon better than you did so who were you to judge? "What else?"

"I already ordered him a Mitch Marner jersey, so I think that's all? Oh—I need to get him this thing,"

You were puzzled, but at that point, you didn't wish to question his interesting choices of a gift. "Which is?"

"A penguin plushie."

It seemed this gift was something Jake had in mind for ages as he found his way with no fault to a toy store and knowing exactly which aisle to go to in search for the penguin plushie. With a bottle of aftershave, a penguin plushie and a soon to be delivered hockey jersey, that was Sunghoon's gift from Jake. Next on the list was party decorations. 

"Do you know what party decorations we're supposed to get?" Jake said with uncertainty as you walked past aisles of colourful decorations, only getting overstimulated by the bright colours and overwhelming amount of choices to choose from. 

"I've done many things but a birthday party? This is a first," you sighed, grabbing some tinsels that got approval by Jake with a nod of his head. 

"I blame them for putting me in charge of decoration. I want to get the cake instead," Jake sulked rather pitifully next to you, and instead, you snicker silently, which was received by a huff from him.

The trip to the mall ended with a bag of gifts and another bag full of decorations. Maybe you and him went a little overboard on the decorations, but Jake justified that it's reusable—well, except for the letter balloons which spelled Sunghoon's name.

Jake and you stopped by the small apartment he shared with his friends before dropping you off back home. It was probably your fourth time entering the apartment he lived in and it was also the fourth version of the house you last remembered. There was a new painting, several pieces of furniture shifted, and a whole lot of laundry stacked on the couch. 

Not that you were intimidated by the ever changing interior till the point where you didn't drop by his place compared to the times he came over to yours, it's just the last time you were here, the memory wasn't quite a favourable one. Let's just say, it was another recreation of your first date where the three of his friends joined your supposed movie date, but there was something they lacked that time around: self awareness. That only resulted in you and Jake cuddling rather stiffly listening to three of them rambling about the movie's theories.

"Thanks for coming along with me today," Jake held onto a chair once everything was set aside, the two of you standing close to the door and being the sole presence there at that hour.

"It's no problem. I'm glad I could be of help even though I'm pretty sure you already had everything in plan, didn't you?" 

"I'll look stupid if I admit that this was a plan to just get some time with you, won't I?" Jake slipped his hands into his pockets, glancing at the floor for a second with a small smile. "I genuinely needed your input, though. I'm sure the party will go well with your opinions,"

"It better go well, or else me getting woken up early and also getting bribed will all be in vain," you said in a lighthearted manner, eliciting a quiet laugh from Jake, and because of that, you were unable to resist a smile creeping onto your lips. "Trust me, I look more stupid for willingly sacrificing my sleep so that I can let you pull me into whatever scheme you have,"

There was a mutual spark that lighted in between. The weight of both yours and Jake's words carried something more than you had anticipated. It was evident that there was a change of atmosphere in that room, in that split second. Realisation clicked at the end of your sentence, both by you and Jake.

The momentary silence was broken by Jake. "I can't seem to find my words, but I know what my heart wants,"

You inhaled a small, sharp breath, eyes flickering. "What is it?"

"To kiss you,"

You shouldn't feel nervous, right? That was what you thought then but whatever you were feeling was betraying your thoughts. Was he going to kiss you? No, he was holding back, and that was obviously torturous not only to him but you. You wanted him to kiss you. "Then do it. Kiss me,"

You've never been braver until this moment. Never in a lifetime would you have expected those words to leave your lips. Congratulations to Jake for being the first man to get you to do so, but God, you were going insane and you were lucky your knees hadn't given out. 

Jake took a step closer to you, his hands were by his side now. The steps were daring, testing the waters. You gave a green light by staying unmoving, the quiver of your lips were a sign of anticipation and anxiety. It was happening. Your official first kiss with him. An actual kiss after months. 

At that point, he was standing so close to you, you could almost feel his breath on your face. The cologne he wore daily filled your senses, his warmth you got used to was giving you a quiet assurance like a hug. He could just kiss you now if he wanted to, but why couldn't he? Maybe he was taking his time. He was staring all over your face, as if memorising every little detail of it.

The moment his palm made its way to your cheek was when you knew you were far too deep to escape. You ignored the quickening pace of your heart and the wobble in your knees, then closed your eyes and waited with hope. 

It never came. The feeling of his lips never touched yours. Instead, the sound of the front door bursting open and the shouts of several familiar voices came crashing into your reality. 

"We're home!" The voice belonged to Heeseung, seemingly still unaware of everything. "We saw shoes out front—oh," realisation.

It was then you snapped your eyes wide open, pushing yourself away from Jake before you could form any coherent thought. Jake's expressions matched the one you had on your face: panic and shock. You stayed staring at each other for a few solid seconds until you figured you were, in fact, not dreaming of the voices and that his friends were actually standing there. 

"I—were we—did we—interrupt—" Jay stuttered out, the horrors on both his and Heeseung's faces would've been comical if only you weren't stuck in this situation yourself.  

"No!" The word escaped both yours and Jake's lips at the same time, in the same tone and manner. You turned to look at him and he did the same, then you faced his friends again. 

Jake heaved a sharp breath, pupils shaking visibly. "Well, I was just about to grab my keys to drop Y/N home," he snatched his car keys from the table without thinking twice, the awkward tension in the room was suffocating. 

"Yeah, we were about to leave …" you trailed off at the lie you made up. Nope, you weren't about to leave, you were about to kiss Jake. Oh, Anton and Wonyoung were going to love this story.

"Should we…?" Jake glanced at you, the red lights practically blaring in those pairs of brown eyes. You got his cry for help and nodded, because you, too, were calling out for help internally.  

"We should, yeah, we definitely should. I'll see you guys at the party." you waved a quick and stiff goodbye then grabbed your stuff, following Jake out the door. Only when you were outside wearing your shoes, you got the chance to breathe out a breath of relief. You didn't know what was about to happen in that house or after Jake returned, but all you could guess was them being as panicked as you were.

On the drive home, it was rather quiet. Whether it was the lasting awkwardness from earlier or the avoidance of the topic, you didn't know. You could feel his occasional glances at you, yet he didn't dare to act on it and somehow, you felt disappointed after every one of them. 

You thought by the end of the drive, you'd be silently leaving his car with no words exchanged. However, Jake wasn't one to leave it at that, nor was he someone to let you go that easily. He grabbed onto your hand before you could reach for the handle, halting you in the midst of your actions. 

"I'm sorry about earlier," he let go of your hand from his hold as you sat back into the cushioned seat of his car, the flickering of his eyes gave his nervousness away. "I can't believe it happened again,"

You cracked a small, humorous smile at the mention of you and him getting interrupted for a second time by his friends. At that point, you believed it was just fate that intervened. "It's okay, Jake, really. The timing wasn't perfect, I suppose, and I get it,"

"Maybe," he hummed, unable to take his eyes away from you, which only made you want to sink into the seat further. He couldn't just do that after almost kissing you! It's not fair. "I'm frustrated,"

"At your friends?"

"At my friends, and at the fact that I couldn't kiss you," 

He was bold. It was something you never got used to, having no prediction of what he would say next. This was one of them. 

"Yet," you added quite daringly, looking away to hide the shyness you were suddenly feeling.

"What?"

"You couldn't kiss me yet," you repeated, this time a little more confident than a minute ago. "There's always a next time, isn't there?"

Jake let out a small chuckle, throwing his head back slightly, the reddening tips of his ears betraying his current calm demeanour. The simplicity of your optimistic words made his heart jump at the unrelenting chances of another try. Second time could go right, can it? "Yeah, and I'll make sure there's no interruption during then, just the two of us."

You were thankful you declined Jake's offer of walking you up to your dorm room. Having him beside you in his car when he uttered those words so nonchalantly almost made you lose your mind. Even after you entered your room, you still felt the lingering feeling of his lips just like a ghost. Closing your eyes, you could almost feel his warmth around you swallowing you whole, the touch of his hand on your cheek burning. 

Lying in bed, you thought of him the whole night as if he had infected your mind. It was then you realised what you felt months ago was different compared to now. Your feelings for Jake was no longer some simple crush, attraction or liking, it was something deeper. You liked him, but it was a kind of feeling where you felt yourself giving your heart to him with no doubts, the stars in your eyes only shining brightly for him. He was your universe.  

God, how did you end up here? You had fallen deeply and helplessly.

On the evening of Sunghoon's birthday, you, Jake, and the rest of his friends along with some of their partners spent the last bit of time finalising all of the decorations before the birthday boy's arrival. 

The near kissing incident with Jake was eventually swept under the rug.  Maybe it did for you and him, but you could tell from Heeseung and Jay's faces that they were still suffering from the embarrassment when seeing you. You had a feeling Jake told them off after getting back that day. 

Other than that, you were more relieved nothing was awkward or stiff between the two of you. Everything was well and the preparations for Sunghoon's birthday busied him enough to get his mind off the embarrassing yet intimate moment. The time you spent with him throughout the whole fiasco of planning did some salvaging. 

"Do you think he'll like this colour?" Jake was anxiously looking at the time on his watch, noting Sunghoon's imminent arrival. Jay was out with Sunghoon to get him away from the house as long as he could.

"Jake, it's just yellow," you patted his shoulder in reassurance, unable to blame the guy for being a tad bit nervous for the first party he planned for his best friend.

"You're right—I hear his car in the driveway. Guys! Off the lights now!" Jake couldn't even get a single breath of peace when speaking of the devil, Sunghoon was home. He grabbed onto your arm, pulling you with him to hide behind the counter. The others were scurrying for the cake and you were thankful you weren't tasked to handle that. 

Even though it wasn't your first time rehearsing this, the feeling of Jake holding tightly onto your wrist, his body pressing close to yours as you squatted behind the counters, all of them were the factors your heart was beating extremely fast. Not because of Sunghoon and the entirety of his surprise party, but Jake. 

The heat emitting from his body shouldn't be making you flush red, should it? The scent of his woody cologne was concentrated, the closeness of his face and his obliviousness to it all was the cherry on top.

"I'm nervous," he whispered, the voices outside becoming louder as footsteps approached closer to the front door. 

You flashed him an assuring smile, squeezing his hand lightly. "It's going to be fine. You have me,"

The undying spark in his eyes shined even in the darkness of the room. He gave your hand a squeeze back, tugging it closer to him. "I have you."

Jake's hand never left yours even when you and him jumped at the entrance of Sunghoon. Shouts echoed around the room as Sunghoon remained shocked whilst his friends wished him happy birthday. The cake was immediately carried towards him and everyone started singing the tune of the birthday song. All while everything was happening, the hand intertwined with yours was the only thing occupying your mind.

At the end of the night with Sunghoon drunk out of his mind and everyone else too tipsy to function properly, you were one of the few left sober. Surprisingly, Jake was among the few you mentioned. There on the sidewalk of his driveway you sat under the starlit sky, catching a moment of fresh air after the whole day's worth of running around.

"Can I join?" The voice you would anticipate hearing interrupted your daze, glancing up from the sidewalk to see Jake's smiling face. 

"Always," 

He didn't say anything more but instinctively sat himself next to you, his shoulders brushing against yours created a spark that neither of you could ignore. There was a short pause of silence where you and him said nothing but just basked in each other's presence. It was one of those times where you communicated through your every microexpressions, barely saying anything audibly but also expressing everything needed. 

"I have a question," 

You were the first to break the silence, taking a daring step. 

"Shoot," 

"This is going to sound cliche, and a little stupid, but bear with me," you let your curiosity wander this time, maybe it was a spur of a moment feeling which gave you a sense of sudden vulnerability, you didn't know. "Why me?" 

Jake turned to look at you. "What?" 

"Why—out of many other girls on campus—you somehow ended up liking me and asking me out on a date?" Gosh, you knew how cliche it already sounded in your head, but to say it aloud was probably worse. You were thankful Jake wasn't walking away at the question. Instead, a smile twitched at the corners of his lips. 

"It's a long story,"

"Oh God, it's not one of those movie scenes where you tell me it's all a bet and try to win me over after I get heartbroken, right?"

Jake let out an amused sounding chuckle, throwing his head back, a habit you noticed whenever he laughs at something humorous. "What is this? '10 Things I hate about you'? Thankfully no," he gave your shoulder a small bump with his, eliciting a quiet laugh from you this time. 

"You might not remember this since it's been a while," he continued on with his story and you grew more curious. "But we actually met before that night you punched me,"

"What?"

Jake knew you wouldn't remember the memory he's bringing up currently, only smiling in response as he gave you a few seconds to process. "It's a little crazy, but we actually met on a Saturday evening. I can still remember it clearly. You were the person who offered me your umbrella on that rainy day when I was stranded outside the library building. I almost didn't make it to practice if it wasn't for you,"

He turned away from you, glancing up at the sky instead, the slight smile he had on his face maintained, never once faltering. "If I have to be fully honest with you, at that time when it happened, I was still quite heartbroken from my last break up even though months had passed since then, but seeing you … I felt something. The biggest regret was not talking to you when you already left, then somehow I found my way back to you,"

Your head was a mess scrambling to piece together Jake's story. Searching in every corner of your mind, you thought back to a rainy day, from there you looked further. The blurry memory of a guy appeared, the vague recollection of a face matched the one sitting next to you. It happened, it actually happened. 

"You did," you whispered, your voice audible in the quiet night air. "Maybe there was an invisible string tying us together all along," 

"I usually don't believe in things like that, but for once, when it comes to you, I do believe it," Jake's gaze held a twinkle that resembled the stars on the night sky, his features was soft as he stared at you with a touch of gentleness you've never once seen.

"Can I be honest?" You held onto your breath, the speed of your heartbeat increasing. He was anticipating your words, looking at you expectantly. But you found yourself frozen for a moment. He was pretty, so pretty. Staring at him was enough to get you stumbling over your words. "No one has ever made me feel this much except for you,"

The unbreaking eye contact was intense. Once your confession left your lips, there was a shift in the atmosphere, the air was thick and laced with an electric spark. He was digesting every letter you uttered, the slight surprise morphed into a smile. The corners of your lips automatically followed along with his, stretching into a smile that you didn't know was Jake's favourite.

"I feel the same too," he edged his body a little closer, facing towards you more, all of which went unnoticed by you. "I want to be the only person who makes you feel this much, to make you smile, to make you laugh," he leant in closer, his face being barely illuminated by the street lamp, yet, you could see make out every little feature of his that you memorised. At that point, you knew it was happening, and there wasn't going to be any interruptions. You were determined for it to be that way. 

One of Jake's hands reached for yours that rested on the pavement ground, taking it into his and intertwining his fingers with yours. You could read his emotions through his eyes, every detail of his expression told an emotion he was feeling currently. Anxious, but also thrilled. There were the two of you who felt the same at least. Then, he said it, the thought you two were simultaneously sharing. 

"Can I kiss you?"

Finally.

You bit back a laugh and proceeded to do something you would've never dared to do until now. Without letting a second pass, you grabbed onto his shoulder clumsily and pressed your lips onto his, shutting your eyes with the feeling of your heart almost escaping your chest. 

Would it be cliche to describe the entirety as a breath of fresh air? It took a split second for Jake to actually process your lips on him then only proceeded to kiss you back with the equal amount of gentleness, want and desire. Although this wasn't your first time kissing him given that moment in the hockey arena, it was the total opposite. 

The initial shock and confusion disappeared immediately. Jake's hand travelled from the expanse of your cheek and disappeared into your hair. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss and Jake took that as a welcoming invitation. Safe to say you were about to think about this the whole night instead of falling asleep.

If there was a memory you wished to experience once more, it'd be this exact moment. The intoxicating touch of his and his familiar cologne scent that ingrained into your mind itself. You felt Jake smiling into the kiss seconds before pulling apart, the feeling of it made you experience overwhelming emotions that choked you, it was as if his smile was imprinted on your lips even after and you were unable to forget about it, instead, you craved it. 

No one told you how it'd go down after a kiss. You and him both were there staring at one another in a daze, seemingly thinking 'did this happen?'. Well, it did, and you were reeling from it.

You were sure your lipstick was smudged, not to mention, the red marks left on Jake's lips gave it away clearly. Neither of you dared to move away from each other, keeping the close proximity in between. The loud music playing from the inside of the house eventually became more apparent once you gained full consciousness from the disassociation post kissing. 

"I'm glad there's no cameras this time," Jake broke the silence, lighthearted and gentle with his words just as much as his kiss was. 

You snorted, nudging him a little with your elbow. "And I'm glad no one walked in on us,"

There wasn't a word exchanged, a knowing look in one another's eyes which you read, and from that, you and him burst out laughing. If it wasn't for the fits of laughter which distracted you, you would've already been exploding from the realisation of Jake keeping your hands interlocked. 

"If I have to be really honest with you right now, my heart is beating way too fast for it to be healthy. You're quite literally about the death of me," Jake said, completely stunned as he pressed a hand on his chest. He surely had a way with his words. "I could kiss you forever," there he's done it again, erupting butterflies in your abdomen.

"I'm not entirely objecting to that, so …" you shrugged playfully, meeting Jake's watchful gaze that was filled with nothing but softness and love. 

He let out an amused chuckle, squeezing your interlocked hand with his. "I'll hold you to that."

The night eventually ended a little over midnight. It was entertaining to watch the three of Jake's best friends slurring their goodbyes to you, stumbling around trying to keep their balance but giving up and crashing onto the couch. Jake decided to leave them be and drive you back, taking the extra mile to walk you up to your doorstep. 

"It was really fun tonight. Thanks for inviting me," you fidgeted with the sleeves of Jake's jacket that was draped around you, the quietness of the night only amplified your voices in the corridor.

"I'm glad you agreed to come and also helped me out on setting this up. I don't think I would've survived," Jake offered a lopsided smile, glancing down at the floor for a moment to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm happy to be of help," you were trying your best to contain your giddiness that was bubbling in your abdomen ever since your lips made contact with his. "I think Sunghoon will love his gifts … well, after he's sober,"

"He better likes it. I spent a shit ton amount of money on that jersey," Jake snorted, shaking his head, seemingly split between regret and indifference. "It's getting late, you should head on in,"

"Right, I should. Thanks for dropping me off, like always,"

"It's alright, I want to make sure you get home safe anyway," his heartwarming words definitely made your cheeks flush a tinge of pink, but you hid it away from him by fumbling with the lock of your door. Just before you could bid him the last goodbye of the night, he stopped you. "You forgot something," 

You tilted your head, eyebrows scrunched into a look of confusion. There was nothing you could think of that you've possibly forgotten. Wait, did he mean exactly what you were thinking of? You narrowed your eyes at him, a sly smirk on your face greeting him. "You're so annoying,"

It was his turn to be confused, but unfortunately for him, you didn't take note of that in time and he was left dumbfounded. In a blink of an eye, you pressed a haste kiss on his cheek. Jake thought he was dreaming. Even until then, you were unaware that he was surprised and frozen in shock, or just the plain fact that you and him both had a small misunderstanding. 

"Goodnight, text me when you're home!" With that, the door slammed shut on his face before he had a chance to regain his composure and open his mouth to say something. He let out a breath of disbelief, his hand instinctively shot up to the spot where you placed a kiss on, grazing his finger faintly there. 

"I mean the jacket." He murmured to himself, still in a daze as he turned around to make his way back. 

He meant the jacket. 

Sunghoon's birthday party had definitely become a turning point for you and Jake's relationship. Ever since that night, the both of you were inseparable. To your friends, however, it was insufferable instead. But, there was something very big and blaring in front of your face: he hasn't made anything official … yet? You tried reassuring yourself. 

"You guys kissed, twice. He's not going to miss the chance of asking you to be his girlfriend officially. It's been almost a year," Wonyoung was pouring a drink that you needed from the amount of thoughts bugging you. Maybe going to a frat party was the least sane option of trying to take your mind off of it. "Think about it, for someone like him, he's surely thought about it before and he's probably planning something,"

Your lips were pressed into a thin line, considering. Wonyoung wasn't completely wrong, neither was Jake entirely dumb. "You're right, I'm probably thinking too much,"

Wonyoung threw her arm around your shoulders, leading you to somewhere less crowded. "It's completely valid, Y/N. I'd think the same. But don't worry, knowing Jake and how he's absolutely whipped for you, you'll be fine." 

Will you? Given the past failed situationships you had that led you on to thinking you'd have a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas absolutely tainted your view on talking stages. Not that Jake was just a talking stage, he was more than that, more than the ones that did you wrong. But a scar was permanent nonetheless, it's just something you had to live with.

You eventually left Wonyoung's side to search for any bathrooms that were unoccupied, which ended up being a harder challenge than expected. A big frat house with many rooms, yet most of the bathrooms were either hidden away or occupied, just amazing. The narrow corridors were also another nightmare for you having to squeeze past drunk college kids or people making out, you didn't know which was worse. You wondered if your luck had somehow ran out when you accidentally bumped into someone tall, knocking his drink over in the middle of the corridor. 

"I'm so sorry!" You reached down to pick his cup up in panic, not knowing who the person even was until you stood up straight, the fog in your brain clearing up for you to realise the person was actually someone you knew. Speaking of past failed situationships, one was unfortunately standing before you there and then. The universe must be toying with you.

"Y/N?" 

Nevermind the cup, either of you were too stunned at the sight of one another to really care about it anymore. Song Eunseok. Anton's best friend from the rival school's hockey team, but also your past situationship and talking stage. How did Anton even acquire that many jock friends, you didn't know, neither did you want to. 

Anton was the one who set you and his friend up, thinking it'd be a good idea to get you back into the dating scene. Wrong. Turns out, his best friend ended up being a total asshole that reminded you to never trust Anton and his wingman abilities, particularly him and his jock friends. That was also the reason why you doubted Jake at the start, and you hoped you'd continue being wrong about him. 

"Hey," you murmured, unknowingly tightening your grip on the plastic cup. What was there to speak about anyway? The thing that happened between you and him ended sourly and it wasn't entirely the best memory for you to sit and talk about. "I'll get going now,"

"Wait," the sound of his voice after years of not hearing it in flesh made you stop in your steps, your eyes flickering up to stare at his face. 

"What?"

"You're not going to ask me why I'm here?"

You should be confused, he wasn't around here, neither did he go to your school to mix around with people that did. "I don't care," you answered bluntly, but truthfully, it was already predictable that he's only in town for a game against the school's team, that's all. 

He wasn't impressed by your indifference, clicking his tongue as he glanced away for a second. "I heard you're going out with Jake,"

"And?"

He threw his hands up in mock defence, that gloating look on his face was only making it more punchable as minutes ticked by. "I'm just trying to warn you,"

"Whatever it is, I don't care,"

"Really? You really don't care about him being known to switch between girls all the time? How he breaks hearts and plays with girls like you, really?" Eunseok practically sneered, watching the brave front you put on faltering. 

"What?" 

"Oh, you know, he's got a reputation for himself. A good boy facade with fuckboy tendencies, many girls fall for it, I can't believe you did too," he shrugged, the maliciousness evident in his gaze. "He's probably fucking with you for a while then he'll throw you to the side after, just like every other girls,"

You knew he was lying and trying to get into your head by spewing some bullshit, so why were you letting him do so? A part of you was aware that what he said wasn't true, but the other part of you let his words get the worst of you. It was as if all the horrid thoughts you had pushed into the back of your mind resurfaced and manifested into words that were thrown into your face, more ironic that they were uttered by the same man who was the blueprint of your problems with relationships. 

"Look, whatever hockey rivalry you have, I don't care, but don't bring his and my personal matters into this," you backed away from him, wishing the ground would just swallow you whole instead of having to face him. "God, you're still such an asshole after a long time." 

The last sentence from you was seethed out of your teeth before you whipped around to speed walk away. The adrenaline and anxiety redirected your attention away from the need to find the toilet, instead, you were searching for the front door in order to leave. 

"I need to leave," you gripped onto Wonyoung's shoulder, her smile formed into a frown once her eyes landed on your face, instantly sensing the red flags. "It's okay if you want to stay, I can go on my own,"

"But we took my car, I can't just leave you—"

"I'll find a way, I'll call a cab, whatever it is. It's fine, I'll be fine," you rubbed her shoulder assuringly, though you knew in reality, you were far from fine. 

"Are you okay? Y/N, I can leave with you, it's fine—" 

Wonyoung realised you were no longer keeping your eyes on her, but you were staring over her shoulder, dread evident in your features. Before she could open her mouth to question you, you were already inching away from her. "I'll text you when I'm home. Be safe!" 

Wonyoung was having a hard time keeping her gaze on you and grasping everything in general, she ended up following your line of sight, her frown deepened once it landed on what happened to be the root cause of your panic. Eunseok. By the time it clicked in her head, it was probably too late. You were out the door. 

A gush of the cold night air hit your face just as much as Eunseok's words did. They were circling around your mind endlessly, fighting the thoughts of you convincing yourself he was just a liar. But to a certain extent, some lies do have truths hidden in them. Could this be one of the cases?

It didn't help that the memory of what Anton said came flooding in, rubbing salt to the wound. Neither was it the perfect timing for Jake to come walking up towards you, looking ready to start his night of partying.

"You're here!" 

His voice broke you out of your trance, your feet halting just in time for his hands to hold onto your shoulders, the biggest smile greeting you. However, this time around, you couldn't bring yourself to reciprocate it, not when he reminded you of all the things you told yourself to not worry about. 

"You okay? Where's your friend?" Jake's smile faltered, the look of worry flashed across his face, his grip on your shoulders didn't budge.

You couldn't meet his eyes, releasing a shaky breath. "Tell me it isn't true," your voice came out quiet, the sound of your blood thumping in your system filled your ears. "He's lying, isn't he?"

Jake's face was leveled with yours, shaking your shoulders, forcing you to look him in the eyes. "What? Who?"

"You're not going to break my heart too, right?"

"What—Y/N, you're not making any sense. Did someone tell you that? Who was it?"

"It isn't true, right? Those stories of you playing with girls' hearts just like any other asshole would, I … never believed them, so they're lying, aren't they?" 

Jake's mouth fell agape, the words that were expected to spill never came, a dawning fall in his expression spoke more than it should've. "It is. It is true," you breathed out, letting it sink in, after all those times of not listening to the rumours of him, it ended up being real. A serial heartbreaker, Jake Sim, how cliche could it be? And how unfortunate for you to attract these types of guys over again. "I'm not one of them, am I?

"You're not, Y/N, never," his hold on you was relentlessly, you only felt smaller as seconds ticked by. "Those rumours were from ages ago, back before I knew you, before I had my break up. It's been years. I realised how much of an asshole I was and I changed my ways. You have to believe me,"

You did, you believed him. His actions over the months told you enough, giving you a chance to build a trust towards him. But after hearing basically a confirmation to those rumours from him and Eunseok, you were split in half, mind in a mess. Eunseok wasn't completely wrong, but you believed he was just trying to get to you with his scathing words, and Jake admitting to it wasn't exactly the ideal cherry on top. It was supposedly the past, wasn't it? Plus, Wonyoung's survey of information about Jake was something much more worth believing than your ex situationship.

"I believe you," you whispered out, choosing to tell the truth rather than making it into a bigger mess. You ran a hand through your hair, releasing a sharp exhale. "I think Eunseok was trying to stir a reaction from me,"

"Eunseok? Song Eunseok? He's playing against us tomorrow," Jake breathed out incredulously, swallowing a string of cusses. "Y/N, forget about him or whatever he said. I admit it, I was like that in the past, back when I didn't know any better. But I promise you, I'll never, ever break your heart," 

You felt guilty, guilty for letting the worst get to you, for putting the blame on the wrong person based on assumptions you made. Jake had always been an accepting person, and you were grateful for that. "I'm sorry for acting this way. I let my fears get to me after hearing things about you from Eunseok and you admitting to them. I was scared you'd turn out to be the type of guys I hated," you paused, taking a chance to breathe in deeply. "I just didn't want to be someone else's second choice again,"

You gave yourself a chance to be completely vulnerable with him, laying all your ugly truths for him. Embarrassed and distressed, those were what describes you at that moment. You hated the way you got heated up over nothing, letting your fears and emotions overwhelm you till the point where you couldn't think straight or rationally. Your mess of a mind was distracted once Jake pulled into his chest, engulfing you into a hug. 

"You'd never be a second choice to me, in fact, you're the only one in my life," His hand stroked your head, the side of his face resting on it. "I'm sorry for letting you feel that way, or not being there to punch that asshole square in the jaw. You're not just anybody to me, you're my best friend, my partner in crime, my everything. You don't understand how much and complete you make me feel. I wouldn't replace you for anything,"

The initial shock of the hug melted into relief, his warmth provided a sense of security along with his reassuring words. Your arms wrapped around his body, reciprocating the hug. "Thank you," you swallowed, letting yourself melt into his hold. Minutes passed with no words exchanged, just the two of you holding each other, yet, it expressed much more than words were required. You trusted him, you do, and you knew he wasn't the type of man Eunseok described, maybe in the past, but the present was where you're at currently, you knew he wouldn't try hurting you. You knew him.

The drive back to your dorm was sullen and weird. 'Weird' was definitely a way to put the whole aftermath into words. You had already settled whatever rift there was before getting into the car, but why didn't it feel right at all? You were scared you hurt him, and unbeknownst to you, he was thinking the same. This only caused a slight tension, neither of you daring to reach out first at that given moment. 

That was when Jake reached for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours and settling the interlocked hands on his thigh. As always, he was the first to mend the cracks. "I'm sorry for making you doubt yourself in the first place. I never knew,"

"I don't blame you. It was my fault for not speaking out on it either. I bottled it up until it got to me. People did warn me about your past, about your old ways, but I trusted you, I knew you wouldn't hurt me," you gave his hand a squeeze, more to reassure yourself. "I just can't believe I let Eunseok get the worst of me,"

"He's just a total asshole. It's okay, I understand, I would've felt the same if I was in your shoes," there was a sigh that followed after. "Actually, what's the relationship between you and him? I never knew you two knew each other. Are you guys … friends?"

"Friends? God no. We're anything but friends at this point," your face twisted into a sour expression, the thought of being friends with a guy like him made your stomach churn in the worst way. "Long story, but Eunseok is Anton's friend, they go way back. Anton being the wingman that he claims to be, he set me up with Eunseok. We were never official, but we were more than just friends at one point. I thought he'd ask me to be his girlfriend officially since everything was going good, but he ghosted me and got with another girl after," 

Explaining your past with Eunseok was another type of reliving the bad memories. The time you spent on that man was not worth it. "Which explained why I became wary of Anton's friends. All the ones he's introduced me to ended up being the same variant as Eunseok, and that also instilled a paranoia when I agreed to try things out with you,"

Jake kept his eyes focused on the road ahead, but his raised eyebrows that were almost touching his hairline was enough to show his surprise. "Wow," he breathed out, seemingly digesting it in. "Are all Anton's friends assholes? Am I an asshole?"

You rolled your eyes at him even if he didn't catch onto it. "Luckily for you, you changed and they didn't. I'm pretty sure most of them stayed the same, Eunseok is basically a living proof of that theory. You and your friends, however, aren't like that from the beginning, which is why I like you guys,"

"I thought you only liked me?" Jake finally glanced at you, among the hint of playfulness in his gaze, there was also a warmth of understanding. 

You stifled a cackle, choosing to let out a laugh out of impressed disbelief. "Don't need to be so full of yourself, hot shot."

It was his turn to laugh. The sweetest melody of his laughter had you smiling unknowingly. It was always the simplest things about him that made you happy. You wished for it to stay as such for a long time.

By then, it became a normal habit for Jake to walk you up to your doorstep, neither of you questioned it anymore. This time, however, things didn't leave at the doorstep.

"My roommate's at her boyfriend's place for the weekend," you started, the question which came next was unexpected. "Do you … want to stay over?

A single question to change the whole trajectory of your relationship to develop into something deeper. Jake couldn't bring himself to say 'no' to your offer, his hands were still in yours, most importantly, those pairs of eyes staring back at him made it hard to reject. 

There you were, making your way over to your room carefully through the darkness of your living room, passing by the flowers he gave that sat in the vase. There were little parts of him in your shared dorm that consistently reminded you of him and his presence. 

Never in a million years would you have predicted Jake being next to you in bed. The stillness of the night air engulfed the two of you, not a word shared, but the intertwined hands between you and him was reassuring. There was nothing else that would have replaced this moment of your back against his chest, feeling the palpitations of his heart as you drifted off to sleep, unaware of Jake's fluttering eyes, sneaking occasional glances at you. 

"I'm undeniably in love with you." He muttered against the top of your head as he pressed a haste kiss. 

Jake couldn't see you, and he didn't know you were still half awake, listening in on his whisper. There was a smile that settled on your lips, the intertwined hand felt heavier than usual, just as your heart did, filled with an immeasurable amount of love for the first time in your life. What has he done to you?

One bed, two idiots in love, helplessly pining onto each other with an overwhelming amount of love that the other didn't know. Only an imminent happening would be the catalyst for one of you to break. 

Having to explain to Wonyoung at nine in the morning that you and Jake didn't do anything weird the night before was a pain in the ass. It wasn't the right timing for Jake to leave just as Wonyoung showed up at your doorstep, an arm outstretched ready to press the doorbell but stopping in motion from the shock of seeing you and him alone in the apartment. 

"You didn't leave early yesterday to fuck Jake, right?"

"I didn't fuck him at all," you seethed, glaring at Wonyoung for sayinh that the hundredth time. "I coincidentally ran into him and he brought me home,"

"And … he stayed over?"

"He stayed over," you confirmed, a little more timidly. "But we didn't do anything, okay?"

"Okay," she said as she took a sip out of her cup, an edge of doubt in her voice that you didn't miss, but chose to ignore. "Enough of Jake. What happened yesterday? Everything wasn't right,"

A sigh left your lips unconsciously, the thought of having to relive the whole nightmare of a fiasco by summarising it to Wonyoung was a dread. If only she could peek into your mind and memories. Nevertheless, you gave her a brief summary of what happened, from A to Z until the part where Jake ended up in your bed (that wasn't exactly how it meant to sound).

"Eunseok said that to you? He had the nerve to say that when he's literally what he's accusing Jake of? The audacity," Wonyoung was visibly fuming, pinching the tip of her nose bridge. "I hope Jake beats his ass today," she frowned, then added, "figuratively, can't have him suspended again."

For the rest of the day, you stayed home with Wonyoung by your side, waiting for the time of the game to arrive. You never knew they streamed the games online until Anton came over to set up the stream, bringing along a huge box of pizza while he's at it. On the couch in the living room, the laptop sat next to the flower vase, the commentator's voice filling the silence of the space. 

"Remind me to never set you up again," Anton mumbled through his mouth full of pizza, looking thoroughly guilty and apologetic once you and Wonyoung ran through the whole incident that he missed. "I'll cut him off … and probably a lot of them. But hey, at least Jake's a success, eh?"

Wonyoung reached over to deliver a slap on the back of his head, earning a grunt of annoyance from him. "Don't jinx it, failed cupid."

Seeing Jake on the mini laptop screen was much different compared to actually being there in person. The game was starting soon, you hoped your good luck would manifest into reality too. Each glimpse of Jake only made you both anxious and relieved, how contradicting. It was as if the cameraman knew the tension between Jake and Eunseok, occasionally panning to Jake then Eunseok.

The start of the game was relatively civil. However, there was no denying the ongoing hostility Jake had towards Eunseok. The 'accidental' slams into Eunseok, they were obviously on purpose. There was nothing out of hand just yet, but it was apparent that something would soon stir. 

"He needs to calm down," Anton murmured mostly to himself at the end of the second period, the home team drawing with the opposition. You silently agreed with him, watching as Jake's teammates hit his shoulders with some knowing looks. 

Third period was when things started getting rough. It wasn't a tense rivalry without the occasional fouls, especially when both teams were stuck on a draw, trying their best to crawl out of the game with a win. Jake stood out the most. His assists were helpful to the team, but given his continuous hostility towards the oppositions, particularly Eunseok was going to cost him something. 

The worst and unimaginable that everybody was expecting eventually came to life. The frustration in the atmosphere was felt even through the screen. Eunseok slammed his side onto Jake, but it didn't stop just there. Jake retaliated by grabbing onto Eunseok's collar, ripping his helmet off and throwing a punch across the latter's face. Both men's helmets were on the ground, gloves off and sticks flung to one side. 

The whole thing was a mess. Players stopped in their tracks to pull the two off of one another, there was a circle surrounding the fight, doing whatever they could to stop it. Even after they were pulled away from each other, the aftermath wasn't a good sight. Both players were bleeding and injured, to top it all off, a suspension was immediately issued to Jake. 

"Is this the time to switch the stream off?" Anton broke the silence in the room, the three of you meeting each others' gazes with an obvious 'oh no' on your faces. Oh no indeed.

You actually didn't know what happened after. Anton did, in fact, switch the stream off while you raced to text Jake with full worry. He wasn't responsive, so you gave him his space to let his anger cool off. In the meantime, you paced around despite your friends' reassurance that didn't help much. You weren't feeling much better even after they left, glancing at your phone way too often while praying your screen would lit up with a notification from Jake.

The evening sunset pierced through your curtains, dawn eventually made its appearance. It had been a long hour of waiting for Jake, no matter how you tried to shake the dreadful feeling, it was hard to fully ignore it. It almost felt like forever until your doorbell rang. The sinking feeling was back.

Your footsteps thud loudly against the floor, ripping the door open by its handle, meeting Jake's injured face that carried a lopsided smile, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Are you disappointed in me?"

He was about to be the death of you, in the worst possible way. You said nothing at first, walking closer, and caught him by surprise when you threw a punch at his shoulder, then again. "You asshole! You disappeared on me and ignored my texts. I thought something went wrong," 

He got a hold of your wrist, stopping you mid punch. "I forgot how painful your punches were," he tried to lessen the tension, offering a reassuring smile at you, but you only reciprocated with a frown that caused his smile to falter. "I'm sorry. I really am. I should've called you immediately after, but … I needed to cool down. I was too stuck in my head,"

"I figured, I understand," you pressed your lips into a thin line, releasing a deep sigh, you couldn't blame him either.  "Why did you do it?"

"He was a jerk," Jake said plainly, although it was already a full explanation on its own, you couldn't help but shake your head at it. 

"You shouldn't've used violence to get back at him,"

"I know,"

"You're suspended for the next game,"

"I know,"

You let the words sink in for a short moment, pursing your lips, then breathed a deep sigh through your nostrils. "Does that mean you'll be free to be my partner that day? I need someone to watch the game with,"

The initial disappointment in his face disappeared, turning into a much more hopeful expression. His eyes visibly lit up, face beaming. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"I am,"

"Then I have something to ask too," Jake's voice slightly trembled at that, it was something that didn't go unnoticed by you. He extended the hand that held onto the bouquet, the most nervous smile you've seen on Jake was plastered on his face. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

There was something electrical that coursed through your veins, it could be pure shock or adrenaline. Your mind was currently short circuiting, a mix of relief, happiness and disbelief eere clogging your head to form a coherent thought. But your answer was forced through in the end, you had to push it out no matter what. 

"Yes,"

"Yes?"

"Yes, Jake. I'd love to be your girlfriend. In every lifetime if that matters," your lips twisted into the biggest smile, it was hard to resist laughing at the shock in Jake's reaction. He must've expected the answer already, but he still couldn't hide the surprise from hearing the word 'yes'. "I think this is the part where you're supposed to kiss me,"

A rush of relief flooded his prior expressions, the littlest grin adorned his face. It was as if everything happened on cue. You grabbed the bouquet from him and next thing you knew, he used his other hand to pull your forearm, causing you to stumble into him, then there it was, his lips on yours. Out of everything, this was unexpected.

"Ouch," he winced, the small yet fresh wound on the edge of his lips being a deterrent for a second, but he was not going down like that. 

Jake tilted his head to angle his lips better, deepening the kiss and avoiding the cut at the same time. Kissing him this time was much different from the rest. This time after his long awaited question, it seemed the built up of emotions were poured into this single kiss alone. Unimaginable, that was the only way you could describe how you felt. The rollercoaster of emotions and the twist in your gut, it was your first time feeling this way. In love, that was it.

Pulling away from each other was something neither of you wanted. His forehead was resting against yours, his minty breath fanning on your lips, the dorkiest grin displayed. The two of you kept your hold onto one another, not daring to make a single move. 

You met his eyes, reading the secret love messages hidden in his brown irises that he held onto tightly. "So, do you accept my date?"

Jake leaned his head back, unimpressed. "What do you think? I already gave you my answer," there it was, his typical smirk that told you he had another idea in mind. "Want me to give you a more concrete answer?"

He didn't allow you a chance to answer when he leaned in to kiss you again, a much shorter and brief kiss. But, you got your answer, and an endearing smile that you couldn't wipe off no matter what. 

"Stop being cheesy and get your ass inside to get your wounds treated. An infection will hurt," you pushed his chest lightly, visibly flustered from his actions that he took pride in. He only threw his hands up in defence before obediently crossing the threshold. 

"Don't cry when I apply the ointment,"

"This isn't my first day at the job."

On the contrary, he actually whined a lot. You learned to put up with it despite the several attempts to force him in place. Did that confident man just turn into a whole baby? Absolutely. The bruises on his knuckles, an ugly cut on both his lips and cheek didn't phase Jake at all, he stayed proud at the fact that he got the chance to land a punch on Eunseok' face. Even though you shook your head in disapprovement, secretly, you were satisfied. 

At the end of the night, you didn't think Jake would end up staying over again, but it happened inevitably. He took the advantage of your absent roommate to spend as much time there with the freedom to lounge around. Was he there for you or your bed?

Either way, being in his presence and having his arms wrapped around you in your sleep was something you wouldn't complain about. If this was a privilege you got to enjoy every night, you would count it as a blessing you were never letting go. In his arms, you found a home you would go back to without a doubt.

Unbeknownst to you, Jake was grinning like the biggest fool every now and then when he stole glances at you. To him, you were the brightest star in his dark sky. After all, you had been the person who stayed in the back of his mind from years ago till then.

It might've been fate, or it might've been plain coincidence when it came to the two of you meeting. Whatever it was, all roads led you to each other. That was inevitable. 

There you were, sitting in the stands of the hockey arena, seemingly back to square one all over again. 

Everything around you was giving you deja vu but in the best way. Jake was sitting next to you, also suspended like the last time you were in this arena with him beside you. This time around, it was much different than before. He was no longer a stranger that you had one too many encounters with, instead, he was your boyfriend and best friend that you wouldn't dare trade anything for. 

"You know what?" Jake turned to look at you with a questioning glance, to which you raised your eyebrow at. 

"What?"

"I don't regret getting suspended. I got to punch that jerk and spend time with you here, I think it's pretty romantic," he had a prideful smile as he placed your interlocked hands on his lap. 

"I can't tell if I should be charmed or not," you held back a laugh, squeezing his hand while shaking your head. "Modern day romance, how cute,"

"Isn't it?" He replied shortly, averting his attention to the jumbotron, the unmistakable 'KISS CAM' was displayed on the screen as it searched for its next pair of victims once more. 'Look, it's the kiss cam again,"

You followed his line of sight, recalling the time you were once on it with Jake. That felt almost just yesterday. "I doubt it'll land on us again,"

A faint smirk on Jake's telling looks showed that he thought otherwise. "Why? Scared to kiss me?"

"So scared," you responded dryly, a tone laced with sarcasm that had him smiling as well. 

"Is it bad to say I want a cameo on the kiss cam with you again?" He pursed his lips, staring back at you with a tinge of guilt at his own confession. "I just want an excuse to kiss you,"

"You don't need any excuse to kiss me, idiot," you rolled your eyes, bumping his shoulder with yours. "Admit it, you're just an attention freak, aren't you?"

"Maybe," he choked out a laugh that got you doing the same. 

As if on cue, the jumbotron screen had moved on from the previous pair, choosing the next one: you and Jake. Must the universe listen to Jake? Unlike last time, Jake didn't have a hat to hide his identity, so once people noticed it was the team's star player, the roar of the crowd only grew tenfold. 

"You see," you wished to wipe off the cheeky smirk on Jake's face, the one that he always had whenever he was right about something. "Come on, sweets,"

Despite receiving an eye roll out of annoyance from you, your smile proved something else. Without a word from you, you grabbed onto his face, pulling him in to place a quick kiss, definitely not having a full makeout session in front of the cameras. From the sound of the crowds' cheers and Jake's satisfactory smile, you could tell everyone had eaten this moment up, even Jake himself whose reddening ears were giving him away. 

"Look who's blushing!" You pointed at the clear evidence of his reddening skin, but he could only respond with an embarrassed cough.

"No, I'm not,"

"Don't lie, Jakey. You're shy," you looped your arm around his, then rested your head on his shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with that anyway,"

"I know," he whispered, pressing the side of his face on the top of your head. "I love you, sweets," 

You glanced up at him, meeting his gaze just in time for him to see the shock evident in the twist of your facial expressions. "What's with the sudden three words?"

He shook his head, pursing his lips a little. "Nothing, just telling you how I feel. I love you," he repeated once more, the effect of the eight letter word piercing through your heart, especially when it came straight from him. 

A soft, affectionate smile settled on your lips, your eyes still glued to his face. "I love you too, Jake." 

A kiss on your forehead was his reply, a simple action spoke much more than a million words could. An overwhelming wave of emotions gripped onto you just then, just as you tightened your hold on his arm at the feeling of those emotions. It was love, a special kind of love that you built to have with him and him only. 

There in that arena, you shared your first unofficial kiss with Jake, leading to a blossom of events that eventually led you to this exact moment, where you had your second kiss in the stands, this time being something more than strangers or even best friends. Lovers, eternal companions, that was what you were. All it took was to break the ice with a punch, then a kiss to fall in love. 

( © jaylver all rights reserved. do NOT copy, plagiarise or edit my work and repost whatsoever. once discovered will be exposed and blacklisted. )

[kisskiss-slashslash]

Ooo ooo! I got a good one:D

Slashers finding and reacting to their s/o in the brink of death because of another slasher!

Angst to fluff pls:D

That really IS a good one.

Slashers finding their s/o close to death thanks to another slasher

Warnings: Blood

Jason Voorhees

He notices your sleep getting more and more restless lately. You complain about frequent nightmares, and often wake up with cuts and bruises that weren't there the night before. Jason tries so hard to dismiss it as coincidence. Hell, you are living in a forest; there are a myriad of ways to injure yourself here without noticing. Against his better judgement, he goes out to deal with the recently arrived campers.

When he returns, he immediately notices you thrashing around in your sleep, and the red stains spreading from your skin to your sleep clothes and finally to the bedsheets. Jason panicks, and tries to shake you awake. This isn't good, you're losing so much blood... No, he can't lose you. Not like this, not in any other way either. By the time you finally wake up, you are already dangerously weak from the blood loss. Jason patches you up with the first aid kits from the cabins, praying that it is enough. Then he gets ready to sleep.

Seems like that pesky old man didn't learn his lesson last time. But Jason gladly repeats it, hoping it will stick this time, and returns to your side. Your hand is warm in his, and your face is slowly gaining a bit more color. He sighs with relief.

You'll be okay.

Vincent Sinclair

You just wanted to take a walk in the sorrounding woods. Nothing to be worried about, right?

Well, wrong. You hear the chainsaw from far away, but you play it off as just a trick of your imagination, or maybe just some workers from the county. What you did not expect was the huge man in a leather mask breaking out of the woodwork and coming right for you. The saw digs into your side, but you somehow manage to get away.

Vincent is looking for you. You left on your walk an hour ago and have yet to return. You're never gone for that long. Everything within him freezes when he sees you stumbling out of the forest, clutching the gaping, bleeding wound.

He takes you into his arms and lets out loud gasps and whines, his unuseable vocal cords straining to form words he cannot speak. He drags you back home, where Bo and Lester are watching TV. Bo drops his can of beer when he sees you. "Shit!"

"That looks bad. Vinnie, we need to take them to the hospital..." Lester takes over carrying you. From far away, the whole family hears the chainsaw roar.

Vincent stares at Bo head on. And he signs. "Let me borrow your shotgun."

He did not end up killing your assailants, but a very pissed off Vincent coming after them with Bo's shotgun taught them not to bother the Sinclairs again. After they are dealt with, Vincent has Bo drive him to the hospital, where you are. You open your eyes and find yourself sorrounded by your family.

"Sorry I made you guys worry", you mutter.

Vincent squeezes your hand and shushes you. You need to focus on getting back on your feet.

Freddy Krueger

When you come stumbling into his dream realm, he immediately notices that something is wrong. You are *bleeding* and pale as a ghost, and can barely stand. You're not sleeping... *you've fainted*!

"Shit shit shit..." He props you up. "Hey, who did this?!"

"Hock...." You sputter. "Hockey mask..."

His eyes widen and he gnashes his teeth. "Jason? That fucking hockey puck?!"

You nod weakly. "I... I'm hiding... Don't know how long... Must have passed out..."

Freddy grabs your shoulders a bit tighter. "Listen to me. I need you to wake up, right now. I'll show that fucking mama's boy what happens when he fucks with you. So go on! Wake up! Wa-..."

He finds himself stuffed into a closet with you, and reminds himself to teach you better hiding spots once this is over. You pass out again almost immediately, and while Freddy hates to leave you like this, he has a disobedient *dog* he has to deal with, first.

Once Jason has been sent back to where he belongs, Freddy returns to the closet, where he finds you slowly coming to.

"Did you have a nice nap?", he asks cordially. He is glad to see you awake again. That means the injuries may not have been as bad as they seemed at first. But still... "You should probably get to a hospital..."

"Yeah... Probably..." You fumble your cellphone out of your pocket and dial 911.

Later, once you're sleeping peacefully in your hospital bed, Freddy pops back into your dreams.

"That'll teach that bastard not to show his ugly mug here again", Freddy sneers. "Are you okay now?"

"Couldn't be better", you reply with a smile.

Freddy is pretty rough around the edges. But during moments like this, he shows that he really cares.

Bubba Sawyer

Maybe Drayton was right when he said that nothing good would come out of this road trip. But you love wax museums and Bubba had heard about this really famous one in Ambrose... He would have never guessed that it would end like this.

You have been separated from the rest of the Sawyers, and now everyone is frantically looking for you. Most of all Bubba, who blames himself for not taking better care of you.

They track you to the Sinclair house, where Bubba hears a pained howl from the basement. And when he finally reaches the secret workshop, he sees the masked man dig his ornate carving knives into your flesh. The man himself has a pretty nasty bite wound on his hand; a display of you fighting back when he tried to inject you with the paralytic.

The chainsaw roars to life, and the man with the carving knives only barely manages to dodge it. He seems to know well enough that he and his little butter knives have little chance against the chainsaw, so he retreats, while Bubba cuts you lose from the operating table and carries you upstairs.

Bubba isn't the only one who would have loved to make these rotten brothers pay for hurting you, but your health was more important right now. He *somehow* managed to talk Drayton into taking you to the hospital, despite the eldest's protest about the cost.

Bubba hates that Drayton won't allow him to visit you, but when you come back, the first thing he does is hug you as tightly as a drowning man clinging to a lifesaver.

Don't ever scare him like that again, please.

[linos-luna]

“Where are you going, Babydoll?” (Pt. 2) 🔪

Yandere!Felix x Fem!Reader

(Pt. 1) (Pt 2)

Warnings: 18+, yandere, mention of trauma, light blood, manipulation

Carrying around a stuffed animal wasn’t that odd to people that knew you. You’ve dealt with trauma growing up and this caused to have some regressive tendencies as a coping mechanism. Of course this made you susceptible to other forms of pain and manipulation.

At first Felix thought it was odd and a bit annoying. He hated how attached you were to it and felt like you loved it more than him. But he soon realized how it could be used to his advantage.

———————————————————————

Felix knew your friend was coming soon and could easily get you to leave with her. He thought about it as you slept on the couch next to him.

He carried you to the bedroom and laid you down as he cuddled up next to you.

“Lixie?” You woke up, watching as he stroked your hair.

“Yes doll?”

“What time is it…?” You sat up and looked around, figuring he must’ve carried you to bed.

“Babydoll… do you love me?” Felix asked, ignoring your question.

“Well… yeah…”

“I take care of you right?” He asked while squeezing your hand a little and you nod.

“What would you if I left you?”

That question made your heart skip a beat. Why would he ask you that?

“Lixie…? Why would you— ?”

“What if I said I don’t love you.” He interrupted.

“Lixie stop!” You cried out.

“… if I abandoned you?” He was holding back a smile, knowing full well that he was hitting the right nerves.

“Don’t…” you shook your head as he pulled away. You reached for him and as you did so there was loud banging at the door.

Felix got up to answer it and you grabbed your plush before following him, clinging onto his arm once he opened the door.

“Y/n!”

It was your best friend! What is she doing here?

“Ningning?” You asked, still clinging onto your boyfriend.

“Y/n, we have to go!” Ningning said, trying to grab your arm.

“W-what? Why are you here?”

“She doesn’t want to go with you…” Felix said with a teasing smile. “You can go now.”

“Y/n! He’s not good for you!” Your friend yelled.

“But… but he takes care of me…”

“He’s manipulating you!” Ningning says, forcefully pulling you off Felix.

“Baby, I would never! I love you!” Your boyfriend said, holding out his hand.

Ningning kept you from reaching for him and a tear rolled down your cheek.

“Baby, I’m all you have. No one will love you like I do!” Felix sighed. “Your so called friend is trying to tear us apart! Who’s going to take care of you?”

“You’re an awful boyfriend, Felix!” Your friend said while backing up with you.

“Y/n!” Felix yelled out sounding more frustrated. “Come here right now!”

Ningning firmly held onto your arm as you did want to go to him.

“Y/n! You’re not leaving!” Felix yelled now coming towards you both.

He grabs your plush and throws it across the room before punching your friend, knocking her to the floor.

He stalked up to her, crouching over to grab her. You went to get the plush but stopped when seeing him punch your friend. You were in panic and need your plush but seeing Felix grab your friend angered you.

“Don’t touch her!” You yelled and suddenly pushed him over.

Felix was shocked. You never show confidence or aggressive like that. You helped your friend to her feet and looked back at him as he got up, obviously pissed.

“You ungrateful brat!”

Tears were streaming down your face and you flinched as he came towards you, raising his hand to slap you.

You didn’t even realize ningning wasn’t behind you until you saw her sneaking behind your boyfriend. She then knocked him out with a metal fire poker.

“Oh god! Wh-w-what-?!” You panicked, watching as some blood came from his head. He was still conscious, but barely.

Ningning raised the rod again, as if to finish him off, but you stopped her.

“No stop!” You cried out, your body shaking.

Your friend stopped and looked at you, realizing how much you were shaking. She definitely didn’t want to be another trauma in your life so she put the rod down.

She stepped over Felix and hugged you before giving you back your plush. How long had she had that?

“Let’s go.” She sighed. Before you could leave, you felt something grab your ankle. Looking down you saw that it was Felix.

“Y/n…”

You didn’t say anything and simply shook him off.

“Where are you going… babydoll?” He groaned, trying to prop himself up. “Don’t leave me…”

“Ignore him.” Ningning said, tugging your arm.

“Babydoll, I need you! Don’t leave me!” He cried out, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you! Don’t leave me!!”

“I don’t… I don’t love you anymore…” you said, looking down at your feet.

“No! No! No! Y/n! My baby!” Felix said in a panic, trying to get up. “I need my baby!”

You left with your friend, getting in her car and wiping your tears.

“I know that was hard…”

You didn’t respond, only looking down as she started driving away.

“You still love him, huh?” She asked with a sigh.

You nodded, holding your plush tightly.

“It’s okay.” She said while rubbing your shoulder.

“Ning…? Who will take care of me now?”

Your friend sighed, feeling awful for everything that happened. She hated that you didn’t have any real family to go to.

“I’ll help you.” She replied, looking at you for a moment before looking back at the road. “You’re my best friend, like a sister. I’m always here for you.”

You gave a small smile, still not looking up.

“I’m not letting any man mistreat you every again.” She said, pulling up to her apartment parking lot. “You deserve better.”

[jeffsfavoriteknife]

SMUT AHEAD MxM reader

You avoided looking in the mirror at this point to avoid hearing all the insults about your appearance in your head, heading over to your bed and plopping down on the plush covers. You looked over to the plush you had of him, you grabbed the look alike plush and hugged him close to you before it was snatched out of your hand and you panicked as you turned around, suddenly met face to face with none other than your obsession. “Well look at this lil thing, you sleep with it at night? You really into me that bad huh?” He dangled the plush above your head as you flushed red in the face, not being able to say anything to him, mouth slightly open with surprise. He huffs, dropping the plush in your lap and looking around the room, eyes gleaming as his gaze lands on your skirt hanging up on the opposite side of the wall, he gets up and grabs it, walking back over to you with it in hand. “You like wearing skirts? If you like it so much then put it on, right now” you hesitated and shook you head nervously, you were humiliated the last time you wore it and didnt know if he would do the same. He grabs you by your hips and pulls down your sweatpants, pulling the skirt up your legs and over your hips. “When i say do something, you do it, got it?” He grabs your hands and brings you in front of the mirror, sitting you on his lap “look at how cute you are, the skirt really shows off your cock yknow” Hearing this you instantly pull your skirt down over yourself harder, refusing to look at yourself or him in the mirror, he tsks and grabs your chin, making you look up at yourself, flushed face and all, this making him grin as he spreads your thighs open even more, your cock twitching at the excitement starting to boil in your stomach. He grips your face in his hands and turns your head to face him, his head slightly tilted “so did you not wear anything underneath in hopes that id find you? Is that it?” You nodded and he grabs your hair in his hand, kissing you hard as you squirm in his grip, kissing him back just as hard in desperation due to lack of physical contact, who knew you were so cockhungry. He moves one of his legs to lift one of your legs up as his free hand grips your cock and starts pumping you at inhumane speed, causing your legs to immediately start twitching. You pull away from his lips for air, whining in overstimulation due to how sensitive you were, he notices this and chuckles, stopping to unzip his fly and pull his own throbbing cock out “your so fucking cute, you act like you havent been touched in years, or have you saved yourself just for me? I feel honored that youd do that” He spreads your ass as he stares at you in the mirror as he starts pushing himself in, your mouth dropping in pain and pleasure at the intrusion “i got rules, one, you keep looking at your pretty self in this damn mirror while i fuck you silly, two, if you cum you loose understand?” You didnt know what he meant by that but the fullness of being stuffed by someone you tried so desperately to get the attention of had you not caring as you nodded, he lifted you up confusing u until he brought you down, HARD. Immediately bottoming out in you as you tightened around him in response to having your prostate hit into, not giving you a break as he gripped your thighs, pounding himself into you, you crying in pure pleasure as you watched him fuck you senseless in the mirror, you knew you couldnt last long, he lifted you once more, able to tell that you were at your limit and hits your prostate with one last hard thrust and had you cumming harder than youve ever cum before, you tightening around him so tightly had him wrapping his hands around you and blowing his load into you, he came so much you thought he would break you by the sheer force of his orgasm. He pulled you off and watched you leak a bit of him out as he pulled out his phone and took a quick picture, something you didnt notice. He pulled you back by your arms, whispering in your ear. “Get up sunshine, you came first so you loose remember? Get ready for another round”

[coldfanbou]

Birthday Gift

Minnie Birthday! It's a pretty simple story here; not too much going on.

Length 1.2K

Minnie x Mreader

As you waited for Minnie to come home, you checked to ensure everything was just right; you had spent the day getting all her favorite things. Turning off the lights, you wait behind the couch with a few confetti poppers. She should be getting back from spending time with her members anytime now. They had been messaging you through the night, updating you on how long you had. A new notification popped up as you waited "she's going upstairs, have fun." After reading the message, you got ready to surprise her. Hearing the sound of the door opening, you wait until Minnie flicks the lights on, and when she does, you jump out from behind the couch and launch the confetti out.

“Happy Birthday Minnie!” She covers her mouth in shock, seeing how you decorated the room. She stands in place as you walk over to her. Giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, you say, “Happy Birthday, Minnie. How do you like everything?” 

She turns to you, tears of joy in her eyes. “I love it; thank you!” She buries her face in your chest, holding on tightly. “Thank you so much; this has been the best day. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Minnie. I’m glad that you like everything. Come on, let’s eat before the food gets cold, then you can open your presents.” You and Minnie have your meal before she starts to tear into her presents. You tried to get her to slow down, but she wasn’t having any of it. The first gift you had was some miniature wooden statues of her dogs back home; Minnie held them in her arms lovingly as she looked at each one. When she turns to look at you, she has a beaming smile. Sniffling a little, she says, “These are great; I love them.” She stands and places them on the TV stand before marveling at them. After a minute of looking at them, she returns to opening her presents. The next one she opened had a new camera; she had a shocked expression on her face, “Wow….”

“It took me a while to find it, but I know how much you like photography, so I knew it would be worth it in the end.” Minnie plays with the camera for a little bit snapping a few pictures before gently putting it to the side. She got to the smaller gifts and took her time looking through them. Some stuffed animals and other things she had asked for at different times. Once she had gone through them all, she looked toward you. You smile back at her, seeing bits of gift wrapping on her head. You move over and take it off her head. “Did I do a good job, Minnie?”

“Of course you did. This is the best birthday ever, but I think I’m missing a gift.” Internally you panic, thinking that something is missing. “I’m missing the best gift, you.” Minnie laughs, seeing your panicked face; pushing herself up, she jumps to you. 

“What do you mean, Minnie? I’m right here.”

Her face grows serious for a moment, “I know you can be a little dense but do you really not get what I mean?” At that moment, it clicked what she meant; unfortunately, you couldn’t hide the fact you didn’t get what she meant.  Her eyes go wide. “You really didn’t know what I meant!” 

“No, no. Hold on; I knew what you meant.”

“You did not!” She slaps your chest, knowing she was right. “Now to the bedroom!” She jumps up, expecting you to carry her like a princess. In a stroke of luck, you manage to react quickly enough to catch her. As you carry Minnie to the bedroom, she starts planting her soft lips on your neck and pulls your head so she can kiss you. Laying her down on the bed, Minnie starts to take her top off while you pull off her jeans. Once they’re off, you move in for a kiss and begin to take off your clothing. As you get your shirt off, she says in a low and seductive voice, “Let me get your shorts. I want to do it myself” She moves into position, laying on her stomach; her hands slowly pull down your shorts and underwear. Once she sees your cock she can’t help but lick her lips. Watching you, she gently grips her cock and gives it a couple of slow strokes. “This is for me and me only.” Minnie stops stroking your cock, instead using her thumb to play with the tip. She rubs the sides of it, “I want you to say that it’s only for me.”

Immediately you say, “Minnie, my cock is only for you.” You start moaning her name as she begins stroking your cock again. Minnie started using her tongue next, licking at the sides of your cock before she reached the tip and gave it a big kiss. As she took the head of your cock in her mouth, her tongue swirled around it. Minnie would look up at you as she did all this loving the fact that she was making you feel so good. You start thrusting further into her mouth, catching her off guard. You grab her head and hold her in place as you continue to push your length into her mouth and hit the back of her throat. “Fuck Minnie, your mouth is so good.” You hear Minnie gurgling on your cock as you facefuck her. As you reach your climax, you keep your cock in her mouth, flooding her throat with your cum. As you pull out of her mouth, Minnie coughs and tries to catch her breath. 

“Fuck, that was nice; I got my favorite. drink out of that.” Minnie moves to her back and spreads her legs for you, giving you a view of her slick pussy. “I need you to give me one last present right here.” 

“Of course, one last birthday gift.” You pull Minnie towards you and align yourself with her pussy. Minnie reaches out, wanting to hold your hand, and you do the same. As you hold her hand, you press forward and enter her warm hole. You both moan; the pleasure is fantastic. You start with slow thrusts before eventually growing quicker. As you fuck Minnie, you kiss her before moving down to her tits. You capture a nipple in your mouth and run your tongue along it. 

“Noo, not my tits. Fuck” Minnie continues to moan under your ministrations as you keep pounding away at her pussy. You feel her walls breaking apart for your cock, holding you in when you pull out. You take Minnie’s other hand and stop licking her nipple. Looking her in the eyes, she leans forward, wanting to kiss you. As your lips meet, your tongues engage in a fight for dominance which you win. Minnie lets you continue to play with her tongue as you fuck her. Eventually, both of you start to reach your climax as your cock pulses with her walls constricting around it. You plant yourself firmly inside Minnie and unleash wave after wave of cum; Minnie’s pussy simultaneously milks you for all your worth. You moan each other’s name while you go through your orgasm. 

“How was your last gift, Minnie?” 

“It was perfect” You pull out of Minnie, and she snuggles up next to you as you both fall asleep.

[nightlybakes]

Peer Review - ✎.Last Copy

Akaashi Keiji x Reader SMAU

Prev | Last Copy | Next

Title Page | Masterlist

The ride to the bookstore was enjoyable, Kuroo and Yn talked about various things to pass the time. Kuroo talked about how this bookstore was a recommendation from a friend, yn nodded and talked about how she hoped it was good. The passing-by buildings went by in a blur with their conversation.

Kuroo parked on a side street near the bookstore and got out along with Yn. She looked around and didn't know this part of Tokyo. It was farther from the center of the city, so not many were passing by only those who lived there. They walked along with each other and looked around for the bookstore. It didn't take long till they found it.

"Aiya boundless books?" They said in illusion, exchanging a quick glare at each other before walking into the store. They were greeted by an old man at the front counter. He sat on a chair near the register while reading a book. He greeted them and told them he was there to help with anything. The two thanked him before looking around more, yn was more focused on looking for some new mangas while Kuroo just trailed behind her and looked at covers.

Yn found the manga section, but it was pretty small. She crouched down to look at some of the books. "Hey, I might go next door to get some stationery for my office. You'll be okay, right?" He says while looking at a book and then putting it back. The girl looks up at him and thinks for a second "Yeah I think so... this store is pretty empty, so I'll be fine. I'll go over once I'm done. Text me if you go somewhere else" She says and smiles at him.

"Okay, I'll be right next door remember" He says, then smiles back at her. He walks away and thanks the old shopkeeper before leaving. Yn looked back at the books and put them back. Most of them were old outdated series. She searched through more and found some that looked good to read. She had a pile and held them up with one of her arms. The front doorbell rang, signaling that someone either entered or left. But the muffled greetings were quietly heard, so it was someone coming in.

She retreated closer to the back where there was a wall of magazines on display, varying from old to the latest additions. Footsteps came closer to her spot, and she stuffed herself near the corner, hoping that they would just pass by the nook. While pretending to look at the covers, the footsteps went quiet as the stranger stopped to look alongside her at the published works. Her eyes did their best to avoid staring at the stranger.

The small clock on the wall was the only sound between them before the other party coughed a bit. "My apologies.." He said, his voice being gentle to not startle the other. Yn just nodded while continuing to look at the covers. He was next to the only exit, so she couldn't slip by easily with the stack of books in her arm.

Her eyes wandered to his side of the wall and saw a magazine that caught her eye. Shuffling her stacks of books to the other hand, she reached over with no caution and found herself touching hands with someone else. They quickly looked up and stared at each other. His glasses were reflected by the warm lighting of the store. Messy black hair framed his face, a grey blazer on his shoulders. Without a second thought, yn quickly grabs the magazine and swiftly speeds by him.

She retraced her steps back to the front and passed the manga section and other shelves of books. Her heart was beating against her chest while her mind panicked with replaying the awkward scenario that had just happened. The old man smiles and asks if she has trouble finding anything. She just shakes her head no and stays quiet. She grabbed her bag and looked for her wallet, finding the two biggest bills she had and giving them to him. Before he could give back her change, she left with her purchases.

* ˚ ✦Fun facts

No one noticed the spelling mistake Tsukki made in the chat

Kenma didn't have a meeting. He didn't want to leave the house that early

Kuroo knew something had happened as he found her in the store in complete silence and staring at the floor

They went back and apologized to the old shopkeeper, who luckily wasn't mad at her for running off

Yn accidentally pushed Akaashi against the wall while fleeing. He stood there in shock at what just happened

Taglist (6/30)

@crispchocolates @staygoldsquatchling02 @phoenix-eclipses @nicerthanu @le000xxgrd @keeboismine

[xandertheundead]

Drabble: Sick

(I have the covid so I'm really spitting these out. Have more Bird Boys.)

It was funny how three birds of a feather could be so very different.

One was how the three of them got sick.

Donald, unsurprisingly, got sick the most often, but never anything past a light cold. All the duck ever really needed was a night with his humidifier and a glass of orange juice at every meal and he was right as rain within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

It was remarkable how his immune system caught something so fast but then just as quickly sent it on its way without too much fuss.

Sometimes he would use cough drops, but José suspected that it was more because he liked the disgusting flavor than Donald needing them.

José came in second in the running, sick less often than Donald, but much worse for wear when he did get sick. No matter what, if he caught something it was awful. His sinuses were always congested, his nose ran like a faucet and his body ached for at least two days. 

Donald and Panchito had learned after the first few times that when José got sick he could be a bit mean or as Donald so lovingly put it ‘bitchy’. It was not his fault that when his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, his body hurt and he could barely breathe he may have said one of two things that could be viewed as hurtful. Panchito and Donald never really argued that, they would just share a knowing look over José’s shoulder as if he didn’t know what they were doing.

Though the one time he had called Panchito a ‘Cock-sucking cock’ for strumming his guitar too loud while he was trying to nap and had been mortified upon waking up when he remembered. 

Still to this day, Donald will sometimes call Panchito that or the rooster will even refer to himself with it and José always wants to bury his head in the sand.

But when José came down with something, there was always a routine he would follow whether he was on his own and at home or with others. It started with tea. José’s kettle would work overtime anytime he got sick, boiling water for all different types of teas that José drank greedily even if they didn’t taste good. 

He would then make himself a huge pot of black bean soup, or ask Panchito to make it once they started living together and survive off that until he woke up feeling like himself again.

Panchito rarely ever got sick, he boasts his rustic upbringing with all the fresh air and such boosted his immune system to where almost nothing can bring him down. It wasn’t a lie, Panchito was hearty and healthy three-hundred and sixty-four days of the year which made him the main caretaker when the other two got sick.

Then there was one day out of the year when something latched onto the rooster that his insanely strong resistance to sickness couldn’t shake and that was it.

The first time José and Donald had experienced Panchito getting sick they had panicked, calling for an ambulance and rushing Panchito to the hospital because the day before he had a slight cough, and then the next he was unresponsive.

After that first time, Panchito assured them that he was fine and that was what happened when he got sick. It took one more trip to the hospital and two more times of Panchito seemingly dying and then rising from the dead for Donald and José to believe that Panchito might know what he was talking about. It was always strange when it happened while they were on tour, the car and hotel room usually filled with Panchito’s loud voice, singing, and guitar playing only for it to be almost silent with him being sick.

It wasn’t like Donald and José just sat in silence when Panchito was down. Still, it was undeniable what was missing after having a normal uninterrupted conversation at a regular volume for the entire day. The quiet wheezing breathing from the bed or backseat being Panchito’s only contribution to their conversations felt uneasy and wrong. Medicine never seemed to really do anything so Donald and José stopped trying and would just wait until the second day passed.

Panchito being sick worked like clockwork…

Day One: Panchito would have sniffles or a small cough and mention that he felt a little off, which was their warning to get ready.

Day Two: Complete blackout. Where Panchito fell asleep, that's where he stayed. No eating, drinking or even using the bathroom. He just slept while having a fever and sometimes soaking through the sheets with sweat.

Day Three: Wake up, eat some food, hydrate, shower, and then snuggle with whatever willing person he could grab (usually José but sometimes Donald didn’t mind).

After that, he returned to his usual self as if nothing had happened.

[eggcompany]

Hannibal Is Such a Daddy Part 4

Hannibal left, promising to have everything prepared at 5p.m. Will waved awkwardly and nodded. It was almost noon now and he needed to put away the case file and bathe and feed the dogs and find some good-ish clean clothes. Will felt panicked. There was too much to do and what if Hannibal didn’t like what he wore or what if Hannibal thinks he stinks and what if daddy doesn’t think he’s cute anymore or what if Daddy hates him now?

Will had to stop quite a few times in the next four hours just to breathe and calm down and remember what Hannibal had said as he left. 

“I won’t judge you Will. I care more about making you happy than you smelling like dog. Just relax. You could bathe at my place if you’d like…”

“Hannibal! I don’t want you to see me naked.”

“I already have, dear Will. I saw your cute little butt dimples and your back freckles.”

“I will shoot you.”

“See you later then mylimasis.” 

And with a kiss to his cheek Hannibal was walking to his Bentley. 

Will did everything he needed to and he ate a small snack. He made sure to wash twice and he actually spent time on his hair. He thought about shaving but… if Hannibal really liked him he wouldn’t mind. He manscaped a bit (just for a confidence boost) and finally he brushed his teeth and cleaned his ears. He got dressed in a cream color sweater and a pair of jeans and slipped on his shoes. He grabbed up the small stuffed doggy that Hannibal had made sure to let him keep. He was fidgety and nervous the entire time he made his way to Hannibal’s house. 

At 4:52 Will stood in front of the large wooden doors and tugged at his sweater and his pants and almost turned around when the door opened. Will stood there with shoulders hunched and head hung low. Hannibal looked relaxed in his plain button down shirt and a pair of plain looking dark blue slacks. 

“Come on then. Come inside. I tried to make you something nice and soft and war-” Hannibal said once Will had slipped into the door. Once the wooden doors shut Will hugged Hannibal’s back. 

“ ‘m so nervous.” Will said quickly before his breath quickened. Hannibal almost laughed. Of course Will was already slipping. 

“What a brave boy you are for telling me. No need to be nervous, my love. I already got you some softer clothes laid out and some nice warm applesauce and I can draw up a bath if you’d like? I have cartoons on the Tv also, so we can cuddle and watch a movie maybe?” Hannibal said and turned around in the younger man’s arms. He ran his hands through Will’s soft clean hair. Will looked up at him with his big puppy dog eyes. 

“Can I eat? ‘M hungry. Wan Hammibal feed me… pretty prease?” Will said and looked into Hannibal’s eyes. He looked so nervous. Hannibal smiled and kissed Will’s forehead. 

“Of course, dear. Come sit in the nursery. I’ll be right back. Here’s some other clothing option if you’d feel more comfortable out of your jeans.” Hannibal showed Will to a room that was attached to Hannibal’s own bedroom. 

The walls were a light shade of green. There was a small twin bed with soft sky blue flannel sheets and pillows and a large set of white drawers. There was a television on the wall at the foot of the bed and there was a set of clothes laid out on the bed. Will nodded and walked over to the bed. He looked at the blue lamp that sat on the small bedside table. He looked around and noticed a few more things. A cloud shaped light on the wall beside the bed, the green wastebasket, and another door that was plain white. He looked at it curiously. Why would daddy need another nursery?

Finally Will looked at the clothes. There was a large green hoodie that had doggies all over it, a pair of green soft looking underwear, a pair of paperbag green shorts, and a pair of blue fluffy socks. Will smiled and bounced a bit on his feet. Soft clothes! Soft Clothes! Daddy got me special clothes!

Will quickly shucked off all his clothes and started putting on the wonderful soft clothes. He slipped on the underwear that were maybe a little too big but they were so comfy! Then he slid the shorts up his legs and wiggled his butt a little bit. They were also so comfy! Will smiled and giggled a bit. His head was so fuzzy and warm. He slipped the hoodie over his head and struggled for a moment to get it over his head and then struggled more to get his arms through the holes but he managed. He sat down on the floor to get his socks when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up smiling at his daddy. 

Hannibal stood in the doorway, he had been standing there since Will had put on the shorts. He had a bowl in his hands and had changed into a pair of sweatpants. He smiled as he watched the little work his way into the clothes. And his heart thumped against his chest when Will looked up at him with his tousled hair and big grin and his twinkling eyes. 

“Hi daddy! I put em on my feets!” Will said and showed Hannibal his foot that had one half way on sock. Hannibal gasped and faked amazement. 

“Wow! You did that all by yourself! Good job! Did you get dressed by yourself too?” Hannibal said as he put the bowl on the bedside and picked up Will’s clothes, folded them, and put them on top of the drawers. Will pulled on his socks all the way and smiled from the floor.

“I dids! Cam Daddy come help me ups though? Stuck.” Will said and raised his arms in an uppy motion. Hannibal happily walked over and lifted Will up onto the bed and then sat beside him. Will smiled and leaned onto him. 

“Here baby eat and then we can watch a movie. Come you can sit between my legs and lean against me.” Hannibal explained and pulled the bowl and a spoon into his hands. He scooted back against the pillows and Will happily scooted till he was sitting in between his daddy’s legs and smiled. He was pressed against Hannibal’s chest and he could feel his daddy’s body heat. 

Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will and held the bowl under his face and scooped up a spoonful of the warm cinnamony applesauce and brought it up to Will’s mouth. Will ate greedily until there wasn't any left. Then Will relaxed completely and Hannibal turned the TV on via remote. He flipped through Disney movies until Will saw WALL-E.

“I anna watch rubot movie pwease! And and and um… Can I have blanket please, daddy? ‘M kinda code” Will asked and wiggled a little against Hannibal’s chest. Hannibal laughed and pushed Will forward to sit up. Will whined and held still. 

“Let me turn off the light and get a nice fuzzy blanket. Do you think you need a diaper again? Hannibal asked as he stood up. His joints popped a bit but it was worth it. Will blushed and thought for a moment as Hannibal turned off the overhead and got a fuzzy grey blanket from the drawers. He walked over and put the blanket on the end of the bed and turned on the cloud light beside the bed, it was dim.

“I fink so… I don’t anna mess up daddy’s nice bed…” Will said and looked down, never meeting Hannibal’s understanding gaze. Will rubbed his hands around the soft blue material that covered the bed. Hannibal moved so his knees were touching Will’s. 

“It’s okay to want things like that, Will. you don’t always need a reason. But you can have a diaper either way. Come now, up.” Hannibal said and bent to kiss Will’s forehead and lift him up by his armpits. He got Will up on his hip and walked toward the white door. Will stared at Hannibal’s face with so much affection in his gaze it was heart stopping. Hannibal opened the door and Will looked at the new space. 

There was a large changing table that was a dark green color with drawers under it. The walls here were all dark navy blue. There was a long counter that ran on the wall opposite of the changing table. The room was maybe twelve by ten but due to the lack of unnecessary objects it didn’t seem crowded. Will relaxed down as Hannibal flipped on the white overhead and laid him down on the padded surface. He didn’t feel nervous strangely enough. 

Will held still and watched Hannibal with soft curiosity as he pulled the loose shorts down and off and pulled the oversized underwear off of his legs. He held still and watched as Hannibal pulled a nappy, powder, cream, and a wet wipe out from the drawers below. Will giggled a bit as Hannibal wiped him off and put the cream and powder on his parts. Hannibal smiled at the sound of the soft baby giggles. Will looked at Hannibal expectantly, waiting for the diaper to wrap around his hips but Hannibal was just standing there gazing down at him. He might have been saying something but ‘Daddy loves me I’m such a good baby’ washed around Will’s mind. 

“Will, sweetheart, love, my sweet little baby, you need to lift your hips up.” Finally got through Will’s brain fuzz. Will lifted his hips up and the padded material was slipped under his butt. Hannibal smiled as he did up the sides and pulled the green shorts back up onto Will’s body. 

Hannibal carried Will back out and over to the bed and snuggled him up in the grey blanket that was waiting for him. Will was far too small to realize that anything was happening as Hannibal laid against the pillows and pulled the swaddled baby into his lap. Will was already asleep by the time Hannibal turned on the movie. 

By the time Will woke up in the morning Hannibal had already changed him once and he hadn't even known. Will woke up Big again. This time he wasn’t embarrassed, he was happy, relieved even. He put on his clothes from the day before and went to work. But he didn’t leave without a kiss to his forehead and promise of ‘ again. tonight’

<- Last Chapter

[abbyrd]

omg hello hello !

could i please request a fluffy, kinda awkward but very cute, first kiss with mr george <3

fem or gn reader i dont mind!! :))

Love Letter ~ George Harrison x Reader

Request: omg hello hello!

could i please request a fluffy, kinda awkward but very cute, first kiss with mr george <3

fem or gn reader i don’t mind!! :))

A/N: Hello hello! I’ve been meaning to post something for like- a month. However, I had lost inspiration and kind of got burnt out for a bit, but now I’ve returned better than ever. Here’s a fluffy, kinda awkward, very cute first kiss for you <3 literally enjoyed writing this sm. I’m tryna get to more requests folks just to lyk ^_^ ALSO I went with teddy boy George for this

Word Count: 1,054 words!

Warnings: 1 curse word

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

You huffed, balling up the piece of paper you were writing on as you got frustrated with how difficult making the contents sound just how you wanted them. You tossed it towards the bin and luckily it landed on the first try.

It was your second-to-last class of the day, which meant that you had to get the letter done by the end of this class, or before your next class. The reason for that was because George sat right next to you in that class. And why was that a problem?

You were writing him a love letter. You intended for it to tell all of your feelings for the pointy-toothed, guitar-playing, adorable boy. It sounded lovely in your head, but on the paper it sounded rather sappy and cheesy.

You tore out another sheet of paper from your notebook, and laid it in front of you on your desk. The dark grey point of your pencil drifted to the start of the first line, and you caught your bottom lip between your teeth, staring down at the paper as you thought of how to phrase your confession.

Suddenly, the chime of the school bell echoed through the classroom, signaling that class was over and it was time for the next. You panicked, quickly jotting down something and then stuffing it between the pages of your notebook.

You slung your bag over your shoulder, holding your notebook tightly to your chest as you walked to your next class. It wasn’t very far, so you made it there before the majority of the class. You took your seat and watched the door for a certain someone.

“George!” You exclaimed with a smile as he entered the classroom. He looked at you, eagerly coming over to sit beside you with a grin spread across his heavenly sculpted face.

“Hiya love. How’s ya day been?” He asked, resting his head against his palm, elbow propped up against the desk as he gazed over at you.

“My day has been quite well, thanks for asking. What about yours?” You replied, mirroring his actions almost subconsciously.

“About the same. I’m so ready to just go home and get done with the day.” He sighed, glancing up at the teacher. You nodded in response, your gaze falling upon the teacher once she began to talk.

Class went on as normal, boring, you can George glancing at each other occasionally. When the bell rang, you sighed in relief that the school day was over. You stood up, putting everything in your bag when something caught your eye.

A piece of paper sticking out of your notebook. You swallowed anxiously, and quickly pulled it out and sat it on George’s desk while he was putting away his stuff.

“Bye, George.” You muttered as you zipped up your bag and exited the classroom, almost hurriedly.

Meanwhile, George had just zipped up his bag, and he saw the note on the desk. He raised an eyebrow as he carefully picked it up and unfolded it.

“hey George,

meet me at the pond in the park!”

At the bottom were two letters, and he recognized them as your initials though they were so scribbled that they were almost incoherent. He folded it back up and put it in his pocket, and then left.

You were waiting at the pond for a while, watching the orange and white fish swim around, occasionally dipping your fingers into the cold water. You wondered if he was even coming, though you knew it was uncharacteristic of him to not show up.

When you heard the distant crunching of the dry brown leaves that had been scattered about the park ground since the middle of October, you knew that George was there. You turned your head to the sound, and there he was.

He slowed once he got to you and sat on the ground in front of you, looking at the beautiful pond.

“Hey George.” You said, trying to play cool, though your heart was racing in your chest. For a second you pondered your decision, but his lovely voice picked up your attention.

“Ello again. The pond is always so beautiful, ‘specially ‘round this time of year, don’t cha think?” He ran his fingers through the water, retracting them when one of the fish began to slowly approach, taking interest in them.

You hummed in affirmation and giggled a bit at the fish. You picked up a pebble, and shook it between your two hands before releasing it like a dice.

The silence was thick, and slightly awkward.

“So-“

“Who-“

You both spoke at the same time.

“You talk first-“

“You go ahead-“

Again, you both spoke in unison, which lead to more silence, afraid that if you spoke again that you’d interrupt the other. Eventually, the silence grew more uncomfortable, so you decided to break it.

“I like you, George.” You blurted out, looking anywhere but him.

“Well, I like you too.” He replied, a smile on his face. You glanced at him and realized that he didn’t catch on.

“I like you more than friends.” You explained, running your hands through the grass. More silence.

You felt a hand gently grab your face, pulling it up. You made eye contact with him mere seconds before he unexpectedly pressed his lips against yours. Stupidly, you froze. After a few seconds he pulled away, frantically scooting back, further away from you.

“Oh god, you were kidding, weren’t you? Oh fuck, I never catch onto jokes like that, ‘m so sorry.” He apologized, avoiding any and all eye contact.

You were sure your face was bright red at this point. The corners of your mouth curved up into a smile.

“I meant it, George.” You mumbled, almost too quiet for him to hear. He looked at you, his wide eyes scanning your facial expression to try to tell if you were actually kidding or not. Gradually, his eyes held less and less of the sheer panic he’d just been in.

You crawled closer to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt to pull him closer.

“‘M very glad you feel the same ‘bout me.” You whispered against his lips before returning the previous kiss.

If his heart wasn’t pounding before then, it sure was pounding now.

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

[rad-rat-with-a-tophat]

@thetheatergremlin's boyf riends week day 3

✨dragon✨

Jeremy had been having a crappy day for no apparent reason and it was horrible.

It was a Saturday! He had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted! But no, he was just sitting in his bed reading shitty fan fiction and feeling unbelievably stuck.

He was utterly numb, since he woke up he'd gone downstairs about once to eat breakfast and that was it. Now he was just sitting, music on full blast through his earbuds but still feeling absolutely nothing.

He checked the time, 1 pm. Three hours since he woke up and two since he'd eaten breakfast. Wasn't he supposed to meet up with Michael today?

Whatever, Jeremy thought, It's not like anyone notices when this happens.

The more rational part of his brain tells him, People do care! Michael does, Christine does, all of your friends do! But Jeremy wasn't in the mood to be rational. Instead, he shut his laptop and laid onto his bed, unable to sit up again.

After what felt like five minutes he checked the time on his phone 2:30, huh, longer than I thought. He noted, ignoring the multiple missed text and just laying there, music still on full blast.

A knock came from downstairs. Was his dad going to answer it? Wait, no. His dad was switching groups in his job and had to attend an orientation.

The door opened. At least Jeremy didn't have to get the door.

Wait! What if it's a robber! Jeremy panicked, What if I get murdered?!

"Jeremy!" Michael's familiar voice called.

So not a robber then. Just Michael.

Jeremy heard footsteps and soon enough Michael was standing at his doorway. Jeremy just stared at him, too stuck to say anything.

Michael's eyes scanned over Jeremy, assessing him for something. "It's one of those days?" He asked, worry clouding his eyes.

Jeremy nodded, not moving from his spot on his bed. Michael nodded.

"Be right back!" He said, rushing downstairs.

Oh well, guess I'll stay here, waiting.

Jeremy didn't know what he was waiting for. Was it Michael? The ability to feel? He didn't know.

In hours or seconds, Micheal reappeared at his doorway, holding something in his hand.

"Look what I got you!"

Jeremy looked at what was in Michael's outstretched hand. It was a little plush dragon. It was light blue and sparkly. Jeremy took it slowly. It was soft, and kinda heckin' adorable. He slowly nodded, still looking at the plush and not Michael.

Michael went to sit on the edge of Jeremy's bed, making sure not to crowd him. "Are you gonna name it something?"

Jeremy thought for a bit, "Francis," He croaked out, voice rough with disuse. He smiled, not because he was happy per say, but because he felt he could actually be happy, that he was a little unstuck.

Michael nodded in relief, "Francis the Dragon, a mighty name for a mighty stuffed animal,"

Jeremy nodded and turned his head to Michael, "Do you have a matching red one?"

Michael shook his head, "You up for coming with me to get one?" He asked.

Jeremy thought for a bit, "I can get in the car, not a store,"

"Okay then, you'll stay in the car with my phone for music while I get myself a dragon,"

Jeremy nodded, standing up to go downstairs, cradling Francis in his arms.

[generalluxun]

Fanfiction: Dates, Places, People, and Things Chapter 2(of 3)

Author's Note: If anyone know how to do that cool thing where you can link all the parts of a fic to each other in the posts, that'd be fun to know... Back to the show! Sabrina has arrived on the Liberty, Kagami has absconded with Chloe to keep an eye on her, and Sabrina was about to settle down beside Mylène on a bench to both watch the practice and to try and repair a dead speaker. Link to AO3 in the bio, text after the cut.

Sabrina settled in beside Mylène, and gave the other girl a tentative smile. They'd interacted briefly a couple times when Sabrina had visited before, but not much. Mylène was every bit as chatty with new people as Sabrina was, which  was to say:not at all.

They took turns quietly eyeing what the other was doing, while trying not to be caught doing so. Sabrina ran some google searches for speaker repair and flipped through the docs she had made for Luka earlier about it. Beside her, Mylène's stack of envelopes diminished until gone, then all the stuffed ones were transferred to a box and a new stack appeared.

Kitty Section were beginning warmups. Chords and sound checks mingled in the air as Sabrina opened the toolkit Luka had for her on the liberty -she cringed inside and vowed once more to organize it- and took out a screwdriver to pop the back off the halfstack.

She had just begun to try and match reality to diagrams in the back when Mylène spoke up beside her, "Is it really safe to be poking around inside one of those?"

The question was pitched softly, conversational rather than admonishment. Yet a hint of nagging maternal concern wound its way in as well. Sabrina pulled her head back out. There was such an earnest pleading in Mylène's eyes that it threw Sabrina off. She swallowed her response and fumbled with the paper diagram again, leaving black fingerprints behind.

Luka's guitar drifted out of the sound mixture and Sabrina latched onto it.

She gave Mylène her biggest smile and casually poked the speaker's innards. "Oh, it's perfectly safe. It's already broken, so I can't do *that* much to it. As long as I behave around this thing,"She prodded the power supply, "I'll be fine."

Mylène's expression went from incomprehension to a fearful skepticism. Her eyes darted between the aforementioned power supply and Sabrina.

Sabrina panicked, "What are you doing there?"

Her voice felt too loud, and she ran her words together, but it worked. Mylène visibly picked apart the question, then brightened. She picked up one of the unfolded sheets.

 "It's an information campaign, and a call to action. The sewers beneath our feet are in deplorable conditions. Leaks from broken and outdated pipes are sending contaminants back into the ground water every day. It's past time for the mayor to devote resources to modernizing waste treatment!"

Sabrina took the paper, leaving marks on it as well. "Oh, that does sound bad. I could ask Chloé to-" Sabrina winced, then peeked up at Mylène, expecting the worst.

Instead of doom she saw a look of blossoming hope. Mylène wrung her hands together. "Really? Do you think she would put in a good word? One word from her would be like ten thousand letters to the Mayor."

Sabrina fingered the paper again, trying unsuccessfully to remove the smudges. It's not right to use Chloé, even if it's for a good reason. "Can I have this? I can show her later. If she decides she wants to read it, I can try and explain it to her." That's okay, right? If she wants to.

Mylène, oblivious to Sabrina's conflict nodded happily. "Of course! If you're really interested I've got more information too. Teddy Bear and I have spent a lot of time cataloging specific problems."

"You went in the sewers?" Sabrina remembered her own trip down below, chasing after an akuma that had stolen the members of Kitty Section for his figurine collection.

Mylène blushed, recoiling slightly before rallying and nodding. "They're scary, but not as bad as some people think, I learned that recently. It's important sometimes to do scary things too, when it's for a good cause."

A more coherent tune rose from the stage, not a full song yet but the beginnings of one. Sabrina hurriedly folded the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. She left a small smudge on her shorts. Mylène winced and dug in her pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. Sabrina waved her off. “It’s okay, I’ll wash them once I get done.”

They both turned back to the stage. Sabrina ducked her head when Luka smiled her way, she saw Ivan give a timid salute with one drumstick towards Mylène and thought it was the cutest thing ever, then the band struck up a full song, complete with Rose’s vocals leading the charge.

Sabrina sat her chin on the top of folded arms, leaning on the speaker while the band played through the full song. She’d heard it before in recording. She still wasn’t sure she liked Kitty section’s music, but they had fun, and it was fun to watch them having fun. When the song ended they went back into further checks, and discussions about things Sabrina only half-understood from her music lessons.  She used it as a good point to get back to work.

The speaker itself wasn’t all that complex, but there was still plenty that could be wrong. It also looked like it had been everywhere, and never once been cleaned inside. Sabrina began by testing current through various wires, then figuring out what was original and what was after-market. She had to stop to watch a youtube video to try and help her understand some of what she was looking at, then a second video to confirm what the first said. She worked back to the fuse, then out again.

The intermittent music from the stage faded into a comforting backdrop for the project. Every so often she would look up and steal a glance at Luka. It was still all so new and wonderful, just… knowing him.

He caught her looking and smiled again. Sabrina fidgeted, but forced herself not to look away. Her fingers itched to squeeze him, but she wouldn’t interrupt. He blew her a kiss while Ivan and Juleka worked out their parts to a new song together. Sabrina blushed. She couldn’t quite make herself blow a kiss back, not while people were around. Instead she raised her hands and made grabby paws at him, to let him know she was restraining herself.

Luka’s expression changed to humor and she was momentarily confused, until she realized how utterly blackened her hands had become. She gave a soundless wail and fell across the speaker she was working on.  Luka laughed from afar, loud enough that he got a poke from Rose.  Sabrina quickly sobered up and got back to work.

Sabrina narrowed it down to a single wire. It didn't look broken, but it was a bit pinched from who-knew-what. She'd have to replace that first, but didn't have wire on hand for it. It was only her third dive into real electrical work.

Sabrina replaced the cover and was screwing it back on when Mylène spoke up again from beside her, envelopes all stuffed.

"Got it solved?"

Sabrina nodded, "It's broke."

She waited, stealing a glance at the other girl.

Sincere confusion. "I'm sorry. You can't fix it? I couldn't even begin to know what to do myself. I would be terrified of shocks."

Sabrina brushed her hair back, looking down. "Sorry, no, it was supposed to be a joke. I think maybe I can, once I replace what I think is wrong."

Mylène's eyes went to Sabrina's hair, then back. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh! I'm sorry." She shifted on her seat. "I- I'm sorry, I'm letting myself be too nervous because of-"

Mylène glanced toward the rear of the boat. She shook her head then clenched her fists and took several deep breaths. A smile dawned on her face and she looked back at Sabrina.

"We should be friends! We're both dating members of the  band. We'll be seeing a lot of each other, and I'm sure we'll find common ground, right?"

Sabrina fidgeted in response, racking her brain. "I have maps of the sewers memorized?" She offered.

Mylène blinked, and then laughed. Sabrina quietly wished she had been trying for a joke this time. Still, she smiled in response to the laughter.

Mylène clapped her hands together once. "Then next time you are absolutely coming with us on our expedition. I won't be as scared with both a safety line and a living map."

Sabrina was still thinking up a reply when Mylène's head turned to a particular drum combo from the stage.

"Oh! That's teddy bear's signal. They're done!" She waved to Ivan who waved back.

On stage Rose was wrapping up her microphone cord, and everyone was easing their instruments. Luka lifted his guitar off his shoulder, and extended it towards his sister. "Jules, go fast?"

The reaction from the band was instant. Rose clapped her hands together, Juleka looked moderately apprehensive, and Ivan let out an enthusiastic, “yeah!”

Luka gave Juleka an encouraging smile. “It’s a special day, full of firsts. I think you can do it.”

Everyone stilled while Juleka eyed Luka’s guitar skeptically for a moment, then looked back to him. Sabrina had no idea what was happening but she held her breath on principle. Juleka seemed to reach a decision. She lifted her bass off her shoulder and held it out to Luka, nodding. “Go F’st.”

A collective cheer went up, including Mylène right beside Sabrina. The siblings switched instruments, Rose pulled off her mask -the only one in costume- and picked up her mic again. Ivan let loose with a rapid burst off the drums, sharing a grin when Juleka looked at him.

Sabrina leaned sideways. “What’s happening?” she whispered.

Mylene scooted closer, also whispering. “It’s a game. It’s a cover song they have never been able to actually play yet, but Juleka really likes. The guitar part is really hard and fast. Juleka’s been working on it, the others don’t want to push her too hard. So it’s a little challenge at practices sometimes.”

Rose had bounded back in and was whispering something to Juleka, whose hands were cycling through fingerings on the guitar. Luka had stepped off to set up backing audio for the parts they didn’t have players for.

Luka turned back to the group on stage. “Ready?”

Rose stood on tiptoes to Kiss Juleka’s cheek, then backed up.  Juleka took several deep breaths before nodding. Ivan grinned and rattled the hi-hats.

Luka keyed up the backing audio.

The song started strong, the backing audio had a cycling rhythm at breakneck speed. At first Juleka strumed only intermittently, it was Ivan in the back who seemed to be setting a fast pace with drums to match the audio. Sabrina was about to ask Mylène what was up again when -boom-

Juleka’s part took off like a shot. Her fingers raced across the frets, while her pick danced along the strings as if she were trying to make fire. The music roared into an energetic rush that had Sabrina on the edge of the bench, perched on the balls of her feet and bursting with energy.

Juleka’s part cut out suddenly, but her eye remained narrowed and her lips pressed tightly together.  Rose began to sing, “On a cold winter morning,” but it blended with everything else.

Even as a part of the mix Juleka’s part came back strong, her guitar notes danced around the other parts. Her hands flew up to pluck up on the frets, unleashing a waterfall of chirpy notes before bending down into the lightning fast chords again. The words dropped out into a second solo. Sabrina felt Mylène bumping up beside her, leaned forward in anticipation.

Juleka played through, but her body curled around her guitar, shoulders slumping. Her legs locked stiffly, all things Sabrina knew were bad to do, from her own recorder playing. Sabrina squeezed her hands into fists on her lap, trying to will Juleka to relax. She wasn’t the only one. Luka had moved closer, though still giving her space.  Rose had shifted around into Juleka’s line of sight, though the dark-haired girl wasn’t looking up. Beside Sabrina, Mylène was muttering a tiny refrain of, “C’mon, cmon, c’mon.”

A second verse, a third solo. Juleka’s posture was shot. Her head was down over her strings. Sabrina was starting to hope she’d stop, just to have a break. The song had to be almost over right?

A sudden cut, Juleka gasped, straightening up, but the music went on. Mylène grabbed Sabrina’s hand, grime and all, and squeezed. “Here it is, here it is, you can do it Juleka,” she whispered.

The band members all joined a chorus around her, a simple vocalizing ‘Whoa ohhh ohhh, Whooaa OOHHH ohhh..”

Rose was vibrating.

Silence for a beat.

Juleka attacked the strings anew. Her lips pulled back in a snarl, her motions were jerky but precise, her one visible eye glared down at the neck of her guitar. Behind her Ivan kept a blistering pace for the beat, but Juleka’s part was another thing entirely. Sabrina knew almost nothing about strings, but the sheer volley of sounds coming from the solo was dumbfounding. She didn’t need to like or even know, just to be in awe.

Mylène’s hold on her was a deathgrip. Sabrina found her sweater gripped next, and she was shaken to whispers of, “She’s gonna make it, She’s gonna make it!”

Juleka bent notes between switching from playing the body and the neck of the guitar, Sabrina couldn’t even follow the transitions at this point, even if she wasn’t being shaken so much her glasses threatened to fall off. Juleka’s legs began to buckle, Luka stepped in closer but was trapped in his own part. There was a collective tension towards crescendo.

Swish, the shift five and a half minutes in, like a rollercoaster cresting the hill. Mylène screamed an excited ‘Yeaahhh!’ almost in Sabrina’s ear. Juleka snapped up, still playing, though the tenor had changed. Her narrowed eye blinked, seeing her brother and girlfriend so close. They were both wearing smiles from ear to ear. Juleka swiveled, and Ivan gave her one as well over the furious blur of his sticks, with a few harder hi-hat hits to emphasize the moment.

Juleka spun back, still playing, but now rising above. Her shoulders relaxed and a smile blooming across the eternal gloom to match those of her bandmates. Her fingers flew freely now, she let out a visible sigh and sank even further into the music. The two minute solo bled back into one last verse that gave her a brief break before a final rush of furious guitar. Only this last time Juleka played open and joyous, throwing english into her playing, cheekily switching to a reverse grip on the neck of her guitar and even bending one of the final notes by trapping the string with her unicorn charm and having the charm ‘ride’ the string down.

The final chord dropped into a breathless silence. Juleka was panting, aglow, for the briefest instant before Rose charged her from the front and Luka caught her from the back. Mylène left her seat to join the pile and even Ivan cleared his drums to grab hold and lift the entire group together into a laughter filled hug.

Sabrina watched them, and almost got up to join the hug, but the sudden overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t her place took hold and she instead gripped the bench. She looked away, now feeling like an intruder, and realized her hands were sweaty. Without thinking she rubbed them on her sweater-

“Oh fudge-ums.”

[whatyadrawin]

Crystal Lake Shadows 18+ Only!  Ch 6

Masterlist

Approximately 1,860 words

Pairing: Jason Voorhees x AMAB character

Warnings: Violence, strong language, strong sexual themes

A/n: I'm sorry to everyone who has been waiting on this fic to complete. It isn't done yet but I WILL be finishing it. I appreciate your patience and interest :)

Chapter 6

                The morning came with the same bright and warm energy as the last, the singing of small birds and the gentle rustling of leaves from a lazy wind can be heard outside. Sergio woke up feeling energized and in a good mood, the fact that he won’t be alone out at the cabin today made him feel comforted… even if it’s Rob.

Sergio grabbed a panini that Marina made him and went to go put it in his tool box, when he opened it up, he realized he forgot to tell Marina about the teddy bear he took from the lodge. He picked it up and gave it another once over, every inch of it was matted and dusty but the face was still very cute and the stuffing was still safely enclosed and soft. The bear gave him a welcome feeling of safety and comfort as it likely did for whomever owned it to begin with. He noticed some stitching on the bottom of both feet, he lifted it up closer to his face and read ‘I love you’ on one foot, he looked at the other and gasped as it read ‘Jason’.

The bear fell to the floor as Sergio froze in place realizing who its owner was. His mother must have given this to him. A strange feeling washed over him as he stared at the bear on the ground laying there like it needed to be held, he felt as if he had to bring it with him. When the bear was in his hands again, he felt that same comforting safe feeling and decided to keep it in his toolbox for the next time he felt panicked at the lodge I feel like such a loser using a plush as a grown man but… it really does help even if it was …his.

The drive down to the property felt a bit strange today, there were deep clouds forming in the sky very quickly, this darkened the forest quite a bit, this made Sergio feel uneasy but he figured he could just leave if things got too scary, after all, no one said he isn’t allowed to leave when he wants. Once he reached the head of the dirt road, he noticed another vehicle stopped just before it, as he passed the car, he noticed Rob watching him, he turned his car on to follow Sergio down.

Sergio finally reached the lodge and parked closer to the door this time, as close as he could get. Rob pulled up beside him and got out

“I’m not here for you, ok?”

Sergio sighed and rolled his eyes “I know, just make sure you don’t get in the way of my work, ok?”

Rob sneered and looked around, Sergio noticed he seemed a little off-put by the dark overcast of the clouds and said “You can come inside if you want, in case it rains”

The glance Rob gave to Sergio was a mixture of gratitude and resentment, he called back “I’m not a pussy buddy, I don’t need shelter from a little water”

Sergio groaned “For the love of god Rob, just say thank you there’s no need to be a smartass”

Rob stood there and looked taken aback, it seemed no one felt the need to call him out so this response was shocking for him. Sergio got his tool box and went inside to start planning which room needed the most design changes. Mrs. P was an elusive client, Sergio never could get a hold of her and the instructions were very vague on what she needed done. He pulled up his email on his phone and noticed Mrs. P sent him a new message today, it read as follows:

‘Sergio, I want to keep the bones of the lodge the same. Don’t change the layout, don’t change the size. I want fresh new paint with the same colors, and upgrades to the utilities and repairs. The lodge needs to remain as close in theme as possible. The rightful owner needs their home back just as they would remember it.’

He looked very confused, the rightful owner? Is that not Mrs. P? the desire to upgrade and yet keep things the same seemed a bit strange but not unusual for a lot of his clients who in this day and age, badly wanted to keep the warm embrace of nostalgia in their homes. Sergio decided to make revisions to his original designs and needed to get his measuring tape.

He passed through the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks, the knife he brought yesterday was stabbed into the wood of the counter sharp point down. He looked at it confused and nervous, he didn’t remember ever taking it out of his bag. Sergio went to grab the knife; it was really hard to pull out of the counter top as if it was thrust in by a very powerful person. The knife finally loosened and fell to the floor with a metal clang sound, he picked it up and inspected it. The blade had a rough texture on the edge as if it was sharpened with a rock, Sergio didn’t sharpen his blades so this didn’t seem familiar to him. He gave a gentle touch on the blade and his finger bled; the edge definitely had just been sharpened by someone masterful with a whet stone. 

Sergio walked back into the main room where he kept his tool box, feeling extremely confused and worried did someone come in here and take my knife just to… sharpen it? He decided to believe it was just his own imagination running wild from stress and lack of sleep, I must have sharpened it before I came and left it on the counter and forgot to pick it back up. He placed the knife back into the tool box where it once was, the teddy, still in his toolbox beckoned him to be carried around the lodge.

The day dragged on until around 4pm, Sergio didn’t see a whole lot of Rob as he made revisions to the property designs and it made him worry. He checked outside and called out for Rob to see if he could hear a response, but no one called back. Sergio wanted to leave before sunset and Rob being out and not responding was really strange. He placed all his belongings in the truck and did a once over on the lodge to see if Rob maybe fell asleep somewhere, but the building was empty. Sergio locked the door behind him and decided he needed to look around in case Rob was in trouble or lost, his phone GPS didn’t work at the lake for some reason so he just used a compass that he had on his keychain.

As he searched the woods there was no sign that anyone went through the trees, the nature was practically untouched by anyone. Sergio was still holding onto the bear as he explored and called out for Rob, the bear was like a powerful charm that prevented stress or fear to affect him. An hour of exploring was just enough time to leave room for the sun to start setting, Sergio decided to give up and head back to the truck which wasn’t so far away. He took a few steps back through some thick brush and heard a very quiet whimper and fast breathing, he stopped to look around but didn’t see anything. Sergio stood there listening to this bizarre sound trying to decipher where it was coming from, it sounded human.

He saw an old rope dangling next to a large tree, he followed the rope with his eyes all the way up this tree until he saw something large in the leaves waving around, it was Rob! Sergio was stricken with shock, he dropped the bear and immediately got to work finding a way to release the rope from the knot at the base, Rob’s weight was causing it to remain as tight as possible. Sergio called up to Rob

“Rob! I am going to get you down, ok? Don’t struggle, try to breathe slowly”

Rob flailed more violently and put his index finger to his lips to indicate that Sergio should be silent, this was strange and Sergio was confused by it until Rob whispered hoarsely

“Sergio, shut the fuck up, I seen him, he might still be around, be as quiet as possible”

This scared Sergio and prompted him to work even faster to get Rob down from the trees, whoever had set the trap was an expert with ropes and knots. After a few minutes of pulling and untying, Sergio was able to lower Rob to the ground gently. Rob took a second to untie his feet from the rope and held his head, blood had been pooling in his head and chest for a while and he felt nauseous and in pain. Sergio helped him up and whispered

“Rob, we need to head to the vehicles, can you walk?”

Rob nodded in approval, Sergio picked up the teddy bear he dropped and they quickly made their way back to the lodge where their vehicles were parked. The entire trip back to the lodge was extremely stressful, Sergio swore he could hear something in the trees rustling behind them but he kept looking straight ahead. Once they got to the lodge, Rob immediately took his keys out of his zipped jacket pocket and spent no time getting into the car and driving off. Not a single word was said to Sergio, not even a thank you, Sergio watched as he drove off like a madman, spinning the tires and kicking up dirt. Sergio got into his truck and turned on the engine, he drove away from the lodge at a normal pace and refused to look in his mirror this time in case he would see a repeat of the shadow.

Now, back at the apartment, Sergio got out of his truck and decided to leave the tool box in the truck for the next day. He was clutching onto the teddy as he made his way up to his apartment, it was sapping all of the stress, fear, and anxiety right out of him and replacing it with comfort. Sergio spent the rest of the evening in his home, he ate the mashed potatoes and gravy from the night before and decided to wash the teddy bear to restore it to a decent state. He waited patiently as the washer and dryer did their thing, once the dryer finished its cycle, he took the bear out and brushed the exterior with a bristle brush to enhance the fabrics softness. He finished brushing and took a look at the bear, the color was still faded and the body still a bit misshapen but it had a charming smile on its face and a big soft tummy and round ears to rub.

Sergio went to sleep with the bear nestled in his arms close to his chest; tonight, he got the best sleep of his life.

[redemptioninterlude]

five times glanced: ( five times the receiver stole glances at the sender - rue and har in our fortune & fame verse )

5 times ... meme ( no longer accepting ) + @awalkoflife // harrison

It's not like he means to bump into her - after all, neither of them are looking where they're going. Arms filled and stacked for him, and her head buried in her script, it's gentle enough where everything doesn't go FLYING OFF in all directions but... Rue's apologetic, tripping over her tongue with sudden nerves that grip her tight. How she's so sorry, and she's such an idiot, and already she's stuffing her script beneath her arm as she takes some of the things he's carrying. "Where do these go?" because he's like, on the crew here, isn't he? Rue recognises him, scratching at the edges of her brain before she could remember it in her panicked state. "Harrison, right? You're the one that lives... well, you came from far originally, right?" Which is halfway impressive given how many people were working on set, but like ,Rue tries her best to remember these kinds of things because fuck, it takes a village, right? And once they've dropped things off, she's all sorries again, but... he's so sweet about it, isn't he? Trying to assure her before he's got to run off, but Rue? She's watching the back of him, for perhaps a moment too long, tucking away a thought before she's off, a little late now, to her next location on set.

She's smoking weed behind her trailer when he pops up again. And there's a pause where they both know she's not really supposed to be getting high when working, but her grin's loose, and his matches that energy. "Wanna join me?" she'll ask with a laugh, blowing smoke in more ways than one as Rue hands over the joint. "Now we're both like, criminals. So don't rate me out!" She's JUST JOKING, but that's her sense of humour. The dragging lulls of deadpan sarcasm, and it'd be hard to tell that she's like, Rue Bennett of all people, but Rue never feels like the Rue that the world thinks she is. Which is easy given that she's like, super fucking private, and these things always just make her feel insane so it's easier just to like... refrain from the public eye. In fact, she knows this is gambling risky, because she doesn't really know much about Harrison. Just that he's a nice kinda guy, and to her that's enough. But while he's taking that hit, she's glancing his way, and wondering if really, it is enough for her. "... so like. Tell me what brought you here. Everyone's always got such an interesting story about that shit."

The wrap party's this whole glamourous affair. Which is kinda cool, and Rue loves a good party, but usually for all the WRONG REASONS, which is why she sorta keeps to herself for it. Like, of course there's those from the cast and crew she's friendly with that she'll talk to, but she knows better than to go full on spiral out here, where there's too many people who might talk, and really, she's sort of dying to get out of here. Sipping on champagne and hating the bitter taste of it, she's looking ready to leave when she notices Harrison. Teeth left to drag along her lower lip until she decides ( fuck it ) and slides a little bit closer to him with a smile that's a little bit brighter on her face. "Haven't seen you since like! Act 3 of the film. What's been up?" the boy wonder, the one who seemed always ready and helpful to everyone. Over the course of this... yeah. She's kinda glad that he's been around, heels digging in as she rocked back on her heels, which she's wanted to get out of already for an hour. "I'm about to get outta here. Wanna come with? I figured I'd just like. Smoke a joint and go get street food or something. The um... the food is good here and all but I'm like, actually hungry."

It's their like, third film together when it happens. And she doesn't mean to like, do that, in fact, Rue almost never sleeps with anybody. It's kinda this whole thing for her, anxiety and all that bullshit, but more than that, she rarely ever feels like... safe enough, she supposes. Which isn't all that shocking given that Hollywood is full of snakes and liars, and she never wants to get all CAUGHT UP in PR games or the bullshit that comes with people pouring over every interaction. It's all too much for her, but like... he makes it feel so easy. Which is why, of course, she's like, halfway sure she's gonna fuck shit up, because that's what Rue does. Even now when on set and coming out after getting finished with hair, makeup, costume... and her eyes land on him, already hauling things with him to the next scene, something jolting within her chest. Nerves? Excitement? It's hard to tell. But Rue's trying to hurry past, convinced that everybody knows, and she barely even knows herself what's the deal.

So the story breaks, and it's predictably a shit show. Everyones' got a fucking opinion, and she doesn't want to think about, hear about, any of it. In fact, she's kind of taken to holing up at her place and ordering in instead, and it's kind of a surprise when she goes to answer the door expecting her delivery to find him there instead, holding it up and out to her as if it were some kind of PEACE OFFERING. "What are you doing here?" feeling halfway dumb, but all too pleased because... well. This shit could be lonely. And right now, she felt a lot of that, as he comes in and readies the table, Rue casting glances in his direction, as if trying to divine his intentions here. And maybe that's... part of it. Maybe she just needed to trust that he was here with good purpose in mind, especially when he caught her looking, coming over to smooth his hands along her shoulders. "It's going to be okay," which... fuck. It's crazy how much she needed to hear that, simply nodding as she let her forehead come to a rest against his shoulder, taking that moment to try to compose herself once more. "... I hope you like Thai food because um... It's all I got."

[nervousgardenerkid]

yello could u do an eddie munson x reader where the reader struggles w selective mutism (becoming mute/being unable to speak in some situations usually because of bad anxiety, or at least in my own experience) and usually communicates through little notes but feels real bad bc they don’t want eddie to be disappointed and he comforts them and says it’s ok bc he loves them anyway

pls i’m having big sad rn and i think that would be so adorable, also considering that selective mutism and stuff like that is v rarely seen in media/fanfics lol, it would be a big win for us

ty <333

a/n: i hope i got to this in time anon! i'm sorry you're feeling sad rn :( i tried to do my best with it cause personally i have no idea what it's like but as someone with anxiety i understand a bit! I hope you like it :D credit to the gif owner!

Notes to you

Blue skies in, grey clouds out. Blue skies in, grey clouds out. You thought to yourself. You weren't sure what was in the air today but school seemed so much more packed when it came to basketball games. Maybe school spirit was more alive in the students thus causing them to be louder and more obnoxious than usual. Or maybe the universe decided to give you the middle finger and held a pep rally. Either way, you weren't the biggest fan of it.

Your hands start to grab at the straps of your backpack and you try not to cry when the kid next to you gets pushed into you. You just want to go home, you don't even want to spend the rest of the day in school. Your eyes frantically search the flooded hall looking for a familiar face, but so far no luck. I could leave now you think to yourself. Home isn't that far from school and I'll be okay if I miss a day of school. You turn around and try and make your way toward the school exit when finally, you see him.

Relief washes over your body and you push your way through the crowd and grab onto his jacket as soon as he's within arms reach. Eddie quickly turns you thinking you were a bully but smiles when he sees it's you.

“Hey, there sweetheart, where are you off to?”

You open your mouth trying to get the words out but you're stuck. Your brain goes blank and you struggle to think of the words you want to say. You look around the halls trying to find something to focus on but everything is too bright and too loud. Eddie notices the panicked look in your eyes and turns Dustin around to reach into his backpack.

“Hey! You can't just go digging in there-”

“Can it Henderson.”

“Yes sir.”

Eddie pulls out his notebook and rips off a page before stuffing the notebook back in and searching for a pen.

“Man, I had a whole system in there.”

“I'll let you sit on my throne for ten seconds if you stop talking.”

“Done.”

Eddie let out a small “ah ha!” when he found a pen. He holds onto your hand tightly and starts to lead you out of the school screaming for students to get out of his way. Once you're out of the school you take a deep breath, it doesn't help as much as you would've liked it to but it's better than being surrounded by warms of people. Before you know it, Eddie has you standing in front of his van the paper on the hood of his car, and he places the pen in your hand.

“What's going on in your pretty little head?” he asks you softly.

You take a deep breath feeling the pen in your hand as you try and call down. Your hand is shaky as you write.

I hate basketball games.

He let out a hum. “Me too, way too many people. Do you want to go to the library? It's nice and quiet in there.”

It's locked. Even the librarian has more school spirit than me.

Eddie chuckles and leans against the van smiling at you.

You can go back in, I was just going to walk home.

“Pft. Walk home, yeah right. No way I'm letting you walk home in this horrible heat.”

You glance at him and smile.

You didn't have to let Dustin sit on your throne for me.

Eddie shrugs his shoulders. “It's not a problem. Plus, I kinda ruined his whole backpack system or whatever he has going on in there.”

Ruined. Dustin's bag was ruined because of you. The whole system he made up is ruined all because Eddie had to scramble to get a piece of paper for you. Your breathing began to pick up again and you closed your eyes trying to take deep breaths. Eddie stands straight again stands nearby.

“What do you need sweetheart? How can I help you?”

The words are on the tip of your tongue but you can't get them out no matter how hard you're trying to.

“Hey, hey listen to me,” he says softly. “One tap for yes.” He taps on his van once. “Two taps for no. Sound good to you?”

You click the pen twice instead of tapping on the car. Eddie nods his head saying he can work with that.

“Can I touch you? Is that okay?”

Click.

He wraps his arms around you.

“You want me to hold you tighter?”

Click.

His arms squeeze you tight enough for you to start grounding yourself. You take a deep breath catching the scent of Eddie's cologne. Your hand wrapped around the back of his shirt feeling the material beneath your fingertips. The cotton was soft, yet worn out. You could tell it was one of his favorites. You started to calm down when you heard his sweet voice reassuring you that everything is okay and that you're gonna be okay.

“I'm sorry,” you whisper to him.

He pulls away from you and wipes away at the stray tear that fell down your face.

“For what?”

You shake your head. What were you sorry for? You didn't do anything bad, Eddie was just trying to be a good boyfriend and help.

“I don't know.”

tears are streaming down your face and Eddie pulls you in for another hug. His hand is gently scratching at your scalp and he's swaying you both back and forth while gently rushing you.

“You didn't do anything wrong. I promise you didn't, okay?”

You nod your head choosing to believe him as you take a shaky breath. You know better than to ask this, but sometimes the reassurance helps more than you think it would.

You gently pull away from him and turn your body back toward the van. You grab the piece of paper, fold it in half, then click the pen getting ready to write your question out.

You still love me?

Eddie grabs the pen from your hand, he clicks it a few times pretending to think of his answer. He messily writes down his answer and slides the note back to you hiding his smile behind his hair.

Always. :)

[ahundredtimesover]

A Still Day or A Hurricane (06) | JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x (f.) Reader

Genre/Tags: single mom lawyer!OC x pastry chef!Jungkook; angst, fluff, smut; age gap

Chapter Warnings: foul/explicit language; alcohol consumption; artificial insemination, single parenthood, motherhood, breastfeeding; mention of a murder case, inaccurate law stuff im sry; eventual smut (18+)

Chapter Word count: 11.2k

Status: Completed

Series summary: Driven by your perfectionist attitude and need to have everything in order, you planned that by age 30, you’d have made junior partner, bought your own apartment, and have children. You achieved them, of course, and while the last bit required you to take matters into your own hands - no thanks to your ex-boyfriend who dumped you but to your best friend who directed you to a fertility clinic - you’re now a 31-year old who pretty much has her life under control. You’re ready to raise your child on your own, that is, until the 20-something pastry chef flirts his way into your heart, messing up the perfect little life you worked so hard to have for yourself.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the sweet messages and feedback to this story! Sorry I can’t get to each one and on time but I appreciate it all! Please enjoy this one.

Listen to: You Know (Ouioui), Peaches (Kai) || Playlist 🎶

Series Masterlist

##

You hadn’t planned on coming here. 

You always enjoyed work trips outside of Seoul. There was something about the long drives, the luxuries of the hotel, and the air outside of the city that you yearn for during client meetings and events. The trip usually forces you to stop for once and focus on the scenery before you, and for a few hours, you let your mind wander to things and places it usually doesn’t travel to.

But since Heejin was born, you’d been turning down client and partner meetings and events that were more than a 30-minute drive away. 

You don’t like being away from her. It’s second nature for your body to check on the baby monitor the moment you wake up, then to walk to the nursery and marvel at your sleeping little pearl holding her favorite blanket in her crib. 

The need to hold her in your arms is consuming, as she’s getting bigger and heavier by the day, and it’s as if you just want to wrap your arms around her in an effort to slow things down.

You love having her close and engraving in your mind the details of her face, the flutter of her eyelashes against her skin, the little pout and furrowing of her eyebrows she makes when you try to sing or make her laugh. Her tiny hand always reaches out to your face, her baby fingers poking your cheek and sliding inside your mouth, and she laughs when you pretend to eat them. There’s a stuffed lion that Taehyung got her that she adores and can’t sleep without, and the sound of her laugh when you tickle her with it plays in your head when you’re missing her. Like tonight. 

Jin’s father, a respectable lawyer himself, was supposed to give a speech on the last day of the legal convention set in Busan. It’s one you attend every year, but you hadn’t planned on doing so since you didn’t want to be away from your daughter. But after needing to fly to Japan for an emergency, the elder Atty. Kim had asked his son to deliver his speech for him, and Jin couldn’t say no.

He always told you that when it comes to speeches like this, you were always his calming presence. It’s because instead of going soft and encouraging him, you psyche him up through your tough love. He said it always reminded him that there’s a standard to reach, and yours is always so high and that challenges him. 

It’s why earlier in the day, you hadn’t woken up due to the instinct of checking on Heejin; you woke up to your phone ringing and Jin’s panicked cries on the other end. It was supposed to be a day trip - get there by noon and leave right after the event ends at 4PM. You could be home by dinner time, and you could tell Heejin a story as she fell asleep.

But upon hearing your presence in the convention, his father had requested both of you to meet one of the clients who’d reached out to him the next morning, and you couldn’t say no. 

Your mom advised you not to feel too down about it, as since giving birth, you haven’t been away from your daughter, and maybe drinks near the beach and a night at a luxury hotel will help you get reenergized. You’d have the rest of Sunday to be with Heejin, your mom said. 

You left early in the morning and spent half of the drive bickering with Jin about how you’re now spending your weekend with him. You got to the venue, networked, and caught up with familiar faces, an impromptu meet-up with a couple of your law professors taking up so much of your time that you barely saw Jimin or your other associates in the convention; no one expected you to be there, anyway. 

Don’t fucking screw it up or I’m telling your father were your last words to Jin before he took the stage towards the end of the event, and like you expected, he delivered flawlessly, looking as charming and handsome as he always is. You didn’t miss the way the lawyer next to you almost drooled and pretty much froze when Jin passed by her to sit at your side.

He’d convinced you to go with him to this rooftop bar that one of his Busan-based law school friends invited him to after seeing him earlier, and after your mom texted that Heejin is already asleep after running around the park earlier, you reckoned that a few drinks care of Jin wouldn’t hurt.

You’re not sure about that now, though, as in the time between downing your beer and seeing if Jin managed to get the number of one of the lawyers he eyed earlier, you find the doe-eyes that haven’t left your mind since the day they turned away from you, the owner walking out of the hospital door and out of your life, as you asked him to. And you haven’t heard from him since.

Even with how rushed everything today was, a part of you thought about the smallest possibility of seeing Jungkook; this is his territory, after all. But you hadn’t expected to actually see him here since you didn’t expect you’d be in this bar in the first place. You also wouldn’t be surprised if he’s good friends with the bar owner and pretty much everyone in here, too. Jungkook has always had that charm that makes anyone be drawn to him, and tonight, he exudes that and more.

He spots you and your eyes lock on each other for the briefest moment before a soft smile forms on his face, and it’s something you hadn’t expected. You’d hurt him, he said so himself, and you half expected he’d turn away. But this is the same man who showed up at the hospital, no questions asked, when your friends called him because you were alone. 

You don’t know what part of him you haven’t yet broken for him to not hate you, and the moment he starts walking towards you, your heart starts beating out of your chest.

You’re alone right now and this isn’t your turf. You don’t have control out here, and this isn’t something you prepared nor envisioned. At least not here.

He’s dressed in a jacket over a half-buttoned black textured polo and ripped jeans. The belt accentuates his tiny waist, and his necklace forces you to focus on his taut chest that’s peeking underneath his clothes. The closer he gets, the more the glimmer on his face becomes clearer, and it’s when he’s standing before you that you realize the lip piercing decorating his face. 

You don’t want to admit how sinfully good he looks, even more when he smiles again and slides his hands in his pockets and tilts his head to the side.

“___, it’s nice to see you again.”

You force yourself not to look at his body. Maybe it’s the lights up here, or the sun in Busan; maybe it’s the latter plus all the surfing and paddle boarding that he always said he missed the most being out here. Whatever it is, he’d gotten even more toned and tanned. There’s a radiance in him that you’re not sure has always been there. Either way, you’re glad that coming home has been good to him in that way. 

“It’s… it’s nice to see you, too, Jungkook,” you say, hating yourself for stammering. 

If he notices, he doesn’t say it. You don’t wanna look at his eyes for too long to know; you’re afraid of what you’ll find and of getting lost in them like before.

“You’re here with Jimin? He didn’t say you were here, too,” he chuckles.

“Oh, he didn’t know I’d be here, too, in Busan and in this bar. I arrived just this morning to accompany Jin, and I haven’t seen Park since I got here. It’s been quite a busy day.”

“Oh, alright. That explains it, I guess,” he says.

“Yeah? You think he’d tell you I’d be here if he knew?” You laugh this time.

“Maybe,” he shrugs. “Or not. He doesn’t really talk about you.”

“Well, you too, actually. Which is funny since the only time he was ever serious with me was when he told me you at least deserved a reason all those months ago,” you say without thinking much, and you’re close to wanting to disappear when Jungkook laughs in response.

“And he’s the one who yelled at me to go straight to the hospital when you were about to give birth.”

“Wasn’t it Yoongi?”

“Yoongi doesn’t yell,” he reminds you. “He was the one who called but when I said that you might not want me there, Jimin was the one who insisted that it didn’t matter. So I went.”

Everything is so casual, as if what happened over 18 months ago didn’t actually happen, as if the past year and a half didn’t just go by with neither of you talking to or asking about each other nor reaching out. You’re not sure if it’s meant to be this way, or if you’re happy that it seems so easy to just fall into the same comfort you’d gotten used to with him after everything that happened.

“Well, he hasn’t actually—”

“Jungkook!” Someone calls out.

You almost miss the way Jungkook’s face drops the tiniest bit, but he recovers once the woman stands next to him and immediately intertwines her fingers with his.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she says, turning to face you now, her eyes bright and kind.

“Oh, a friend?” She turns towards Jungkook who nods.

“Hi, I’m Yae-won “ she chirps, taking her hand out for you to take. 

She’s a pretty woman with a prettier smile, one whose presence would easily light up any room she enters. 

You introduce yourself and share why you’re here. She asks if you’re alone, how you’re liking the drinks, and that you should order the bar’s famed gambas.

She laughs sweetly, too, and you see Jungkook smile whenever she does, but his eyes try to meet yours whenever you answer Yae-won’s questions, who seems to genuinely want to have a conversation. Several people greet her when they pass by, and you just know she’s that type of person, the one who makes people around her feel comfortable, welcomed, happy.

You finally see Jin emerge from the crowd, and you return his furrowed brows with pleading eyes. He knows that look, as several times when you’d felt a little off or comfortable around others, you’d give it to him, and like always, he comes and becomes exactly what you need, whatever it is.

This time, a friend.

“Hey, there you are,” he says, standing next to you. 

“How was—” the woman you were trying to hit on, you meant to ask, but he shakes his head before you get the question out and whispers that she’s into women and he’s probably gonna be alone for the rest of his life.

You giggle, and you miss the way Jungkook eyes you and Jin, the same way he misses how you eye him and Yae-won looking so comfortable and happy together. Her hand travels to his chest and Jungkook’s mindlessly travels to her waist. 

“Hi, you must be a friend of Jungkook’s, too. I’m Yae-won,” she says. 

“Yeah, sort of,” Jin laughs and introduces himself then greets Jungkook.

“Atty. Kim,” Jungkook nods in greeting.

“You’re both lawyers? Are you friends with Jimin?” Yae-won asks excitedly. 

“Yeah, he’s an associate at the firm,” Jin responds, eyes scanning the crowd. “And there he is.”

Jimin rushes to the group, a little panicked because this is the meeting he wasn’t really prepared to witness. He hadn’t expected you and Jin to come to the convention, and he definitely hadn’t expected for both of you to come to this bar, of all places. He didn’t hear from either of you today and the last minute arrangement is probably why. 

“Jimin!” Yae-won greets as she hugs him. “It’s been a while. I just met your lawyer friends.”

“Yeah, I see. Hi, Kook,” he smiles at the younger man a little nervously. 

Jungkook nods in greeting, suddenly feeling the air grow thick. Ironically, it felt much more comfortable during those few minutes when it was just you and him. But with Yae-won next to him, Jin next to you, and Jimin quite literally in the middle, it feels a little too awkward; suffocating in this open air, if he’s being honest. 

Yae-won smiles through the tension, something you feel built up as your conversation of two turned into a party of five. You wonder if anything makes her uncomfortable, and you think perhaps she doesn’t know about the history between you and the man next to her. 

Someone howls her name, and she turns to a cackling group of people you assume is Jungkook’s crowd here. And Jimin, apparently, as they call his name, too.

She waves at them then faces you, eyes still bright with what seems like perpetual joy. It’s the way she effortlessly carries herself, her whole persona that screams easygoing and comfortable, that tells you that she’s nothing like you, and that maybe, this is the kind of woman Jungkook needs. 

She’s full of youthful energy, amiable in how she engages with you, and affectionate with how her hand just naturally finds his -  not in a possessive way, you can tell, but one that screams she’s happy he’s there, like she wants him there. 

“Our DJ friend is here,” she smiles at you. “Sung-hwan has the best beats! Join us on the dance floor, okay? We’re gonna make these two have a dance off.”

“That would be a nice show,” Jin smirks. “But we’re good out here. It was a tiring trip and all.”

“Oh okay,” she looks legitimately sad. “If you need anything, just let us know, okay? The bartender was my college roommate so I can ask her for something on-the-house.”

You nod and say your thanks, then she takes Jungkook and Jimin’s hands and drags them to the dance floor, the group from earlier hooting at them when the men sway their bodies as they approach. You sit on the chair that Jin pulls out for you, and you hum when he asks if you’re okay. 

Two bottles of beer arrive at your table not long after, and you search for Yae-won who’s giving you a thumbs up, and you lift your drink in cheers to her. She’s stunning and kind and you hate the crack it makes in your heart at the thought that she’s probably someone who could give Jungkook the world, like you say you wanted for him.

You and Jin engage in shallow talk. Outside of work and the sexual tension, you two are actually good friends, especially when you’re not trying to bite each other’s heads off. 

But he can sense you’re not in the mood, so he goes on asking how Heejin is doing, if she still fake cries then laughs after she falls when running, and you laugh when he comments that even your own child likes annoying you. He wonders if she still tries to bite your face, if she’s terrified of cats like you are, and if she enjoys the boyband music that you constantly play in your home. You like how he asks. Work has been tough on him, and you both haven’t had proper conversations in months.

“She bops her head to Hanson and jiggles when New Kids is on. My kid’s got taste,” you say proudly, earning you a chuckle. 

“Debatable. While I do understand their appeal, whoever genuinely appreciates them and appreciates you appreciating them is endgame, ___. Trust me,” he cocks his eyebrow.

“Actually, Ju—” you stop yourself a beat too late, and you were close to saying how Jungkook sat through an entire afternoon of you showing him the lowest quality music videos of Backstreet Boys and The Moffatts that you could find on YouTube. 

You went about the technicalities of how both are considered boy bands when the other one dances and the other one plays instruments, and you ended up narrating the history of boy groups, and how you’d cried to breakup songs growing up before you even had a boyfriend. When you were young, your mom’s sister was working in the US, and she always brought you cassette tapes and posters every time she came home to visit.

Jin just hums but doesn’t say anything about you almost slipping, knowing that if you reminisced, it wasn’t because you wanted to. 

Memories are like that sometimes.

What if’s are like that sometimes.

You clear your throat, trying to rid yourself of the embarrassment by looking around, and the sight that catches your eye is one you wish you hadn’t seen but also, one you just couldn’t look away from.

The music is slower, and perhaps that’s why Jungkook had taken to settling his hands on Yae-won’s waist to move with the beat, and that’s when she takes them and wraps them around her. He follows, his lips moving close to her ear. She laughs, and it’s probably a joke he said or a cheesy line he blurted out, but she’s happy. He’s happy. 

Whatever you dreaded about coming here and seeing him came true, and oddly enough, a part of you is glad you’d witnessed it all. It reminds you that you did what you had to do, and it had ended well for him, too. If she’s his endgame, then you’re satisfied that you had even a small part in it.

Jin follows your gaze, his heart breaking for you, because much as you won’t show it, he knows this is hurting you. 

Sometimes it’s not just about losing someone. Sometimes it takes seeing someone else having what you used to have, or could’ve had, to make you realize that you wanted it all along. And just how much. He would know. 

You can’t tear your eyes away from the scene. Somehow your brain thinks it’s better to engrave this in your mind so that it’s easier to accept reality, because you realize now that much as it stings, it’s the version of Jungkook you’ve always wanted to see - happy, carefree, content. Loved.

You don’t realize that Jin’s been calling your name until you feel slender fingers against your chin, tilting it to face him. He holds it there, slightly caressing your cheek, and his eyes are sympathetic, soft, as if he knows what it feels like. And you know he does.

“You can look away now,” he says. 

You smile, knowing he’s just looking out for you. His hand settles back on the table and he starts talking about his earlier attempt at getting one of the lawyers’ numbers, and you laugh at his storytelling ability and soften at how he’s trying his best to keep your mind off of things. 

But your eyes still wander, and if this were Yoongi, you know he would’ve pulled you out of this bar already and had you get a massage in the hotel or something.

Jin sighs, knowing you’re choosing to let this sink in and face whatever emotions you’re feeling. “So… he really is your Sung-kyung, huh?” he asks.

He’s referring to the woman he let go because he didn’t want to give up the comfort and control he had over his life. He concluded he was a coward, and it takes so much for one Kim Seokjin to admit such weakness.

“He might just be,” you sullenly respond, accepting defeat.

“Well, at least he’s not engaged,” Jin bitterly chuckles, and you know this is him still letting the news sink in, facing the emotions he’d been trying to bury.

“I’m really sorry about that, Jin,” you sigh, remembering how you were on a video call with him and Yoongi until 4AM not long ago, both of whom were drinking their asses off “to heartbreak” after going to a law school batchmate’s party where Sung-kyung was there with her fiancé. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I was scared of a lot of things back then,” he shrugs. “I was scared of what I’d become, what she’d become, if we’d work out, if I could give her what she deserved, if I could really commit to her… I was a mess. She probably knew that. And good for her. I probably wouldn’t have made her as happy.”

“Hey,” you slap his hand that’s resting on the table. “You give me a headache sometimes but you’re a good man, Jin. I’ve no doubt that you would’ve made her happy, too.”

He shakes his head as he finishes the whiskey he’d earlier ordered. “Well, there’s no way of knowing now, do we? I made my choice years ago, didn’t get over the fear, stupidly waited for her to come back, and now we’re here. There’s nothing else I can do. She’s leaving next week and getting married in some pretty castle in Europe in 2 months. I wish her a good life.”

“Not used to you accepting defeat, Jin,” you say.

“Me too, but this was all me. I don’t have an excuse,” he replies, and this version of him is one you haven’t really seen. 

He’s always been well-mannered but fierce in the courtroom, kind outside of it, amusingly cocky and funny most times, but he takes responsibility, too. He knows he messed up, and there’s no one else he’d blame.

“What about you?” He asks.

“What about me?”

He cocks his head to the direction where Jungkook and Yae-won are. “It’s not too late for you, you know?”

“He’s made a home here,” you point out. “And did you see her? She’s gorgeous and she seems great. The kind who wouldn’t give you a headache. She’s so easygoing and fun and if it wasn’t such a bitch move, I'd probably befriend her. I have too many cynics and pain in the ass friends back home,” you chuckle. “Besides, I broke his heart. I don’t have the right to want him anymore.”

“Yah, don’t say that. You were both very different people back then,” he states. 

“Yeah. He was a guy fighting for my affection and I was an anxious pregnant woman. And now, he’s happy with his pretty girlfriend and I’m happy with my beautiful child. Win-win. We got what we both wanted,” you try to comfort yourself. “He’s moved on as he should,” you reason. “I’m the one who doesn’t have a place in his life anymore.”

“Fuck, I hate seeing you like this,” he whines, and you laugh at how genuinely distressed he looks. “I’m booking you a massage in the hotel right now. Clear the knots and bolts in your body and maybe your heart and your mind, too, alright? And you can’t say no or else I’m telling Yoongi.”

“Fine, fine,” you playfully shake your head, touched at how he’s doing his best to comfort you throughout all this, even if he’s the reason why you’re in this position in the first place.

He gets the bill and you argue over your insistence on paying for your share - with him winning - and Jin guides you through the crowd of mild drunks and dancers to get to the exit. 

You’re busy trying to look for Jimin in the sea of people, and in your preoccupation, someone bumps into you and you hiss at the person’s shoulder hitting your back, the contact causing you to lose your footing and fall towards Jin’s firm chest. You reflexively hang onto his wide shoulders, and you laugh at his remark of them finally being put to good use. 

His hand holds your waist as you regain your balance, and being so close to him, you’re reminded of how breathtakingly handsome he is, with his plush lips and his hair parted to the side. But it’s his tender smile that gets to you, comforting you in a way that you needed tonight. 

And if there was anyone you had to be with right now, as the aftermath of your decision to let Jungkook go hits you in the face, you’re glad it’s Jin. He understands, and he will spoil you. 

You both make your way out of the bar then video call Yoongi in the car on the way back to the hotel, being greeted with a slew of curses as you wake him from his slumber, but he’s all ears when you tell him what happened until you and Jin separate to head to your rooms.

You end the night with a call with your mom and siblings who were on Heejin duty today, followed by a 2-hour massage, letting the knots and bolts in your body melt away. The ones in your heart will take time, but that’s something you can work with. 

You hadn’t realized you needed to move on from something, and that last image of Jungkook with his lips pressed against Yae-won’s is exactly what you needed.

**

The branch of Blue Side in Busan is just as you imagined as a seaside cafe. It’s smaller than the one in Seoul but the interior is smartly designed to fit a good number of customers, adding to the allure of the place because it facilitates conversations among strangers. 

You wanted to pass by before you left in support of Hobi, as he couldn’t stop talking about this place. The photos don’t do justice, and it’s really as refreshing as he described. 

He called last night to remind you to visit, subtly mentioning that Jungkook is off every Sunday, and that the young new employee, Woo-shik, should be handling the counter; he’d been instructed to have your and Jin’s orders on-the-house. 

You know he wasn’t lying and he didn’t plan on setting this up. Perhaps something happened between the night before and this morning, because that is definitely not Woo-shik manning the counter.

“___?” Jungkook’s voice echoes in the cafe. “So you’re Hobi’s friend that Woo-shik said would be dropping by today and that I should give a free drink and pastry to,” he smiles.

He’s not in his usual kitchen attire, and with someone entering from the back with a tray of freshly-baked bread, you think Jungkook is standing in for the one who was supposed to be here this morning. 

He’s dressed casually, the loose fit of his black shirt being covered by the light blue apron. It’s enough to expose his tattooed right arm, though, and you briefly see new ones he added, climbing up towards his biceps and beyond. 

“Yeah, that’s me and Jin,” you smile, and you turn towards the pastry display counter and miss how Jungkook’s face falls a little. 

You’re about to ask what he’d recommend that they don’t have in Seoul when the bell attached to the door rings and a now-familiar cheery voice greets everyone good morning.

The owner of the voice gasps as she sees you, calling your name and prompting you to face her who’s now standing behind the counter next to Jungkook.

“Hi, Yae-won. It’s nice to see you again,” you smile. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to say goodbye to you guys last night because I got really tired. Thanks for the free drinks, though. We really appreciate it.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” She chirps. “Any friend of Jungkook’s is my friend, too. Like Jimin! And he speaks so highly of his workmates and you guys did seem like you had a long day and it was all we could do as a welcome.”

“That’s really kind of you,” you respond, thinking of how much energy she has this early on a Sunday morning. “We got to see you guys dance around, though, although there was no dance-off like you promised.”

“Ugh, I know right! This one right here was such a killjoy and wanted to just chill last night,” she laughs, earning him a restrained hey from Jungkook, and she responds by saying that she's just joking and that their slow dance felt nice. 

“We’re definitely gonna make them do it today, though,” she informs you. “We’re going to the beach after lunch then just hang out there until sunset with a bonfire. The weather is perfect for it. You and the other Atty. Kim should join us.”

“Oh, no it’s okay,” you decline. “I was really just passing by for a light breakfast and I need to leave right away. I have a toddler waiting for me back home and one night away is already hard.”

“You’re a mom?!” She asks, mouth agape.

“Uh, yeah?” you laugh, unsure of what’s so surprising about it. 

“Sorry, I just didn’t expect women our age to be so successful in their career and be a mom, too. I mean, okay that sounded bad but like, I’m in my mid-twenties and I’m always told I can only focus on one of those at a time and you’re like, wow,” she rambles, awe definitely written on her face.

Thinking about it, it is one thing that people seem so surprised about. Especially when they find out your age. And the fact that you’re single.

“She’s actually in her early-thirties. She’s not young like you,” Jungkook teases, and you fake an offended look that he laughs at. 

“Okay, you look like you’re in your late-twenties. I mean it,” she says.

“Well, it’s not far off but thank you, I guess,” you chuckle. 

“So, I’m guessing you and Jin had to leave the little one for work, huh? You’re such a power couple, I’m amazed.”

“Oh, uh, he’s not the father, actually,” you correct her. “I had Heejin via artificial insemination because I really wanted a child. And Jin is just a colleague and a friend. We’re not together,” you say, reflexively turning to Jungkook whose face you can’t quite read. 

He holds the sigh of relief he was about to release, the scenes from last night playing in his head - Jin’s hand on your back as you all spoke, Jin cupping your face as you sat by the railing, and Jin holding you close as you both made your way out of the bar. Jungkook feels terrible as his heart aches a bit at the memory, especially with Yae-won, his girlfriend, standing next to him.

Jungkook hadn’t expected nor prepared for last night and this morning, and though it feels nice to finally see you after what seemed like the longest 18 months of his life, he can’t help but think how cruel it is. You’d first met over 2 years ago at the cafe’s rooftop in Seoul, and after having left to settle back home and mend his broken heart that you caused, he sees you again on a rooftop and then at the cafe the next morning. But now, he’s with a new woman who’s taken residence in the hole you’d left for him to figure out how to mend, and suddenly, he doesn’t know what hurts more. 

“So, you… do you have anyone? I mean, like a partner?” She asks.

“No,” you say too quickly. “But uh, I’ve got a lot of people helping me out. Being a single mother is tough. My sister’s living with me in the meantime, my mom and her partner have a place nearby, and my friends take turns to babysit.”

You’re saying it as if you’re updating Jungkook on how life has been like for you, a subtle way of telling him that you’re doing fine and that he doesn’t have to worry. It’s also as if you’re reminding yourself that life turned out okay, that whatever decision you made still got you this life, and with Heejin well and happy, that’s all you really need.

“You are a superwoman,” she says in awe. “I mean, from one woman to another, that’s just so amazing. It’s tough enough to have a good career and to be a single mother on top of all that? Wow. You’re so cool. I wish I had your strength.”

“Oh, well, I had to give some things up,” you faintly smile. “You have to if you really want to achieve what you set out to do. Like you said, it’s tough to balance both roles but I just had to focus on what mattered. I couldn’t have distractions.”

You see Jungkook’s jaw visibly clench, and all you want is to be swallowed by the ground whole.

“Do you regret it, giving those things up?” He asks, meeting your eyes, wanting your honesty more than anything, even if it will hurt.

“Not when those things ended up where they should be, with who they should be,” you respond, immediately turning back to the pastry display counter, not wanting to see Jungkook’s face. 

You glance at Yae-won who seems to be processing what you just said, and it’s right when the door opens again, and shortly after, you feel Jin’s presence next to you. 

“Sorry, I had to inform my dad about the client meeting earlier,” he says, looking up from his phone and freezing on the spot. “You’re not Woo-shik,” he states, eyes flitting from Jungkook to Yae-won and then to you.

“Nope, he caught the flu this morning so I’m on the clock today,” Jungkook explains.

“Nice to see you again, Yae-won. Thanks for the beer last night,” Jin nods.

“Oh, no problem! If I’d known it was a night out for ___ who was probably missing her daughter, I would’ve sent more drinks.”

“Right,” Jin cocks his brow. “Her daughter. Whom we should be heading to already, yeah? Bet your little pearl is missing her mom terribly.”

“She’s probably still asleep or crying at Taehyung for all the jazz videos he’s making her watch,” you laugh. “But yeah, we should be heading home already. We’ll just have 2 iced americanos to-go and…” you look at the variety of delectable loaves of bread, assessing which one you should go for.

“The peach loaf is a must-try,” Yae-won suggests. “And the cheese garlic bread is too good not to have.”

The memory of that day flashes in your mind, but you don’t want to disappoint her, so you ask for both. Jungkook starts to prepare your drinks when Yae-won asks if it’s okay to see a photo of Heejin.

“I love babies,” she informs you. “They’re so lovely, but I don’t think I’m ready to have one yet.”

You hum and take out the photo from your wallet that you’re holding, proudly showing off a beaming Heejin in a blush dress during the studio photoshoot that Jin got her as a gift for her first birthday. 

Yae-won squeals, gushing at how adorable her puffy cheeks are, joyfully showing it to Jungkook and saying she reminds her of his nieces and nephews.

Jungkook’s lips slowly turn up, and he feels his face soften at the sight of your child, the one you’d given your whole world to. She was a newborn the last time he’d seen her in your arms, and to see her taking so much from you - your smile, definitely, and even your eyes - it’s a different kind of feeling. It’s bittersweet, and he forces the thought of wanting to have been there as she grew up out of his mind.

“She’s beautiful, ___. She’s really beautiful,” he says.

He returns the photo to you, his fingers slightly brushing yours, and you feel your heart stop for the briefest second. You resist looking at him again, up until he hands you your orders and thanks you for dropping by. Yae-won decides you’re hug-level friends now, so she walks towards you and Jin for an embrace, inviting you to another friend’s restaurant should you decide to visit again. 

You lie through your teeth and say you’ll let Jungkook know, and you bid both of them goodbye again, saying his last words from the day he walked out the hospital room door and out of your life.

“Bye, ___. I’ll see you soon.”

**

It was a long trip back to Seoul. An hour of it was spent on a video call with your siblings and Heejin, the little one babbling and reaching her fingers to see if they could go through the phone and touch you. 

“Ma! Where Ma?” She squealed.

Your heart melted at all this, especially as she tried to eat the screen because something about your face apparently makes her want to bite you. You knew it’s her way of showing affection, and her absence just made you want to cry. You don’t ever want to be so far away from her again. 

Another hour was spent looking dazedly out the window and engaging with Jin in work talk; the other two were spent with you asleep, your arms around your body for the comfort you badly needed. 

Finally reaching Seoul, Jin drops you off your building and hugs you before you leave, and you mumble your thanks before you rush to your apartment, opening the door and running towards the living room where Heejin is seated on Taehyung’s lap, loudly hitting her toy xylophone stick on the table as Louis Armstrong plays his trumpet on the TV.

“Hey.” Yuri stands from the dining table where she’s currently working on a sketch, following you to where you’re already lifting your daughter in your arms.

You cradle Heejin, peppering her laughing face with kisses, and she hugs you back, saying Ma once before she starts nibbling on your face. 

“Have you guys eaten?” You ask your siblings who are now standing in front of you, laughing as Heejin tries to climb on your back.

“No, we had a late breakfast and we were waiting for you,” Taehyung says, informing you that Heejin has almost finished her milk so you arrived right on time. 

“Alright. Order anything and I’ll just feed her, okay?” You say, walking towards the nursery before they could even respond. 

They do as instructed, not saying much as they observe you to be a little uneasy, which is a little more than what they expected you’d be with being away from your daughter for over a day. 

You settle in the rocking chair, humming some made-up lullaby as you caress Heejin’s puffy cheeks, her eyes glimmering at you as she feeds on your breast. 

You talk to her about the trip. Your mom said that helps when you feel upset about something, so you narrate the drive, then the convention, then the bar, leaving behind the details of the man whose heart you broke and in return, has broken your heart in his effort to move on with his life, just as you wanted him to.

It feels selfish, feeling this way. You didn’t want him around, not because of him, but also precisely because of him. You didn’t want to feel more than what you were starting to over 18 months ago, and you had to walk away from him before things got too confusing, too difficult, too hard for you to manage because everything was about Heejin, and you unfortunately meant what you’d said earlier - you couldn’t have distractions.

Much as you knew that Jungkook had been nothing but kind and gracious and incredibly helpful when it came to a pregnant you, he did something else to your heart that it wasn’t ready for. He made you feel again, made you want something with someone again, and you just couldn’t go there with him. 

Later on you’d realize that you were also scared to not be what he needed. Young as he is, you couldn’t tie him down to this life that you’d planned, that you settled into, that you wanted. You had so much faith in yourself as a mother, not as a lover, and definitely not as both. You couldn’t let the confusion and the insecurity ruin you and Jungkook in the process, not when you didn’t feel ready, and not when you weren’t sure if he was. 

Seeing him makes you think that maybe there was more. Maybe you were scared that he wasn’t sure about you. He does dive right into things when he feels like it, he’d said once, and you couldn’t shake the idea of Jungkook no longer wanting you. 

It’s clearer now, as seeing him with someone else who’s great, who perhaps wants him as much, who’s willing to dive right into things with him, lets you know that perhaps that’s another part of it. You cut the cord before you fell in love with him, and thinking about it, this hurts less than if you’d have let him stick around and then pushed him away when it got serious. 

You hold Heejin in your arms after you nurse, then change her diapers, before you head to the dining room for your late lunch. You don’t talk much about the trip, having Yuri and Taehyung narrate everything that happened since you left yesterday morning instead. 

You all spend the rest of the day in the living room, letting Heejin run around and play with her toys. She tires easily, falling asleep as you give her a bath then knocking out midway through breastfeeding. You’d settled with noodles for dinner, talking about the meetings you’ll be having this week and the babysitting schedule, with both of them taking turns. Taehyung is on a short break while Yuri has always been flexible with her work hours, and you give them both hugs before you have a long, warm bath and they clean up in the kitchen.

Both of them lay on both ends of your bed. It’s something they do when they’re both here because it’s something they’d gotten used to doing when they were younger. They’re not always affectionate, but anytime you need them, they’d be there before you even say anything.

“Do you think she saw Jungkook there? She looked a little off the whole day,” Taehyung whispers as he turns to face Yuri across the space in between, waiting for you to finish your bath.

“I messaged Yoongi to ask and he said she did, but she should’ve expected that, right? I mean, I’m sure she would’ve wanted to visit the cafe there. Hobi tells her to check it out and she always said she would,” Yuri responds. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they saw each other there.”

“Then why would she look so… sullen? Like, she smiles but you know it’s like a sad smile.”

“What if he said he’s leaving the country for good, like he got a job offer abroad or something?”

“Or what if he has a girlfriend?” Taehyung asks alarmingly, earning him a whimper from his twin sister at the possibility. “What if she realized that she made a huge mistake and maybe hoped he’d still be into her but then, poof, girlfriend. Moved on. Over her.”

“What if she–”

“It’s the second one,” you interject, both of them turning towards you with wide eyes and parted mouths at having been caught gossiping about you like that. “He has a girlfriend. Poof. Moved on, over me,” you announce, lying in between them, sighing at the comfort of your bed after a very long weekend. “She’s pretty and very nice. Good for him.”

The silence hangs over your head. You close your eyes, your jaw clenching as you try to stop the quivering of your lips, in hopes of halting the downfall of tears.

“Can I ask you something?” Taehyung wonders, hoping you won’t turn him down.

You hum in response.

“Do you regret letting him walk away?”

You let out the breath you were holding as you waited for his question, and you know that whatever you answer, it wouldn’t be enough for you. 

“I don’t like regretting things, Tae. It defeats the purpose of choosing to stand by the hard decision that I made,” you respond, trying to sound as calm as possible. “And how can I regret something that led him to being with someone who makes him happy?” Your voice cracks. “I just regret that I didn’t get to tell him that I’m happy for him.”

“But are you really?” Yuri whispers.

“For him, yes. For me…” your breath hitches, your lips now giving in. “I, uh…”

“It’s okay, ___. We’re here. You can let it out,” she assures you.

You bring your shaking hand to cover your mouth, and your eyes closing is what finally does it for you, as the tears fall right away. You turn to Taehyung, crashing onto his chest as you finally let yourself fully cry, and his arm immediately wraps around you, holding you close for the comfort you’ve been needing during all the nights you spent thinking about every choice you’ve made ever since Jungkook entered your life. 

Yuri sighs, wrapping her arms and legs around you from behind, and you’re sandwiched between your siblings’ warm bodies, hugging you tighter as you start to shake from the tears you hadn’t allowed yourself to cry in so long. 

“I wish I was happy for me. I really wish I was.”

**

It turns out, all you needed was a good cry. 

Ever since that night you laid in bed between Taehyung and Yuri and cried, as silently as you possibly could, things felt lighter and easier to manage. 

You let yourself play the scene of Jungkook and Yae-won in your mind for the last time a week after, with Byeol holding you that time, though no more tears were shed. 

Hobi and Jimin took you to lunch the Monday after that on the pretense that they’d just missed you, but what they wanted was to apologize.

“We weren’t sure if we should tell you, if you wanted to know,” Hobi said, “but I swear I didn’t know he would be there that morning at the cafe. I’m not on top of those little things like he is.” 

“I’m sorry, too. I’m the one who sees you everyday and I’d known about them ever since it started and I…” Jimin stammered. “I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“It wasn’t your information to share, it’s okay,” you assured them. “I wasn’t hearing much about him from both of you and he didn’t seem to have been hearing about me from either of you, too, so it’s fine. I wouldn’t have wanted you guys to feel like you had to take sides just because.”

“That was kind of it,” Hobi affirmed. “We didn’t want to meddle any more than we did and we just… we weren’t sure how both of you decided to move on from each other so we decided to just not mention anything at all.”

You repeated that it was good that they did, and that you wanted to keep it that way. It was easier to keep your mind off of Jungkook without hearing about him, and you’d gone on with your life after, now appeased that you at least know he’s happy, no longer wondering if he was, and that was enough.

Life goes on as it should.

Work remains stressful. The pro bono work you continue to do in counseling and representing struggling single moms makes things fulfilling and worth it. 

Yuri moved out of your apartment upon your insistence when her girlfriend asked her to move in together. You hadn’t minded, especially with Heejin being ready to go to a daycare, although on some days, your mom or any one of your friends still goes on babysitting duties. Ma-Ri also recommended Subin’s sitter, whom you ask over when no one would be available to pick up Heejin from the center on a busy weekday. 

Things are looking up, you think, as you’re able to come up with a manageable schedule with Heejin. You have routines as well, like taking her with you to Blue Side during some mornings before handing her over to your mom or Ma-Ri. You find that the little one likes the smell of freshly-baked pastries, and she quiets down when you tell her to, as long as you make her sip some baby-appropriate chocolate drink.

You go to the park most weekends, sometimes with Namjoon’s family, sometimes with your mom or any of your siblings who happen to be available, or just you and Heejin. Yongsan is her favorite with the little playground and small ponds and the pigeons that she chases about. 

This is what you wanted, being able to experience things with your daughter, giving her everything she needs and wants and not worrying if you’ll have enough. Your schedule revolves around her, and aside from work that tires you out, you’re never without energy to run after her when she pulls your hand and squeals for you to chase her. 

You’re always able to read her a story every night and tuck her in bed, and you’re able to take her to new places, observe the new things she gets to do and say, and memorize the way her eyes light up when she’s happy and how her lips form into a pout when she’s upset. She likes being around people once she’s familiar and comfortable with them, but she always, always searches for you, melting into your hug the moment you cradle her in your arms. 

She’s just turned 2 but she hasn’t outgrown the face and finger biting she does to you. As is her name, Heejin is like a precious pearl. There’s this beauty about her that’s captivating; iridescent in how she changes her expressions and mood instantly. 

But one other thing she is, is sunshine. She has a smile that stretches across her face, flashing her pearly whites and tilting her head, the top of her hands laying underneath so her fingers touch in a position that you had when you were younger.

But as any child her age, she still has her moments, and that includes crying over not being allowed to eat the cheese cubes you just picked at one of the aisles in the supermarket because it’s a snack that always makes her poop immediately. You’re alone in doing the grocery and the closest one to your place doesn’t have the cleanest changing room for babies, and you really wanted to get home before she does any of her baby stuff.

She’s throwing a tantrum as she sits on the cart, rejecting your offers of carrying her to comfort her. She’s crying out of frustration, you know this, as you can tell which cries mean she’s hungry, hurt, or just upset. You give her other snacks but she shakes her head, and you ask her to calm down, assuring her she’ll eat it right when you get home. 

“Heejin, bubba, please? You have to stop crying, okay?” You ask her placidly, your voice relaxed because you can’t stress her even further if you speak to her frustratedly. You also know not to force her to be carried or muffle her crying, so you continue explaining to her why she can’t have her snacks yet. 

You decide to just head out and return to your groceries another time when an angry voice shakes you a little.

“Can you tell your child to stop crying!” A man bellows. “She’s disrupting the entire supermarket.”

Your jaw visibly clenches and your eyebrow cocks. “She’s a toddler. She can’t just stop crying,” you say. “But disrupting the entire supermarket is quite a bit of a stretch, mister. The place is buzzing. Everyone is busy. And she’s not even that loud.”

“Busy, but they’re not stupid enough to just let their child cry in a public place unlike you,” he counters aggressively. “If you knew how to parent, you’d know not to bring an uncontrollable child to the supermarket or just leave her with her dad or something, that way you don’t disturb normal people just trying to go about their regular Sunday.”

He’s standing so uncomfortably close to you, and you hadn’t realized he’d been inching towards you this whole time. You shift so Heejin is seated behind you now, and you really don’t know how miserable this man is to be so harshly triggered by a crying baby for him to look so aggressive and angry at you. 

“Are you gonna tell her to shut up or should I call security to get you out of here?”

Your fist curls into a ball, and your blood is boiling that you don’t notice a tall figure approaching both of you and a tattooed hand slightly pulling the man away from you. 

“Step back now and walk away,” the not-so stranger says, and your eyes flit to Jungkook’s irritated face, his nostrils flaring perhaps as much as yours are. 

“Who’s this, your husband?” The man scoffs. “Finally, someone to get you and your child to behave.”

“I’m not her husband and it doesn’t matter. Don’t speak to her like that,” Jungkook says, trying to sound calm.

“Oh it does matter. They’re disruptive. I’m going to call the manager and—”

“I’m sure Atty. Kim here would gladly report you, too, for harassment. And there’s a witness,” Jungkook counters, eyes turning devious now. “There’s a way to ask her politely without being threatening, and I believe you scared her child by acting the way you just did. It’s a public place after all and I’m sure the CCTVs captured how you aggressively invaded her personal space.”

It’s what makes the man move back, eyes suddenly glinting with fear and worry, and he stomps his feet as he walks away.

You sigh in relief and turn around to hug Heejin who’s now silently crying, her little mind briefly forgetting her cheese cube and focusing on the scary-looking man harassing her mother instead. 

“Are you okay, bubba? I’m so sorry he scared you,” you say, choosing not to think of how it could’ve escalated. “Mama is here, okay? No one is going to hurt you.”

You wipe the tears from her cheeks and caress her face. You take her hand to hold as you face Jungkook who’d been watching you comfort your child. 

“Thank you, Jungkook. But I could’ve handled that and pulled out the lawyer card, you know?” You cock an eyebrow.

You know he means well, but if that were another person, you would’ve been truly annoyed. 

“I know,” he chuckles. “But the man was too close to you and I could see you clenching your fists though; I doubt you’d want your daughter to see you pull apart that man because you definitely could.”

“I would have, you’re correct,” you laugh, meeting his soft eyes and for a moment, it felt like the first time you both met here after months. 

“You guys okay though?” He asks, turning to Heejin who’s now curiously looking at the new man that her Ma is talking to.

“Yeah, we are,” you respond, as he beams at her wide eyes and greets her.

You take this time to take Jungkook in, somehow even more handsome than the last time you saw him six months ago in that rooftop bar in Busan. You’re still getting used to the lip piercing, but you don’t mind. He’s in a black and yellow tracksuit, and you think he probably went on a run. There are mint highlights on his hair, and you wouldn’t be surprised if, in the midst of everything he’s doing, he snagged a modeling gig, too.

“So are you in Seoul to visit? Or maybe do preps for the fall menu at the cafe?” You ask, trying to temper your curiosity.

“I’m, uh, I’m back actually,” he says, offering his hand to Heejin whose tiny one is reaching out for him. “I arrived last week.”

“Like, back, back?” You wonder, your mind going a bit hazy at the thought, and he responds with a nod.

“What about Yae-won, then? How is she?” You curse yourself at how desperate you seem, wanting to know his relationship status all of a sudden. If he notices anything, he doesn’t show it.

“She’s fine. Business is going well,” he smiles at you, his hand still holding onto Heejin who’s now completely calmed down.

“That’s good,” you clear your throat, not knowing how to continue with the conversation. 

You turn towards Heejin. 

“Hey, bubba. This is Jungkook,” you introduce him. “Not so scared of a new face now, are you?” You chuckle, and it surprises you how she doesn’t jeer away from him like she usually does with a new face, but then again, you always felt like Jungkook is good with kids.

She looks at you and pouts, and you think she remembers that you’re still the one depriving her of her favorite cheese snack. You take the strawberry plushie from the bag and give it to her, hoping it will make her a little less angry at you. 

Heejin uses her free hand to hold onto the toy, the other one still enveloped in Jungkook’s. Her smile is now bright, and you mirror it as you tuck her hair behind her ear. 

“She likes strawberries, too?” He observes.

“Yes! She takes from me, definitely,” you giggle. “I mean, I did have a lot of your strawberry desserts when I was pregnant. And even after. She’d try to take the tarts from me before she even grew teeth!”

“Ah, into strawberries and desserts like your Mama, too, huh? Good choice. We’ve got a lot of them at the cafe. I expect to see you there, yeah?” He laughs, knowing she doesn’t understand much although Heejin smiles at him. 

Your two-year old is crushing on this man, and it’s another thing she took from you. 

“Oh, she’s a regular, too,” you chuckle. “But yeah, it’s like her pacifier. She actually had a strawberry cake for her second birthday last weekend and she loved it,” you share, recalling the small party you threw for her at your apartment with your family and friends, including two of her playmates from daycare.

“She’s two already?” He asks, surprised, then realizing that he did leave for Busan at the same time, and it’s really been that long since he was last in Seoul.

“Yeah, how time flies, right?”

Two years with the most precious person in your life. And two years without him.

“Wait,” he furrows his brows, remembering something. “Did her cake happen to be a strawberry-shaped one with some mini-cupcakes?”

“Oh god, yes,” you laugh, realizing now why Jimin couldn’t give a straight answer when you asked him where he got the cake. “It was from you! Park is really a sneaky one, huh?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook playfully shakes his head. “No wonder he wouldn’t tell me who it was for.”

“Well, this little pearl loved it. She got so excited and couldn’t wait,” you narrate, excitedly taking out your phone to find the video, the one where Heejin was squealing when you placed the cake in front of her, then took a piece of it with her bare hand to show it to you. 

Jungkook gushes at the sight, then laughs at everybody freaking out when Heejin tried to eat the piece whole then started crying when she couldn’t fit it in her mouth. The scene looked so soft, as she sweetly hugged you after you cleaned her up, smiling widely when everybody sang to her and you helped her blow out the candles. 

Heejin is incredibly adorable; the photo you showed a few months ago didn’t do her justice. She has this radiance about her even when she’s not smiling, but when she is, it’s even more enchanting. 

And then there’s you. 

Even through the phone screen, your eyes glimmer with so much love and affection for your daughter. You look at her like everything she does is magic, laughing and smiling and taking her into a hug or kissing her hand every time. 

This is how he always imagined you’d be - with so much joy and adoration, as if whatever stress you’re experiencing just melts away when you’re next to her. He’d seen how you would cradle your belly before, and now it’s like you do it constantly but differently. Every touch seems warm, and every caress says many different things. You’re still so beautiful, and he didn’t expect for his heart to burst as much as it is right now. 

He’s taken out of his daze only to fall into another one when you look at him, smiling, the video no longer playing, even if your laugh still echoes in his mind. Your eyes are tender as you meet his, and with you standing close, all the feelings he tried to temper the past years, and especially the past months, come rushing back in, as if they never left.

“Thank you, Jungkook. You made her birthday special even if you weren’t around,” you say.

“I’m glad I was somehow still a part of it,” he responds, and with how he sees your eyes trace his face, he gathers every bit of confidence he has the way he did that first time. 

“I was also thinking, maybe you need some help?” He eyes your grocery cart filled to the brim. “And, uh, if you and Heejin aren’t busy, maybe lunch?”

His heart is pounding in his chest this time, and it quickens when he sees your face turn questioning, unsure. 

“Oh, uh—”

“If not, it’s totally fine,” he backtracks, not wanting another rejection the first time he sees you after months. 

Maybe he’s being too forward. Maybe you’re uncomfortable. Or maybe, you’re seeing someone already.

“It’s just, uh, Yae-won is great and I don’t want her to think that—”

“She and I are broken up,” he says too quickly, scolding himself for not thinking things through.

Of course he wants to catch up with you. A lot of things happened the past two years and he found himself many times wanting to share them with you - from the desserts he’s been learning to make, to the whole process of running the cafe, to spending time with his family. Beyond the feelings he developed towards you, there was the friendship, the care, the comfort, and those are some of the things he missed being without you.

But of course you’d also think of what this would mean to his ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be one of the kindest souls he’s ever met and who ironically, made the past six months less difficult for him. It’s not everyday he’d find someone whose heart he breaks but is still willing to be there for him when he needs someone.

Well, he’s one of those people. He supposed life was kind enough that he found someone like that, too.

But he also should’ve thought through what inviting you to lunch would mean, after not seeing each other for so long, and after breaking up with his girlfriend. He could only wish you don’t think of him as some asshole or worse, that he’s using you as a rebound. 

If you only knew.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Jungkook,” you try to offer a sympathetic smile, although you think he catches the slight relief in it, as he smirks at you and laughs.

“Relieved?”

“Oh shut up,” you playfully roll your eyes. “I was just worried and caught off-guard. I just didn’t expect it; you two looked really happy when I saw you. And she’s really nice. I don’t want her to think badly of me or anything.”

It’s a decent explanation, you think, but they’re not lies, although you hadn’t realized just what it would make you feel to find out he’s single again. Not wanting to get ahead of yourself, you crush whatever thoughts of possibilities there are now, with him back and unattached, and you in a good spot as you’d always wanted be. 

You’re not sure if you’re ready yet for what’s to come, but now you know what it felt like being without him, and just the thought of having him around is making your heart swell with excitement.

“We were happy, yes, but it’s all okay. The breakup doesn’t take much away from what we had,” he says calmly. “But don’t worry, she doesn’t think badly of you at all.”

“Okay, now that’s a relief,” you chuckle. “But a 4-hour distance is considered long distance, right? I’d find that difficult too, if it were me.”

Jungkook just nods, not wanting to correct your assumption of the reason for the breakup, not knowing that you meant to assume because any other reason he may have is something you’re not willing to process just yet.

“But uh, this little one needs to get home so she could have her cheese snacks, and I have a legal consultation in a few hours,” you reason. 

Both true, both also workable if you really wanted to have lunch with him, which you do. You just need to get your bearings back because you’re sure you’ve given too much away in just the past 15 minutes since he walked over.

“Oh, alright sure, no problem,” he smiles, with no hint of dejection on his face. 

You apologize but he shakes his head.

“I know you’re perfectly capable of getting all these in your car but uh, mind if I help?” He asks. 

Not at all, you want to scream. He looks too good right now for you to just let him go again so you settle with a calm “no,” and he walks with you to the counter to check out then to your car to load what you’ve bought. And the whole way through, he talks about how Jimin asked him to make the cake and how he went about making it.

You strap Heejin in her car seat and ask her to say goodbye to Jungkook, who happily waves at her smiling form. She places her palm on her lips, eyes turned up at a confused Jungkook.

“She’s giving you a flying kiss without it actually flying,” you explain. “She hasn’t caught on that her palm needs to actually leave her lips.”

“Well, kisses are subjective. It’s probably flying for her in her head,” Jungkook laughs, sending her his own version.

You turn towards him and as he tells her goodbye. 

“Thanks for the help, Jungkook. And it’s nice to have you back,” you say, meeting his eyes this time, wanting to express the other things you can’t yet.

It seems enough for him, as he graciously nods and smiles in relief. “It’s nice to be back, ___. Busan did a lot of good for me but I like Seoul better.”

“Yeah?” You look at him curiously as you walk towards the driver seat. 

“I left a lot of things back here, and I couldn’t stop thinking about them,” he says, holding your gaze. “It’s just nice to be able to see them again.”

“Those things haven’t left,” you go along with it. “I’m sure they’re glad you’re back.”

“I hope so,” he says. “God, I hope so.”

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Series Masterlist

Permanent Taglist: @sherlynxx @di0rgguk @thequeen-kat @mwitsmejk @fan-ati--c @cravingforhotchocolate @adoraminie @helenazbmrskai @weasleyswizarding-wheezes @preciouschimine @gukssunshine @nch327 @petalsofink @shatzkrinslinzki @kookxin @petuliii @yoursthv @libra04 @jvngkooker @aman211 @fancycollectormoon @yoonqki @twixxxpie​ @ignoretheskies​

Series Taglist: @seagulljk @yawnzzznini @starbtslove @jungoomoles @codeinebelle @jktones @bids97 @main-bangtansmauyeondan @ohmydarlin-g @jkkkkkay @inthemikrokosmos @investedreader @jalexad @lcksndkys @heyjiminnie