#EAT ALL THE CHOCOLATE (AND SHARE WITH SHIN IF HE WANTS-) AND PUT ALL THE TRINKETS ON VISIBLE SPOTS SO YEO CAN SEE THEM DAILY AND SMILE A LOT

[takadokii]

✴ sucker for (my) sweetheart !! ‧₊.࿐

summary After the Valentine's shift at work, you surprise Gojo with some sweets you've received to share. Despite his jealousy, he could never resist something as sweet as you! pairing high school!gojo satoru x f!reader tags pining, fluff, down bad & kinda jealous! satoru warnings implications of explicit thoughts/dreams about the reader word count 1k links collection ; taglist

this is an additional chapter of my series "caught in the middle", if you enjoyed this, consider checking it out! <3

Satoru was already thinking about you when you suddenly entered the classroom. Initially, his shoulders tensed at the sound of the door slamming open but relaxed as soon as he saw your figure leaning against it. With an exhausted groan, you drag your body into your chair, leaning your head back as you let the many bags you were holding drop from your hands to the floor.

Satoru’s eyes were having a hard time when the inevitable desire to look at your face and the curiosity to take a peek into the bags overcame him.

“What’s all this?”

“Gifts from work,” you sighed, sitting up again as you rested your head on your arms, mumbling the rest of your words with closed eyes as the tension and stress were finally exiting your body.

“Valentine’s shift, y’know,” you rummaged through one of the pink gift bags you had received, mindlessly pulling out a box of chocolates.

“I wanted to share them with you.”

A noise left Satoru, one that he attempted (but terribly failed at) to hide by clearing his throat.

“Oh? Is that so?” he deflected, trying to distract from the blush on his face and the sudden sweating of his hands with some overly flirtatious comments. (As usual.)

“You sure this isn’t just some excuse you made up to get me some Valentine's candy?”

You roll your eyes at him, finally sitting up properly, turning yourself to face him as you place the box in your lap and carefully open it.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I already asked Suguru and Haibara if they wanted some as well, but there were just too many. I have a bunch of them left.”

“I’m the third?!” Satoru gasped, earning him another eye roll and a small kick against his shin.

“Stop pretending to be offended and open your mouth.”

The comment about how he wasn’t just pretending to be offended dies down quickly at the sight in front of him. A small heart-shaped praline, topped with some pink strawberry-flavoured flakes, stretched out to him in between your fingers.

After fully processing this view, he leaned forward, making sure to let his lips touch the tips of your fingers just delicately enough to be seen as accidental.

Unlike the usual “slightly annoyed to neutral at best”-looks you’d have on your face when talking to him, he was now met with a soft smile as you watched him chew. With the same hand, you put one into your own mouth, he wasn’t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, but it seemed that your fingers lingering on your lips.

Satoru swallowed both the lump in his throat and the candy.

He was definitely having dreams about this later.

“So you’re getting candy from other guys now?” 

“Other guys? Can’t recall you getting me any Valentine's candy.”

Satoru pouted, “Well, yeah but I buy you candy like every other day, if anything that’s even more heartfelt. I buy them for you because I truly care about you. Not just because of some capitalist made-up holiday.” 

You chuckled a little, holding out another chocolate for him to eat. “Correction. You drag me to go candy shopping with you and let me ask for samples for you because you’re a scared baby.”

“I am not scared to ask for samples, I’m just scared they’re poisoned or something!” He murmurs while chewing.

“So you let me get poisoned!?” You pull the piece you were holding out to him back, offended but satisfied as you watch the devastation on his face when he ultimately bites down on nothing.

“Of course not!” He smiles sheepishly, reaching for your wrist to fulfil both his craving for sweets and physical contact with you. 

“I just trust your taste ‘s all,” he speaks lowly, his sunglasses covered eyes gazing up at yours as his mouth is still so close to your hand you can basically feel his breath on the tips of your fingers.

But before the blush could fully form, the shift in his tone hits you like a brick to the face as he leans back and speaks in his annoyingly overly flirtatious tone again.

“I mean you must have good taste if you choose to spend your Valentine's evening with me.” 

“Need I remind you that I went to two other guys first?” You tease.

It happens all at once, the screeching of his chair moving, the thump of his hand against your desk. He’s leaning in close, between his pushed down glasses and the white tips of his hair his eyes meet yours.

Without breaking the intense stare, his hand reaches for the box in your lap, effortlessly picking up a piece of chocolate before holding it to your lips.

“Yeah but in the end you’re with me, aren’t you?”

i wanted to start this off with something light and cute, but im honestly so excited to expand this universe and share the ideas i've been working on with all of you

thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy! If you're interested in more of this dynamic then please check out "Tales of the Cursed!"

Love, jae 🩵

[captainaikus]

Oliver gives me the vibes of acting all cool collected and nonchalant but secretly obsessed with this one random thing like action figures a comic book series or a childish tv show and no one knows about it except when one day he sees a limited edition of something just his eyes light up his face pulls into the biggest most innocent smile and he lets out the most adorable little gasp when you ask him about it and immediately starts rambling about whatever it is and all you can do is just stare at this 6’3 man fanboying over a kids show with all the surprise and fondness and love in your eyes. Idk I just feel like once you get to really know this man and he really falls in love with you? That he’d let some of that facade down around you. I think it just means that he feels safe to be himself around you. And he doesn’t have that cool playboy image to uphold anymore at least not for a while and certainly not around you yknow? Idk that thought just came into my head and I had to share it with you. How are you btw? How’s uni? Hows the new show going? Also if you don’t mind. I will be ranting about the end of Tokyo Revengers in another ask and how it absolutely destroyed me and left me completely empty inside and just all the feelings because it’s my favorite and comfort manga. If that’s alright? *sends many virtual hugs*

- ✨ anon

✨ (the urge to call you starry or charmer but it’s upto you ♡) , I-

I love this. so much ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ) this man has my heart and I had a dream about him last night

He'd fanboy over the little things so much - it's so adorable. 6'3 defender of japan going out shopping with you to buy figurines, mangas and pointing at the one he wants on the shelf with a smile. And imagine if you share the same passion? And what if it coincides?

I made some groundbreaking discoveries yesterday and many more reasons on why Oliver and I are the perfect couple

So I was curious to see if there was any fanart of him on twitter (cause the artists there are amazing and I found this one pic of tendou with like really short hair and he was fucking AHHh he was hot !! but anyway) I found a thread of discussion on Oliver

Turns out, he hates corn cause it gets stuck between his teeth and I have no words cause even I didn't like corn for that reason... but its alright to eat now ig; he likes shin ramyeon. (Literally stocked the goddamn thing into the cupboard yesterday adbfkjhfbhesff ) and he likes Spicy food!! 🥹

and his manga. *put on glasses* Chi: Chikyū no Undō ni Tsuite.

It is a historical manga and it’s coinciding with astronomy. *is a major of it at uni* I- Oliver is a nerd. He’s a nerd and I love him for it. And I’d like to think that there is a moment where he does engage with you in discussions about it and when you give him that look; that knowing look of ‘I know who you really are’ when he turns an argument into an intellectual one without realizing it. And he just gives you the look back of ‘I know. I’m not stupid. Surprise.’

And once he falls in love with you? playboy season is over and he will be locked.

I absolutely loved this thought and thank you for sharing it with me ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ ♡

Cause seriously it fits well with his character and I can totally imagine him just being giddy about it (T.T) *heartclench*

What happened at uni today : So me and this guy I’ve known for 5 years since school share one of the majors we have out of two together. He’s very aloof, always sits at the back and doesn’t talk to anyone. But today since he was late, he sat next to me. And he goes ‘You’ve changed. You’ve lost a lost of weight.’ And not even in the positive way… it was condescending.

*proceeds to lose a debate against me* (like seriously you’d think I’d let that slide?)

I've also destroyed my glutes and elbows at the gym today and I'm writing more to the NNN challenge fic along with another one

Romantic killer is so cute and funny! I’d rec you to give it a watch !!

*passes cup of hot chocolate and a squishmallow* go on. I’m listening *pat pat* (੭˶•༝•˶)੭ ♡ You can rant to whenever you want <3

*sending warm and comforting hugs*

[jeoseungsaja]

You could have it the easy way, simply skip over the festivities, recognise it for what companies are trying to gain from it, lock the door, stay inside, and hope that it will be a regular day, or at least one devoid of any strange surprises. OR you could have a dopey smiling dokkaebi standing at your front door, carrying a bouquet of royal azaleas and roses that is larger than his torso, multiple shopping bags filled to the brim with art supplies, chocolate, and other far too expensive gifts (from perfumes chosen according to Yeo's taste and with the sensitivity of his nose in mind, to expensive watches and handcrafted glass trinkets depicting objects, colours, anything he likes) hanging from his other arm, dressed to the nines and saying: "Happy Valentine's Day~"

@mythvoiced ♚ 💕 yeo's lovemeter when it comes to this absolutely heckin' precious dokkaebi is off the charts, it already broke because it exceeded the limits; what are limits, even, this fox's love toward shin is boundless--- 💕

♔ ———–

"Aish,"

he takes a step back to fully look at himself in the mirror; sighing as he adjusts the collar of his black-colored dress shirt. Gumiho stretches his arms and looks at the color of his blazer --- it's vibrant red, bought specifically for this occasion and he doesn't know if it's too much. Perhaps he should've purchased a different one? Perhaps he...should've just dressed as he usually does? Heavens, when was the last time he was this worried about looking good for someone? Centuries ago, most likely.

And when was the last time he celebrated a holiday like this? Mischievous fox used to take advantage of this day to purchase special sweets only released during Valentine's Day as to eat them by himself, not really minding the rest of meanings date could have. He'd spend the day going into different stores, dismissing every 'wow, your partner must be so lucky if you're buying something like this for them' with a nonchalant smile; taking all dulcet items home as to watch My Neighbor Totoro for nth time whilst eating away.

Who would've thought that life eventually had different plans for him. Forget all the candy for himself; brush away every lollipop and special flavor of ice cream with heart-shaped sprinkles. All the gifts he took the time to pick out during the past week were not chosen for him but for someone who occupies his mind all day, every day; for someone who makes his heart beat like the loudest drum just by a single look shared.

A hand rearranges bits and pieces of his lustrous hair, still having his doubts. Palms fall on his hips, wondering if he just should go ahead and choose something different from his closet. Maybe he should forget about this blazer, select another one, give this one to Rang, doesn’t he use hues like these? Would it fit him? Would he even want it? He can already imagine his face of distaste; the possible words spewed as to force denial out of lips --- maybe a present isn’t a good idea...for now. 

Suddenly, bell rings and notions swirl away; being short in time makes the decision for him, keeping clothes as they are. He gets out of his room and walks toward living room’s table, making sure all rectangular boxes are correctly arranged. Three boxes, all of them elegantly wrapped in shades of silver, gold and red. The biggest box has a long, coffee-colored coat inside; the medium-sized one contains a fluffy, soft pink sweater (the color reminded him of cherry blossoms, he had to buy it). The smallest holds a framed drawing made by Yeo, one with the image of hands holding each other; the sight of beach’s waves (different tones of blue) in the background and branches of olives spreading out of the sleeve of one of the painted hands, as if touch alone could make them grow. 

And yes, this might be a little cheesy, it might be a little sappy; so what? An enamored fox bleeds love all over the place and it cannot be helped. Besides, Kim Shin deserves all these things and much more; he’d give him the universe if he could trap it in a snow globe, if Shin asked him to. 

The bell rings again.

“I’m going, I---” 

If Shin’s the one behind the door (it is Shin, he can smell him from here, along with the mixture of other scents; he swears he’s also picking up the fragrance of roses from somewhere, and royal azaleas? What’s that other smell, it’s sweet---), then why is he ringing the bell? He could easily come inside, teleport himself right through...ah, always the respectful gentleman; he rather wait than break any boundaries.

Yeo opens the door.  So that’s why it also smells like roses and royal azaleas.

He chuckles, chuckles in a way where he can’t believe this is happening; chuckles in the shape of content giddiness; where lips keep a bright smile even when sound has temporarily faded from mouth. Though Yeo expected his visit, he didn’t expect all of this. The beautiful and gigantic bouquet; the numerous bags hanging from fingers and wrist --- goodness, does he even deserve any of this? Does he even deserve that gorgeous smile; the way Shin stands there, dressed so nicely, with bright eyes that look at him as if he’s worth much more than what others used to whisper in the past?

Maybe he doesn’t. But he wants to earn this. Doesn’t matter how many fights he has to fight for it, he’ll take them all if it means he’ll get to live more moments like these by Dokkaebi’s side. 

  “What’s all this? Shin, you--where did you get a bouquet this big? Royal azaleas are not easy to find during this season, where---”

 But it shouldn’t surprise him, should it? The great and outstanding Goblin is capable of finding royal azaleas in the middle of the desert if needed. To think Shin chose this combination instead of choosing whatever set of flowers was available; to think he remembers his favorite ones...well, the fox’s heart is in a flurry. 

  Yeo’s hands stretch to help him carry the bags; fingers latching to strings and noticing that the sweet scent he identified earlier is coming from there. 

“Is...there chocolate in here? Smells a bit of alcohol and scented oils in there, too...perfumes? Why are the bags so heavy? Now the gifts that are waiting for you in the living room will look bad next to these, such an overachiever---” 

A huff, but he smirks, as if to say that he’s only teasing; tone fond and far from holding any kind of negativity.  Yeo places some of the bags atop a coffee table near the corridor and the others on the floor due to lack of immediate space. He then turns about and leans in to smell the bouquet; pleasantly inhaling the rich fragrance. 

“So pretty. But you know who’s prettier?” 

Leaning back, he carefully takes the bouquet in his arms and with a roguish glint in his eye, he looks up to see Shin...and swiftly manages to sneak a peck on the other’s lips. 

“You. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

A playful smile dances on mouth before nonchalantly moving about; safely placing the flowers atop another table. He’ll definitely place them in a vase later, but first--- 

“I have to properly thank you for all of this.” 

He returns to where Shin is; closing entrance’s door and looking at him with utter fondness. Yeo tilts his head to a side, stretching his hand toward the holder of his heart, inviting him to take it if he wishes to. 

 “How about...one kiss for each gift? Each flower counts as one gift, so that alone gives you about...hmm...thirty, forty kisses? Maybe more? What do you say? If yes, you might want to sit down for this...it’s going to take a while. My lap’s available as a seat, just a suggestion---” 

———– ♔

[ahundredtimesover]

The Light of Dead Stars (05) | KSJ

Pairing: Seokjin x (f.) Reader; side Seokjin x (f.) OC; side Reader x Namjoon

Genre/Tags: arranged marriage, fake romance, boss/workmate aus; angst, drama, fluff, smut; slow burn

Chapter Warnings: Foul language, alcohol consumption; deceit; talks of past toxic relationships (infidelity, emotional abuse); Jin gets a kitchen injury, mentions of blood (18+)

Chapter Word count: 10.6k

Series Masterlist | Muse Moodboard | Setting Moodboard

Status: Complete

Series summary:  Your unconventional arranged marriage with your company’s President, Kim Seokjin, is necessary, practical, and simple - both your families benefit, and he minds his own business and so do you. But when a slip-up causes his parents to believe that you and he are in love, you have no choice but to pretend you are, especially with the trip to France for his brother’s wedding coming up. When you get back to Seoul, things start to change, and Seokjin is faced with the most difficult decision he has to make.  

A/N: It’s their last few days in France, the last chapter before things get even messier. Thank you to those who’ve been tuning in! I hope the complications and emotional roller coaster will be worth it.

You wake up the morning after the wedding feeling like you’ve woken up from a really good dream. The messages of your family and best friends complimenting how good you looked and that you and Jin really looked like a couple - but not without the occasional snide remark - remind you that last night really did happen - you wore a stunning dress, ate the most delicious things you’ve ever had, danced to Park Hyo Shin’s angelic voice, and shared a kiss with your husband like you both meant it.

Everything was amazing except for that last part, really, not so much because you didn’t like it but exactly for how much you did. And now you’re trying to recall how it was before you cared this much, before you decided you liked his attention, before you realized you liked having him close, and you’ll go back to being that person. 

You’ll do what you used to do and not let them mean much. This is where you’re good at - convincing yourself that everything is okay. It’s how you cope and ironically, how you choose yourself. Otherwise, it’s just gonna be a heartbreak that you’ll have a hard time getting over, and you don’t know if there’ll be another person through and at the end of it all, reminding you that you’re still someone that another one could love.

You shake away all the thoughts. It’s a new day, and you’ll just savor the remaining week you have left in this beautiful country. 

Turning to your side, you’re surprised that Jin is still asleep. He’s breathing deeply, looking peaceful and handsome as always, and you can only imagine just how tired he is for not being up early as usual. He doesn’t flinch even when you get off the bed and not-so-quietly fix up to head to the kitchen. 

There are still some leftovers on the counter, and you initially planned on just having them for breakfast when Geonhoo and Ji-hoo arrive with their mom, whining for some pancakes. 

“I’m not good at making those. Maybe someone here knows how,” Sejeong says.

“Oh, I do!” You offer. “I love making pancakes. What do you two angels want?”

“Nutella!”

“Chocolates!”

“Strawberry!”

“Peanut butter!”

The little ones yell more things and Sejeong tries to control them and say you can only make them one type. They pout at you and you laugh at how they know exactly to get what they want.

“Okay, what about a platter? I can make different ones and you can choose what you want to eat,” you say. 

They nod happily and you get to work. One of the cooks helps out since Jin’s other family members have yet to come down for breakfast, but you say you’ll be the one to make it for the kids and for you and Jin. 

You talk with Sejeong while Geonhoo and Ji-hoo interject and ask what ingredient you’re putting or what you’re doing, and you indulge them. You come up with a platter for them with the flavors they asked for - Nutella-filled, buttermilk, chocolate chip, with sides of peanut butter and various types of fruits. 

You prepare a less sweet version for you and Jin with his caramel syrup on the side. 

“Hmm, smells like a happy morning,” you hear his gruff yet excited voice echo through the small kitchen. “Did you make pancakes?”

“The kids wanted some,” you smile. “And here’s our platter.”

His face lights up and he immediately serves himself then puts some on your plate after. You all decide to eat them outside, as Hyo-seop and Jin’s parents arrive as well. 

It’s a fairly laid-back morning, with the weather nice and cool enough to enjoy breakfast on the covered deck. Taehyung and Hyun-a arrive shortly after for a quick meal and a goodbye, as they head to the airport for their South American honeymoon for the next 2 weeks.

You and Jin choose a spot in one of the many areas in the property with a good view to work for the rest of the morning. While you were both advised to completely detach from work, neither of you could, knowing there would be more stress waiting for you back home if you don’t get some things done at least little by little. 

“You were so tired last night, huh?” You tell him in between sending one email to reading another. “It took a while for you to wake up.”

“Yeah, it was probably all the effort into making Tae stop crying,” Jin chuckles. “But yeah, at least that’s over, although the one in Seoul would be way more tiring for sure.”

“Ah, well we enjoyed last night, I’m sure we’ll enjoy that, too, just differently,” you say.

Jin merely hums, not wanting to think about the celebration in Seoul, knowing that Seri would be in attendance and he already knows you’re going to be cautious there unlike you are here. 

The morning is a breeze, with Jin reminding you of your plans this afternoon. You’re to head to Grasse for another one of your trips to town. Known as the perfume capital, it’s where his parents scheduled you for a perfume-making session that you’re really excited about, choosing not to think about how much they spent for an exclusive tour. 

Jin decides to drive this time, and you initially bicker about your terrible navigation skills but he’s an overall chill guy who rarely cracks under pressure - as far as you know, at least - and he manages somehow. 

The town isn’t far off so you’re there in no time, surprised to find someone who’ll be guiding you around. She leads you to a cozy restaurant that offers the best delicacies, and you and Jin are in heaven once again. You make your way around little streets and into a museum before heading to the first of three perfumeries.

You’re amused with the perfume-making process, the history of it, and the different scents they come up with. You expected Jin's parents to have pre-purchased you only a perfume or two, considering that they paid for your entire trip, but of course, they had to do more.

You left the first perfumery with a set of 12 different travel perfumes and the second one with a package including hand creams, colognes, and soaps. In the last one, you and Jin chose a base scent and were given complementing perfumes in matching antique bottles with your names engraved on them; you’re told that his grandparents had these made especially for you.

You look at the one given to you in its beautiful box, not wanting to even use or touch it.

“Holy crap, Jin. This is amazing,” you whisper. “I mean, it’s so thoughtful and just so beautiful. Goodness, your family treats me so well.”

“Yeah, well, they like you, that’s why,” he says, as he backs up the car to head up north and see the stunning scenery of a river and some waterfalls before the sun sets. 

“They like my parents,” you correct.

“Yeah, exactly. They like that you’re like them - hardworking, intelligent, principled, courteous, warm,” he says. “And I agree.”

“Hmm. What would they think about liar, I wonder.”

“Yah. Let’s not go there. Let’s focus on the good stuff, alright?” He nudges your arm. “I mean, all that’s better than what your family says about me - unfaithful, cheater, no backbone, weak,” Jin chuckles, recalling some of the things that your father had said when your parents found out about Seri that fateful day at your house. 

The words stung - they’re his in-laws, he reminds himself - but he wouldn’t argue against them; he knows it’s true. Not the cheater part though, at least, not how they think. He’s definitely unfaithful to your arrangement, that’s for sure, and definitely being unfair to the woman he’s left back home. It may not have been verbalized by either of you to not care about each other but it felt like a given; you’re the one who suggested getting divorced to get out of this, after all. You said it was to supposedly free him from you and he got on with the plan, mostly because he couldn’t figure out another way. And well, he’s dumb, like his brother had said multiple times. So now he’s here - confused, and more lost than ever.

“I’m still sorry about that,” you look at him apologetically. “My dad gets unhinged sometimes.”

“I’d be angry, too, don’t worry. You deserve more than what you’re getting from me,” he says; his voice is quite somber and it’s unfamiliar to you.

“I beg to differ,” you respond. “You’re treating me much better than anyone ever has, and that says a lot.”

“Right, I forgot your standards in men are so low,” he jokes.

“Correction - my standards in people. You experience the worst sometimes and so the bare minimum becomes like a gift to you,” you say, sullenly this time.

Jin doesn’t say anything; he just lets the wind from the open window serve as your background as he slows down to the viewing point. He doesn’t know how badly you had it, but for you to say what you did, he can’t imagine what you went through. 

The view of the waterfalls and canyons of Gorges du Loup is breathtaking. If you were a little more adventurous, you’d do all the fun stuff like Jin suggested, but shopping in markets and eating in as many restaurants as you can are always your priorities and his, too, so you both stick to just marveling at the views and taking photos for keeps. 

The drive back is surprisingly quiet, as you both engage in occasional small conversations that die down but neither of you seem to care. Your mind is busy being at peace, and with how the week has been, that’s quite a reprieve.

Jin pulls into the driveway and helps you with your things, instructing Emile to leave them on the table outside your bedroom. You both head to the living room where the rest of his family are, who are excited to see you back. 

“Darlings, did you enjoy our little surprise?” His grandmother asks, hugging you both.

“Little? Grandmother, that was too special to just be little. ___ here almost had a heart attack,” Jin chuckles, sitting on the couch and wrestling with Geonhoo and Ji-hoo.

Your cheeks heat up when his parents and his grandparents laugh. 

“Ah, get used to it,” Sejeong says. “My family likes to spend their money like that.”

You internally laugh at her bluntness but no one seems to be offended. You suppose that his family acknowledges their wealth and accepts what comes with it, including jokes and digs even from their own.

“Oh, darling. That’s nothing,” his grandmother resumes. “It’s the least we could do, but I hope you don’t think we’re buying you or anything. I owe my life to your father, and I’ll never forget what he’s done for my family. I’m just glad I get to welcome you into ours and make you feel like you belong, because you do.”

There’s only kindness in her eyes, and from what you know of their family, they’re kinder to strangers than they are to their own relatives, and you suppose that makes sense. Your father worked for the company for years and only resigned to protect your family; he’s said mostly good things about them.

Which again, makes it all the worse for you. You nod and profusely thank them again, saying that you want to save the perfumes for special occasions only, prompting them to say they’ll keep organizing events so you could use them.

“Anyway, what’s for dinner?” Jin asks.

“We got really good pork from the market, maybe we’ll have them baked,” his mother replies. “Is there anything else you want?”

“Hmm, I’m actually thinking of making kalguksu,” Jin says. “I’m in the mood for noodles and that’s ___’s favorite.”

“Oh, wonderful,” she chirps. “I miss you making that for us!”

“You good with that?” He asks you, and you nod excitedly. He’s only made that for you once and he was drunk.

“Is Uncle Jjan cooking?!” Ji-hoo asks. “I want to watch!”

Jin nods and takes her hand; Geonhoo follows and takes yours. Both kids are seated on the bar stools while you stand next to your husband as he makes the food. You prep the clams while he starts slicing the vegetables, making enough for the whole family because he knows that the little ones like their soup and vegetables, too.

You’re walking towards the fridge when you lose your balance and almost slip, yelping in fear and then sighing in relief after almost knocking one of the expensive-looking bowls off the counter. Just then, Geonhoo starts yelling.

“Blood, Uncle Jjan, blood!”

“What? Where?” Jin turns to you, worried if you scratched yourself or something.

“On your hand!” Ji-hoo cries. “Uncle Jjan, don’t die!”

That’s when Jin looks at his finger and realizes that it hurts. He cut himself after being preoccupied by you, thinking that you’d hurt yourself earlier and that’s why your scream distracted him.

You run to him immediately, pulling his hand under running water and calling Emile to get the first aid kit, while also telling the kids that their Uncle Jjan isn’t gonna die. 

Jin only winces as the water hits the shallow cut of his fingertip.

“Ah, it’s not that bad, it’s just a graze I think,” he says.

“It’s not deep but it’s not just a graze, Jin. What were you thinking? You slice vegetables all the time,” you reprimand him.

“I don’t know, ask the knife that cut me, ___,” he says sarcastically.

“Then what was your finger doing there!” You bite back, putting ointment and a bandaid and then putting a glove over his hand. 

“This is your fault. You had to scream and I got distracted.”

“I almost broke your expensive bowl!”

“___, no one would care,” he deadpans.

“I would!” You exclaim, face ridden with panic.

He internally gushes at how disturbed you seem. “Yah, you’re worried about me, huh?” He smirks.

“I’m worried about my kalguksu, Jin. You teased me and now I want it,” you pout, and if you weren’t so adorable, he’d be fighting you some more.

“I’ll continue this, don’t worry. You’ll get your noodles,” he smiles.

“Are you crazy? No. Sit down. I can make this, just not as good as you,” you say, pushing him to sit on the bar stool. “Just taste the broth for me.”

“Fine, go ahead,” he says, following you.

You get another piece of zucchini and start slicing. Ji-hoo asks Jin if he’s okay and he assures her that it’s just a small cut and it will go away tomorrow.

“Then ask Auntie ___ to kiss it so it goes away now!” She demands. “Daddy kisses Mommy’s lips when she says it hurts and then she becomes okay again!”

You and Jin laugh at Sejeong’s moves, knowing it’s something to tease her with. 

“Do it, Auntie! Kiss Uncle Jjan’s finger!” Geonhoo urges you this time.

You turn to Jin who’s smiling with his squishy bread cheeks on display and his gloved finger now in front of your face. 

“You’re so annoying,” you mumble, kissing his finger, prompting the little ones to clap. 

“Gosh, kids these days,” you chuckle. 

“They know what’s up,” Jin follows. “But hey, it feels better now,” he winks. 

You continue on with the noodles, engaging the little rascals with you so they won’t ask you to do any more embarrassing things with your husband. Jin tastes and teases you to keep feeding him until everything is prepared.

Dinner takes place; the soup is delicious and the roasted pork is divine. You also enjoy some pies from a nearby bakery for dessert.

You’re now seated on your balcony with a cup of tea, marveling at the night sky. It’s particularly bright today, with the full moon looking beautiful as it shines over the hills. It’s one of your favorite things to do, reminding you that whoever it is you’re missing, they’re not always too far away. 

“The sky’s pretty tonight,” Jin says, sitting next to you as he looks up. 

“It’s been pretty every night,” you say. “The moon’s just brighter and there are more stars out. I like gazing at it.”

“I know. You’ve been doing it every night before you go to bed.”

You hum. Of course he’d notice.

“Namjoon, uh…”

“The guy you’re waiting for?” 

You turn to him with a nod, wondering how he guessed.

“Aside from Jimin and Jungkook, you’ve never mentioned any other guy’s names, and I know those two are your best friends,” Jin clarifies. 

“Right, uh. Namjoon’s my best friend, too. But it’s different since I actually like him.”

Like. Jin overthinks the word. It seems more, but it isn’t love, is it?

“He and I would go to the Mangwon Hangang Park when the sky was bright and just watch the stars,” you recall. “When we were in college and I was having a hard time, he would always say that looking at the sky should remind me that my struggles can never be bigger than the universe, and I was always going to surpass whatever it was I was going through.”

“A wise man,” Jin notes.

“He is,” you smile. “And I did, I surpassed them, and he helped a lot, you know? It almost felt like he was my night sky because he always made me feel better, only to realize that he could make me feel that way because his dreams were bigger than us.”

It was a winter night, and you remember it clearly, because that was also the night he said goodbye.

“Before he left, he told me to look at the sky whenever I’m missing him because we’d always be looking at the same one and that should give me comfort.”

“Does it?” Jin asks, choosing not to dwell on the thought that you miss the man every night.

“Most nights,” you nod. “I haven’t seen him for 2 years since he’s always traveling.”

“What about now?”

“Somehow. He’s in France, actually. He took the train from Italy when he found out I was here.”

Oh. 

“Does he know about us?” Jin wonders, curious as to how honest you are to the man you want about the man you’re living with.

“Yeah, about everything, actually. We write to each other. He’s quite romantic that way; he wants me to see his handwriting because somehow that has meaning in it, too,” you share. “I wrote to him when my parents told me about the arrangement, and writing it all then clarified things for me, you know? That's why I decided to do it. I wrote about you and Seri, too, and then my parents finding out, my brother being upset with me… and again, things just made more sense when I wrote them, which I never would’ve done if he and I didn't send each other letters.” 

Jin nods, appeased that you had someone like Namjoon to talk with about all that you were going through, which he only really knows a fraction of. But this man is in the same country as you, only miles away and within reach after how many years. Jin wonders if something’s changed for you since coming here, and if it’s something you’re going to tell Namjoon.

“Are you going to see him?”

“Can I?” You turn to Jin, and he sees the longing in your eyes that’s both soft and sad at the same time.

“Why are you asking permission? Of course, you can.”

“Would you come to Cannes with me? He’s there right now. Your family might suspect me if I go by myself.”

“Alright, I’ll be your alibi, then,” Jin smiles. 

It’s sincere. He sees how much the man means to you, and you’ve been apart for so long. 

“Thank you,” you say, placing your hand on top of his. “This means a lot to me.”

Jin finds a parking spot near one of the buildings. He turns to you who’s looking visibly nervous. You were quiet this morning, merely nibbling your pastries during breakfast, and you barely said anything during the entire ride to Cannes, choosing instead to look at the window. 

So many times, he wanted to hold your hand and tell you that it’s gonna be okay, but he didn’t feel like it was the right time. For some reason, he was also scared you were going to turn him away.

So he settles for a nudge on your shoulder and a soft, reassuring smile.

“You’re seeing him after a long time. That’s good, right?” 

“Yeah, it should. I just… it’s different seeing his face on a screen and actually seeing it for real, you know? And being able to touch him, hold him… I… don’t want him to be disappointed,” you mumble.

“And why would he be?”

“I’ve changed a lot since the last time he saw me. I don’t know if he’ll notice.”

Jin can try to come up with a dozen possible meanings to your words but he supposes he wouldn’t know what they mean. You’re an honest and open person, but a lot of times he finds himself not knowing you at all, and this is one of those times. What about you changed that Namjoon would be disappointed in? 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, ___,” he tries to assure. “So you go there and you meet him.”

“Uh, I need you to guide me there, Jin. I can’t even pronounce the name of the cafe.”

“Ah,” he chuckles, warming at the little smile you give him. “Okay.”

You and Jin start walking towards a plaza, with him leading the way. You’re too nervous to pay attention to him, how he’s more distant and quiet, but it’s perhaps just him giving you space. 

“It’s the one with the white awning,” he says, motioning to the little cafe. “Do you see him?”

“Not yet, but he said he reserved a table for us outside. I should just give his name.”

“Alright, you can go ahead and I’ll leave when he arrives, okay? And then I’ll stay at a cafe, too, and get some work done. Let me know when you’re finished and I can get you. Take all the time you need, ___.��

“You’ll be okay?”

He answers a beat late, but he nods. 

You smile and start walking towards the cafe and Jin watches from afar, wanting to make sure you’re safe, even if you’re a grown woman who knows what she’s doing and who she’s meeting. It’s a husband thing, though, making sure his wife is okay, he reminds himself.

He sees you talk to a server and you’re led to one of the tables. You’re constantly checking your phone, and he notices you’re still nervous. He wants to go over to you and stop you from biting your lip, but you look up before he could make up his mind. You stand up and smile at the man approaching you, one who engulfs you in a tight embrace. 

Namjoon is a tall and built man. He’s in a plain shirt and blue jeans, with sun kissed skin and nice, silver-dyed hair. He has his arms secured tightly around your waist while yours are around his neck; neither one of you seems to want to let go.

You finally do, and he kisses your forehead. Your eyes close and a smile tugs at your lips. You look comfortable, safe, happy. 

Jin doesn’t know why he’s still standing there, watching you finally take your seat and hold the man’s hand as you both start laughing and talking. There’s a tightening in his chest that he’s never felt before, a completely new experience, as every time you laughed and smiled always made him do the same. 

Not today, though. Today, he’s confused. Today, he hates himself. Today, he wishes he was the reason why your eyes crinkle and why your head lolls back; he doesn’t think he’s ever seen you like that.

Apparently, he’s been standing there for quite a while, as it registers to him that you’re waving and asking Namjoon to do the same. You mumble something and the man turns around and waves, his smile worth thousands, he can tell; it’s sweet and comforting. Jin waves and gives a thumbs up. You signal that you’re fine and that you’ll call, and that’s his signal to leave, and he does.

He finds a nice little nook cafe that allows him to read and respond to emails. He sips his hot chocolate, although he wishes it was whiskey instead. He stays there for hours, constantly checking his phone to see if you’ve called or messaged, but you haven’t. He’s never hated waiting like he does now.

Thinking that it would take you the whole afternoon to catch up with Namjoon, Jin exits the cafe after 3 hours. He ponders on going to a nearby market, but thinks you’d hate him if he went without you. He debates if he should go to the luxury stores strip, but decides against it; he’s always enjoyed how you tried to guess the price of the expensive items on display so that is another no. 

So he decides to go to a park instead; plain enough, there’s not much you’d miss.

His phone rings, and he almost drops it with how fast he takes it from his pocket, only to see it’s just his grandmother.

He waits for another hour before you call, and so he starts walking to one of the strips that you say you’re waiting at. 

“Hey,” you wave. “Sorry I took too long.”

“Oh, not at all,” he responds, walking next to you. “I expected you to be with him until the evening.”

“And what were you supposed to do until then?” You arch an eyebrow.

“Uh, work, I guess? Or go around, too, see what’s out here,” he shrugs.

“You’ll probably just eat and I’ll miss out on it.”

“That, too, but I didn’t want to discover new things and not have you there with me.”

You grin, turning on one of the streets towards a beach, thinking that the ocean would be a nice distraction this late afternoon.

“We just headed to a museum for a quick visit after the cafe. Namjoon has a meeting with an art curator so he had to leave,” you say after a while.

“So he’s an artist?”

“He’s a lot of things,” you chuckle. “He’s an art enthusiast and writes about art events and different pieces. He likes to travel and writes about it, too. He’s been doing online consulting since he took up marketing and finance in college. He can work from anywhere, really, so he’s just been going from one place to another. We were just lucky that he’s a couple of hours-train away and he could see me.”

Jin hums, following your slow pace. “Is he well?” 

“He’s happy,” you give a smile, with a tinge of sadness in it, like you’re sad for yourself. “He has his own time, he gets to see many beautiful places and things and that’s what he’s always wanted, you know? Someone as great as him deserves that kind of peace, that kind of happiness.”

“And where does that leave you?” Jin asks, hoping it doesn’t come out as too harsh, or even too intrusive.

“Where I’ve been the past years, really,” you chuckle, feeling the irony of it all - seeing the man you’ve been waiting on, thousands of miles from home, and turning him down when he asked you to run away with him. 

“Namjoon was supposed to take a job in London after college, but he stayed because of me,” you share, taking a seat on one of the benches overlooking the beach now. “He and I met in sophomore year after I broke up with my cheating ex-boyfriend, and Joon really helped me move on, you know? To the point of me liking him but he had a girlfriend that time and so I moved on again with someone else, and then Joon and his girl broke up.”

“Timing sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?” Jin says, as he thinks of his ex-girlfriend, too, and how that relationship ended. It’s a shitty thing that the universe does to people when all they want to do is love and be loved.

“The guy I was with was great at the start. He took me to different places and he was supportive,” you continue. “But then he started getting unnecessarily jealous, keeping me from seeing Namjoon and Jungkook. And then it just kept getting worse, you know? He’d be controlling, angry, lying about where he’d be, threatening when I’d question him, and then he’d be incredibly sweet after a fight, like one time he convinced my boss to allow me to take a short-notice leave and then he flew me to Bali. And I just kept making excuses for him,” you sigh, remembering the feeling of being trapped in your relationship. “I felt like it was all I could do. Because every time I had the courage to leave, he would do something that would make me change my mind.”

Jin turns to you, unsure what to say. There’s a mix of sadness and acceptance on your face at the memory, and he wants to apologize for what you had to go through, but that might feel simplistic. He wants to hold you and tell you that you didn’t deserve any of that, but it might not be the right time, so he lets you continue, knowing that it’s taking a lot for you to share this with him, given that it took a while, too. 

“The guys never left my side, especially Namjoon. He wanted to make sure there was someone there when I finally got out, and he didn’t break his promise.”

You take Jin’s hand in yours, knowing he wants to. He’s not a naturally affectionate person but you could feel him wanting to do something to comfort you, and with his fingers constantly grazing your own as they both lay on the bench, you make the move. You can’t deny that you want his comfort, too.

“But he left, didn’t he? He’s been away for years,” Jin says, feeling a bit of anger, even if that would mean you wouldn’t be his wife, and the thought suddenly makes him feel uneasy.

“It felt unfair to make him stay,” you say. “He held out on a lot of things for me, then made sure I was stable at my job, that I wasn’t hating and blaming myself anymore, that I wasn’t untrusting and scared to let people in… and well, I needed to learn to stand on my own two feet, and doing so meant letting him go, so I did.”

“And what did that mean for the both of you? Did he feel the same way?”

“He did, he said that much. Still says it, actually, that’s why he proposed running away to Italy with him,” you chuckle, recalling the shock you felt when he hugged you goodbye. “He said I’m the one who agreed to marry a guy and let him keep his girlfriend so he said it didn’t hurt to try and pitch another crazy idea.”

“Well, he does have a point,” Jin hums. “Did you, uh, did you consider it?”

“No. That wasn’t our plan, Jin,” you turn to him, wanting to assure him this time. “Maybe if I wasn’t married, I would’ve considered it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be, but that’s the point, isn’t it? If I wasn’t married, it should be a yes, but it isn’t. He’ll keep wanting this life of art and beauty and travels and I’ll keep wanting mine that’s stable and secure and in Seoul. I don’t know when we’ll ever want the same thing.”

“When the time comes that you do, does that mean that you and him could finally be together?” Jin wonders.

“Yeah,” you respond. “It’s weird though. We spent all those hours ago just talking about ourselves; all we did was catch up. He talked about the places he’s been to and I talked about all the things I’ve been doing but we didn’t really talk about us. Sure, he suggested running away together but we didn’t actually talk about it.”

“What? I thought that was the point of you two meeting up?”

“Maybe there was just so much time apart and that mattered more - feeling each other’s comfort and wondering if it’s still the same, seeing how much of ourselves has changed… seeing if the feelings are still there, but not really talking about it,” you shrug. “Namjoon and I never really prioritized us, I realized. We prioritized ourselves, our friendship, but not us. I’m not quite sure what to make of that.”

Jin squeezes your hand, letting both of you just bask in the sounds of the ocean and the light from the moon.

“Until the time that you’ll see each other again, just remember that you’re both still looking at the same sky,” he says softly. “And I’ll be holding your hand until then.”

“Jin, are you shitting me?” you turn to him with wide eyes. “I may not be able to properly pronounce this store’s name but I can at least tell those diamonds are real, and they’re expensive,” you exclaim, emphasizing the last word. 

“I told my Grandmother the same thing!”

“Okay, now you’re making me sound ungrateful,” you frown.

“Well, I said it kindly,” he clarifies. “But she won’t budge. She thinks it’s necessary for us to have matching diamond bracelets. When she learned that we were heading to Cannes today, she called this store and asked for a few designs to show us.”

You look at him worriedly before looking at the 3 options in front of you. Looking at the other pieces of jewelry in this chic store that Jin took you to after your time at the beach, you feel both in awe and like you’re going to faint. This is too much, you think, as the gifts from his family keep on coming. Of course, they gave you cash after the wedding, but it seems that all the more meaningful gifts were to come after you two had made it “official.”

“It doesn’t feel right accepting this,” you say, pouting and crossing your arms.

The sales staff seems to have picked up your reaction and she says something, which Jin translates for you.

“Apparently they’ve been paid for.”

“Oh goodness, Jin!” You whine embarrassingly. “We can’t… I can’t…”

“I know, but it’s gonna look worse if we don’t accept it. Just wear it when we’re seeing them. It’s fine, really. And you know I hate saying this but this really isn’t much for them,” he sighs, only preferring to talk of his family’s wealth when it’s to ironically make you feel better that whatever they spend for you is just like extra change for them.

“So can you please just choose? I like all 3 designs, but I think you prefer the simplest one,” he says, picking the least shiny one of them and closing the clasp around your wrist. “This one’s classic and elegant; you can match it with anything.”

“Okay, fine,” you give in, though the pout doesn’t leave your face. 

This is the part you’ll never get used to and you mentally smack yourself for every time they give you something. In another version of this reality where you and Jin actually love each other, you feel like you’ll be more accepting, but being paraded with wealth on a daily basis is something that will always throw you off guard and make you feel undeserving.

You take the one for him and put it around his wrist, too, and you admit, it looks gorgeous on him. Jin has pretty hands and stunning fingers, something you’d noticed that first day in France as he held your hand in the car. 

The sales staff asks for a photo that she’s been instructed to send to the elder Mrs. Kim; she’s apparently a regular here. 

“Your Grandmother’s really not letting us off the hook, huh?” You laugh this time.

“She probably thought we’d find a way to skirt around their plan,” he laughs back. “But thank you for accepting. They badger me a lot for not buying you things because, well, you know my family - they like to show off but it comes from a good place, I promise.”

“I know. I’m sorry for being a difficult wife,” you shyly smile.

“It’s fine, you have your redeeming moments,” he says, yelping when you pinch his waist. 

“Hey, proper decorum!” He whisper-yells, but the sales staff don’t seem to mind, as you’re the only ones here and they’ve been giggling ever since you and Jin started to bicker earlier. 

“But anyway, thank you. I’m thinking of making them something before we leave tomorrow. Maybe sweetened rice cake?” You say.

“That takes a while to make,” Jin frowns.

“Preparing the glutinous rice is what takes a while. I can just wake up earlier and prepare it then sleep again or something. It’s the least I could do, Jin. Really, it’s nothing. Plus, I like making that for my family!”

“Yeah? You haven’t made it for me yet.”

“Well, then now I will. Come, I passed by some stalls earlier where I can buy dried fruits and nuts,” you say, pulling his arm towards a certain street.

And that’s how you and Jin spend the rest of your time in Cannes - shopping for ingredients, buying him jelly beans to shut him up because he was being really annoying, and laughing all the way to a small restaurant and then heading home. 

You lay in bed that night, facing him once again, a smile immediately gracing your lips as he pinches your nose.

“Thanks for driving and being with me today, Jin,” you say. “And for not making it weird.”

“For not making it weird?” He chuckles. “May I remind you that you once made pancakes for me and Seri after you caught her at our house? Like it was totally normal?”

“It’s not like you were hiding or anything, so it’s not that bad,” you laugh. “Plus, it was always fine with me.”

“Yeah, but I still got so traumatized. And so driving you to Cannes wasn’t a big deal. I’m not sure if it was the meeting you imagined but I’m glad you got to see him. You seemed really happy, too, like you felt like home with him there.”

“I did, huh?” You ask softly, wondering how you look when you’re with Namjoon, but Jungkook always said you had a calmness on your face whenever you were with him.

“You did. Sorry if I stayed around a bit; I just wanted to make sure you were safe and stuff. And about your exes, I’m sorry about it, too,” he mumbles. “I didn’t know if it was right to say it earlier but I… You didn’t deserve that, and I’m just glad you had someone to help you pick up your pieces.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” you assure him. “And that’s why I was okay with you and me. It’s not so much that I have low standards in men, like you pointed out, but it’s more like - I know bad when I see it; I’ve experienced some of the worst. And you’re nothing like them, Jin. We may not be a normal married couple but I can sleep well at night knowing I’ll be safe, because that’s what I feel with you. So thank you.”

Jin can only smile. He realizes as each day passes that he values your words more than he expected, and knowing you feel safe with him is all he needs to hear. He pulls the covers over you and pinches your nose again before wishing you goodnight. 

You didn’t think that Jin’s grandparents enjoying the sweetened rice cake you made for them would mean this much to you, especially when they say that it tastes like the ones they used to make when they still had the patience for it. 

“Oh, darling. This just means you and Jin would have to visit us here again,” his grandmother says. “Or we’ll visit you. Whichever, as long as I get to taste more of this.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve just been so wonderful to me and I can’t thank you enough,” you respond, hugging them and his parents as you and your husband prepare to leave. 

“Not a problem at all, dear,” his mother now says. “We're just happy that our son is happy. I’ve never seen him laugh and smile this much in years, and I’m not exaggerating.”

She doesn’t seem like the type who would; she’s always been straightforward and intentional, but you still take it with a grain of salt. Jin has had Seri for years, and he had to do his part of acting during this trip, too, even if you know there was sincerity in how he was with you. 

You thank them again and wave them goodbye. You hug Sejeong and Hyo-seop and carry Geonhoo and Ji-hoo who are sad that they won’t be seeing you for a while. 

“Just another week, we’ll see you back home,” Jin assures his niece and nephew. “Be good, okay? Don’t give your parents a headache.”

They give both of you sweet kisses and you walk towards the car where Emile has packed all your luggages already. You and Jin settle in and take the hour and a half car ride to Saint-Tropez, with both of you listing the cafes and restaurants you’ll be eating at. 

You finally arrive at the palatial hotel perched on a hillside that’s overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It’s got modern and classic touches that add to the serene ambiance of the place, especially as it’s nestled between gardens and large trees. 

You’re assisted by the manager who informs you of the activities that have been paid for - you just have to set a schedule for them. There’s the boat trip that’ll take you around the coastline, the full-afternoon spa treatment, and a special dinner at the private beach club. 

“Oh, Jin,” is all you manage to say, somehow not surprised anymore. 

“Well, the other option was Paris and that would’ve been much more romantic,” he shrugs. “This isn’t so bad. I mean, it’s an old fishing village with little cafes and stores.”

“That does sound fun, and more like us,” you smile. “Guess that’s what we’ll be doing on our first day?”

He nods and gives your preferred schedule to the manager before you’re accompanied to your suite. 

It’s bright and spacious with a living room and a kitchenette. The glass door leads to a garden outside with spectacular views of the French Riviera. It’s private and perhaps a fitting end to this whirlwind of a trip with your husband, knowing that after all this, you’ll go back to Seoul, back to your jobs and your own rooms, back to your own businesses, and back to the lie you won’t have to make in the comfort of your home.

You take it all in. Everything that’s happened in the past week isn’t what you expected - from getting as close as you are with Jin, kissing him, being okay with it… and seeing Namjoon, the man who let your heart beat again, the man who reminded you what it was like to care, to love, to wait, to hope, and to hurt. 

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Jin says as he marvels at the view from next to you. “It’s not crowded, and the town’s not far from here.”

“It’s beautiful,” you smile, letting the memory of yesterday stay at a nook of your mind for now. “Should we get going? I’m excited to eat.”

“You mean, you’re excited to dissect the food and then eat?” He arches a brow.

“Says the man who does exactly that,” you stick your tongue out. “But really, how else can you enjoy food but by appreciating its parts and as a whole? Makes it more delicious that way.”

“Geek,” he laughs, as you both head out the elevator and into the shuttle that would take you to the Old Town.

The weather is nice, with the sun’s heat and the breeze just right for the early afternoon. The streets are buzzing but not overwhelming, and you and Jin find yourselves in cobblestone streets and alleys lined with quaint cafes and local shops. 

He looks quite the looker on a holiday, with his mustard-colored leather coords, the buttons of his polo open and a white sleeveless top underneath. You’ve noted a few tourists do double-takes when he walks and you still haven’t fully wrapped your head around how handsome he is. 

You both go around and find a traditional restaurant for your late lunch and people watch, then you go around trying different pastries in the bakeries that you pass by. You end up at the Port and become amused by the fishing boats and yachts. 

You’re tired by the late afternoon so you head back to your hotel to watch the sky turn purple then blue in your garden balcony with some mimosas just because. You semi-dress up for dinner at the hotel’s private beach club, a 10-course meal, and then enjoy drinks while watching a performance after.

Finally settled in the massive bed in your pajamas, you feel like floating. The mattress and linens are the most comfortable you’ve ever had and you don’t want to ever get off.

“Ugh, this is like heaven,” you moan.

Jin laughs as he lies next to you, sighing in satisfaction as well. “Ah, this is good. I should ask for the brand of the mattress and the pillows and buy them.”

You stare at him for a while until you realize he’s not joking, and he winks at you while typing on his phone, perhaps asking Yoongi to do it. 

Jin scoots closer to you and you don’t pull away. You don’t seem to mind that there’s a big ass couch outside but he’s staying next to you, coming nearer. 

“Is this okay?” He dares ask, and you smile softly as you nod.

You’re talking about your favorite cafes from earlier when Jin groans and shows you his text exchange with his mother. She asked for photos so he sent those of the scenery and the food but she wanted photos of both of you. 

Who goes on a honeymoon and doesn’t have pictures with their wife! The text reads. Take photos of you and ___, we need to preserve these memories. 

“She nags even about this,” he whines. 

“It’s fine,” you chuckle. “We can take lots tomorrow. We’ll visit surrounding villages, anyway, and we’ll do the boat ride.”

So that’s what you both do the next day, as you stop by scenic views on the way to the nearby Port Grimaud and Ramatuelle. Your assigned chauffeur is kind enough to take the pictures, enjoying it himself as you and Jin keep arguing about the “proper” photo and debating which poses look couple-y enough. 

It’s against one of the chateaus where the chauffeur decides to direct both of you, instructing Jin to pull you closer by the waist and telling you to put your hand on his chest. It’s very wedding-like, as Jin whispers in your ear, and you take the chance to tickle him on his neck while he’s distracted. His laugh is contagious, causing you to join him, and he pinches your nose like he likes to do. 

You’re back at your hotel in time for lunch, then you lounge at the beach before your mid-afternoon private boat trip. It’s a laid-back activity, as you and Jin unwind at the deck with some cold cuts and wine and cheese. 

He starts showing you photos of Taehyung and Hyun-a who are clearly enjoying their own honeymoon, and who are clearly very couple-y in their poses. 

“We should try this,” Jin says, showing one where they're in the middle of a street party. 

“Do I look like someone who pops her foot?” You nudge him. “Or someone who laughs prettily like that?”

“Yeah, you don’t do either,” he says, prompting you to pinch his arm. “Okay, this seems doable. And maybe this?”

You go through a few more and decide that amongst the kisses and the gazing and all the hugging ones, these ones he points out aren’t that hard. 

So you try one where you’re next to him, your head leaning on his shoulder with his hand on your side, grazing your thigh that’s just causing you to inch closer to him. Even with your cover up, you could feel his taut, bare chest against your arm, and other than the times when you had to dance or kiss, this feels like the closest you’ve ever been to him. 

“We’ve got enough for today, I think,” you say, smiling at him after one of the boat crew takes your photo. 

He agrees, and so you go for a quick swim in the ocean before you head back to the boat to watch the sunset, docking at the area that you wanted to explore for dinner. It’s another one of those nights where you just freely walk around, getting lost along the way, with you and Jin blaming each other for both of your terrible navigation skills, but ending up bonding over the night market and feeding each other chickpea flour pancakes and sponge cakes.

Later that night while Jin is asleep, you look through the pictures on your phone, and you hadn’t realized that the chauffeur took more candid photos than the ones where you posed. It’s almost funny, as the nicest takes aren’t those where you look like a couple, but they’re the ones where you both look the most natural, the most free, the most comfortable. You can even remember what stupid joke or silly remark he made; you can even tell if you tickled or pinched him because he has a different face for each time you annoy him. 

You may not laugh prettily like Hyun-a does, but one thing is for sure - this laugh you have is one of the most genuine ones you’ve ever had.

“So, did the French air give you a change of heart or something?” Jungkook, your childhood best friend, says over the phone while seemingly playing a game on his computer. “Your photos are so cute, dude. I’m finding it hard to believe that you and Mr. Rich Guy aren’t a couple. You sure nothing happened out there?”

He yelps and curses and you imagine his character dying and you roll your eyes. Of course, the one time you get to finally talk to him because this best friend of yours has a tendency to disappear when he feels like it, he’s still busy being a dramatic gamer. 

“Nothing, I told you,” you groan, comfortably lying down on the couch because your husband is at the hotel cafe, working, claiming that he doesn’t want to do it at your suite so you won’t feel tempted to work, too. “We just pretend to be in love and shit. And again, Kook, his name is Jin, okay? You and Dara should stop calling him other things that aren't his name. We’ve been married for 6 months and you still keep doing that.”

“Gee, wifey’s being protective of her hubby, I see,” he teases. “Fine, I’m finding it hard to believe that you and Mr. Rich Guy Jin with Abs aren’t a couple. The photos you sent look like you’re about to burst from happiness.”

“I’m pretty sure it was because a bug flew by his face and he almost fell off the chair from fear,” you chuckle, suddenly remembering yesterday’s stop at a cafe by the street. “His finesse and seriousness really melt away when there’s an insect or when I tickle him. It’s funny.”

“Ugh, you sound so cheesy.”

“Yah! You’re the one who wrote a whole ass song for a girl and serenaded her outside her house, you dork.”

“That was college. I was a different person back then, ___,” he whines. 

“Yeah, so was I,” you sigh. “I mean, who would’ve thought I’d be in France with a rich man as my husband, right? I couldn’t even find a decent man and now I’m married to a really great one. Damn it, I wish those assholes didn’t ruin me the way they did,” you say, suddenly turning somber. “Maybe I’d actually even consider Jin if he didn’t have a girlfriend.”

“They didn’t ruin you, okay? They just broke you a bit,” your best friend says. “And you were a different person back then because now, you’re this confident, happy woman who knows when something’s not good for her anymore and can stand her ground and fight for herself because that’s who you really are, okay? I was hoping that seeing Namjoon would remind you of that.” He curses again before he continues. “Also, is that a confession I hear? Would you really go for Jin if the situation was different?”

“Maybe, who knows? But the situation is this - Jin has a girlfriend, someone who makes him happy, and I’m waiting for a man to finally like me enough to come home to me.”

“What if Namjoon doesn’t?”

“Okay, harsh,” you groan.

“I mean, of course he likes you. He did, all those years ago, and he stood by you because you needed him. But he’s not the same person anymore as well, ___. And while you two still do your letter-writing as if you’re long-distance lovers but also talk over the phone every once in a while, he’s been gone for years,” Jungkook says. “I love the guy but every single day, he chooses to not be with you. And asking you to run away to Italy isn’t the grand declaration of love that you think it is. That was silly.”

“Hey, I never thought it was,” you sigh. “Even he knew it was crazy, so I don’t even know what he would’ve done if I agreed.”

“And what would’ve made you agree?”

At this, you don’t have a response because quite frankly, you don’t know. You don’t know what situation or circumstance you need that would make you just drop everything to be with the man you’ve ironically been waiting for.

“What? Nothing? See, I told you.”

“You didn’t tell me shit, Kook,” you laugh. 

“I hate you.”

“You’re just putting things in my head.”

“No, I’m helping you make sense of things in your head. That’s my role in your life,” he says proudly. “But I’m serious. Think about why you’re still holding onto Namjoon. There could be a lot of reasons, but whatever it is, just remember - he’s not the only person who can love you.”

You remain silent on your end, and sometimes, you just hate it when Jungkook makes sense.

“I can’t really think of anyone else who can.”

“Well, we’re gonna have to change that mindset, ___. You could be holding onto something that’s long gone, and you’re only choosing to see what’s left of it, and that’s bound to fall away, too.”

You choose not to think much of what Jungkook said earlier while you were lazing in the suite while waiting for Jin to finish his work. You came to France to pretend and to enjoy along the way, not to think, and you’d promptly sent your best friend messages of how much you hate him for making you think but he replied that he can’t wait to see you when you get back. 

“What’s with the furrowed brows?” Jin splashes you some water, and you have to hold back your yell and send him a death glare instead. 

“___, we’re in the pool, you’re literally wet,” he deadpans.

“Not my hair though! I didn’t plan on wetting it,” you pout.

“Too bad, now you have to,” he shrugs, and you jump on his back in retaliation, although you don’t know what that was supposed to do since you’re now clinging onto his freeway shoulders with your chest squished against his bare back. He reflexively grips your thighs so you both won’t lose your balance and he’s laughing the whole time while you’re suddenly hyper-aware.

“You’re gonna have to shower anyway since we have that spa treatment this afternoon,” he reminds you. “I heard it’s really good.”

“Oh god, I haven’t had a massage in a year,” you say dreamily. “The most I get is from Jungkook but he’s lazy sometimes.”

Jin chuckles, amused by your relationship with your best friends who are all very different from you. 

“But I’m going to enjoy today,” you smile. “It’s our last full day. It'll be back to reality for us pretty soon.”

You’re unsure what you meant and why you even said it, but you don’t miss the way Jin’s face falls a little at the reminder and this time, you try to not think too much of it.

After lunch at a seaside restaurant, you and Jin get ready for your spa day. It’s a long one, with scrubs and a hot tub, facial treatment and a full-body massage, and manicure and pedicure as well. You focus on how relaxed you feel; you’ve never been this pampered in your life, and even all the times you did a bit of it before never amounted to this, price- and service-wise. This is luxury on your mind and body, and you're loving every second of it.

Of course, you feign nonchalance at the half-naked man doing all those things with you, too. You wish the therapists wouldn't find it odd that a married couple doesn’t shower together or that Jin is in swim shorts and you’re in a two-piece bathing suit. Or that they came in with some treats and you and he are on opposite ends of the hot tub. Or that you bicker more than you say sweet things to each other, but just like how it’s been the past 2 weeks, you’re comfortable and you feel light, and it’s not just because the massage got rid of the knots on your shoulders.

You can’t help but moan all the way back to your room, and you’re too refreshed to move that when Jin takes your legs off the couch, you reflexively lay them on his lap as you remain laying down and enjoy the change of colors of the sky outside. 

“You look comfy,” he chuckles, admiring how at ease you feel. 

He’s glad that he was able to upgrade the treatment to the full-experience since he knows you need it. You’ve worked hard all these years and you deserve this day of pampering. He liked seeing you just let go and be treated like a queen even for just the afternoon, and he admits that the way your eyes lit up every time there was something presented to you - even if it was just the type of scrub or the oil to be used - made him feel light and at ease. Somehow, seeing you pampered was his own way of relaxing, as if seeing you feel that way rid him of the knots on his body, knowing how much stress and pressure he put you through the past weeks. 

“It’s our last night here. What if we order room service for each other and be surprised?” He suggests.

“Hey, that would be fun!” You sit up. “But it should be a 3-course meal. If you give me just an appetizer, I will riot.”

He laughs again; he seems to do that a lot with you.

“Trust me, I don’t want that, either. But sure, a 3-course meal, then.”

Jin ends up cheating. He still orders for you - appetizer, entree of lobster, which is your favorite, and dessert as discussed. Luckily, you both order different things for each other so you get to try his food and he gets to try yours. But he also orders additional things - the dishes he feels that you’d like to try, and the way you squealed when you saw the stuffed capon fish and the lemon dessert made him sigh in satisfaction. 

There’s that feeling again, of making you smile, of making you happy. Of making you feel cared for. 

And later that night as you both lay in bed, after the drinks and endless conversations about food at your garden balcony, he lets himself feel the serenity of your presence next to him.

It’s the same thing he does when you both do your last tour of the city the next morning, discovering new cafes and going back to the ones you liked, taking photos along the way and saying goodbye to the town that you fell in love with even for just a few days. 

“You all good?” He asks, as you settle on the window seat of the car that will take you to the airport.

“Yes. Two weeks just flew by,” you say, “and I really had fun. Thank you, Jin.”

He grins proudly, sliding down his seat a bit so you can lean on his shoulder, seeing as you still look sleepy. 

You’re both quiet on the way there, and even as you both wait to board the plane. He sees you glance at him from your First Class seat some feet away, and he constantly asks if everything is okay like it’s reflex. 

It’s a long flight and you arrive in Seoul in the late afternoon, with Yoongi and Mr. Lim greeting you both. You and Jin narrate the highlights of the trip to his secretary, to his amusement, but of course you don’t mention the more intimate moments, and you’re glad that Yoongi doesn’t prod. 

Home smells amazing with Mrs. Kang’s cooking, with all of Jin’s favorite Korean food laid out on the table, his mouth watering at the sight. 

He’ll unpack tomorrow or this weekend; there’s still work tomorrow, after all, and he’s tired from the flight and he can’t wait to lie down. So do you, it seems, as you yawn after your last spoonful of the tofu stew and say that you’ll head to bed.

Jin nods and follows you up the stairs, being reminded of that reality you’re both back in when you wish him goodnight and open the door of your room and close it behind you. He stands outside, knowing there’s no place for him there, and that he shouldn’t want it, he shouldn’t wish for it.

But as he walks to his room on the other side of the hall and as he lays in bed, his tired body begging him to sleep, he’s unable to. And as he stays on one end and leaves a space for you, he knows. 

Something’s changed, and he doesn’t think he can continue in this reality after the past 2 weeks. Something’s changed, and he doesn’t know what to do. 

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[luvdsc]

mark lee sucks at technology.

tap the heart if you have a big, fat, embarrassing crush on your best friend!

pairing :: lee mark x reader genre :: fluff / best friend + social influencer au word count :: 5,883 words warnings :: none playlist :: dumb stuff (lany) ⋆ feeling (coin) ⋆ so far so good (gabrielle aplin) ⋆ electric love (børns) ⋆ love by mistake (bad suns) author’s note :: i was debating if i should post it on his bday instead, but i decided to drop it earlier, so uh, happy (approx. one week early) bday to mister absolutely fully capable (except when it comes to tech stuff) !!!! thank you for blessing us with your god tier raps ♡ ↳ part of the not clickbait series.

In your required upper division business course aptly titled “Essential Marketing Strategies,” you had learned about a concept called personal brands. A personal brand is explained as the first impression a person wishes to perceive based on their own experiences, qualifications, and achievements. Your professor had told you and your classmates to pick three words to define your own brand. For instance, you chose to label yourself as charismatic, fun, and creative.

Your best friend’s brand would be awkward, endearing, and technologically challenged. 

Okay, so that is definitely more than three words, but who’s counting? You might as well tack on “Y/N’s big fat crush” at this rate because everyone and their mother knows that you carry a torch—or more accurately, a blazing wildfire that can easily be spotted from Pluto—for your best friend.

Well, to be more precise, you should probably say everyone, except Mark, knows. And that’s not for lack of trying either. You completely dropped the art of delicate subtlety months ago already. Maybe you should add “hopelessly oblivious” instead.

The rolling end credits to the sixth Harry Potter film are playing on the screen in front of you, signaling the nearing end of your magical movie marathon. You’re seated on the worn down couch in Mark and Donghyuck’s shared apartment, watching the former make his drink with the fancy, gently used Keurig newly settled on the scratched countertop. Johnny dropped it off a few days ago because he had splurged on a better coffee machine (“It even makes Instagram worthy whipped frappuccinos!”) and didn’t want his old, but still perfectly functioning caffeine provider going to waste.

“What’s wrong with this thing?” Mark slaps the side of the machine, and it starts to emit a low whirring noise. “Oh, that’s good, right? That sound is good, you think?”

His question is immediately answered by the sad squirt of hot water speckled with coffee grinds falling into his mug for a few seconds before the machine shuts off.

“What the hell?” he mutters angrily, carding his hand through his hair in frustration, and you finally decide to take pity on your best friend. Getting up from the comfy spot you know you sadly won’t be able to recreate perfectly again later, you stride over to where your best friend stands and flip open the top of the Keurig.

“Hyuck didn’t take out his used coffee pod,” you say, pulling out the incriminating evidence of your best friend’s roommate and disposing it in the trash can next to the refrigerator. “Where’s the espresso one you’re gonna use? Why didn’t you put that in?”

His jaw slackens, and he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, avoiding your gaze and mumbling, “I thought I’d just open it later and pour it into my hot water.”

“Mark,” you start, placing your hands on his shoulders firmly and staring into his eyes with a serious look on your face. “Please know that I’m saying this in the most loving way possible, but you are an absolute idiot.”

You release your grip on his shoulders and grab the espresso pod dangling from his fingertips before slotting it into the Keurig. You remove the mug he placed underneath the spout and wash out the accidental coffee water before placing it back in its original position and pressing the start button on the machine. With a sigh, you lean against the side of the counter, glancing at your friend who looks like a child being scolded for stealing from the cookie jar.

“If you pour the pod into your mug, are you just going to chug all the loose coffee grinds, too?”

“... I didn’t think that far ahead.” His lips start to unintentionally form a tiny pout, and your eyes (and your heart, too) soften.

You’re very relieved that Donghyuck is off filming with your friend because he definitely would be making fun of your heart eyes that frequently make an appearance around a certain Mark Lee. Which you always deny. Because you certainly do not have a gigantic crush on your technologically inept best friend.

You glance over at him again and have to physically fight yourself to resist the urge to kiss his cute pout away. Okay, so maybe you harbor a very respectable, medium sized crush. But it's no big deal. It’s completely under control. Unless you’re counting the fact that your best friend is still unaware, and you’re running out of ideas to try and see if he likes you back before you actually shoot your shot. Then it’s very much not under control because you’re losing sleep over it and you don’t know what to do to be any more obvious without stating the, well, obvious.

“Well, now you know. If you forget, you can FaceTime me and I’ll give you instructions on how it works.” You pat his shoulder reassuringly before pausing. “Wait, you do know how to FaceTime, right?”

“Yes!” he exclaims, sulking even more before confessing in a quieter, defeated tone, “Hyuck showed me last month.”

Mark grabs his finished drink and follows behind you, settling back onto the couch next to you. The streaming service already has Deathly Hallows Part 1 in the queue and ready to go, and your best friend is ready to click play until he notices your attention being focused on the smaller screen in your hands. He wonders if you’re about to post another one of your popular cooking videos on that app that shares a name with the most iconic song of the 2000s (hint: the name of the song’s singer is made up of four letters and a dollar sign).

“Are you uploading one of your videos?” he implores before taking a sip of his drink with a satisfied smile. Somehow, it always tastes better when you make it, and he can’t figure out why for the life of him. When he went to Johnny’s place, his older friend uses the exact same pod and water ratio for his espresso, and yet, it’s never as good as yours.

“Nah, I’m ordering my grocery delivery before I forget. Do you want anything?” You select the option to load your usual grocery items into your cart before debating on whether or not you should splurge on buying several packages of those seasonal Pillsbury sugar cookies that only come in stock during certain holidays. It seems like such an insult to the entire premise of your Tiktok account based on baking and cooking, but you’re an absolute sucker for those soft pastries.

“Yeah, can you get me a Shin Ramyun ten pack? Hyuck ate the last one two days ago and didn’t tell me.”

“You sure you don’t want ten boxes again?” You decide to get those Pillsbury sugary delights, happily adding three boxes to your cart. Everybody has a weakness, and yours just so happens to be a premade one way ticket to diabetes. You’re here for a good, delicious time, not a long time.

“No! That was an accident!” He objects, flailing his hands around, before falling back against the couch cushions in defeat. “But Hyuck does all the online grocery shopping now.”

“Thank god. You guys finally have quality toilet paper again.”

The past month of bathroom occurrences was plagued with scratchy tissue that felt more like goddamn sandpaper from the horrible depths of hell. To be honest, you probably would have rather used actual sandpaper, given the choice. You even made sure not to drink too much water any time you came over, but today, you decided to splurge on a venti passion fruit iced tea with sweetener from that very popular franchise sporting a mermaid logo and fiscally cosmic name. To your pleasant surprise, your trip to the toilet this time was wonderfully padded with Charmin Ultra Soft, not that absolutely awful off brand one with the gross texture of a dried pinecone from inferno.

“Hey, that toilet paper was a good steal! It was a three for one deal,” Mark protests, and you narrow your eyes at him.

“Wow, I wonder why it was priced so low.” You deadpan, and Mark blanches, recalling all those restroom incidents that were rather rough. Literally.

“Anyway, do you think my viewers wanna see me make chocolate crinkle cookies or mochi doughnuts?” You bring up the two recipes you managed to perfect and add your own spin to on your phone, eyes scanning the ingredient lists.

“Both. And tell me when you’re making them, so I can come over and eat them.” He gives you a wide grin, and you let out a snort at that. His smile only grows as he says happily, “I love your job.”

“You only love it because you can freeload off of me,” you jest, but nevertheless begin to start to add all the ingredients for both recipes to your shopping cart. You always film cooking videos on Tuesdays, edit on Wednesdays, keep Thursdays free for last minute touch ups and emergencies, and post one every week on Fridays with other various random videos uploaded whenever in between. With that in mind, you schedule your upcoming grocery delivery for Monday.

“Hey, you need me. I’m the best taste tester.” He puffs up his chest proudly before hastily tacking on a more genuine reason. “And because I’d starve without you. I can’t live off of instant ramen and frozen chicken nuggets forever. Gordon Ramsay already confirmed my shitty cooking skills. I need you to survive.”

“Oh my god, when I uploaded those pics of your scrambled eggs on Twitter, I lost like a hundred followers in less than a minute.” You confirm the delivery and place your phone on the coffee table, picking up the opened bag of Cheeto puffs before settling back in your seat. “My cooking credibility was completely shot. I had to explain to my fans that I didn’t make those.”

“Yeah, but now everyone calls me Eggy Boi online!” he whines, and you laugh. You have to admit, it’s quite a funny play on the whole “edgy boi” terminology. You wonder if Mark will find it amusing if he discovers his roommate is the culprit behind his new online persona (He probably won’t, and you reckon Donghyuck enjoys living in a safe space where he doesn’t have to sleep with one eye open, so you stay quiet about it. You’ll use it as leverage some other time).

“Okay, Eggy Boi, come by on Tuesday because I’ll be baking in the afternoon,” you say casually, grabbing the remote control from your best friend and pressing play. 

You very narrowly avoid a green gummy bear to the face. It lands somewhere behind the couch, lost forever to the dust bunnies and other snacks that missed its target. You know for a fact that it’ll stay there until the boys decide to move to a new apartment. Mark grumbles at the miss, biting off the head of a red cherry flavored gummy bear perhaps a little harder than necessary.

“I hate you. But I’m still coming over next week because I want a doughnut.”

“No cookie?”

“... and a cookie. Maybe two.”

Wednesday comes faster than you expected, and you’re currently holed up in your apartment’s second bedroom—which you had transformed into a snazzy office space—completing the edits to your second video on mochi doughnuts. You already finished polishing the one about the cookies earlier, thank goodness. If you had to stare at your computer screen for another three hours, you would rather eat those pastries Mark tried to make two months ago, but had mistaken salt for sugar. Adding a cup of salt to any baked good is an extremely effective way to make anyone who tasted your best friend’s brownies experience a trip to the beach. Because they essentially just swallowed a mouthful of sand and ocean water. Because it’s salty as heck. Just like Mark was when you told him.

Speaking of your best friend, he’s currently puttering around in your kitchen doing god knows what. He knows better than to try another recipe and possibly blow up your number one moneymaker—your prized oven—in the process. Your heart nearly drops when your ears pick up the faint chopping sounds of a knife against your wooden cutting board. Is he going to try to temper chocolate again? He nearly burned through your entire stock of dark, milk, and white chocolate last time.

After much contemplation and deciding that you deserve a good procrastination break and a fully intact kitchen, you’re about to go out and see what he’s up to when Mark timidly appears in your doorway, clutching onto a white bowl of watermelon cubes with a fork tucked neatly in it. He shuffles in, dropping the snack on your desk before turning to walk out without a word, not wanting to disturb your work mode. 

Your heart warms up at the sight, and you speak up, a small smile slipping into your face. “What’s this for?”

“Knowing you, you probably haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.” He pauses in the doorway and adds on sheepishly, “And I can't cook anything, so this is what you get.”

Your heart swells tenfold, and your smile widens even more as you spear a piece of fruit with the fork and quickly pop it into your mouth. “Thanks, Marky.”

His cheeks flush with a pretty shade of carmine, and he fails to suppress the little giddy smile that appears on his face at your nickname for him. He walks out of your office, reddened cheeks still rising up higher than ever. “Y-Yeah, of course. No problem.”

By the time you finish adding the final few touches to your edited video, the bowl of watermelon has been picked clean. You save your video and transfer both of your completed projects to your phone, making a mental note to schedule their uploads and add them to your account’s posting queue later. Shoving your phone in the pocket of your sweats after ensuring the successful transfer of your videos, you pick up the empty dish and walk out towards the kitchen, the silver fork clinking against the side of the bowl with every step.

As you wash the dish and utensil, Mark wanders over from his spot on the couch, leaning forward and casually placing his chin on your shoulder. Almost instantaneously, you feel the heat rising to your cheeks as you briefly fantasize about your best friend wrapping his arms around your waist and how domestic and sweet the two of you would look, like one of those cheesy couples the two of you always made fun of.

“What’s up?” you ask, making a conscious effort to hold your voice steady and not waver over the fact that Mark is basically draped over you. After you place the dish on the drying rack, you turn around to face your best friend, sorely miscalculating the distance as mere inches separate your face from his now.

“I—” Puberty decides to make an ugly appearance in the form of an ill timed voice crack, and he internally curses as he takes a step back, willing the incoming blush to go away. Letting out a small cough, he tries again, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“I, um, Jisung sent me some kind of dance video. He said it’s a challenge? I kinda don’t know what to do with it? Like do I make a new dance, record myself, and send it back? Actually, isn't it easier to just do a dance battle face to face?”

“Can I see the video?” You already have a good idea on what the video will be, but you want to confirm it. Mark fumbles with his phone, pulling up the video in his text messages. He angles the phone towards you for you to see, and you grab his hand, bringing the device a little closer to you for a better look and clicking play.

“Oh, it’s a Tiktok challenge! He’s doing the Say So dance!” you exclaim, recognizing the song almost immediately as your eyes follow the fluid dance moves, completely enthralled. “So a challenge isn’t going up against someone, like a battle. It’s just some kind of trend or concept that you try to copy yourself. You’re supposed to learn the same dance and record yourself for this one. I can show you some other challenges and help you practice and record this one tomorrow if you wanna drop by after work!”

“O-Oh, okay, sounds good.” Mark stumbles over his words, attempting to focus on what you’re saying and the dance Jisung is doing, but all he can think about is the way your body is pressed against his side, hand comfortably wrapped around his. He freezes up as the tips of his ears grow redder and redder with every passing second, and his face sports a similar color. He silently prays for the telltale crimson to go away by the time the dance is over.

When the video ends, you once again realize the close proximity between you and your best friend. Your face burns at this revelation, and you awkwardly take a step back. Clearing your throat, you hastily release Mark’s hand (He inaudibly lets out the breath he’s been holding in this entire time, yet he also already misses the way your hand felt grasping his).

“Uh, anyway, I’m gonna make a latte. Do you want a drink, too?” You walk towards the other side of your kitchen with Mark trailing behind you. You take out a floral, peachy colored mug from your cupboards before pausing and looking at your best friend. “Wait, do you remember how to use a Keurig?”

“Yes!” He says, slightly exasperated as he picks out his own cup from your cabinet. He always uses the same one—a cerulean blue mug with squiggles all over it—and all of your friends and guests know not to use it because it’s unofficially officially Mark’s mug (And perhaps, you did indeed buy it from that overpriced kitschy tableware shop down the street two years ago with your best friend in mind).

“Really?” You select the latte option and press start after you had already positioned the mug beneath the spout and inserted a green tea matcha pod. He finally relents, shoulders sagging and a defeated expression on his face.

“... No.”

You chuckle, taking the mug from him and carefully putting it on the counter. You grab the espresso pod you know he likes from the drawer below and place it next to the cup. “It’s okay, I’ll teach you again.”

Mark tries. He really does. He tries very hard to concentrate on memorizing the simple process, but he keeps getting distracted. His eyes are focused on the correct button to push before they start to trail up to your fingertips. And then, they go from your hand to your arm, then up to the elegant curve of your neck, and finally, to the way your lashes frame your pretty eyes and how the tip of your tongue sticks out slightly as you concentrate until all he can focus on is you, you, you.

Suddenly, in what feels like a blink of an eye, you’re done and handing him his finished drink, complete with a perfectly whipped milk foam on top. You ask him if he knows how to make it now, and all he can do is lie and nod with a barely convincing smile.

After all, how can Mark tell his best friend that the reason he never remembers is because you’re the biggest distraction?

Mark should be here in five minutes, according to his most recent text message. And in the text message below that, your friend had sent you a challenge. More specifically, it’s the one she completed with Donghyuck a few weeks ago. When you said you wanted bold suggestions on how to figure out if your best friend feels the same way about you as you do about him, you didn’t want one this bold. 

Yet, the video link to your friend’s “today I kissed my best friend” challenge along with a winky face from her is staring mockingly at you. While you aren’t one to back down from a challenge, the mere thought of kissing your best friend causes vast colonies of butterflies to erupt in your stomach and your ears to feel as if they have caught on fire. You’re already tongue tied with your head in the clouds, and he isn’t even here yet. How utterly fantastic.

However, your mother definitely did not raise a quitter, so you spring into action when you hear the faint jingling of a key being inserted into your apartment’s door (You had given Mark a copy of your key almost immediately after you had moved in). You move the pretty indoor fern given to you by Jaemin as a housewarming gift last year closer to the edge of your towering bookcase, leaning your phone against it. You quickly position the device to capture a good view of the couch area in your living room and press the record button, arranging a few of the leaves to hide as much of your phone as you possibly can without obstructing the lens.

You run full speed to your bedroom, letting out a sigh of relief when you’re safely inside and hear Mark finally unlocking the door successfully and shuffling in. When he calls out to you, you try to even out your breathing, walking out of your room with your tripod and laptop in hand.

“Hey,” you greet him in the most casual tone you can muster. You place the tripod down and sit before opening your laptop and setting it on the coffee table. “I thought we could watch a few challenges for fun before trying the Say So one. Have you watched Jisung’s videos before?”

“Um, well, no, not really,” he confesses sheepishly, taking a seat next to you on the couch, leg pressing against yours. He squints at the YouTube video you pulled up earlier before he had arrived, reading the title before clicking the space button to start it. “Savage Tiktok dance compilation part two?”

“Wait, hold up.” You pause the video and then turn to face him with an incredulous expression on your face. “You’ve never watched any of Jisung’s dance Tiktoks?”

“No… I don’t even have an account.” His cheeks are dusted with the lightest shade of pink as he quietly admits, “I watch all of yours though.”

Your eyes widen at his confession, face heating up as you stammer out, “O-Oh, well, I can help you make an account later to upload your video.”

“Sounds good.” There’s a few seconds of silence as you mull over his previous words before he speaks up again awkwardly, “Should I, uh, play the video?”

“Oh! Yes, right! Of course, hit play,” you laugh nervously, twisting and playing with the hair tie around your wrist. He starts the video again, and the two of you watch the compilation, slowly relaxing once more as you tap your fingers to the rhythm of the song and he bobs his head to the beat.

“Do I have to change outfits like that?” he questions a few minutes later, eyes growing round as he sees the girl on the screen switch between four different outfits throughout the dance. His closet basically consists of the same five black shirts that he stole from Jaehyun. Even if he did do an outfit swap, there would literally be no difference at all.

“You don’t have to,” you assure him, clicking the enter key to play the next video that’s recommended: another Tiktok dance challenge compilation. “All you have to do is copy the dance.”

Mark nods, taking a glance at the laptop screen before his hand shoots out and he pauses the video, leaning forward to take a closer look at the little recommended video title banner at the top. “Wait! What’s that one?”

He clicks on it, the new video now loading up. The two of you wait patiently for it to begin, waiting for the spinning disc to stop. But it doesn’t. In fact, the whole chrome page goes blank and then, the little pixelated Google Chrome dinosaur pops up on your monitor, announcing that you have no internet connection. Furrowing your eyebrows, you try to reload the page before trying to re-establish your laptop connection to your wifi. Unfortunately, you cannot find your appropriately named “drop it like it’s hotspot” wifi anywhere to connect to.

And that’s when it hits you. Your landlord had sent out a notice to the entire apartment complex last week about the electricity being powered down today from 4 to 6 p.m. for a maintenance check, and a quick glance at the digital clock on your laptop shows that it’s a little past four.

You groan, closing your laptop and flopping back against the couch cushions dramatically. Mark cocks his head, slightly confused, before he pokes you in the arm. “What’s wrong?”

“I completely forgot about the scheduled electricity shutdown for the entire building. We won’t have any wifi for the next two hours.” You pout, your bottom lip jutting out in the slightest, and Mark doesn’t think it’s fair that you get to be this cute and have this much of an effect on his racing heart rate.

“That’s okay, we can… play some board games?” he suggests offhandedly, pushing away the embarrassing thought and nudging your leg with his, and you smile before a sudden idea occurs to you. 

“Or we can still do some Tiktok challenges! What was the challenge you clicked on?” You quickly sit upright, turning to face your best friend, eyes sparkling in excitement. “I memorized a few of the dance ones already! Was it Renegade? I can teach you that one. Jisung showed me how to do it.”

“Um,” he starts, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. His eyes dart everywhere, except you, as he lets out a feigned cough. “It wasn’t a dance one. It was about, uh, going up to your boyfriend… and um, hugging him... when he’s playing video games.”

“Oh.” You answer lamely, not knowing what to say. You unsuccessfully try to push away the image of you attempting that challenge with your best friend. “Those are really cute.”

“Really?” He says doubtfully, wrinkling his eyebrows and fiddling with the frayed sleeve of his sweater. “Wouldn’t the dude get mad?”

You don’t know what suddenly possessed you to do this (you’ll have to ask Renjun and his paranormal loving ass later), but you thank whatever demon did for that split second because you find yourself gently grabbing Mark’s arm and slipping your head underneath it. You swing one leg over his lap and settle down until you’re securely sitting in his lap, bent legs on either side of his hips, hands curled around the soft fabric of his sweater on both sides and resting on top of your thighs. His arms instinctively go around your waist, wrapping around you securely.

You tilt your head to the side slightly, studying the flustered boy in front of you with a teasing, albeit a little anxious, smile on your lips. “Are you feeling mad?”

Splotches of red litter his cheeks and decorate the tips of his ears, but your best friend furiously shakes his head at your question, bashfully ducking his head afterwards and muttering a soft “No.”

You swallow hard, heart pounding erratically in your chest as you timidly ask, “Would you be mad if I do this?”

Mark looks up at that, confusion written all over his face. His arms start to loosen around your figure, hands now resting on your waist. “If you do what?”

You take a deep breath. “This.”

You lean in and gently press your lips against his. Mark freezes in shock, and you quickly retreat soon after, gnawing at the inside of your cheek as you wait anxiously for his reaction. Your heart feels like it’s about to fall out of your chest and be buried six feet under.

A tiny noise of surprise belatedly escapes from him and crimson spreads across his cheeks like wildfire. His doe eyes are wide and sparkling, staring at you in bewilderment. Your best friend lets out a small laugh of disbelief before a full blown smile breaks out across his face. He gazes at you adoringly, breathing out softly, “I’m not mad at that.”

You perk up at that, draping your arms around his neck as you lean forward, beaming. “Really? You’re not?”

“Definitely not.”

This time, Mark meets you halfway, his lips slotting against yours perfectly and making you feel tingles up and down your spine. Your eyes are closed, and you are so hyper aware of the way his hands grip your hips, how he tugs you closer, and how his lips chase after yours. The number of butterflies from earlier multiply in your stomach, and you have ascended past cloud nine by now.

When the two of you break apart, your eyes flutter open, and you nudge your nose against his affectionately. The brightest grin blooms on his face once again, and he buries his face in the crook of your neck, muffling his little giggles and hiding the awfully vibrant cerise that rapidly blossoms on his face.

“Is this a good time to tell you congrats for completing your first challenge?” you say, resting your cheek against the crown of his head. You pull away when he lifts his head up, surprised.

“I wasn’t playing video games though,” he says slowly, processing your words and thinking back to the challenge that started this all.

“It was a different challenge. It’s the one that Hyuck did a few weeks ago,” you confess, and realization dawns on him, his face lighting up for a split second before a look of horror takes over.

“Oh, no. Is that why you had your phone recording on the bookshelf?” Mark asks, dread beginning to cloud his mind.

“Yes…” you say slowly, a little perplexed. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Oh my god, I ruined your video,” he moans, dropping his forehead onto your shoulder. “I saw your phone when I walked in and thought you were filming earlier and forgot to turn it off, so I turned it off for you.”

When the words finally register in your mind, you can’t stop the laughter from bubbling out of your throat, and he raises his head up to look at you with wide doe eyes at the pretty sound. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

You can’t stop laughing at the situation, and he looks at you worriedly, gnawing on his bottom lip slightly. You force yourself to calm down, a soft chuckle leaving your lips before you beam at him, leaning in and placing the softest kiss on the tip of his nose. “It’s okay, Mark. I’m not mad. That video wasn’t important anyway.”

“But still,” he whines before letting out a groan and slapping his hand against his forehead when the realization sinks in even further. “I’m such an idiot.”

“But you’re my idiot now, right?” you say teasingly, albeit a little shyly as well, as you reach over to tug his hand away from his face and lace your fingers with his.

“I mean, I kinda thought I was always your idiot,” Mark laughs softly and a little embarrassedly, eyes averted and cheeks turning pinker than ever. The largest grin spreads across your face at that, and you turn away slightly to hide it. You didn’t think your best friend can possibly be any more endearing, but he manages to prove you wrong every time.

“Well, then now you can add ‘Y/N’s boyfriend’ to your resume,” you say, and he fails to suppress the pleased smile appearing on his face at your remark, his rosy cheeks rising even taller than skyscrapers.

“So, uh, what sort of job description does that have?” He gazes at your intertwined hands in wonder, still completely giddy at the reality of you being his best friend and something more.

“Sharing hoodies, giving me attention, kissing, holding my hand, going on dates, you know, the basics,” you answer, squeezing his hand tenderly, and his doe eyes instantly light up. Mark feels a little bolder than before, and it shows when he grins widely and says:

“Can we do number three again?”

“Yes, we can, Eggy Boi.”

He wrinkles his nose at the name, disgruntled and unimpressed, as he crosses his arms over his chest, sulking. You let out a laugh before leaning in and crashing your lips against his. He immediately relents at that, enthusiastically responding and hugging you closer to him, and you can’t help but smile into the kiss as you feel his own smile appear as well.

At that moment, you decide that you want to change Mark’s personal brand. Because his should be “absolutely wonderful, positively amazing, a cute kisser, your boyfriend, and your bestest friend.” And yes, that is most definitely more than the allotted three words, but again, who’s really counting?

Certainly not you when you’re too preoccupied with kissing your best friend. Correction: best friend and new boyfriend.

One new notification: donutkillmyvibe uploaded a new video!

moominjun commented:

so you’re saying the reason why we didn’t get the highly anticipated best friend challenge video is because @ marklyrawr turned the camera off?

donutkillmyvibe replied: yes 😔 I’m sorry to disappoint everyone 🤧

nanaislove replied: omg no bby it’s ok 🥺🥺💞💓💓💝💗 you didn’t have to make an apology video for that 🥺💗💓💘💖

goofys.chuckle replied: yeah it’s mark’s fault. he’s the disappointment here 🥴

morklyrawr replied: hahahahaha stfu hyuck

tytrack commented:

mark is going through puberty. I apologize

dobunny replied: @.@

goofys.chuckle commented:

are we getting whip(ped)lash pt 2 by eggy boi?

morklyrawr replied: YOU’RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THAT NAME?????

goofys.chuckle replied: uh gotta blast 🚀

showmethemonet replied: @ goofys.chuckle does this mean you’re staying over again?

goofys.chuckle replied: @ showmethemonet yes if you want your super cute, mega talented, very handsome boyfriend to still be alive 🥺

showmethemonet replied: @ goofys.chuckle oh my god I didn’t know I was dating bts jin???

moominjun replied: LMFAOOOOO

goofys.chuckle replied: heart 💔 been broke 📉 so many times ⏰ i don’t know 🤔 what to believe 💯 mama 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 said 🗣 it’s my fault 😢 it’s my fault 🤦🏻‍♂️i wear my heart ❤️ on my sleeve 💪 i think it’s best 👍🏻 I put my heart ❤️ on ice 🧊

jenojam commented:

why am I not surprised……

itsmebetch replied: just mark thingz 🍉

suhprisemf commented:

mark your head looks flat af

jungjaeprince replied: 😂😂😂

10vely replied: @ jungjaeprince be quiet don’t cry

letswonwon commented:

whoop whoop

junguwu commented:

OMG CONGRATS ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP SWEETIE 😍😍

takoyaki_prince commented:

MARK!!!!! you look handsome !! 😘

jisungpwark commented:

rip to @ donutkillmyvibe ’s future videos that mark will ruin. press f in the chat to pay respects 🙏🏻

bigheadking replied: F ✊🏻😔

peachyangel replied: f 🥺🥺

yoitslucas replied: F 🤪🤪🤪 but glad you’re happy, man ❤️

donutkillmyvibe replied: F 💔

morklyrawr replied: @ donutkillmyvibe wtf babe????

officialgordonramsay commented:

didn’t i tell you to get back on tinder ?

apado_god commented:

nice 😎👍🏻

[strawberryjamsara]

Idea for a yttd no death game au that I may or may not write

-Joe is dying and Sara is frantically pushing at the button trying to stop him from succumbing. Everything seems bleak. Then she wakes up with the reveal it was a dream. Gin is shaking her awake yelling that Kai made chocolate chip pancakes and to go downstairs.

-Keiji is also down there, looking like he just woke up. Sara makes a snide comment about his eyebags, and he retorts that she doesn’t have much room to talk after she just refused to go to bed last night. Kai just serves breakfast with several one liners and Gin makes a comment about how he’s glad Kai is around because Mr Policeman and Muscle Gorilla can’t cook. Keiji takes offense to this and offers to try and make a side dish and about ten seconds in cuts himself on the knife. He gets the shit roasted out of him. Qtaro comes down looking pretty good and proceeds to see all the food is gone and gets roasted. All is well and good but something is bothering Sara.

-She meets up on the school path with Joe, Ranmaru and Anzu and they all begin teasing Ranmaru and pointing out his crush on Sara. At one point Anzu and Joe walk ahead and Ranmaru asks Sara if he can talk to her in private some time soon. Sara agrees then goes up to Joe and Anzu to loudly tell them that Ranmaru is gonna confess. Ranmaru protests loudly.

-She has a good day at school. Professor Mishima has always been her favorite teacher. However he says the old assignment Sara was working on got lost so she’ll have to start again. Sara agrees and accepts his apology, as well as his offer for an extension, and begins trying to recreate her old painting but comes to the realization she doesn’t remember what her last painting was.

-To amend this, she tries calling up Nao after school, since she remembers doing a lot of the piece with her. But strangely, Nao doesn’t seem to remember either. Nao offers to come up with a new painting if Sara comes over though, and Sara agrees. But before that her meeting with Ranmaru.

-She meets Ranmaru behind the school where he asks if she had a weird dream last night. She’s surprised and is about to say yes, but a sinking feeling arrives in her stomach at the idea of acknowledging it. She tells him no. So he says okay and tells her she can leave.

-She comes to Nao’s house and finds the usual scene. Reko is keeping to herself, Alice is lounging around before loudly announcing her presence when she comes in, and Nao is excited to see her! When coming up with a theme they toss ideas back and forth before Sara just suggests… a button pressing. She doesn’t know why. She just wants to. Nao doesn’t see a problem. Sara goes to give Reko a wave out before she leaves but she seems to be in a crabby mood. Alice explains it’s because of Samurai Yaibas concert getting cancelled due to an unexpected meltdown whatever that means. Sara offers to go shopping downtown with them on the promised day to make up for it. They agree and Sara is on her way.

-Sara is trying to go to sleep at night but the lights down the hall are still on so she storms to Keiji’s room to tell him to go the fuck to sleep it’s 1 in the morning. Good night Keiji.

-The next day, her and Joe are being sent together to babysit Kanna and Hinako after school. During school, Anzu asks Sara about her confession from Ranmaru and Sara just informs her of the conversation from yesterday. Anzu gasps and makes cries of Ranmaru playing with Sara’s heart, and Ranmaru tells her to calm down and more shenanigans ensue as they make a bigger and bigger scene.

-Joe is sent to pick up Hinako while Sara is out in charge of going to the Tsukimi’s and waiting on Kanna. Shin is pretty much already halfway out the door trying to get to work when she gets there, and she makes a few jokes at his expense but then feels a need to back off at how hard he recoils- usually he claps back twice as hard. Maybe she caught him on a bad day- and Joe comes in with Hinako who seems to have a new habit of writing everything that happens down. They watch She ra and play pretend well into the night and Shin comes back, thanks Sara and Joe profusely, and they even play a quick game of Mario Kart together, Sara taking note of how squeamish Shin is.

-Sara wakes up to see the lights are on again. She stomps to Keiji’s room again but this time she sees him hurriedly putting away a theory board when she comes in. She doesn’t know and she’s too tired to care. Goodnight Keiji.

-Ranmaru is absent from school the next day. Anzu and Joe are complaining loudly, but Sara for some reason feels a deep pit of dread in her stomach. She excuses herself trying to call him but gets no response. So she pulls Joe aside and tells him she had a dream he died and the last one on one conversation she had with Ranmaru was him asking her if she had a weird dream. Joe agrees that’s kinda weird and they decide to go around looking for answers.

-But first Reko Alice and Sara hangout! They go shopping downtown, and eventually stop at Mai’s bakery to sit down and eat. Throughout the trip Sara notices Reko being uncharacteristically mean to people they run into. Sara questions this before Alice replies that she’s always been like this and Sara must be remembering wrong. Sara can’t help but feel like she’s had this conversation before. On the bright side, Samurai Yaiba got rescheduled and Sara is invited. She gets 4 tickets, one for her, one for Anzu, one for Joe, and one for Ranmaru. She goes back home and tries to speculate on the personality shifts between Reko and Shin.

-It’s Sunday and time for Sara and Joe’s investigation! They meet up at her house, where they play with Gin and chat with Qtaro and Kai, then go off looking for leads, starting with Ranmaru’s apartment which is completely vacant. They track a few leads that go nowhere the final being that they know he would sometimes try to go and start shit with Kurumada so they go ask him and see him talking with Shin and Kanna, so they ask him and Shin for information. They don’t really have anything, and Shin actually says he’s looking for Hinako since she got a little far from him in a crowd. They agree and track her down writing notes again, and explain the situation, but Sara picks up one of the notes. “‘The case for Ranmaru Kageyama’? ‘A non-termination request’? What is thi-“ then she feels a shock at her back and falls over. “Sorry Sara senpai. I’m doing what I can.”

-Sara wakes up back in her room the next day. Was that a dream? She eats breakfast again tuning everything out, remembering how the scene went last week and then she remembers what bothered her so much about last weeks breakfast.

-Keiji didn’t bleed when he cut himself.

-Ranmaru is back in class the next day. Sara runs up to him trying to get answers out of him only to realize he hardly knows her and thinks she’s just a random classmate he’s never talked too. She yells to Joe and Anzu to snap him out of it but they seem to share a similar sentiment. She’s totally lost.

-She goes up to Mishima and asks what her previous art piece she was working on was. He says he doesn’t remember. That’s between her Nao and her own teacher not remembering. What is going on? How could they just forget? Did someone just erase it? Mishima asks if she’d like to see the nurse and she agrees.

-Until she sees the nurse. It’s her. She looks meek and quiet but the second Sara sees her her stomach drops to her shoes. She has to get out of there.

-She runs home- Keiji- Keiji had that theory board, he was saying something about her refusing to go to bed for some reason, and he went cooking to show her he didn’t bleed- he must know something-

-She finds the house empty. She calls for Kai and Gin and Qtaro and Keiji but nobody comes. The theory board- she runs to Keiji’s room and finds it- dolls- AIs- wait what? Everyone here was dolls and AIs? Was she…? She takes a pin from the board and pricks herself but she bleeds… so was everyone else… was this a box meant for her? Why?

-Then suddenly it slams into her brain like a freight train. She remembers what the previous version of the painting was.

-A sea of death. A pool of crimson with her standing above it, like she was somehow walking on top of it.

-“Ah… that’s another attempt miserably failed.”

-She turns around. She sees him. She doesn’t know him and yet she despises this person like mad. “Midori!”

-“You winning the game wasn’t supposed to be so much of a pain. Putting you in this glorified simulation for therapy is so much more trouble than it’s worth, but you were so hysterical otherwise we didn’t have a choice! And Hinako insisting we keep in people who keep cracking the code… we might have to do something about her too… but that’s nothing for you to worry about! Now go to sleep Ms Sara! When you wake up, everything will be fine again.”

[comfortwriting]

I Prefer You - F.W

Fred Weasley x Fem reader 

Masterlist , Request Rules , Writing Prompts

About: The reader is best friends with the Weasley twins, whilst studying with them, Cedric Diggory shows up and confesses his love for her. Little does the reader know, Fred is also in love with her. She finds herself having to deal with Fred and Cedric competing for her love and in the end she has to choose one.

Warnings: love triangle, major fluff! 

“I wish he’d stop staring at you” Fred huffed, staring at the popular Hufflepuff student who couldn’t take his eyes off you.

George looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Cedric, turning back around and tapping the book you were reading. 

“He’s been at it since you bloody walked in.” George spoke up, trying his best to not notify the whole library. 

You smirked and stopped focusing on your DADA homework, looking up you caught Cedric’s glance, his pearly white teeth twinkling as he smiled, his grey eyes radiating love towards you. You smiled back and waved at him, looking back down at your work and chuckling.

Fred didn’t like the way you looked at Cedric, in fact he hated it, he hated that Cedric had to be staring at you and not his handful of fangirls that constantly flocked around him everywhere he went. 

“Oh do give over” Fred huffed again, looking at you “you can’t be seriously entertaining that air head.” 

You looked up from your work again and looked at Fred, his facial expression hardened and you could tell that he was in no mood to joke around, you opened your mouth to ask what his problem was but Cedric had already walked over to you, practicing his lines. 

“Y/N, may I have a word?” Cedric asked politely, his soft voice almost putting you in a trance. 

“Whatever you’ve got to say just spit it out, Ced.” Fred interrupted, fidgeting in his chair.

George smirked “Yeah, Ced. What's the big deal?”

Cedric pursed his lips trying not to laugh, he knew the twins were doing this on purpose but he wouldn't allow them to get in the way of what he wanted, even if they had more influence over you than he did.

Cedric looked at Fred and George and nodded “Alright then” he cleared his throat and looked back at you “Y/N, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend on a date.” 

The four of you went silent for a moment, Fred’s heart rate elevated and he felt like jumping out of his chair and battering Cedric for making a move on his girl - but then Fred realised that he had never told you how he felt, he always assumed the two of you would have a moment but it never happened and it certainly wouldn't now thanks to Cedric. 

George stared at his brother, preparing himself to hold him back if he tried to go for Cedric, and you - you were sat in your chair feeling flattered that someone had asked such a thing, that someone saw something in you for the first time. After all, you were hoping Fred would gain feelings for you like you did for him, but in your mind, Fred wasn’t interested in being anything more than best friends. 

You blushed and nodded “I would love to” you smiled back at Cedric, cracking Fred’s heart.

Cedric chuckled and licked his lips, nodding his head, looking incredibly proud with himself “I’ll see you Saturday” he replied, walking away. 

“And in class!” you reminded him, shaking your head and closing your book. 

Five days, you had five days until your big date with Cedric and funnily enough, Fred was more nervous than you were. 

“Are you actually going with him?” Fred asked, stabbing his slice of chicken breast with his fork. 

You could tell Fred was irritated, annoyed, but you couldn’t understand why. You thought after all the other people you had brought up he would finally approve of the student who went ahead and made a move on you. 

You looked at Fred and swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice, you placed your Goblet back down on the table. “I said yes didn’t I? Why are you so bothered about it, Fred?” 

George nudged Fred and whispered in his ear “just tell her, Freddie.”

You looked at Fred and started to slice your own chicken breast into strips “tell me what?” you shoved a strip into your mouth and started to chew.

Fred sighed and gave in, looking at George before focusing on you. “I fancy you alright, I’ve been after you since third year and as soon as that plonker shows up you’re all giggly.”

You inhaled a few dry strings of skin from the chicken breast, causing you to choke, you grabbed your goblet and downed some more juice, washing down the bits that got stuck in your throat. 

“why didn’t you tell me sooner?” you hissed at Fred “I fancy you too!” 

You didn’t mean to let that last part slip but it was already too late. 

Fred’s face turned into a massive grin, he put down his knife and fork “do you really?” 

You nodded your head and continued to eat your breakfast. 

“Brilliant, cancel your date with Cedric and we’ll go instead.” Fred looked over at the Hufflepuff table and laughed at Cedric gently buttering his toast.

You shook your head and grinned back at Fred, your plate almost empty. “No” you replied “if you want me you’ve got to prove it.” 

From Monday onwards Fred and Cedric went head to head with one another, constantly trying to one up each other and increasing how much love they were showering over you. Cedric didn’t give up all because Fred entered the picture and Fred didn’t give up as Saturday got closer.

Four Days

Walking over to you bed your jaw dropped, bouquet's of flowers littered your quilt covers and rested against your pillows, you were surrounded by sunflowers and  yellow roses, all of which were from Cedric - the yellow notes representing his house. 

As much as you loved the sentiment, flowers weren't really your thing - sure they were gorgeous and they brought you light when you looked at them but it didn’t make you double over in laughter like Fred did and everything he did for you. Instead of flowers and detailed love letters, Fred didn’t gift you anything except his biggest and most comfy jumper that his mother knitted, he also gave you his time and effort. 

You walked into the great hall wearing Fred’s jumper, his ego boosting and Cedric’s crumbling. 

“You look stunning in my clothes” Fred smirked, taking a bite out of his toast.

You blushed and sat next to him “I want more than just your jumper.”

Three Days

As much as Cedric wanted to, he didn’t have as much time as Fred - well he did - but he spent that time studying, going to extra classes and entertaining his fanbase. The only time you got with Cedric was in Herbology, he tried getting to know you better, asking you about your interests but he couldn’t make you laugh, he didn’t understand your humour. 

“I don’t understand” Cedric replied “is that supposed to be funny?”

You sighed and shook your head “it doesn’t matter, don’t sweat it Ced.”

Two Days

You and Fred bunked a few classes and went off to Hogsmeade, going crazy in Honey Dukes and even cuddling up together and sharing a Butterbeer to keep yourselves warm. The two of you stayed up all night, winding up Mr Filch and Mrs Norris, you even went into Snape’s personal stores and stole the ingredients to make a Poly Juice potion, transforming yourselves into Draco and Pansy to get them into more trouble. 

“On second thoughts, I don’t think you’re that pretty.” Fred grimaced at you.

You stared at him and walked over to him, pulling out one of his platinum blonde hairs “could say the same thing about you” you joked, both of you waiting for the potion to wear off.

One Day

“You looking forward to tomorrow then?” Fred smirked, seeing you groan in pain.

You shook your head “it’s going to be unbearable, he’s can’t make me laugh, he’s too soft, can’t take joke. I feel like he gets scared and takes things a bit too literally.”

Fred grinned and licked his lips “well I make you laugh all the time, wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve wet yourself because of me.” 

Rolling your eyes you looked over at the Hufflepuff table again, Cedric talking with his fanbase. 

“He’s got more than enough options, the majority of them girls are better suited for him than me.” 

You turned your focus back to your food and took a bite out of your sandwich.

“Aright then, if you’ve got it all figured out go and tell him.” Fred encouraged you, his ego shinning through, George just wanting the two of you to shut up and be together already. 

You knew Fred was testing you again and you didn’t want to back down, after Cedric’s offer, you and Fred were finally heading where you always wanted, you felt yourself itching for him, hungry for him, you wanted him - the more you wanted him, the less you wanted Cedric, the less the popular Hufflepuff lad stood out to you. 

“Okay then, watch me.” 

Standing up, you left your table and walked over to Cedric, his fangirls instantly looking appalled to be in your presence. You tapped him on the shoulder, Cedric turned around and smiled searching your face. 

“Y/N” his face fell when he noticed you were still wearing Fred’s jumper.

“Ced - Cedric, I’m sorry but I’ve changed my mind about tomorrow.”

The infatuated girls around him started to smile, suddenly enjoying you being around. Cedric looked upset but then again you couldn’t read into him like you could Fred, you realised that you barely knew Cedric at all - he was sending love letters and flowers to a girl he didn’t know at all.

“She’s taking her bloody time isn’t she?” George spoke up watching you.

“Shut up” Fred shushed him “wait for it”

You smiled slightly and looked at Cho for a moment who was sitting with her friends “you should ask Cho, I know she sees something in you.”

“She’s done it” Fred smirked “she’s actually done it.”

Saturday

“I still can’t believe you nearly ended up with that toss-pot.” Fred laughed, grabbing some black pepper imps. 

You grabbed some Chocolate Frogs “it’s a good job that I prefer you” holding his free hand the two of you shared a moment.

The overcrowded sweet shop suddenly felt empty, as if it were only you and Fred inside. Getting on your tiptoes and leaned in and Fred accepted, the two of you sharing the first kiss of many. 

Pulling away from the kiss, Fred grinned and licked his lips, bringing his hand up to your face and stroking your cheek with his thumb.

“I feel like such an idiot for not telling you sooner” Fred shook his head “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything either”

“I was sort of just waiting for it to happen, I suppose we’ve got Cedric to thank for that.”

Taglist: @reeophidian , @amourtentiaa

[fanmoose12]

modern AU levihan as kids: Kenny babysits Levi, and doesn't let him play with any kids after school bc he thinks all kids are brats, but he approves of Hange so he lets her come over to play with Levi. And Hange always brings dandelions that she picks from the ground for Kenny, Levi, and for Levi to give Kuchel whenever she comes home late from work

"I'm going out," Levi announced, coming downstairs already dressed and with his backpack on.

From his place on a sofa, Kenny put down his beer and raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask where are you going?"

"You may not," Levi retorted, his face dark. Kenny had to admit - for a little boy, his nephew had an impressively fierce glare. Even some adults found the kid to be unnerving. Not Kenny, though.

"Oi, brat, you better tell me where you're going. Or," he smirked. "I'm going to call your mother."

At that, Levi pouted and stomped his feet. He continued to glare at Kenny for a little longer, before surrendering with an irritated 'tsk'.

"I'm going out with Hange," he said with a sulky pout. Of course, it was Hange, Kenny had no doubt that Levi was meeting with the bespectacled kid from across the street. He asked him simply to see that awkward and constipated look on his nephew's face.

"Is your curiosity satisfied? May I go already?"

"You may not," seeing Levi's wide-eyed expression, Kenny felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Teasing the kid was so much fun. "Wait for a bit, until I get my shit. We'll go together."

"What? No!" Levi protested, clutching hands into fists. "I'm going with Hange! Not with you!"

"Your mother asked me to look after you," Kenny reminded, putting on his best ‘stern adult’ expression. "So I'm going to chaperone you and Hange. I'm sure she won't mind."

"I will mind," Levi grunted stubbornly.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Levi, stop with that tantrum. I'll drive you two to the park, get you some ice-cream, let you have some fun."

"While you keep watching us like a creep?"

"While I keep an eye on you two to make sure you won't get into trouble."

Crossing hands on his chest, Levi considered him. "You won't let me go without you, right?"

"Levi!" Kenny slapped him on a back with a loud chuckle. "And here I thought you aren't sharp!"

It earned him another glare from his dear nephew, but then Levi sighed, accepting his defeat.

"Hurry up, old man. Hange is probably waiting for me already."

"I'll be quick as lighting," Kenny winked and dashed to get his keys and wallet.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, Levi opened the front door. Hange was standing on their porch, her arm raised to the doorbell.

"Oh." She gingerly lowered her hand to the side. "Hi, Levi. I was just going to call you."

"Sorry, it took me so long. My uncle decided to go with us and I had to wait for him."

"Mr. Ackerman is going with us?" Hange's eyes widened. "Awesome!"

"See?" Kenny walked out, patting Hange's head with a smile. "I told you Hange wouldn't object."

"Of course, I wouldn't," she smiled. "You're so cool, Mr. Ackerman!"

"That I am," Kenny grinned, looking at Levi's disgruntled expression. "But please, Hange, we've talked about this. You can just call me uncle Kenny. Mr. Ackerman sounds like I'm an old man."

"You are an old man," Levi argued, scowling.

"No respect for his elders," Kenny shook his head, feigning disappointment. "C'mon, kids, let's get into the car."

Once Hange and Levi were seated at the back of his car and once Kenny made sure that they put on their seatbelts - Kuchel would have his head, if they didn't - there was only one thing left.

"So, Hange?" Kenny met her eyes in the rear mirror. "Where do you want to go?"

"Huh?" she bit her lip. "Why don't you ask Levi?"

"You know him,” Kenny said flippantly. “He'll go wherever you want. So. Have you decided?"

"Um," Hange glanced at Levi and leaned closer, whispering something in his ear. Levi gave her a small nod, and Hange smiled broadly, showing her still missing tooth. She turned to Kenny, giving him thumbs up. "We want to go to the park, uncle Kenny!"

"Your wish is my command," he winked, starting the car.

***

"Here you go," Kenny pushed two plates of ice-creams - mint chocolate chip for Hange and lemon for Levi - towards the kids.

Hange accepted hers with a loud and genuine 'thank you' while Levi just grunted something under his breath. Instantly, children dove into their desserts.

Sitting across from them, Kenny sipped on his coffee and watched them eat. It was quite fascinating - how different they were. Levi ate slowly and carefully, wiping his face with napkin whenever ice-cream got on his face. Meanwhile, Hange noshed enthusiastically and messily, her cheeks already stained. 

As soon as he saw the state she was in, Levi paused and put the spoon down. With a barely audible sigh, he took the napkin and gripped Hange's chin between his fingers, making her look at him. Then he proceeded to thoroughly wipe her dirty face, cleaning the remnants of the ice-cream from her cheeks and nose.

"You're such a clean freak," Hange muttered when Levi was finished.

"It's not my fault you're such a pig, four-eyes," he shot back, making Hange throw her head and laugh.

Kenny watched their interaction with amused expression, regretting that his sister wasn't too busy with work to witness this.

He had a feeling, however, that she saw a fair share of this back at home.

***

Kenny put the hat lower, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun. It was quite boring, just sitting there, but at least Levi had calmed down a bit. After they arrived at the park, Hange had dragged him out somewhere, claiming that she wanted Levi to see a pretty butterfly she found when she had visited the park with her parents.

Kenny wanted to follow, but one glare from his nephew, and he surrendered, taking refuge at one of the benches.

He let them go, because as much as he enjoyed giving Levi shit, Kenny knew that he was smart. Careful too. He was confident that Levi wouldn't get in any trouble. Besides, the kid deserved to have some fun with his best friend. It was the reason he brought them there in the first place.

He wished the kids would come back sooner, though. The heat and bright sun were making him quite drowsy.

Kenny looked around the park, and when he noticed that there was no sign of his nephew or his friend, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting them rest for a short moment.

***

"Uncle Kenny! Uncle Kenny! Look what I've made!"

"Oi, old man, wake up," Kenny felt a sharp poke into his side and groaned, waving his hand to get rid of the source of pain.

"Wake up." Levi repeated, poking him again. "Hange wants to show you something." That was followed by another pock.

"Stop it," Kenny hissed. "I woke up, woke up! Just stop pocking me!"

He opened his eyes and was greeted with the too familiar scene - his nephew, glaring at him with all the fierceness a six-year old boy could master. Once he took a good look at him, however, Kenny had to rub his eyes, because he could not believe it.

His gloomy and grumpy nephew was standing in front of him, holding a long wooden branch in his right hand. And on his head, he wore a flower crown, made of weeds and poppies. Kenny clasped a palm over his mouth, stifling his laughter. He cursed himself for not taking his phone with him. He should have taken a picture, Kuchel had to see this.

"Uncle Kenny!" Hange's loud voice attracted his attention. Kenny turned away from Levi, facing the other kid. She was wearing the same flower crown as Levi. In her hands she held another one - this one made of dandelions. Smiling from ear to ear, she handed it to Kenny.

"I made it for you!" she exclaimed, and something deep inside Kenny's chest warmed at the sight of her. "Would you like to wear it?"

"You better wear it." Levi threatened quietly, giving him another pock. "Four-eyes put a lot of effort into making it."

Kenny smiled, endeared by Levi's protectiveness.

"Of course, I'll wear it," he said. How could he say no these bright eyes? He took off his hat and lowered his head, letting Hange put a flower crown on top of it.

"Ah!" she clasped her hands. "You look so handsome, uncle Kenny! Just so you know," she leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper. "This flower crown is special."

"Oi!" Levi interfered, glaring at Hange. Despite his angry face, Kenny couldn't help but notice that Levi didn't pock her with his stick. Someone was clearly showing his favoritism. "You said that mine was special!"

"And yours is special!"

"A-ha," Levi shook his head. "There can't be two specials."

"Of course, there can be!" Hange flailed her arms around. "It's just different kinds of special! Your flower crown is a special best friend's crown, and your uncle has the coolest adult's crown!"

"He's not cool," Levi muttered, but he seemed to accept the explanation all the same.

"What's the stick for, kid?" Kenny asked, pointing at it with his chin.

"Levi was a knight!" Hange answered for him. "He was fighting a fierce dragon and to win this battle, he needed a magical weapon! It was forged by the forest gods!"

"A fight with a dragon?" Kenny whistled. "Were you s princess then, Hange?"

"Nope," she replied with a wide grin.

"She was a dragon," Levi muttered.

"Oh." Kenny should have anticipated something like that. "Did it mean that you lost, Levi?"

Instead of answering, Levi kicked him in the shin.

"We took a recess," Hange said, pushing the glasses up her nose. "The dragon was getting kinda tired."

"Right," Kenny looked up at the sky, the sun was already setting. "Let's go home then. Your mother is probably back from work by now."

"I have flowers for Mrs. Ackerman too!" Hange opened her backpack, showing a small bouquet of field flowers to Kenny. "You'll give them to her, right, uncle Kenny?"

"Why don't you give them yourself, Hange?" he offered. "You can join us for a dinner, I'm sure Kuchel won't mind."

"My mom's making pasta this evening," Levi added, looking a bit shy. "And if you want, we can watch cartoons after that. Have a sleepover."

"I would love that, Levi!" Hange pulled him into a hug. Levi made a face, but- didn't protest.

"Thanks for joining us today, uncle Kenny!" Hange told him after she let go of Levi. "It was the best day ever!"

"You're always welcome, my dear," Kenny's lips curled into a rare, sincere smile.

"Let's get back to the car," he said, standing up.

"The first one to they car chooses the cartoon!" Hange shouted and sprinted off. Levi rushed after her, but Kenny couldn't help but notice - his nephew was purposefully running slower than usual.

Soon Hange reached the car and started jump around in victory, while Levi made a show of looking defeated. 

Kenny chuckled, watching them. It was good to know that his nephew had a friend like that, the one who made him so happy. It made Kenny happy too.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Pocket Full Of Sunshine ~ Lee Felix [Request]

↬↬↬Word Count: 2.4k

↬↬↬Genre: Fluffy, friends to lovers trope

↬↬↬Pairing: Felix x Fem!Reader

↬↬↬A/n: I hope this is okay for you anon! I really enjoyed writing this as I feel like I don’t get to write much for stray kids but love doing it when I get to!!!

You'd been best friends with Chan ever since you were trainees together so nothing changed when you got signed to the same company but you did see one another less over the years. When he debuted with Stray Kids you'd tried to be there for him as much as you could but it was hard when your group was debuting around the same time and having comebacks at the same time as him.

"I'm telling you, your mum loves me more than she loves you." You said as you bit into a timtam and looked at him, he had his eyebrows raised as you helped yourself to the food his parents sent him all of the time.

"Relax Chan, I'm stealing one TimTam-"

"And some of the Cadbury caramello koala's," You rolled your eyes at him mocking him by saying it in a whiny tone to him,

"Your mum told you to share," You whispered biting into one of the koala's and faking a loud and over-exaggerated moan as if you were in some kind of porn movie resulting in a pillow being thrown at you from Chan as well as grabbing Jeongin's attention from his game.

"What was that?!" You began to feel your face heat up as the boys came out of their dorm rooms all to see what the noise was about,

"Y/n was eating one of MY chocolates and decided to be rude about it," Felix was the last one to come out and as soon as he did your whole mood seemed to shift, you sat up straight and stopped laughing. Chan even noticed you putting the food down and he could have sworn you started to straighten your hair out to look nice,

"You want something Felix, mum and dad sent snacks you might wanna grab some before Y/n eats them all." You threw the pillow back at Chan knocking him off the edge of the sofa as soon as it came into contact with him.

"I have to go, dance practice. I forgot." You got up hurriedly almost bumping into Felix as he came to sit down,

"Easy," He chuckled holding onto your elbows to steady you from falling over, you felt a jolt rush through your body the second he touched you and instantly Chan knew what was happening and why you were in such a rush to get out of the dorms.

"Come by tomorrow, I want lunch."

"Get your own lunch," You mouthed back at him but a chocolate koala was then thrown at the back of your head making you swear at him in Korean as you launched it back at him missing and hitting Seungmin in the shin.

"Aish! Sorry, Sungie!" You called out rushing out of their dorm and out into the hallway, as soon as the door shut you leant against the wall trying to calm your racing heart. It happened whenever you went near Felix and you hated it, all you wanted to do was talk to him but you couldn't even look at him without your heart beating like a bongo drum you held your hand over your chest as you took in some deep breaths.

"I'll go!" Felix yelled through the door you moved away from it trying to act as though you were walking down the stairs,

"Y/n!" You turned to see him standing there, gosh even dressed in grey sweatpants and a white shirt he still managed to look positively perfect and get your heart pumping.

"What's up, Felix?" You managed to say without turning into a stuttering mess in front of him, he smiled as you said his name. Coming from you it sounded like it had the power to melt butter, he loved the way it sounded coming from you even though you said it the same as everyone else,

"You forgot your phone," You thanked him reaching up to take it from his hands when your fingertips touched, jolts ran through you both once again and you made a small laugh.

"I gotta go, see you around." You rushed down the stairs praying that one of your members would answer their phone and come pick you up from the dorms.

"I bought your favourites, and then I bought some sushi because I couldn't decide if I was in the mood-" You stopped talking when you saw Chan was packing up the things in his studio,

"I have a last-minute meeting with JYP," He lied looking at you as he saw your face flash with a sign of disappointment,

"But Lix is coming so you can keep each other company while I'm gone," He gave you no option to say no as he rushed out of the room leaving you with all of the food in your hands, you sighed starting to unpack everything onto the table. Chan smirked to himself as he walked over to Jisung who was going through the plan with him again,

"So when they're in the room together I block the door with a chair, and then put the out of order sign on it?" He questioned his Hyung who was handing him the piece of paper and some tape.

"Yes, but only after they're in there together." He confirmed walking with him as they went to a different studio so Chan could continue working, he wasn't blind he could tell how much you and Felix seemed to like one another and decided you just needed a little push in the right direction.

"Is this evil?" Jeongin asked as he followed Jisung stealthfully towards the room that Felix was sitting in, they knew he was alone and hungry so they were just going to tell him Chan had food.

"No, it's not evil...It's speeding up fate because sometimes fate is too slow-" The door to the studio Felix had been sitting in opened and they all came face to face with one another,

"Chan's in the first studio, he's got food and he wants to talk to you." Felix frowned as Jeongin began to turn a bright red colour as he said it to him,

"Okay...Did it take two of you to come and tell me?" He tried to joke but the boys began laughing too hard at what he'd said so he began backing away from them and going to find Chan instead.

"Did you change your mind on...food...Hi," You trailed off turning around to come face to face with Felix, your heart began pounding and your mind was racing with all of the things that could go wrong right now.

"You brought food?" You nodded at him stepping out of the way of the coffee table, the food was still steaming since you'd just removed all of the lids from their containers, you told Felix what there was and then went over to the mini-fridge.

"I bought Sushi as well," He gasped sitting down on the floor and looked at you, he was waiting for you to sit down and join him so you swallowed the nervous lump that was forming in your throat and sat down beside him.

"Thank you," He whispered as you handed him some chopsticks, you began trying to eat in silence but the atmosphere was so awkward that you couldn't take it anymore,

"Chan told me you bake! What have you been trying out lately? I tried your first brownies and I have to say, they're almost as good as mine," You smirked at him, Felix laughed as you said this while raising your eyebrows at him,

"Almost as good as yours? We'll have to have a bake-off and see who wins."

"It'll be me obviously, Chan loves me more so he'll just pick my brownies." Felix laughed at the statement and shook his head,

"Don't be so sure he loves you more, he has his soft spots for us."

The conversations kept rolling so easily you began to wonder why it had taken you so long to try and strike up a conversation with him,

"One more," He begged looking at you as he picked up a grape from the punnet you'd brought along with you,

"If I eat one more grape my personal trainer might kill me!" You cried out still opening your mouth and letting him throw one into it, but this time you laughed as he threw it inside and you began to choke.

"Y/n?!" He panicked coming up behind you and starting to try the Heimlich manoeuvre on you as you started coughing and laughing between the coughs, finally spitting out the grape and falling onto the floor as you began to laugh so hard you couldn't breathe.

"You okay?!" He sounded panicked which made your heart feel warm you nodded at him, calming down a little as you turned to see the concerned look on his face that he had for you. He was terrified that you'd die on him in that room and he'd never get to tell you how he felt about you.

"You sure?" You coughed a little more before reaching for your water and nodding,

"Thank you for saving me," You giggled nudging him playfully and then handing him a grape,

"I think we'll leave throwing them from no on." You laughed and he nervously laughed along with you. You were now sitting right next to him, your bodies inches apart from one another,

"You have really pretty eyes, did you know that?" You whispered without thinking, he started smiling nervously as you mentioned it,

"Your freckles are cute too." You had no idea what was coming over you but you couldn't seem to make yourself shut up, the more he stared into your eyes the more you wanted to tell him what you really thought about him but he began to slowly lean in, his eyes fluttering shut. You did the same, closing your eyes and moving into him until your lips touched. Instantly it felt like fire was coursing through your veins as he wrapped his arms around you gently, pulling you close to him and shifting so that he could kiss you better. At first, the kiss seemed innocent and slow but as it continued it got heated and he began to sit back against the table so you could sit onto his lap.

The door handle began to move and you sprung apart instantly standing on opposite sides of the room from one another awkwardly as Chan made his way into the room. He smirked to himself thinking his plan had worked since neither of you had called his phone for help meaning you must not have known the door was locked from the outside but his smirk faded when he saw you awkwardly standing there.

"I have to go." Felix rushed out with bright red ears and cheeks and he wasn't about to let you get out of there so easily,

"Stop. Sit. Explain." He ordered as he began clearing off the coffee table that was covered in empty containers, you sat down on the sofa that was in the room and began explaining what had happened,

"I really, really like him Chan but-"

"But what?" He questioned handing you a cup of hot chocolate from the machine and waiting for an answer, you shook your head at him.

"I'm introverted and look at Lix...He's so out there and willing to do everything to be extroverted...He's a little ball of sunshine and I think he needs someone like that for him," Chan squeezed your knee as you let a couple of tears go at the thought that you weren't good enough for Felix.

"Y/n if there is one thing I know about you it's that you're not as introverted as you think you are...Once you open up and get close with someone you become like a whole new person, I mean look at what happened today with him..."

"But-"

"But what? What other excuses could you have to push this away?" He laughed as he saw you frowning trying to come up with something,

"See, you have nothing. You and Felix are perfect for one another...Please don't tell him I'm telling you this but he described you as a pocketful of sunshine, he never shuts up about you and I'm sick of it...So if you date him it wouldn't be doing him or you favour it would be doing me and the kids one." You shoved him playfully and then asked where Felix would be hiding.

"Lix? I brought you a hot chocolate..." You walked into the dance studio to see him asleep on one of the sofa's you smiled at the sight of him and walked over quietly.

"Cute," You whispered taking one of the jackets from behind him and laying it over his body you didn't want him to catch a cold but as you went to walk away he reached out for your wrist,

"Join me?" You froze up a little as he looked up at you with pleading eyes he was so sleepy and you knew for a fact that he had to hold onto someone to get some sleep,

"S-Sure." You stuttered out getting onto the sofa with him, he spooned you from behind nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck.

"Your heart is pounding." He whispered as he felt your pulse racing against his chin, you groaned turning over to you were face to chest with him instead,

"It's cute, look-" He took your hand and placed it over his heart on his chest so that you could feel what you were doing to him as well.

"See...You make my heart race too," He whispered looking down at you as you glanced up at him,

"I meant what I said...You have pretty eyes,"

"You do too...They were the first thing I noticed about you when Chan-Hyung introduced us," You began to feel your body heat up as he complimented you and he chuckled,

"Are you going to get shy every time I compliment you? That's going to be a lot of fun teasing you," He chuckled cupping your chin in his hands and running his thumb along your bottom lip, your breath hitched and he chuckled again at the thought of you being worried he would kiss you again.

"I won't kiss you again yet...I'll wait-" He was cut off when you leant up to kiss him instead, his arms wrapped around your body drawing you closer as you kissed softly on the sofa together. It was going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Tagline: @peachyhan​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​

[y0itsbri]

hii bri, how are you? 🥰

how do you think ian and mickey spent their weekend? ☀️

hello twisha my beloved 💞 i am well thank you ☺️

(thank you for the ask, this got kinda long oops)

ian started out saturday morning with a quick jog around the neighborhood. he easily could have spent the weekend morning sleeping in late and snuggling with mick, but they had plans for the day so ian wanted to start off the day with his normal routine.

he picked up smoothies on his way back from his run, a 'berry good' workout smoothie with added kale and protein for himself and a peanut butter banana chocolate smoothie for mickey.

mickey was already awake when ian got back. well 'awake' was a strong word, given that he was wearing his blanket like a cape while waiting for the coffee to brew with half closed eyes. he perked up a little bit as the door locked close behind ian. ian set the smoothies on the counter and gave mickey a lingering hug and forehead smooch because he's too irresistibly cute in the mornings.

they have a chill morning sitting out on their balcony until debbie comes over to drop off franny around noon. over the past few months, franny had gotten really interested in her uncle ian's gardening and he promised to take her somewhere real cool this weekend.

debbie and ian chatted by the doors while franny enthusiastically showed uncle mickey a super cool rock she found yesterday and mickey told her about how he knows this 'dinosaur guy' who has some super cool rocks that they keep in a museum. franny asks if the dinosaur guy wants her rock for the museum and he tells her he'll ask him next time he sees him.

they pack some snacks in a backpack and head off to garfield park conservatory. they were a little out of their element but they got their tickets for all the exhibits. ian's expression matched franny's in its awestruck wonder as they took in the sights. mickey and ian took turns taking pictures of each other and the flowers in a very 'tourist mom' fashion. franny insisted taking a picture of them together and directed them exactly where to stand. mickey stuck his tongue out in the photo and got reprimanded by franny who insisted they smile, almost a mirror image of her mother's attitude. mickey smiled in the next photo, but ian leaned over to kiss mickeys cheek. franny threw her arms up in frustration and they finally complied. ian lifted franny on his shoulders for the rest of their time at the conservatory.

franny fell asleep eating goldfish crackers on the drive back to their apartment. mickey gently picked her up and carried her inside, setting her on their bed to nap while he and ian started making dinner: french fries, chicken strips, and apple slices. they cracked jokes with each other and one of ian's belly laughs woke up franny who ran into the kitchen, crashing into his legs and hugging him. he told fran to pick out a movie to watch while they ate dinner.

franny is well equipped with using disney plus, so she put on 'luca.' they all settle into the couch and eventually settle into each other once they had finished eating, franny making her way onto uncle mickey's lap with ian's arm around mick as well. one of mickey's fingers traced ian's wrist before linking along with his fingers. ian spent half the time watching the movie and half the time staring at his enchanted husband.

after the movie finished, fran turned around to look at them and asks uncle mickey if he had been crying. he denied it but ian and franny shared a knowing look. ian affectionately squeezes his shoulder while franny gets herself some oreos from the kitchen while they wait for debbie to come pick her up.

ian and mickey spend the rest of their night drinking some new beer ian had picked up at the liquor store and watching sitcoms to relax and relieve the big emotions that came from the kid's movie.

sunday morning was spent in mickey's favorite way, sleeping in late with his husband. the soft warmness of each other and the blankets covering them being pure bliss.

mickey popped some frozen waffles in the toaster for breakfast while ian turned on the tv to catch some of the morning news. it's kind of a gloomy day outside, but that's okay because it's their cleaning and grocery shopping day anyways. ian had followed in fiona's footsteps by making sundays chore days... whenever he felt like it at least.

mickey swept the floors and did laundry while ian wiped down the countertops and made sure the dishwasher was loaded. mickey bitched about one of their neighbors from down the hall, but then revealed that said neighbor had invited them to their barbeque down by the pool next weekend. mick had said he would have to make sure ian didn't have any plans. even though he was content with the friends he had, ian was proud that mickey had become more amenable to the idea of hanging out with new people sometimes.

now that they regularly shop at a nicer grocery store, ian had been determined that they eat better. but somehow, every time they go shopping, they end up with half a cart of frozen meals and snack foods. there's not much complaining because that shit is good. it is what it is.

the other week, ian had picked up a guitar on sale from the music shop next to his yoga studio. both ian and mickey had been fucking around with it in their free time. this evening, mickey tried teaching ian what he knows about guitars, but it went a lot like how it went in friends when phoebe tried to teach joey guitar.

eventually, mickey ended up on the balcony for a smoke while he scrolled through instagram, seeing a new post of mandy in some fancy sunglasses and palm trees in the background. he double taps and comments some dumb shit knowing mandy is probably rolling her eyes at him from a thousand miles away.

ian was just getting off facetime with lip and freddie when mickey comes back inside. ian tells him about all the cute shit that freddie has been up to lately and lip's success at his new part time job where he mentors kids interested in robotics and coding. ian also mentions that carl is stopping by after his late shift so he can bring them takeout for dinner from their favorite asian restaurant on the south side.

they ate their stir fry, spring rolls, and crab rangoons with the house's specialty sauce as carl complained about his new partner and mickey muttered an 'acab' under his breath before ian kicked him in the shin.

after carl left, the boys headed to the bathroom for a rather spicy shower and then laid in bed watching tiktoks with ian's head resting on mickey's chest as they fell asleep. 🖤

[ragingbookdragon]

A Christmas Dinner To Warm Cold Hearts

A Connor Kenway x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 2.3K Warnings: None

Author’s Note: And we have reached the final one! 25 straight days of Christmas fics! I hope you have enjoyed it everyone! Thank you for following along! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! -Thorne

           New York in the middle of winter wasn’t necessarily her favorite place to be, but to set her plans in motion, sacrifices had to be made—even if it meant freezing off her fingers and toes. With a violent shiver, she tugged at the heavy winter coat, digging her hands underneath her arms in an effort to gain some warmth. Though it did little, she felt a bit of relief as she hurried to the street corner, watching as the group of men filed out.

           They seemed to still be in a discussion and to avoid their sights, she crept into a conversation between a group of people, eyes directed on the silver haired man. After a few minutes, they dispersed and she smiled as the man started his way down the other side of the street—she waited a moment then followed, hoping she could catch up to him.

           She trailed him for what seemed like hours until he turned down an alley. Doing the same, she was met with an empty backstreet, and when she came out at the end, he was nowhere in sight. Her head tipped both ways as she looked for him.

           “I swear I just saw him,” she whispered. “Where on earth did he go?”

           A frigid bite of metal against her throat answered her question, and as she sucked in a breath, she heard in her ear, “Make any sudden movements and I will slit your throat.”

           Recognizing the voice, she swallowed thickly, and knowing the stories of his ruthlessness from Connor, she understood that he would without a single hesitation, slit her throat.

           Her lips suddenly felt dry and she licked them, ignoring how they seemed to freeze after. “I’m not here to cause trouble, Mister Kenway.” She murmured, hoping a soft voice would ease his tension.

           His free hand dug into her waist. “Oh ho? And trailing me isn’t trouble on your part?”

           A chuckle passed her lips and when she tried to turn her neck a bit to see him, he pressed the blade harder to dissuade her.

           “I am looking for you, Haytham, but I’m not going to try anything.” Before he could say anything, she said, “My name is (Y/N). Your son and I are in a relationship,” she tipped her head to catch his eye and smiled, “I just want to talk.”

           Haytham’s grip slipped as his steel eyes went wide. He searched her gaze for a lie, and seeming to not find one, he retracted the hidden blade and let her go. (Y/N) felt along her neck for a wound but didn’t find one. She turned around and glanced at the man.

           “If you don’t mind, could we go somewhere where it isn’t snowing?” she asked and he simply turned on his heel, telling her to follow; she rolled her eyes at how commanding and pompous he looked from behind, but decided to not voice her concerns.

***

           About ten minutes they walked, and he held the door to a tavern, gesturing her inside. (Y/N) walked in and instantly sighed as the warm air wrapped her in a hug that resembled Connor’s.

           “Go sit in the corner,” Haytham instructed, and it took everything in her to not turn on him and tell him off for giving her orders.

           Silently, she conceded and a few moments after she took her seat, he came over and sat across from her, setting two wine glasses on the table. (Y/N) picked hers up by the stem and swirled it before meeting his eyes.

           “Surprising for a man who drinks ale in taverns to drink wine right now,” she remarked and took a small sip before smiling. “Mmm, sweet with honey. A good choice.”

           Haytham took a sip of his wine before remembering, “You said you and my son were in a relationship?”

           (Y/N) cleared her throat and nodded. “We have been for quite some time.” She had to think on it. “Three years, if I’m not mistaken. Though friends for a longer time.”

           His eyes narrowed, and she wasn’t sure if it was from suspicion or thought. “How did you two meet?”

           Laughing, she scratched at the old wooden table and let her eyes drift towards the doors. “Oh, he saved me from getting torn a new one by regulars some time back.”

           A silver brow arched on his forehead as he surmised, “So my son’s lover is a troublemaker?”

           (Y/N) felt a rather unladylike snort come from her and she countered, “Oh, not in so many words, and not like you and he do.” She winked at him. “I merely dabble in the pond while you two are sunk to your necks.”

           A bark of laughter escaped him, and she felt pride at how she managed to make the almost stoic man grin. He nodded. “Touché, (Y/N).”

           They fell into a silence, enjoying their wines, and when they were almost gone, he questioned, “You wished to speak with me about something?”

           (Y/N) nodded and sat up straight. “Are you going to busy on Christmas Day?” she asked, and evidently, he hadn’t been expecting that because his eyes went wide.

           “I beg your pardon?”

           She huffed a laugh. “Christmas Day. Will you be busy?”

           Haytham’s eyes narrowed, and this time she knew it was in suspicion. “And you are asking why?” he challenged, and she rolled her eyes.

           “Well, I was going to ask you if you’d like to have dinner with the two of us.” (Y/N) reasoned.

           As if she’d slapped him across the face, his jaw went slack from shock and he fell into a stillness, her simply staring and waiting for an answer.

           When he finally found himself again, a look of pure confusion came over him. “You…are inviting me…to dinner?” he repeated.

           “I am,” she answered with a smile.

           “…Why?”

           (Y/N) inhaled deeply and reclined in her seat, gazing at the back of her hands. “Ratonhnhaké:ton and Achilles aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye now that the two of you are working together,” she explained and with a sad look, she added, “I figured that maybe if the two of you shared a holiday dinner that…well that…” she trailed off and shook her head. “Neverm—”

           “No,” Haytham interjected. “Tell me.”

           She met his eyes and with a sudden rush of confidence, she said, “I want the two of you to spend at least one night acting like a family.”

           His eyes went wide, but (Y/N) didn’t stop. “You both are so rude and disrespectful to each other, and I understand it’s because neither of you know how to act as you’ve both grown without knowing one another, but still,” she stressed, “You are father and son, and even if you are on different sides, it’s the Christmas season and you should be a family.”

           Rising from her seat, she yanked out her coin purse and pulled out a single pound and a scrap of paper. “Here,” she pointed out. “For the drink.”

           He took them both but raised the paper. “What’s this?”

           (Y/N) glanced at him. “Directions to my cottage at the Davenport Homestead.”

           “Are you sure it’s wise to give this to me?” Haytham murmured, but she placed her palm flat on the table and got in his face.

           “If you send someone after me, he’ll kill them and then you without a second thought,” (Y/N) warned before standing up and continuing, “You’re a bastard, sure, but not that much.” She nodded at the scrap. “Be there by seven…please.”

           And she left him without another word.

***

           It wasn’t a struggle to keep him away from the door, but it was certainly one to keep him from putting his fingers in the food. For what seemed like the millionth time, she whacked at his hand, but he was much too quick and dodged her, sticking out his tongue.

           “Stay out of that, Ratonhnhaké:ton!” she hissed. “It’s not time to eat yet!”

           He let his head loll back and sighed. “But Otsi’tsa, I am hungry.”

           (Y/N) snorted and shoved at his stomach, nodding at the table before handing him a platter of venison. “Go,” she commanded. “And don’t sneak a piece!”

           Connor groaned and did as she asked, but when he set down the plate, he noticed an extra plate. “(Y/N), are we having a guest for dinner?”

           She turned around and faced the fireplace, gnawing at her lips as she searched for an answer. “Uh…sort of?” She could hear the confusion in his voice.

           “What do you mean ‘sort of’?” he asked, and before she could respond, a knock was at the door.

           They turned and she hurried to it before he could, cracking it open slightly. Connor saw the corner of her lip turn up and she opened the door fully, letting the person inside. His amber eyes went wide when his father removed his tricorn and hung it on the coat hanger, his cloak and jacket following.

           (Y/N) tossed him a sheepish grin and hesitated, “…Merry Christmas?”

           All her lover could manage was, “Why?”

           She sighed. “Oh my god, it’s Christmas, you two.”

           Haytham scoffed and glared at her. “I showed up, did I not?”

           Connor cut her off with a hiss. “I can show you out if you would like.”

           “Boys,” she scolded, and at that, they both turned on her with equal looks of disrespect; she rolled her eyes. “Please, let’s just sit at the table and eat dinner.”

           Father and son stared one another down for a full minute before taking their seats, and (Y/N) hoped it would remain civil.

***

           Surprisingly, dinner did remain fairly civil, only a few moments where she had to soothe Connor’s anger—and kick Haytham in the shin underneath the table, no doubt he’d have bruises in the morning.

           They sat by the fireplace, her and Haytham with a mug of cider in their hands, Connor drinking hot chocolate—she had to elbow his father in the side before he could say something that would no doubt set her lover off.

           It was a peaceful moment before Connor questioned, “Why did you come, father?”

           Her eyes darted to Haytham who simply gazed into the fireplace, the golden glow making his steel eyes shimmer. “Because (Y/N) invited me,” he simply returned.

           She let out an exaggerated cough. “Liar.”

           Haytham glowered at her and she shifted her eyes between him and Connor. Finally, he sighed and revealed, “I thought…that you and I should spend the holidays together.”

           Connor huffed a laugh, sarcastically countering, “What, because we are family?”

           His father gazed at him with clear eyes. “Yes.”

           It was the most honest she’d ever heard the man be, and even she was as surprised as Connor was, who simply turned meek and looked at the fireplace with a quiet, “Oh.”

           (Y/N) watched Haytham stare at his feet as he murmured, “This is the first time in…decades…that I have spent a holiday with…family.” A rare smile came across his lips. “I have…enjoyed it.”

           She glanced at Connor and nudged him gently in the side, giving him a smile when he looked at her; after a moment, he sighed and said, “As have I.”

           Watching the two give each other truthful and heartful smiles, she stood and announced, “I have final gifts for you two.”

           Their eyes followed her curiously as she walked to a shelf and came back with two boxes, one red, the other blue. She handed the red to Haytham and the blue to Connor.

           “Here, open them,” she smiled.

           Doing so, they ripped the paper and opened the boxes to see a simple ribbon in each box, Haytham’s ribbon red, and Connor’s ribbon blue.

           (Y/N) tapped Connor’s and explained, “There’s an inscription on each ribbon. I had them made in Boston a while ago.”

           Haytham picked it up and started examining it. “What does it say?”

           “It says, ‘You need glasses’,” Connor quipped, and she snorted when his father glared at him, then looked to her and waited.

           (Y/N) leaned on her lover’s shoulder and replied, “They both say, ‘True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.’” She glanced at them. “A testament to the fact that you both know so much about the world and it’s realities, yet you still understand so little.”

           She almost laughed at how their faces pinched exactly the same, and she added, “And because I hope that when you wear them, you remember it and make better choices.”

           “Who said I make bad choices?” Connor suddenly asked and (Y/N) cocked a brow.

           “Uh, the Boston Tea Party?” she hinted, and he scowled.

           “There was a purpose in that,” he countered.

           “Yes, destroying good tea,” Haytham argued. He sighed and placed the top back on the box, and she stopped Connor before he could say something about his lack of thanks.

           He stood to his feet and made his way to the door, starting to dress in his jacket and cloak. (Y/N) handed him his hat and he looked at the two of them.

           “Thank you for inviting me,” he said, placing the tricorn atop his head. “I have enjoyed tonight.”

           (Y/N) smiled. “Thank you for being here tonight.”

           Haytham turned to the door, but as his hand gripped the doorknob, he glanced over his shoulder. “I will be having New Year’s dinner at my home in Virginia, if you two would like to come.”

           She nodded. “I would love to.” His gaze shifted to his son.

           Connor took a moment, obviously wrestling with himself before he nodded. “Yes…I would like to be there as well.”

           His father gave them a rare and true smile before tipping his head. “I shall see you there.”

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Twitter ー Laito Sakamaki [2020 Compilation]

–> This post includes all tweets posted on the official Rejet Twitter account for Laito Sakamaki (@DialoverLaitoS) in 2020.

Shuu l Reiji l Ayato l Kanato l Subaru l Ruki l Kou l Yuma l Azusa l Carla l Shin l Kino

February 14, 2020 (Valentine’s Day)

> Come to think of it, Subaru-kun’s late. He said he’d head out for a short while, but he’s not coming back at all.

> Ah, could it be that he’s hopeful for someting and taking a detour? ‘Please accept my chocolates’, something like that~?

> That’s very much like him.

> Macarons too please~ (@Reiji)

March 14, 2020 (White Day)

> Heeeey, Bitch-chan! Looking cute as ever today!

> You think I’m saying that half-heartedly? Of course not. After all, you are the only girl on this planet who is special to me. I really do feel grateful to be able to meet someone I can share this feeling with.

> How about you? I happen to have these very delicious marshmallows on hand, so let’s eat these together while you tell me.

March 20, 2020 ( Birthday)

> Helloooo~ Bitch-chan~ ❤️ Thank you very much for today. You’ve been extensively preparing this day, wanting to celebrate it together till the very last second, didn’t you? You really are so admirable and cute. Usually it would make me want to tease you, but today I want to see your smile. So please?

April 1, 2020 (April Fools)

> I’d love for you to drop by the bathroom. Let’s enjoy ourselves together here? #AprilFools

May 2, 2020

-> Biiiitch-chan~

> I’m bored so I’ve come keep you company. What are you doing?

> Heeh, I see. Then you have some time for me, right? What should we enjoy ourselves with?

> Nfu~ Let’s go with something we can do at home. I’ll teach you a very ‘exciting’ game~

Juy 7, 2020 (Tanabata)

> I want Bitch-chan to wear a yukata. Of course, I’ll be the one taking off her obi.* ❤️

--> I am pretty sure this is a reference to a famous Japanese gag/joke in which a man will tug harshly onto the obi (the band around a kimono/yukata), making her spin while also undressing her at the same time.

September 18, 2020

> There’s so many hip and cute variants of shaved ice as of late.

> I’ll do some research to go together with Bitch-chan~ 

> So I can see her face scrunch up as she gets brain freeze~

September 29, 2020

> I’ve invited Bitch-chan to the rooftop~

> I have to properly escort her on the back way home from school after all~ ❤️

> Zero sex appeal, huh?

October 20, 2020

> Bitch-chan~ I finally found you. What are you doing here?

> This is Kanato’s creepy room, isn’t it? Let’s ditch this place full of wax dolls and return to the manor together, okay?

> Ah, you came here for the present? But aren’t you just being deceived by Kanato-kun? You’re so pure and naive per usual~ Makes me want to corrupt you.

> If you’re looking for that present, I spotted it over there. You know, the place which holds memories for the two of us. ❤️

> Whenever we enter that room together, we both end up soaking wet. We’ve also played with some looooong objects~ We had such a blast, remember?

> Does that ring any bells? In that case, why not try going to the place you have in mind?

October 28, 2020

> Aah, this spot seems nice. ❤️Okay then, I’ll suck you plenty. Show me your expression as you drown in me more, swallowed by the pleasure?

> How is it? Are you feeling good?

> I see. That’s...kinda dull, you know?

> The faces you make when enjoying it aren’t bad either, but I miss seeing you cry or scrunch up your nose in disgust.

> That’s why I’ll treat you very badly this time. Now show me a real expression of disgust and fight back. It’ll turn me on beyond belief. You can do that, right?

October 31, 2020 (Halloween)

> Heeh? You made macarons for me? Nfu~ Thank you. But I think I’ll savor you first. ❤️ Only macarons won’t be able to satisfy my cravings after all. So come on, hurry up and give it to me?

November 14, 2020

> When it gets cold, you start craving for the touch of someone else’s skin, don’t you think?

> Right, Bitch-chan~? ❤️

December 18, 2020

> Bitch-chaaan~ ❤️ You must be freezing cold, right? I’ll warm you right up, okay? By pressing my body against yours like this...~ Nfu~ I’m only embracing you, so what are you getting the wrong idea for?

December 19, 2020

> Dropping by a cafe together really makes us feel like lovers, I love it~❤️ What do you want to drink, Bitch-chan? ...That? Hmm, what a beautiful green color. I like it. Let’s order this one. Why don’t we enjoy both the sweet and the slight touch of bitter* together?

--> Laito refers to the bitterness as ‘オトナの苦味’ or ‘otona no nigami’ which literally means ‘a mature bitterness’. I’ve actually seen this used before in slogans for food in Japanese, especially when it comes to products with dark chocolate, they’ll put something like ‘a grown-up flavor’ on there, implying that it’s something generally enjoyed by adults rather than children.

December 24, 2020 (Christmas)

> Merry Christmas, Bitch-chan~ Oh dear? That face...Were you expecting a present, perhaps? In that case, come to my room? I’ll make sure blow・your・mind~

[thesmokingguns]

Carnival First Date with Tommy One Shot

Carnival First Date with Tommy One Shot

Word Count: 2001

Summary: Based on the head cannon from a few weeks ago. Tommy takes you to the carnival on a first date. He’s just a fun time to be around and you get to experience the various sides he has

Note: feedback is always welcome. Messages me any requests you have! Thanks for reading

Tommy was drumming his hands against the steering wheel, shooting nervous looks up at the front door. He was waiting for his date to come out. He had met this chick a couple weeks ago at a bar where she was a waitress. He had been doing every day asking her to go out, only to get that pretty little smile and a laugh as she declined him. Until today at lunch where he had been talking to Nikki about the carnival in town when she had been walking by. He had perked up seeing her and instantly invited her to go out with him expecting the usual no. She had slapped her address down on the table telling him she’d see him at 6pm. Now it was 5:59 and he was wondering if he should go knock on the door.

The front door flew and he saw the mess of brown curls out of your usual ponytail. You were wearing these tiny shorts, Converse and a cropped top to try and stay cool in the summer heat. You were letting the metal door slam shut, heart racing looking around until your eyes found him. Tommy smiled as you did a small wave, jogging over to the car tossing your bag inside the open window before jumping in.

“Hey, thanks for picking me up.” It was weird going out with this guy who had been hitting on you nonstop for weeks.

“Thanks for putting out of my misery and finally going out with me.” As soon as he revved the engine you grabbed hold of the door, your heart sinking as he sped through traffic. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that you were going to puke tonight.

Tommy was like an over excited chimpanzee when you pulled into the dirt parking lot. His eyes were blazing in excitement as he climbed out the car over to your side and pulling the door open.

“We need to hold hands so we don’t get lost.” He was weaving his fingers into yours, a perfect fit. It was easy with how smooth he was. He was running, skipping and into the gates. Before you could pull your money out he was getting you bracelets for the rides tonight and letting go of your hand to put it on.

“Do you want to get on rides first or get something to eat?” You asked as he walked towards the excitement with your hands together once more.

“We should get the fried Oreos and maybe some cotton candy..Ohhh they have fresh donuts.” you suddenly were worried that maybe he would be the one that puked.

Tommy ate two full orders of fried Oreos, a chocolate milk shake, popcorn, and even decided to share his fried dough with you.

He’s so easy to joke with and you’re laughing so hard your stomach hurts. You’re holding hands as he runs to get you guys in line for the Zipper. You hesitate slightly before stepping into the ride and you feel his hand rubbing over your knuckles.

“We can go on another ride or play games if you’re into that?” He offers, giving the guy about to lock you in a look so you have time to decide what you want to do. Your hearts fluttering as you smile, reaching out to bring the bar down and lock you in. He’s smiling with you as the ride starts up.

It’s infectious. His laughter and joy deep into you and you’re laughing so hard as you weave between people. It feels like you’ve created this little bubble in the two hours you’ve been together and you’re seriously thinking it’s been the two happiest hours of your life. Even though you puked at one point in the bushes he had just gotten you water and asked if you wanted to go home but you didn’t want to go home. You wanted to be where he was, where this happiness was. Your cheeks were sore and you had a stomach ache from the muscles in your body adjusting to the joy Tommy was bringing them.

“We have to ride the Ferris Wheel!” He said, pulling you along and cutting the line that he didn’t realize was there to get you guys on. Your heart was racing as you thought of how high up you’d be but Tommy was already looking out into the distance.

You’re looking over the carnival, the sound of people slowly fading as you get higher up. The wind feels good on your flushed cheeks and you tilt your head up welcoming the cool relief.

“Can I kiss you?” You’re shocked when he asks this and don’t respond because you can’t remember a time when someone asked to kiss you instead of doing it. It’s respectful and kind. You manage a nod and he leans forward, his hand sliding over your face to hold you against him as his lips meet yours. It’s like everything that you’ve been waiting for. Tommy pulls away, this big smile on his face and he’s suddenly standing up rocking the whole Ferris Wheel car you’re riding in.

“Tommy-“

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” He’s screaming as the car is shaking and you question your entire life as it’s flashing before your eyes. He’s screaming and hollering, well the operator of the ride is shouting something that is lost in the wind.

“Tommy.” It comes out as a whisper and he sits down throwing an arm around you. A sheepish smile on his face.

He helps you off the Ferris wheel, spinning you around before dragging you off to the bumper cars. He stops along the way offering to buy you an ice cream.

You can feel him watching you. Your tongue on the soft serve, dragging upward. Your eyes dart to where Tommy is watching, ice cream dripping down his hand.

“Can I have a taste of yours?” He is reaching out holding his ice cream out, watching you. Smiling, you grab his wrist licking the chocolate off his fingers. Smiling as you see his smile spread. You pull away licking your bottom lip.

“Well, you’re definitely proving to be worth the wait.” He teased watching the way you smirked. “Are you having a good time because if you’re not we can leave?” He was so sincere and worried about you enjoying yourself you couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Cmon, drummer boy. I want to ride bumper cars.” You were tugging him along. Tommy couldn’t stop his smile watching as you pulled him along.

You were pretty sure that you had some sort of trauma from Tommy slamming his bumper car into you so hard you were sure you were going to have whiplash. As you turned the car to back up he was slamming into your side, a shit eating grin on his face.

“I like that you’re competitive, Y/N.” He said helping you stand from the bumper cars. You rubbed your neck giving him a look and wanting to kick him in the shin. But he was smiling offering you his hand and you guys were off again.

It was funny watching him get mad at the games. He took another three baseballs shooting a glance over his shoulder at you. He had been dead set on winning a teddy bear and was failing. He had, however, managed to gather an audience of kids. When Tommy noticed all the kids he slammed some money down on the table.

“Maybe they’ll have better luck.” He joked walking away as the kids excitedly rushed forward. His arm was around you as you walked through the carnival grounds that was getting less busy as closing time approached.

“That was really nice of you to do.” You said watching him shrug like he didn’t care. A smile danced over hour face and you rolled your eyes at the way he was trying to play off a cool rockstar, “would you think it was super lame if we did the photo booth?” His eyes lit up dragging you inside the tight space. Tommy was so tall that when he sat you had nowhere to really go other than his lap. His hands rested on your thighs as you fed the machine the dollar bill leaning back against him. You ended up feeding the machine a lot of money until the final picture where Tommy was kissing you.

You shifted on his lap, leaning into his embrace. Kissing Tommy felt good, like this relaxing wave of pleasure through your whole body. He tasted sweet, probably from all the junk food he had been eating. His hand was running up your leg, under the loose crop top, cupping a breast in his palm. The soft moan was drowned out in his kiss and he was ready to take you right there. You could feel him growing under your body and the primary urge for more was over taking her. A knock outside the booth had you both stopping. Instead of an awkwardness you both fell into a fit of giggle spilling out. He grabbed the pictures, stuffing them into his pocket and moving back over to the games.

Tommy stopped seeing the goldfish in the bags. He frowned, counting how many bags there were. Turning to you he gave you a quick smile.

“How much for all the goldfish?” He asked. The man seemed confused by his question and even you were confused. There had to be thirty bags of goldfish. But Tommy was counting out bills and grabbing bags of fish, motioning for you to take some too. And then you were headed for the exit. Stopping only when Tommy wanted to kiss the goats head at the petting zoo.

“What is the plan for all these fish?” You asked as you helped him lay them in the back seat. They did look pretty sad in their plastic little bags.

“We’re going to drive to the ocean and free them.” You wanted to argue you weren’t sure goldfish didn’t come from the ocean but you weren’t exactly sure where goldfish came from.

Tommy kept looking in the rear view mirror checking on the fish like they were kids. It was funny to see him so nervous about the thirty fish in his car.

When you get to the beach you’re unloading fish and Tommy is naming them as he unloads them into the ocean.

“Have a good life Jeffrey. Best wishes Omar. I hope you meet a good guy, Josephina.” You’re crying laughing at how sincere he is. Tommy finally lets out the last fish which he names after himself.

“Do you feel better?” You asked him as you’re both sitting there, the sound of the ocean all around you and just an easy understanding between you two.

“At least they have a chance of life now.” He scoops up your hand and you’re laughing again. Standing up to brush off your thighs. Tommy looks confused by this but stands up.

“I had a great time tonight but I have to work tomorrow and there’s been this cute guy coming in everyday so I need to make sure that I’m ready for him.” He shook his head.

“There better not be another guy.” You laughed shrugging your shoulders and starting to run up the sand with Tommy on your heels chasing you back to the black.

When you pulled up to your house he walked you to your front door. His hands were jammed in the front pockets of his jeans and you could see he was going to ask you something.

“I had a good time tonight.” You agreed with him, “Can I take you out again tomorrow?” You let the smile spread across your lips as you opened the door.

“I work the 11-7 shift tomorrow. Why don’t you ask me then?” You teased heading inside the house. There would be a lot more of that drummer boy in your future.

[lasquadrasfuckhouse]

can y'all imagine the fucking RIOT that is playing dreidel with la squadra

they all gotta check it for balance and make everyone turn out their pockets so no one's tryin any funny business to steal all the gelt

(maybe risotto makes a perfect dreidel out of iron idk if an iron dreidel would work but it'd be fucking sick if it did)

someone might try to up the stakes by saying they should play with real money instead of chocolate but pros is like i have been grating potatoes all day to cook latkes for you fucks im not prying you apart if you start throttling each other over dreidel

strip dreidel is also suggested (picturing formaggio but melone and gelato are also likely to offer the idea) but is probably just as swiftly shut down

ghiaccio: would we just start piling our fucking clothes? if you land on gimmel would you have to put all the fucking clothes on? that's the OPPOSITE of stripping this whole idea is STUPID AS HELL

some of them (particularly illuso and sorbet cause they seem like the type) probably still try to subtly cheat. maybe drop something on the floor to make it knock the dreidel off balance to fuck with someone's spin but it still literally has a 50/50 chance of backfiring and if risotto catches them tryna cheat they

hang on i need to interrupt to announce that i tabbed out at this point and thought i lost this post but my draft autosaved and it was a chanukah miracle

ok so anyway if risotto catches them they either have to put all but one of their pile in the pot, or if they give the person they were tryna fuck over a hay or gimmel they get to keep that spin. dumbasses need to learn that u can't effectively cheat at a game of chance 😂

melone and gelato are constantly singing SHIN SHIN PUT ONE IN when it lands on shin, which is cute at first but quickly gets annoying which is exactly why they keep doing it and ghiaccio and prosciutto want to smash their faces into the floor

formaggio does those dumb little good luck things like cupping it in your hands and blowing on it or rubbing it between ur palms before u spin

dreidel is like monopoly in that it can go on for fucking ever and you just kind of Decide when it's done so gelato's fallen asleep on the floor, prosciutto is wine drunk, and formaggio's started eating the gelt in his pile even tho ur not supposed to

pesci usually ends up winning cause of all his good luck (fish are good luck in jewish culture)

half of them hate that you're supposed to split the spoils no matter who wins and Will be petulant about it. illuso bolts into the mirror world with his pile before anyone can catch him and flips everyone off while eating his choccy in the mirror. no one tries to steal from sorbet and gelato because they like having all their fingers thank u very much

pesci is the best at sharing nicely because he is a nice jewish boy ☺️❤️

[inlovewithhisblueeyes]

Never Bet Your Clothes in a Game of Sevivon

Pairing: College AU Mike x Jewish Reader

Prompt: Dreidel/Sevivon from the 8 Days of Henry-kkah

Word Count: ~1.6K

Warnings: Betting, Striping Off Clothes, Mentions of Nudity

A/N: Yes I know Hanukkah is over but I wanted to finish the prompt list I made. This is my first time writing for Mike. I never had much interest in him until I started talking to @october505​​ so this one is for you love!

The sun had already been chased from the sky by the time you had made your way back to the dorms. Snowy footprints littered the campus grounds from when students had raced through the cold to their classes. You preferred the silence that came with this frozen tundra. It gave you the much needed time to reflect over the day's events as the icy breeze nipped at your exposed skin. It was hard to believe that the semester was almost over. Next week you would be busy taking your finals before flying back home for the winter break.

As you continue to trudge to the dorms, you watched as the next flurry of snowflakes began to fall. Some fell on your coat while others joined their brothers and sisters underneath your boots. The following current of air even made the snowflakes dance across the frosty ground before they were allowed to settle. When the wind started to bite at your heels, you were spurred on to pick up your pace. Finally, the distant lights of the dormitories came into your view. You could almost feel the warmth of their glow on your cold cheeks.

You broke off into a light jog, eager to have your warm bed chase away the chill that had settled in your bones. You hurried up the shoveled path and slipped your hand out from the warmth of your coat pocket. Your fingers gripped tightly around the front door key as you unlocked the door and slid into the sauna-like hallway. You walked over to the front staircase and quickly hopped up the steps two at a time. It was finally the weekend for you and you wanted nothing more than to take a load off. You deserved a night off before the stressful week that was ahead. 

Reaching the third floor where your room was located, you carefully pulled the heavy door open before stepping out of the stairwell. You swiftly moved down the hallway, tossing your keys back and forth between your hands. It was abnormally quiet tonight in the halls; perhaps your peers had already headed out to the bar early. You shook your head as you made a left at the end of the hall. How ironic it was that the one night you wanted to party, everyone had disappeared. 

Well not everyone it seemed as you noticed a figure waiting towards the middle of the hall. You continued your descent down the hall and as you got closer, you noticed it was none other than Mike. You were a bit confused as to why he waiting by your door until you glanced at his feet. Next to him was a package wrapped in brown paper. You quickly hurried to relieve him of standing guard by your door.

“Hey,” You said cheerfully.

“Hey yourself,” Mike teased with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Dork,” you scoffed and rolled your eyes at him.

“Hey! I prefer the term knight in shining armor but I suppose in this case you’ll have to settle for knight in comfy joggers.”

“To which I must remind you that you didn’t need to be. No one is going to be eager to steal my mail when everyone is out partying,” You retorted as you bent down to grab the box. You carefully balanced it on one hip as you unlocked your door with the other hand. 

Mike leaned up against your doorframe as you puttered around the room. “Maybe I was hoping it was a spliff stash that you’d be willing to share with me so I can survive final exams.”

“I think it’s just a care package from my bubbe,” You sighed setting your package down on the bed. 

“Bubbe? Is that some new slang for some boyfriend back home that I don’t know about?” The curly haired boy questioned. 

“It’s Yiddish for grandma, you perv.”

“You truly wound me,” Mike exhaled dramatically.

You sat down at your desk and yanked your boots off your feet. You wiggle your sock-covered toes as the warmth of the building sinks in. You shuck off your coat and pad over to your cozy bed. You flop down next to the awaiting package.

“Good sir, I believe you have done your duty with the utmost care. I bid you adieu,” You declared.

“Wait a second. Can’t I see the bounty I was protecting?”

“It’s not a spliff stash but sure knock yourself out,” You chuckled as you scoot over to allow Mike to sit beside on the bed too.

The curly haired boy crossed the room and joined you on the bed. You got up to grab a pair of scissors from your desk before returning to your previous seat. Carefully you cut away the brown paper encompassing it before you cut away the tape sealing the box shut. You peel back the sides of the box to reveal the goodies your grandma sent. You received a container of Hanukkah cookies which were surprisingly still whole, a pair of socks with latkes on them, gelt, two dreidels, a sweater that said Come on Baby Light My Menorah, and a card from your bubbe and zaydee. You could feel the heat of embarrassment spread itself across your cheeks. 

“What’s all this darling?” Mike asked.

“Just some Hanukkah stuff. I guess my bubbe felt the need to bring the family dinner to me,” You replied a bit bashfully,” The little tops are called dreidels or sevivon. You bet these gold coins or whatever else you want each round. It’s really a kids game, but it doesn’t stop the adults from joining in.”

“You bet whatever you said,” Mike joshed with a devilish smirk on his face.

“I think my zaydee used to play for actual money when he was growing up. Zaydee means grandpa,” You quickly added at the end.

“We could make it like strip monopoly. Instead of the chocolate you can bet your clothes,” the boy suggested.

“You really want to get me naked don’t you?”

“And you don’t want to see all this?” Mike teased, gesturing to himself,” Or maybe you’re just chicken?”

You could feel your face heat up again. “I’m not chicken. Just cautious,” You paused while you thought things over,” We can play strip dreidel but if I win all your clothes, you have to let me borrow your printer for the entirety of next semester.”

“Then if I win, I want to take you out on a date. A real one with dinner and everything.”

“Deal!” You chirped, eager to not let Mike take back what he offered. 

You grabbed the dreidels and a pillow before making yourself comfy on the floor. He followed suit after you leaning up slightly against your desk chair. 

“So the rules of the game are rather simple. At the beginning of each round, we’ll put a piece of gelt into the pot. Anytime the pot is empty or there’s only one piece, we have to add another. Each side of the dreidel has a different outcome. This is נ (nun). If you get this, you don’t get any of the pot or add any in. Next is ג (Gimmel). If you land on it, you take the whole pot. Followed by ה (hey) which means you get half of the pot. If there’s an odd number of pieces, you leave the odd piece in the pot. Finally, this is ש (shin) it means you have to add another piece to the pot,“ You explained before handing him a dreidel.

“Since we’ll be betting our clothes, once an item comes off it stays off,” Mike offered.

“That’s fair,” You admitted.

“Good. It’s settled then. After you my lady,” he uttered before taking off his shirt.

You gulped before shucking yours off to join his in the pile. You grabbed the other dreidel and gave it a spin. It landed on נ and you were thankful for that. The rest of the game passed in relative silence with the both of you eager to win. By the time you were down to your underwear, the game was tied. Each of you had an equal amount of clothing. You grabbed the dreidel to give it another spin and it soon fell on ש. You felt the blood rush from your face as you had to decide between loosing your bra or your panties.

As if Mike could sense your apprehension, he swiftly added,” We can stop if you want to. Maybe call it a tie, cuddle up under some blankets, and eat some of those cookies your grandma sent.”

Your wide eyes stared up at him, desperately trying to find your words. Sighing you nodded before standing up and offering him a hand. The boy gently pulled himself to his feet and handed you his shirt.

“Thanks Mike,” You murmured as you slipped it on. 

You moved over to the bed and carefully removed everything but the box of cookies. You peeled back your blankets before sliding into your warm bed. Mike waited until you were settled before he came to lay beside you. He moved his arm so you could cuddle up next to him. You rested you head right above his heart and listened to the steady lub-dub it made. The two of you lay in comfortable silence, basking in each other’s warmth.

“I was serious about that date though. I want to take you out before the next semester,” Mike murmured into your hair.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Tikki’s blessing

Because I had already made a “Plagg’s revenge” kind of fic, and Tikki deserves to do some justice herself, I wrote this.

Personally, I think Tikki is more vicious when she wants to punish someone.

-

“I can’t believe that brat!” Marinette left herself fall into her fainting couch and grabbed a pillow, screaming into it.

Tikki went out of her purse, already knowing what had happened. The class was organizing the same annual bake sale they always did, but thanks to Lila’s manipulations, Marinette had ended up with almost four times as much work as before, and half the price to boot. “Because you’re  a nice person, aren’t you, Marinette?”

At least her parents had agreed already, and some of her classmates had actually agreed to help her too, but still, what was done was done.  

Tikki has had enough of Lila too.

She knew some lies were a necessary evil in everyday life, but that bratty girl was taking it too far. She couldn’t remember anything she had said that was truth. She wasn’t even sure that the liar’s name was “Lila Rossi”, or that she was Italian.

Tikki wanted to do something about it, but by the looks of things, her current holder, Marinette Dupain-Cheng seemed to think otherwise, probably because Plagg’s current kitten advised her to not rock the boat and the take the high road, otherwise, Marinette could have exposed Lila a long time ago as Ladybug, or as herself, and prevent a lot of headaches.

Being a teenager was stressful. Being the savior of Paris was even more stressful, so Tikki didn’t like this lying liar who lies adding even more stress to Marinette.

Many people had called Tikki a “Goddess of Creation” or a “Creation Spirit” or even a “Creation Fairy”. She was none of those things. She didn’t “use” creation. She is creation itself, and unlike Plagg, she had control over what she could create, and a good intuition about creating useful things.  She wasn’t Life, however, as other people usually said, but it was close enough.

And the thing is, She is Creation of All Things, and all things include havoc and retribution.

So she decided to bless Lila. And by “bless”, she meant she was going to give Lila some of her own creation powers. She wasn’t crazy, of course giving Lila even the tiniest fraction of her powers was risky, but she could revoke the blessing at any time, and she could also put some failsafe in the bless itself.

So after she was sure that Marinette was asleep, she put her plan in motion. Tikki really hated to work without telling Marinette first, and really hated herself for it, but she was pretty sure her holder would veto her idea, as she had to admit it was a bit cruel and devious, but still, that brat needed to learn a lesson about lying. She sighed deeply, finding her resolve, and flying outside the house, going through the window.

She didn’t know exactly where Lila’s house was, but she had a vague idea for how she had heard the liar speaking. She hoped at least that was true.

Jackpot.

She finally found Lila’s house, some hours before sunrise, and found the liar’s room easily.  

Tikki smiled in a sad kind of way. Lila didn’t look different from any other girl from this point of view. Her house was nice; her room was filled with anything a teen would want.  She really couldn’t put her finger on why this girl needed to lie so much. But regardless, she had taken her decision and was going to bless this bratty kid, no matter what.

She puckered up the things that passed for lips on a Kwami and kissed Lila on the forehead. She hadn’t blessed anyone like that in a long time, so the tiny kiss shinning for a second came as a bit of a surprise. It had been so long… She sighed satisfied, and hoped against hope that this brat would learn her lesson. Heh, at least she would get to have some fun.

She shrugged and left for home. Thank herself she didn’t actually need to sleep. She’ll just ask Marinette for some breakfast cookies to get energy for the day.

The next day (Or already, for Tikki), it was Nino’s birthday, and Marinette decided to surprise him with a box of éclairs(which were Nino’s favorite) to share with the class to celebrate him. Only the freshest ingredients (As Always), the creamiest cream, and she even took the time to color the chocolate in green and blue, Nino’s favorite colors.

Everyone was happy with the treat that Marinette was offering, but before they could even bite into it, Lila… of course Lila had claimed to be lactose intolerant, throwing herself a pity party about how she wouldn’t be able to taste the oh so delicious éclairs that Marinette had made!

And she didn’t want to prevent everyone from eating the delicious treats just because she wouldn’t be able to partake in the festivities. She knew her public, and of course everyone else felt guilty and immediately reassured her that if they couldn’t get them, then no one would, much to Nino and Marinette’s disappointment. Everyone returned the éclairs to Marinette.

And Alya, good and sweet Alya, decided to buy Nino a vegan cake so that Lila could enjoy with everyone! Despite the fact that Nino didn’t like those kind of cakes, but it was for Lila’s sake!

And Alya, good, sweet, naïve Alya, got everyone to chip in some money for the cake. Lila of course took the chance for another low blow to Marinette, commenting how it was a shame that the Dupain-Cheng Bakery didn’t carry vegan option for people with allergies like her (Never mind that she claimed to be intolerant, not allergic). Marinette was quick to point out that they did made vegan option upon request. And again, Lila commented it was a shame that they weren’t ready to pick up.  

Marinette gave the whole box of untouched éclairs to Nino so he could enjoy them later, which he greatly appreciated and thanked her for them. They  were taken aback when Alya asked for her to give some money for Nino’s cake, and Lila of course took this as an opportunity to stir more trouble, she claimed to be broke because she gave all her money to some charity, otherwise she would gladly give it to the cause. Everyone was whispering about how selfless Lila was, but Nino, bless his heart, showed everyone his box of éclairs, the ones they had rejected, and kindly reminded everyone that Marinette had already given him a gift. Lila tried to say that having a bakery, the éclairs were no problem to her, but Nino very politely told her that he’d rather have the éclairs than some nasty vegan cake with fake milk. Alya got mad at Nino for being so rude to Lila, and cancelled the whole cake thing off, returning the money to everyone. She didn’t talk to Nino for the rest of the day.

Later that day, during lunch hour, Lila noticed that she actually didn’t have any money on her, but she figured she had forgotten it at home, and guilt tripped Alya into paying for her lunch, which she gladly did. She didn’t expect that Lila would get the most expensive item on the menu, seafood with garlic sauce.

And then she had to run to the bathroom after drinking her chocolate milk, which curiously, no one reminded her that she was actually lactose intolerant, but she figured she had gotten something bad in her lunch. Probably the expensive seafood she had made Alya buy for her. Then again, it was probably because she mixed chocolate milk with seafood.

Tikki snickered inside Marinette’s purse when she heard what happened to Lila (And that Alya had to run after her). Her blessing was working.

Next was during P.E. class, where Lila told Mr. D'Argencourt that she was having “feminine issues” having bad cramps and other related issues and would be unable to do the exercises. She had to run to the bathroom again when her period actually started, bad cramps included. Alya again accompanied her suffering friend.

Tikki smiled to herself after learning of this. Her blessing would allow Lila to create things about herself, so when she claimed to be lactose intolerant, she became just that. When she claimed to be broke, her money actually disappeared. She had claimed to be on her period, and now she was.

She wasn’t dumb, she knew that sooner or later Lila would claim something good about herself, but she also knew that if there was something Lila loved more than gaining attention due to her many talents and connections, she also love to play victim to get out of showing those fake talents and connections, so anything good she said about herself would immediately be negated by something bad she said about herself. And even if she didn’t play victim, Tikki thought it would be a nice trade-off if she used an actual talent (gained through magic, but still) to impress other people, instead of her usual lies.

She also know that although the brat wasn’t a master manipulator like Marinette thought, she also wasn’t particularly dumb, and would eventually realize she was under a spell and would try to take advantage of it. And the failsafe would act at that moment, revoking the blessing.

It could last a day, a month, or all of Lila’s life, but Tikki was in no rush, after all, she was Creation, and she was eternal.