#I WILL FINISH MY WORK FOR THE WEEK TOMORROW

[veryinnovative]

@jegulus-microfic | april 30, prompt: sky | word count: 1.927 featuring older ceo regulus black and younger secretary james potter part 2 | part 1 AKA word on the street is i Excel in the sheets

“Erh…” he tries after a stretch of silence. “So, how was your day?”

Regulus pins him frozen to place with a look, a sign spelling ‘stupid’ nailed right into his forehead. “You know how my day was. You manage my schedule.”

Damn, tough crowd. “Okay,” James drawls, a little unsure. “But, like, how did it go?”

The place functions as any other hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves just a handful of people throughout the day, most of whom are loyal customers returning every so often for a comfort meal when homesickness becomes a little too much to bear. Even now, there are only a couple of people scattered about, none of which pay any mind to either Regulus or James.

“So, first impressions?” James asks when he takes a seat across from him.

“It’s satisfactory.”

“Satisfactory.” James blinks.

Regulus is quiet. He looks terribly out of place wearing a luxury suit exported from one of the globe’s corners and James can’t help but feel a little guilty. He’s seen Regulus carve into lobster with only a fork and knife but still can’t help but worry about future dry cleaning prices for which he may or may not be responsible.

“Erh…” he tries after a stretch of silence. “So, how was your day?”

Regulus pins him frozen to place with a look, a sign spelling ‘stupid’ nailed right into his forehead. “You know how my day was. You manage my schedule.”

Damn, tough crowd. “Okay,” James drawls, a little unsure. “But, like, how did it go?”

Regulus, perhaps finally acknowledging his poor attempts at small talk to ease the awkwardness, studies him intently for a long, close moment before acquiescing. “Enervating.” Right, because Regulus is the type to unironically use words like enervating. 

“The business deal?” James asks and Regulus nods. “Dude from Jakarta, right?”

“The CEO from the biggest real estate company in Jakarta,” Regulus corrects him. 

Tomato, tomato. “Does this mean you get to leave work at a reasonable hour starting tomorrow?”

“I’ve never had reasonable working hours.”

“Of course, I forgot the very important detail you’re a raging workaholic.”

Regulus’ mouth sets into a firm line as his brows knit together into a censorious frown—his entire face contorting into something that’s one odd remark away from turning downright petulant. “I am not—” He stops. Breathes in. Probably recognizes James is very carefully pulling his tail and for some reason becomes decidedly collegial. “Allow me to rephrase myself. I am meticulous. I prefer finishing tasks before going home and don’t mind when it results in me staying at work a little longer. It’s inevitable as a CEO when timezones don’t work in my favor.” 

Absolute bullshit. “Just last week you kept leaving the office after the cleaning shift already came by to sweep the place clean. I know because they told me.”

“I can’t see how any of this poses as a bother to you.” And there it is, the good ole Regulus Black-esque deflection. 

“I’m just worried. That is all.”

Regulus’ nose twitches and he looks away, a clear indication that he no longer wants to be a willing participant in the conversation. When Regulus becomes like this, James has learned to leave it be.

Luckily, it doesn’t take long for the food to arrive. James can stop pretending to take in the beautiful sight of the night sky, cracked asphalt, and the flickering colors of traffic signs when the plate is placed on the center of the table, carrying an assortment of different meat cuts and a modest side salad that will probably be Regulus’ for the taking.

Using the table etiquette of a properly groomed aristocrat, Regulus carefully selects some vegetables to put on his plate and a modest serving of rice. He skillfully carves out some pieces around the skewer.

“Seriously,” James deadpans. “Go on, Your Royal Highness, you can use your hands for this.”

Regulus almost bridles at the mere suggestion.

“Seriously, there’s no shame in it. Here, let me do it for you”

Regulus watches as James grabs one of the skewers and uses his fork to tear chunks off, dropping a generous portion of roasted vegetables and meat on Regulus’ plate. “You want some of this flatbread?”

Regulus shakes his head and James shrugs. He swiftly mouths off a dollop of sauce on his thumb, which earns him one of Regulus’ notorious James-exclusive grimaces.

Right, table manners.

They get to eating and James is once again reminded of how much of a slow eater Regulus is. It’s like he counts his chews, jaw working diligently with the faint scrapes of his cutlery against the plate. That and he works even as he eats, almost on auto-pilot with how he takes out his phone to open Outlook.

“Using your phone at the table is rude manners,” James teases.

“I got an e-mail.”

“Of course.” He nods. “Nothing workaholic about that, no.”

“It’s an important e-mail.”

“You know I read something about how it’s also important to spend time with your employees.”  He waves around a piece of the flatbread as if to emphasize the point. “Get to know them better and all.”

“I know plenty about you,” Regulus answers as he types away.

“That so?”

Regulus looks at him, entirely indifferent as the phone is placed face-down on the table. “James Potter. Twenty-three years old. Finished your master’s degree at Oxford, with flying colors might I add. You took a gap year to travel, working all sorts of jobs to pay for your accommodation. Currently, you live near Camden and spend most of your spare time enjoying hobbies or going to the pub with your friends. You have a Joe and the Juice stamp card.”

James tries not to physically reel back. “That…” He starts, absolutely nonplussed. Someone come pick his fucking jaw off the table, it’s dropped off its hinges. “You know what Joe and the Juice is?” Impossible, all things considered. Regulus is in a tax bracket where chain restaurants might seem like fanciful inventions, the kind of places mentioned only in tales where fine dining is unheard of. There's a brief curiosity about whether this is the equivalent of discovering that Toy Story's Pizza Planet is a real place that actually serves food.

“I've come to understand that it's a venue offering juice among a broad array of meals and beverages, yes.”

Still, that’s doesn’t explain… “How do you even know all of that? I hardly even know anything about you other than that you recently turned thirty and were homeschooled for this position.” And that he’s quite fond of the occasional handful of candied macadamias when feeling particularly indulgent. James keeps a packet of it in his bag.

Regulus’ throat bobs. “I do thorough research on the people I employ”

That’s not more than thorough research at this point, far beyond the usual background checks done on new personnel. “Uh-uh. Or you stalk my Instagram during your free time.”

Regulus promptly chokes on his food. His fork falls onto the plate with a loud clatter. James nearly knocks his knee against the table as he too scrambles for the pitcher to pour him water, almost knocking over his can of Sprite in the process.

“Easy, I was just kidding.” He has half the mind to stand up and start patting him on his back to dislodge whatever molecular-sized cucumber wedged itself in his airpipe. “I doubt Mr. Black Enterprises even uses Instagram.”

Regulus looks up startled. Definitely not from the lack of air.

Oh.

Ohohohoh.

“Oh my god.” James’ face splits into a distinguished, shit-eating grin. “You do.” 

“What?” It’s barely a wheeze with the way Regulus has been caught. His grip is deadly around the fork, something that should warn James to be wary.

“Instagram,” James repeats, trying his hardest not to gloat when Regulus shivers. “You use it? The Regulus Black uses Instagram? I thought you would be a member of some upper-echelon-exclusive platform instead of mingling with us.”

The worry swiftly dissipates, giving way to confusion, and then settles into something far more at ease. Although James enjoys those fleeting moments where he gets Regulus riled up, he much prefers seeing him relaxed. “Oh—I—Yes. Occasionally,” he stammers, swallowing and reaching for a napkin to dap at his mouth with. “Barty convinced me,” he hastily adds. “It’s a very private account. I’m hardly active on it.”

Sinking into his seat, James pats around for his own phone. “You should follow me.”

“Shu?”

“On Instagram. You should follow me. If you want, of course.”

The tips of Regulus’ ears turn a delicious pink as he returns his attention to his plate. “I’ll think about it.”

After some more idle talk and eating, they decide to head out before Barty ultimately decides it’s past working hours and he’s not dropping Regulus off at home—some palatial penthouse tucked away in one of London's secluded enclaves where the affluent reside, enjoying a life of extravagance as they remain shielded from the public gaze.

Nonetheless, the cherished designated driver will have to linger a bit longer, as both James and Regulus pull out their cards at the cash register. Being a very wise man, Hakeem registers the amount into the terminal and swiftly turns away, well aware that nothing good ever comes from getting involved.

James dismissively waves his hand. “You can put away your card, it’s on me.”

Of course, Regulus isn’t compliant in the slightest. “I made you feel obligated to stay longer than you intended, so it's only right that I pay.”

“I’m the one who invited you, come now.”

“And I’m the one responsible for making you miss out on dinner.”

“Nah. I told you, it was my fault. Seriously, I want to—”

He attempts to move closer, but Regulus also edges forward. Despite being shorter, Regulus exudes an air of authority that instinctively compels James to widen the gap between them and not bump into him. “And I insist.”

But luckily, James is taller and his arms are longer. “Gotta be quicker than that then.”

He extends his arm, shooting right past Regulus’ and taps his card against the terminal, smiling smugly when Regulus scowls up at him, not in the least impressed by his playing dirty. James’ lips part, a jab resting right on the tip of his tongue, something along the lines of ‘They don’t teach you this at fancy pants school?’ only for a chime to disrupt his train of thought.

Card declined.

“Low funds, Yakup,” Hakeem announces without looking over his shoulder like James isn’t sinking to his knees in embarrassment already. 

“You got paid four days ago,” Regulus murmurs at his side.

“Rent and utilities were due yesterday.” It nearly comes out in a whine.

“I doubt your rent takes up your whole salary.”

“I also had to pay off my credit card,” James grits out, fumbling through his wallet looking for some cash. In an alternative universe where they’re starred in some cartoon show, the poor faux leather division coughs up dust motes.

“Seriously? How much do you make?

“Might I remind you that you pay me.”

The way Regulus clutches onto his credit card, unlimited of course, one might think the poor thing is about to fold in half. James might as well, to be honest. “Move.”

“No.” His pride’s already been hurt. “Hakeem, can I pay in installments?”

“Only if you take young Khadija out on a date.”

James considers it for a moment, but Regulus the comment only makes Regulus seethe further, “Potter, if you don’t move I’ll give you a reason to worry.”

That’s enough to convince James. He steps away, all kicked puppy-like, and watches how Regulus’ payment gets processed far quicker. “Next time’s on me.”

Regulus rolls his eyes, even as the apples of his cheeks dust pink. “Come, I’m tired and want to go home.”

[the---hermit]

29|04|2024

In the end I chose to stay home this week and avoid the two lectures of today and tomorrow. It's just what is better for my mental and physical state at the moment, and as soon as I can I will be emailing the professor to ask her if I need to work on additional materials. I was planning on doing that today, but of course my uni has to fuck stuff up and momentarily blocked ALL student's email addresses so I have no way to communicate with the professor until the end of this week. I can't even use another email because the uni email addressess cannot recieve emails from the outside it's a nightmare. WIth this being said my mood was a bit better today and I was also more productive than expected so I am happy about that. Not only I finished my reread of the play, but I also found so many (too many) sources to use for my paper. I also organized said sources and starting tomorrow I will read and annotate them which hopefully won't take too long. I cannot wait to get to the writing part because that will mean I will be close to the end, and I'll be able to move on to other tasks. As for non uni related things I am in a book limbo since yesterday I finished what I was reading and I haven't picked up my next fiction read, and I have no idea what to pick.

today's productivity:

read first thing in the morning (and since I haven't picked yet my next novel I started the day with an historical essay which is great but not necessarily how i'd like to start my days)

finished rereading and annotating The Merchant Of Venice

looked for new sources for my English lit paper (so far I have 17 sources including two books, ya kid has a lot to work on rn)

organized the sources I found and created an attack plan (yes that is how I am calling my study organization)

worked on my cross stitch project

daily Irish review on duolingo

📖:L'Idea Di Medioevo by Giuseppe Sergi, The Merchant Of Venice by Shakespeare

[bunnliix]

The Invisible Strings that Bind Us - Chapter Eight

This is a week late, but here is chapter eight!! This was really cute but also sad to write, because reader is heading home temporarily to pack up her life, so she can come back to Stray Kids and Korea to stay.

masterlist wc: 4.2k warnings: crying, the boys and reader being sad, cute fluffy moments but that's not really a warning? Basically this is a cute but also kinda sad chapter

A few days have passed since the boys’ studio day, and between then and now, it had been decided that y/n would head home the next morning. She still had to get her life in order back home, so that she could come back here to live with them. The tickets had been bought, and it had been decided that a week back home should be enough for y/n to get everything she needed to move halfway across the world, as well as ensuring that her bunny could indeed come with her, and that she could smoothly finish off the rest of her degree online. She had also worked with the older boys and the few staff members they trusted to get her a temporary soulmate visa, that allowed her to stay in the country for the moment, as well as allowing for a smooth return once she came back. 

Neither she nor her boys were happy about her leaving, and oh were they vocal about their protests. Once she had announced her return to Canada, the younger ones were all over her, begging her not to go. Binnie and Chan had to pull them off of her, that’s how much they were clinging to her. Seungmin was surprisingly just as clingy as the others, and he looked adorable, even if he denied it ever happening once he realized what he had done. The boys had torn apart their closets, looking for clothing she could take with her, to remind her of them, since they’d all be feeling the strain of being apart so quickly after they had bonded. It wasn’t recommended for soulmates to be long distance once they had their first contact with each other, since it placed a strain on the soulmate bond, and eventually, the soulmates themselves. The boys weren’t as worried about themselves as they were y/n, since she would feel the strain of eight soulmate bonds, instead of just one.

This is also why, despite her protests, they hired one of their North American bodyguards to meet her at the airport in Canada. They were worried about the toll her body would be under, and because of that, wanted to make sure she’d have someone to take care of her should she need it. She didn’t think she would, but she gave in, knowing that it would help them feel better about her being so far away, even if it was only for a week. 

These last few days, the boys have taken the time to make sure they all spent as much time as she could, meaning that y/n went almost everywhere with them, when they had to leave the house. This led up to where they were currently, y/n in the middle of the couch with the boys huddled around her as much as they could be, watching some rom-com that Hyunjin and Felix had argued over for almost 30 minutes.

���Why do you have to leave? It’s not fair. Stay here forever with us.” Felix whined.

“You know why I have to go, and it’s only for a week Lixie pixie. I’m packing up my life back home, so I can come here and stay with you all, okay?” She replied, ruffling the blonde man’s hair as he sat in front of her. 

“Still not fair.” The sun god of a man mumbled, pouting.

“I’ll be back before you know it. And are you really going to spend our last night together for a week pouting the whole time?” She questioned him, to which he pouted more, before sighing and dropping the pout from his face.

“Nooo.”

“Good. Now, what’s the plan to spend my last night here before I fly tomorrow morning?” She asked, addressing all of the boys.

“Well, since we can’t all accompany you tomorrow to see you off, we decided on a sleepover here in the dorm so we can all spend the night together.” Chan told her.

“‘Cause only Chan-hyung gets to go with you tomorrow, company’s orders.” Changbin said, upset.

“You know it would be a bad idea for the entirety of Stray Kids to show up to the airport. Plus, once I’m back here, you can all welcome me back to the dorms, and maybe convince the company to let a few more of you welcome me at the airport.” She said, putting the idea into their heads, knowing it would placate them for the moment.

It worked, since the boys then looked forward to that instead of being upset about not being able to see her off in the morning. The boys had lent her suitcases to take back home, plus they may have snuck things into said pieces of luggage, not that y/n knew that. They didn’t want her going back, even temporarily, without a piece of them. Felix may have slipped more than a couple pieces of his clothing, without the others’ knowledge.

They spent the rest of the night setting up the living room for a sleepover, dragging out mattresses, pillows and blankets from the various rooms, plus the other half of the boys bringing their own bedding over from their dorm. The floor of the main room was covered in mattresses, but it made for the coziest sleepover y/n’s ever had. She was once again pushed to the middle of all of them, though there was a vicious fight over who got the spots next to her. Minho just slid in on one side of her while they fought, and once Jeongin realized, he took the place on her other side before the others realized, sparking a round of yells once they finally saw the two men on either side of y/n. 

“Yah! That’s not fair!!” Changbin yelled at the two men on either side of their only female soulmate. 

“You should have decided not to play fair then. Tokki is mine now, tough luck.” Minho told the younger man, wrapping his arms around her as he talked to Binnie.

The buff rapper pouts, falling onto the mattress next to the maknae, laying face down and not looking at anyone. Chan chuckles, laying on top of the man, who starts to protest but doesn’t win as Chan showers the rapper in love and affection, and the others, including y/n, coo at the cute moment between the two men.

Despite the original plan being to watch movies, that doesn’t happen because of Stray Kids’ shenanigans.They instead spend the rest of the night going from playing around to to cuddling up together to many many hugs and cuddles. The amount of physical affection, minus kisses, could not be understated. Y/n felt as if she couldn't escape the physical affection from the boys, not that she minded in any way, she really enjoyed it. She lived and thrived off of physical affection from others, and coming from her soulmates, that feeling was amplified by 1000. 

Y/n fell asleep first, once again, both feeling exhausted from all the planning she’d have to do, plus the urging from the more responsible members to get sleep because she’d need it for the next morning's activities. The eight soulmates gathered around her, all of them touching her in some way as they curled around her in a protective circle. They weren’t ready to let her go, even if it was only temporary. They were scared she’d go home and not want to come back, even after she’s voiced her excitement to be moving here to be with them.

As the boys settled down, trying to be quiet so as to not wake their sleeping soulmate, a couple rounds of yawns passed through the boys, sleep starting to try and claim them. And it did, slowly they settled into whatever position they found comfy, most of them laying on top of each other in a bid to try and get closer to y/n, even in their sleep. This time Chan wasn’t the last one to fall asleep, Seungmin was. The vocalist stared at his sleeping soulmates, happiness in his eyes and his heart felt full once more, and he whispered his love for them into the silence that surrounded him, only for his ears to hear. He laid down, breathing deeply as he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep, feeling safe within the arms of his soulmates.

Time skip to the next morning...

The alarm to wake up y/n and Chan went off too early the next morning, it felt like barely any time had passed, let alone that anyone got a great amount of sleep that night. Chan jumped out of the makeshift bed after seeing what time it was. He quickly moved to his room to get dressed, before coming back to wake up y/n and the others, knowing they wouldn’t want to miss seeing off their soulmate.

“C’mon guys, time to wake up. Y/n, you have a plane to catch in a couple hours, you have to get up and get dressed.” He said to everyone, directing the last sentence to their newest member of their not so little group.

The boys groaned, unhappy that they had to get up, and y/n sat up quickly wiping the sleepiness out of her eyes. She groaned as she stretched, untangling herself from the pile that was 7/8ths of Stray Kids, and moved to head to Jisung’s room, where her luggage and clothing for today had been stored. Thankfully this bedroom still had a bed to sit on, since they hadn’t pulled Han’s bed for the mattress pile that existed in the living room. She quickly rid herself of the comfy clothes she had slept in, changing into the, admittedly, comfy airport outfit that the more fashion forward men had put together for her. From the look of the outfit, she wasn’t expecting it to be as comfortable as it actually was, but damn, she may just have to steal this outfit for herself now. They couldn’t take any of it back. Nope. It was hers now.

She was almost ready to head back out to the main room when a knock on the door stopped her. 

“Yes? Come in, I’m decent.” She told whoever was on the other side of the door, which turned out was the owner of the room, Jisung.

He trudged into the room, clearly not ready to be up at this hour, falling onto his bed and nearly busting his head open on one of the suitcases. She winced, moving to check on him, only to be waved away and assured he was okay, it was just way too early to be awake right now.

“But if you weren’t awake right now, you wouldn’t be able to see me and Chan off to the airport this morning.” She reminded her birthday twin, who she could see pout at the reminder of why he’s sacrificing his beauty sleep.

“Why do you have to leave so early in the morning?” Jisung whined, dragging out the last syllable of morning.

“Because this will allow me to get a flight home at a decent time. You forget I don’t have just one flight. I have a connecting flight to catch after my flight back to Canada.” She informed her soulmate, sighing afterwards.

“You’re gonna be so far away. Why do you have to be so far away?” He asked, or well really whined yet again.

“Because that’s how it is Ji baby. I’ll be back before you know it.” She told him, leaning down to kiss the top of his head as he still laid on the bed.

What she couldn't see was that her words and actions left him blushing and slightly malfunctioning once again. He heard her leave the room, letting out a groan once she was out of earshot. Why was he so affected by her, he’s usually not this flustered by simple things like pet names and kisses. Sure, sometimes he does get really flustered like this, but fuck he feels like a teenager again getting flustered by being called ‘baby’ by her.

Back to y/n, she’s pulled her luggage out to the main room, finding half of the men there, while the other three were in their rooms in this dorm. They smiled at her when she returned, though their smiles were sadder than she had seen.

“Why are you four so gloomy and sad?” Y/n questioned, a frown appearing on her face.

“Because you’re leaving us.” Minho answered for the group of them.

“I’ll be back soon though, and I’ll message you all every day I’m gone. I promise.” She told the four of them, moving to sit near them all as they were spread out across the mattresses and couches. 

The five of them chatted, and when y/n talked about food and such that she’d miss from her home once she moved here, which then got onto the topic of nostalgia and then back to some of them begging her to bring her favorite snacks home with her. She laughed at their insistence, promising that she’d bring home a lot of snacks for them to try.

Chan walked out to the living room, the missing three following behind him, a frown on his face. Somehow, without him saying a word, she knew it was time to go. It was time to leave her soulmates for a week. Sure, she was coming back in seven days, but that’s seven days without being able to hug and cuddle and be around her wonderful soulmates. She sniffled, feeling tears starting to collect in her eyes as she looked around at the eight men she’s spent the last almost week with.

“Oh babygirl. Don’t cry or we’re all going to cry.” Chan said, kneeling down in front of her, wiping away the tears that escaped.

“I can’t help but cry. I don’t want to leave you all yet.” She said, sniffling. 

“It’ll be okay tokki. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come back to us.” Minho reminded and reassured you as he came to sit next to you.

“I wish we could sit around and talk more about this, but we really do have to go now.” Chan said, sighing as he stood back up, arms reaching out to pull you up off of the mattress.

As soon as you were standing up by yourself, Hyunjin came over to hug you, burying his face in your neck, whispering to you how much he would miss you while you were gone. You wrapped your arms around his waist, holding him close, one hand rubbing his back as you comforted him. After a couple minutes, he pulled back, looking at you with tears in his eyes, and you moved a hand off of his waist to brush them away.

“It’s okay Jinnie, I’ll be back before you know it. We can facetime any time you want.” She told him, before pulling back from his embrace.

“I’m gonna miss you, you better be safe while I can’t protect you.” He told her, looking directly into her eyes, his expression and voice conveying the seriousness of his words.

“I’ll be safe, don’t worry Binnie.” She replied.

He kissed the top of her head, and only when Minho came to stand next to both of them, did he let go of y/n, who was immediately swept into the butt hunter’s arms. Though this time there was no butt hunting, just Minho holding her close as he rested his chin on her head. 

“Come back safe to us.” He whispered to her, kissing the top of her head before he pulled away, moving away quickly.

Felix and Han both approached her, tears falling down the sunshine duo’s cheeks as they looked at her with such sad eyes.

She opened up her arms for both of them. “Come here you two.” She said, tears bubbling up in her own eyes at seeing the two of them cry.

They almost collapsed into her arms, crying and begging her not to leave. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she listened to their tears and cries. She pulled them closer, resting her head on their shoulders, trying her best not to break down.

“It’ll be okay my sunshines. You know it’s only for a little bit. I’ll be back with all of my things and my bunny, and we can be here together for the rest of our lives. Now please stop crying or I’ll never be able to leave.” She comforted her two darlings, trying to do her best to make them feel at least a tiny bit better.

The two ‘00 liners had to be pulled away by the older members, so that the remaining two members, who wouldn’t be taking her to the airport, could say goodbye. Jeongin came up to her and engulfed her in a hug, then very shyly kissed her forehead, not being able to look her in the eyes after that.

“Be safe noona. Come back to us and bring us lots of snacks please.” He told her, a blush clearly painting his cheeks.

“I will, be a good baby bread for your hyungs, yeah?” She told him, before pulling away from him, but not before leaning up and kissing his own forehead.

She turned to look at Seungmin, the last soulmate she had to say goodbye to. He opened his arms for her, a soft look on his face even as he tried to appear strong in front of everyone. She walked into his embrace, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. He leaned his head on top of hers, his arms pulling her close to him.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but come back to us safe and in one piece, please? I just got you, I don’t want to lose you already.” He told her, voice soft.

“I promise you that I’ll come back home safely, okay? I couldn’t bear not being able to return home to you all now that I’ve met you.” She told him.

He held her close, before leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. She felt herself blush, and once the slightly younger man pulled away, saw that he was blushing as well. She quietly laughed at him, and made him smile slightly. He pulled away from her, and she reluctantly let him go.

“It’s time to go now babygirl. No more delaying it, or we’ll be late.” Chris told her, and she sighed sadly, moving to pick up her carry-on bags as the oldest member grabbed her other luggage. He guided her to the door, where Felix helped her slip on her shoes, smiling sadly up at her after he finished tying her shoelaces.

Chan opened the front door, leading her through it and letting her wave goodbye to the rest of the group before leading her downstairs and out of the building, straight to the car that was waiting for them. Y/n slipped into the back of the car, as Chan and the staff member accompanying them helped pack her luggage into the trunk. Chan slipped into the car, which then quickly left the apartment building. 

“We’re going to miss you, even if it’s only for a week. I’m going to miss you. I really wish I could go with you.” Chris told her, reaching out to hold her hand, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. She smiled at him, telling him that she knew, and that she’d miss them just as much.

They spent the ride to the airport in comfortable silence, mostly just taking this time to enjoy this alone time with each other, something that the two of them had yet to have. They talked occasionally, but mostly just leaned on each other, intent to remember these moments until y/n returned to Korea again. It felt like no time at all had passed when they arrived at the airport. 

Chan had to don a hat and mask to try and lessen the risk that he’d be recognized, but he was intent on accompanying you as far as he could, knowing that it’s not a stress free process, when you consider it’s a long flight and y/n was leaving her soulmates for the first time after meeting them, which is stressful enough. He pulled her bags behind him as they walked to the check in counter, y/n carrying just her carry-on bags despite her insistence on taking more, getting denied as Chan wouldn’t allow her to take either of them. Once they got her checked in, and Chan took care of any baggage fees, he slowly led her over to security.

“Call me or one of the others once you land, okay? We’ll be watching the flight tracker but call us anyways, once you land after each of your flights. I’ll be worried otherwise.” Chan told her.

“I promise I’ll call you, or text you if I’m unable to call at that moment, okay? I’ll be okay Chris, I promise. It’s two flights and then I’m back to my home in Canada. Please don’t worry about me too much?” She replied, looking up at him.

“I can’t promise you that, babygirl. I’ll worry about you until you’re back here in my arms. And I think it’s time for you to go through security before the line gets any longer, okay?” He said, looking down at her, a tear falling from his eye before he was able to wipe it away. 

“I don’t want to leave. But I know that I’ll be back and you all can meet my bunny and it’ll be okay. Only seven days and I’ll be back home with you all.” She reminded both him and herself.

Chan pulled her into one of his hugs, those hugs that she’s seen the others melt into, that she herself is melting into, holding onto him as if the minute she lets go, he’ll disappear. She felt him kiss the top of her head, and mumble something she couldn’t quite make out, but then he pulled away, tears brimming in his eyes. 

She couldn’t just let him go like this, and pushing aside any fears, she pulled down his mask and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. She closed her eyes as their lips connected, trying to convey just how much she was going to miss him through the kiss. She felt him kiss back after a moment, his arms wrapping around her back and holding her close. Sadly, she had to pull away once she was running out of air, but she looked up at him with so much love and care for him in her eyes, unable to tell him how she felt just yet, but wanting him to know that she already cared for him, and the others, so much that she would never be able to fully convey those feelings with words alone. 

“Baby, you can’t just kiss me like that before you leave. I’ll want to keep you here forever.” He spoke, breathless and in slight shock after what just happened.

“Well, then return the kiss when you come back here to pick me up in a week, then you can really keep me forever.” She told him, kissing his cheek before pulling out of his arms.

He whined at her leaving his arms, but she only smiled and giggled, moving in once more to pull his mask back up to hide his identity. She grabbed her bags, and looked at him again.

“We’ll be standing here in this airport again in only seven days, think of that instead of me leaving. See you soon, Christopher Bahng.” She said to him, smiling through the tears that were brimming in her eyes, before she turned around and walked into the security area.

Chan watched her until he couldn’t see her anymore, and then he left to head back home to the remaining seven soulmates.

Y/n finally made it through security and headed towards her gate. Thankfully, and she praised the airport gods, her gate was close to the security area. She quickly arrived at it and found an empty spot by the window to sit down and watch the planes land and take off. She waited there until the call came for her to board. The boys had made sure she’d be comfortable during her flights, buying her first class tickets even though she protested she didn’t need it for her second flight home. The long halt flight back to Canada, she wouldn’t argue against having more room, however. It would be great for the 14-hour flight. 

She passed through boarding quickly, settling down in her window seat and getting prepared for take-off. Thankfully it wasn’t long before the rest of the plane was boarded and they set off. She watched out the window and waved goodbye to South Korea and her soulmates as she started her journey back home to Canada.

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Taglist: @queen-thiccness @k-k-kn1v3s @ihrtlix @calisnewworld @lailac13

@thegingerthatwaited @hyunmikim

[venturelovebot]

A/N: This took me longer than I wanted it to but it's finally done! That means there's only one fic left to finish before I open up requests again. :•) Enjoy!

Premise: Depressed!GN!Reader finds out they're not as worthless as they think they are.

Warnings: None! Pure fluff.

You scribbled on the corner of the page to test your ink pen.

I have to vacuum the floor again soon. Dishes need to be done again today. I don't know what I want to make for dinner. More chores need to be done tomorrow. Is it even worth it anymore?

You pause. Every entry from the start of this week looked exactly the same. Flipping through the pages you notice that the beginning entries aren't much different either. Seems like every day has turned monotonous and bleak for you for a long time now. When you really think about it, when was the last time you were truly happy to wake up in the morning? Nothing came to mind.

The amount of hopelessness that filled your mind, body and soul was immense.

"Good morning!" Sloan sets down a coffee mug with a cat meme on it for you. Their smile had genuine happiness behind it– not something you could relate to.

"Good morning." You mimic their smile and watch as they take a seat next to you.

You're not sure how they could be so happy to wake up to the same burden every day of their life. Surely they must of thought you were baggage at this point. You were just waiting for the day they got tired of your presence and finally packed up and left. Everyone did. It was only a matter of time for them, too.

You bookmark the current page of your journal and close its cover.

"Don't forget your medicine!" They set your pill case next to your cat meme mug.

"Thanks."

They give you a kiss on the cheek.

You want to cry. Instead, you just watch as they take a seat next to you at the dining table for breakfast.

"Not hungry?" They ask.

They fork small bites of waffle into their mouth.

"I already ate." You lied.

"Oh? What did you have? I didn't hear you making anything."

You knew they were worried about you, but your brain didn't accept this.

"Just toast."

They're quiet for a moment. "Just toast?" They repeat.

"With jam. I'm not completely tasteless." You halfheartedly joke.

In order to dodge more conversation you open your pill case and down everything on an empty stomach.

"You have therapy today, right?" It feels they're playing a game of Twenty Questions.

"Yeah. I can make it there on my own, though."

"Well, I don't have anything to do right now. Why not let me take you?"

Right. You forgot. You were used to them being gone for weeks on end because of field work, studying or traveling. They took a couple weeks off to spend time with you. It seemed to be happening increasingly often as of late.

"It's alright, really. I don't want to bother you with it." You insist.

"It's not a bother! I promise!"

They're smiling again. It's hard to say no to that face.

"Alright."

...

Your therapist gives you back your journal after reading the last few entries. Nearly fifty minutes had already gone by and you don't feel like you've gotten everything off your chest yet.

"So, you feel like nothings gotten any better then?" They inquire.

"How are things supposed to get better at this rate?"

You collapse into the sofa and stare at the wall behind your doctor.

"I'm a burden. I can't do anything right. Everyone else already has everything figured out. What am I supposed to do? I'll never be good enough at anything."

Your therapist jots down everything you're saying before looking back up at you.

"If it's okay to ask... what do you want to be good at, exactly?"

You think about it. "Anything."

"Do you really think that's true, that you're not good at anything?"

You nod.

"You woke up this morning. You're breathing. You're very good at doing those two things. You're taking up space and existing. You're listening. You're feeling. You do these things without even thinking about them. Is that not a sign of skill?"

"That doesn't make me a worthwhile person, though." Tears start forming in your eyes and your therapist hands you the tissue box.

"You don't have to do anything well to be a worthwhile person. You exist, and that enough makes life worth living. If you want to learn more then you can, but knowing everything won't increase your value. You're valuable just by being here. Your worth as a human being is not determined by what you can or cannot do, or what you do or don't know."

Your therapist stays quiet as you sob into multiple tissues. It takes several minutes for you to calm down enough to continue your session.

"I still can't help but feel like a burden to everyone though." You still find it hard to speak after crying so much.

"Those who see you as a burden will never be worth your time. People who want to be around you will stay around you, even if they can't be present in your life at all times."

Rain begins gently tapping at the office window.

"... wouldn't it just be easier to shut everyone out, then?" You point out.

"Well, sure... but then you would never find out who truly loved you, or find others who are going to love you despite it all."

Another moment of silence passes between the two of you before the clock chimes in the distance.

"Same time next week I presume?" Your therapist fills out an appointment card for you.

"That sounds good."

...

You forgot your umbrella. The rain has already begun to pour.

Y/N: Alright. I'm ready.

💛lil meow meow💛: ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ

💛lil meow meow💛: ON MY WAY!!!

A car speeds by while you're waiting and splashes you from head to toe in puddle water. You're lucky enough that your phone case is water proof and that your journal is in your bag, otherwise everything would've been ruined.

Weird. You haven't thought about the positives in a long time.

You carefully wipe the droplets from your phone before another text message pops up.

💛lil meow meow💛: [Uploaded a photo at 3:56 PM].

It was a photo of you from behind.

💛lil meow meow💛: Omg? There's just a cutie pie standing outside? Do you think they're single?

You turn to look in the direction the photo was taken, then Sloan snaps another photo of you.

💛lil meow meow💛: OMG they noticed me!!!

💛lil meow meow💛: They're walking towards me!!!

You open the car door and the warmth hits your damp face.

"Wow. Now there's a cute person in my car! No way!" They grin and gesture over to you.

You can't help but smile.

"Sorry I wasn't fast enough to pick you up before the rain started..." They add.

They reach over to hold your hand and give it a comforting squeeze.

"It's okay. I can shower later." You reply.

You look out the passenger side window at the world covered in gray. The sooner you could get home, the better.

"So, how did it go?" They ask.

For a moment you replay the conversation with your therapist in your mind. You're not sure if you want to bring it up.

"Well..." You start to say, but you choke back the rest of the words.

Tears form in your eyes and you turn farther way from your beloved to hide them. You attempt to focus on the street lights passing you by instead.

"It was okay."

A brief silence passes between the two of you.

"You can be honest with me." There was a genuine concern for you in their voice that you were all too familiar with.

You bite your lip and think about your therapist again.

"Do you think I'm a burden?"

The question seems to come from no where for Sloan– but for you, it's all you've been wondering for a very long time.

"No! Of course not! Why would I ever think that about you?" They answer almost a little too defensively.

"Because you're smart, and you already have your life figured out– and I'm just a nobody, really..."

"No, you're not. Not to me."

You wipe the oncoming tears with your sleeves. The weight of the world comes baring down on your shoulders once again. Hot breaths escape between choking sighs and you can't stop yourself from sobbing all over again.

"I'm sorry–" That's all you could repeat, over and over again, like a broken record.

"[Y/N]..."

You can hardly hear them over the sound of your downfall.

The crisis seemed like it lasted forever to you. Everything you've been keeping bottled up for so long comes pouring out all at once without any warning. Even though your heart still hurts, you can feel it becoming lighter with every passing minute.

You can't form words. All you can do now is cry, cry, cry.

So cry, you did.

For minutes on end, tears flood out from underneath your swollen, bloodshot eyes. Your face was pink and pain pounded in your head from all the upset. It felt like forever until you were calm enough to form coherent sentences again.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Once again you find yourself apologizing for things beyond your control.

"There's no need to say you're sorry. Let's just get inside so you can get out of those wet clothes."

You didn't even realize you had made it home already.

...

One mental breakdown, shower and ibuprofen later you felt like a brand new person.

In the same cat meme mug from this morning your beloved sets down some hot chocolate for you to help you cheer up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" They ask.

You can feel them wrap a blanket around you before sitting down and scooping you up into the warmest hug you've ever received. You close your eyes and melt into their affection while placing your head on their chest to listen to their heartbeat.

"I guess I just feel worthless most of the time." You admit.

"But why? You're not worthless to me. Not one bit." They comfort you the best they can.

You can feel Sloan place their hand on the back of your head and gently stroke your hair.

"I feel bad for taking time away from you. You have everything in your life figured out. I can't imagine why you still come around to visit me."

"Because I love you." There's a softness to their reply that makes your heart feel safe and secure. "I love spending time with you, so I take time off to visit you. If I didn't want anything to do with you I'd be gone already."

You think about their words for a minute and wish you had something equally as nice to reply with, but instead drowsiness begins to fog your mind.

You open your mouth to speak but a yawn escapes first.

"Rest, mi vida. Don't let those thoughts bother you anymore. I love you so much–" They place a kiss to your head. "– and I'll love you even more when you wake up."

They let you lay down and listen to their heartbeat for a little while longer.

"You mean the world to me. I don't care about anything else right now– just you. I'm here for you. Everything else can wait."

"Promise?" You nuzzle into their chest, ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"I promise. I'll write it on my tombstone." They reply.

"I'll hold you to that."

"You'll have to wait and see. I plan on spending the rest of my life with you, first."

For the first time in a long time you felt yourself genuinely smile.

[eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes-eyes]

okay WHATEVER ITS GOING TO BE OKAY!!!

[tblsomedoodles]

The Preferable Alternative- Part 4

Start - previous - next

I really should slow down. But this was a pretty easy update and i had the day off.

In other news, i'm going to go make a masterpost now. I think 4 parts is enough to warrant one

: )

[duchi-nesten]

I have this entire idea where Danny stumbles upon Beeman, finds out he’s an UFO/alien expert and his space obsessed ass just won’t leave the man alone. Like he just appears in his lab sometimes and asks about his newest research or if they can go to space. (Beeman quickly learns he can’t get rid of this kid, he will always eventually come back.) He also gets to meet the other secret scientists at some point and he’s being a little shit through it all. Crashing their meetings and messing with everyone present. (in an endearing way <3)

It’s for the Crossover Danuary Week! (hosted by @amorpho ) Day 3: Secret Saturdays :]

I was actually supposed to write this idea as a short one-shot but it kept getting longer and I realized there’s no way I would finish it on time for the event </3 it is coming eventually though! For now I speedran some art </3

Also here’s a bonus of Danny messing with Zak (and Komodo) upon their first meeting:

[somegrumpynerd]

Putting my special little guy through it

[expelliarmus]

[wikiangela]

tease tidbit tuesday💀

tagged by @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @disasterbuckdiaz @hoodie-buck 💖

hi! so, yesterday I randomly opened the doc with the buddie death cast au - which is a fic I started writing last summer on vacation and never got back to it but then made progress lol it's gonna be MCD, which i know is not everyone's thing so feel free to ignore this 🤣 it's basically buddie in the universe of the "they both die at the end"/"the first to die at the end" books so it's gonna be sad, sorry lol (I never even read mcd, idk why i'm writing this but this idea just wants to be written i guess haha) gotta put this weird mood I've been in lately to good use and finally write this 🤣 not sure if I'm happy with this snippet, but it all needs editing, the first two snippets were written on my phone and haven't been edited yet lol

I posted two snippets so far, gonna link them both snippet 1 | snippet 2

___

“Is all of this clear, Eddie?” she asks in the end.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” he says shortly. He should've just hung up immediately. Or cancel this stupid subscription after Shannon died. Sometimes he wonders if maybe people who get the calls and coincidentally get into accidents, for example, just give up and refuse to fight because they think it’s their time. Not like Shannon could do much, her injuries were too severe when they got there, but the point stands. Maybe they get more reckless, thinking it doesn’t matter anyway. 

There’s a short pause on the line, but then Jane speaks up again, her tone softer, more sympathy seeping through.

“I know it’s not easy to accept, if you’d like some help with that, on out website you can find therapists and grief counselors specializing in-”

“Listen.” Eddie interrupts. He’s spent enough time in therapy. He’s not doing it on his supposedly last day. “I know it’s all bullshit. I don’t care. You said what you had to say, I listened, for whatever reason.” he rolls his eyes. He really should’ve hung up, or not answered at all. “Is this conversation over yet?” he asks and is met with another moment of silence. She’s probably wondering what everyone else always is: why is he even spending money on this if he doesn’t believe. He has an answer ready to go, but that’s not what she asks.

“Can I ask you a question?” she says quieter, whispering, probably not allowed to go too much off-script. 

“Sure, why not.” he shrugs. He’s wide awake now, anyway, he’s not in a hurry. Not like he’s dying anytime soon.

“If it was your last day, how would you spend it? You don’t have to answer, just think about it.” she adds quickly, her tone much softer and gentler now. Eddie’s mind immediately supplies a picture of Christopher and Buck, just a casual hang-out, like usual, maybe going to the movies, or the aquarium, or the planetarium, something fun for his kid. And later a gathering with the rest of their family, maybe a barbecue at Bobby and Athena’s, with Maddie and Chim, and Hen and Karen, all their kids, just everyone having fun together. Yeah, that’d be a perfect day. “There’s no harm in spending today just like this, if possible. Just in case.” Jane adds, still whispering. He doesn’t tell her that’s more or less his plan, anyway, for the evening after his 12-hour shift. During which nothing will happen to him, because Death-Cast doesn’t know shit. “Well, lastly, Eddie,” Jane’s voice is back at normal-volume, tone strictly professional but sympathetic, as she recites the end of her script, “on behalf of everyone here at Death-Cast, we’re so sorry to lose you. Live this day to the fullest.”

Eddie hangs up without a word.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @911onabc @housewifebuck @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @underwater-ninja-13 @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life @nmcggg @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @king-buckley @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @puppyboybuckley @weewootruck @buckaroosheart @spagheddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings @exhuastedpigeon @jesuisici33 @theotherbuckley @rainbow-nerdss @malewifediaz @giddyupbuck @diazsdimples @jeeyuns @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @honestlydarkprincess @hippolotamus @spotsandsocks

[crybaby-bkg]

Dabi is surprisingly a lightweight. You honestly would’ve never figured by looking at him, but as you think back on it, you’ve never really seen him drink a lot. Not when there were celebratory parties, or when things didn’t go right for him. It’s why you’re so shocked when you convince two shots into his system, why he suddenly looks so loose, why his grin splits so wide.

He’s a clinger, you’ve also learned as you’ve started observing the blue eyed man where he shoves his face into the crook of your neck. His body bends over almost uncomfortably to fit into the position, and you can’t help but flinch a little when his damp breath blows a quiet little raspberry on your flesh.

omg wait my favorite thought is of you not even necessarily being a heavyweight, you can just handle your liquor a little better than anyone expects. you love to knock back drink after drink, convince Dabi into some stupid competition that he falls for because he’s such a little nerd and secretly wants to impress you. he does it thinking you’ll be the drunk one first, the one hanging off of his arm and hopefully his dick by the end of the night.

it belatedly shocks him when it’s the exact opposite. when he’s slurring a little and smiling at you, when you watch him through low eyes with a wide grin, when he wraps himself around you like a python, when you shake his face gently as you squish his cheeks together in hand. he’s just so utterly obsessed with you in these moments, and maybe it’s the liquor in him, but he knows his lowered inhibitions are only bringing forth the feelings he’s always suppressed.

drunk sex with Dabi where he’s the one too loose limbed and limp and weak. he flops onto bed like some rag doll with his arms and legs spread wide, but he musters up enough strength to release the heavy weight of his cock from its confinements. doesn’t do much besides lift his head from the pillows with a point to his crotch and a lazy grin, an announcement of, go ahead and hop on already before he’s flopping back down again, ready to lay back and get fucked like how he knows he deserves.

[tenshouining]

Day 2 - Transition. A conversation with your future self. colourless ver. under rm !!

[hot-topic-piss]

I often forget Knuckles can glide, so I decided to atone for my sins.

[miodiodavinci]

laying down by a brook with one hand in the water like some kind of tragic prince , , , , , ,

[forcedhesitation]

*wheeze* slowly, but surely, working on art of them all

[bredforloyalty]

you know what? it's fine.